Community Events
Stand Together Against Violence: The 3rd Annual Kevin Riley Foundation Community Day
In an endeavor to foster unity and stand against violence, the 3rd Annual Kevin Riley Foundation Community Day is set to create a vibrant mix of entertainment, engagement, and solidarity in Winchester, Virginia. Slated for July 16th, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm at Jim Barnett Park, the day promises to be a communal gathering dedicated to crafting robust bonds, nurturing friendships, and imparting a critical message: Violence is never the answer!
This year, the event packs an array of activities for all age groups, with specific events meticulously planned across various locations within the park, including the Eagles Field, T-Ball Field, and Kiwanis Shelter I and II. The day kick-starts with a Large Craft Show followed by Youth and Adult Kickball Games – a highlight being the Kevin Riley Memorial Kickball Tournament.
For the young ones, kickball games are set to be an exciting draw, with age-specific matches scheduled throughout the day, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. These games, which require a modest $5 participation fee, also serve as a fundraiser for the Kevin Riley Foundation.
An added sprinkle of magic, courtesy of a magic show, a gaming trailer, and a Paw Patrol Meet N Greet, will undoubtedly enthuse the kids. Additional attractions include an Axe Throwing session, a Soccer obstacle course, free face painting, free kids’ carnival games, and engaging DJ Trivia sessions.
Throughout the day, attendees can feast on cotton candy, popcorn, and an assortment of culinary delights from the stationed food trucks.
The Kevin Riley Foundation Community Day, recognized as the Winchester Star Runner-Up for the 2022 Star Awards and nominated again for 2023, showcases the communal spirit of Winchester’s residents. With a blend of entertainment, community interaction, and a firm stand against violence, the event reaffirms the importance of unity and peace in the community.
Visit www.kevinrileyfoundation.org for more info.
The Kevin Riley Foundation of Hope is a 501(c)(3) non-profit founded in memory of Kevin M. Riley, a Winchester native who lost his life to gun violence at the age of 29. The foundation aims to support underprivileged children in Winchester, Virginia, and nearby areas by offering opportunities to participate in sports and hobby development and providing essential school supplies and meals. In addition to aiding the youth, the foundation is committed to ending community violence through awareness events, ceremonies honoring lives lost to violence, and initiatives promoting life’s value. Their goal is to make the community safer and encourage respect for all lives.
Community Events
Valley Chorale Announces Upcoming Spring Concerts in Middletown and Front Royal
The Valley Chorale presents “Wishing On a Song – Music in the Key of Hope”, a spring concert exploring aspirations of love, home, spirituality and compassion that unite and uplift us all. With styles ranging from light classical and sacred to vocal jazz, spirituals and pop, The Valley Chorale strives to capture the hopes that unite us.
The Valley Chorale is known throughout the Shenandoah Valley for innovation and excellence, with piano, cello and percussion accompaniment, and their concerts are often a heart-warming experience for all. They welcome babies and tots, so no need to hire a babysitter.
Tickets can be purchased on their website TheValleyChorale.org — $15 for age 21+ (free under age 21) or at the door for $17.
SATURDAY, MAY 4, 3:00 – 4:15 PM
Belle Grove Plantation (Bank Barn), 336 Belle Grove Road, Middletown, VA
SUNDAY, MAY 5, 3:00 – 4:15 PM
First Baptist Church, 14 W. 1st Street, Front Royal, VA (Community Reception to follow)
For further information, visit the website: TheValleyChorale.org: follow them on Facebook; email them at TheValleyChorale@gmail.com or call at 540-635-4842.
(From a Release by The Valley Chorale)
Community Events
Humane Society’s Popular ‘Barks & Bags’ Breaks All Records With its Spring Fling, Grossing $59,665
It was a bitter-sweet evening for me at the Humane Society of Warren County (HSWC) annual “Barks and Bags” fundraiser that drew some 265 of Warren County’s womenfolk and a few gentlemen, including me, to what started as a luncheon group of several Rockland women a decade or more ago and grew to what it has become a sold-out dinner/live auction event featuring name brand (think Gucci) handbags and purses that sold for between $800 and $1,800 in lively bidding.
I was there, representing my late wife, Carol, along with her good friend Susan O’Kelly, thinking back to the days of the hats and relatively small luncheon gatherings with a feeling of pride over what Carol and Susan and many of their women’s group of friends helped launch. They wore fancy hats (I still have a closet full of them, any takers?!) at my suggestion to attract press photographers’ attention and the resulting publicity. With the principal help of Jean Plauger and former longtime HSWC president Ellen Aders, it worked!
The County Humane Society’s new, as of this year, Executive Director Kayla Wines supervised the introductions, the raffles, auctioneer Clint Pierpoint, and so on at the Shenandoah Valley Golf Club in Rockland, giving a shout-out to event sponsors Aders, Plauger, Blake Pierpoint, HSWC Board President Amanda Kindall, and retiring Treasurer Katrina Meade.
