FREE June 2015 Vol. 1, Issue 9 Rappahannock FREDERICKSBURG | SPOTSYLVANIA | STAFFORD Magazine Creators Twin Brothers Bring Artistic Visions to Life in Bronze Explorations Festival Celebrates Region’s Ties to the Rappahannock River Connections XB on i G2 p. 1 t i 6-1 o 0 7! n ! 15 Nonprofits Focus on River and Bay Preservation and Recreation Audio File iva ap lM ial Fe st ec Sp Ro www.rappahannockmag.com ck th eR Ed ive rF Country Musician’s Life Imitates The Songs That He Sings June 2015 Vol. 1, Issue 9 2561 Cowan Boulevard, Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401 www.untangledpurls.com • 540.479.8382 • Facebook @ UntangledPurls In the innovative, entrepreneurial spirit of the local craft brew pub, Spencer Devon Brewing brings the adventure of craft beer creation to downtown Fredericksburg. We look forward to collaboration with our fellow craft brew enthusiasts to cultivate the region’s finest quality craft beer selections. Paired with delectable appetizers, main courses and desserts prepared with ingredients from local farms, you’ll experience the true art of craft beer. Upcoming Events Poses and Pints Untangled Purls is a local yarn shop whose goal is Starts 20 June and goes the Third Saturday of every month. The fun starts at 9:30 am with a fl ow style yoga class that’s suitable for all levels, followed by a beer (or two) with friends. Cost is $12 for yoga. Beer sold separately. Sign up in advance as space is limited. Latitude Yoga Co. members get 20% off. to be a premier gathering place for yarn, education, Downtown FXBG Beer Tie fellowship, and laughter in Central Virginia. We offer 4th Wednesday of every month. No charge to learn how to tie flys from the Falmouth Flats Fly Fishers. 6-8 PM. a wide array of classes, contact us for more details. Stay up to date with the latest events spencerdevonbrewing.com & @sdbrewing Knit and Crochet Groups Sunday Tuesday Wednesday Friday 1:30-5:00pm 1:00-3:00pm 10:00am-Noon 5:30-8:00pm Spencer Devon Brewing 106 George St, Fredericksburg, VA Monday, Wednesday and Thursday: 11-9 | Friday and Saturday 11-11 | Sunday 10-5 Stafford 556 Garrisonville Rd. Ste 206 • 540-628-2098 www.wineanddesign.com/stafford Fredericksburg We bring the party to you • 540-809-0899 www.wineanddesign.com/fredericksburg Every night, we feature a new painting that a local artist will teach you how to paint. So now, all you have to do is: Sign Up • Show Up • Sip Up & Paint Would you like to throw a more exclusive wine and painting party? No problem! Perfect for business outings, girls night out, birthday parties or any other special event. We also offer ART BUZZ KIDS classes, join us to make memories with your children in a family-friendly atmosphere! Save $5 Coupon Code RAPMAG15 2 Rappahannock Magazine Vol. 1, Issue 9 June 2015 Features Old Mill Park, Fredericksburg Art Beat 5 In support of the Friends of the Rappahannock and proud partner of the 1st annual Rock the River Festival. Creators 6 $25 entry fee details: www.fredevents.org Fredericksburg’s Mind & Body Oasis Regional galleries announce their shows and events for First Friday and the current month. Steven and Stewart Wegner are no strangers to showing visitors the fascinating process used to produce their amazing bronze sculptures. Explorations 8 The people behind Rock the River FXBG want to invite everyone to a party to celebrate the Rappahannock with music, food, craft breweries, vendors, and races. Connections 10 Friends of the Rappahannock, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and American Canoe Association promote stewardship and enjoyment of the Rappahannock. Inside The Issue June 6th @ 6 PM Audio File 12 Vince Gale has lived the songs that he sings, and his recall of good times, fast cars, and ex-wives proves it. PUT IT TOGETHER ALL IN YOUR ORIBT EXERCISE STUDIO| ATHLEISURE BOUTIQUE | LOUNGE 1006 CAROLINE FREDERICKSBURG VA WWW.PITAIYO.COM 540-412-8366 Departments Arrival Lounge 4 People believe George Washington threw a cannonball across the Rappahannock. Bless their mistaken hearts. Escape Artist 20 915 Sophia Street Fredericksburg, VA | 540-372-8708 | www.riverrockoutfitter.com We carry a wide selection of equipment and apparel to outfit you for any outdoor pursuit. PADDLING Whitewater & SUP Instruction CLIMBING Techniques & Anchors FLY FISHING Casting, Guided Trips & Fly Tying HIKING Backpacking 101 & Pack-Out Nights Store Hours: Tuesday -Thursday: 11 am - 7 pm Friday: 11 am - 8 pm | Saturday: 10 am - 8 pm Sunday:12 pm - 6 pm Local, Independent, Veteran-Owned and Operated Plan an overnight trip or weekend getaway to Yorktown Beach on the York River. Last Call 21 Cornbread & Caviar is Southern food done right. Grapes & Grains 21 Learn the convoluted history of California zinfandels. Book Wyrm 22 Redeployment, by Phil Klay, offers a dozen short stories capturing the hellishness of the war in Iraq. Screentime 23 Let Me In blends a coming-of-age tale with vampire horror and produces a film well worth a viewing. Past Tense 25 The city’s life once revolved around the downtown movie houses. Read about the past glory of the Queens of Caroline Street. Calendar 26 Find regional events and activities to feed your mind, body, and spirit. Rappahannock Magazine 3 June 2015 Vol. 1, Issue 9 Arrival Lounge Pauline Felder Pitching Cannonballs Across the River with George Washington I n a February 22, 1936 reenactment, retired star pitcher Walter Johnson threw this across the Rappahannock. That was the Final Jeopardy! question Alex Trebec posed to the three contestants. Sitting in the audience watching Marc compete, I was elated. I was sure he’d get it. Duh. Everybody knows the answer. Plus, Marc and I had recently started dating. He’d been here. I’d driven him around town. I’d pointed out the George Washington’s Boyhood Home signs around Stafford. It turns out that if you don’t live in this region, information about the Rappahannock, George Washington, and objects hurled from one bank to the other is not necessarily common knowledge. Case in point: All three contestants got the answer wrong. The first contestant’s guess was the obvious default answer, “What is a baseball?” Marc and the other contestant each gave the same answer: a cannonball, bless their brilliant hearts. It also turns out that if you don’t live in this region, you have absolutely no concept of how heavy a cannonball really is. Perhaps none of the contestants knew the answer because it’s actually not true. Having done extensive research and written much about the Washington family, my mother squelched this legend before I had even heard it. “That’s ridiculous,” she scoffed. “Silver dollars didn’t even exist when he was a child. And if they did, he would never throw it away—it would have been a fortune!” It is true that the first silver dollars were minted in 1794, five years before Washington’s death. She would quietly add, “He might have been able to throw something, a rock or something. But even then—a little boy strong enough to throw a rock 300 feet across the river?” I did some Googling, and that’s about the distance from home plate to the fence at the outer edge of a baseball field. George Washington was awesome, but I don’t know if he was that awesome. Whenever visiting the city dock, my first thought is usually of a young boy throwing things into, if not across, the river. My thoughts then flash to magical bouncy castles and the 4th of July river raft races of my childhood. I look up and see people fishing and canoeing….And then I do a double-take at the gal who’s standing still, gracefully moving her arms from side to side, gliding across the water. It’s a relatively new activity that has splashed onto the American sports arena with a full-on cannonball impact. It’s called SUP, for stand-up paddle boarding, and from the moment I learned that, I’ve felt the urge to run out to the river and start calling, “Hey! What SUP?” to every paddle boarder I see. From the days when George Washington may have thrown something into or across the river to our present technological era, when drones glide overhead and capture the beauty of the river’s rapids, the Rappahannock River and its canals and tributaries are a constant throughout the region. These waterways connect us, bring us together, and bring us outside our homes and into one of our region’s natural bounties. These same surroundings that inspired our country’s Founding Fathers are right outside our front doors. A fabulous way to explore all the possibilities the river has to offer is available for the first time this month. The inaugural Rock the River FXBG celebration on June 6 will be an allday, totally free, totally family friendly, totally awesome event with live music, food trucks, vendors, land and water races, ultimate frisbee, and a beer garden (tickets required) featuring local craft breweries. So come join us for the races, music, food, vendors, and good times by the Rappahannock River at Old Mill Park. Grab your family, friends, and favorite pet, slather on some sunscreen, and come play where the past always meets present. Rappahannock Magazine is a free lifestyle magazine published monthly and distributed throughout the City of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania and Stafford counties. We invite the digital submission of query letters, manuscripts, photographs, and art. Rappahannock Magazine compensates writers, photographers, and artists for work accepted by the magazine’s editorial board. Please direct queries and submissions to [email protected]. 4 Rappahannock Magazine Publisher Avalon Media, LLC Managing Editor Peter S. Willis [email protected] Marketing Director Ann Claiborne Willis [email protected] Art Director Roxie Bowie [email protected] Webmaster Robert Mann [email protected] Assistant Marketing Directors Lauren Goetz [email protected] Rory Grambo [email protected] Contributing Editors Carter Nordike [email protected] Allyssa Kagehiro [email protected] Columnist Pauline Felder Staff Photographer Vincent Knaus Contributing Writers, Photographers, and Artists Patrick Michael Clark Drew Gallagher Kimberly Leone Meg Samonds Jennifer Springsteen Dennis True Lexi Walker Edwin Wyant Siobhan Young Please visit Rappahannock Magazine on the Web at www. rappahannockmag.com for display advertising rates and information or email [email protected] to request advertising rates and information. For general inquiries, please email [email protected]. Copyright 2015 Avalon Media, LLC All Rights Reserved www.rappahannockmag.com Vol. 1, Issue 9 June 2015 Bring in Summer with Fredericksburg Parks & Recreation Picnic in the Park Tuesdays in June and September (except September 8) Huekamp Park, 11:30am-1:30pm Free and open to the public Live music, children’s activities, moonbounce and more! Bring a picnic lunch and enjoy the sunshine with your children, friends and co-workers! (Subject to inclement weather) Brought to you by B101.5, Fredericksburg Academy, Cox Communications, Fredericksburg Parent and Fredericksburg Parks & Rec. Night Catfishing Fridays, June 12, July 17, August 14, September 11 Motts Run Reservoie, 7:00pm-1:00am Cost - $3 children / $5 adults Come hook your bait and cast your line to catch catfish in the Reservoir. Private boats will be allowed on the water only if they meet proper VDGIF standards for night fishing but all boats must be off the water by 12:30am. For more information call Don Minor at 540-786-8989. FREE Kids’ Fishing Derby Co-sponsored by the Weekend Bassers Saturday, June 6 (rain date: Sunday, June7) Motts Run Reservoir 8:30am-11:00am (Register On-Site from 7:30am – 10:00am) Join us for a great FREE family friendly event full of fishing, games, prizes, vendors, hiking, picnicking and fun! The Derby is open to kids 4yrs – 16yrs. Boat rental available. Virginia Game Department ‘Free Fishing Weekend’ – no license required! Bring a water bottle, fishing gear/bait, camp chair. FREE lunch for each child and food for sale as well. For more info or to volunteer contact Linda Bailey, at 540-372-1086 x213 or [email protected]. For more information on these fun summer events and more visit www.fredericksburgva.gov/parksandrec Cover Artist Art Beat Art Galleries, Workshops Announce Events for June A rtful Dimension’s featured artist for June will be wood sculptor Brad Hederer. Artists will be