Author: Jim Duncan

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2022 Fall Crozet Arts & Crafts Festival

Tent at Crozet Arts and Crafts Festival - 2018

The twice-a-year “one of the great things about Crozet” is this weekend.

via press release

CROZET, VA Over 120 Artists and Exhibitors are coming back to Crozet Park for the 42nd Annual Crozet Fall Arts and Crafts Festival! Recognized as one of the region’s leading fine arts and craft shows, the Crozet Arts & Craft Festival will be held rain or shine Saturday and Sunday, October 8th and 9th from 10 am to 5:30 pm on Saturday and 10 am to 5:00 pm on Sunday. The event is family and pet-friendly.

Top artists from across the country vied to be a part of the 42nd bi-annual Crozet Art & Craft Festival on Columbus/ Indigenous People’s Day weekend. From a large pool of creative candidates, a panel of talented and professional artist jurors chose the best in each arts category. Many new artists will join the seasoned and returning favorites of the past. This year’s exhibitors will bring to Crozet an array of stunning jewelry, trendsetting apparel and leather, magnificent artwork, photography and exceptionally crafted glass, ceramics, sculpture, and more. Festival guests will find something for almost every taste and pocketbook, ranging from affordable gift giving to heirloom investments.

The festival’s fine arts and crafts will be complemented by a variety of types and styles of popular local musicians playing throughout the weekend. 

Saturday Oct 8


10a – 10:45am Skyline Country Cloggers
11:15 – 12:15p Gina Sobel
12:45 – 2:45 Zuzu’s Hot Five
3:15 – 5:15 Farm Use String Band


Sunday Oct 9


10a – 11a WAHS Jazz Band
11:30 – 2p Swansong
2:30 – 5:00 Sweet Potatoes

An appetizing selection of Food Trucks will be complemented by beer from Starr-Hill Brewery, Devil’s Backbone, cider from Blue Toad, and a selection of local wines.

The children’s area includes beloved musical guests Kim and Jimbo Cary, Bounce Play n Create, The Bluebird Bookstop, art activities, and more! 

Festival patrons can enter to win amazing original artwork in the festival raffle. 

The Crozet Arts and Crafts Festival takes place at Crozet Park. Located just off the Route 64 bypass, take exit #107 west of Charlottesville. Crozet Park is a beautiful, community-owned non-profit park and the beneficiary of the Art Festival.

Volunteering for Crozet Park Art & Craft Festival is easy and fun with sign ups at: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70a0e48a4af2ea75-crozet1Volunteers receive free weekend admission, festival t-shirt, and a raffle ticket!

Tickets: Tickets are $7 and children and under are free. Tickets are available at: https://buytickets.at/crozetartsandcraftsfestival/755526

Parking is free. 

For more information please visit https://www.crozetfestival.com/fall-2022-festival.html

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12th Annual Crozet Trails Crew 5K

Crozet Trails Crew sign

I’ve said it hundreds of times, The Crozet Trails Crew and Crozet Trails are some of the best things in Crozet.

from the Crozet Trails Crew site

You can help with Crozet Trails by joining in our primary fundraiser!

Don’t miss it, whether you know you can run that 5K in 20 minutes, or you’re willing to stroll along the beautiful trail, dog on leash and coffee cup in hand. 

DATE: Saturday, October 29
TIME: 10:00 a.m.
LOCATION: Claudius Crozet Park
Registration now open

Registration is $20 ($25 day of race) and all runners get a race T-shirt. 
The Course starts in Crozet Park and continues on the Crozet trail system to the east of the Park (rustic trail, so plenty of roots, rocks, and ruts), and finishes back at Crozet Park. Online registration ends Thursday October 27 at 5 p.m. In-person registration starts at 9:00 a.m. the day of the race.

FUN RUN!

There will be a shorter course (the 1K family fun run) in addition to the 5K. Registration is $15 (on-line and in person, same cost) and all registrants get a t-shirt (but no timing or places are awarded). Kids under 7 years old can participate in the Family fun run for free if they are accompanied by a registered participant.

