Word of Mouth tip about this web page: There are dozens of extremely useful university, regional, and private web sites dedicated to Things to Do, See, & Enjoy in Charlottesville. This page will provide the web link and an overview of what you can find on each site. Look here for everything from parks & recreation to children's summer camps; from current museum exhibits to local attractions and day trips; from volunteer opportunities to community calendars; and guides for services such as caterers, party planners, gardeners, and more.

Things to Do/UVA News: Events & Concerts arounds grounds are best accessed from this site, which is organized by the following headings: UVA Top News Daily, Upcoming Lectures, Film/Theater/Concerts, Podcasts & Webcasts, Athletics, Web Calendars, Exhibits, and two sections which go beyond the university, TV/Radio, and News Links.

Charlottesville City Home Page: Primary Headings on this official Cville home page are: Services, City NewsLinks, and Popular Pages. Under the Services headings there are many useful links, including About Charlottesville, CTS (the City bus system, with printable Maps to all routes available here), Environment & Nature, Libraries, Parks, Recreation, and Schools. Further, under the Recreation link, reach the Cville Parks & Rec program, with links to area Athletics, Community Recreation Centers, Classes & Services, Playgrounds, Camps for Kids, and an area For Seniors.

Charlottesville Interactive Community Movies: For those interested in video tours, this is the site for you. Accessible from the City Home Page described above, this site area includes short movies on the following topics: Welcome, Business, Healthcare & Senior Living, Services, Education, History, Real Estate & Relocation, Shopping & Dining, Arts & Entertainment, Recreation & Things to Do, Tourism, and Downtown.

Albemarle County Official Site: A parallel resource for all county residents, this site has a Top 10 Most Requested Pages area that is very helpful, and links to all major Departments and Forms. The link here to Parks & Recreation leads to a separate listing of the parks in the area maintained by the county, as well as links to Classes, Sports, and Shelters. Important for parents are the headings for the county's Summer Playground Program, Lessons, and Sports Camps for Summer.

Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce: The Chamber of Commerce is "dedicated to representing private enterprise, promoting business, and enhancing the quality of life in our Greater Charlottesville communities." Links from the home page include: Visitor's Information, Relocation Information, Business Directory, Employment, Health Care Services, Technology, Our Community, Chamber Information, Event Calendar, Business News, and Contact Us.

Virginia Real Estate & Relocation Guide: This site is geared towards prospective homebuyers coming new to the area, and includes a wide array of overview information about Virginia, as well as information specific to the Charlottesville area.

Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors: This site is primarily a resource for Realtors and Real Estate Agents. However, several useful links from the home page provide information for prospective home buyers; look on the left-hand column of the home page linked here for search tools entitled Find a Property, Find a Relator, and Find an Article.

Monticello Avenue: Maintained by the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library, this site is an extraordinarily useful resource on almost any topic related to living in the Cville community. From the home page, link to extensive Charlottesville area resources in the following major categories: Arts, Business, Education, Employment, Government, Groups, Health, History, Housing, Library, Media, Tourism, and a full left-menu listing of Upcoming Events and Links to Local New Sources. The Upcoming Events area of the page is an exhaustive look at everything going on going on for adults, kids, families, and seniors in the community.

InCharlottesville.com: An On-line Business & Services Directory for the Charlottesville Area, run by the group that publishes the helpful Charlottesville Guide, which you can find for free at more than 350 locations around town. Their web site is a very good starting point for research, offering suggested businesses and service providers for everything from Pet Supplies to Weddings, Gardeners to Insurance Agencies, Employment Oppotunities to Sporting Equipment. Their listings within each category are not comprehensive, however, so be sure to also check out sites such as Monticello Avenue and Home Sweet Cville (listed above).

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The Albemarle Family Party Planner: Alright Mom or Dad, are you ready? This Party Planning area of the AF site is so extensive that it prints up to over 14 pages on the subject! (Hint: Set your printer to landscape, or the side of the pages will be chopped off). There is a handy Party Checklist, and listings for the following helpful headings: Artists, Bakeries, Catering, Party Locations, Party Supplies and Photographers. Our party-hats are off to the AF for creating this magnificently comprehensive site!

The Albemarle Family Parks & Playgrounds Guide:
This is an excellent descriptive overview of all parks and playgrounds in the area.

Cavalier Day Camp at UVA: Run through IM-Rec Sports of UVA, this highly-regarded day camp experience runs from early June through mid-August (visit web site for exact dates). Described as a "recreational, motivational, and educational adventure for children going into grades 1-5," the camp incorporates swimming, music, drama, nature activities, and arts & crafts. Campers are grouped according to their year in school. For more information, visit the web site or call (434) 924-3791.

UVA IM-Rec Sports Youth Recreation Instruction: Year-round classes and programs can be found with IM-Rec Sports, including instruction for Preschoolers, Elementary Age Children, Swimming, and Summer Programs (Cavalier Day Camp, above, Summer's Cool, & Summer Tennis).

