by Leonard Shapiro
In a digital age of short-burst writing by tweet and text, Anne Burridge, chair of the English department at Foxcroft School, knows full well the challenges of trying to teach her students to understand and appreciate the far more complicated works of Shakespeare.
The National Sporting Library & Museum (NSLM) is partnering with the Land Trust of Virginia to hold an exclusive outdoor painting workshop with renowned artist C.D. Clarke.
Up to 14 participants will paint alongside Clarke, an international sportsman and artist, at Forest Mills Farm near Leesburg on April 16.
Nestled against the backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains just west of Middleburg, this year’s Historic Garden Week is scheduled for Sunday, April 24 and Monday, April 25.
The tour, under the auspices of the Garden Club of Virginia and organized in this area by the Fauquier and Loudoun Garden Club, features four spectacular houses and gardens. They’re all located within the 18,000-acre Crooked Run Rural Historic District and the Mosby Heritage Area along the scenic roads among the villages of Middleburg, Upperville, and Paris.
by Megan Catherwood
When 2014 National Poetry Slam champion Clint Smith came to Highland School last month, his greatest connection with students may well have been on the subject of silence. The spoken word poet and activist probed the dangers of “things that are left unsaid” and in doing so, encouraged his young listeners to develop their own courageous voices.
by Missy Janes
As property owners in the northern Virginia Piedmont, our responsibilities are great. The Piedmont’s rural landscape—its rolling green hills, pristine waters, and scenic roadways, farms, and towns—has an allure that has drawn us to a life in the country. Our collective challenge is to sustain this magic for future generations.
by Marcia Woolman
Spending winter days in the surrounding woodlands, or even observing trees in villages and on old estates, brings an awareness of vines growing on far to many trees.
Always looking for an important conservation issue, I was prepared to warn readers of the danger of vines killing your trees. But, I wasn’t sure to what degree this was true, so I set out to read and learn whether vines really do kill trees.
by Sophie Schepps
Dustin Aliff finds himself completely consumed with creativity on a daily basis. After spending his working daytime hours repairing antique oriental rugs with his father David at David’s Oriental Rugs in Marshall, he shifts to music, poetry, and painting in the evenings.
As a high school student at Liberty High School in the mid-1990s, Aliff suffered from seizures, fainting spells and terrible migraines. After several hospital visits, he found relief from the same doctor who performed surgery on the late Christopher Reeve.
Music: After a successful inaugural season, the Middleburg Concert Series returns with its first concert of 2016 on Sunday, March 13 at 4 p.m. with a visit to the baroque era. Concerts are held at the Middleburg United Methodist Church at 15 West Washington Street and admission is free.
by Heidi Baumstark
Ashley Bott, Middleburg’s new town treasurer, is no stranger to small towns.
Bott has always embraced the culture of small-town living, having been raised in Calvert County, Maryland, just two blocks from the Chesapeake Bay. Currently, she lives in another small town, Strasburg, about 40 miles west of Middleburg, with her husband, Joey, and their three-year-old son, Owen.
