This year marks the 250th anniversary of American independence. For the past few years, we’ve been telling little-known stories of Virginia’s role in the nation’s independence through our Cardinal 250 series. Now we’re about to expand that project. Before I tell you how, let’s play a little game.
Our new project is:
a) a series of Cardinal 250 trivia nights at breweries around Southwest and Southside
b) turning some of our stories into a graphic novel aimed at Virginia’s fourth graders
c) all of the above.
If you guess “c,” you’re right. Of course, you might have had an inkling since all that was in the headline.
You may have already seen some of the promotions for our upcoming 250 trivia nights, which kick off April 27 at 2 Witches Brewery in Danville and wrap up May 20 at 7 Dogs Brewpub in Wytheville. (Full schedule in the box). The winners from each event will then advance to a regional tournament May 30 at Buffalo Mountain Brewery in Floyd. Participation is free. Limit five people per team. The grand prize is a $550 gift certificate to Mountain Lake Lodge.
Trivia nights schedule
- 7 p.m. Monday, April 27, at 2 Witches Brewery in Danville
- 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 29, at Three Roads Brewery in Lynchburg
- 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 6, at Twisted Track Brewpub in Roanoke
- 7 p.m. Monday, May 11, at A Few Old Goats in Buchanan
- 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 13, at Long Way Brewing in Radford
- 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 19, at Olde Salem Brewery in Salem
- 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 20, at 7 Dogs Brewpub in Wytheville
The questions will be drawn from the stories we’ve already published as part of our Cardinal 250 series, so now’s a good time to start brushing up.
Meanwhile, we’ve received a grant from Acton Family Giving and the Hearthland Foundation to turn some of our stories into a graphic novel. We’re aiming at Virginia fourth graders because that’s when students first get introduced to Virginia history. We are working with educators from the Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission to ensure this book aligns with Virginia’s Standards of Learning.
For now, we envision a digital product that would be available free for download; although, with additional grant support, this could turn into a printed book.
We’re looking for graphic artists to take part. Our formal proposal is in the PDF below, but the short version is that we envision working with multiple artists, each one doing one or more chapters. If you know someone who is a graphic novelist, please let them know about this project. If you are a graphic novelist, we’d love to see your resume and portfolio at jobs@cardinalnews.org. Questions? You can ask me at dwayne@cardinalnews.org. Deadline for applications: May 15.
If you’re a fourth-grade teacher, we’d also love to hear from you. Later this summer, we plan to pull together a focus group of teachers and a focus group of fourth graders.
Our aim is to select artists by May 31, with final artwork due Aug. 15. (The PDF below gets into other deadlines and details.)
In the meantime, we still have more 250 stories to tell, because independence was not the end of the American Revolution. We’ll have lots of 250th anniversaries coming up in the years ahead, all the way to the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Yorktown in 2031.
You can find all our stories on our Cardinal 250 page, and if you haven’t already, sign up for our monthly Cardinal 250 newsletter here:
