Many of you are Foxfield Races veterans, but perhaps many of you have never been. It’s a huge thing in Charlottesville. But not only does Foxfield appeal to local college students, young professionals and the families that have been doing it for years, it also brings back many UVA Alums, former townies and just those who like to party.
The ongoing joke about Foxfield is that you go to horse races, but you never see the horses. That’s a college joke. If you are out of college, you should see the horses. If you are in college, you need to be too plastered to see the horses, otherwise you haven’t really been to Foxfield.
Foxfield is such a monumental drinking even that people have even written studies about Foxfield and drinking. This study in particular found that 68% of Foxfield drinkers did something negative. Big surprise? I hope not.
I digress. Foxfield Races happen on Saturday April 26, 2008 which coincides with International Macaroni Day and the 46th Anniversary of a US Rocket landing on the moon. This is unintentional, but our plot will be celebrating both events.
You have just under 10 days to buy booze, prepare food and really go all out. Trust me, it’s so much cooler to make decent food and impress your friends. You can alway buy fried chicken, but that’s not fun, especially when you have to drive all over town that day.
We’ve prepared some preview questions for you and will be adding more as you include them in the comments.
Foxfield Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How Do I Sound Like An Idiot?
Say Foxfield with an S at the end. FoxfieldSSSSS is the WRONG PRONUNCIATION. You are a moron if you do it. Don’t do it. I will slap you if I hear you say it incorrectly. We covered this year in our 2007 Preview of Awesomeness. Read it to get more juicy details.
What Do I Wear to Foxfield?
Ladies: Sun dresses, flip flops, silly hats, sunglasses, pearls, Yurman, Lily Pulitzer (if you want to have the same dress as everyone)
Guys: Pin stripes, khakis, polos, collared shirts, sunglasses, jackets, pinks, boat shoes or flops
What is the 2008 cVillain Drink of Choice?
It’s hard to drink more than 3 Mint Julip’s, so we are going to crown the Mojito, cVillain’s drink of choice. If you don’t know how to make them, come to our plot or practice before the races start.
How do you respond to someone that claims you “are a loser for thinking Foxfield is such a big deal?”
Shoot them. [ref]
What is the Piss Trough?
Ah, yes. One of the age old piss trough. This location in the green (waste fest) section is a giant pissing location. Inevitably, it gets clogged and piss remains in the trough and spills throughout the entire shack.
But, at the end of the Foxfield, there is a contest to raise a lot of money. I mean a lot, like several hundred dollars, and then offer this money to the the poor piss drunk bastard to slide across the piss trough in full glory. We will gladly worship anyone who captures this feat on film this year.
The Reason You Shouldn’t Get Wasted?
YouTube! Even your grandmother knows how to operate a video camera. Be aware that we covered silly Foxfield videos last year and we will do the same thing again this year.
Why shouldn’t you video tape anyone early on?
Because it’s not Girls Gone Wild. You will get looked at weirdly.
What should I be on the lookout for?
1. Extremely overdressed people. Some people think Foxfield is an event to look ridiculous. Between 3ft wide hats, parrots, oodles of jewelry, people bring too much game. It’s funny and we want picture evidence!
2. Drunk people hooking up. Foxfield isn’t the most private place in the world. If you have the opportunity to visit the orange and green sections, make sure you head over the side of the hill. The chance of finding people having sex is 100%.
3. Mud. If it rains the night before or the day of, Foxfield will start to look like Woodstock.
What Shall I Not Forget?
Sunscreen! You are probably pasty white. Foxfield will have sun and you will end up like a tomato the next day.
Foxfield’s Best Kept Secret?
I’m not going to give you full directions, but if you drive north toward the airport and then go the back way past the reservoir, you will miss most of the traffic. Don’t tell any of the townies I told you this, because they will kill me.
What Kind of Parking Spot Do I Have?
It’s easy.
Orange and Green = Waste Fest
Blue = Graduates of Waste Fest
Purple (Royal Color) = Ballers
Pink = Wannabe/Future Ballers
Here is a map of Foxfield for further reference:
Oh and please share your tips or ask questions in the comment section below. We will be happy to provide insights to your questions!
Update: Famous Piss Slide (thanks TJ’s Double Play!)
Popularity: 60% [?]