Some 40 of those present were named as live and silent auction donors, and 30 “table captains” were recognized by Wines, who described the event in six words: “It was our best year yet!” she proclaimed.
(The writer, former journalist Malcolm Barr Sr. of Rockland, is a past president of HSWC and a current supporter of the Julia Wagner Animal Shelter in Front Royal)
Community Events
Updated: ‘Phony Ponies’ Give a Competitive Edge to FR Rotary Downtown Pub Crawl Fundraiser
On Friday, April 26, the Front Royal Rotary sponsored a downtown Front Royal “Pub Crawl” featuring a Phony Ponies “horse race” ticket holders could bet on to add to the Rotary fundraiser, and a little reward for their knowledge of the relative prowess and breeding of the involved Phony Ponies. Or as one pre-race announcer informed the crowd, “We’ve got three stallions and two old mares in this race,” which was met by some boos from the filly-supporting contingent.
And it was one of those two filly mares that led the five-horse field across the finish line after three laps around the Gazebo in the in the Main Street Downs Raceway shortly after 7:30 p.m. — that was “Blazin’ Botox” (Warren County Sheriff Crystal Cline), followed in order by “Money for Nothing” (Front Royal Rotary President Ken Evans), “Closing Real Fast” (Front Royal Police Chief Kahle Magalis), “Bullseye” (Warren County Rotary President Michael Williams), and “The Old Gray Mare” or was that “Mayor” (Front Royal Mayor Lori Cockrell).
It was a highly competitive race with some post finish line challenges offered by runner up Money for Nothing, whose jockey Evans noted an unapproved by the Racing Commission pre-race change into borrowed running shoes by the winner, as well as some out-of-my-lane territorial elbow-bumping by Blazin’ Botox to keep him in his 2nd place position. WAIT, do horses have elbows? I guess phony ones do.
Jockey Cockrell explained her disappointing 5th place finish, noting she had locked in behind Bullseye/Williams early in the running. However, it ended up being a bad spot to draft, as Bullseye appeared to be having an equipment break-down in front of her, as in a drooping “saddle” threatening that stallions stability and which she had to pull back from for caution’s sake.
On the more serious side, the second annual Talk Derby To Me Pub Crawl fundraiser was in support of Rotary International’s eradicate polio worldwide effort. More information about Rotary’s efforts to end polio can be found at this website: https://www.rotary.org/en/our-causes/ending-polio
Involved and supporting downtown businesses included Vibrissa, the On Cue Sports Bar & Grill, Buckle & Belle Boutique, sponsor of the “Phony Ponies” race, C&C Frozen Treats, Pavemint Smoking Taphouse, Honey & Hops, Catamount Lounge, and Garcia & Gavino. Hope we didn’t miss anyone, and we’ll update as necessary if we did.
And in a late update, individual sponsoring of the Phony Ponies was provided by: Ken Evans, ReMax Reality sponsoring Evans on “Money For Nothing”; CSM Aesthetics sponsored “Blazin’ Botox” and jockey Cline; Clint Pierpoint, Next Home Reality Select sponsored “Closing Real Fast” with Chief Magalis on the saddle; Lori Cockrell for Mayor sponsored “The Old Grey Mare” with the mayor riding; and Shenandoah Valley Axe Throwing Co. sponsored the saddle-failing “Bullseye” with Williams keeping his stallion upright.
And if you missed the fun and excitement, here are a few more shots.
Community Events
Parade Broadcast Schedule and Important Festival Information
The Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival® is pleased to announce that festival fans can watch the Hang 10 Car Wash Firefighters’ Parade and the Glofiber Grand Feature Parade on several local television channels and stream it on the festival’s website at www.thebloom.com.
The Hang 10 Car Wash Firefighters’ Parade will air starting at 5:30 pm on Friday, May 3, 2024, on the following:
Live streaming at www.thebloom.com
VA- Comcast – Channel 6
VA- Glofiber – Channel 7
WV- Comcast – Channel TV 10, Talk Radio WRNR
The Glofiber Grand Feature Parade will air starting at 2:00 pm on the following:
Live streaming at www.thebloom.com
DC NEWS NOW – WDVM
VA- Comcast – Channel 6
VA-Glofiber – Channel 7
WV- Comcast – Channel TV 10, Talk Radio WRNR
Parade goers can reserve seats from the Festival by visiting www.thebloom.com/events. Reserved seat locations and prices are listed below:
Hang 10 Car Wash Firefighters’ Parade steps off at 5:30 pm on Friday, May 3, 2024
$10.00 Cork St
$10.00 Handley Library
$10.00 Handley Blvd
$15.00 Handley Blvd Queen’s Garden
Glofiber Grand Feature Parade steps off at 1:30 pm on Saturday, May 4, 2024
$15.00 Cork St.
