Saturday, July 1: 11:00 am through 1:00 pm Sunday, July 2. 5th annual music benefit and home-party on the Blue Ridge! Near Montebello, about an hour southwest of Charlottesville. There's no charge to attend, but throughout the weekend they will pass the hat to benefit the Virginia Organizing Project.

Artists include:

Adam Smith (Experimental, Cowboy TX) www.myspace.com/adamsmith
Andy Waldeck (Acoustic pop rock for intelligent beings) www.andywaldeck.com
Applejack Jam (Traditional old time music) www.piratecat.com/
Debbie & Peter Hunter with "Fearless Leader" (Original and traditional spirited neo-celtic and folk-rock harmonies)
Ezra Hamilton and Richelle Claiborne (Magically Delicious) www.thehamiltonsband.net
Loose Cannon (Fusion folk, delivering high energy, original songs with message, heart and a coyote grin) www.azurat.com/artist
Mary Gordon Hall (Clear and pure 'new folk' songs; heartfelt and personal; lyrically intimate, yet universal) www.marygordonhall.com
Michael Cvetanovich (Folk Rock)
Ralph "Honey Boy" Rush (Hooktown Blues)
Robbie Collins (Hurry the Folk Up) www.robbiecollins.com
Truman Sparks (Experimentally progressive "trog" rock") www.myspace.com/trmnsprx
Thistlewood (Music and dance from the Celtic lands)
Wild Women of Montebello (Eclectically wild and free ladies of song) www.azurat.com/artist

Further info, directions (434) 296-7915 or email to info@azurat.com

Tuesday, July 4: 8:30 am - 11:00 am Route 53, on the way to Monticello CCPJ Sponsors a uniquely Charlottesville peace action on July 4th:

We are creating banners with Thomas Jefferson quotes about peace and wise government. We will hold the banners (along with small American flags) along route 53 leading to Monticello on the morning of the 4th.

That day many people will be going to Monticello to attend the annual swearing in of new citizens and to hear the artist Christo speak. We have a media plan and hope to attract media attention.

We need volunteers to help hold the banners. The meeting time is 8:30 on the morning of the
Fourth of July, at the parking lot of Saunders Park (the park and walking path at the base of the Monticello property). We should be done with everything by 11:00 a.m. Due to roadside
location, please do not bring children. We are also looking for someone to digital-video the entire action, and for financial donations. Julie Convisser 434 245-0005 convisserjm@earthlink.net

Monday, July 10: Seating 6:00 performance 7:00 The Legendary John Hiatt and the North Mississippi All Stars will perform at the Charlottesville Pavilion “Rootsy Rock and Bluesy Country.” A portion of the proceeds from tickets sold through MRC will go to benefit the Music Resource Center!

To buy tickets or for more information please visit www.musicresourcecenter.tickets.musictoday.com You can also call: 800-549-8499. Ask to be part of the prime seating associated with the Music Resource Center.

Friday, July 14: 6:00 pm. at McIntire Park. Appreciation & Congratulations Bar-B-Q Honoring former City Councilor Blake Caravati & new City Councilors Dave Norris & Julian Taliaferro. Food & drink will be provided (both meat & vegetarian options). A $5 donations to help defray our costs will be appreciated.

Note: This event will be our "Second Fridays" for July. We will not have our usual gathering at Rapture. All Democrats are welcome, including kids. We want to have a huge turnout -- so please plan to come!

Saturday, July 15: 9:30 am. Regular monthly Charlottesville / Albemarle Democratic Breakfast. Bob Gibson will discuss his coverage of local and regional politics and politicians, as well as press ethics and threats to press freedom, and answer your questions.

Gibson is the Senior Political Writer for the Charlottesville Daily Progress and a host of 'Evening Edition' on NPR radio station WVTF.

The event is free, a light breakfast is offered, and the public is warmly invited. At JABA, 674 Hillsdale Drive, (behind Fashion Square and next to the Marriott Courtyard). Info: (434) 971 8082 or george@loper.org

Saturday, July 15: 5:00 pm. A (mostly) local, organic potluck, followed by screenings of the 15-minute Sierra Club film, The True Cost of Food and the 30-minute European documentary, Peak Oil -- Imposed by Nature, will be held July 15 at 5:00 pm (Peak Oil film starts at 7:00 pm) at Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church -- Unitarian Universalist, 717 Rugby Road. There will also be a short presentation on "eating local" by a member of the newly formed E.A.T.,a local group that conducted a study of Charlottesville's regional food system last spring. Discussion follows. Free. Sponsored by Charlottesville Peak Oil and the TJMC Environmental Concerns Committee. For more information, email cvillepeakoil@yahoo.com or call 977-7369.

Tuesday, July 18: 6:30 pm. Meet and Greet Rosa Atkins, the new Superintendent of Charlottesville City Schools at the South First Street Community Center (1000 South First Street). Sponsored by QCC.

Wednesday, July 19: 7:00 - 9:00 pm. The Center for Constitutional Rights has developed a legal case for the impeachment of George W. Bush. Now they are sponsoring a "National Teach-In." Watch a screening of the 30-minute documentary How to Impeach a President. Afterward, there will be a discussion about the CCR's case, the need for impeachment, and how citizens can make it happen. Moderated by David Swanson, co-founder of AfterDowningStreet.org and member of the CCPJ steering committee. Sponsored by the Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice. For more info contact David Swanson, 434-961-4228 or david@davidswanson.org

For further information: www.articlesofimpeachment.net

Thursday, July 20: Noon. Join a Public Vigil to Oppose the Death Penalty outside the Charlottesville City Circuit Court 315 E. High Street. Join us in protesting the execution of Brandon Wayne Hedrick, scheduled for 9 o'clock that evening Vigil sponsored by: Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice, Charlottesville Friends Meeting (Quakers), Charlottesville/Albemarle Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty

Friday, July 21: Join the Center for Politics for the Virginia Women & Politics Conference. The event is free and open to the public. Please register today! http://www.centerforpolitics.org/programs/govcon/

Saturday, July 22: 3:00 Practice session for Democratic Softball Team -- see July 30 entry below for details.

