Send announcements to The Loudoun Connection, 7913 Westpark Drive, McLean, VA 22102, e-mail to loudoun@connectionnewspapers.com or fax to 703-917-0991. Deadline is Friday, two weeks before the event. Photos/artwork encouraged. For more information, call Jennifer Lesinski at 703-917-6454.
This free listing is reserved for activities and events that are open to the public at no or minimal cost. For additional ongoing events listings, visit our Web site at www.connectionnewspapers.com.
Local dancers, Carla Martinez of Sterling and Meg Barton of Lovettsville will take to the stage Thanksgiving weekend with major roles in Classical Ballet Theatre's "Nutcracker" at the Northern Virginia Community College's Ernst Cultural Center Little River Turnpike in Annandale, Saturday Nov. 26, at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 27, at 2 p.m. Ticket prices are adults 18, seniors $15, children/students $12 and are available online at www.CBANVA.com and by phone at 703-471-0750. Limited tickets available at the box office.
The history tour, From Swann's Castle to Governor's Mansion: Exploring an Old Southern Estate, will take place weekends only, through Nov. 27, 12-4 p.m., at Morven Park. Monday Friday by appointment only. Adults $5, children $1, purchase tickets at the Coach House Visitors Center. 703-777-6034. Learn of the transition of the 19th century plantation of Thomas Swann Jr., governor of Maryland, into the early 20th century farm and hunt country estate of Virginia Governor Westmoreland Davis. The personalized, guided tour includes a look at the exterior of the Greek Revival Mansion as it undergoes extensive historic restoration, a visit to replica log huts of Confederate soldiers who lived on the property during the Civil War and the exhibit A Symbol of the New South: Governor and Mrs. Westmoreland Davis.
Winmill Carriage Collection, at Morven Park, weekends only, through Nov. 27, 12-4 p.m.; Monday-Friday by appointment only. Adults $5, children $1, purchase tickets at the Coach House Visitors Center. 703-777-6034. Named for Viola Townsend Winmill of Warrenton, the museum includes carriages she collected during her lifetime. On the personalized, guided tour, see a wide variety of antique horse-drawn vehicles from the mid-1800s and the early 1900s featured in the collection. Included in the exhibit are a Hansom Cab, a miniature coach belonging to Tom Thumb of Barnum & Bailey Circus, a 19th century hearse, a Silsby Steam Pumper and many others.
Oatlands will host candlelight tours Saturdays, Nov. 26, Dec. 3, Dec. 10 and Dec. 17, from 5:30-8:30 p.m. On arrival, visitors will be met in the Carriage House with complimentary cups of hot apple cider and cookies. After a brief stroll to the mansion, guests will be greeted at the house by costumed interpreters with accounts of the Eustis family and its lasting legacy to America, including Oatlands. Tickets $10. Group rates are available to groups of 15 or more and must be booked in advance. Call 703-777-3174 or visit www.oatlands.org.
Paintings by Robert Vander Zee will be on display at Gallery 222, through Nov. 27, with a reception to meet the artist Friday, Nov. 4, during LeesburgÕs First Friday, from 6-9 p.m.
Vander ZeeÕs paintings begin with the elements of nature. The artist then combines complimentary colors, layering and
glazing techniques and vigorous scrapes and swirls of line to
create movement and exciting dialogue. Gallery 222 is affiliated with the Loudoun Academy of the Arts Foundation, a nonprofit 501c3 organization that provides fine art instruction and exhibition space for professional area artists. Contact Gallery 222 at 703-777-5498 or www.gallery222.com.
The new edition of "Inside Loudoun County" spotlights the hurricane relief efforts of Loudoun County's animal control officers and also takes a look at housing and community needs as addressed through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program.
The first segment of the show features the Department of Animal Care and Control Director Thomas Koenig, Animal Control Field Supervisor Janette Reever and Animal Control Officer Jeanette Farrell. Reever and Farrell were among several Loudoun County employees who responded to
calls for help from Louisiana and Mississippi in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
The guest in the second segment of the program is Jan Boothby of the Department of Social Services, who is the manager of the CDBG program. The grants issued through the program provide funding for local projects that address a variety of housing and community development needs.
