Arts & Culture

August is here—and that has some of us thinking about beer.

This is Craft Beer Month in Virginia, celebrating the more than 60 craft breweries in the state.

The Virginia Tourism Corporation is calling it “Love on Tap”— a nod to the state’s famous Virginia is for Lovers slogan.

The centerpiece of Craft Beer Month is the Virginia Craft Brewers Festival at Devils Backbone Brewery in Nelson County August 24.

Thomas Jefferson once owned it-and you could too….It’s the Natural Bridge property and attractions in Rockbridge County, up for sale and scheduled for public auction in November.

But in an effort to save and preserve the landmark, Congressman Bob Goodlatte  has proposed the property actually be considered for addition to the  national or state park system.

And in the latest move to protect the tourist attraction from a sale, a new coalition has been created by the Rockbridge Area Conservation Council and Valley Conservation Council.

It’s been 44 years since 400,000 people descended on Max Yasgur’s dairy farm in upstate New York, making history with the Woodstock Festival. 

Now, Virginia is preparing for its own outdoor rock event - one that could swamp rural Nelson County or charm visitors and locals alike. The Interlocken Festival set for September  5th through the 8th on an estate halfway between Charlottesville and Lynchburg.

One of the nation’s top music festivals gets underway in Floyd this weekend, and a Charlottesville-based band will use the event to launch an unusual tour – designed to entertain and raise awareness about one of America’s biggest environmental problems.

Some bands partner with tobacco or liquor companies, credit cards or energy drinks to provide the cash needed for their tours, but a Charlottesville group called the Infamous Stringdusters decided to make theirs a musical mission.  Bass player Travis Book, who hails from Nelson County, explains.