A Summer Reminder from the Backup Care Options Program 
All UVA and Health System employees are provided with Backup Care Benefits.
Full details about these benefits are found on Word of Mouth's Family & Childcare
page. During the summer, backup care can assist in variety of ways!
Center-based and in-home care are available. Examples include:

• School is out but summer activities, camps, etc. have not yet started
• Your summer care provider is ill, on vacation or has other commitments
• Your child is ill and cannot attend regularly-scheduled activities
• You have gaps between two different summer activities

You may Register for free online or call 800.557.0847

If you have any questions, please contact Brenda Wilson, LCSW, CEAP
in the UVA Faculty and Employee Assistance Program at 924-5483.

Summer Enrichment @ UVA: Run through UVA's prestigious Curry School of Education, this program involves three 2-week summer sessions for students rising into grades 5-11. The program is divided into a Junior Program (rising 5-8 graders) & Senior Program (rising 9-11 grade). Both programs are designed to create educational models of instruction for gifted learners in subject areas such as Arts & Humanities, Science & Technology, Leadership & Decision-Making, and Environment & Sustainability Studies. The Summer Application Deadline is in mid-February each year, so apply early for this outstanding learning opportunity!

Summer Arts @ the Museum: The summer program of the UVA Art Museum, this is an annual arts academy, for rising 4th-12th graders. The academy combines high-quality studio programs with exploration of the Museum's summer shows. Electives vary each year and may include music, movement/dance, digital arts, and much more. Summer Arts aims to connect art-interested youth with the inspirational possibilities of experiencing and creating artwork, while mentored by arts educators and professional artists. Approximately 50% of our Summer Arts youth receive full scholarships! Dates and registration information are available on the web site.

Summer Chamber Music Workshop at UVA: An intensive five-day chamber music workshop,with a focus on developing musicianship skills which go "beyond the notes." Students study appropriately assigned reportoire in detail with faculty members in small ensembles, culminating in performances in Old Cabell Hall. Each day is divided into coachings, rehearsals, masterclasses and chamber orchestra rehearsals. A few advanced pianists will be selected to participate in chamber ensembles and receive individual lessons. The workshop is open to college and high school students and adult amateurs. Teacher reccommendation is required.

Charlottesville Writing Center: Youth Writing Programs Sessions are organized by age group in week-long programs for rising third to fifth, rising sixth through eighth, or rising ninth through twelth graders. Partial scholarships are available. Visit the web site for dates and full details.

iD Tech Camps: iD Tech Camps offers summer computer camps for kids and teens at over 30 universities in the United States and Spain, including at the University of Virginia campus. Day camp and overnight boarding camp options are available, and all participants eat in university dining halls and take campus tours. Summer computer camp courses are for beginner to advanced levels, in topic areas of study such as: Adventures in Gaming & Photoshop, Web Design & Flash Animation, Digital Video Production, Programming & Robotics, Video Game Creation, Video Game Creation Xtreme, and 3D Game Design.

Albemarle County Summer & Camp Programs: Important for parents are the headings for the county's Summer Playground Program, Lessons, and Sports Camps for Summer.

Summer Camp Programs of the Piedmont Family YMCA: The Piedmont Family YMCA serves the Charlottesville City, Albemarle County, and surrounding areas. They offer a variety of summer camp opportunities, which require pre-registration. Visit the web site linked here for full program information on the array of programs.

Triple C Camp of Charlottesville: This Charlottesville Day Camp takes students from grades K-10, and provides access to a ropes/challenge course, horseback riding, daily swims, and more. For dates and details visit the web site or call (434) 293-2529.

Summer-Day Camps in the (434) Area Code: This is a search tool to locate camps throughout the central Virginia region, and provides a camp description, contact information, and web sites (where available) for all camps listed. A good site for beginning research into the variety of camps available in the area.

ACAC Adventure Central Summer Camps: ACAC Summer Camps provide safe, fun settings for children of all ages. Camps are held in the following interest areas: Sports, Enrichment Programs, Day Camp, and Tennis & Swimming. Visit the web site linked here for full information.

MySummerCamp.com: This is a national camp finder service. Linked here is the directory search for current camps around the Charlottesville area. Each listing provides a phone number, and some also provide the web link to the camp's web site. Featured here are camps for soccer, tennis, horseback riding, general summer fun, and links to find camps, sorted by age of the child, throughout the central virginia region and beyond.

UVA Upward Bound Program: Upward Bound is a federally-funded college prepartory program for high school students. Individuals are eligible to participate if they are in the 9th or 10th grade during the enrollment period. He or she must attend one of our twelve target high schools: (Albemarle, Buckingham, Charlottesville, Cumberland, Fluvanna, Louisa, Monticello, Nelson, Orange, Waynesboro, Western Albemarle, and William Monroe). Eligibility is determined by educational background and/or income level of the parents; check the web site for more information. Participants attend academic sessions on various Saturdays throughout the spring semester of the school year. During the summer, participants reside on-grounds for five weeks; it is designed to provide student's with a simulated college experience.

UVA Pride: This is an LGBT Faculty, Staff, and Graduate Student Association which provides a coordinated network of University offices and organizations for communication, assistance, and support on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transexual concerns. UVA Pride assists in LGBT curriculum development, provides a social network as well as advocacy and support services, and works to ensure a tolerant and diverse atmosphere both in the community and at UVa.