"Inside Loudoun County" is a 30-minute cable television program airing Mondays and Fridays, at 7 and 9 p.m., on Adelphia's Government Access Channel 2. The show is hosted by Nancy McCormick of the Loudoun County Office of Public Information and is produced by Adelphia.
Birthday parties are available for all ages at the Loudoun Heritage Farm Museum, 21668 Heritage Farm Lane in Sterling. The party package includes 10 children's and four adult's museum admissions passes, two-hour cabin rental and gifts for party participants. Package fee: $100, $5/extra child or chaperone and $13/extra hour of cabin rental. Call 703-421-5322 to schedule. Tuesdays-Sundays in November, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Morven Park, the historic home of Virginia Gov. Westmoreland Davis, located in Leesburg, is a 1,000-acre estate offering visitors a glimpse into Virginia country life during the early years of the 20th century is open to the public April-November, Fridays-Mondays and other times by appointment. Tours are offered at noon, 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. The park closes at 6 p.m. Admission is $7 for adults, $6 for seniors and $1 for children. One price admits visitors to all museums and the grounds. Special group tours and ticket packages are also available. Special holiday tours offered in December. Call: group tours, 703-777-2414; educational programs, 703-777-6034; and equestrian center and events, 703-777-2890.
Through Dec. 1, the Loudoun Museum will host a special exhibition entitled, The Fighting Ended Many Years Ago: Loudoun County in World War II. To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, this small exhibition will reflect the many contributions Loudoun County made to the war effort. Artifacts from the museumÕs collection include uniforms, medals, period magazines and ration booklets. The centerpiece of the exhibition is the brass plaque from the U.S.S. Alabama sunk by army aircraft under the command of Gen. Billy Mitchell of Middleburg.
Visitors will learn that no conflict in American history changed the people and landscape of Loudoun County more than World War II. To learn more, visit the Loudoun Museum, 16 Loudoun St., S.W., Leesburg, 10 a.m.- 5 p.m., Monday ÐSaturday and 1-5 p.m., Sunday. Admission is $3 for adults; $1 for seniors, teachers, students and children 4-17 years; children 3 years and under, museum members and military families are free.
Brian Kirk, an art teacher and fine arts department chair at Stone Bridge High, will be exhibiting a collection of contemporary metal sculptures at the Waddel Art Gallery at the Loudoun Campus of the Northern Virginia Community College, through Dec. 16. An opening reception takes place Dec. 1, from 5-8 p.m. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Call 703-450-2627 or visit www.nvcc.edu/Loudoun/ArtGallery.
Barns and Farms of Loudoun County art show and sale, Franklin Park Arts Center at Round Hill Center, 20 High St. View vanishing rural landscape of Loudoun County in photographs, paintings, sculpture and more created by local artists. All artwork is for sale. Call 540-338-7973 for evening/weekend appointments. Free event. Monday-Friday, Dec. 1-30, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 1, from 6:30-8 p.m., there will be an artists recognition reception for student artists from Loudoun County Public Schools hosted by The George Washington University Virginia Campus. Janice Koslowksi, principal, Eagle Ridge Middle School and Paul Vickers, principal, Mill Run Elementary School, will congratulate the students and present them with certificates. The fall exhibit features two-dimensional, mixed-media works by 52 LCPS students from Eagle Ridge Middle School, Hillside Elementary School and Mill Run Elementary School.
The reception is free and open to the public. RSVP by Wednesday, Nov. 23, via e-mail to reservations@va.gwu.edu or by telephone at 703-726-3650.
The exhibit is open to the public through Jan. 26, from 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Monday-Friday. The George Washington University Virginia Campus, 20101 Academic Way, Ashburn, Gallery Lounge, Room 121.