working with children ages 7-15 for the Local Juvenile Diabetes Camp on Monday, June 22. Each year the camp brings kids to Artful Dimensions for a two-hour art project developed by the gallery’s member artists The children and parents choose the project that they prefer before coming to the gallery to create it. This program is a part of the gallery’s Community Outreach and Art Appreciation program. This will be the gallery’s fourth year working with the kids. Gallery members are offering classes throughout the summer months. All options are available at the gallery and on the website. Several gallery artists are creating special items that will be featured at the Rock the River Festival on June 6. Elizabeth Woodford is creating river rock pendants, Melissa Terlizzi is creating river magnets, and Christine Lush- Rodriguez is creating dragonfly pins and pendants. Artful Dimensions is located at 911 Charles Street in Fredericksburg. For more information, contact 540-899-6319 or email events@artfuldimensionsgallery. com. Art First Gallery will present a special event celebrating the publication of a new book capturing Cliff Satterthwaite’s decades-long devotion to painting Fredericksburg and its peoContinued on Page 30 Courtney Fishback C ourtney Fishback is a local artist out of Fredericksburg, Virginia. Courtney is working on her Art History degree at the University of Mary Washington, but decided to take a break to work on her creative side. Her inspiration comes from Northwestern Native American art and surrealism. She likes to depict mythological gods and goddesses and symbolic representations of the past. Courtney believes art speaks the truth and allows others to perceive their versions of the world. Courtney’s intentions are to spread the art of love and freedom of expression. Human bodies are one of her favorite canvases to paint because the skin enhances the true color. It also helps people appreciate the beauty of the art since it is only temporary. The mediums she uses range from acrylics to oils as well as natural pigments. She loves to create piece from scratch and use all that nature has provided. Courtney counts Andy Goldsworthy and Salavador Dali among her inspirations. You can find her work at Creative Juices off Lafayette Boulevard, on Facebook under Courtney Fishback, or by email [email protected]. Rappahannock Magazine 5 June 2015 Vol. 1, Issue 9 Creators Wegner Brothers Cast Their Artistic Visions in Bronze A long Wolfe Street in downtown Fredericksburg, tucked away from the Rappahannock River and the busy foot traffic of Caroline and Princess Anne streets, lies a By Allyssa hidden treaKagehiro sure, the WePhotos by gner Gallery. Vincent Knaus The two-story building is part of the converted Fredericksburg Farmers Creamery Company, a dairy factory built around 1940, complete with high ceilings and a cooling room insulated by sixinch thick walls. Visitors must ring the doorbell before entering the gallery, and once inside are greeted by two adjoining rooms that house the finished art pieces. On the right, the walls are covered with acrylic paintings of boats — displaying a beautiful contrast of white hulls and sails against blue skies and calm waters. Dozens of bronze sea turtles, birds, crabs, and frogs sit on tables and shelves as well as the dark wood floor. Entering the left room, the subject of the art shifts to that of a cartoon monkey. Hanging on the walls are several large prints depicting this character in different situations, each following a similar, natural color scheme of greens, browns, and yellows. Bronze wildlife sculptures fill this room as well, each colorfully painted with several layers of vivid acrylic. Beyond these two rooms, a doorway leads into the workspace of the creators of these art pieces, twin brothers Steven and Stewart Wegner, who have owned and run the gallery for 35 years. The two brothers are virtually indistinguishable in appearance, 6 Rappahannock Magazine with the same build, medium height, and short grey hair, but Stewart’s mustache and Steven’s lack of one quickly give them away. The Wegner brothers are no strangers to showing wandering tourists, groups, and organizations the fascinating process used to produce their metal sculptures. The enthusiasm that the Wegners express for bronze casting is contagious, and their eagerness to give people a better understanding of what is involved in the procedure helps gallery visitors gain a greater appreciation for it. The brothers go into great detail when describing each step of the bronze casting process and are very patient and accustomed to explaining these steps in different ways so that they are easy to understand. Stewart is very animated and energetic when he talks, showcasing his friendly demeanor with an ever-present smile and cracking an occasional joke. When giving tours, Stewart goes from room to room, explaining what goes on and why each step is important. The brothers utilize every square inch of the Wolfe Street property to their advantage. Each room has a specific purpose. They even make use of the insulated cooling room to keep their works-in-progress at a stable temperature, which comes in handy during the summer and winter months. Workbenches, power tools, and half-finished bronze sculptures fill each back room of the gallery. It is rarely quiet while the brothers are creating their pieces, as they work on projects to the sound of power tools and loud background music, which resonate through Twin brothers Stewart and Steven Wegner have built an international following for their sometimes whimsical bronze wildlife pieces. The Wegners work together to cast bronze sculpture but also pursue their own independent creative visions. the building. According to Stewart, a bronze sculpture takes on average one to two months to fully complete. During these months, a lengthy 14-step process must be followed meticulously, but it’s all worth it in the end. “It’s rewarding,” Stewart says. “It takes two months to get it done. Quite a nice event!” This intensive bronze casting process is becoming less and less practiced, due to the incredible time commitment and the high cost of supplies. “Monument Guys” is a new television show airing on the History channel which co- incidently revolves around two brothers who practice the bronze casting art form. Avid fans of the show, Steven and Stewart are excited and hopeful that it signifies that bronze casting will become more popular with artists and the general public. The brothers’ inspiration to open the gallery, which first served the Wegners as a foundry, came from their parents. Paul Wegner, Steven and Stewart’s older brother, is a world-renowned sculptor who specializes in fragmented jazz pieces. He was in need of a foundry where his works could be cast, and so, Vol. 1, Issue 9 June 2015 Steven Wegner creates a mold from an original work of art (above). Stewart Wegner pours molten bronze into ceramic shells. The bronze is 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit when it’s poured (right). at the suggestion of the Wegners’ parents, Steven and Stewart opened the Wolfe Street foundry in 1979. The two brothers collaborate on every piece that they construct, as they each bring different skills and qualities to the table. As Stewart puts it, “I could do 90 percent of the work, but it’s that last 10 percent that I just can’t get—that’s Steven’s part.” The brothers are currently 60 years old and their teamwork and collaboration skills have only grown stronger over the years. In 1984 Steven and Stewart started producing their own works to sell. Before this, they had only been casting for customers. “I hate to call them customers. They’re artists,” Stewart says. “Today, half of our business comes from casting for other artists.” Their first sculptures revolved around a marine life theme, which remain some of their most in-demand pieces, especially in coastal states like Florida and Hawaii. With half of their business dedicated to producing their own work, the Wegners take special care to tailor their pieces to suit the tastes of their clients. For example, herons and blue crabs are popu- lar choices for consumers in the Fredericksburg region and have become a staple in the Wegners’ portfolio. The Wegners have maintained a strong wildlife theme in their pieces since they first started, which stems from customer demand and the brothers’ love of the outdoors. In their spare time, the brothers enjoy kayaking, camping, and boating. Stewart also owns a beach house, while Steven likes to practice photography. Because Stewart and Steven are the only artists at the gallery, which at one point had as many as 20 employees, it is at times difficult for them to balance work and life. “You have to have a spouse that encourages you and understands what Continued on Page 30 Rappahannock Magazine 7 June 2015 Vol. 1, Issue 9 Grassroots Effort, Dedication Give Life to Rock the River FXBG 2015 N ear the intersection of William and Sophia streets in downtown Fredericksburg, the By Carter Nordike Photos by Bike Works building sits Vincent Knaus inconspicuously. On the side of the building is a mural painted by Mirinda Reynolds in September 2012, depicting a woman on a bicycle looking out over Fredericksburg. Visible in the picture is the Rappahannock River. The river seems to almost snake through the city, making it look as if there is no barrier between the land and the water. A special group of people have realized the importance of the Rappahannock to the region and have made it their mission to find a way to properly celebrate it. That ideal is the heart and soul of the Rock the River FXBG festival, being hosted in Old Mill Park on June 6th from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. The driving force behind the event’s organization is April Peterson, general manager and co-owner of River Rock Outfitter. The River Rock Outfitter building is a small one, seemingly just one of another buildings along Sophia Street. But upon entering, customers and visitors are struck with the shop’s enthusiasm for the outdoors. Backpacks, kayaks, climbing gear, and more litter the store. The employees are dressed to go hiking, each sporting T-shirts, shorts, and tennis shoes. April herself is usually out on the floor, socializing with her customers and employees, wearing a baseball cap and a dress you could tell was made to wear during outdoor activities. “When we moved back to Fredericksburg after living all over the country with the Marine Corps, there was no outfitter,” she says. “It’s crazy. That’s the first thing we would look for, but there was nothing here. You have the river and all these beautiful hiking paths. There needs to 8 Rappahannock Magazine Vol. 1, Issue 9 June 2015 Explorations be an outfitter.” That is how she, her husband, Keith, and his brother Connor decided to start River Rock Outfitter in 2014 and cultivate public interest in the world they had around them. While River Rock Outfitter has been gratifying for April, she still feels that she could do more to bring the community together in appreciation of the river that flows through the region. “Rock the River has been all about establishing a community around the appreciation of the Rappahannock,” April says. “Most cities that sit on their rivers have events that celebrate their rivers, but Fredericksburg hasn’t really had that. There’s never been something to bring everyone together, regardless of age or whatever walk of life they are from, in appreciation of what we are lucky to have.” In order to make this a truly inclusive event, Rock the River FXBG is welcoming everyone for free, including children and pets. Parking will be free at the park and on either side of Caroline Street, and convenience centers will be located on-site as well. Over forty vendors, eight bands, and ten craft brewers will be at this event to provide entertainment, information, and beer samples. Free pickup Ultimate Frisbee The Rappahannock River offers many recreational opportunities such as stand-up paddleboarding, fly fishing, and kayaking (from left to right). Rock the River FXBG on June 6 will celebrate the Rappahannock River with music, food, craft beers, vendors, educational booths, ultimate Frisbee, and races on and off the water. games will be held throughout the