New Dominion Bookshop will host a book reading and signing with author Martin Clark on Friday, Sept. 22, at 7 p.m.

Clark will be reading from his new legal thriller, The Plinko Bounce.

In the book, in the summer of 2020, small-town public defender Andy Hughes is assigned to a grotesque murder case that brings national media focus to rural Patrick County – Alicia Benson, the wife of a wealthy businessman, is murdered in her home. The accused killer, Damian Bullins, confesses to the police. He even admits his guilt to Hughes. But a simple typographical error and a shocking discovery begin to complicate the state’s case, making it possible Bullins might escape punishment. Duty-bound to give his client a thorough defense, agrees to fight for a not-guilty verdict, a decision that will ultimately force him to make profound life-and-death choices, both inside and outside the courtroom.

Clark is a retired Virginia Circuit Court judge who served 27 years on the bench.

This in-person event will be free to attend and open to the public.

New Dominion Bookshop is located at 404 E. Main St. in Charlottesville.

For more information, visit ndbookshop.com.

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Voctave will perform live on stage at The Paramount Theater on Sept. 24 at 7:30 p.m.

A cappella sensation Voctave has had more than 150 million social media views of their videos, and their albums are frequently in the Top 10. The Spirit of the Season, Deluxe Edition, reached No. 6 on the Billboard charts and The Corner of Broadway & Main Street Vol. 2, debuted at number 3 on the iTunes charts. Voctave’s most recent release is an album of lullabies entitled, Goodnight, My Someone.

Formed in 2015 by producer and arranger Jamey Ray, the voices that bring their arrangements to life represent a wealth of diverse backgrounds and musical experiences. Hailing from Central Florida, the 11 members of Voctave have performed across the globe and appear on countless recordings.

The group has performed with Sandi Patty, Pentatonix’s Kirstin Maldonado, Mark Lowry, David Phelps and Jody McBrayer.

Voctave includes:

• E.J. Cardona
• Tiffany Coburn
• Ashley Espinoza
• Karl Hudson
• Chrystal Johnson
• Kate Lott
• Drew Ochoa
• Jamey Ray
• Aaron Stratton
• Kurt Von Schmittou
• Sarah Whittemore

Tickets start at $29.75 and are on sale now at theparamount.net or by calling (434) 979-1333.

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The Moss Arts Center in Blacksburg celebrates its 10th anniversary with a season of vibrant voices and fresh perspectives from around the world.

From legendary performers, classical favorites and family-friendly cirque to jazz and global music and innovative dance and theatre works, the upcoming season includes some familiar faces from seasons past as well as an array of new artists.

“This coming year is especially meaningful as it marks the 10th anniversary of the Moss Arts Center’s opening in fall of 2013,” said Ruth Waalkes, executive director of the Moss Arts Center and associate provost for the arts at Virginia Tech. “We’re proud to look back on 10 years of impact and the extraordinary performances, exhibitions, and creative engagements we’ve experienced together. You will find great breadth and depth once again this year with artists who inspire, challenge, and bring us immeasurable joy.”

The season includes a set or programs examining the impacts of climate change.

“Talks by Indigenous environmental economist Winona LaDuke and journalist Elizabeth Kolbert as well as performances from Cirque Mechanics and Sō Percussion are inspired by the environmental changes of our Earth,” said Margaret Lawrence, Moss Arts Center director of programming. “The centerpiece of these, ‘Small Island, Big Song,’ brings together Indigenous singers and musicians from Indian and Pacific Ocean island nations. Taking us on a journey along distant — yet interconnected — musical traditions, these artists lend their voices to the hope the wild beauty of their homelands can survive.”

Tickets are on sale now.

Moss Arts Center 2023-24 performances

Brentano String Quartet with Hsin-Yun Huang, viola

• Friday, Sept, 22, 7:30 p.m.

