Community Calendar

Join Wild Virginia to discuss Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty. The book, written when McAnulty was 14 begins in the spring and chronicles a year in his life. His beautiful descriptions of the world around him are combined with writing about the challenges and rewards of living with autism. The role of nature in helping him to deal with those challenges inspired him to activism. He is a Jane Goodall ambassador and the youngest recipient of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds medal.

“In writing this book,” writes Dara, “I have experienced challenges but also felt incredible joy, wonder, curiosity and excitement. In sharing this journey my hope is that people of all generations will not only understand autism a little more but also appreciate a child’s eye view on our delicate and changing biosphere.”

ChemFest is a science festival presented for children of all ages and their parents/guardians. There will be lots of hands-on exploratory activities of chemical and physical principles, and there will be two large chemical demonstration shows that will provide an opportunity to observe more dramatic chemical phenomena. The event is free and open to the public. Organizers have tried very hard to ensure that children of all ages can participate in the hands-on activities. Hands on Activities are 9am-12:30pm. Demo Show #1 is 10:30am-11:15am. Demo Show #2 (sam demonstrations as #1) is 12:15pm-1:00pm. Parking in JMU Lot D2 is nearest the building: https://www.jmu.edu/parking/_files/parkingmap.pdf

The Rockbridge Bull & Oyster Fest returns to the Virginia Horse Center on Saturday, April 1, 2023, from 1-5 pm, rain or shine.

The 15th Annual Rockbridge Bull and Oyster Fest, a benefit for the Rockbridge Area Health Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit healthcare organization, will feature BBQ and oysters served by Lexington Catering Company, live music with Gary Ruley and Mule Train, games, fun, and more in a tented, outdoor venue overlooking Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains!

All proceeds will benefit the Rockbridge Area Health Center to support our mission: To promote and provide access to comprehensive, high quality and affordable health care to improve the health and well-being of the greater community.

The Kid LAROI will Bleed for You on his Bleed4You.com Tour. Coming to Charlottesville, VA on April 1st

Feast on chocolate treats and enjoy a leisurely stroll around downtown Harrisonburg as participating businesses and organizations invite you in to sample the best of local chocolatiers. Each location will offer a different type of chocolatey goodness!

Prepare to be moved and inspired by the choreography and performances in this annual concert that features dances by selected JMU dance majors, former JMU dance professor Cynthia Thompson, and Rubén Graciani, dean of JMU’s College of Visual and Performing Arts and professor of dance. Graciani—in collaboration with The Madison Singers, JMU Chorale, a marimba ensemble and JMU dance students—will premiere Triptych, a fast-moving, three-movement work by Grammy-nominated composer Tarik O’Regan (b. 1978). The uplifting and unifying piece explores ideas about what happens when we die drawn from Jewish, Islamic and Christian texts.

Come hear the wonderful student musicians in the UVA Jazz program at their spring Jazz Chamber concert on Sunday, April 2nd at 7pm in Old Cabell Hall. This event is free and open to the public.

Directed by renowned UVA music faculty members Pete Spaar, Calvin Brown and Mike Rosensky, the Jazz Small Groups range in size from quartets to octets and vary in skill-level from beginner-intermediate to advanced. Besides a formal concert at the end of each semester, the groups do several outreach performances in the Charlottesville community, and give a final end-of-year celebration concert, "Jazz in the Amphitheatre." Repertoire is chosen from a diverse range of jazz styles by such greats as Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Lee Morgan, Antonio Carlos Jobim, among many others, as well as original compositions by both faculty and students.

Old Cabell Hall is located on the south end of UVA’s historic lawn, directly opposite the Rotunda. (map) Parking is available in the central grounds parking garage on Emmet Street, in the C1 parking lot off McCormick Rd, and in the parking lots at the UVA Corner. Handicap parking is available in the small parking lot adjacent to Bryan Hall.To see all the Jazz Events at UVA please visit music.virginia.edu/jazz-series

We will be hearing from 4 different jazz combos, coached by Mike Rosensky, Calvin Brown and Pete Spaar.
Groups will be announced from stage.

To find out more about Jazz events at UVA visit https://music.virginia.edu/jazz-events.

All events are subject to change. Contact the UVA Music Department at music@virginia.edu or 434.924.3052 for more information

For the most updated event information, please visit https://music.virginia.edu/jazz-small-groups-spring-2023

The Making Noise in the Library series brings artists into the Music Library for free performances. Come listen to Corey Harris, a guitarist, songwriter, and band leader who has carved out his own niche in blues. Harris has performed, recorded, and toured with many of the top names in music such as BB King, Taj Mahal, Buddy Guy, R.L.Burnside, Ali Farka Toure, Dave Matthews Band, Tracy Chapman, Olu Dara, Wilco, and others. His additional recordings include Fish Ain’t Bitin’ (1996), Vu-Du Menz (with Henry Butler, 2000), Downhome Sophisticate (2002), Zion Crossroads (2007), and blu black (2010).

In 2003, Harris was a featured artist and narrator of the Martin Scorcese film, “Feel Like Going Home,” which traced the evolution of blues from West Africa to the southern U.S. In 2007, he was awarded a $500,000 MacArthur Fellowship — commonly referred to as a “genius award” — from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The annual grant, which recognizes individuals from a wide range of disciplines who show creativity, originality, and commitment to continued innovative work, described Harris as an artist who “forges an adventurous path marked by deliberate eclecticism.” That same year, he was also awarded an honorary Doctor of Music degree from Bates College, in Lewiston, Maine.

Old Cabell Hall is located on the south end of UVA's historic lawn, directly opposite the Rotunda (map). For parking information, visit: https://music.virginia.edu/directions-parking

This is free and open to the public (no tickets required). Refreshments will be served.

All events are subject to change. For the most updated event information, please visit https://music.virginia.edu/making-noise-library%C2%A0corey-harris

In 2011, while photographing civilians caught up in the conflict in Afghanistan, Duley was severely injured by an improvised explosive device, losing both legs and his left arm.

Today, Duley is the founder of the Legacy of War Foundation. Through a variety of global projects, the Foundation seeks to challenge the neo-colonial concepts in the aid sector and whose mission is to “help individuals and communities rebuild their own lives after the trauma of war” through empowerment and advocacy. In addition to his photography and foundation, Duley is currently filming a documentary series in which he cooks with families in countries devastated by war, most recently in Ukraine.