Volunteer Spotlight: Matt Chadinha

Matt Chadinha volunteers as Vice Chair for Downtown Ashland Association. He is passionate about the town, its people, and supporting local businesses.

We recently sat down with Chadinha to discuss his role with the Association and his new travel agency franchise, Dream Vacations.

Q: What’s your favorite thing about Ashland?

I love the community feel to Ashland and how neighbors look out for each other like a family. I was first introduced to the town by a friend about 2 years ago, and I have been head-over-heels for the place ever since.

Q: Why do you choose to volunteer for Downtown Ashland Association?

Because this town is so great, I want to grow and share it with others. I want to attract new business owners and new visitors. I want more people to experience the Ashland that I love.

I started volunteering for Downtown Ashland Association about a year ago. After moving to Ashland permanently, I was looking for ways to become actively involved. I went to Ashland Town Council and I was so passionate about Downtown Ashland that someone suggested joining the Association. So, I did!

Q: Your current role with Downtown Ashland Association focuses on marketing. What do you want prospective customers to know about our town?

I especially want those from Richmond to know that coming to Ashland makes a cool daytrip. Ashland has an awesome downtown scene with great businesses and entertainment. It’s just a fun place to hangout. We are Richmond’s best kept secret!

Q: You recently launched a new business in Ashland. Could you tell us about it?

I have been in retail and customer service for more than 20 years. I recently decided to start my own business in Ashland, called Dream Vacations, combining my two passions: travel and the Ashland community. I want to help more people to travel and explore because life is short, and we only go around this thing once!  

Matt Chadinha and daughter Olivia on vacation.

Contact Matt Chadinha via email or (804)-924-6877 to discuss Downtown Ashland Association or your pending travel plans.

All Aboard!

Downtown Ashland Association elected new members and leadership for the Board of Directors during its annual meeting on June 22, 2021.

Help us welcome the new volunteers!

Chair

John Working is an attorney and owner of Railside Law Group, specializing in criminal, family, and estate law. (Read more about John here.)

Vice Chair

Matt Chadinha is a recent Ashland resident and owner of travel agency, Dream Vacations. (Read more about Matt here.)

Secretary

E.G. Allen is a longtime Ashland resident and an attorney with Roth Jackson specializing in corporate governance.

Treasurer

Ian Kirkland is the owner of Caboose Market & Cafe volunteering for his third term on the Board of Directors. (Read more about Ian here.)

New Member

Kitty Barnes is an owner of RED VEIN Escape and Ashland Haunted History Tours, and she volunteers her time and expertise to organize Ashland Fourth Fridays. (Read more about Kitty here.)

New Member

Paul Burch is a longtime Ashland resident and an engineer with Froehling & Robertson specializing in construction materials testing.

Ashland Fourth Fridays Volunteer Spotlight

Kitty Barnes is a local business owner and artist who volunteers her time and expertise as Event Organizer for Ashland Fourth Fridays.

Barnes is co-owner of RED VEIN Escape and Ashland Haunted History Tours on Robinson Street in Downtown Ashland. And she is newly elected to the Board of Directors for Downtown Ashland Association.

Beginning in 2020, she began volunteering her time to organize Ashland Fourth Fridays as a showcase of the arts and culture that flourish in our community. Recently, Downtown Ashland Association visited Barnes to learn more about the motivations for her volunteerism.

Q: Tell us about Ashland Fourth Fridays. What will visitors find at the monthly events?

Most of all, we invite people to come and experience the unique and amazing businesses that are here in Downtown Ashland. We have a lot of great restaurants, quirky shops, and unique experiences that we want people to discover.

Start to finish, we want customers to find discovery and excitement. We want customers to have a sense of excitement every time they go into a new shop. People will say, “I didn’t know this was here” or “oh, this place has a new menu. I want to go there!” 

I want customers to have that sense of anticipation when they come to Ashland Fourth Fridays. Hopefully, they discover a new artist. An artist needs to be sought after, and you can’t seek them if you haven’t discovered that they exist.

Q: How did Ashland Fourth Fridays get started?

I began working on Ashland Fourth Fridays in the spring of 2020, shortly after we opened our business in downtown. The event was started in years past, but had gone dormant. We wanted to bring the idea back and expand it to include as many downtown businesses and local artists as possible. 

So, I just started by inviting my neighbors to stay open on a Friday, and then a few more people joined. When Downtown Ashland Association got involved, it really took off! 

Now, I’m able to focus on bringing new and existing artists into the spotlight and on publicizing the event to new customers. It has been a lot of work to get to this point, but it’s rewarding to see the positive results!

Q: Do you consider yourself a promoter of the arts? 

