Of Note
You’ve survived that late January Snow-zilla, but now comes a blizzard of February activities—including lots to do around Valentine’s Day.
Let’s start off with the fifth annual Art of the Piedmont auction and reception at the Middleburg Community Center on Friday, Feb. 19 from 6 to 8 p.m. A number of well-known local artists will have their works on display, and it’s all for a great cause, benefiting the children of the Middleburg Montessori School.
The National Sporting Library and Museum is featuring “The Art of Fly Fishing” by Peter Corbin now through July 3. Corbin also produced a video slide show to accompany his exhibition and there will be a “Meet the Artist” event scheduled for Saturday, March 19 at 10 a.m. Admission is free to NSLM members and $5 for non- members.
The Middleburg Arts Council will present “Sunrise-Sunset,” a juried show hosted by The Byrne Gallery, through Feb. 27. The exhibit will feature artwork inspired by sunrises and sunsets, bringing joy and warmth to the cold month of February. Sunrise-Sunset is the third annual juried show for artists from the Middleburg and neighboring regions. There will be 26 artists represented with work in painting, photography and other media. The gallery is located at 7 W. Washington Street. The opening reception is Saturday, Feb. 6 from 2-5 p.m. Additional events will be listed at www.middleburgarts.org, including artist talks on Saturday, Feb. 27. Contact Susan Byrne at 540-687-6986 or www. byrnegallery.com.
Over in The Plains, Live An Artful Life Gallery will host a creative session called “Lighting The Creative Spark” with Dr. Celia Im on Thursday, Feb. 25. The session is meant to provide additional tools to increase creativity for an art endeavor or in daily life. Registration is open at LiveAnArtfulLife. com/events. Cost is $35 per participant.
And now for some music.
At Grace Episcopal in The Plains, their ongoing concert series will resume with “Love Is In The Air,” a Valentine’s Day appearance by internationally renowned cellist Amit Peled, accompanied by pianist Noreen Polera, on Feb. 14 at 5 p.m. Peled recently held a sold-out event at the Kennedy Center. Tickets are $25, and $15 for students, with anyone under 18 admitted free. For more information, go to www.gracetheplains.org or call 540-253- 5177 ext. 107.
The swell strains of Cole Porter, George Gershwin and Irving Berlin will be performed by the talented Rosa Lamoreaux and Friends, including favorites from The Great American Songbook Sunday, Feb. 28 at 5:30 p.m. It will be held in the ballroom at Barton Oaks, 2750 Landmark School Road in the The Plains. This will be the ninth
annual Candlelight Concert Fundraiser for the Community Music School of the Piedmont. Tickets are $125 per person and for information, go to piedmontmusic. com or call 540-592- 3040
The fifth annual Winter Weekend Sale is set to take place in the town of Middleburg Feb. 12-14. During the Valentine’s weekend event visitors will be able to hunt for wonderful gifts at shops all round town. Sponsored by the Town of
Middleburg and the Middleburg Business & Professional Association, the sale will be held Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday as posted by shops.
Many of the shops in the village will have discounts on everything from shoes to children’s clothes to fall and winter fashions, as well as specials in some of the restaurants. Red balloons will be floating outside participating businesses.
During February, Middleburg’s Goodstone Inn is offering 50 per cent off room rates Sunday through Thursday and 30 per cent off Friday and Saturday evenings. Valentine’s weekend is not included and the rates are available only for the Carriage House, Bull Barn, Dutch Cottage and French Farm Cottage rooms. Call 540-687-3333 or toll-free: 877-219- 4663.
Airlie in Warrenton hosts special dinners, a Fabbioli wine dinner and brunch event during Valentine’s weekend, and offers cozy accommodations to snuggle with your sweetheart. On Feb. 12- 14 guests will be able to enjoy a delicious fresh three-course prix fixe dinner in the Airlie dining room for $50 per person plus tax. On Saturday, Feb. 13, the Signature Dinner series features Fabbioli Cellars. Airlie Culinary Director Jeff Witte has paired culinary delights with the delicious wines of master winemaker Doug Fabbioli starting with a three-course dinner at 7 p.m.
On Sunday, Feb. 14, there will be a sumptuous brunch in the Airlie Room from 10:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. at $35 per person plus tax. For more information visit the website at http://www.airlie.com or call 540-347-1300.
At Castleton, an instrument known as the bandoneon, which looks like an accordion but plays like an organ with four keyboards, will be in the hands of the universally-acclaimed bandoneonist and composer J.P. Jofre on Feb. 21 at 4 p.m. Joining Jofre in his performance of original works as well as Argentinian classics will be the Hard Tango Chamber Band. Contact the box office at 866-974-0767.
On Feb. 14, Oatlands in Leesburg will host a special Valentine’s Day Tea featuring a display of 19th century valentine cards. The collection will include several cards by Esther Howland, who is known as the “Mother of the American Valentine.” Tea will be held from 1-3 p.m. in the historic Carriage House and requires advance reservation and purchase. Teas are $29.95 plus tax per person ages 3 and up. For reservations, call 703-777-3174.
Oatlands also will host two lectures in honor of Black History Month on Feb. 20 at 2 p.m. Lori Kimball, Director of Programming and Education at Oatlands, will share the story of William Jordan Augustus, who escaped from Oatlands in 1809 to seek his freedom in the north.
Sheri Huerta, a PhD Candidate from George Mason University, will present “Freedom Seekers, Public Opinion, and the Law.”
As courts in slave-holding states meted out harsh punishments to people who aided freedom seekers, courts in “free” states grappled with enforcing laws that protected slavery at the cost of denying individual rights. Contact Lori Kimball at 703- 777-3174 ext. 103.
Over in Berryville, the Barns of Rose Hill has an exhibition through Feb. 13 called “Inspired By The Beatles: An Art Quilt Challenge.” The show is the culmination of what happened when 150 fiber artists from around the world were challenged to each choose a different song by the Beatles and depict it as a 24×24-foot art quilt.
The Waterford Foundation will celebrate 73 years of preserving Historic Waterford with a second Valentine’s Sweetheart Ball on Saturday, Feb. 13 at Belmont Country Club. Honorary chairs Geary and Gail Higgins and event chairs Jackie and Jim Gosses, Connie Moore, and Jim Behan will host this gala event.
Guests are invited to dress up in their 1940s or other festive finery. The event includes champagne, cocktails, and a Silent Auction in the Historic Belmont Mansion at 6:30 p.m., followed by dinner, drinks, dessert and a live auction. Then comes dancing in the Grand Ballroom to the Big Band sounds of the 17-piece Martinsburg Jazz Orchestra, guided by the Dance King, and serenaded by the three “Anderson Sisters” from Stage Coach Theater. Tickets are $150 each and tables for 12 are $1,700, available at www.waterfordfoundation.org or by calling 540-882-3018.