day. Vendors, from Falmouth Flats Fly Fishers Club to Ruffwear, will be putting on free workshops throughout the event. Four artisan food trucks from Martina’s Cantina, UFO Truck, Boom Boom Boca, and Kona Ice will be available on site. A serious effort is being made to appeal to anyone and everyone who comes to Rock the River FXBG to celebrate the river and enjoy the day’s events and music. There have been attempts before at putting a bigger focus on the Rappahannock in the community. The ACA has held the Annual Great Rappahannock Whitewater Canoe Race, which will be celebrating its 35th anniversary on June 6, and Run 4 the River, hosted by FredEvents, has been held in support of the Friends of the Rappahannock for years as well. Both of these will still be hosted as part of the festival, but according to Kathleen Harrigan, one of the partners working to put on Rock the River FXBG and executive director of Friends of the Rappahannock, this is like no other effort yet. “There has always been an attempt to get people more involved with the river, but none of them have had the scope that this one will,” Kathleen says. “In years past, we may have gotten a few hundred people out to celebrate, but we really have tried to expand our scope to create an event that isn’t too big to handle but is the biggest event that we can possibly handle.” There has been a challenging aspect of developing the event: money. April and her partners have been working with the biggest budget that they could muster, which amounts to the definition of a shoestring budget. “It’s tough all of us working to put on this event. We are all small business owners or working nonprofits. It takes a lot of work just to make things possible,” April admits. “The most humbling thing about this process is going to people and asking for Continued on Page 24 Rappahannock Magazine 9 June 2015 Vol. 1, Issue 9 Nonprofits Work to Preserve and Protect Rappahannock River’s Beauty and Health T 10 Rappahannock Magazine hirty years ago, a group of people came together to create a nonprofit organization that would set out to educate the community about preserving the Rappahannock River and the lands surrounding it. This group was a mix of local citizens who all shared a common desire to protect their fragile slice of nature. Today, that organization lives on, still protecting the river and the surrounding areas any way it can. By Carter Nordike and Friends of the Rappahannock has grown Allyssa Kagehiro since its inception and so have its efforts. The Photos by organization now has offices in FredericksVincent Knaus and burg and Tappahannock, aiding in its efforts to FOR maintain the Rappahannock. “We are a messy species,” says Kathleen Harrigan, executive director of FOR. “We cannot always see what we are doing to the river, but just in April, we removed about a thousand pounds of trash from the river.” Trash in the river ranges from the typical litter, like soda cans and plastic wrappers, to more unexpected materials. “We have found tires, furniture, even typewriters in the river. Once, we even found a car,” Kathleen says. But cleanups are not the only focus that FOR has. More than ever, they are trying to limit the amount of fertilizer runoff that finds its way into the river. “Fertilizers run off in the spring because of all the rain and deposit in the river. What people don’t realize is that it fertilizes the river as much as it does land,” Kathleen says. “And when plants grow in the river rapidly, they die rapidly, which depletes the river of oxygen.” The community has taken much from the river, including, at times, its health. Friends of the Rappahannock is doing its part to help the river heal. Thankfully, it is not alone in its goal. Another nonprofit organization that is dedicated to aiding Virginia’s water bodies is the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Much like the Friends, the CBF was started by concerned citizens who wanted to protect the bodies of water that formed the bedrock of their way of life. “Back in 1967, there was no Clean Water Act, no way of guaranteeing the safety of the Bay,” says Chuck Eppes, assistant director of media relations at CBF. “It was just formed up by boating enthusiasts and private citizens who noticed that the bay was in decline. And now, we have almost 215,000 members but our mission remains the same.” The CBF takes many different paths to accomplish this mission. It has lobbied to get green policies passed, including an executive order from President Obama that called on federal agencies to work with Chesapeake Bay states to produce plans to restore the Chesapeake by 2025. CBF is also involved with many hands-on restoration activities. “We grow millions of oysters a year to put back Vol. 1, Issue 9 June 2015 Connections in the bay. We plant trees and other plants along the Bay where they may have been displaced. There’s no end to the stuff we can do to make the Bay healthier,” Chuck says. Both organizations share the same goal of healthier water bodies, but it is not one that can be accomplished overnight. “I can only hope we grow,” Kathleen says. “I want to be able to create more education programs and let our cause be known up and down the watershed.” This is an ideal that both nonprofits believe strongly in, but Kathleen sums up their collective struggle in a sentence: “Most of all, I just want to be able to say that we helped the best that we could.” In downtown Fredericksburg, it is difficult to miss the American Canoe Association headquarters—a bright blue establishment situated between Sophia Street and the Rappahannock River. The headquarters relocated to Fredericksburg in 2008, because, as Chief Operating Officer Chris Stec explains, “The city did a fantastic job of explaining their vision.” The ACA was also very impressed with Fredericksburg’s strong relationship and dedication to the outdoors. Chris points to Fredericksburg’s installation of the Heritage Trail and the region’s support of local organizations that focus on environmental awareness and paddlesports, namely FOR, and the Virginia Outdoors Center, made the ACA’s relocation decision easy. Growing considerably from its original 15 members in 1880 to more than 30,000 members nationwide today, ACA has become the largest and longest standing nonprofit organization dedicated to paddlesports. Chris says the the ACA, a national nonprofit, is committed to education, stewardship, competition, and recreation.” The ACA National Paddlesports Instruction Program offers courses in various disciplines and skill levels to anyone who has an interest in paddlesports. “Our members can take an instructor certification course,” Chris says. “The majority of nonmembers come to us to find out where to go paddling or to learn more about paddling.” Nonmembers are not able to take part in instructor certification courses, but are more than welcome to take other classes on canoeing, kayaking, standup paddleboarding, rafting, and safety. For its members, the ACA offers a wide range of services such as access to exclusive locations, various discounts, and membership to select magazine issues, including the ACA’s own publication, Paddle. “Members can even receive discounts from one of our main sponsors, Subaru,” Chris says. In order to become an ACA member, applicants can apply online, in person, or by mail and submit an annual membership fee which can range from $15 to $60, depending on the specific membership. In addition to the organization’s avid promotion of the education, stewardship, exploration, and competition of paddlesports, the ACA remains an involved supporter of its community. Chris says that the organization at one time received a grant that enabled a free life jacket loaner board at Mott’s Run Reservoir, and also a grant that funded the distribution of cigarette disposal containers at the City Dock. In order to fund its endeavors, the organization relies on mem- A heron stands on a rock in the Rappahannock River (opposite). ACA Chief Operating Officer Chris Stec speaks to a group of river enthusiasts (above). Friends of the Rappahannock provides education about river stewardship (right). bership fees, grants, donations, and sponsorship. Future goals of the organization focus on their successful State Director Program. Chris says that if the ACA in a state attains more members than average, they will in turn funnel the profits into the State Executive Council in order to continue ACA promotion in that state. Chris explains that this can help lead to an expansion of river clean up initiatives and other stewardship opportunities. ACA is a founding sponsor in the inaugural Rock the River FXBG festival, which will be held at Old Mill Park in Fredericksburg on June 6. ACA and its fellow festival sponsors invite the regional community and Rappahannock River enthusiasts to celebrate the river with a variety of events, live music, craft beers, food trucks, and kid-friendly outdoor activities. At Rock the River, ACA will be hosting the 35th annual Great Rappahannock Whitewater Canoe Race. Rappahannock Magazine 11 June 2015 Vol. 1, Issue 9 Audio File Musician’s Life Lends Authenticity to Songs That He Sings A 1948 Gretsch guitar, a pina colada-soaked second exwife, and a Chevy Nova make an appearance By Kimberly Leone in the story Photos by Siobhan of how Young Photography local musician Vince Gale came to the live music scene in Fredericksburg. In 1983, Vince played at a campground about an hour and a half from his home in Winston Salem, North Carolina. A gentleman named Sid Seamon helped Vince tear down after his show and later Vince and wife #2 accepted an invitation to sit around the campfire, drink pina coladas, and play a little music with Sid and his wife, Bonnie. “Right away I felt a connection with this man,” says Vince with a smile. “I went down to their motor home, me and my wife, and I was having a great time. It felt like home. It felt like what I used to do with my mom and dad.” Vince’s dad, Tennessee Joe Gale, died when Vince was 18 years old. His mom passed away a few years later. Despite having five older half-siblings, Vince grew up essentially as an only child and the deaths of his parents left him adrift. So when wife #2 lost interest in spending the evening around the campfire with the Seamons, Vince made a decision. Wife #2 started nagging, saying she wanted to go home, and Vince turned to Sid and told him he’d be back in about an hour. Vince was taking wife #2 home. Sid pointed out that Vince needed to travel more than an hour one way and teased the young musician about not mak- 12 Rappahannock Magazine Vince Gale sings and plays classic country, southern rock, and honky-tonk. The path he followed to the Fredericksburg region reads like the lyrics to a country ballad. Vince plays regularly at the Rec Center on William Street, and he will be playing Colonial Tavern on Lafayette Boulevard on June 23. ing it back to the campground. Vince pointed at the 1948 Gretsch his father had given him when he could no longer play. “I told Sid I was leaving the Gretsch and I’d definitely be back,” says Vince. More than 30 years later, the lifelong musician’s emotional attachment to that guitar is evident, wrapped now in what would be a life-altering friendship with Sid and Bonnie. “I’d been longing for this feeling of home, something I hadn’t felt in a long time,” says Vince of that night at the campground. He describes a rather reckless, pedal-to-the-floor drive back to Winston-Salem where he deposited wife #2, dripping pina colada. “We argued all the way back, and I dumped a whole pina colada on her,” he says, able to laugh at the domestic chaos all these years later. “When I sold that Nova, it still smelled like pina colada.” Wife #2 became ex-wife #2 not long after that, but Sid and Bonnie were family from that day forward. They helped Vince get back to what he loved – entertaining. Vince’s mom and dad had him on stage at an early age, doing shows with his dad in Long Island starting at the age of five. A young floppy-haired, wideeyed Vince stepped up on a stack of wooden Coca Cola crates and just as he’d practiced at home, he sang... When I was a little bitty baby My mama would rock me in the cradle, In them old cotton fields back home... Vince sang “Cotton Fields” the first time he performed