Tagged as: 2008, Dress, FAQ, foxfield, Horses, Preview, Spring, Traditions, UVA
very nicely done Thor, extremely helpful for Foxfield rookies.
/will be popping my Foxfield cherry this year
very helpful indeed!
another tip for the ladies, if you decide to wear heals make sure they’re wedges…otherwise they sink in the ground..
“Foxfields” is short for “Foxfield Races”. It’s plural. Get off your horse, Thor.
*SLAP*
i’m in the green, but on the rail. that means i will see horses unless i’m asleep.
and @1: as long as you don’t pop your collar. but of course, in soviet russia, collar pop you.
P.S. The races Races is plural; the field is not. The area is called Foxfield, not Foxfields. Don’t even try. DOUBLE SLAP!
Fuck the mojito. Those require too much prep and they’re so 2005. The Firecrotch should be your drink of choice.
Thor, which horse will you be riding this year at Foxfields?
Foxfields, Orbits, Raptures… what is it with gratuitous pluralization and this town?
@5 Why stop at one popped collar? May as well shoot for the stars.
I do not know why I have such a visceral and violent antipathy to this event, but I do, so I suppose I ought to just keep my opinions to myself.
What if its possessive? Foxfield’s Races. Like the Races of Foxfield.
@9 - He has go to be hot. What is that? 5 shirts counting the one without a collar to be popped? Seems uncomfortable.
I personally don’t feel any desire to end my 7 year streak of avoiding Foxfield. But y’all have fun!
@10 ohhhhhh snap!
cvillains anxiously await Thor’s response…
Never been. Never gonna go. Traffic, crowds, port-a-potties, and the feeling of being trapped. No thanks. Plus, the 26th is International Free Laptop Day.
@9: It, like many other things, is what you make of it. Yes, there are lots of annoying undergrads but if you get a plot with your townie friends and you drink your box wine and play croquet and ignore them while catchign some rays, then it is good times. But then again, drinking in the sun is the pinnacle for me.
What’s not to like about Foxfield? It’s like a giant tailgate except the “sporting event” is during the tailgate instead of after. And I have to agree with shenanigans. It doesn’t get much better than drinking outside.
But Silmo, it’s just like the carnival. Except no fun,with a lot more sundress and a lot more puke.
If I had the time, money or other resources, I would start an “anti foxfield” event for the same weekend. We would call it DogLawn (s optional), and we would all get gussied up in our cut-off jean shorts, drink pbr’s in lawn chairs, and watch folks drive remote control monster trucks around a miniature track. There would be hootin and hollerin, bad hair band rock from under powered speakers, and prizes for the most outlandish tailgate horsdevoures.
We could start it next year in my yard, with some planning…
i am with shenanigans 100% on this. drinking outside in a field for hours on end with my friends, playing idiotic lawn games and having a blast in the spring sun? i’ll take a dozen.
OUTSIDE??? Why would you want to be in a field outside? I hate insects. Drinking is best enkoyed in the air-conditioned confines of a well appointed bar.
Unless the party is at a beautiful farm. That’s different. Very different.
@16 - Yes You are right. But I was working the carnival. And I was able to escape the masses at will. I could go outside, go backstage or, if I truly wanted to be alone, perform my sideshow act more than once.
OOH Silmo!
Your show was great. I had several people tell me it was their favorite part. I wouldn’t go to Foxfields even if I was getting paid. With ya on that.
xo
@18: I’m bringing my bocce set. Woo woo!
I think I’ll pass on mingling with the fru-fru seersucker shorts, popped collar pink polo shirt, loafer wearing crowd.
Half the fun of Foxfield is mocking that crowd.
@Gobbler, Foxfield is an inanimate object/geo-spatial location, how can it own a race?
I’m also with shen on this one. What makes Foxfield so great is that it’s basically a local holiday, when everyone drops their yards work, fails to bring laptops home for the weekend and hosts several out of town guests all with the goal of having a relaxing afternoon spent drinking outside in a beautiful field. Some times you need events to rally around in order to get the old gang back together. And I love to watch the undergrads and reminisce about all the dumb shit we did at Foxfield and isn’t that guy who “won” the trough dive 3rd year now a federal clerk, that sort of thing. Sure beats alumni weekend.
This is evolving into the Outdoorsy party types vs. the Theater party geeks. Do we have to go there?