Photoworks in Historic Leesburg, upstairs at the corner of King and Loudoun streets, will be hosting an opportunity to meet landscape photographer Dave Levinson, Friday, Dec. 2, from 6 to 9 p.m., and also showing Saturday, Dec. 3,
noon to 3 p.m.
Ashburn Library, 43316 Hay Road, Ashburn, will be holding the Virginia Young Readers Book Club, 7 p.m., each month for elementary-school level, grades third-fifth, children. Includes reading one-two books each month, games and refreshments. Parents encouraged to join children in reading the selections. A limited number of free copies of each selection are available at the library for participants. Upcoming selections include: Dec. 1, "Snowed in with Grandmother Silk," by Carol Fenner and "Say What?" by Margaret Peterson Haddix; Jan. 5, "Mysterious Matter of I.M. Fine," by Diane Stanley; Feb. 2, "Grover G. Graham and Me," by Mary Quattlebaum; March 2, "Fame and Glory in Freedom, Georgia," by Barbara O'Connor; and April 6, "Hana's Suitcase," by Karen Levine and "Boxes for Katie," by Candance Fleming. Register in advance by calling 703-737-8105.
Lucketts bluegrass concerts at Lucketts Community Center, 42361 Lucketts Road. Refreshments will be available. Call 703-771-5281. Admission $12. Saturdays, Dec. 3-Feb. 25, 7-10:30 p.m.
The After Hours Teen Center at the eastern Loudoun Regional Library, 21030 Whitfield Place, Sterling, will continue Friday nights, Dec. 2, 9, 16 and 30, from 7-10 p.m. The teen center will be closed Dec. 23 for the holiday.
Teens in grades six-12 are invited to hang out, watch movies, play games, enjoy crafts and more. Pizza and other refreshments provided. Call 703-444-3228.
The Loudoun County Surplus Store will launch a new schedule beginning in January 2006. The new hours and days of operation will be, from 8 a.m.-4 p.m., on the first, second, and third Fridays of the month and the last Saturday of the month. For the rest of 2005, the store's hours will remain from 9 a.m.-2 p.m.. on the following days:
* Friday, Dec. 2
* Wednesday, Dec. 7
* Friday, Dec. 16
* Wednesday, Dec. 21
Due to the upcoming holidays, the store will not hold Saturday openings in November and December 2005.
In addition to typical office items such as computers, desks, and chairs, the store features unclaimed items confiscated by the Sheriff's Office, such as bicycles and sporting equipment. Some of the more unusual items recently have included antique lighting fixtures from the former Carver School.
The store is located at 14 Cardinal Park Drive, Suite 106, in Leesburg. Directions and photographs of merchandise are available on the Loudoun County Government Web site at www.loudoun.gov/surplus.
Glenfiddich Farm Pottery is holding its 5th annual holiday show and sale, Saturday, Dec. 3, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 4, from 12-4 p.m., 17642 Canby Road, Leesburg. Call 703-771-3329, e-mail glenfarmpottery@aol.com or visit the Web www.glenfarmpottery.com.
Great Country Farms will host an expanded What Women Want Holiday Shopping Bazaar Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 3 and 4, as part of its 3rd annual Choose and Cut Christmas Tree event, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. each day.
This year's shopping bazaar has more than doubled the number of vendors and has partnered with Waterford Vineyard to provide wine tasting, for a fee, during the event. A wooden train set and gingerbread cookie decorating, also for a fee, will be available to entertain children while parents shop. Great Country Farms is a family owned and operated farm located in the town of Bluemont in western Loudoun County. Visit www.greatcountryfarms.com or contact the farm at 540-554-2073. No charge. Wine tasting and cookie decorating for an additional fee.
Potomac Falls High School will be holding its biannual performance of "A Christmas Carol," Dec. 8-10, 7:30 p.m. and Dec. 11, 2 p.m., at the school, 46400 Algonkian Parkway, Sterling. Tickets $5. For advanced tickets or more information, call 703-444-7542.