with his dad. Over the next several years, even after the family moved to Pennsylvania, Tennessee Joe would take his son back to Long Island where he performed on television and radio and in area bars. He had everything he needed in mom, dad, and music. “I was pretty well spoiled,” he says. “I didn’t want for anything. I had go karts and mini bikes when the other kids didn’t Vol. 1, Issue 9 June 2015 even have bicycles. Everything changed when my dad passed away. I didn’t know how to be on my own.” Vince married three times over the years and has three sons. He took the skills he learned from his dad – fixing cars and playing music – and wandered. He describes many good times had but a lack of purpose and rather aimless wandering until he happened upon Sid and Bonnie. He refers to them as his stepparents regardless of the lack of blood or legal relation to him. Sid pushed Vince to seek out opportunities, look for chances to open for bigger names, and provided the financial and emotional support Vince needed to go farther with his music career. He found himself opening for Marty Stewart, Earl Thomas Conley, and Vern Gosdin. He played at the Nashville Palace on the same stage where Randy Travis got his start. As time passed, Vince became the front man for a band, Vince Gale and the Country Rockers. He paid back every dime Sid had invested in him and took up residence in the life of a traveling musician. But bands, well, they can be complicated. “It’s like a marriage, but instead of keeping one person in the marriage satisfied you’ve got like four or five,” he says. “Not only them, but you’ve got their girlfriends and their wives to deal with too. In a one man show, the hardest thing I’ve had to deal with is a broken guitar string. When that happens I just grab another guitar off the stand, know what I’m saying?” And thus Vince Gale and the Country Rockers were no more. Even as wives changed and Vince went from a solo act to band frontman then back to a one-man show, the Seamons remained a positive, supportive presence in his life. Birthdays ticked by, and Vince found himself taking care of the couple, which led to one lingering regret. “I regret not being there for my mom and dad,” he says, his easy, ever-present smile faltering a little. “I was young and still all about me. I could have respected them more, done more for them, if I knew what I know now.” When the Seamons passed away, Vince, while much better adapted to life on his own, found himself missing the connection to family. Fortunately, he’d grown close to Bonnie and Sid’s nephew and his wife who live in the Fredericksburg area, so off to Virginia he headed. Vince and his Rottweilers call the Culpeper area home, but he travels to Fredericksburg almost daily to play guitar and sing at local venues. He had searched for opportunities to play in the area and gotten a bit frustrated with the seeming absence of live music in the community, so he decided he would simply find a place and play. “I got in my truck and said, I’m gonna find me a bar to play at,” he says of the day he discovered the Recreation Center. “I got off of 3, and it says downtown Fredericksburg. That’s William Street. I drove down William Street, and I saw this little sign saying live music. I pulled in. And that was the Rec Center.” It just happened to be a Wednesday, open mic night at the Rec Center, the night Vince drove into town several months ago. Nowadays, ask the friendly folks behind the Rec Center bar if Vince is around, and they can likely tell you what shirt he’s wearing and what kind of mood he’s in. Although with Vince, his mood remains pretty steady. “Grateful. Alive and happy where I am at,” he says. “People believing in me keeps me going. I push myself because I don’t want to let people down.” Look for Vince at the Rec Center most Wednesday nights and at an upcoming performance at Colonial Tavern on June 23. Rappahannock Magazine 13 June 2015 Vol. 1, Issue 9 Your dog’s life just got better! Your Your dog’s dog’s life just just got better! better! 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Save $10 on 2 regular priced main entrées just mention this ad 406 Lafayette Blvd, Fredericksburg • 540-373-1313 www.irishbrigadetavern.com 14 Rappahannock Magazine Vol. 1, Issue 9 June 2015 Taste 200+ craft beers from Virginia & the U.S. July 16-18 richmond, virginia TICKETS ON SALE NOW! #CAHNBE2015 nationalbeerexpo.com National Partner EHQHÀWLQJ YOUR FUTURE. OUR COMMITMENT. Register NOW for Summer and Fall 2015 classes at Germanna In-person or Online at www.germanna.edu For a list of current course offerings visit www.germanna.edu or call 540-891-3000 for more information. Culpeper • Fredericksburg • Locust Grove • Stafford • Online Rappahannock Magazine 15 June 2015 Vol. 1, Issue 9 16 Rappahannock Magazine Vol. 1, Issue 9 June 2015 Rappahannock Magazine 17 June 2015 Vol. 1, Issue 9 Thank you for your support of the 21 Event Sponsors Koppers Performance Chemicals Cary Street Partners - Douglas G. 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Yet. The little strip of coarse white sand tucked beneath the Coleman Expedition by Bridge on the York River Lexi Walker used to be a local secret. Photo by Minutes from WilliamsDennis True burg, the beach offered me a convenient escape from law school when the crowds of tourists crept into every corner of town. Yorktown Beach was home to the Yorktown Pub, the Duke of York Hotel, and little else at that point in history, but that didn’t matter to me. I just wanted a place to enjoy an afternoon beer, talk with people about something other than legal theory, and lie on the sand to the sound of lapping waves. The Yorktown Beach of the late 90s gave me all those things in abundance, and I didn’t have to cut class to make a long drive to the ocean. I returned to my favorite law school hideaway on the first warm weekend of the year, hoping for a drink and some quiet time near the water. But when I turned onto Water Street, I was greeted by a tour bus, disgorging a horde of chaperoned youngsters dressed in identical burgundy T-shirts. In the time I’d been away, the world had found Yorktown Beach. A parking deck stands near the center of the area now known as Riverwalk Landing, and while Starbucks hasn’t found Water Street yet, Ben and Jerry’s has. Visitors coming from the parking deck pass a used bookstore on the way to the beach. The Riverwalk Restaurant looks out over the river and offers seafood, steak, and tapas along with its magnificent riverside views. Maps of Riverwalk Landing abound, as do grassy areas where children play. Public bathrooms are also far more plentiful than they were when I first found the beach. Civilization does have its advantages. The beach’s coarse sand isn’t quite so deserted as it was during my days as a student, but I had no trouble finding a spot to settle down and enjoy the weather. Traffic on the Coleman Bridge beat a distant, echoing rhythm, easily drowned out by the river’s 20 Rappahannock Magazine The Coleman Bridge over the York River stands beside Yorktown Beach in York County. Adjacent to the beach, Riverwalk Landing offers shops and restaurants as well as a mile-long pedestrian walk. The beach is known for public weddings and spontaneous (and planned) engagements. soft lapping and the excitement of children. The burgundy-clad tourists I’d seen earlier had boarded a chartered schooner that made its way downriver as I watched. At sunset, a bride and groom exchanged vows at a small gazebo on the beach. Despite all the activity, the beach isn’t as crowded as Virginia Beach would be on a similar Saturday afternoon. Beyond the Duke of York Hotel, away from Riverwalk Landing, the Yorktown Pub still serves up fantastic seafood and cold beer. At any given time, the pub’s narrow strip of parking spots is occupied by a host of motorcycles, but this is no stereotypical biker bar. Touring bikes share space with Harleys, and travelers at the bar swap stories of their scenic trips to the riverside beach. The unpretentious food makes a delicious impression; a traveler from Connecticut and an itinerant military foodie both recommended the clam chowder while watching the game on the big screen over the bar. Local brews are readily available, and the pub hosts local bands on the weekend. Interstate 64 is probably the most popu- lar way to get to Yorktown Beach. For that reason, I cannot recommend it. Traffic on I64 during the summer is bad enough without the pressure to forget a nasty winter, and the interstate offers few distractions to make the gridlock worthwhile. Route 17 will take travelers right over the Coleman Bridge and directly to Water Street, with none of the unpleasantness of the interstate. As the sun set behind the Coleman Bridge, beachside visitors made their way toward ice cream and seafood dinners, and by nightfall, the parking deck was all but empty. On the way back to my car, another familiar feature of Yorktown Beach made its presence felt: biting flies. The little pests are quite relentless and keep outdoor activity to a minimum after dark. But a little slapping and itching couldn’t dampen my spirits. Yorktown Beach had grown into a fine family attraction, but it retained everything I needed from it. I still found a quiet beach, a place to enjoy an afternoon beer, and good company. And now there’s Ben and Jerry’s, too. Vol. 1, Issue 9 June 2015 Last Call Grapes & Grains Celebrate Zinfandel! O chicken. A hearty portion of shrimp jambalaya had depth of flavor and great color, but was heavily salted. Cornbread and Caviar’s fried chicken was spot on. The coating was crisp and savory, the meat tender and juicy. The huge portion – each plate arrives with half a chicken – guarantees you’ll have leftovers for lunch the next day. One could easily make a meal just from the side item selections. Green beans, macaroni salad, hoppin’ john, mashed potatoes, okra...the list goes on and on. The best one we tried were the collard greens, which were served with the perfect amount of pot liquor and melted in my mouth. The hushpuppies were also on the top of the list. In addition to a full bar, C&C offers a few Virginia wines and beers and has happy hour beer and wine prices Monday – Friday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. There is (of course) sweet tea and fruit juice flavored teas, as well as unsweetened teas and sodas. There is no set kids menu, which I find very refreshing. Instead, the kitchen will make any item on the menu in a ther than a great name, Zinfandel has many unique distinctions in the wine world. For one, the grape ripens to phenomenal By Edwin Wyant levels in California, but it also tastes completely different from most other grapes. When a winemaker uses the proper techniques on the proper set of Zinfandel fruit, the outcome can be glorious – spicy notes of vanilla layered underneath a bouquet of black raspberry pie and a flower garden on the other side of blooming. That’s just my take on some Zinfandels that have passed through my hands, but I’d like to revisit how such a grape came to be in such a place. California is that place; still thought of by Easterners as a land of American opportunity. Now much of California is in the midst of a crippling drought while yearly wildfires threaten thousands of acres and hundreds of homes. But California still boasts some of our largest and most precious national parks, Hollywood, Silicon Valley, international banks, and one of the greatest wine-growing districts in all the world. Across much of California, wineries are growing Zinfandel vines that yield a hardy red wine. The flavor and style of Zin, as its known, are recognized for evoking memories of fall and winter. Since making positive memories serve to many as a benchmark of quality, it also served to the first wine-making pioneers as an indicator that California could make wines of unique character. Continued on Page 24 Continued on Page 28 Cornbread & Caviar: Southern Food Done Right I had heard good things about a new restaurant serving Southern food in Review and Photos by Stafford, but Meg Samonds I couldn’t quite picture where it was or plan a time to visit. Friends kept describing the location, and I could never quite imagine the shopping center just off Route 17, abutting Celebrate Virginia Parkway. Recently, Google