Having first performed at the Moss in 2014, the ensemble returns for the center’s anniversary season joined by leading violist and Juilliard faculty member Hsin-Yun Huang. The program includes Haydn’s string quartet, “The Bird;” Brahms’ exuberant “Quintet for Strings in G Major;” and the premiere of James MacMillan’s “Viola Quintet.”

“The Book of Life”

• Tuesday, Sept. 26, 7:30 p.m.

Rwandan writer and activist Odile Gakire “Kiki” Katese takes to the stage with Ingoma Nshya, the Women Drummers of Rwanda, for “The Book of Life,” a deeply moving perspective on life, loss, and recovery. The performance is filled with personal letters, stirring shadow puppetry, and joyous live drumming.

Mountain Stage with Kathy Mattea

• Sunday, Oct. 1, 7 p.m.

Join Grammy-winning country and bluegrass star Kathy Mattea for an episode of “Mountain Stage” recorded live from the Fife Theatre. Airing on nearly 300 public radio stations across America, the radio show features musical performances from seasoned legends and emerging stars.

Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer, and Shahzad Ismaily

• “Love in Exile”
• Saturday, Oct. 7, 7:30 p.m.

Spellbinding vocalist Arooj Aftab is the first Pakistani American to win a Grammy, MacArthur genius Vijay Iyer is an influential pianist, and multi-instrumentalist/composer Shahzad Ismaily has performed with Lou Reed and Tom Waits. Together, they create timeless, one-of-a-kind performances of haunting collaborative soundscapes.

Winona LaDuke

• “The Next Energy Economy”
• Monday, Oct. 9, 7:30 p.m.

A Native American activist, economist, and author, Winona LaDuke has devoted her life to advocating for Indigenous people’s rights and environmental justice. The grassroots organizer is an Anishinaabekwe (Ojibwe) member of the Mississippi Band Anishinaabeg and was a leader of the 2016 Dakota Access Pipeline protests.

Garage Dance Ensemble

• “Krummelpap, Scandals Wrapped with Prayer”
• Thursday, Oct. 12, 7:30 p.m.

Garage Dance Ensemble from O’Kiep, South Africa, brings this deeply personal and socially charged contemporary dance-theatre work that captures the personal and political circumstances and aspirations of the people of South Africa’s former mining community, Namaqualand.

Vox Luminis

• Lionel Meunier, artistic director
• Thursday, Oct. 19, 7:30 p.m.

Experience the luminous and rich tones of Belgian early music vocal and instrumental ensemble Vox Luminis in this evening performance of Bach’s sacred, brilliant, and dazzling early cantatas.

Pink Martini featuring China Forbes

• Friday, Oct. 27, 7:30 p.m.

Audience favorite Pink Martini brings its infectious, bubbly sounds back to Blacksburg. With vintage jazz vibes, Pink Martini takes the audience on a musical trip around the world, from a samba parade in Rio to a French nightclub.

Javon Jackson with Nikki Giovanni and Nnenna Freelon

• “The Gospel According to Nikki Giovanni”
• Friday, Nov. 3, 7:30 p.m.

A historic collaboration between poet and Virginia Tech legend Nikki Giovanni and saxophonist-composer and former Jazz Messenger Javon Jackson features hymns, spirituals, and gospel numbers hand-picked by Giovanni. They are joined by celebrated jazz vocalist Nnenna Freelon.

Seongbukdong Beedoolkee Theatre

• “MEDEA on Media”
• Wednesday, Nov. 8, and Thursday, Nov. 9, 7:30 p.m.

This Seoul, Korea-based innovative contemporary theatre company delivers an original take on the enduring Greek tragedy “Medea,” recasting the ancient tale as a commentary on contemporary media. With plenty of physicality and a dash of silliness, “MEDEA on Media” is also clever and profound.

Invoke

• Thursday, Nov. 16, 7:30 p.m.

Adding banjo, mandolin, fiddle, and voice to the string quartet, Invoke is reinventing classical music. Encompassing traditions from across America, including bluegrass, Appalachian fiddle tunes, jazz, and minimalism, the vibrant ensemble is fueled by its passion for storytelling.

