John Donne says, “No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace as I have seen in one autumnal face.” In Charlottesville, watch the leaves turn rich yellow, orange and red you’ll believe him. Peak leaf season is mid to late October.
“Virginia Oak” by Gordon Vanus
U.Va. baseball coach Brian O'Connor talks about last year's spectacular season and his aspirations for this year's College World Series.
Curious about new construction projects on Grounds? See what new buildings will look like when they're done and how much they'll cost.
Dave DeWitt (Col '66) has written nearly 40 books about chile peppers and spicy foods. What fuels his piquant obsession?
Admire rare and beautiful items of clothing from the 1790s to the 1950s that are held in the Collection of Historic Dress.
The top five record-breaking crowds at Scott Stadium. Were you there?
How Alternative Spring Break changed the perspective of students who have participated in the program.
Meet two women who run 100 mile races across treacherous terrain and through bad weather; they run ultramarathons with apt names such as Hellgate.
A new drug shows promise for women who lack sexual desire.
What was the University experience of the 1950s and 1960s like for a married veteran living on Copley Hill?
Catherine Burke Sweet (Col ’77), one of the first female Rhodes Scholars, went to England to study in the late '70s and she never moved back.
Copyright © 2010 by the University of Virginia Magazine
Published by the U.Va. Alumni Association
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Comments
While you appropriately give outdoor activities the majority of spots, it is this one aspect of fall in Charlottesville that makes all of them so enjoyable. So this gets my vote for number one!
I am missing all of those wonderful things to do and places to go in the Fall...in C'ville, in Virginia. Thanks for the terrific images that remind me what I love the most.
It's hard to love the marching band when you have fond memories of the Pep Band it effectively displaced. Would that the Pep Band had received a fraction of the institutional support the new band seems to enjoy.
The Vegetarian Festival! :)
The pep band did not represent The University - only a bunch of preppies.
i used to wade fish the mormom,the rivanna,and the james looking for smallmoth bass(spring and fall) with my buddies fred hardy(fork union)and dick albert (c'ville)..... i truly miss that time of the year and the images the season presents... i will attest to the beauty...that many take for granted....uva65
I still miss the pep band ... it wasn't "a bunch of preppies" when I was at the University.
It is unfortunate that every time the marching band is mentioned, the pep band must be brought up. As part of one of best academic schools in the nation, as well as representing a very visible athletic conference, the marching band brings the sound, energy, and technical skill required for an ACC school. The pep band was not banned from Scott Stadium because of the current marching band, but because it misrepresented The University through poor sportsmanship against West Virginia. Please let the two groups co-exist, and enjoy the variety of ensembles The University offers.
So we moved back home to the Virgin Islands after graduating in '04, paradise by anyone's standards, but...wow, seeing scenes like this make me absolutely "homesick" for Charlottesville! It is truly a beautiful town in any season, but I think it's extra special in the fall. I miss the football games, but I think seeing the gorgeous natural scenery is what I miss the most.I feel like booking a fall trip NOW!
Why even bring up the Pep Band? Were they fun to watch? Sure! But they have nothing to do with this article... Please don't take away from the amazing job the Cavalier Marching Band is doing right now. The kids who are in it and the leadership that runs it had absolutely nothing to do with the Pep Band being banned from varsity sports, so don't take anything out on them. Go Hoos!
As part of first group of band kids to take the field in 2004, it makes me so proud to see that the marching band has become such a big part of the University and Charlottesville communities! Keep up the great work, CMB!
It makes me beam with happiness to see what the Cavalier Marching Band has accomplished in just five short years. As an original member of the band, I could not be more pleased with what the band has become. Here's to more upcoming success!