Maps and I made the effort to track it down, and it was worth the wait. Soon after being seated, we met owner Michelle Westner, who was tending bar and managing the floor. Michelle and her husband, Joe, opened Cornbread & Caviar last fall, after both left their long commute and corporate jobs behind in Northern Virginia. Their goal was to open a casual, welcoming spot, where people can come for a leisurely meal or call ahead and pick up a hearty, delicious dinner on their way home from a long day. Michelle spoke of wanting a friendly restaurant with a neighborhood following, with Southern Hospitality as their primary focus. The rustic décor includes wainscoting throughout the space, which was handmade using wood from old pallets. The small bar and tables were also made from re-purposed wood. The walls, adorned with country kitsch, are a pale turquoise, keeping the space airy and bright despite only one wall of windows. Outside seating is available on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant. The service is casual and attentive. We dined on a Monday, when the restaurant features an allyou-can-eat fish fry of whiting and hushpuppies. As tempting as that sounded, we decided to focus on the regular “supper” menu. Salads and sandwiches, available for both lunch and supper, are featured first on the menu. The po’ boys – with your choice of roast beef, fried oysters, fried shrimp or fried catfish – come with one of fifteen homemade side items. Fried green tomatoes are one of my favorites, and C&C’s come garnished with two fried shrimp and topped with an addictive Cajun remoulade – a great starter to share. Shrimp and grits, crab cakes, and a grilled center-cut pork chop were all contenders for our dining pleasure, but we chose the NOLA jambalaya and the fried Rappahannock Magazine 21 June 2015 Vol. 1, Issue 9 Book Wyrm Veteran Captures Iraq War’s Hellishness in Redeployment A lthough it seems unlikely that the readers of this magazine picked it up wanting to rehash the merits of the war in Iraq while waiting for a booth at Sammy T’s, there can be no debate Book Review that the war produced By Drew Gallagher quality writing in the short story collection, Redeployment, by Phil Klay. Redeployment, which won the 2014 National Book Award for fiction, is a collection of a dozen short stories set in and around the war in Iraq. It was released recently in paperback and may ultimately prove to be among the greatest works of fiction ever written about war. Generally, any list of great war fiction begins with Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried and Going After Cacciato (which also won the National Book Award). Such lists will inevitably include classics of literature such as All Quiet on the Western Front, The Red Badge of Courage, Catch-22, and Slaughterhouse-Five, so it is pretty heady company for a first-time author writing about a war that most would like to forget ever occurred to receive such high praise. But it is in the strength and brutality of Klay’s stories that the reader slowly understands that the wish to forget is selfish and a disservice to those who served and to those who died. A public misperception about the war in Iraq is that the U.S. casualties were minimal. Some of this can be attributed to the concerted effort that was made by the government to keep the war out of the papers and out of the public’s eye, but sharing guilt in this misperception is a general willingness to believe what we were being given by the government’s publicity machine. Klay quickly disabuses the reader of this myth. Klay does not want us to forget the most simplistic of descriptions of war as hell — always has been and always will be. And it’s not contained to the battlefields or the firefights in anonymous Iraqi towns; hell returns home with the troops and is often waiting for them when they redeploy. 22 Rappahannock Magazine In the title story, the narrator simply wants to get home to his wife and dog. He wants to forget what he has seen and done and believes that only after sitting on the sofa with those he loves will he begin to feel a sense of closure. Unfortunately, life does not stand still when they deploy and wives and dogs grow older while the soldiers are away. The ending of the story “Redeployment” is heart-breaking. What may be the best story in the collection (and all 12 are consistently excellent) is “Money as a Weapons System.” One achievement of Joseph Heller’s classic Catch-22 is that it was so absurd that it would have been laughable (and it is very laughable) had it also not been so true, and that poignancy has elevated it from a simple comedic novel to a literary masterpiece. “Money as a Weapons System” has a similar effect. The narrator is a Foreign Service Office who has been sent to Iraq to establish relationships with the Iraqi people and create jobs for the Iraqi women so they don’t hate Americans and don’t try to kill them or raise their children to try to kill them. The thinking, if you can call it that, is that a widow might just hate a little less if the military that made her a widow finds her a job to give her life meaning. No less perplexing is the mattress king of northern Kansas who believes that the solution to all the problems in Iraq is baseball, and he has a congressman who said as much on his visit to Iraq. So a box of 50 baseball uniforms shows up in Iraq one day (on the mattress king’s dime) and the narrator has to figure out what he is supposed to do with them. No one thinks it’s a good idea, but the narrator’s immediate supervisor, Chris Roper, as well as Major Zima, who delivers the uniforms to his office, think he is just the man for the job. “‘Oh, he (Chris Roper) told the congressman how “sports diplomacy” was the new thing, and they’d been setting up matches between Sunni and Shi’a soccer teams. It’s all the rage at the embassy,’ he said. ‘It’s been very effective.’ ‘Very effective at what?’ ‘Well,’ said the major, beaming, ‘I’m not sure, but they make for some great photos.’ I took a deep breath. ‘Chris Roper thinks this is a good idea?’ ‘Absolutely not,’ said the major, an expression of outrage on his face. ‘Then Representative Gordon…,’ I said. ‘I don’t think so,’ said Major Zima. ‘But he did tell me and the colonel what a key constituent Mr. Goodwin was, and how angry Mr. Goodwin was that no one seemed to take his baseball plan seriously.’ ‘And you told him the ePRT guys could handle it.’ ‘I said you’d be honored.’” So while casualties and frustration mount, a box of baseball uniforms with no baseball equipment is sent to Iraq by a wellhealed Midwestern constituent as the centerpiece to peace in the Middle East. The stories in Redeployment are all works of fiction, but Klay, who served in Iraq, writes so well and evokes such realism that the fiction blurs and what remains is shear outrage. War is indeed hell, but from that hell great writing has often emerged. Redeployment stands as yet another testament to such an emergence. Vol. 1, Issue 9 June 2015 Screen Time Let Me In: Coming-of-Age Tale Meets Vampire Horror Story R emember those jerks who picked on you in middle school? And how you lay in bed at night and thought of ways you could get them back? If you had superhuman strength. If you could punk them out with Film Review your witty remarks. If you were friends By Jennifer Springsteen with a vampire... Swedish author John Ajvide Lindqvist thought about that, too, with his novel Let the Right One In, and Matt Reeves brought it to the screen as Let Me In, so we could watch the whole gruesome thing. Let Me In is a classic vampire story and a coming-of-age tale. Kodi Smit-McPhee, stars as Owen, the bullied kid, and Chloe Grace Moretz is Abby, the lovely 12-yearold vampire. Each of the characters struggles with his and her own emotional and physical needs, and the audience doesn’t see how they can fill those needs until the end. Let me give you a quick summary: Small, haunting Owen lives in an apartment building in New Mexico, where he spends most of his time lurking in the dark on the building’s commons. He’s being bullied at school, and his parents are getting a divorce fueled by their fighting and drinking and ignoring our poor hero. One broody night, Owen watches as Abby and her supposed father, Thomas, move into the apartment next to his. Abby is walking barefoot in the snow, and Owen’s thinking, “I’m weird, but that’s totally weird.” Abby’s father clumsily kills teenagers and drains their blood with tubes into milk jugs. We can tell this job is wearing him down when he screws up so badly he’s almost caught. But instead of allowing himself to get caught, he pours acid on his face so he can’t be identified. In the hospital, Abby arrives via bat wings, and her father opens the window to her. There is a tender moment when she places her hand on his acid-ravaged face, and he holds it there. He offers her his neck, and she drinks from his veins before tossing him to the street below where he dies, never to become a vampire himself. Sigh...Who will feed her now? The creepiness of Abby’s father hits home when Owen finds a photo of an unchanged Let Me In, 2010; screenplay and direction by Matt Reeves (think Planet of the Apes movies). It’s a remake of the Swedish movie Let The Right One In based on the novel Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist. Buy it on Amazon or Google Play for $2.99. Abby with a much younger Thomas, close to the same age Owen is now. Now we get it. Thomas stuck by Abby all those killing years, moving her from town to town in the thick of night. He was jealous of Owen, too, which is understandable, and yet even creepier. You’d think Thomas would happily let her adopt new caretaker so he might live a few years as a normal human. I can’t imagine living with a needy 12-year-old girl for forty years, even if I didn’t have to kill people to provide her food. Abby’s secret is revealed when Owen takes her to a basement teenage hangout and puts on a record. They do some awkward head bobbing, but instead of pulling her in for a kiss, Owen pulls out his pocket knife to become blood brother and sister. (Sweet Owen!) Of course the blood drives Abby crazy, and she races from the basement in a frenzy. Abby’s secret is revealed, but after only a little hesitation, Owen “lets her in” for good. But I question Abby’s sexual and emotional purity, although Owen and the rest of us are led to believe she’s still sexually naïve. After a night of killing, she arrives at Owen’s bed cold and naked, much to Owen’s surprise. I question her obtuseness when she asks, “Is that gross?” Umm-humm. She still has the body of a 12-year-old, but she should have the emotional experience of at least fifty years, maybe more. But she needs Owen to become her caretaker, and she’ll act the part of a naif until she gets him. There are two final doors to slam before Owen is completely in Abby’s grasp. A snoopy policeman enters the apartment where Abby sleeps in the blacked-out bathroom. Abby kills and feeds on the policeman, and his death, piled on top of the other mysterious deaths, sends Abby packing. Now Owen is left with the true monsters: the school bullies. During swim class, they trap Owen in the pool and hold his head underwater. But just when his bulging eyes begin to cross, there is a scream and a dark shadow passes in the air above the water. And then the water is stained crimson, and we understand who has come to save Owen. The end? It’s the absolute best. Owen on a train with a big trunk. He hands the conductor his ticket and claims the trunk. And there Abby’s story begins again. The film has dusky lighting complemented by a fun soundtrack: David Bowie, Culture Club, and Blue Oyster Cult among others create the juxtaposition of hopeful youth and the heaviness of (evil) responsibility. Minimal, sharp dialog and terrific acting on the parts of Smit-McPhee and Moretz strengthen what on the surface might have seemed like yet another campy vampire flick. It’s a shame if this movie—sandwiched between the release of the Twilight films—didn’t get its fair shake. Here I am shaking it at you. You’ll be glad you watched it. . Rappahannock Magazine 23 June 2015 Vol. 1, Issue 9 Explorations From Page 9 help to put on this event for the community but having nothing to offer them. We cannot