@17 i’ll bring my light-up palm tree!
i don’t understand why you people go in the spring. the fall is so much better/less crowded/less undergraddy/cheaper. unless you go both, then that’s ok.
& don’t wear heels, no matter what. my dumb texas sorority friend claimed it would be a huge faux pas to not wear heels with a sundress (although it’s a much bigger faux pas to wear heels in grass, duh), & she took them off immediately & whined the whole time. or wear heels if you want, just don’t whine.
@26 - No! No need to go there! I think the outdoorsy party you describe sounds really fun, and I’m all for drinking outside with friends. When I was a student here I had absolutely NO desire to go because, well, I would be with the rest of the students. Since then, the student perspective has been my only impression of it. But what you describe sounds much more appealing.
@ 26 Yes. Yes we do.
@ 27 Now your talking! We could throw a tarp in the back of a pickup and fill it with water if things get too hot.
Croquet? Try lawn darts.
Look, I got nothing against FF, if that’s your thing, and certainly nothing against drinking outside with your friends… its just the sheen of boujiness that repulses me, i think. There’s so much of that in this town, i don’t need to travel in traffic to find it. If its a tradition for you, more power to you, but it isn’t for me, and as an outsider looking in, well… its just not my kind of spectacle.
@ 25 That sounds ripped straight from the brochure… all its missing is some carefully constructed action photos that conspicuously feature “diversity”. Hee hee…
@17 sounds like the best day ever.
@30 RE: 25 - is it really that apparent that I write marketing copy for a living? Oh well, I guess you can take the girl out of the cubicle but you can’t take the cubicle out of the girl.
@ 31 Alrightee then, my pledge to villain land: By next year, we will have doglawn, FF weekend, in Belmont, and it will rival CLAW in its pseudo trashy hipsterism.
/now if you’ll excuse me, Im off to purchase red white and blue sweatbands and mayonaise.
Is Spicy Bear gonna get a plot? We need a cVillain plot.
The truth of the matter, is that FoxField is a giant carnival full of drunk people. Yeah, there’s a ton of rich kids that are wearing silly clothes, but this is Charlottesville, UVA students live here, and their rich and they wear silly clothes. BIG DEAL. It’s a really fun atmosphere. Especially with some fine spring weather.
You can wear whatever fucking clothes you want to. Drink whatever you want to. I still chug the PBR’s at Foxfield. The site is a really pretty place to enjoy a beautiful afternoon. AND Horses are beautiful animals.
It’s a lot of fun to go with a bunch of friends, eat a bunch of food, play silly drinking games, watch horses on a very beautiful track, and get discustingly drunk. I mean piss ass drunk. It’s totally acceptable and encouraged. So, I get a little drunk when I hang out downtown on a normal weekend, but I generally avoid the washed out, slobbering drunkiness that was the theme song for my undergraduate experience. This weekend gives everyone the opportunity to take it up a notch. BOOZE UNTIL YOU CAN BOOZE NO MORE. Maybe you’ll wake up with a fat wad of cash in your pocket and smell horribly of urine and feces. Wait a second, did I have sex on that hill with someone? What could be more fun than that?
Oh, clarence. Your umbrage is showing.
The CVSSC plots are at Green H1 and H2 for anyone who wants to swing on by.
@33 - Can I stuff money in my bra at your event too? If so, I’m in!
/Who am I kidding? I’m in anyways, it’d just be more fun if people gave me money to stuff in my bra.
Trough slide video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5Kpk4CliF8
@26 I will have you know that theater people throw the best parties in town. We had an absolutley stunning benefit party on a gentleman farm two springs ago. Socks were knocked off. That said, I am looking forward to see what the oxo folks have cooked up for us this Friday.
Somewhere on this here weblog, I stated my intentions to wake up late and head to Michael’s Bistro to sip beers on the balcony and laugh at the drunk people coming back from Foxfield, as I’ve done in years past. Alas, it seems I won’t be able to continue the ritual this year, so someone should pick up that torch and run with it. It really is a hoot.
@5 - parlie, cheers to you for paying attention to the ponies! when you are not napping, that is . . .
@ Clarence- Here here to the PBR’s….I thought that was the offical beer of FF? At least it is my beverage of choice!
