While winter weather can be challenging and disruptive in many ways, it also invites wonder and whimsy for many Charlottesville residents.

Two people take a selfie in front of a large installation with lights that has a heart and "CVILLE" in green, a brick building behind them.
While on a walk on the downtown mall, Raphael and Shalice pose for a selfie. Raphael is from Kenya and Shalice is from Jamaica. Both are experiencing snow for the first time in their lives. Credit: Kori Price/Charlottesville Tomorrow

It can provide an opportunity for solitude and silence.

An empty street with a four story parking garage, no people or cars.
Parking lots and parking garages on Water Street were mostly empty. Credit: Kori Price/Charlottesville Tomorrow
A street scene with a brick lane and edges covered in snow, a runner seen in the distance, trees and storefronts on either side.
A few joggers and walkers traverse the almost empty Downtown Mall, taking care to stay on the plowed and salted parts of the walkway. Credit: Kori Price/Charlottesville Tomorrow

Snowfall can help us experience our typical surroundings in a different way or at a different pace.

A biker in black in focus, with blurred red building and street around them.
A biker cruises down South Street. Credit: Kori Price/Charlottesville Tomorrow
A residential street with three homes in view, an adult walking down a snow-covered street, pulling two children in snow gear on a blue sled.
Ivy and Aaron take in the sights via sled as their Dad, Issac Miller, pulls them up a short hill for one last ride down before returning home. Credit: Kori Price/Charlottesville Tomorrow

Whenever it snows, I often think of Ezra Jack Keats’s children’s book, “The Snowy Day.” If you’re unfamiliar with the story, a little boy dons a bright red snowsuit and ventures out into his neighborhood freshly blanketed in snow. He makes footprints and lets snow falling from a tree plop on his head. He goes sledding, makes snow angels, and builds a smiling snowman. He even tries to save a snowball in his pocket for later. The character’s snowy day is simple, a little silly and fun.

A woman in the snow falls out of a teal laundry basket, with a person in the background smiling.
Brie Biddle tumbles out of her makeshift laundry basket sled while her friend, Reagan Hickey, tries to slide down the hill on her own. Credit: Kori Price/Charlottesville Tomorrow
A line of people at the top of a hill watch a person on a board, in shorts, shooting down a snowy slope.
Jack Gioffre surfs down the hill at Booker T. Washington Park as onlookers watch from the top of the hill. Credit: Kori Price/Charlottesville Tomorrow
A person with a red sled in the snow, surrounded by other in snow gear and some bare trees.
Yusuf Perez waits for the hillside to clear before he takes off on his sled. Credit: Kori Price/Charlottesville Tomorrow
A home and a tree behind a person standing next to two large snowballs, stacked in the beginning of a snowman. A small dog sits in a cart in the foreground.
Kyle Schlatter builds a snowman in his yard while Kaya, all bundled up in a Chihuahua-sized sweater, keeps him company. Credit: Kori Price/Charlottesville Tomorrow

While many people throughout Charlottesville enjoyed a chance to play, others were dealing with the less magical aspects of winter weather: navigating slick roads to head into work, digging cars out and removing snow. 

A person walks down the middle of a road, with a traffic light in the foreground.
A person avoids the slick and snow-covered sidewalk by walking down 9th Street NE. Credit: Kori Price/Charlottesville Tomorrow
A person locking a door of a storefront with a sign that reads "Christian's Pizza" and bay windows with stools stacked on tables.
A Christian’s Pizza employee checked in on the restaurant before locking up again. Christian’s Pizza was one of the many shops and restaurants on the downtown mall that remained closed on January 6. Credit: Kori Price/Charlottesville Tomorrow
A truck with a plow attached moves down a street with snow flying.
A City of Charlottesville Public Works truck plows snow and slush on Market Street. Credit: Kori Price/Charlottesville Tomorrow
A person pushes a snowblower on a residential street.
A Belmont resident clears sidewalks and the edges of the road with his snowblower. Credit: Kori Price/Charlottesville Tomorrow
A car facing the street in front of a small building that has a sign that reads "Food Master." another car parked facing the building.
A sedan spins its wheels as it tries to back into a parking spot at the Food Master market. Credit: Kori Price/Charlottesville Tomorrow

Despite the overcast skies, occasional snow showers, and sub-freezing temps, this day in Charlottesville was similar to others in our city.

Neighbors helped each other out.

Two people shovel snow off a sidewalk, with a tall, white fence behind them.
Antonio Gomez (foreground) and Victor Zhu (background) clear a sidewalk together. Credit: Kori Price/Charlottesville Tomorrow

People enjoyed the scenery on walks or caught up with each other while downtown.

A residential street scene, with people in the distance.
Two people cross Montrose Ave. in the Belmont neighborhood. Credit: Kori Price/Charlottesville Tomorrow
Two bus shelters in front of brick buildings, with a few people waiting at each, snow piled up on the edge of the street and covering the shelters' awnings.
Four people stand and sit at a bus stop on Market Street smoking and chatting with each other. Credit: Kori Price/Charlottesville Tomorrow

And, folks stopped at the store on their way home.

A person walks down a snowy street carrying a plastic bag, brick buildings to the side.
A man with a grocery bag walks on a cleared sidewalk near the Central Library. Credit: Kori Price/Charlottesville Tomorrow

No matter if your first snow day of 2025 brought you work, rest, or play, I hope you found a moment to pause and watch the snow fall. I hope you experienced a little snow day wonder and whimsy of your own.

People on a snowy hill, in the foreground, a pile of children laughing as they slide.
Troy “Razor” Robinson and his sons Dashiell, Dax and Dreiux tumble out of their tarp sled as they fly down Booker T. Washington Park’s hill. Credit: Kori Price/Charlottesville Tomorrow

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Kori Price is a multidisciplinary artist and photographer based in Charlottesville, Virginia. Originally from Culpeper, Kori has been proud to call Central Virginia home for most of her life and is passionate about telling the stories of her community. Her work has been exhibited in many places locally most recently at The Paramount Theater, New City Arts Initiative, and McGuffey Arts Center. She takes photos in local news as well, including Charlottesville Tomorrow and Vinegar Hill Magazine.