Posted by Ian on October 14th, 2009

Our friends over at The X-Lounge are holding their second weekly Dine & Donate sponsorship, benefiting the Sexual Assault Resource Agency (SARA). Their goal is to donate 10% of all Wednesday food revenue to a local non-profit.
This is one small way to give to the community while also enjoying all the delicious items on the menu. Highly recommended are the Mushroom Dusted Tuna, the Mini Burgers (Portabello, Crab Cake, & Beef), and of course the Mac ‘N Cheese.
If you represent a local agency, and would like to be featured, please contact Jessica @ 974-6500.
Posted by Scowly on April 22nd, 2009

From Second Street…
Come to the unveiling of this year’s ARTINIs on Friday, April 24th from 5:30 – 7:30 pm at Second Street Gallery and the Rooftop Terrace for the City Center for Contemporary Arts. Taste all of the ARTINIs for only $15, view current artwork on display in the gallery, soak up the sun on the roof, and enjoy catered cuisine by ZO·CA·LO. The Launch Party kicks off the start of the artistic ARTINIs being available at participating restaurants in Charlottesville up until the dance party on June 27th at the IX Building. See you there!
Call 434-977-7284 with questions.
Some old Artini posts:
2007 Drink Predictions
2007 Artini Review (it rocked)
[pic from saquan]
Posted by Scowly on March 25th, 2009

The Leadership Charlottesville Class of 2009 and the Thomas Jefferson United Way would like to cordially invite you to our Mentor & Tutor Recruitment Fair! Please join us in our endeavor to significantly raise the number of youth mentors and tutors in the Charlottesville community.
In last fall’s Leadership Charlottesville classes run by the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce, we came to the realization that in order to have a long-term impact on many of the troubling issues in our community, we needed to reach children who are less likely to be involved in organized activities. These kids need mentors and tutors who will take an interest in them, share enrichment activities with them, provide tutoring and encouragement for their school work and help them raise their expectations for themselves.
There are many wonderful mentoring and tutoring programs in our community, each with a slightly different focus, but all need more volunteers. We are running a month-long recruitment drive for tutors and mentors in our community that culminates in a March 30, 3pm to 6pm, fair at the Omni Hotel. At this event, those who have signed up or expressed an interest in mentoring or tutoring can visit with the many local organizations that work with youth and find the right fit.
We are also giving away some great door prizes; A ride on a Firetruck, Dinner for 2 at the Omni, Tickets to the Frontier Culture Museum, Passes for Ice Skating and Skate Rental, Tickets to an upcoming concert at JPJ, Lunch for 2 at the Omni, Gas Cards, Starbucks Cards, and much, much more!
CLICK HERE TO RSVP NOW!
[thanks to the birdie that sent this in]
Posted by Kyle on October 17th, 2008

Click for a full sized image of the t-shirt.
Here’s a reminder for everyone to join our team for the Boys and Girls Club Cycling Challenge:
We’re inviting all of you (who can ride the 31 miles at an easy pace) to join our team. It costs $100 to signup, and all the money will go to charity. We’re working on getting everyone on our team tshirts. To signup, go here and make sure you select “cVillain/Spicy Bear Media” as your affiliation.
And, if you don’t want to ride, this can be the most expensive T-Shirt you’ve ever purchased. T-Shirt supply is limited, so please sign up as soon as possible and email us (kyle@spicybear.com) for more details.
Posted by Kyle on October 3rd, 2008

On October 26th, 2008, the Boys and Girls Club will hold their annual cycling challenge event. This is a major fundraiser for the Boys and Girls Club and we’re excited to have our own team this year.
We’re inviting all of you (who can ride the 31 miles at an easy pace) to join our team. It costs $100 to signup, and all the money will go to charity. We’re working on getting everyone on our team tshirts. To signup, go here and make sure you select “cVillain/Spicy Bear Media” as your affiliation.
Read more about the Boys and Girls Club.
Posted by Thor on July 7th, 2008

CLAW will be raising money for SARA (The Sexual Assault Resource Agency) on Tuesday, July 8th, starting at 8PM. It’s getting so big now that you have to have a poster to rally your supporters. Be there or be square.
/seriously, this picture is awesome.
Posted by Kyle on June 18th, 2008

We had the pleasure of attending Taste This at Alumni Hall yesterday evening. Most of Charlottesville’s finest restaurants showed up to strut their stuff, serve small dishes and give us a really good opportunity to choose some of the best food in the area. While cooking under Alumni Hall conditions meant limited kitchens, eating while standing and, overall, madness; the event was nonetheless a success. We pick our favorite dishes from the event and have a slideshow (it’s all after the break).
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Posted by Silmo Syrup on June 10th, 2008

CLAW V – Sparkles’ Revenge!
Virginia’s premier sports and entertainment league – Charlottesville Lady Arm Wresters or CLAW is back and ready for hot summer action. CLAW 5 brings the world’s first ever al fresco wratlin’ contest. That’s right we’ll be performing this Tuesday out of doors behind the Blue Moon Diner in a fancy army tent
We’ll be raising big bucks for Shelter for Help in Emergency [SHE]. Admission is always free but we have special ring side seats available for $5/ea. First-come first-served. So get there early! This month’s special celebrity judges: the members of Straight Punch to the Crotch. The tournament starts 8 pm sharp and lasts until we have just one woman standing (or someone breaks their arm, whichever comes first) After the tournament our celebrity judges will play us a little concert, so come early and stay late with CLAW and Straight Punch to the Crotch
WrasslersThe PunctuatorUlysses S. NopantsPurple HazeUnholy Betty RollerTommyknockerSparklesThe PitbullMohammed Sugar Ray Cato Bruce Lee Celebrity Judges: Straight Punch to the Crotch with Permanent Lifetime Judge Jim Waive
Mistress of Ceremonies: Rosie the Wrist-Twister
Nurse: Nurse Cheryl
Ref: The Ref
Umpire: The Empire
Stage Manager Extraordinaire: MoJo “the Underdog” Boudreaux
Money Honey: Trixie “The Vault” Mancini
Merch Table: Luchadora Herself
Audience: TBD
Photography Exhibit: Come see Billy Hunt’s exhibit: “CLAW!!!!!!” featuring portraits of CLAW wrastlers at Café Cubano.
Thor’s note.. I screwed the pooch on this one. I am sorry everyone.
Posted by Lu Sid on May 27th, 2008
Here are the photos of our wildly successful space party. Final tallies are still being made, but we raised over $1,000.00 for Computers 4 Kids!
We all had a blast and hope you guys did too! Here are some photos — to help remind you just how much fun you really had. Please send us your photos and we will post them as well.
Thanks for making the night such a hit!

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Posted by Thor on May 26th, 2008
The DP has an interesting piece on how soaring food price increases have hurt local charity Robert Ford Haitian Orphanage and School Foundation’s ability to give food to its Haitian orphanage.
The expense of the meals is rising at a staggering rate. A few months ago, roughly $5,000 of the program’s $9,500 monthly costs went to food. Now the monthly food costs have increased to $8,500.
“I don’t want to sound desperate, but we’ve got a big problem,” Ford said.
This problem is not only an issue for local charities, our privileged dining habits, or Haitians, but a problem for the whole world. Unlike rising fuel prices, humans (especially the very poor) can’t switch their eating habits to deal with necessary consumption of basic food groups.
To give you an idea of just how bad these rising prices are across all food groups, take a look at the chart.

Oils and Fats and Cereals have nearly tripled since 2000. Now, what can be done about this? I don’t have a good answer, but if you have any ideas or solutions, I’d love to hear them. Informational video after the break.
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