@Gobbler- I’m so with Thor. It’s Foxfield. There is no ‘S’. There are not mulitple fields. There is only one. And it is awesome.
i love foxfield and i love theater parties. would i ever mix the two? probably not. different crowds, but still good times (though when you put theater folks on a farm and mix with alcohol, the results can be devastatingly amusing).
i’m with parlie, shen, and lys. foxfield is the one day of the year where it’s okay to overdress, sit in the sun with my out-of-town friends i haven’t seen since last foxfield, sip tall drinks at my leisure and laugh at the madness on the other side of the fence. i love every part of it, even being a DD - though that one year i was a DD that it rained was an absolute nightmare. my car got stuck in the mud i can’t say how many times (and it stunk to high heaven of good ol’ red virginny clay for months afterward).
and stanley, the post-foxfield corner surveillance is fabulous. i might pick up that torch if i can hold my shit together long enough…
/been a wannabe-baller since 2000
I am only doing Patron and beer. I’ll be carrying a bottle and handing out shots, so come find me!
Also, should we start a money jar for the first Villain to do a trough dive? I’ll pledge $1 for now
This “trough dive”… is it really slip and sliding through a urinal, or am I missing something?
/shudder.
@46 - yes, but with money involved (although usually the annointed one imediately tries to run to the pond on the other side of the race track to clean off and is promptly arrested upon jumping the fence - so it’s really like doing something stupid but having the group of strangers egging you on provide your bail money).
Belmont Yo: I’m right there with you on Doglawn(s). It also will coincide nicely with Moustache May.
http://www.moustachemay.com/
I think it goes nicely with Doglawns. I want to be cochair for this event. We can even offer mullet cuts at the gate!
So Lys… its all you said in your brochure copy, AND i have the option to be covered with urine AND be arrested?
/ I may have to reconsider my opinion.
Floobs, you’re in (not the foxfield kind)… but its colawnchair, technically.
Sweet! I’ll stop brushing my teeth now.
We can even offer mullet cuts at the gate!
if I let my beard grow out, will you braid my mustaches?
@45 I’ve got a dollar on that.
the cvillain trough slide fund is now up to $2 folks. any takers?
BYo… I just called the Cville SPCA and they have agreed to loan you all their pitbulls in stock when this event goes down. You just have to chain them to a stroller/tree/keg and they bring an instant white trash atmosphere to any party. Their is a disclaimer involved but we can work that out.
I am calling in favors and working on the obligatory rusty old washing machines, doorless refrigerators and DNA stained mattresses as we speak. Fuck that sounded so much better in my head.
There
Hey, as you well know, I already have a beat up old car in the yard. I at one point had three broken dryers as well (I kept buying them used and they wouldn’t work… i thought I was just unlucky until I learned about the 220 volt fuse hidden in my fuse box… sigh) but they are gone now so we will have to find other yard furniture. Maybe the co-lawnchair can work on that… In the mean time I’ll dig up an old toilet or two for my spring flower planting.
/pity your joint is for sale and we won’t be neighbors, btw…
@55 Do you mean the one across Carlton from you? That’s not mine…the one for sale belongs to Jeff Easter LaTaza/Saxx
/thought you hated me and would be glad.
I’ve put old appliances on my to do list. It’s underneath the conjucal my baby daddy in the Albemarle County jail.
You underestimate me, my dear floozy. Conflict breeds richness, not hate. I don’t know if I’m capable of hate. Seems a lazy way out.
/your rich friend, yo.
Foxfield is a great event although I can’t imagine attending once I am past the age of, let’s say, 40. Or, at least, perhaps, not participate in such a debaucherous manner as one usually would. I encourage those put off by it to go and even if you did have a less than stellar expereince once before, take control of the situation. Foxfield is want you want it to be. And to you prudes, consider that most cities around the world have three day weekends of excess annually; we just get one Saturday, enjoy it.
I won’t even pee in a trough so I’m sure as hell not going watch someone bathe in it. Vulgarians!
Foxfield is want you want it to be.
Can it be not too crowded, a five minute walk from downtown, and free?
new foxfield(s) sport - Silmo Trough Bowling!
@35 CLARENCE PREACHES THE TRUTH! Couldn’t have said it better myself.
@45 We need to be best friends. And I’m just saying that to get some of your Patron.
Honestly though, Doglawn also sounds like a lot of fun. I would totally go.