Friday, July 28: Noon. Book and author at New Dominion Bookshop: Dominion by Calvin Baker. Dominion tells the story of the Merian family, severed by slavery, recovering from the Revolutionary War, and struggling against the odds in both nature and society in the Carolina wilds.

Friday, July 28: 6:30 pm The Quality Community Council is pleased to partner with Chihamba and Presence to again bring you A Taste of Ghana as part of the 17th Annual African American Cultural Arts Festival. Please join us at Jackson P. Burley on Rose Hill Drive for a presentation of “What’s Home?” an original play by Caruso Brown and Brad Stoller followed by a sampling of traditional dishes from Ghana prepared by Rev. Nana Gharltey and Anthony Max-Yeboah. This event is free and open to the public, and all ages are welcomed. Please join us!

Saturday, July 29: Albemarle County Canvassing for Jim Webb. All start at 9:30 am.

Hollymead
Where: Arby's at Forest Lakes Shopping Center
When: Meet between 9:30 and 10 AM Saturday
Contact: Doris Lackey (434-977-4964) dorislackey@earthlink.net

White Hall:
The parking lot at Whyte's Store
Earlysville Road, Earlysville

Samuel Miller:
County Green Precinct
Berea Baptist Church
5th Street Extended (where the road changes from 4 to 2 lanes)

Rivanna:
Arby's
Forest Lakes Shopping Center

Jack Jouett:
Barrack's Road Shopping Center
Emmett and Barracks Road
In the parking lot, halfway between Krogers and the Bank of America

Rio
109 Gloucester Ct.
(Home of Joe Mason)

Remember, all meetings are scheduled for 9:30. See you tomorrow!

The canvass schedule is also posted on the Albemarle County Democratic Committee web site - just click on the "District Canvassing" tab.

Sunday, July 30: 3:00 - 5:00 Enjoy a summer afternoon in the Woolen Mills with Al Weed and learn about Al's congressional campaign.

Susan McKinnon and Kay Slaughter invite you to an afternoon of wine and lemonade at their adjacent homes, 1501-1801 Short 18th Street, Charlottesville.Please RSVP by July 30th kes1961@ntelos.net or 971-5813; sm@virginia.edu or 971-1993 amallek@alweedforcongress.com or 996-6159.

Sunday, July 30: Annual Charlottesville/Albemarle Democrats v. Republicans Softball Game at McIntire Park, mid-afternoon (follows media game). Proceeds benefit Region 10.

From coach Tim Heaphy: "I've been asked to coach this year's version of the Democratic team (with the able assistance of Jonathan Blank), which will take on the local Republicans in this year's annual softball classic. We're looking for a few good men and women to help reverse our recent (2 year) losing streak on the field. Here are the details:
We will hold a practice this Saturday, July 22, at 3:00 at Darden Towe Park. All are welcome - those of you who are regular ball players, and those of you who do this once a year (or decade). I'll have equipment - just show up on Saturday, so we can get a sense of how the squad looks.

If you're available and interested in playing, please respond to shinheaphy@earthlink.net or call me at 434-244-3322. I'm also interested in recruiting some new talent to the squad, so please pass this message along to anyone you think might be interested (particularly if he/she has a glove and knows the way to first base).

We need more women to join the team. If you're a democratic woman, and you like to play ball, please join us."

Monday, July 31: 9.30 a.m. to noon, "Restorative Practices: Achieving Safe, Healthy, and Respectful Schools." Mr. Joseph Roy, a principal from Pennsylvania, will speak at the MLK Performing Arts Center at Charlottesville High School. Mr. Roy successfully integrated restorative practices at his Philadelphia-area high school which yielded decreases in disruption and disciplinary actions, as well as improvements in the creation of a respectful culture over a short time period. Mr. Roy will discuss the strategies undertaken at his school, and will also answer questions from the audience

The event is free and open to the public. For planning purposes, RSVP's to rjfrontoffice@oar-jacc.org would be appreciated . Breakfast refreshments will be served. For more about Restorative Justice in general, visit: www.CentralVirginiaRJ.org

Monday, July 31: Noon. Book and author at the New Dominion Bookshop: Anthony Brandt, Ed., Thomas Jefferson Travels: Selected Writings 1784-1789.

In this anthology, Brandt has selected from Jefferson's nine volumes of writings from Paris three topics of current interest: taxation, international relations, and free trade.

Letters and documents in Brandt’s selection trace how the friendship between Jefferson and Adams developed, as well as that between Jefferson and Abigail Adams. They reveal all that we really know of his love affair with the artist Maria Cosway; they show his interests in architecture developing and maturing. They demonstrate his skill in diplomacy. Jefferson knew most of the leading lights of the liberal French aristocracy, which gave him a marvelous perch from which to watch the French Revolution begin. He conferred with the Marquis de Lafayette on the French Declaration of the Rights of Man. Brandt also addresses the question of whether Jefferson’s possible sexual relationship with Sally Hemmings began in Paris.