Deantoni Parks

• Thursday, Nov. 30, 7 and 9 p.m.

Experimental composer and percussionist Deantoni Parks uses technology, hip-hop, sampling, and electronica to create sonic experiences. He has been a member of band Kudu and art rock group Bosnian Rainbows and has worked with John Cale, the Mars Volta, and other greats.

Roanoke Symphony Orchestra

• “Holiday Pops Spectacular”
• Saturday, Dec. 2, 4 p.m.

A much-anticipated audience favorite returns to the Moss, filling the Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre with holiday cheer as only the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra and its “Holiday Pops” program can. Audiences of all ages love this spirited holiday event.

Blacksburg Master Chorale

• “Messiah”
• Sunday, Dec. 17, 4 p.m.

The New River Valley’s own Blacksburg Master Chorale is joined by a professional orchestra and soloists to present one of the most iconic works of the holiday season, Handel’s “Messiah,” which features 80 singers performing the glorious and resounding “Hallelujah Chorus.”

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis

• Tuesday, Jan. 23, 7:30 p.m.

Led by Grammy-winning trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, America’s most famous big band Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra returns with a program celebrating percussionist Max Roach. Considered one of the greatest jazz drummers of all time, Roach used his music to address racial, political, and social issues.

Cirque Mechanics

• “Zephyr: A Whirlwind of a Circus”
• Wednesday, Jan. 31, 7:30 p.m.

Cirque Mechanics makes a Moss encore with a fun-for-all-ages theatrical circus show inspired by the power of wind. “Zephyr” harnesses human power to generate an energetic experience, complete with a rotating windmill and breathtaking aerial acrobatics.

Mark Morris Dance Group

• “The Look of Love”
• Saturday, Feb. 24, 7:30 p.m.

Internationally celebrated choreographer Mark Morris presents an evening-length homage to the legendary Burt Bacharach. Favorites such as “Walk on By” performed by a live, spirited band and Broadway vocalist propel Morris’ deceptively simple, yet glorious movement.

“An Evening with Elizabeth Kolbert”

• Tuesday, Feb. 27, 7:30 p.m.

Longtime journalist with The New Yorker Elizabeth Kolbert has met with top scientists to get to the heart of the debate over global warming. Her book “The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History” won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize.

Meshell Ndegeocello

• Friday, March 15, 7:30 p.m.

Traversing soul, R&B, jazz, hip-hop, and rock, Grammy winner Meshell Ndegeocello has defied and redefined the expectations for women, queer artists, and Black music for over 30 years. She remains one of few women who write the music, sing the songs, and — bass in hand — lead the band.

Sō Percussion with Caroline Shaw and special guest Shodekeh

• Wednesday, March 20, 7:30 p.m.

Multi-genre quartet Sō Percussion joins forces with two preeminent collaborators for an evening of music bridging the worlds of classical and pop. The program includes selections performed with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw and groundbreaking breath artist, beat boxer, and composer Dominic Shodekeh.

Las Cafeteras

• Tuesday, March 26, 7:30 p.m.

East Los Angeles Chicano indie-folk band Las Cafeteras has taken the music scene by storm with its infectious live performances. With jaranas and requintos (Mexican ukulele-sized guitars) and the rhythmic percussion created by dancing on a wood floor, Las Cafeteras remixes roots music as modern-day troubadours.

Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain

• Thursday, April 4, 7:30 p.m.

Featuring only ukuleles and the voices of its performers, the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain returns to the Moss for an unforgettable evening. Fresh and entertaining, both modern and old-fashioned, the orchestra is best known for playing versions of famous rock songs and film themes, sometimes in amusing new ways.

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo

• Saturday, April 13, 7:30 p.m.

