Community
C’Ville Sabroso Cultural Festival (Saturday 9/16/23)
Successful “Summer Fun in the Sun” Picnic with the Albemarle Dems (7/30/23)
75 people turned out on July 30 and did have a lot of fun… and got to hear good, short speeches from most of our local candidates!
The Albemarle Dems were super well-organized and had everything running smoothly and brought plenty of good food; thank you Karen Combs and crew!
John McLaren coordinated getting gas grills (thanks to Rodney Beard and Jules Tatum for providing the equipment and transportation) and Martha Donnelly (game buyer extraordinaire), Emily Little, and Dan Doernberg organized the games, with cornhole provided by Josh Throneburg and Jason and Tom Vandever.
Erin Monaghan took the games and miscellaneous other things to our storage locker for the next picnic (everyone said we should do this again, and hold more joint events with Albemarle!).
Creigh Deeds
Amy Laufer
Sunday 7/30: Albemarle & Cville Dems Summer Picnic!
Come have fun and meet all our November candidates!
Date & Time: Sunday, July 30, 2pm-?? (original 6/26 was rained out)
Where: Darden Towe Park Picnic Shelter — Enter the Park, turn right at the T intersection, take the road to the end to reach the picnic shelter and Dog Park).
We provide: Hotdogs/Burgers/Vegan food options + games for adults and kids (we’re bringing cornhole, balls for soccer/kickball, bocce/petanque, and bubbles for little ones; feel free to bring more of the above or your own favorite picnic games/activities!).
You bring: Non-alcoholic beverages, a side dish or dessert, 1 chair per person, family and friends (kid-friendly!), and your Democratic Spirit!
Food, games, meet candidates, and lots of Dems… what’s not to like? Bring family and friends (especially those who aren’t as politically engaged!) and help spread the word!
RSVPs (optional but helpful) to: karencombs6522@gmail.com
2023 Juneteenth Celebration Events
1. At the Jefferson School (Saturday June 17)
The Jefferson School African American Heritage Center (JSAAHC) is celebrating Juneteenth this year on Saturday June 17th with a full day of events:
- 9am Parade
- 11am Libation ceremony
- 12pm-3pm Concert (3 bands!)
- 7:30pm CPG’s presentation of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
For more information and to sign up (to walk in the parade, to get tickets for the evening play) click here.
2. Other Community Events
• 6/18 7:30pm Concert: Rock & Reel: Monticello’s Folk Traditions Sunday, June 18 | 7:30 pm | UVA Rotunda (register for limited in-person tickets or stream it live)
• 6/19 11am & 4:30pm historic River View Farm Juneteenth Tours (Ivy Creek Natural Area, 1780 Earlysville Rd.)
• 6/22 6:30pm Northside Library screening of The Lives Between the Lines documentary (Reclaim, Honor, Repair: Descendants of Enslaved Communities at the University of Virginia)
REPORT: June 2nd Summer Bash Fundraiser (Featuring Rural GroundGame’s Lynlee Thorne)
F
undraising Committee Chair Nancy Damon and her group (we thank them all for their great work on this!) gave us this recap of a very fun and successful event (even the weather cooperated!):
undraising Committee Chair Nancy Damon and her group (we thank them all for their great work on this!) gave us this recap of a very fun and successful event (even the weather cooperated!):We had about 150 people come out to socialize, meet the candidates, and hear our speaker Lynlee Thorne, Rural GroundGame’s Political Director.
Big thanks to:
- Our 60+ sponsors, at all levels, whose generosity makes all our work possible!
- Our primary food vendor Soul Food Joint (for the chicken and sides and all their table and chair hauling/set-up/takedown), and to Sticks and Mona Lisa Pasta for some of the vegetarian dishes.
- To Black Bear Composting for… composting!
- To everyone who pitched in to help with the cleanup, which included delivering our excess to The Haven, which they greatly appreciated.
It worked out very nicely having Lynlee speak; we got lots of compliments about her organization’s good and important work, and our arranging the chance for them to learn more about it.
As Lynlee explained in her talk, Rural GroundGame (RGG) is a Political Action Committee that provides in-kind assistance to Democratic candidates running in rural areas across the Commonwealth. Our party has tended to neglect rural voters, and that has hurt us badly, especially in state-wide elections. RGG helps candidates in many ways (e.g. supporting canvassing efforts, media coordination), and it’s developing a new online platform and research arm.
For more information about RGG, to make a donation, or to see how you might be able to plug in as a volunteer or collaborator, visit www.ruralgroundgame.org.
