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Hey, y’all. It’s Amie.

From a wedding to renovations and everything in between, this weekend in our little pocket of Virginia was one for the books. And speaking of books, Banned Books Week starts at the beginning of next week, running Oct. 4-10.

I wanted to make sure you had time to prepare just in case you needed to add to your TBR (to be read) pile beforehand. According to the American Library Association, these were the three most-banned books in 2025:

Sold by Patricia McCormick
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe

We’ll have more on Banned Books Week when it arrives. For now, let’s focus on today’s news, shall we? I’m so glad you’re here to read all about it.

Amie Knowles

Newsletter Editor, Dogwood

By Amie Knowles

If your feed is already full of political ads, consider this your reminder to go touch grass. Better yet, touch grass somewhere beautiful in small-town Virginia—for free.⁣

⁣

The Gravely-Lester Art Garden in Martinsville offers a serene walking path winding through larger-than-life sculptures at no cost to visitors.⁣

Located at 207 Starling Ave., the garden features a serene, winding path taking visitors right by outdoor artwork created by artists from across the country. My personal favorite is a tree representing spring, summer, fall, and winter, which reminds me that to everything, there is a season.

There’s also the Historic Little Post Office—and while it’s not open to visitors, the building served as an authentic stop along the Star Route.

Watch here →

Local news is disappearing. The pressure on the newsrooms that remain is growing.

More than 3,500 newspapers have closed nationwide since 2005. Journalists and newsrooms face increasing attacks from the federal government, while funding for local news continues to dry up. We can’t keep doing this work without our readers’ support.

We have until Sept. 30 to reach our end-of-month fundraising goal. Help us keep delivering factual, free information.

Chip in $25 to support our work

I’ll give what I can today →

“Hank, cat of the people, is running for Senate”

“Staff at Virginia wildlife center pretend to be red foxes as they care for an orphaned kit”

“What was that bright light in the sky over Virginia Tuesday morning?”

These are just some of the local headlines we’ve run across over the years—and yes, they’re all stories from Virginia.

That got us wondering: If your Virginia community made the headlines, what would it be for?

Something funny? A positive story? A cautionary tale? Tell us what’s going on in your neck of the woods, and we’ll feature the most creative responses at the end of the week.

Join the conversation

By Ava Edwards and Sophie Boudreau

Whether you’re newly 18, a new US citizen, or registering to vote for the first time in Virginia, it’s important to know what you need before you cast your ballot.

Registering with Dogwood’s voter registration tool makes the process easy.

Here’s how to register to vote in Virginia in three simple steps:

🗳️ Step 1—Visit vadogwood.com/voter-registration/

🗳️ Step 2—Click “register to vote”

🗳️ Step 3—Fill out the form

Remember, every election is a chance to shape the future of your community. Early voting is underway in Virginia and will continue through Saturday, Oct. 31. Virginians who prefer to vote on Election Day may do so on Tuesday, Nov 3.

Are you enjoying this newsletter?

Thanks for reading. This newsletter was written by Amie Knowles. Amie is a lifelong Virginia resident and mom to a fantastic 8-year-old who loves Pokémon. This edition includes a story from Ava Edwards and Sophie Boudreau. It was edited by Crystal Niforos.

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