Mar 29 Friday
Join Blandy Director and birding enthusiast Dr. Dave Carr to hunt for tree swallows, eastern phoebes, migrating waterfowl, and more!
What to expect: An outdoor program. We will walk around 1.5 miles over lawn and gravel paths with gently rolling terrain.
Who can come: Adults and children aged 12 and up. No pets, please!
What to bring: Dress for the weather! Wear comfortable walking shoes that can withstand a bit of morning dew from the grass. Bring your own binoculars or borrow a pair from Blandy.
Where to meet: Meet at the flagpole at the front parking lot close to the “Arboretum Information” kiosk.
The five members of Fast Track are not only all highly decorated in awards from the IBMA and SPBGMA organizations, but are also veteran players on the Grand Ole Opry stage, across the United States, Canada, and throughout Europe. Between all of the gentlemen, they have performed with, recorded on, and participated in countless projects with bluegrass and country music royalty throughout their most impressive careers.
The line up includes Dale Perry (banjo), Steve Day (fiddle), Shayne Bartley (mandolin), Duane Sparks (guitar), and Zach Collier (bass). All members contribute to the band's vocal harmonies.
Mar 30 Saturday
The Daze of Rosé Festival is an annual celebration of Virginia Rosé that promotes inclusivity, art, and freedom of expression by gathering wine lovers together in a beautiful location. Drink pink, wear pink and enjoy an amazing day at Castle Hill Cider. Located in Keswick, Virginia just minutes from Charlottesville - Wine Enthusiast's 2023 Wine Region of the Year.
Purchase the Full Access pass to taste all wines in the Rosé Competition or Daze Your Way with the Limited Access pass - where you can purchase wine a la carte from up to 30 wineries on the Discovery Lawn.
Festival Highlights
People's Choice Rosé Wine Competition Live set by DJ Double U Discovery Lawn featuring wineries from across Virginia Multiple stations of curated cuisine created by The Catering Outfit Art Installation by internationally renowned artist Beatrix Ost Shopping Experience Free wine education sessions - to be announced! ... and more to be announced!
Waynesboro Parks & Rec and the New Valley Church are pleased to announce the annual Easter Egg Hunt! Make sure to come early enough to allow for parking and getting to the egg areas. Don't forget to bring your Easter Egg Basket for gathering eggs!
There are times and areas for different age groups with hunts starting promptly at:10am - 0-2 years10:15am - 3 years to Pre K10:30am - Kindergarteners and 1st graders10:45am - 2nd and 3rd graders
You are invited to join a great gathering of Lenten Pilgrims from 96+ communities in 15 countries, and every continent (yes, even Antarctica!) to walk for peace in Gaza and help raise funds for relief aid. Here in Harrisonburg on Holy Saturday, March 30, we will walk eleven miles - or parts thereof - which is about half the length and twice the width of Gaza. We shall be stopping for meditation and prayer at various spots along the route.
The pilgrimage will begin at 8 a.m., at Harrisonburg Mennonite Church. We will walk together as a group and end at Harrisonburg Mennonite Church. For more information, or to express interest in joining, please contact gcpilgrimagehburg@gmail.com or go to https://www.gazaceasefirepilgrimage.com and follow to USA, Harrisonburg.
Jake Eddy, a rising star in bluegrass guitar, will deliver a two-hour workshop at Waynesboro Music, breaking down his flatpicking technique and taking questions.
This will be a relaxed workshop, and attendees are not expected to bring their own guitars. Instead, it'll be a presentation from Jake that includes topics such as:
The workshop will include several tunes, as well as question-and-answer session and an up-close look at Jake's 1941 Herringbone D28.
About Jake:
Jake Eddy is a bluegrass guitarist born and raised in Parkersburg, West Virginia. He began his music career and lifelong addiction to the road by playing banjo professionally at the age of fourteen with bluegrass-legend Melvin Goins. His guitar playing, which is primarily influenced by bluegrass and jazz, is showcased on his debut album of fiddle tunes, entitled "Jake Eddy," which features such greats as Grammy-award winning Bryan Sutton, Rob Ickes, and Kenny Smith. He tours as a sideman with the Becky Buller Band from Manchester, TN as well as his own group. His current touring group features his brother, Carter on the upright bass and NC-native Graham Brewer on the mandolin!