Charlottesville comes to life every fall. The vibrance of autumn blends with the beauty and energy of the University to create a wonderful stew of social opportunity and community spirit unmatched anywhere else on Earth. ...and I agree with every choice you made...except one. The University Pep Band was the torch carrier for Fall in Charlottesville, long before many of the choices you made even existed. I know, times change...but their irreverent social satire gave the University a singular Character that was recognized on a national level. Every Tom, Dick and Harry University has a marching band...and they all march in straight lines...and play the same songs...over and over and over and over.... It is a shame that today's students will never experience the classically original concept that played a large part in making the University of Virginia, THE University.
Amanda, it would be be great to "co-exist" and enjoy the Pep Band. Unfortunately, the administration is punitively punishing the Pep Band (redundant, no?) by not allowing them to play at olympic sports, as they have time and time again requested. So the athletes, the fans, and the PB all suffer. What a shame.
I miss the Pep Band (I graduated in 1985). The marching band is just another example of UVA devoting way too many resources to a football team that will always suck just a little bit (and I say that with love--football games were a lot more fun without all the "Creeping State U-ism"). Marching bands are boring, generic, and militaristic, unless they are African-American, step show-type bands. Maybe the UVA band should visit Eastern High School in DC and learn how it's really done.
The Pep Band at least had some character. You know who has scramble bands similar to the Pep Band? Several of the Ivy League schools. You know who has a marching band? Virginia Tech. Just sayin'...
Relay For Life's first annual 5k promises to be a great one! The t-shirts are awesome and there will be tons of food and music. Registration: http://sites.google.com/site/relayforlifeuva/calendar/5k
When they began emphasizing football (as opposed to academics), and even asked people to wear those ugly orange outfits to football games, I capped my annual contribution at $500. If I wanted to wear orange polyester, I would have gone to UT. I'm too loyal to go away completely or to cut off all giving, but I feel that the U.Va. I loved just isn't there anymore. Instead of being the unique institution it was, it's trying to be a football driven school like Nebraska or Penn State, and not even doing a good job of that. I'm sure someone likes the movement toward the big state U experience. This is just to remind the folks on the grounds that some of us don't. There are a lot of big state U's with good football programs, but there was only one U.Va. as it used to be.
The Pep Band represents no one. They play music and poke fun of that which we dare not speak ... the self-contradiction of political correctness. Gawd forbid that the UVA administration or an opposing team (or school) should ever have to face the uncomfortable truth! You are no longer at UVA to learn to think. You are at UVA to think you learn.
As a member of the Cavalier Marching Band, I wish the Athletics Department would stop punishing the Virginia Pep Band so that it can once again play a prominent role in UVa athletics. I see no reason why the Pep Band should be disallowed from playing at soccer and lacrosse games. Students can join both bands: the CMB to learn musicianship, marching, and to play at football and basketball games, and the Pep Band to have fun and play at soccer and lacrosse games. The CMB likes to think that it supports the soccer and lacrosse teams, as supporters of Craig Littlepaige have recently written in the Cavalier Daily, but the truth is, ever sense the Pep Band was banned, soccer and lacrosse has been neglected by our Athletics Department, which chose to focus on our more profitable yet less successful football and men's basketball teams. What happened years ago at the Gator Bowl is irrelevant, as none of the current members of the Virginia Pep Band played a role in the supposedly offensive show. The student body recycles itself every four to five years. Why is Craig Littlepaige still punishing the Pep Band. It is free, student-run, and is full of UVa spirit. And to continue punishing the Pep Band for an offensive show is hypocritical of Criag Littlepaige, who just apologized in the Cavalier Daily for offensively portraying Native Americans during the "Adventures of Cavman" video before the William & Mary game. Should Craig Littlepaige be banned from the school?
Amanda, the Pep Band was indeed banned because of the current marching band. Carl Smith donated money to fund the new music program with the explicit provision that the Pep Band had to be removed and replaced by a marching band. The West Virginia game was a coincidence of timing (and the show was approved by the University and bowl committee, but that's another story...). Three cheers for money over student governance!
