15 minute read
FEATURES
Mother Nature may not have made up her mind, but we have. Never mind the weather, good or bad or tolerable. Life’s too short not to browse stalls at a crafts festival, go laugh at the Harlem Globetrotters, or go get laughed at doing a mud run named for a Revolutionary War general.
What is there to do here this time of the year? What isn’t there, you mean. Have a look.
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Mad Anthony Mud Run
“Mad” Anthony Wayne would appreciate Waynesboro’s Mad Anthony Mud Run, and he might even win it. Waynesboro’s namesake earned his nickname as a brigadier general in the Revolutionary War, where he stormed the British fort in Stony Point, New York, boosting Colonial morale. Known for his personal courage and his tactical boldness, he would be impressive at hurtling, climbing, and crawling through obstacles like tires, tunnels, hay bales, rope walls, and whatever else the course designers come up with this year. The lowest recorded temperature in the first seven years of the race was
Seasonal Pleasures:
Stepping Out in Central Virginia
BY KEN WILSON
nine degrees Fahrenheit. That’s not quite Valley Forge, but it’s cold unless you’re a pig.
Registration for the 8th Annual Mad Anthony Mud Run in Coyner Springs Park is $60 plus sign-up fee. The run will begin Saturday, February 29 at 9:00 a.m. The last participants to be officially counted will slog to the finish line around 11:15—but it’s not like any of them are going to look their best. Hail the gritty and bedraggled! Let their fun begin!
Lenten Baroque
The music of Johann Sebastian Bach is “Ever Ancient, Ever New” as played by Charlottesville’s Three Notch’d Road, The Virginia Baroque Ensemble. Continuing their cycle of Bach cantatas, on Friday, March 6 at 7:30 p.m. in Staunton’s Trinity Episcopal Church the 17-person ensemble will present Bach & Nowakowski on the Soul’s Awakening for Lent featuring penitential music of J.S. Bach from various sacred works, including arias from his famous Matthäus-Passion and Johannes-Passion and solo organ works. Three Notch’d Road will also give the world premiere of a work it has commissioned from American composer Mark Nowakowski. Entitled Quo Vadis and scored for three singers and instrumental ensemble, the text recounts a Christian tradition that while fleeing certain martyrdom, St. Peter saw a vision of Christ, asking him, “Quo vadis/Where are you going?” Chastened, Peter returned to his duty and ultimately his own crucifixion in Rome. Tickets are $25.
Richmond Ballet at Piedmont Virginia Community College
Founded in 1957, Richmond Ballet is the state ballet of Virginia, and a critic’s favorite when it dances out of state. The fine 28-member company returns to PVCC on Wednesday, March 11 at 7:30 p.m. with another exciting evening-length program of classic 20th century works, to music by Tchaikovsky (Suite No. 3 for Orchestra in G major, Op. 55) and Carl Orff (Carmina Burana). Tickets are $23 for adults and $17 for students.
Harlem Globetrotters
It’s amazing how silly a man can look with a ball in his hand—or a ball that was in his hand until a moment ago, that he doesn’t even know has been stolen and is now soaring toward the basket for . . . “three points!”
The world-famous Harlem Globetrotters have made their opponents look silly, and made them enjoy it, since first being formed in 1926—not in uptown New York, but on the South Side of Chicago. First as an offbeat attraction at Harlem’s famous Savoy Ballroom, and since then in more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 countries and territories, the men—and now women too—of the ‘Trotters dazzle audiences and their longstanding but not longsuffering opponents, The Washington Generals, with hilarious hijinks, incredible ball handling, and heart-stopping high flying dunks.
The latest Globetrotters will bring their all-new show, “Pushing the Limits” to the John Paul Jones Arena on Thursday, March 12 at 7:00 p.m. It’s a family show that no family could forget.
James Madison’s Birthday and Wreath-Laying Ceremony Central Virginians are fortunate to have the estates of three Founding Fathers and United States presidents on home territory. James Madison’s Montpelier in Orange County will commemorate our fourth president’s 269th birthday on Monday, March 16 at 1:30 p.m. with a wreath-laying ceremony, followed by tours and a book talk.
The commemorative wreath-laying ceremony at the Madison Family Cemetery will feature the United States Marine Corps Band, Honor Guard, Color Guard, and Firing detail. Pre-ceremony music will begin at 1:10 p.m., and the official ceremony will commence at 1:30 p.m. The Honorable Abigail Spanberger (VA-07), U.S. House of Representatives, will be the featured speaker. In the House, Mr. Madison, or a close likeness, will accept birthday wishes. Signature Tours will be offered every 30 minutes from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. A special in-depth tour highlighting Madison’s role as Father of the Constitution will be offered at 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Advance tickets (Adults $22, Kids $9) may be purchased online.