Monthly Meeting Thursday, September 22We welcome anyone who is interested in getting involved, or just learning about, the work (and fun) of the Trails Crew! If you’re new to Crozet, and haven’t yet found the trails, here’s your chance to meet some great people. Our next meeting will be Thursday, September 22, 6:30-8:00 p.m. in the Community Room (formerly the Radio Building) at Claudius Crozet Park.

If you’re looking for an opportunity to get involved in Crozet, and want to do something that’s fun, rewarding, and sociable, our meeting is a great place. We don’t care if you’ve never come before, we’d love to meet you now. Our agenda this month will include planning some winter projects (and socials!), finalizing what we need for the 5K on October 29, and discussing options for our dream of a Lickinghole Creek bridge.

Directions: Enter at the main Park Road entrance to Claudius Crozet Park (1075 Claudius Crozet Park, Crozet). Take the first left to go around the pool then drive through the parking lot behind the pool. The Community Building is the small white building at the far side of the parking lot. Enter through the door on the parking lot side. If you drive, please park inside the park — not along Hilltop or Indigo — leaving the places closest to the building open so the basketball hoops can be used, and enter through the door next to the equipment shed.
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In-Person CCAC Meeting – September 14 2022

Dick Woods Road is nice

They’re going to be back in person, and those who preferred to watch at home are S.O.L.

Agenda is below.

Crozet Community Advisory Committee Wednesday, September 14, 2022

7:00 P.M. – 8:30 P.M. Crozet Library Meeting Room |

AGENDA

  1. Call to Order & Agenda Review (3 minutes) Joe Fore, CCAC Chair
  2. Approve Meeting Minutes (2 minutes) Joe Fore, CCAC Chair
  3. AC Parks & Green Systems Presentation (60 minutes) •
    • Tim Padalino, Chief of Parks Planning
      • Countywide Parks & Rec Priorities and Projects
      • Parks & Rec Projects in the Crozet Area
  4. Committee business – (25 minutes)

• In-person meetings procedures

Next Meeting: tentative October 12, 2022

Much of the parks conversation will likely have already been covered by Sean Tubbs, but the CCAC discussion will naturally be more focused on Crozet – likely the redevelopment of Crozet Park, Old Trail park development, and anything at Mint Springs (I can’t think of anything).

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September 2022 Crozet Gazette

Crozet Gazette September 2022

I noted last month that I finally paid for a Crozet Gazette subscription; with the decimation of local news, we’re lucky to have the Gazette.

A few stories that jumped out at me

If you can, support the Crozet Gazette.

As I wrote in August:

We need journalists. To watch, to be present, to digest, to piece together threads and stories to that we the people can understand what is happening in our community.

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August CCAC Recap

Parking requirements lead to cars

I’m sorry for the delay and brevity in posting this.

All my tweets from the CCAC meeting are here.

Disclosure: I’m now a member of the Crozet CAC; if I write something as opinion, I’ll note that.

Big takeways from the meeting

In what is hopefully not the last CCAC video

Continue reading “August CCAC Recap”
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Fix the Pedestrian Crossing near Crozet Pizza

Shoddy pedestrian crossing

We need to do better

Each time I ride, walk, drive past this terrible pedestrian crossing, I get more irritated at the fact that the only safe way to cross from one side of Crozet to the other is broken and unsafe.

We ostensibly want a more bikeable and walkable community, but can’t even have a safe way to cross from one side of the road to another?

While we’re at it, what about sidewalks?

Years ago, there was a pedestrian light there, but it was hit, and never replaced. Looking at photos I have in that location, it was broken before November 2016.

Pedestrian crossing in November 2016

No particular relevance between this story and this photo, but I saw it when browsing photos of this part of Crozet, and liked it.

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Old Dominion Rezoning, Week Ahead – 15 August

Near White Hall Vineyards in Crozet

Sean Tubbs’ Week Ahead is worth the subscription fee. I highly encourage you to subscribe as well. Do it here, please. Unless noted, everything below is Sean’s work, copy/pasted by me.