Loudoun Ballet Company presents "The Nutcracker," at Briar Woods High School, 22525 Belmont Ridge Road, Ashburn. performances are Saturday, Dec. 10, 2 and 7 p.m.; Sunday, Dec. 11, 4 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 17, 2 and 7 p.m.; and Sunday, Dec. 18, 4 p.m.
Advanced reserved tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for children 12 and under and seniors 60 and above. Premium reserved tickets and all tickets at the door are $20. Visit the web site www.loudounballet.org or call LBC ticket box office at 703-771-8074.
Santa makes house calls sponsored by Arcola Community Center, located at 24244 Gum Spring Road in Arcola. Schedule a 15-minute visit for $30 or an hour visit for $60. Visits are scheduled between 9 a.m.-9 p.m., Tuesdays-Thursdays, from Dec. 13-22. Call 703-327-3111.
Oatlands' Christmas 2005 celebration will highlight the 60th anniversary of the Allies' victory in WWII and commemorate the philanthropic lives of Mr. and Mrs. William Corcoran Eustis, who owned Oatlands throughout most of the 20th century. Oatlands will also pay tribute to their heroic son, 1st Lt. Morton C. Eustis of General Patton's armored tank division who was mortally wounded while in combat in France in 1944. Features music from the big-band era and interpretative guides in period costumes, including some U.S. military uniforms from WWII. Daytime tours run through Dec. 30, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. weekdays and Saturdays; from 1-4 p.m., Sundays. Tickets $10. Call 703-777-3174 or visit the Web at www.oatlands.org.
Oatlands announces that teas will be held Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, through Dec. 30, every Thursday, Friday and Saturday throughout the holiday season, except Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve day. Seatings are at 1 p.m. each day and reservations are required. The cost of afternoon tea is $19.95 per person plus tax. Includes an assortment of tea sandwiches, tea cookies and sweets, scones with preserves and cream complemented by Oatlands special ÒAfternoon Tea Blend.Ó All tea delicacies are from Savoir Fare Catering, a Loudoun County caterer.
Call 703-777-3174 for tea reservations and other information. Oatlands is located at 20850 Oatlands Plantation Lane, Leesburg.
Virginia Apples For Flavor: The Story Of Hill High Orchards, a permanent exhibit at the Loudoun Heritage Farm Museum, 21558 Heritage Farm Lane in Sterling has opened. Learn about the history of Hill High Orchards and come away with a greater appreciation of the apple. Sponsored by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and Loudoun Heritage Farm Museum Inc. Call 703-421-5322. Museum admission $5/adults, $4/seniors, $3/ages 2-12.
Ashburn Library, 43316 Hay Road, has the following ongoing story times: Mother Goose Nursery Time, ages 18-24 months, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10 a.m.; Terrific 2s, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10:45 a.m.; Preschool Story Time, ages 3-5, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:30 a.m.; Wonderful Wednesday Stories, ages 3-5, Wednesdays, 1:30 p.m.; Pajama Story Time, Wednesdays, 7 p.m. Call 703-737-8100.
The Eastern Loudoun Regional Library 21030 Whitfield Place, Sterling, hosts the following ongoing story times: Lapsits for 2s, Tuesdays, 10:30 a.m. and Wednesday, 11:15 a.m.; Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes, ages 18-24 months, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:15 a.m.; Pajama Story Time, Tuesdays, 7 p.m.; Story Time for 3s, 4s, and 5s, Wednesdays, 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.; Terrific 3s, Thursdays, 10:30 a.m. Call 703-444-3228.
The Sterling Library, 120 Enterprise St., has the following ongoing story times: Preschool Story Times, for 2-5 years old, Wednesdays, 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Call 703-430-9500.
ÒArt CoopÓ is display at the Loudoun Heritage Farm Museum, 21668 Heritage Farm Lane, Sterling. Featuring a changing exhibit of works by area artists. Juried by LHFM Art Advisory Sub-Committee. The museum is open Tuesdays-Saturdays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; as well as Sundays, noon-5 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, $3 for children 2-12 and free for children under 2. Visit www.loudounfarmmuseum.org or call 703-421-5322.
