Governor Terry McAuliffe due in Front Royal Sept. 23, helps celebrate founding of Virginia Beer Museum

Governor Terence R. McAuliffe is scheduled to spend about an hour in Front Royal on Saturday, Sept. 23 to help celebrate the first anniversary of the Virginia Beer Museum on Chester Street, museum owner David Downes has confirmed.

Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe – Photo/Wikipedia

The Virginia governor will be greeted by a phalanx of local politicians headed by town mayor Hollis Tharpe and Linda Glavis, chair of the Warren County Board of Supervisors.

McAuliffe is expected to arrive at the museum about 3:30 p.m. where Downes, a local attorney, will provide a guided tour of the building, known for more than a century as the Board House, and present the governor with an inscribed silver tankard, made in London, England, recognizing McAuliffe as the “craft beer governor” of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

McAuliffe, during his four-year term, helped close a deal that brought the world-famous Stone Brewing Company of Escondido, Calif., to Richmond as part of a major economic development initiative benefiting the state. Craft beer brewing has since been on the upswing in Virginia and is emphasized by Downes’s beer museum which features a rehabilitated interior including a colonial tavern and rooms commemorating the production of craft beers since the Civil War.

Among those accepting invitations to the Sept. 23 party are the two chief executives of Front Royal and Warren County, Tharpe and Glavis; town manager Joe Waltz and county executive Doug Stanley. Also, town council deputy mayor Eugene Tewalt and councilmen Bill Slealock and Jacob Meza, and county supervisors Tony Carter, vice chair, and Dan Murray.

Downes said McAuliffe will be at the museum for about 30 minutes, then move to the nearby Gazebo where it is assumed he will address a public gathering. He is scheduled to depart the town about 4:30 p.m.