Check out his playing
Follow Jake on Instagram
Apr 02 Tuesday
At 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 2, the Piedmont Master Gardeners and The Center at Belvedere will co-host “Simply Sustainable Landscapes,” an evening with author, educator and landscape designer Nate Miller. The free spring lecture is open to all and will be held at The Center, 540 Belvedere Blvd. in Charlottesville. Please register for the program here. Miller will explain how a design theory he calls EONS (for edible, ornamental, native plants and sustainable methods) can deliver low-maintenance landscapes that provide healthy food, year-round displays of color, and support for wildlife and many other ecological benefits. Miller is co-author of “Simply Sustainable Landscapes: Designing with Edible and Native Plants for the Southeast.” He is on the staff of Messer Landscape Inc. in Staunton and teaches horticulture and landscape design at Piedmont Virginia Community College in Charlottesville.
Apr 05 Friday
Prepare to be awed by a wonderful and creative performance of dance in this inspiring show featuring JMU’s Contemporary Dance Ensemble honoring original choreography by JMU dance majors who are up-and-coming “new voices” in dance. The concert also includes student performances in guest artist and faculty work
See Susan Werner perform live at the Wayne Theatre in a "one-woman master class in musicianship."
Over the course of her twenty five year career, Susan Werner has earned a reputation as “one of the most innovative songwriters working today” (Chicago Tribune). With formidable chops on guitar (she began playing at age 5) and piano (she was a guest on Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz), along with a graduate degree in voice performance, her shows are a one-woman master class in musicianship. Although best known as an acoustic songwriter that came up through coffeehouses and folk festivals, the Chicago-based artist has written songs in the style of Gershwin and Cole Porter (I Can’t Be New, 2004), gospel music (The Gospel Truth, 2007), traditional Cuban “son” (An American In Havana, 2016), and New Orleans junk piano (NOLA, 2019). In 2014 she composed the music and lyrics to the musical theater score Bull Durham, The Musical (MGM). Her songs have been recorded by Tom Jones, Michael Feinstein, and Shemekia Copeland, and her latest recording of originals, The Birds of Florida, took flight in 2022.
Apr 21 Sunday
Renowned author and New York Times commentator David Brooks will deliver the 3rd annual Scoper Lecture in Christian Thought in Old Cabell Hall on April 21, 2024 at the University of Virginia: the anchor event of an in person and livestreamed community-wide, intergenerational experience.
David Brooks will speak on the topic “Know Better: Deepening the Bonds of Communal Life” drawing on the themes of his new book, How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen and exploring his sources in Christian thought.
The academic lecture will illuminate Brooks’s foundational work on the complexities and urgencies of living well in a democratic society. Following the public lecture, Brooks and Melody Barnes, Executive Director at UVA’s Karsh Institute of Democracy will engage in a conversation around Brook’s assertion that “there is one skill that lies at the heart of any healthy person, family, school, community organization, or society; the ability to see someone else deeply and make them feel seen - to accurately know another person, to let them feel valued heard and understood.”
The Scoper Lecture in Christian Thought is an annual series building off the Capps Lectures that brings eminent speakers to the university to deliver public lectures exploring the breadth of Christian expression in the arenas of scholarship, science and medicine, the arts, and culture. The series is generously funded by Nancy and Stephen Scoper, M.D., through their gift to the University of Virginia, designated to Theological Horizons.
The onstage lecture and conversation will be framed by music from The Porter’s Gate, a sacred ecumenical arts collective whose projects include “Neighbor Songs” and “Table Songs.”
Directly following the lecture at 4:45, guests are invited to enjoy the Charlottesville Welcome Table reception: a special event in the UVA Amphitheater. Gather with us for warm conversations and delicious homemade pie. Let’s reflect on the keynote, practice the art of listening, and turn strangers into friends to deepen the bonds of community.
Apr 26 Friday
Spring (migration) has sprung! Join Blandy Director and birding enthusiast Dr. Dave Carr in search of early breeding warblers (e.g., Pine, Yellow, Palm, and Yellow-rumped) and other neotropical migrants.
What to expect: We will walk ~1.5 miles over lawn and gravel paths with gently rolling terrain.
What to bring: Dress for the weather. Wear comfortable walking shoes that can withstand a bit of early morning dew on the grass. Bring your own binoculars or borrow a pair from Blandy.
May 18 Saturday
Spill The Tea is a safe and fun environment for women to share some of life's challenges in a space where they don't feel alone. Come join a community of women who want to see each succeed in life and become all they were meant to be! There will be great food, fun games, and connection with like-minded women.