An inspired blend of dance and impeccable humor, the world-class, all-male parody ballet company Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo makes its Southwest Virginia debut. Dancing en pointe, the performers celebrate rather than mock the spirit of dance as an art form.

“Small Island, Big Song”

• Wednesday, April 17, 7:30 p.m.

An inspiring multimedia concert confronts climate change as artists from Pacific and Indian Ocean nations blend traditions to create music celebrating the ways we are all connected. The result is a breathtakingly beautiful sound made by those who sing for the seas.

Bamberg Symphony

• Jakub Hrůša, conductor
• Hélène Grimaud, piano
• Friday, April 26, 7:30 p.m.

With a musical lineage stretching back to the 18th and 19th centuries — to Mahler and Mozart — Germany’s Bamberg Symphony is a favorite around the world. Its Moss debut features works by Brahms, Schumann, and Richard Wagner, one of the most revolutionary, emotional — and polarizing — figures in the history of music.

“An Evening with Leslie Odom Jr.”

• Saturday, May 4, 2024, 7:30 p.m.

He wowed audiences in his breakout role as Aaron Burr in “Hamilton,” and now Leslie Odom  Jr. comes to the Moss for an intimate musical evening. With a career spanning all performance genres, Odom has received recognition with Tony and Grammy awards as well as multiple Emmy and Oscar nominations for his achievements in Broadway, television, film, and music.

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A screening of the film Go On, Be Brave, will be presented at The Paramount Theater in Charlottesville on Sept. 23, at 7 p.m.

The documentary screening is presented by The Team Drea Foundation.

There will also be a special screening of the short documentary, Who Is A Runner, featuring Charlottesville’s own Prolyfyck Run Crew.

Go On, Be Brave begins when Andrea Lytle Peet receives the death sentence of an ALS diagnosis at age 33. The life expectancy for ALS is two to five years. She is told her disease is rapidly progressing and to get her affairs in order. She does.

And like a true athlete, she decides to do one final triathlon before she dies. She walks across the finish line with trekking poles, her husband, David, by her side.

And then she waits. And waits. Until one day, she gets tired of waiting to die. She decides to live.

At the five-year anniversary of her ALS diagnosis, Peet sets an ambitious goal: be the first person with ALS to complete a marathon in all 50 U.S. states. An “attempt at the impossible,” shares her neurologist Dr. Bedlack; a goal even Andrea doesn’t think she will reach. But she wants to try.

As we follow Andrea’s story for more than three years, we see that her journey is not at all what we expected. It is not solely an epic sports tale nor is it a sobering depiction of a patient with ALS preparing to die.

Instead, it is a story of hope that transcends sport and disease. What starts out as one woman’s individual quest towards 50 marathons evolves into a story of community. It is about the quieter moments between races where Andrea brings hope and joy to people with ALS as they fight for a cure together.

Go On, Be Brave is a meditation on life – of how each one of us chooses to live.

Pre-signed copies of Peet’s memoir, Hope Fights Back, will be available for purchase from New Dominion Bookshop.

Tickets to the documentary screening start at $17. There is also a package for $42.50 which includes the memoir. To purchase tickets online, click here.

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New Dominion Bookshop will host a book talk and signing with clinical psychologist and author Kay Redfield Jamison on Saturday at 4 p.m.

Jamison will be speaking about her recent book, Fires in the Dark: Healing the Unquiet Mind, which was released from Knopf this past spring. She argues that not only patients but also doctors must be healed. She draws on the example of W. H. R. Rivers, the renowned psychiatrist who treated poet Siegfried Sassoon and other World War I soldiers, and discusses the long history of physical treatments for mental illness, as well as the ancient and modern importance of religion, ritual, and myth in healing the mind. She looks at the vital role of artists and writers, as well as exemplary figures, such as Paul Robeson, who have helped to heal us as a people.

Fires in the Dark is a beautiful meditation on the quest and adventure of healing the mind, on the power of accompaniment, and the necessity for knowledge.