Monday, 15 August

The five-member Albemarle Architectural Review Board will meet virtually at 1 p.m. … (meeting info)

In the final item, they will review the entrance corridor guidelines on Route 250 west of Charlottesville for the rural areas to the east and west of Ivy Depot. (staff report)

Image screenshot below by Jim, from the Staff Report. This is interesting stuff, and how we allow this area to develop will influence how we build bike lanes one day, hopefully. (Related – Three Notch’d Trail Planning Funding Approved)

Wednesday, 17 August

Next, the end is nigh for virtual meetings in Albemarle County. Assistant County Executive Trevor Henry will provide an update on the transition back to in-person public meetings for bodies that have not already done so. 

“To prepare for in-person public meetings, investments have been made in equipment, software, and training to allow for some meetings to have elements of virtual participation and/or virtual access for the public,” reads the staff report. “Staff expects all public meetings held beginning September 1, 2022 will be held under the new framework.”

In the evening session beginning at 6 p.m. there will be a public hearing for a rezoning for the Old Dominion Village project in Crozet along Three Notch’d Road. The proposal is to rezone 23.68 acres from Rural Areas to Neighborhood Model Development for up to 110 units around a site currently occupied by Crozet Veterinary Care Center. 

The Planning Commission unanimously approved the project in February, but recommended denial of a special exception to reduce the minimum setback between an existing animal confinement facility (vet clinic) and a residential lot line from 200 feet to 50 feet. The plan has been revised since then. 

Location map for the Old Dominion Village project (Credit: Meridian Planning Group)

Old Dominion context from Jim

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Eastern Connector Coming Within Our Lifetimes?

Old Eastern Connector sign in Cory Farm

Note that the picture of the sign is old … but was in place long enough that the area code changed from 804 to 434. 🙂

*please read this whole thing, and then read the thing at the bottom.

Will the Eastern Connector come to fruition in our lifetimes?

Maybe.

The above is from the July 2022 Transportation Planning Report.

I asked Kevin McDermott, Planning Manager for Albemarle County if the Eastern Connector might have a realistic timeline. He answered:

We have a proposed timeline for construction of the Eastern Ave Southern Connector but, because we are still working to gather the full amount of funding the project is currently estimated at, that schedule could still fluctuate.

We have already completed design and engineering for the project to the 30% level. Between FY23 and FY27 the County has dedicated another $12M to this project through the CIP. The State has dedicated $8.1M in the years FY26 and FY27. That would set us up for construction in FY29. We are currently looking at ways to advance this by using the County CIP funds to continue to advance design and engineering so that we can move straight in to construction in FY26 when the State money becomes available. The issues we need to overcome are to get VDOT approval to continue moving the design forward despite no state money being available for 2 more years and to identify a way to address the gap in funding of about $3.5M from the current estimate of $24M and the $20.5M currently available.

Hope that provides the information you were looking for. Obviously the County really wants to do everything we can to move this project along quickly but unfortunately the timeline is dependent on a lot of factors outside of our control.

So the answer is – I think there may be a realistic timeline?

Someone who follows me on Twitter sent me these two things:

I found this link and it shows the current status of the Eastern Avenue extension in the Smart Portal. Looks like if approved and everything goes to plan (ha) construction would begin in 2027.

They sent me this as well:

I also reached out to VDOT about the roundabout at 240/250 that was slated to go to bid this fall. Was told it’s been delayed.

“You are reading the website correctly, but the information isn’t up to date. The project is behind and I anticipate that it will be advertised next year. Thank you for reaching out to me and I apologize for not having the information updated.”

*the thing I want you to read.

We need journalists. Sean Tubbs at Charlottesville Community Engagement is doing a remarkable job, so is the Crozet Gazette. I wrote about them recently. I’m a Realtor at Nest. While I think I’m doing journalism when I write on RealCrozetVA, my profession is not journalism. We need people like Sean, the reporters at Crozet Gazette, and we’re really missing the amazing journalists at the Daily Progress.

While I do my damnedest to know about my community, and know more than my clients who are moving within or to the area, I/we need the people who do this – they tie the threads together to make the story, and they write and describe to both inform, and to hold others accountable.