Okay, I'll bite. 1) The marching band is a fine group of kids who simply don't know what they're missing. They've probably never seen a scramble band in action and they know that they loved their high school band. They're just doing what they like. 2) The Athletic Department and administration uses the Pep Band's sportsmanship as an excuse, because negotiations with the Smiths were ongoing long before the Continental Tire Bowl. In fact, the AD had been looking for a way to get rid of the pep band since 1993, when they tried the first time and failed because they didn't have the money or the support from the students/community.
Matt and Amanda, you're right that the students in the Marching Band don't deserve to have their work become a subject of controversy every time they get mentioned in print. If the Marching Band wants to end the controversy surrounding them and co-exist happily with the Pep Band, its leadership (which has absolutely been involved in keeping the Pep Band out of varsity sports) should work on a compromise that lets the Pep Band into sports other than football and basketball. The Pep Band's been suggesting that for years now. Why not find a solution that lets everyone move on?
there is probably nothing more annoying to those that live within earshot of the wannabe marching band than to hear the same 3 songs butchered every day for several hours. not to mention it's a lot of wasted resources for something everyone ignores at half time.
Carter Mt Orchard is the place to go . The view is incredible and the apple cider donuts are the best.
A few posts have mentioned the possible co-existence of the two bands. This has been difficult, given the AD's poor communication skills. The AD has said one thing in the past with regard to the PB, only to change its story later. They ultimately ignored a resolution passed by StudCo in 2004 supporting the co-existence of the two bands, and subsequent attempts at communication have been met with less than sincere responses. However, what seems to be more important now are the resulting misunderstandings and misconceptions on both sides which have stunted even interactions between general members (outside of leadership roles). Sadly, for something to happen as Daniel suggests, the leadership of both groups have to be able to communicate (and keep in mind, the CMB is under the AD, hence reference to those prior communication difficulties). Barring that, perhaps if the members of the groups prove to those in charge that something should be done, maybe such a fostering of student self-governance (or at least self-awareness) can finally bring about a change or at least a viable dialogue.
The marching band fits the character of U.Va. about as much as gothic Brooks Hall fits the palladian architecture of the Lawn. It is like an occupying force. It is a wart. This is no slight against the students in the marching band, who are being unfairly deprived of the opportunity to scramble on the broad expanse of Scott Stadium, to make fun of the issues of the day, and to run their own band. The poor souls don't know what they are missing and are without fault. To those who say the Pep Band showed poor sportsmanship, get your facts straight. Every Pep Band show was approved in advance by the Athletic Department. Moreover, the Pep Band's so-called "critics" were humorless pawns brainwashed by political correctness and the football-industrial complex. The allegedly "offending" jokes were nothing of the sort. Bring back the Pep Band to halftime, I say. Let's have some entertainment that represents the wit and creativity of the student body that separates us from other schools. To the members of the CMB: ditch the feather in your hat and join the Pep Band at once! You won't know liberation until you do. -Pepus Bandus
To those who still ponder which form of band (marching or scramble) best represents U.Va. students and offers the best hope for the advancement of civilization, I offer the following quote from Albert Einsten: "That a man can take pleasure in marching in formation to the strains of a band is enough to make me despise him. He has only been given his big brain by mistake; a backbone was all he needed. This plague-spot of civilization ought to be abolished with all possible speed." -Albert Einstein from "The World As I See It" (1935)
The University will have to deal with the shadow of the Pep Band for years to come, Amanda. The marching band was created to displace the student run band, which was sentenced to death by the athletics department years before the Tire Bowl game against West Virginia. There was of course no trial: no public discussion, or consulting the student council; they had embarrassingly failed to remove the Pep Band in 1993 and they couldn't risk another failure. The issue is simply one of control: football games are commercial ventures now, not student extra-curriculars. The athletics department could not allow real student control during games; they need someone to fire if things go awry. Students are at games to be herded in, kept in line and herded out. The saddest part for me is to consider the students in the marching band; they don't need to be herded, they don't need the help of a professional staff of directors, they could run that band themselves. They'd learn more; they become stronger leaders. This is what university is supposed to be about.
