Little High Neighborhood Association

Information for and about the Little High Neighborhood in Charlottesville, VA

Back in the day…

Rare photo taken in the Little High Neighborhood from the early 18th centuryMost of our neighborhood’s residents have arrived in just the past 10-15 years or so. The question that keeps so many of us awake at night is “What was our neighborhood like back in the day?” Please join long-time Little High Residents Leonard Taylor and Carolyn Belt to hear their stories from living memory about the history of our neighborhood on Sunday, May 19, at 4pm at 1011 Little High Street. This event is FREE and open to all Charlottesville area residents.

This event is part of the neighborhood association’s ongoing effort to gather and present the history of our neighborhood. We especially encourage anyone who knows anything about the history of our neighborhood to join us and take part in the discussion.

BYO chair, drink, and curiosity. Again, the address is 1011 Little High Street.

In other local history news…

The City of Charlottesville recently concluded an investigation into Oakwood Cemetery that found that the portion of the old graveyard suffering from persistent water damage contains  several unmarked African American graves which had been obscured for many years. In recognition of Oakwood cemetery’s historic significance, work crews will begin remediation work on the site on May 13 with the goal of  “preserving the dignity and historical significance of Oakwood Cemetery for generations to come”.

Anyone want to bet there isn’t a callously neglected and built-over slave cemetery somewhere in our neighborhood?

 

Save the date!

Little High neighborhood picnic, 2022 Our next neighborhood picnic is scheduled for Sunday, June 2, from 4:30 to 6:30pm in the Meade Park Pavilion.

The neighborhood association provides the pizza, some sides, and dessert.

BYO: drink, seat, and $10 for annual neighborhood association dues.

Our summer picnic has always been a great opportunity to get to know or reconnect with neighbors.

This year, we have asked Beyonce and Taylor Swift to join us and perform some classic country music duets. No word back from them yet but our fingers are crossed!

 

Little High Summer Concert Lineup

The schedule for our world-famous backyard concert series has been set! Please watch this website and keep an eye out for emails with updates, location info, changes, and rain dates if necessary.

As always, our concerts are FREE and open to everyone… but we take the opportunity to pass the hat to help support the Haven, the multi-resource day shelter and housing resource center. which does critically important work in helping homeless people in our community. Last summer we raised more than $650 at our concerts and this year we’re going to try to do even more.

The performers themselves come from within the confines of just our neighborhood and range from outstanding professional performers (Waverly Milor) to well-meaning perennial amateurs (Jonathan Rice), with amazingly talented part-timers who have achieved critical and popular success (Luke Foster and Anya Movius) and numerous incredibly talented individuals such as Herb Beskin (once described by Entertainment Tonight as “the Vassar Clements of East Jefferson Street”), Sumner Brown (who should have her own exhibit in the Country Music Hall of Fame among other places), Brian Keena (an Americana/Jazz guitar savant), and Sudi Durland (the Mother Maybelle Carter of 13th Street) and many others in between.

The Schedule

  • June 20th: The summer series will be kicked off with the treat of hearing local professional musician (and our sound guy), Waverly Milor along with Jack Roy doing some blues. The talented singer/songwriter Luke Foster will open. A great way to start the summer!
  • July 11th: Don’t miss your chance to hear local phenom, Anya Movius for free in her own neighborhood! Anya put out her first EP in 2022 and has come out since with other songs and music videos. She was also selected to perform in Harvard’s first-year talent show in 2023. Quite a songwriting talent with a voice to match. Look her up on Spotify. The wonderful Brian Keena will open for her on guitar.
  • August 8th: Sudi’s Group. The Pied Piper of Charlottesville, Sudi Durland unites musicians for musical jams all over town. One of those groups takes place at her home right here in the Little High Neighborhood. Some really talented musicians will perform with varied instruments, songs and tunes. Start the evening by joining in with Sumner and Herb for a few sing-a-longs.
  • August 29th: The wonderful Jon Rice will show us his fingerstyle guitar chops and he may have some surprise guests with him. City Walk resident, Michael Goodwin will join us for the first time on trumpet or as part of a steel drum group to open. (City Walk is a part of the Little High Neighborhood!)

Little High neighborhood backyard concert June 21, 2022

Juneteenth Celebration at the Jefferson School

The Jefferson School African American Heritage Center (JSAAHC) is celebrating Juneteenth by offering these free events to the public on Friday, June 15, 9:00am-3:00pm.

  • A 9:00 am walking parade (.7 miles) from Burley Middle School to the JSAAHC.
  • A libation ceremony at the JSAAHC at 11 am.
  • And an emancipation concert from 11:30 am to 3:00 pm featuring Ezra Hamilton, Ellis Williams, Chris Redd, Raymond Brooks and many other talented musicians.

If you would like to help plan, or walk in the parade, please contact Leslie M. Scott-Jones at publicprograms@jeffschoolheritagecenter.org or call 434-260-8722. Click here for more information.

Progress on sidewalks at last!

13th on the corner with East JeffersonCity Manager Sam Sanders has taken seriously the complaints of many Charlottesville residents about the lack of adequate sidewalks and he has made sidewalk construction a top priority. An adequate sidewalk network is essential as the city’s population density increases while the need to reduce our carbon footprint remains imperative. We all have to walk more, and now the city is working to take away our excuses.

Here is a link to the city’s list of sidewalk projects and the priority assigned to each. We certainly aren’t getting everything we wanted for our neighborhood but we don’t begrudge other neighborhoods getting better sidewalks and something is better than nothing. Check it out and decide for yourself.

Neighborhood Association Constitution & Bylaws

Harvey Brown (1933-2023)

Our friend and neighbor Harvey Brown passed away November 30, 2023 (read his obituary here). Harvey lived on Meriwether Street with his wife of 69 years, Mabel, since the early 1960s. Harvey was a good neighbor and a charming man and he will be missed. He shared a lot of interesting stories about the way things were when he and his wife moved to Meriwether Street in the early 1960s.

When Harvey’s wife, Mabel, passed away a couple of years ago, the Little High Neighborhood Association paid to plant 10 trees in her memory through the Arbor Day Foundation. The LHNA has paid to plant three trees as a tribute to Harvey Brown (prices have gone up but if people would like to contribute to this project please contact our Treasurer, Julia Rubarth, and indicate what the donation is for). The trees are planted through the efforts of Forestry Services throughout North America who determine where the greatest needs for reforestation are. If anyone is interested in planting a memorial tree for Harvey Brown somewhere within our neighborhood, please let us know by contacting Jonathan Rice or Sumner Brown.

Sustainability: Things We Can All Do for the Environment

About the Little High Neighborhood

The Little High Neighborhood in Charlottesville, Va

Click the map above for a larger version

The Little High Neighborhood is located due east of the Downtown Mall and is bounded by East Water Street by the Belmont Bridge to Meade Ave at the railroad crossing; Meade Avenue from the railroad crossing to where it meets East High Street; East High Street to 9th Street NE; and 9th Street NE to (but not including) the Belmont Bridge where it goes off-road to East Water Street. The neighborhood is a good mix of single family residential homes, several apartment and condominium buildings, and small locally owned businesses (including some very popular restaurants: Beer Run, the Kitchenette, La Michoacana, and Holly’s Diner). More…

Helping the Haven

The Haven: Updated List of Needs

Needed day shelter items

  • Shampoo*
  • Men’s underwear (Underwear is the most requested but least donated item in our day shelter.)
  • T-shirts (no other clothing, please!)
  • Washcloths
  • Bath towels
  • Kitchen dish towels

[Read More…]

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