Yes! We at RED VEIN see ourselves as artists. We design immersive visitor experiences and we tell stories. We want what we make to be living art. You walk through and experience what we have created and it sticks with you. Also, RED VEIN tries to partner with artists as much as we can. For example, all of our t-shirts and posters are designed by local artists.

So, when we learned about Ashland Fourth Fridays, I was excited to expand it and make a community celebration of the arts. We really want to encourage the creatives and makers who are already here. It’s intended to be a showcase of our community--a celebration of what makes Ashland vibrant and unique.

Q: Anything else you would like to add? 

Ashland is a destination! It’s not just a quick gas station stop on I-95. There is something to see for everybody. Ashland Fourth Fridays is our way of inviting visitors to come and experience it for themselves.

Summer Interns

Downtown Ashland Association partners with Dominion Energy Innovation Center to host the Center Street Internship Program for Randolph-Macon College students.

The Summer Intern program is in full swing, and we are accepting applications for Fall 2021 and Spring 2022.

Meet the Summer Interns...

Grayson Kuhla is a rising senior from Short Pump majoring in Neuroscience and minoring in Biology and Psychology. In his spare time, Grayson started a mobile app for civic engagement.

Scott Ruelle is a rising senior from Fairfax majoring in Business Management with a minor in Communications. Scott plays defense for Yellow Jacket Men's Lacrosse.

Welcome Caravati’s!

Friday, June 25 from 4-7pm, Caravati’s Architectural Salvage will celebrate its Grand Opening in downtown Ashland.

201 England Street is the new location of Caravati’s Architectural Salvage and the historic home of Loving Ford dealership, first built in 1921.

The local family business is known across our region for unique and lovingly restored architectural pieces. The new location will offer customers an expanded showroom and restoration services.

Owners Ben, Jimmy, and Elaine Kastelberg are Hanover County residents and the relocation to Ashland is a move home, in many ways. 

“I like the small town feel of Ashland,” says Ben. “It’s a nice historic town and the atmosphere jives with what we do here at Caravati’s.”

“When we talk to people about the relocation, it’s great to be able to tell them Ashland is a destination spot to come shop, eat and sightsee.”

Ben, Elaine, and Jimmy Kastelberg with the full Caravati’s Architectural Salvage team.

Caravati’s provides high-quality antique and vintage architectural pieces salvaged from historic homes, including hardware, woodwork, wrought iron, brick, lighting, and more. “My grandfather was known to salvage everything but the plaster dust. That was the one thing he couldn’t save,” says Jimmy about the business’s founder, Louis Caravati.

The Caravati’s showroom includes historic photographs of the family business.

“We were fortunate grandchildren, my grandfather had plenty of work for everybody. I was one who worked there every summer with him, and I enjoyed it. He had us cleaning brick. We pulled glass out of old windows. He had us stripping paint off of old doors and windows and shutters and mantles; anything that had paint on it.”

By the time Jimmy took on the business in 1983, Caravati’s had grown to fill warehouses in south Richmond. He explains, “the biggest challenge we’ve faced is changing times. We've been through a couple of recessionary periods, back in my grandfather’s time, in the eighties, and with COVID. We’ve had to make adjustments. As the business owner, you have to sacrifice and to adapt. With experience and being really attuned to our market, we’ve overcome some tough times.”

Stained glass and wrought iron displayed in the Caravati’s showroom.

Relocating to Ashland will help Caravati’s continue the tradition. Jimmy and Elaine proudly report that Ben will soon be taking on the leadership role. And it was Ben who envisioned the move to Ashland and adapting during changing times.

Ben explains, “moving to Ashland allows us to delve further into the art of what we do. We can specialize in restoration services and provide installation as well. This location will help us serve our customers and make sure our inventory is fully customized to their needs.” The Ashland showroom is surrounded by workshops for each trade. Caravati’s craftsmen specialize in antique lighting, replication, woodworking and repair, historic glass cutting, and hardware fitting.

Historic doors and fixtures in the Caravati’s showroom.

Even the new location is an historic restoration success story. The Loving Ford Building has graced Ashland’s main street for 100 years. The building is flanked by the iconic Ashland Theatre and just one block from the railroad tracks in the center of town. Following the owners’ renovation, Caravati’s business fits perfectly in the historic space. Today, there are architectural pieces showcased in the picture windows and craftsmen in each garage bay.

Everyone is invited to join Caravati’s Architectural Salvage Grand Opening Celebration on Friday from 4-7pm at 201 England Street, Ashland VA 23005.

Ashland Fourth Fridays will be going on simultaneously. Downtown Ashland is sure to be an exciting destination for customers new and old.