/wearing a white linen suit to Foxfield.
Random Foxfields thoughts.
I’ve always enjoyed it, even as my perspective on it has changed. First, as a young undergrad: Wow, this is awesome. Later, as an alum/townie: Wow, this is completely absurd. I hope I wasn’t that ridiculous when I was in school (although I’m sure I was).
For all the hassle, one of the nice things about Foxfields is it can be a chance to see a very extended group of your friends all in one place (and that a place is a giant outdoor tailgate).
For those of you who can’t into the insanity that is spring Foxfields, fall Foxfields is the same idea, except much, much more mellow. I’d say it’s probably about 1/10 the size.
Lastly, in regards to trough divers. They will happen. And if you see it happen, you may be amused. But beware the diver after he/she arises from the trough. Last time I saw somebody dive, as soon as they got out they immediately started running around tackling and hugging random people, soaking them with their stink. So you’ve been forewarned.
See you out there.
doglawns, eh?
sounds gud.
croquet?
or maybe we can just “make” a croquet set out of bent wire hangers, crushed up pbr cans and sticks?
/crafty, that’s how i roll
//who’s in to start a villain party planner business?
watch out for the MADD mothers…
Updated with the famous piss slide video!
it’s the drinking. my ex got drunk and got laid by one of the business school profs.. that the reason she is an ex…. ah, wonderful memories both in the fall and spring…
PBRs? Over-privileged whelps!
In my day we had “Cost Cutter” beer from Kroger! Piss-yellow cans with a scissor logo.
ah, the headaches…
Man! I can’t believe that dude did the piss slide…
…I’m so jealous…
And in my day we had generic beer. Seriously. Came in white cans with utilitarian black print, helpfully pointing out that it was “Beer.” Wouldn’t want you to confuse it with the canned, generic “Cola,” don’tchaknow.
Sounds like your day was around my day.
well back in MY day we had to walk 10 miles all uphill in the snow and make the beer and carry it back down to Foxfield in heavy buckets and…
Buckets? You had buckets??
Oh what we would have given for buckets…
And back in my day we didn’t have precious ponies, we were lucky to get camels and let me tell you, they were not comfortable, although occasionally exhilarating.
/send your people for the ethical treatment of camels letters to Thor.
Shenanigans… the FIRECROTCH shouldmost definitely be the drink of choice at Foxfield! I will definitiely stock up on CRU and Gatorade. what a great way to stay buzzed and hydrated… or something… where is everyone going to be?
So far I hear a lot of talk about the Green section. As for FIRECROTCH, I think I’ll stick to beer, unless I find Shen.
I’ve been to Foxfield (Thor, thanks for bringing up the FoxfieldS thing, it kills me every time) for the last 6 years and I just saw a horse for the first time last year… I almost wanted to scratch my eyeballs out as it ruined my streak. My friends would always call it “an event for the horses to get to see a bunch of drunk people act like morons”.
So last year, a friend and I missed our ride back and made the mistake of catching a ride with a stranger. Dude was psycho! he was driving his M3 at 100+ mph, passing cars on curvy and double yellow lined roads. I really thought I was gonna die.
Also, don’t even try to pack 15 people in the back of a pickup truck… it never flies
@76: Sadly, I am plotless. I will have to roam. Parlie can I play bocce at your plot?
@79: Hey, can I get a ride?
Aaaaand the trough slide makes it to the video page of fark, misidentified as wrigley field.
http://forums.fark.com/cgi/fark/comments.pl?IDLink=3545303
This should end well. Select quote? Sure have one:
Ah, Foxfield. Every year it becomes a magnet for every rich asshole frat boy and redneck douchebag within 100 miles. Every frat guy at UVA has a name like ‘Tucker’, a set of pink polo shirts whose collars have been popped, and a DWI driving home from Foxfield. They are the most self-satisfied bunch of cocksuckers I’ve ever met.
Yikes!
/not passing judgement, just reporting.
@80 well hopefully we can roam into each other!
@81 self satisfaction. YUM!
@81 dear god.
@81 at least someone has finally pegged the dark, seedy underbelly of C’ville.
I like how a guy commenting on fark, of all paces, thinks he can pass judgement on others. It’s a place only one step above 4chan and that’s only because at least half of their userbase aren’t pedophiles.
