Constance Costas

Richmond

Writer at Freelance

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Articles

Experience Burnside Farms’ Stunning Festival of Spring

1 month ago | virginialiving.com | Hope Cartwright |Madeline Mayhood |Constance Costas |Vayda Parrish

A rainbow of blooms takes over Burnside Farms in Nokesville each spring, creating a breathtaking backdrop of yellow, pink, red, and orange blossoms. During their annual Festival of Spring, running mid-March to mid-April (check their Instagram, @BurnsideFarms, for exact dates), visitors can picnic, play, and pick their own bundles from over 150 tulip varieties and more than 30 types of daffodils.
Rubber Duck Research at Virginia Tech

Dec 1, 2024 | virginialiving.com | Madeline Mayhood |Sherrie Page Guyer |Constance Costas

Remember that story that made international news, where thousands and thousands of rubber ducks got dumped into the Pacific Ocean? In 1992, the container ship they were traveling on was caught in a storm, which toppled the ship’s cargo and sent nearly 30,000 of the little bath-time play toys to bob in the Pacific for eternity like Wilson, or wash up on shores around the globe.
Made in Virginia Awards 2024

Nov 29, 2024 | virginialiving.com | Hope Cartwright |Madeline Mayhood |Constance Costas |Markus Schmidt

Raise a glass to Virginia’s finest makers as we proudly present the results of Virginia Living’s Made in Virginia Awards 2024. This year’s submissions reminded us why our state’s makers and creators are second to none, which made the selection process both exciting and challenging. The awards were guided by insight from our panel of expert judges: food writer and chef Stephanie Ganz, wine critic Frank Morgan, interior design expert Charlotte Safavi, and style guru Heather Bien.
Inova Recommends Health Screening for Prevention

Nov 10, 2024 | virginialiving.com | Heather Bien |Madeline Mayhood |Constance Costas |Meredith Lindemon

We’ve all heard about them and, more than likely, many of us have been advised to get them. But what exactly is a health screening? Inova, the Fairfax-based nonprofit healthcare provider, offers a definition: a preventative process to identify health complications or chronic diseases before they become problematic. Inova also emphasizes the importance of screenings when planning your medical care.
From Dior to Dessès, UVA’s historic clothing collection

Aug 14, 2024 | virginialiving.com | Hope Cartwright |Constance Costas |Eden Stuart

A 1795 off-white, wool men’s jacket and breeches with a dark tan silk brocade waistcoat; a black silk taffeta, beaded mourning bustle skirt and bodice from the 1880s; and three Christian Dior ensembles from the ’60s and ’80s—all found in the University of Virginia’s Historic Clothing Collection, housed underneath the Culbreth Theater.
Biologist helped revolutionize Blue Ridge Parkway's wildlife management practices

Jul 31, 2024 | virginialiving.com | Eric Wallace |Hope Cartwright |Dawn Klavon |Constance Costas

Veteran ranger and Blue Ridge Parkway biologist Tom Davis follows a grassy path east from the Franklin County parking lot of one of the park’s oldest designated recreation sites. He passes through a gap in the weathered, stacked-rail cedar fence into a 2,500-foot mountaintop meadow of chest-high wildflowers abuzz with bees, birds, butterflies, and moths.
Return to the Wild

Jul 9, 2024 | virginialiving.com | Stephanie Ganz |Madeline Mayhood |Robert Nelson |Constance Costas

The Blue Ridge Wildlife Center has been working round-the-clock to save the lives of injured native animals in the Shenandoah Valley for the better part of a quarter-century. The team of full-time and volunteer techs and veterinarians take in hundreds of wounded animals each year from local residents, game wardens, police, and animal control professionals.
Exploring the James Beard semifinalists of NoVa

Jul 8, 2024 | virginialiving.com | Stephanie Ganz |Madeline Mayhood |Kate Desmond |Constance Costas

What is it about Northern Virginia that boasts so many of the country’s best restaurants? The James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards, among the most prestigious culinary honors in the nation, released its 2024 list of semifinalists, which includes several of NoVa’s favorite fine dining establishments and culinary innovators. Chef-Owner Chris Morgan and Executive Chef Najmieh Batmanglij at Joon in Vienna were recognized in the Best Chef of the Mid-Atlantic category.
Artisanal yarns and handmade treasures abound

Jul 5, 2024 | virginialiving.com | Stephanie Ganz |Madeline Mayhood |Erin McPherson |Constance Costas

A shepherdess’s love for her flock comes alive in every warmly crafted wool creation found at Ten Good Sheep in Onancock. Described as “authentically artistic and certifiably cute since 1998,” the artisan store stocks a rainbow of hand-dyed, handspun, and locally sourced yarn and natural fibers. The sheep producing much of the material are raised nearby by owner and official shepherdess Karen Belknap, under the watchful guardianship of beloved herding dogs Captain Woolsey and Admiral Woolsey.
Civil War Graffiti

Jan 23, 2024 | virginialiving.com | Renee Sklarew |Martha Steger |Dawn Klavon |Constance Costas

From carvings by cave dwellers, to sketches by the artist Banksy, graffiti has the power to tell stories. But sadly, the ravages of time can impact these human renderings—from earthquake damage or the simple stroke of a paintbrush. Before there were cameras everywhere, soldiers used letters and walls to document their tenuous existence. Whether people have mistaken them for hasty graffiti or sought to preserve them as historic artifacts, there are stories inside these scrawls.