Discovered the IX Art Park, well looking for quirky roadside attractions to check in my travels…read more Ended up visiting the Famous Butt Statue, and stumbled upon a Farmers Market Enjoyed the hip, electric vibe and checking the art work out as I walked through the farmers market. Ended up purchase a leafy lettuce plant, to grow my own lettuce and salad turnips.

Vegan Festival at IX Art Park, absolutely fabulous. A great day for a vegan family with vegan teens…read more& young adult to enjoy great food, shop companionate wares, and listen to music on the subject that matters most for our planet: veganism!! Good set up with a stage, lots of space for booths, indoor restrooms, grass areas, picnic tables, and even swinging benches in a gazebo. Tons of modern art installations to ponder. The location is a decent drive from home but totally worth it as "veg fests" near us have tended to be vegetarian which, no thanks. If this is an annual event, it's definitely going to be a tradition for me and my family . First time out here makes me excited for more C-Ville VEGAN FESTIVALS to come.

Drop in to craft and enjoy food and drink - I love this concept! Pikasso Swig executes this well…read moreand offers an encouraging and low stress environment to get creative for both adults and kids. You drop in and can choose from a variety of crafts (painting, wood burning, glass etching, string art, knitting, wreath making, etc) and instructors walk around and guide you through your project. If you come in a group, each person does not have to do the same craft, allowing the opportunity to explore different interests. Our group did a combo of glass etching, wood burning, and string art. Craft pricing ranges from $20-40. The food and drink menu is reasonable, offering cheese/charcuterie plates, paninis, bruschetta, pastries, wine, beer, ciders, and non-alcoholic beverages. I enjoyed the Monet - a panini with strawberries, Nutella, and Brie; it was warm and melty with a mix of sweet and salty. I am definitely not an artist but enjoyed our afternoon at Pikasso Swig and am happy for this addition to 5th Street Station!

I went to this place with my 2 friends and 2 of us decided to split the glass tile coasters. When…read morethey brought out the tiles there was not many colors to pick from and the colors they did have, some of them only had 1 or 2 tiles left. The tiles were also not even so when placing the tiles on the coaster some were more raised than others. I'm not sure how a coaster is functional is it's not flat leveled. We ended up just not doing a craft because the other options just weren't worth the money. Our other friend did the flower pressed lamp and they didn't have very many flowers to pick from. We also considered doing the ceramic painting but all of the ceramics were very childish and looked like they were created by amateur.

Awesome place. Plenty of games to keep you busy, wide variety of machines spanning many decades…read more Pleasant atmosphere.

I ask three things of any arcade: Burger Time? Frogger? Skii / Ice Ball? Decades Arcade has all…read morethree and so much more. Pay for two hours or all day, the games are unlimited turns (free play) within your time slot. We brought three of our kids, teen girls & 21 yr old son, everyone stayed highly entertained, well worth the $60 / 5 people. Staff is fun, informative and friendly. They did not honor my brilliant "if my name starts with Arcade, do get a discount?" pitch, but it's always worth asking, lol. Extremely clean, fully stocked, well lit bathrooms with eco-friendly hand soap and surface cleaner. Vending machines with sodas & seltzer. Comfortable spacing between consoles. I'm so glad that we spent a portion of our afternoon at this wonderful establishment, it was a great way to beat the heat and bond with the kids over video games from when we were children PLUS we got to play the games introduced by their generation. YES: FAMILY FRIENDLY

In the fall, Carter's Mountain is packed with folks buying pumpkins, apple cider, apple cider…read moredonuts, cider, and wine. On a quiet week day in the spring, we were able to enjoy the steep drive up the mountain and the views that greeted us without lots of people and cars coming and going. You can still buy the cider, donuts, ice cream, and more. You also can relax and shop their very cute country store, which sells locally made jams, syrups, mixes, and other foods. They also have lovely dish towels and many other such gift items. We recommend going both in the fall to be part of the festivities as well as in the spring and summer.

We had the most wonderful experience apple picking with our friends. We ate the most delicious…read moreapples, Apple doughnuts, Apple cookies, apple slushy's we even managed to try a peach slushy, it was delicious. The kids had a great times m, and us moms did as well. We did a quick wine tasting and each one we had was simply delicious. The service was so good, they showed us where to pick the apples and how to find everything. The mountains side and orchard is gorgeous if you're thinking about taking the trip, do it. It's absolutely worth it. We'll definitely be back soon. Everything from that view to the food is a must see!!

My husband and I went to Charlottesville a few weeks ago with our dogs to go hiking in Shenandoah…read more Thistlerock Mead was our last stop after we had brunch before heading back to Indy. We ordered bread and butter service and got a glass of the piedmont wildflower and a glass of the acacia monofloral to share. All so tasty! We later split a glass of the berry session, but kept it at that since we had such a long drive home. I got one of the art prints from inside and a bottle of the bilbomel (staff recommendation) to add to my best friend's birthday gift, as well as a bottle of bilbomel and a bottle of the acacia monofloral for us. The staff were very friendly and the inside was fairly busy with other customers. Just us and a small family were outside because we each had dogs. They have a big area for you-pick flowers to make your own bouquet and they also had a cute table set up out front with little pumpkins to purchase. We had a lot of fun posing the dogs with the skeletons around the property and they had these cute mushroom stools in a little play area for kids that we got them to pose with, too. It was perfect weather for mid-October and we had a lovely time. The only downside was that the picnic table under a big tree that we first went to sit at was infested with Chinese lantern flies, so we moved closer to the building. They are only open on weekends, but it's such a cute spot with great snacks and drinks. I definitely recommend stopping in if you can and we would love to come back!