The Senior Center at Cascades Marketplace, 21060 Whitfield Place, Sterling, holds a potluck social the second Tuesday of each month at 5:30 p.m. Must register beforehand and bring a dish. To participate in bingo afterwards, bring a gift. Call 703-430-2397.
Leesburg Animal Park. Hours are Tuesdays-Thursdays, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; Fridays-Sundays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; closed Mondays except holidays. Admission is $5.95 for children 2-12 and senior citizens, 55 and older. Adults are $7.95 each. Children under 2 are free. The park is closed from mid November-mid March. Call 703-433-0002 or visit www.leesburganimalpark.com. Located two miles south of Route 7 on Route 15 at 19270 James Monroe Highway in Leesburg.
Leesburg First Fridays and First Fridays Jr. Galleries and shops open their doors on the first Friday of each month with special events, refreshments and entertainment, from 6-9 p.m. There is no First Friday in January. Free. Call 800-752-6118. Visit www.leesburgfirstfriday.com.
The book discussion group at Senior Center at Cascades Marketplace, 21060 Whitfield Place, Sterling, meets the third Tuesday of each month at 12:30 p.m. Call 703-430-2397 for the monthly book selections.
Loudoun Bluegrass Association. Weekly acoustic jam session held every Tuesday night, 7-8:30 p.m., at the Morningside House Retirement Center, 316 Harrison St. in Leesburg. All bluegrass/country musicians, singers and spectators are welcome. Free. Call Randy Kenyon
703-777-9865, home.
The Loudoun County Surplus Store is open on the first and third Wednesday and Friday, and the last Saturday of each month, from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. The store features an inventory of computer equipment, books, typical office items, surplus items from the Loudoun County and Leesburg government offices, and unclaimed items confiscated by the Sheriff's Office. Prices at the store range from $15 to $90 for bicycles, $15 to $40 for computer monitors, $10 to $40 for desks, $3 for keyboards, and $2 for chairs.
The store is located at 14 Cardinal Park Drive, Suite 106, in Leesburg. Directions and photographs of merchandise are available on the Loudoun County Government Web site at www.loudoun.gov/surplus.
Loudoun Heritage Farm Museum, 21668 Heritage Farm Lane, Sterling, is open Tuesdays-Saturdays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; as well as Sundays, noon-5 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, $3 for children 2-12 and free for children under 2. On permanent display is "The Country People" where visitors travel through time and experience the past 300 years of agricultural history through 10 generations of Loudoun County residents. The Claude Moore children's Farm is an interactive exhibit area for children and their families. Visit www.loudounfarmmuseum.org or call 703-421-5322.
Guided Nature or History Hikes for all ages at Claude Moore park, 21544 Old Vestals Gap Road, Sterling. Nature hikes, Frogshackle Cabin Nature Center, history hikes and special request programs for school groups, scouts, community organizations, adults and families are available on a variety of topics throughout the year. Programs designed to foster an appreciation of Loudoun County's natural and cultural resources in a fun and informative way. Cost is $3.50 per person, with a minimum charge of $35. Call 703-444-1275 for reservations.
Historic Plantation. Oatlands, a 330-acre co-stewardship property of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, is located six miles south of Leesburg on Route 15. Tours start each hour between 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday-Saturday; and 1-4 p.m. on Sunday. Cost is $10 for adults, $9 for seniors, $7 for students 6-16, and free for children under 5. Plantation closed from Dec. 31 through late March/early April. 20850 Oatlands Plantation Lane, Leesburg. Call 703-777-3174 or visit www.oatlands.org.
The Senior Center at Cascades Marketplace hosts a Lunch Bunch the first Friday of each month at a local restaurant. A minimum of six people is required for each outing. The bus leaves the center, 21060 Whitfield Place, Sterling, at 11:30 a.m. and returns by 1:30 p.m. Call 703-430-2397 to sign up.