Following the Ceremony, in the Grand Salon at the David M. Rubenstein Visitor Center from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Dr. Henry P. Williams, former Wall Street and international investment banker, will discuss his book Turkey & America: East & West-Where the Twain Meet. The book transports the reader across two millennia of competing and cooperating cultures, in an often bloody and sometimes triumphant story of war and peace. Williams will connect dots, familiar and unfamiliar, that led to the American Founding, and will address the existential challenges of current East-West dynamics. Book signings and light refreshments will follow the talk.
Journey to High Places
Nelson County’s Wintergreen Resort is a four-season place to play, or to wander. Kathie Driscoll is Education Director at The Nature Foundation at Wintergreen, and knows the best places to roam. Driscoll will lead a hike in search of early spring wildflowers along Mau-Har Trail from Rt. 56 for a healthy seven miles to Reed’s Gap on Thursday, March 19, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. This hike is rated strenuous. Water, lunch and hiking shoes are required, and participants must be able to safely complete a moderate hike for at least two hours at an elevation over 3,000 feet. The advance fee is $10.
Hope’s Legacy Equine Rescue Family Fun Day
Working with the young to teach responsible equine care—that’s the mission of Hope’s Legacy, situated on 172 acres in western Albemarle County. Founded in 2008 with just one donkey, the non-profit group has since taken in over 250 horses, ponies, mules, and donkeys, sheltering them from neglect, abuse, and abandonment, and sometimes taking over for owners no longer able to care for their creatures. Today, Hope’s Legacy cares for horses and donkeys ranging in age from 3 to 35-years-old.
Hope’s invites the public to join them for a free Hope’s Legacy Equine Rescue Family Fun Day from 10:00 a.m. to 12 noon on Saturdays March 21 and May 16. Come meet Donkey, Dolly, and other animals, and enjoy volunteer-led outdoor activities like a scavenger hunt. These events are free of charge, but donations are greatly welcomed. Space each day is limited to the first 20 registrants, so register early.
Shenandoah Valley Plant Symposium
With spring soon a-poppin’, to the especial delight of gardeners and their lucky spouses, the Ninth Annual Shenandoah Valley Plant Symposium at Waynesboro’s Best Western Inn and Conference Center Friday, March 20 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., is coming right on time.
Subtitled A Gardener’s Palette, the symposium will feature five presentations by master gardeners with a wide range of horticultural experience. Scott Beuerlein, whose original talk title, “Good Trees for Bad Places,” was determined by a committee of sobriety-challenged but internationally renowned horticulturists to need “an upgrade,” will now speak on the subject of “Badass Trees for Piss Poor Places.” Scott is the Manager of Botanical Garden Outreach at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden.
Self-described “professional plant geek” Paul Westervelt of Saunders Brothers Nursery in Piney River will talk about distinguishing between legitimately superior new cultivars and those that are simply new on the market.
Other presentations will be Native Plants: Facts and Fallacies, Designing for Wildlife, and Special Effects in the Landscape. Registration is $90 before March 9 and $100 afterward.
Virginia Spirits Roadshow
Crafting spirits—or hard liquor, in more common parlance—is not just for corporate giants any more. Like the craft brewing industry before it, and aided and abetted by cocktail culture, distilling has become a hip hobby and then a professional occupation for a whole generation of super-taster “creatives.” Naturally this crew and their fans hold their own meet-ups and competitions. Hence the Virginia Spirits Roadshow, Saturday, March 28 from 12 noon to 5:00 p.m. in Charlottesville’s IX Art Park. Ticketholders can sample artisan spirits from thirteen Virginia distilleries, plus craft cocktails and samples of Caiseal Beer, while mixing and mingling with Virginia distillers. A food truck from 106 Street Food in Charlottesville will also be on hand.
Advance tickets are $20 for one or $35 for two people. Day of tix are sold individually only and are $30. Designated driver tickets are complimentary. The event will take place rain or shine.
Crozet Arts & Crafts Festival
Decorative and wearable fiber, wood, glass, jewelry and metal, and even painting—the good burghers of Crozet are a creative lot, which is why the Crozet Arts & Crafts Festival will celebrate its 40th anniversary this spring, May 9 and 10 in the city’s expansive Claudius Crozet Park.