even offer free drink tickets because we need every last dime.” Despite the shoestring budget, small businesses, nonprofits, and community members have stepped in to help make the event a success, which has just made the community response even more amazing. “Not to mention incredible volunteers who are helping to make the event a success. It’s amazing how much people are willing to contribute,” April says. Even in the face of such adversity, optimism flows through this group of dedicated people working to make the festival come to life. There is a very clear never-say-die mentality among the partners. “There is no stopping us,” April says. “The partners and I will be meeting on June 7 to conduct a river clean-up and to do a breakdown of what worked and did not work at the event, and from there on out, we are committed to next year. We will be seeking out more local and even national sponsorships. This year, we want to cement our legitimacy.” The event has some dedicated partners for this year, such as Spencer-Devon Brewing, the ACA, Catalyst Entertainment, 837 Design, FredEvents, Friends of the Rappahannock, the Blues Society of Fredericks- burg, and the Virginia Outdoor Center, but April hopes that she can add sponsors to this list to continue to grow the scope of the event. She let a wry smile cross her face as she spoke. “2015 is a dress rehearsal for 2016.” April and the Rock the River FXBG partners want the community to come together in celebration of the Rappahannock. “Expect a pretty rockin’ party,” April says confidently about the event. try that the next time we visit. I could make an entire meal out of all those delicious veggie sides! Sunday brunch will most certainly take us back to C&C. The Crabby Cajun – an omelet with crab meat and pimiento cheese and topped with that delicious Cajun remoulade is calling my name. Eggs Benedict, French toast, and biscuits and gravy are a few other tempting brunch options. C&C is open Saturday – Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. The restaurant has semi-private dining space available for large groups. Last Call From Page 21 smaller portion for a child at a reduced price. Vegetarians, fear not; although most selections are meat heavy, the menu declares: “For our vegetarian guests, let us know what you’d like and our kitchen will prepare something special for you.” I’m tempted to Cornbread & Caviar 570 Celebrate Virginia Pkwy Suite 103 Fredericksburg, VA 22406 (540) 684-1300 https://www.facebook.com/RefinedComfortCuisine Where Fredericksburg Gets Engaged We have the area’s largest selection of endless jewlery, including the new colors and charms. Alpaca Farm Tours Wed - Sat by appointment Get up close and personal with an alpaca find unique Alpaca Gifts and clothing. Fun for kids of all ages! Schedule your visit today! 540.841.4878 www.MaranathaAlpacas.com [email protected] Store Hours: Tuesday - Saturday 10:00-5:00, until 6:30 on Wednesday 606 Caroline Street • Fredericksburg, VA 22401 gemstonecreations.org • 540.373.7847 facebook.com/GemstoneCreations Brent Hunsinger Certified Horticulturist Serving the Fredericksburg Region Beautify your yard the pollinator-friendly way. 443.655.3410 [email protected] Native Plant Landscaping • Pollinator Gardens Ecosystem Restoration 24 Rappahannock Magazine Vol. 1, Issue 9 June 2015 Past Tense Caroline Street Movie Houses Once Ruled City’s Nightlife A few summers ago, I went to my usual barbershop for a haircut and shave. Sitting in the old swivel chair and watching the haze of the street float by through the front window, I struck up a conversation with my barber about what he remembered of years gone by. After some time an affectionate memory in celluloid By Patrick Michael Clark surfaced, and he Photo by Hannah Osorio told me about the glory days of the Victoria Theater. It was the long hot summer of 1940 and Gone With the Wind had come to Fredericksburg. The cinematic marvel had premiered in Atlanta the December prior. Since then it had been released across the country to audiences hungry for Civil War nostalgia, and Vivian Leigh and Clark Gable had romanced their way into Hollywood legend. Before the days of multiplexes, theaters in large cities would acquire the rights to screen studio releases first, with the big pictures coming to urban second-run theaters and small town movie houses in the weeks and months following. Crowds in Richmond had already lined Grace Street to see Gone With the Wind at the palatial Loew’s Theatre, today part of Richmond CenterStage. They would undoubtedly line Fredericksburg’s Caroline Street to see Scarlett O’Hara, Rhett Butler, and the burning of Atlanta rendered in glorious Technicolor at the Victoria. At the time, my barber was on summer vacation from primary school and had endless humid days to run about the streets of his dusty hometown looking for diversion and mischief. He recounted to me how he and his friends would sneak into the Victoria and sit hidden in the “Colored” balcony of the segregated movie house. This method seemed to work, as he fondly remembered having seen Gone With the Wind four or five times in the summer of 1940. The Victoria was one of two movie theaters that once stood on Caroline Street for the greater part of the twentieth century. Built in 1937, it sat next to Hugh Mercer’s Apothecary at the end of the business district. A vertical neon sign bearing the The Galleria shops and boutiques occupy the site of the former Colonial Theater on Caroline Street in Fredericksburg. The Victoria Theater also had its home on Caroline Street and is now the annex of the Fredericksburg Baptist Church. theater’s regal name stood out front and a three-sided marquee displayed the current showings. The Art Deco building was owned by Benjamin Pitts, a local politician and manager of the “Pitts Circuit” of Virginia cinemas that spanned from the Valley to Richmond’s East End. For most of its life, the Victoria was segregated, with black patrons required to buy their tickets at a separate window, enter a separate door, and sit in the balcony. Of course the great irony of a white boy sneaking into the black-only section of a Southern theater to watch Gone With the Wind is not lost. It could very well be the plot of a Faulkner tale. Various historical photographs and newspaper advertisements attest to the Victoria’s film offerings even into the waning years of the 1980s. From Cagney and Bogart in the days of black and white to Disney musicals and the original Star Wars trilogy, the Victoria was known to host a diverse and popular bill of Hollywood fare. Sadly, the Victoria met a fate shared by countless main street movie houses across the country. Unable to compete with new suburban multiplexes, shopping mall cinemas, and a growing slew of television channels, the Victoria turned off her projector and closed her doors for the last time in 1988. The Fredericksburg Baptist Church purchased the building for use as an annex, while the original “Colored” ticket window remains in the collection of the Fredericksburg Museum. Not far down the street from the Victoria stood her older, and arguably grander, sister. The Colonial Theater, built in 1929, stood in the center of the commercial district of Fredericksburg. Its façade was Georgian Revival Continued on Page 29 Rappahannock Magazine 25 June 2015 Vol. 1, Issue 9 Art/Music/Nightlife/Stage & Screen/Community/Education GRAPES & GRAINS ADDS DESTINATIONS Beginning June 1 The Grapes & Grains Trail, a tourist attraction in the Fredericksburg, Stafford, and Spotsylvania region has added Adventure Brewing Company (Stafford) and Spencer Devon Brewing (Fredericksburg) to its members. The trail consists of members that are engaged in the manufacture of wine, beer, and distilled spirits, but also function as tourist attractions for consumer education. Original members include Hartwood Winery and Potomac Point Vineyard & Winery (Stafford) as well as A. Smith Bowman Distillery, Blue & Gray Brewing Company, Mattaponi Winery, and Lake Anna Winery (Spotsylvania). Grapes & Grains Trail Tickets are available for $15 at the trail locations as well as the Fredericksburg Visitor Center and the Spotsylvania Visitor Center. For more information on member locations and how to purchase a trail ticket, visit www. GandGTrail.com, e-mail [email protected], or call A. Smith Bowman Distillery at 540-373-4555. POTLIGHT EXHIBITION: MELCHERS’ THE CRIMSON RAMBLER AT GARI MELCHERS HOME AND STUDIO Through June 7 Gari Melchers built a reputation painting the human figure, but in the second half of his career he sometimes ventured into landscape painting. The Crimson Rambler, on loan from a private collection, exemplifies how the garden as subject matter was ideally suited to Melchers’ adoption of impressionistic painting. 224 Washington St., Falmouth Included with museum admission RIVERSIDE DINNER THEATER - MY WAY: A MUSICAL TRIBUTE TO FRANK SINATRA Through June 27 95 Riverside Parkway, Fredericksburg www.riversidedt.com BRICKS AND BOARDS IN THE ’BURG Through October 10 The Fredericksburg Area Museum & Cultural Center and Hallowed Ground Tours present walking tours of historic Fredericksburg. Tours begin and end in Market Square, located behind Town Hall, and run every Saturday through Oct. 10, beginning at 10 a.m. Participants will receive a discounted entry fee into the Museum. For more information, contact Hallowed Ground Tours at 540-809-3918, the Museum at 540371-3037, or visit www.famcc.org. 907 Princess Anne St., Fredericksburg $5 adult, $2 child or student, FREE for members PICNIC IN THE PARK June 2, 9, 16, 23, 30; 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Fredericksburg Parks & Recreation’s Picnic in the Park concert series is an opportunity to enjoy a day outdoors while listening to live local entertainment. Bring a picnic lunch, a blanket, and come relax with friends and family. 500 Prince Edward St., Fredericksburg FREE Fredericksburg Art Gallery’s Outreach Youth Program at Visitor Center June 5; 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts’ Youth Outreach Art Program features the students’ artwork from Hazel Hill Apts. at the Fredericksburg Visitor’s Center, 706 Caroline St., Fredericksburg. Opening reception with the young artists June 5, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Show runs through June 30th. 540-373-1776. FREE 26 Rappahannock Magazine ROCK THE RIVER FXBG 2015 June 6; all day Rock the River FXBG combines activities from various communities who benefit from, are inspired by, and enjoy their time on the Rappahannock River. There is adventure with a multi-sport river and foot race; outdoor activities for grown-ups, kids, and their furry friends; a display of unique art and crafts; craft beer from local breweries, food, and live music throughout the day. 540-372-8708; [email protected] 2410 Caroline Street, Fredericksburg, VA 22401 www.rocktheriverfxbg.com FREE; $30 beer sampling package BALLET & BEYOND II June 6; all day Sponsored by Friends of Dance, the concert will benefit UMW Scholarships in Dance. 540-371-6088; [email protected] 1301 College Ave Dodd Auditorium, UMW Fredericksburg, VA 22401 $15 KIDS’ FISHING DERBY June 6; 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Ages 4-16 years; registration: 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Fishing, boat rental, games, prizes, vendors, hiking, and picnicking. For information, call Linda Bailey at 372-1086 x213. Sponsored by Fredericksburg Parks & Recreation and the Weekend Bassers. 540-372-1086 Motts Run Reservoir www.fredericksburgva.gov/parksandrec FREE ART IN THE PARK June 6 and 20; 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. In conjunction with the Fredericksburg Farmer’s Market, Art in the Park at Hurkamp Park is a showcase of local artists and their talents. Mediums include photography, woodworking, knitting, jewelry, mixed media, books, paintings, and more. 500 Prince Edward St., Fredericksburg FREE NATIONAL TRAILS DAY WALK June 6, 9:15 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Walk through the trails of Spotsylvania Battlefield in celebration of National Trails Day. The walk is free and open to the public. Families and pets are welcome. Choose from 3-mile and 6-mile trails. Restrooms available at the walk start/finish, but not along the trial. 