OPINION
KING GEORGE FESTIVAL
RAISE VIRGINIA’S MINIMUM WAGE
SPORTS FOOTBALL: DRIFTERS VS. PANTHERS
SEE INSIDE FOR A RECAP OF THE KING GEORGE FALL FESTIVAL
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PAGES 5-8
T he Volume 39, Number 42
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Colonial Beach • Westmoreland
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With a roar like thunder, bikers converge on Colonial Beach for 2015 LINDA FARNETH For four days, the Town of Colonial Beach was a nirvana for motorcycle buffs. From Oct. 8-11, as many as 30,000 made their way through the town to enjoy live music, great food and drink, and time to fellowship with their fellow shade-tree mechanics. Return visitors from last year’s festival commented on the pleasant, despite some rain on Saturday. Bikers Treba and Jack visited from nearby Stafford to check out the action. For Treba, Colonial Beach was his first BikeFest. “I just wanted to come out to the beach,” he said. “This is my first BikeFest, I think it’s pretty good.” Jack, has seen over 20 BikeFests in his travels including Daytona Beach and Sturgis, SD. Jack said it was his first time in Co-
lonial Beach. He describes Colonial Beach as “small, it’s quaint, it’s nice.” But he said there were not enough resources to handle large crowds in his experience. “It’s only the second year here, so there are some growing pains to be expected. Not enough trash cans and bathrooms,” he said. Jack explained that many BikeFests are centered around a local geographical landmark that allows a good ride. When he goes to Daytona or Sturgis, it’s more about the drive there, riding the country side. “Where we live, [Stafford Va] because of the traffic up north, it’s difficult to get a good ride in some days, because there is so much traffic,” he said. “The ride down here today was nice.” Bikers, Mike Glower and Debbie Green came down from Waldorf, MD on Sunday with their grandson
Bentley. “We will definitely come back.” Glower said. Bike Fest is put on by the Colonial Beach Chamber of Commerce. Major sponsors include All-American Harley-Davidson and High Tides, Premium Distributors, WineGardener, Northern Neck Chevrolet and Waldorf Ford. One of the biggest draws for this year’s festival was the free music provided by a variety of bands. The theme among the performers was “Buy beer, buy beer, buy beer.” Beer distributors funded the stunning lineup of musical acts that performed free concerts throughout the weekend. T-Shirt sales and other memorabilia also helped finance the event. See BIKE FEST, page 8
Photo by Linda Farneth
Motorcyle buffs of all shapes, sizes and species turned out for the 2015 BikeFest in Colonial Beach. The event included lives music, food and drink, and plenty of “hogs.”
Port Royal residents celebrate history, culture at Charter Days festival STAFF REPORT
Photos by Nancy Long
Yo ho ho! Pirates galore showed up for last weekend’s re-scheduled Port Royal Charter Days festival. The weather was beautiful, and area residents flocked to the community for fun, food and a celebration of Port Royal’s rich history as a colonial settlement and a crossroads of the Civil War.
Adults, kids and lots of pirates filled the streets of Port Royal last weekend for the town’s Charter Day Festival. The annual event celebrates the recognition of Port Royal as a town more than 270 years ago, and its place on the National Historical Registry. This free annual event will also feature colonial-era and Civil War history, as well as the town's famous maritime heritage. Festival organizers encouraged attendees to dress in pirate garb this year, a throwback to the region’s swashbuckling past. Others arrived decked out in Colonial Era and Civil War-style costumes. “After having to reschedule the Town’s Charter Day due to a ‘state of emergency’ created by storm Joaquin, Sunday was picture perfect,” said Mayor Nancy Long. “Much thanks to all who worked to make yesterday successful.” Long said the goal was to promote history and create good clean fun. The festivities included cannon
fire, and sword play by some of the pirates, including Captain Jaxx Parrow, the Blue-Eye Pirate from Bristow, and Blackbeard's Crew from Hampton. Children got to participate in oldschool games such as sack races, three-legged races, wheel barrow races and an egg toss. Entry into the contests was free and prizes were awarded. New for this year's festival was a pet photo contest. The Gary Lee Tolley and Friends Band, offered more than three hours of solid entertainment to the crowd, serving up a combination of beach music, country and oldies tunes. Attendees brought their appetites with them and enjoyed a variety of locally made hoods, as well as a mix of beers and wines. About 70 vendors offered unique and specialty wares for sale including jewelry, home décor, beauty, health and wellness, clothing, foods, crafts and art. Also on hand was a Rappahannock Electric Cooperative truck, and Port Royal Fire and Rescue volunteers.
Los Angeles artist returns to paint more murals for Montross RICHARD LEGGITT
Photo by Terry Cosgrove
L.A.-based artisti Melanie Stimmell and her team work on one a new mural for the Town of Montross.
Melanie Stimmell Van Latum is back and making residents of Montross, as well as tourists and visitors to the town, smile again. The Los Angles artist has returned to create seven more prominent murals welcoming people to the Westmoreland County village. Stimmell Van Latum was in Montross last summer to create murals, including a seed packet advertisement on Bridget’s Boutique, the Nomini Ferry Brand tomato can label on the Westmoreland County Museum and the signature Montross postcard on the side of Carrot Cottage Stimmell Van Latum and Anat Ronen of Houston were the talk of the town as they designed and
painted the large murals for the Greater Montross Partnership for Revitalization. Their work including a refurbishing of the 1950s Sprite Boy mural on the old Northern Neck Coke building. This time Stimmell Van Latum has returned wIth two of the artists from her company, We Talk Chalk, Lyndsey Morel and Rick Madera, to do more of her creative designs for the Partnership for Refitalization. “Montross is amazing,” Stimmell Van Latum said. “We enjoy working here.” World renown for her artwork, StImmell Van Latum and her We Talk Chalk team have traveled the world, including Germany, Holland, Turkey, China, Canada and Thailand doing street painting projects designed to please and inspire.
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“But in the winter months we mostly do murals,” she said. Stimmell Van Latum was recruited for the initial Montross murals project by Holly Harman, a prominent local artist, who along with her husband, Terry Cosgrove, owns the Art of Coffee and worked tirelessly to help bring the murals crew back to town for more of their creative and exciting artworks. “A lot of what we do is usually temporary,” said Stimmel Van Latum. “But we are doing the outlines of See MURALS, page 8