$15.00 Handley Library
$15.00 Handley Blvd (North and South)
$25.00 Handley Blvd Queen’s Garden
In addition to the Festival seating options listed above, local youth non-profits will sell seating along the parade route at various prices. Seat sales by these organizations are great fundraisers for them, and we encourage you to consider supporting these groups.
Festival goers can learn about important information on the City of Winchester website at www.winchesterva.gov/news-happenings/events/apple-blossom. Information includes road closures and detours, safety tips, parking, medical aid station locations, bag checks, and prohibited items.
Designated accessible parking is available at the John Handley High School parking lot along Handley Blvd. Only those with a handicap license plate or placard will gain access to this area. The parking lot can be accessed by traveling on South Stewart Street to West Cecil Street and Handley Avenue. A map of the designated accessible parking lot can be downloaded by visiting www.winchesterva.gov/news-happenings/events/apple-blossom.
For more information about the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival®, please visit www.thebloom.com, call (540) 662-3863, or contact us at info@thebloom.com.
Community Events
Explore the Life of Judah: Free Presentation at Belle Grove
Dive deep into the poignant story of Judah, an enslaved cook at Belle Grove, in a special 30-minute presentation in the historic winter kitchen of the Belle Grove Manor House. This insightful program draws on rare primary sources from the Hite family archives, offering a unique glimpse into Judah’s life and her significant role within the manor until she died in 1836.
Program Details:
- Location: Winter Kitchen, Belle Grove Manor House (entry under the front porch)
- Schedule for 2024:
- May 31, June 28, July 26, August 30, September 27, October 25
- Time: 2:30 PM to 3:00 PM
Admission to this program is free; however, donations are greatly appreciated. For those interested in exploring more of Belle Grove, regular admission rates apply for tours of the Manor House either before the presentation at 1:15 PM or afterward at 3:15 PM. Tickets can be purchased at the Welcome Center upon arrival.
This presentation, a recurring event since 2016, also inspired Dr. Brian C. Johnson to write “Send Judah First: The Erased Life of an Enslaved Soul,” a historical novel that breathes life into Judah’s story. Published in August 2019 by Hidden Shelf Publishing House, the book is available in the Museum Shop or on Amazon.
Don’t miss this chance to connect with history in the very space where Judah once lived and worked. Whether you’re a history enthusiast, a local explorer, or a visitor looking to understand the deeper stories of the past, this presentation at Belle Grove offers a profound and educational experience.
Community Events
Washington’s Premier Steeplechase Races Make a Grand Return on May 4
The Virginia Gold Cup, a beloved fixture in the Washington, D.C. region since 1922, is set to return on May 4, promising a day of thrills, fashion, and festive tailgating. Held in the heart of Virginia horse country, the event boasts stunning landscapes, making it the perfect backdrop for one of the area’s largest and most scenic outdoor gatherings.
This year, attendees can look forward to eight heart-pounding races with parimutuel wagering, one of Virginia’s sanctioned parimutuel race events, where the excitement of horse racing meets the elegance of Southern hospitality. Large hats, elaborate tailgates, and vibrant tented parties are the norms at this prestigious event, often referred to as Virginia’s answer to the Kentucky Derby.
Adding to the day’s festivities, the ever-popular Jack Russell Terrier races will return, beginning at 11 a.m. These races feature spirited little dogs navigating obstacles to chase a lure, providing entertainment that is especially beloved by children and families.
Event Details:
- Date: Saturday, May 4
- Location: Great Meadow, 5089 Old Tavern Rd., The Plains, Va.
- Gates Open: 10 a.m.
- Jack Russell Terrier Races: 11 a.m.
- Tailgate Contest: Begins at noon (To enter, send your name, contact information, and tailgate spot number to Victoria@bendurepr.com by May 2.)
- First Horse Race: 1 p.m.
Tickets are on sale now, with general admission priced at $50 per person for a wristband and $100 per vehicle. These include access to all the races and the day’s activities. Attendees can also experience the exclusive 1922 VIP tent, which offers premium race viewing and all-day food and drink.
For those planning to attend, purchasing tickets and parking passes in advance through www.vagoldcup.com is highly recommended, as sales will continue until 1 p.m. on race day. From Washington, D.C., guests can reach the venue by taking I-66 west to Exit 31 (Rte. 245 south) and following signs to Great Meadow, approximately a 50-minute drive.
Prepare for a spectacular day at the races, where the community comes together to enjoy the beauty of steeplechase racing, stylish gatherings, and the unbridled joy of outdoor sports in a picturesque setting. Don’t miss this celebrated spring tradition in Virginia horse country!