The 10th is Mother’s Day—bring Mom and let her pick out her present (within limits, Mom). While she’s looking, take in some craft demonstrations. Park the kids at a children’s play area or baby care station, or let them enjoy activities like face painting and interactive musical performances from Kim and Jimbo Cary. You don’t care much for art? You’ve hated crafts since your fourth-grade teacher laughed at that necklace you made for your sister? Come for the music! Crozet’s own Skyline Country Cloggers will turn out old-tyme Appalachian dance tunes, while Otra Vez will play Argentine tango numbers, “existential waltzes” (ponder with your partner), and original compositions.
The eclectic acoustic sounds of Wicked Olde are wicked goode, whether they’re covering Big Walter Horton (Chicago blues), Hank Williams, Bill Monroe, George Gershwin or Jackson Browne, or whipping off a lively Celtic reel.
Zuzu’s Hot 5 will channel Fats Waller, early Louis Armstrong, and Bessie Smith. The Oversteppers are bringing de rock and de reggae, ‘mon. Driftwood Radio will dazzle the adventurously inclined with virtuosic combos of flamenco, blues, tango, and “imaginary folk music traditions.” Last but not least, the Western Albemarle High School Jazz Ensemble will prove that “The Kids are Alright.”
Here’s the schedule: Saturday May 9 10:00 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. Skyline Country Cloggers 11:00 a.m - 12:30 p.m. John Wyant Band 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Zuzu’s Hot 5 3:30 p.m - 5:30 p.m. The Oversteppers
Sunday May 10 10:00 a.m. - 10:50 a.m. WAHS Jazz Band 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Driftwood Radio 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Wicked Olde 3:30p.m.- 4:00 p.m. Miles Pearce 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Otra Vez
The Crozet Arts & Crafts Festival will be in swing from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday May 9, and 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 10. Admission is $7 for adults $7 for a single day, and $13 for the weekend. Seniors 65 and over pay only $6 for one day and $11 for both. Children 12 and under get in free. Onsite parking is also free of charge. Because most exhibitors will be under the big tents or pavilions, the Festival will go on, rain or shine. Pets will not be allowed in the tents or pavilions. Music and dance and sport; planting and pruning and caring for creatures. Here in Central Virginia we can have it all.
FEBRUAR Y 26 - MARCH 3, 2020 ISSUE 2908 503 Faulconer Drive Charlottesville · VA · 22903 p: 434.295.1131 f: 434.293.7377 e: homes@mcleanfaulconer.com
LA FOURCHE Historic c. 1788 gem in the heart of Keswick, restored and updated. Main house with attached tavern and party barn on 4 acres. Views of Southwest Mountains. Minutes to Charlottesville & UVA. MLS#587033 $2,250,000 C. Dammann, 434.981.1250
INGLECRESS Tucked on a private 4+ acre, beautifully wooded, secluded lot minutes west of town is this stunning, Jay Dalgliesh designed 3-BR, 4-BA home, LR with FP, DR, and eatin kitchen. Extraordinary light throughout the home from numerous large windows and skylights. Lot adjoins Ivy Creek, contains pond and wonderful walking trails throughout the perimeter of the neighborhood. MLS# $945,000 Steve McLean, 434.981.1863
RAGGED MOUNTAIN FARM West of Charlottesville, near Ivy, is this beautiful 92-acre home on elevated site with 4 BR, 4.5 BA, including huge master suite on main level and 3-car garage. MLS#595833 $2,475,000 Jim Faulconer, 434.981.0076 QUAKER GLEN FARM 701 acres nestled against the Blue Ridge. Featuring 20 acres in apple orchards, perfect for a first-class vineyard. Convenient to Camp Hoover, Shenandoah National Park, and many fabulous hiking trails. MLS#588709 $2,795,000 Jim Faulconer, 434.981.0076 CABIN AT TURTLE CREEK Beautiful country home set on 39.6 private acres at the foot of the Blue Ridge, featuring a well-designed home with multiple living rooms. The property includes a three-bay utility room and a guest house. MLS#587914 $4,475,000 Steve McLean, 434.981.1863