9550 Grant Drive West Exhibit Shelter, Spotsylvania FREE SATURDAYS IN MARY’S GARDEN June 6; 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Join Jeanette Rose for Saturdays in Mary’s Garden. As Gardener for Washington Heritage Museums, Jeanette Rose will share her expertise and anecdotes in Mrs. Washington’s garden. 1200 Charles Street, Fredericksburg RIVERSIDE CHILDREN’S THEATER - JACK AND THE GIANT - THE MUSICAL June 6, 13, 20, 27; 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. 540-370-4300 95 Riverside Parkway, Fredericksburg www.riversidedt.com VIRGINIA RENAISSANCE FAIR June 6 and 7; beginning at 10 a.m.. 703-508-5036 Lake Anna Winery, 5621 Courthouse Road, Spotsyl- vania http://www.varf.org/index.html 1001 Princess Anne Street, Fredericksburg http://www.famcc.org AACA ANTIQUE CAR SHOW June 6; 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. 58th Annual Historic Fredericksburg AACA car show, located in downtown Fredericksburg, Caroline Street. Four blocks of antique and vintage vehicles ranging from early 1900s to 1990. Event includes a vintage fashion show, swing dance demonstration, and disassembling and reassembling of a Model T. All show cars must be registered. Contact meet chairman J. Gordon Brown 703-725-7948 for more information. 600 - 900 Blocks of Caroline Street, Fredericksburg www.hfraaca.org FREE BATTLING CANCER 5K RUN/WALK June 21; 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. The race will start and finish at the Carl D. Silver Health Center/Moss Free Clinic’s parking lot near the Mary Washington Healthcare Regional Cancer Center. On-line registration closes June 18 at 8 p.m. Mail registrations must be received by June 18. In-person registrations may be completed at VA Runner (1993 Carl D. Silver Parkway, Fredericksburg) on June 19, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. and June 20, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. All proceeds benefit Mary Washington Healthcare Regional Cancer Center. 540-741-1512 [email protected] 1301 Sam Perry Blvd., Fredericksburg $30 until Friday, June 12; $35 after Friday, June 12 SPOTSYLVANIA FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT June 12; 8 p.m. Movie begins at dark. Bring your blankets or lawn chairs, sit back and relax while enjoying a movie under the stars. Vendors will be on site offering a variety of foods. No alcohol, glass containers, tobacco products, or pets allowed. Movie - TBD Robert E. Lee Elementary School, 7415 Brock Road, Spotsylvania; Rain Date: June 13 FREE RAPPAHANNOCK REGIONAL SOAPBOX DERBY June 13; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Soapbox Derby is open to children 8-18 who want to race down the William Street hill to become the next champion in their division. Visit fredericksburgsoapbox.com for more information. Sponsors needed. 540-372-1086 fredericksburgsoapbox.com/ FATHER’S DAY FESTIVAL June 13; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. A. Smith Bowman Distillery presents its 4th annual Father’s Day Festival with bourbon, beer, blues, and BBQ. Distillery tours, bourbon, local beers, live blues music, BBQ, hand-rolled cigars, vendors, live demos, giveaways, and more. 540-373-4555 [email protected] 1 Bowman Drive, Fredericksburg www.asmithbowman.com FREE SHAKESPEARE ON THE LAWN June 13, 14, 20, and 21, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Enjoy a Shakespearean production, performed in an 18th-century style, at historic Kenmore Plantation. Come early, bring chairs or a blanket, and a picnic. 540-373-3381 [email protected] Historic Kenmore Plantation, 1201 Washington Avenue, Fredericksburg www.kenmore.org/events.html EVENING WITH AN EXPERT June 18; 7 p.m. Join us for an Evening with an Expert lecture with Mr. Eric D. Powell who will discuss how Fredericksburg weathered the Great Depression. RSVPs are required. Please RSVP by calling 540-371-3037 x400 or to [email protected]. All lectures will be held in the Catherine W. Jones McKann Center. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and seating is limited. A reception for members will follow in the galleries. (540) 371-3037 [email protected] SPOTSYLVANIA STARS AND STRIPES SPECTACULAR 2015 June 27; all day Music, food, and fireworks. Shuttle bus service from nearby locations is available. Spotsylvania Courthouse Area, Spotsylvania visitspotsy.com/event/spotsylvania-stars-and-stripes-spectacular-2015/ Free LAKE ANNA SUNSET CONCERT SERIES June 27; 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Live bands and views of Lake Anna’s famed sunsets every 4th Saturday evening from April through August. Visit the Lake Anna Sunset Concert Series Facebook page for the band lineup. Food, wine and beer are available for purchase. 13703 Anna Point Lane, Mineral www.facebook.com/LakeAnnaSunsetConcertSeries FREE ELIZABETH MONROE’S BIRTHDAY PARTY June 28; 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Celebrate the birthday of Elizabeth Monroe with an elegant garden party and conversation with Mrs. Monroe’s good friend Rosalie Stier Calvert (portrayed by Mary Ann Jung). (540) 654-1043 [email protected] 908 Charles Street, Fredericksburg http://www.jamesmonroemuseum.org $25 ($22 for Friends of JMM) GARI MELCHERS HOME AND STUDIO WOODLAND HIKES June 28; 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Gari Melchers Home and Studio at Belmont offers free guided nature hikes the last Sunday of the month. Tours will start outside the Museum Shop at 2 p.m. Members of the Central Rappahannock Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalist program will lead tours of the woods and fields at Belmont. The walk will cover about one mile of trails and will touch on the historic ruins that illustrate Belmont’s past. Belmont’s trails cover steep and rough terrain and may be muddy at times, so sturdy footwear is recommended. Tours will take place rain, snow, or shine. No reservations are necessary. For more information, contact Beate Jensen at 540-654-1839. [email protected] 224 Washington Street, Falmouth https://garimelchers.wordpress.com/2015/04/28/thejoy-of-eastern-bluebirds/ FREE Vol. 1, Issue 9 June 2015 No one who has had a ever saw it coming. At Mary Washington Hospital, we did. And got ready. So ready, that today we are the only Primary Stroke Center in the region. Our stroke patients have a better chance of returning to an active lifestyle with few or no lasting side effects. Learn more at Stroke.mwhc.com. Stroke.mwhc.com Rappahannock Magazine 27 June 2015 Vol. 1, Issue 9 Grapes & Grains From Page 15 So how do we measure the great California Zins among the titans of Europe when there are few focal points for the variety? A look into the history of Zinfandel might be instructive. During the 1820s, a nursery owner in Long Island, New York, imported cuttings from the Imperial Selection of Plant Species of Vienna, Austria. In a great stroke of luck, a Massachusetts man, Frederick Macondray, purchased a quantity of those vines while heading west on his great American adventure. Frederick achieved success in many ventures in California, including viticulture, and it wasn’t long before Spanish missions were propagating Frederick’s vine throughout their coastal missions. Viticulturists were grateful for Frederick’s contribution, because the varieties originally chosen to be the vine crops of California were poorly suited for extreme California climates. The name Zinfandel was given to the vine at an unknown time during this period. Though these vines came from a garden in Austria, its origins actually lie south of there in what is current day Croatia and Slovenia. That is where we find the Zinfandel grape growing, proud and indigenous, but it goes by a different name: Crljenak. The variety was almost extinct on the Dalmatian coast by the time researchers found it in several vineyards. But the grape is also well known on the Italian east coast as Primitivo. Now let’s return to California where our hometown hero’s vines are thriving more than ever thanks to Sutter Home and Mario Trinchero, who purchased the Sutter Home business in 1947. The Sutter Family was the first to mass produce the grape and the Trinchero family was among the first to make quality wines with Zin grapes in the modern wine-making era. And, of course, they still do; in fact, I highly recommend trying a few of the Zinfandels that Trinchero is currently producing. But if you’re looking for some affordable small-vineyard tastes, here are a couple of recommendations. Operating just down the road from Trinchero, Tin Barn Vineyards of Sonoma County has several offerings of palate-lovin Zin for around $30. And another great vintner to seek out would be the Seghesio Family of Sonoma who offer effortlessly delicious Zinfandels in the $20-$60 range and are always recognized with rave professional reviews. Don’t forget the frozen berries to keep your wine cool while grilling out this summer. Happy June, folks! CREATE PHOTOGRAPHICS AND ODDBOX STUDIOS Are teaming up to help Fredericksburg’s photography community learn, create and thrive. For more information visit: CreatePhotographics.info/ OddBox-Studios Need Catering? Butternut & Blue can handle all of your catering events, large or small, at the Bistro or at your venue. We will work with you on your menu to make it a memorable event. We have our catering alcohol license. Formal to very casual Business lunches Bridal parties Wedding breakfast (day after the wedding) Birthday parties Retirement Graduation Butternut & Blue hours: Monday –Thursday 7am- 4 pm Friday 7am-9pm serving dinner Saturday 9 am-9 pm serving diner Sunday 9 am – 5pm serving brunch til 1 pm regular menu til 5 pm [email protected] Located at 7610 Heth’s Salient Street #104 in the Spotsylvania Courthouse Village 28 Rappahannock Magazine FIRM PARTNERS: Bob Bishop Elaine Farmer Harry Dickinson Helping clients with the following services: • Tax and Estate Planning • Assistance with Estate Administration • Individual and Business Tax Preparation • Business Valuations Fredericksburg Office | 540-373-8973 1207 Charles Street, Fredericksburg, VA 22401 • Small Business Accounting and Bookkeeping • Financial Statement Services for Businesses: Audit, Review and Compilation Services Stafford Office | 540-720-2606 233 Garrisonville Road, Stafford VA 22554 www.bfccpa.com Past Tense From Page 25 and its interior opulent with archways and plaster molding. A rectangular marquee advertised show times, though this was replaced sometime before the early 1980’s with a sign attached to the second-story window. As the first Fredericksburg-based theater of the Pitts Circuit, the Colonial began showing “talkies” in its first Vol. 1, Issue 9 June 2015 year of operation. The theater remained a fixture of the city’s business district for decades and was witness to the Depression, the wartime boom, segregation, and Civil Rights. Although aesthetically pleasing, the Colonial did suffer from a narrow house aisle that limited the possibilities of renovations and modern upgrades. In spite of her prime location and historical value, the Colonial fell to the suburbanization and television culture that would also take her younger sister before the end of the decade. The theatre ceased regular operations in the early 1980s, and its ultimate end would be a subject of debate for many years. The Free Lance-Star, which had covered the 1929 opening with great fanfare, printed various opinions about the fate of the building and the possibility of a viable art house in the space. A 1982 article included a form in which readers could voice their opinion on possible uses for the theater and what, if any, films they would want to be shown. The 1990s ended up as an onand-off time for the Colonial, the theater hosting semi-regular films, family matinées, and concerts. The final blow fell in the winter of 1999-2000 when the Colonial was finally closed to the public. Still a central location for a tourist-driven downtown, the narrow building was reinvented as the Galleria and today hosts several small shops, including a tearoom, bridal shop, and salon. Unlike the Victoria, which had been stripped and repurposed, the Galleria still has the bones of a theater. The façade, ticket booths, and foyer are all still intact. Perhaps even the spirits of Cary Grant and Lauren Bacall still whisper