Jamison is the Dalio Professor in Mood Disorders and a professor of psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, as well as an honorary professor of English at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

She is the co-author of the standard medical text on bipolar disorder and author of An Unquiet Mind, Night Falls Fast, Exuberance, and Touched with Fire. Her most recent book, Robert Lowell: Setting the River on Fire, was a Pulitzer Prize finalist. Jamison is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. She is a recipient of the Lewis Thomas Prize, the Sarnat Prize from the National Academy of Medicine and a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellowship.

A conversation with Ben Martin, the assistant director of Programs in Health Humanities at the Center for Health Humanities and Ethics at the UVA School of Medicine, will follow.

Martin is an academic hospitalist and assistant director of Programs in Health Humanities at the Center for Health Humanities and Ethics at the UVA School of Medicine. His research interests focus on the intersection of fiction and clinical medicine. He studied English and American literature at Middlebury College and was awarded the Donald E. Axinn Prize for his creative thesis. His writing has most recently appeared on Literary Hub.

This in-person event will be free to attend and open to the public.

New Dominion Bookshop is located at 404 E Main St. on the Downtown Mall in Charlottesville.

For more information, visit ndbookshop.com.

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Work has begun on the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library’s next strategic plan for fiscal years 2025 to 2029.

With the Library Board of Trustees, a strategic plan will chart a path for the library to best meet its mission in service to the people of Albemarle, Charlottesville, Greene, Louisa and Nelson.

“The current strategic plan has led to many initiatives that have improved library service to the community,” Library Director David Plunkett said. “For instance, expanding Bookmobile services in Louisa and Nelson counties, the addition of contactless pickup lockers at six branches, and a new and improved website. Now, we’d like to get community feedback on planning the next five years of library services.”

Community feedback is welcome online through October 2023. Paper copies of the community survey are available at any JMRL branch. Survey participants are invited to enter a drawing for a gift certificate. The library board will discuss strategic plan drafts at public meetings in early 2024, and adopt a completed plan by the board’s June 2024 meeting.

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A Richmond couple has committed $125,000 to a traveling museum to celebrate America’s 25oth birthday.

Rob and Jean Estes committed the gift as a matching gift incentive in honor of the Virginia Trucking Association. This means that every dollar donated to the VA250 Mobile Museum Experience will be matched by the Esteses, up to $125,000.

“We are honored to support the VA250 Mobile Museum Experience,” said Rob Estes, president and CEO of Richmond-based Estes Express Lines, a privately owned freight carrier. “This museum will be a great way to teach children and adults about the history of American independence in Virginia. We hope our gift will encourage others to give as well.”

The VA250 Mobile Museum Experience will bring the full story of Virginia’s role in the American Revolution to life for students and adults across the state beginning in fall 2024.

The museum will travel to schools, fairs, community centers and more, featuring interactive exhibits that allow visitors to learn about the events, people, and places that shaped Virginia’s history.

“We are grateful to Rob and Jean Estes for their generous gift,” said Cheryl Wilson, executive director of VA250. “Their support will help to make the VA250 Mobile Museum Experience a reality. We encourage everyone to join the Estes in supporting this important project because Virginia’s history is America’s story.”

For more information on the VA250 Mobile Museum Experience, visit va250.org

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The Virginia Tourism Corporation has released the second season of its web series “My Home Virginia,” airing on the agency’s website and YouTube channel.

Episodes for Season 2 will focus on a different Virginia chef or baker that calls the Commonwealth home including:

• a culinary duo hailing from separate continents that combined their native cuisines into a unique food truck experience in Southwest Virginia
• a chef who cooked in kitchens across the country and now serves up her spin on Southern classics in Fredericksburg
• an executive-turned-baker who bought a classic truck and started a new career in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, gaining a former U.S. President’s attention.

“My Home Virginia” is a narrative-driven video series that follows Virginia-based personalities to the beautiful places they love and are inspired to call home, no matter how far across the world their travels may take them.