Did you know the Daily Progress has only one reporter right now? Sean Tubbs at Charlottesville Community Engagement is providing extraordinary work for the community (please pay to subscribe; if you’re interested, I’ll gift you a subscription – ask me.)

Sean reminded us this week

There’s an entire newspaper devoted to Crozet, and the Crozet Gazette is the best source for information coming out of western Albemarle County. 

Without full-time journalists who know what they’re doing, like what they do, and stick around to build and share institutional knowledge – we all suffer.

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Three Notch’d Trail Planning Funding Approved!

Three Notchd Trail map

This is great news.

$2,007,045 for the Three Notched Trail Shared Use Path Plan in Albemarle County for the planning of a project that will develop a shared use path between the City of Charlottesville, the community of Crozet, and Western Albemarle and Nelson County.

(the following is from the beginning of the above-referenced release)

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced $64,207,045 in federal funding for Virginia infrastructure projects courtesy of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law negotiated by Sen. Warner and supported by Sen. Kaine. The funding was awarded through the Department of Transportation’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) discretionary grant program that helps communities plan and carry out projects with local or regional impact.

“Virginia continues to benefit from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,” the senators said. “We are thrilled to see this funding head to Virginia for improvements throughout the Commonwealth that will have a direct impact on Virginians’ daily lives.”

Getting people out of cars onto bikes and e-bikes withing safe, protected lanes from Afton and Crozet to Charlottesville. Sounds simple, reasonable, and a no-brainer.

Getting there will take a lot of work, and huge thanks and congratulations to everyone who lobbied to get this funding.

From the TNT site

The Three Notched Trail (TNT) is a proposed shared use path from the City of Charlottesville extending to Ivy, Crozet, and the Blue Ridge Tunnel in Afton.  Additionally, the trail will connect users to the University of Virginia, the Blue Ridge Parkway, Shenandoah National Park, Skyline Drive, and the Appalachian Trail.

A “shared use” path is typically a 10’ wide paved trail that is physically separated from the motor vehicle travel way and allows bi-directional pedestrian and bicycle traffic.  Once built, the TNT will provide local residents and visitors with car-free transportation and recreational opportunities.  

We see the Three Notched Trail being a part of a larger Mountains-to-Sea Trail, connecting the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Chesapeake Bay.  This continuous trail would make Virginia a trailblazer in outdoor recreation, tying together the Virginia Capital Trail with the proposed Birthplace of America Trail and Fall Line Trail. Imagine a continuous trail almost 200 miles long!

The cynical side of me is hopeful, but realistic. It took 10 years to get the sidewalks in front of Harris Teeter. Here’s hoping my great grand child will be able to get from here to there not in a car.

The sidewalks took only a decade to get done.

  1. Years.
Sidewalks Coming to 250 near Harris Teeter?
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Crozet Gazette – August 2022

Crozet Gazette front page - August 2022

Did you know the Daily Progress has only one reporter right now? Sean Tubbs at Charlottesville Community Engagement is providing extraordinary work for the community (please pay to subscribe; if you’re interested, I’ll gift you a subscription – ask me.)

Sean reminded us this week

There’s an entire newspaper devoted to Crozet, and the Crozet Gazette is the best source for information coming out of western Albemarle County. 

For the first time, I just paid for a subscription to the Crozet Gazette. It’s easy, and inexpensive. Now … if they’d go to Planning Commission and Board of Supervisor meetings. 🙂

Don't miss any of the hometown news everybody else is up on. Pick up a free copy of the Gazette at one of many area locations or have it delivered to your home. Mail subscriptions are available for $36 for 12 issues. Send a check to Crozet Gazette, P.O. Box 863, Crozet, VA 22932.

This August’s issue has, per usual, a ton of good local information.

A few selections (read the whole paper if you can; there’s something rewarding and serendipitous about browsing a newspaper — this looks to be a link to the current version of the paper, so the link will point to whatever is the current version).

We need journalists. To watch, to be present, to digest, to piece together threads and stories to that we the people can understand what is happening in our community.

Continue reading “Crozet Gazette – August 2022”