sultry dialogue in the eaves of the old auditorium. Standing under the awning in the evening can even feel strange. One knows he is standing where countless friends and lovers once waited to see the picture shows. One may argue that the concept of the movie theater itself is fading, with online streaming and the marriage of Internet and television becoming a dominant force in entertainment. Economic theories and trends aside, the real legacy of the Victoria, the Colonial, and the rest of the long-gone American movie houses might be that of collective memory. They are like Pullman cars, baseball, or the Post Office, timeless institutions whose meteors have waned, but that we may never completely abandon. FREDERICKSBURG Smoked Pulled Pork Smoked Brat Sandwiches And Much More! CENTER FOR THE CREATIVE A musical adapted from the Book of Exodus. This is the story of finding a home and answering the call burning within your heart. A musical adapted from the Book of Exodus. This is the story of finding a home and answering the call burning within your heart. New Life in Christ Church New Life inBurgess Christ Church 11925 Lane (behind Spotsylvania Towne 11925 Burgess LaneCentre) fccava.org (behind Spotsylvania Towne Centre) Friday, June 19 & Saturday, June 20 Friday, June 19 & Saturday, June 20 Doors open - 6:00 p.m. Doors open - 6:00 p.m. Dinner begins - 6:30 p.m. Dinner begins p.m. Musical begins- 6:30 - 7:15 p.m. Musical begins - 7:15 p.m. and Saturday, June 20 matinee and Saturday, June 20 matinee Doors open - 1:30 p.m. Doors open - 1:30 p.m. Musical begins- -2:00 2:00p.m. p.m. Musical begins AAfully stagedmusical musicalcomplete complete with orchestra fullycostumed, costumed, fully fully staged with livelive orchestra from thepeople peoplewho whobrought brought you... from the you... Esther: ForSuch SuchaaTime Timeasas This and Esther: For This and Joseph the Amazing AmazingTechnicolor Technicolor Dreamcoat Josephand and the Dreamcoat . . Ticketsfree free but but required. required. Please 786-4848. Tickets Pleasecall call(540) (540) 786-4848. (Donations will (Donations willbe beaccepted) accepted) Good For The Soul Music™ 1218 Arion Parkway / Suite 106 San Antonio, TX 78216 1-800-759-5805 Good For The Soul Music™ 1218 Arion Parkway / Suite 106 San Antonio, TX 78216 1-800-759-5805 Frederick Gallery A PARTNER OF THE VIRGINIA MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS Specializing in real smoked and homemade food. Regional Juried Exhibition Members’ Gallery Visit our facebook page to stay up to date on where we will be next! Ruth Golmant & Charles Bergen New Workshops & Classes 813 Sophia Street 373.5646 Sun-Fri 12-4, Sat 11-4, Closed Tues Eagle Village Shopping Center 1223 Jefferson Davis Hwy • Fredericksburg, VA 22401 (540) 373-8878 • hopandwineshop.com • facebook @ HOP.WINE Spring in a new look with trendy highlighted tresses. $20 off $100 purchase While supplies last. Does not combine with any other offer or coupons. No further discounts apply. Expires 6.14.15 Offering 20% off highlights when you mention this ad. Offer valid through June 1, 2015. New Clients Only. 1111 Caroline St., Fredericksburg, Virginia Ashley Vessels (540) 621-2820 or Kathryn Campana (540) 693-0771 Rappahannock Magazine 29 June 2015 Vol. 1, Issue 9 Creators From Page 7 you’re doing,” Stewart explains. Stewart himself has found such a companion in his fiancée, Denise. Both Denise and Steven’s wife, Valerie, remain constant supporters of the Wegner brothers and their works. Denise has accompanied and helped Stewart at various art shows and galleries, and has even worked as an employee of the gallery. Early on in the Wegners’ careers, Stewart attended numerous art shows and spent a great deal of time traveling the United States. But, after settling down at their Wolfe Street site in January of 2013 after 12 years of moving to three different Caroline and William street gallery locations, Stewart now only attends three shows a year on average which gives him more time to spend with Denise at home. Despite the demanding amount of work that goes into creating their pieces, the most frustrating aspect of the Wegners’ jobs is sales. “If you can’t sell it, [art’s] looked upon as a hobby,” Stewart says. “The Internet has changed retail and art sales.” The influence of the Internet and advances in technology prove to have both advantages and disadvantages for the Wegners. The online presence of the Wegner gallery mirrors its physical location — tucked away and unimposing. The Wegners believe that their sculptures — and art in general — are usually not impulse buys and that potential buyers should see works in person before purchasing. Stewart explains that galleries sometimes discourage their featured artists from selling their works online, because it can create price inconsistency. If a gallery’s featured artist chooses to conduct online sales, he or she alone dictates what price each piece will carry. This can cause conflict if these sales are being held within the sponsor gallery’s “territory” at a lower price. On the other hand, technological advances have made the mass printing of paintings less of a challenge and expense for artists. For their acrylic paintings, Steven works with realism while Stewart enjoys painting mostly cartoon subjects. One of the main focuses of Stewart’s paintings is a whimsical depiction of a monkey in a hurricane which he later adapted into a bronze sculpture. His lovable and popular monkey character is the subject of numerous paintings featured in the gallery, and even appears on a selection of T-shirts that Stewart hopes to promote and dedicate more time to in the future. As for right now, the brothers are content with the current state of the gallery and their works and will proudly keep the lost wax bronze casting process alive. members and $55 for non-members. Registration and fee are due by June 18. “ArtBug’s 25th Year with FCCA at Silversmith House” session one begins on June 22. For more information, visit www.fccava.org. FCCA also has reoccurring classes scheduled for June: Drawing & Painting with Maria Motz every Tuesday in June from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. A poetry reading group meets the Saturday, June 6. FCCA is located at 813 Sophia Street in Fredericksburg and is open daily (except Tuesday) from noon to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, contact FCCA at 540-373-5646 or visit www. fccava.org. LibertyTown Arts Workshop is partnering with Greater Fredericksburg Habitat for Humanity for a national juried show called Home. The art show will celebrate the idea of home, and 10 percent of show sales will go to support Habitat’s projects. Tell, a monthly storytelling event at LibertyTown, always happens on the second Saturday of every month at 8 p.m. June’s theme is “School’s Out.” LibertyTown is located at 916 Liberty Street in Fredericksburg and is open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. For more information, contact LibertyTown at 540-371-7255 or email info@ LibertyTownArts.com. Ponshop Studio and Gallery celebrates its five-year anniversary on First Friday, June 5. Owners Scarlett and Gabriel Pons will showcase their latest work, including ceramics, fine art, and two new T-shirt designs. A party will be held in the garden, featuring DJ Moog and refreshments catered by Agora. Ponshop is located at 712 Caroline Street and is open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. For more information, contact Ponshop at 540-656-2215 or email [email protected]. Water Street Studio has a new workshop for adults and a camp for children in June. A leather workshop with Cat Babbie will be offered Saturday, June 20 from 10 a.m. till 2 p.m. In this beginner-friendly class, students will learn the basics of stamping tools and dye techniques to design a custom bracelet. The class fee is $65. A week-long camp for young writers who would love to write a book but don’t know how or where to start will be held with instructor Jenna Veazey June 22 through June 26 from 9 a.m. till 11 a.m. The class fee is $125 per students in grades 5-8. Campers will create a secret handshake, “oath,” and earn “badges” each day by completing lessons, games, and activities related to novel writing. Call Elizabeth at 540-760-8229 about the leather workshop. Call Susan at 540-907-9732 about the young writers’ workshop. Water Street Studio is located at 915 A Sophia Street in Fredericksburg and is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday. For more information, email writingandarts@ gmail.com. ArtBeat From Page 5 ple. Cliff will be in the gallery for First Friday to autograph his new books, which were printed locally by Creative Color. Cliff Satterthwaite, Volume I chronicles his paintings of the York, Penn., area and Cliff Satterthwaite, Volume II covers his work in Fredericksburg. The opening reception will be held on First Friday, June 5, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The exhibit will be on view from June 3 through June 28. Art First Gallery is located at 824 Caroline Street and is open daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, contact Art First at 540-371-7107 or email [email protected]. The Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts (FCCA) has the following events scheduled for June: “Critiques” with Joseph DiBella on June 13, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fees are $20 for members and $25 for non-members. Registration and fee are due by June 10. A “Book Art Workshop” with Ginna Cullen will be held on June 20, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fees are $50 for 30 Rappahannock Magazine Vol. 1, Issue 9 June 2015 Artful Dimensions Gallery 911 Charles Street Fredericksburg, VA (540) 899-6319 Open: Tuesday-Thursday & Sunday 12-6PM Friday & Saturday 12-9PM Closed on Mondays Our gallery space, dedicated to 3-D Art, is a work of art renovated entirely by our artist members. We encourage you to make it part of your next visit to incredible, historic Fredericksburg, VA. http://artfuldimensionsgallery.com Artful Dimensions Gallery 911 Charles Street Fredericksburg, VA (540) 899-6319 Open: Tuesday-Thursday & Sunday 12-6PM Friday & Saturday 12-9PM Closed on Mondays Our gallery space, dedicated to 3-D Art, is a work of art renovated entirely by our artist members. We encourage you to make it part of your next visit to incredible, historic Fredericksburg, VA. http://artfuldimensionsgallery.com • Luxury Residences Now Available for Lease! • Spacious One and Two Bedroom garden apartment residences ready for move-in look what’s happening this June at The Kenmore Inn! Join us for live music every Thursday at 7:30! featuring new drink specials at our copper top bar! 6.4 • The mctell bros • local/awesome Americana/blues 6.10 • natalie York, Justin trawick, raye zaragoze • 3 great songwriters via DC & NYC 6.14 • laura shepherd • Sun show, FL traveler returns home! 6.18 • ruination road • the artist formerly known as Joshua Road 6.25 • eddie d & garner sloan• Austin songwriter + your fav fiddler Chef Jacquie cooks up fabulous WINE DINNERs the first Wed of every month. June’s dinner features rose’ with a second dinner 6.20 themed portugal! Call for reservations, come see what it’s all about. Exercise your art muscles at ARTE & Vino! Anna will guide you on your way to making a masterpiece, you probably already know how to drink the wine. Call for dates and reservations. Get tickets now for tasting old dominion! On July 5 we feature all things local: the best distilleries, wineries, breweries, and farms. Call us at 540.371.7622 for details & reservations, we’ll see you soon! ARTof BALANCE YOGA STUDIO www.artof balanceyoga.com • Features include screened balconies, walkin closets, granite counter-tops, ceiling fans, and premium cabinet, flooring and lighting packages • Conveniently located in Spotsylvania’s “New Downtown” Live.Work.Play Community Property Managed by: Arista Management Group Call Alaina or Mary: 540-805-5112 Leasing Office located at 9001 John Myer St., Apt.101 NEW STUDENT SPECIAL: $40 UNLIMITED MONTH (Salem Village) 4300 Plank Road, Ste 170, Fredericksburg, VA 22407 540-907-2909 Rappahannock Magazine 31 June 2015 Vol. 1, Issue 9 32 Rappahannock Magazine
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