Amanda says: "Please let the two groups co-exist" THIS is what we have been trying to do. THIS is what Stud-Co wants to happen. THIS is what the commercially run, boring, standard, production-like athletic department chooses to IGNORE, despite what the students request(at a "student run" university no less) And, NO... as long as there is one former pep bander still alive on this earth, we will never let the issue let rest... Because, the university we believe in is one of student self governance and uniqueness. Something we were told we were becoming a part of when we chose to go to UVa, and it IS something worth fighting for.
I too have missed the creativity and fun of the pep band at half time. I certainly like the marching band but would love to see a compromise where the pep band had an occasional spot at half time. They did always remind me of an ivy league kind of entertainment...witty, funny, satirical. The pep band was so unique in contrast to the bands of the opposing teams. I was kind of proud of that kind of spirit.
The University made a huge mistake when they went for big time football and they can't admit it. At least when football sucked before, you had good enterainment courtesy of the Pep Band! Ah, the good old days. Fire Al Groh and bring back the Pep Band!
Having been transplanted to Texas, I recently attended an A&M game. Aggies live and die for their football. My sons asked me if UVA had as many traditions as A&M. I told them more and they countered, "We mean football traditions." This was as if nothing else mattered. I cherish the academic and cultural traditions of the University and hate to see it slip into the commonplace that other schools seem to foster. The University is unique. Although the marching band at A&M is something to behold, it becomes monotonous. The Pep band never did. In addition, no one really looks good in orange but it does stand out on t.v.
Seeing those pictures of C-ville made me so home-sick!! It has been 12 years since I've seen the leaves of the Blueridge, gone to a football game, or strolled through The Corner.It would have been nice to see pics of Mincer's Pipe Shop, and other long time stanbys of The Corner.
I think the focus of the article has been blurred somewhat. (Okay, quite a bit) Some other wonderful things to love in C'ville in the Fall: Montpelier Hunt Races, Boar's Head Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day, and Lighting of the Lawn. I know there are many, many more, but those deserve a mention.
I remember raking leaves at homes around the Charlottesville area to fund myself through the University. And the football games - when I wasn't working - those were awesome times. And in the fall of 1984, if memory serves, I could tell how the UVA basketball team was doing in their quest for the Final Four just by listening to the roar and its tenor coming from the fraternity and sorority houses. Great times, I wouldn't trade them for the world.
I used to love the Pep Band. They were terrible, but they were always fairly entertaining. I also loved riding down Barrack's Rd during the fall. The change in colors to the architectural variances was beautiful.
From the Curry School to Clemons, From the Kornner to Foods of All Nations; I miss it all--the foliage, the Lawn, the feeling of it being a place set apart, tucked away to be savored and enjoyed by the relative few... The squirrels skiddering and scampering startling me out of my reverie or preoccupation with unfinished assignments; the eventual crispness in the autumn air, all things I hold dear, only part of the reasons why Charlottesville is my favorite spot in the world: outside of Israel......
I believe that is a picture of a Broad-winged Hawk, not a Red-tailed. Both are beautiful creatures, but the Broad-winged is the migratory hawk most often seen along the Blue Ridge in the early fall.
I am so disappointed in what the school has become. It's as if the administration has succeeded in turning the place into Auburn or the like. I actually pre-date the pep band. Even that was considered too "State U" for many. During football games at the great "old" Scott stadium in the early 70s (with wooden bleachers and a row of beautiful trees at the top, not a second deck), a local high school marching band was imported for the half-time entertainment. It was great for them and cost-effective as well. I am embarrassed for the students who have signed up for the completely tacky marching band concept. We used to aspire to being the Princeton of the South -- apparently now, the aspiration is to be the Florida State of the North.
Stanford has a "pep" band too. It got banned from playing at Notre Dame (similar incident to ours with WVU), but Stanford didn't solicit funds to replace it with a marching band. Oh well, I was too boozed at our football games to care.
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