First time and we will be back!…read more Loved the rose petal and raspberry meads. We had quiche and sausage roll to eat, both very good. Asparagus quiche was silky smooth! The setting is awesome. Antique log cabin with beautiful Mountain View. Kinnfolk, a Celtic duo performed. They were great! A lovely couple who sang a mix of traditional favorites and their own compositions. We wish them all the best and hope to hear them again soon!

Katharine was such an awesome host!! She provided a lot of information about the animals on her…read morefarm. I loved all of it! Take the time to comb her 2 cows. Play with the baby goats as well as the full grown goats. Give her pigs a belly rub. Purchase her homemade products. Support VA made. Support local. Thank you for a wonderful experience.

What a gorgeous place! I went in the late winter/early early Spring and even though there were no…read moreleaves on the trees, it was still gorgeous. Monticello is the estate of Thomas Jefferson and there is so much history packed into the tour but the beauty is what captivates you. The woodwork, the flooring, the artwork...I could go on and on. The tour guides are excellent! Very knowledgeable, engaging, friendly and they keep history honest. I loved that they stuck to the facts and told the history as it should, the good, the bad and the ugly. The estate is still kept immaculate and holds so much history in every detail. The view alone overlooking the mountainside takes your breath away. It immediately sets your mind to wandering and fantasizing of a time long ago and how spectacular it must have been to live surrounded by such beauty. I highly recommend and would recommend going in late Spring or early Summer or Fall when the leaves have changed color.

Monticello is probably the most famous of all the President houses (Mt Vernon may have it beat)…read more As a self-proclaimed Presidential history nerd, I have been to several presidential homes, libraries, museums, gravesites, monuments, etc. Monticello's history is the most interesting because of many factors including Jefferson's architectural obsession, the atrocities with slavery that occurred with building and maintaining it, and the innovations and experimentation Jefferson used while living here. Monticello is a huge operation. You should definitely get a reservation. You park at the bottom of the hill (or maybe middle of it) then you go through metal detectors and are now in the cafe/gift shop/bathroom area. From there you can take the 1/2 mile walk up hill to the home or take the bus. Once you are up top, you will be put into different huddles depending on your tour time. Oh, there are several different style tours, we just did the general admission tour. Anyway, you can walk around the grounds while you wait. The whole thing is very well organized. Our tour guide took us through various rooms in the house, pointed out various artifacts from Jefferson's past, told stories and was very knowledgeable when asked questions. The group I was in was probably 20 people. The whole tour took 45 mins. Then we walked the grounds independent of the tour including looking at Jefferson's family cemetery plot. My only issue is that I went on July 1st, 2026, so the whole back (or front) had a huge tent set up for the America 250 celebration. Not a big deal just didn't get the complete feel or pics.

Did y'all know that we had an observatory open to the public in Virginia because I didn't? While…read moreworking at a STEM summer camp at the University of Virginia, I had the chance to look at the moon up close in person through a telescope built in the 19th century sitting in a wooden sitting contraption that was also built in the 19th century and it was awesome, I've never seen the moon so clear (in person anyway). They're open to the public on the first and third Friday of every month (except holidays). They do tours of the facility, allow you to look through the telescope, and you can even get an informative presentation from an astronomer. Be aware that there's a limited number of people they can accommodate on the days they're open, so you need to plan ahead and score tickets (for free) in advance on their website. If you can score tickets, McCormick Observatory is definitely worth a visit if you live in or are visiting Virginia.

I love the intimacy of this venue. There is not a bad seat in the house. I love the standing…read moregeneral admission option as well. The old architectural details of the building are BEAUTIFUL! There are plenty of parking options nearby. Just wish there were more bathroom options for a concert venue.

Love this venue! We came to Charlottesville to see Pigeons Playing Ping Pong. The general admission…read morearea is sloped so you get a great view even if you were in the back. There are three levels - the second level has seats and still a great view. The beer lines were busy but quick and there were plenty of cocktail, beer, cider options available. Coat check is available for only $2. The staff were all friendly - we were even given free tickets to the show the night before to see Blackberry Smoke by just simply passing by on our walk to dinner. The venue is located right in the center of the downtown mall so there are plenty of places to grab a drink or food before/after a show. It's only an hour from Richmond so worth the drive!

Love this place! You can see a first-rate movie for a discount price on Tuesdays. Seats are comfy…read more The staff could not be more helpful. My husband has a walker so we need to sit in the disabled row. His seat was missing and they immediately put one in its place since those seats are removable. Food is average. Popcorn good. Drinks good. Service very good. The staff really bends over backwards to help.

Got a drink spilled on me here during a movie mid way through ruining my viewing experience.read more