Season 3, which is currently in production, will focus on members of Virginia’s sports community and will launch Spring 2024.

To watch episodes of “My Home Virginia” or for more information, visit virginia.org/MyHomeVirginia.

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A new partnership between the State Fair of Virginia and Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU will benefit thousands of children through an auction.

“SFVA Crafters for Children” is inviting creative arts competitors or demonstrators to donate their handcrafted items for an online auction that will be offered throughout the fair.

Fairgoers will have the opportunity to bid on donated items which might include an original painting, unique piece of knitted clothing or a handmade holiday wreath.

Once the auction ends, 70 percent of the proceeds will be donated to CHoR, and 30 percent of the proceeds will be donated to the SFVA Youth Scholarship Program.

The SFVA Youth Scholarship Program supports youth education and has donated more than $730,000 for 2,000-plus students since its inception in 2013.

“It’s humbling to have the opportunity to use our platform at the State Fair to partner with incredible organizations like CHoR and create meaningful relationships and memories that will last long after our 10 days of ferris wheels, funnel cakes and fun,” said Sarah Jane Thomsen, the fair’s manager of agriculture education and strategic programming partnerships.

“This is a win-win for everyone. We’ve had fairgoers in the past inquire about purchasing some of the amazing, handcrafted creations. And now they can—and benefit children at the hospital and youth education,” Thomsen said.

“The impact of the funds raised from the Crafters for Kids program will extend beyond just Central Virginia,” said Lauren Zaller Moore, president and CEO of Children’s Hospital Foundation. “Our hospital cares for kids from all across the Commonwealth as well as from most states in the country and even internationally.”

Children’s Hospital is the second largest service provider in Virginia and has been nationally ranked for its cancer, pulmonology, urology and nephrology programs. It also is verified as a Level 1 Children’s Surgery Center. CHoR serves more than 70,000 children and their families each year.

James Salgado was a patient at the Children’s Hospital when he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer at the age of 13. When the now-17-year-old heard about the new partnership with the State Fair, he asked to donate hand-sewn stuffed animals for the auction.

“I’m now 17 and fully recovered, and it would mean the world to me to be able to give back to the people who did so much for me,” said Salgado, who has been sewing since he was 5 years old.

Thomsen said Salgado is not the only one showing enthusiasm for the Crafters for Children program. She had a couple dozen items donated in advance of the creative arts contest deadlines, and competitors will have the opportunity to sign up to donate items when they drop off their entries this month.

The 2023 State Fair of Virginia will run from Sept. 22 through Oct. 1 at The Meadow Event Park in Caroline County.

Information is available at StateFairVa.org.

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“High Five VA” is a lifesaving transfer program of the Virginia Federation Humane Societies.

The program creates a safety net for Virginia’s homeless animals by helping to facilitate the movement of animals from under-resourced shelters to those areas where the chances of adoption are far greater.

The program announced in late August it is the recipient of a $20,000 grant from the ASPCA (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) to improve the health of animals sheltered in Southwest VA.

“Many organizations in Southwest VA already have robust and routine grassroots animal transfer/transport programs established but desire to increase transfer capacity and grow sustainable progressive programing in their communities,” VFHS Executive Director Melissa Rubin said.

VFHS has worked with Southwest Virginia communities for several years to improve the health of the animal population so animals can more readily transfer and so new transfer partnerships can be established. Financial resources in rural organizations are limited, geographical challenges exist in the communities, and the fallout from COVID 19 affected veterinary care availability.

“These funds from the ASPCA will help to expand shelters’ transfer capacity thus saving more animal lives,” Rubin said.

The VFHS is the oldest statewide animal welfare organization in the Virginia. Founded in 1959, membership includes private shelters, public shelters, animal control agencies, humane societies, rescue groups, sanctuaries, as well as animal caregivers and individual supporters. VFHS is committed to saving all healthy and treatable sheltered and community animals in Virginia.

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