INGLECRESS Designed by Dick Shank of Shank & Gray Architects. First-floor master bedroom with bath. Second level contains 4 additional bedrooms and 2 full baths in sought-after, close-to-town location. MLS#581994 $965,000 Steve McLean, 434.981.1863 KENRIDGE Elegant villa offering easy living and walking distance to Farmington, Birdwood Golf Course, & Boar’s Head Resort. Many stunning features including chef ’s kitchen, hardwood flooring, & built-in bookcases. MLS#588077 $945,000 Steve McLean, 434.981.1863 YELLOW MOUNTAIN A perfect combination of open fields and woodland with expansive long range views from several homesites on this 75+ acre estate parcel. Property shares a common border with Mint Spring Park. MLS#587056 $975,000 Charlotte Dammann, 434.981.1250
MEADOW HILL FARM C. 1910 traditional Virginia farmhouse located in Greenwood estate country 15 miles west of Charlottesville. Nice mix of open pasture land. Elevated home site provides generous views of the Piedmont country side. 6 BR, 5.5 BA, 6 FP, rich pine and oak hardwood flooring throughout, high ceilings at all levels, modern baths and appliances, home systems in first rate condition. Guest cottage with full bath. MLS#595248 $2,100,000 Mark Mascotte, 434.825.8610
BRAMBLEWOOD 522-acre sanctuary with a magnificent manor home, two other residences, and a barn, in a beautiful and private setting in the heart of Keswick. MLS#595091 $6,700,000 Jim Faulconer, 434.981.0076
For full details, visit: www.BramblewoodVa.com
503 Faulconer Drive Charlottesville · VA · 22903 p: 434.295.1131 f: 434.293.7377 e: homes@mcleanfaulconer.com
BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAIN VIEWS 248-acre property convenient to Charlottesville. Gently rolling land, streams, pasture, woods, and privacy. Numerous building sites, c. 1860, 3-bedroom 2-full-bath farmhouse. MLS#584740 $1,850,000 Steve McLean, 434.981.1863 EDNAM Quality-built, spacious home priced to sell below tax assessment value!!! Brick home, 5 bedrooms, 4 full baths, including main level master suite. Walking distance of renovated Boars Head Resort. MLS#591365 $785,000 Jim Faulconer, 434.981.0076 BLANDEMAR FARM ESTATES 25.4 acres with varying topography and amazing rock outcroppings. Unique design opportunities to create a stunning residence with magnificent views. Convenient to Charlottesville & UVA. Fiber optic available. MLS#593358 $554,000 C. Dammann, 434.981.1250
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SCUFFLETOWN ROAD Elegant contemporary house on nearly 6 acres. The home features high ceilings, a luxurious master suite, and a basement with a bath, sauna, and space for a rec room, home theater, or additional bedroom. MLS#588408 $590,000 Steve McLean, 434.981.1863 AUTHENTIC LOG CABIN Wintergreen Mountain private setting near common space, Appalachian Trail, spa, golf, and ski slopes. 4-bedroom, 3-bath, quality features: post and beam interior, stone FP, OFFERED FURNISHED. MLS#591549 $475,000 Jim Faulconer, 434.981.0076 INDIAN RIDGE DRIVE This is the VIEW LOT that you are looking for. Sweeping Blue Ridge views for miles. 5 acres open, remaining 8+ acres in woods. Well in place. Bring your builder or architect. 15 minutes to Hollymead Town Center. MLS#590233 $399,000 Tim Michel, 434.960.1124
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LONESOME MOUNTAIN ROAD 5-acre lot that has not been available for many years. This country but close to town location is conveniently located with quick access to Historic Downtown Mall, UVA, NGIC, airport, and North Fork Business Park. MLS#593160 $250,000 C. Dammann, 434.981.1250 IVY Exciting four-bedroom, four-and-half-bath residence privately situated on 5.43 acres. Two master suites and spacious flexible main rooms for comfortable living. Quick drive to UVA and town. MLS#595565 $719,000 Charlotte Dammann, 434.981.1250 RIVER LAWN Delightful combination of wood and pastureland with a spectacular bluff for a building site overlooking the James River. Property is under easement with the Virginia Outdoors Foundation. MLS#569753 $745,000 Steve McLean, 434.981.1863
LAKE ALBEMARLE ROAD Great 2+ acre residential building lot in Western Albemarle. The lot is partly wooded with an ideal, elevated homesite location. Meriwether Lewis School District! MLS#598534 $98,500 Steve McLean, 434.981.1863 EXCEPTIONAL LARGE ACREAGE 2 private estate parcels in coveted Ragged Mountain Farm. Excellent building sites, beautiful Blue Ridge views in the Western Albemarle school districts. 84.79 acres: MLS#563174 $995,000; 100.22 acres: MLS#563171 $1,100,000 Steve McLean, 434.981.1863 GLENMORE 0.75 acre lot on a quiet cut-de-sac near lovely Lake Lochen. One of the few exceptional lots left with the location, size, and diversity of this lot. MLS#599250 $269,000 Steve McLean, 434.981.1863