Fence-sitters, your decision has been made for you. All tickets are sold. If you missed out, or are anti, I suggest trying it in the Fall. Can be a great day outside with friends.
Not true. Still some tix at:
Fashion Square Mall - Guest Services Booth - LIMITED QUANTITY
Timberlake Drug Store - Ruckersville - LIMITED QUANTITY
Crawford Saddlery - Ruckersville - OK
The University Outpost - Harrisonburg - LIMITED QUANTITY
I could be wrong, but I heard everywhere was sold out. I would suggest calling Harrisonburg before driving out (assuming you’re in town).
I hope you are. I got someone running to Crawford for me right now! Last year they didn’t sell out until the day before. What gives?
There’s a bunch of people looking for tickets on Craigslist, and no one selling (as of last night) except tailgate spaces/tickets combos…
Foxfield: it’s just like a ninja parade… you don’t know if it really happened!
Ninja Parade?
Ninja Parade Slips Through Town Unnoticed Once Again
!@#$%^&$#@! There are no tickets. This sucks. Ok, then, party at my house the 26th for the ticketless. Bocce and Bud Light. No horses.
@ 94 I dunno. How big is your urinal?
Well alright but it better be really crowded
that day is also the stone mountain winery open house. it’s a beautiful view, nice people, & good food. & no undergrads.
http://www.stonemountainvineyards.com/events.html
@ 97 But what about the urinal? I mean, lets keep our priorities straight.
No urinal. Have a normal bathroom. Thanks!
@97. Undergrads are like mosquitoes in the summer. They are everywhere.
No matter who you are or where you went to school, Foxfield is the place to be on this saturday…who on earth would not look for an exuse to get fabulously shitfaced on cheap college beer (this is an all day drinking affair after all, anything else is a bad idea. Well, okay maybe a shot or two…….
Sold out tickets… they should just sell more. There’s tons of room, they just need more Port-a-potties… or additional troughs
There is always the Dogwood Parade to attend. I am serious. Nothing like a parade on a Saturday morning whilst enjoying a breakfast drink.
http://www.charlottesvilledogwoodfestival.org/Festival_Event.html
Saturday morning doesn’t exist.
@103: The carnival is fun but I would imagine it’s hell on earth on a Saturday. Kids! EW!
Well the parade goes right through town. Meaning, you can possibly watch it from your bed or your favorite bar. Not sure I would drag my ass to the carnival itself…
Sticking to Foxfield.
Chance of rain for Saturday is now up to 50%. I predict the average price of tickets on Craigslist and ebay is going to plummet (its hovering around $80 right now)
it rained last fall & i hardly noticed. of course, there was this big empty darden tent with a lot of free food & beer …
It won’t rain on Saturday (period) ;D
If it rains, we’ll just have to drink more so we don’t notice.
I like echo.
One more tip. Don’ t wait until Saturday morning to buy your alcohol / ice / etc. if you can avoid it. Barracks traffic will be nasty.
Dan, excellent advise!
Should a business savvy cVillain go buy a lot of beer and ice, and create a secret spot where we can go buy from him/her? Think PROFIT!
Beer Run delivers. You could order from them Saturday morning if they open in time.
They usually have breakfast hours. Thanks for the reminder.
/I like echo.
Beer Run delivers??!!?? This is proof that there is a God and that he wants us to be happy and drunk.
yeah they do! I think you have to sign up for it ahead of time or something like that though, $25 min order, $5 delivery charge..here be the deets http://www.beerrun.cc/services/beer-wine-food-delivery-details
All the proof you need.
Hey ya’ll..The Woodlands has a plot too, 4 actually, not bragging, really. Green Section, Row F, plots 8-11. Come by…we love to paarrty! hehe.
Are they doing something with 106.1 The Corner? I heard on the radio you had to send them an email to get a free ticket.
[…] The Foxfield Races are on Saturday. All I know is that it’s sold out. But Thor has the Preview to End All Previews over at cVillain. Check it […]
[…] On another note, don’t resist arrest like this guy! People, the bottomline is this: We know you are going to break the law, but don’t drink and drive, don’t act like an asshole and you will be alright. Remember to read our great Foxfield preview! […]
@ Thor: Thanks for the directions you *didn’t* give to save time going to Foxfield. Very nice!