13 BIG Things We Love about Charlottesville, Virginia

I’ve self-ordained as Charlottesville’s curator of what we love about our town. I cataloged 32 Small Things We Like About Charlottesville, Va., which led to an opportunity in Woman’s Day Magazine reaching more than four million. 

Now I’m thinking BIG and asked friends and followers what big things they like about our home in Central Virginia. The results are in:

1. The Lawn at the University of Virginia
2. John Paul Jones Arena (and specifically, basketball games at JPJ)
3. Shenandoah National Park
4. The Downtown Mall
5. The Blue Ridge Mountains
6. Monticello
7. Two excellent hospitals/health care systems, Martha Jefferson Hospital (with a brand-new facility) and the world-class presence of the University of Virginia Health Care System
8. Our designation as the locavore capital of the world
9. Food! (Great farms, bakeries, restaurants, wineries, breweries and more!)
10. The great musical legacy; that big acts come to town when they could easily pass a town this size by in favor of larger venues
11. The Charlottesville Community Scholarship Program, established by the Charlottesville City Council to help make higher education accessible to all citizens and employees of the city
12. It’s a small town with all the culture of a big city
13. The (mostly) open-mindedness of the people who live here

This list is by no means complete. What would you add? Remember, we’re looking for BIG!