Happenings in the Burg

The "Lynchburg Happenings" blog will be used from time to time to alert visitors to what is going on in Lynchburg, VA...no politics and no editorializing, just fun things to see and do.

Got Snow?

It finally happened...Lynchburg got its first and maybe only snow for the winter of 2012.

It was cloudy and cool when worshipers went into their 11:00am Sunday service on February 19th. An hour later they emerged into a pretty energetic snowfall that lasted throughout the day and most of the night.

When it abated sometime during the night it left about 10 inches of wet, heavy snow, at least in the Boonsboro area.

This is Lynchburg, after all, and by mid-afternoon on Monday, the temperatures were hovering around 48^o and most of the white stuff was rapidly disappearing.

There were scattered power outages from tree branches falling on power lines, several predictable traffic accidents and slush.

Snow plows were out but I'm not sure why. Here's a photo of Locksview Road approaching Trent's Ferry.

The worst part was that the kids got cheated out of a snow day since Monday was President's Day and most schools were closed anyway.

It was beautiful, especially with the bright Monday sun hitting the glistening trees.

The trees and plants don't know what to make of it all; the periwinkle ground cover is starting to bloom, buds are on the beech trees ready to open and bulbs are sprouting up from the ground. So what's with this last gasp of winter?

The really best part is that it was mostly gone before I ever found my snow shovel.

What's the forcast for the next few days? Oh, up in the high 50s and maybe low 60s. Could this be it for the winter? Well, in Lynchburg one never knows but we enjoyed it while it lasted.

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DPO Means Fun Dining on the Lynchburg Riverfront

The DPO Depot Grille is Lynchburgs favorite place for steak and seafood on the riverfront.

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Amazement Square

Lynchburg's Amazement Square is the "must visit" interactive, hands-on educational experience for kids.

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Real Texas BBQ in Lynchburg, VA

Good Texas BBQ used to hard to find in Lynchburg, VA. Not any more! Now we have Poke-E-Joe's.

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Barbara Martin and Mac Walter in Concert

The following invitation comes courtesy of Karen at James Jones Instruments at 1384 Coltons Mill Road in Bedford. Check them out at the "more information" link shown below.

Join the Friends of the Bedford Public Library, Inc. on Friday, January 27, 2012, at 7:30 p.m. as they host Barbara Martin and Mac Walter in concert.

The concert, held in the Bedford Room of Bedford Central Library is open to the public, with a ticket price of $10.00 per person, collected at the door. Seating is limited. For more information, call 540-586-8911, or visit www.friendsofbedfordlibrary.org. Join us for a fun evening and bring a friend or two! To receive notifications of upcoming shows please join our email list, accessible through our web site.

Barbara Martin and Mac Walter’s music is a rich stew of earthy blues peppered with sassy, swinging jazz. Their performances are rooted in a healthy respect for the traditions of American music from Josh White to Bessie Smith to Billie Holiday.

Martin’s sultry, soulful voice combined with the bending, sliding strings of guitar wizard Mac Walter captivates audiences. They have performed at numerous festivals and concerts in the United States and Europe, including The Kennedy Center and Fleet Blues Festival, Albany, NY.

Vocalist Barbara Martin is best known not only for being an accomplished interpreter of the great jazz and blues standards; but also for her ability to stretch the boundaries of the female jazz and blues singer image.

She writes award-winning songs. She plays guitar. She collaborates with other acclaimed artists to produce engaging live shows and music education programs. She’s as comfortable in a New York cabaret show or a major venue like The Kennedy Center as she is in an intimate house concert or a bohemian cafe.

Her expertise and talent place her squarely in the company of the legends she teaches about in her educational series “Women of Blues and Jazz,” but it’s her ability to transition smoothly from chanteuse to girl-next-door to perceptive poet that makes her so delightfully her own woman.

Three-time WAMMIE winner Mac Walter began his music career at 15 when Marianne Price, formerly of Dan Hicks and The Hot Licks/The Kinks, convinced him to give up the ukulele and try the guitar.

Three months later, Mac was playing in Marianne’s band and he has not put the guitar down since. Music became the guiding force in a life spent as a professional musician.

In the 1960’s Mac developed his unique finger style approach to playing folk, rock, blues, jazz, and country and taught students at the Charlie Byrd Studio in Bethesda, Maryland. Heavily influenced by folk luminaries such as Doc Watson, Mississippi John Hurt, Dave Van Ronk, Dick Rosmini, and especially by his guitar mentor, Raun MacKinnon Burnham, he totally dedicated himself to his music and refused to be pinned down to one musical genre.

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Miriam's House

Sometimes when you least expect it, fate creates a set of circumstances that restores one’s faith in the human race. In this case the stars aligned to bring me to Miriam’s House at 1:00 pm on Wednesday, June 29, 2011.

The occasion was the donation of a truck load of brand new, top-of- the-line furniture by Grand Home Furnishings on Fort Avenue. It was a gift that was desperately needed.

Mary Alex, aka M-A, the director of Miriam’s House was on hand to receive the donation and Rick Foutz, Manager of the store, was there with his crew of seven or eight people to unload the truck and place the pieces where they belonged.

Miriam’s House is a gem and a lifesaver for women, many with children, who are experiencing one of life’s most traumatizing experiences; the loss of a home and all the hardships that entails.

The house can accommodate eleven women and 29 children in a safe harbor that provides safety, comfort and private rooms. It is not a shelter; rather, it is a transitional way station that strives to rehabilitate the women’s lives and prepare them for independent living while preventing the trauma and dangers that can befall the children of homeless women.

The residents keep the house clean and neat while sharing two large kitchens for individual meal preparation. They work, study and participate in a variety of programs designed to equip them for life beyond Miriam’s House.

Lynchburg is blessed to have Miriam’s House and even more blessed to have Mary Alex in our town to direct its activities including fund raising and lining up donations and volunteers. In the one year that she has graced our town, M-A has made her mark big time, where it counts; saving lives and giving hope.

There is no better place for your monetary donation or whatever type of support you can offer. To donate, volunteer or provide in-kind services, contact Mary Alex at 434-847-1101 and visit them on the web at MiriamsHouseProgram.org.

Grand Home Furnishings is likewise a great blessing to Lynchburg. They are in actuality a very large firm with headquarters in Roanoke and 17 stores in Virginia, West Virginia and Eastern Tennessee. Nevertheless, Manager Rick Foutz and his Fort Avenue staff are hometown Lynchburg all the way and have a heart as big as the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Stop in and say HI to Rick and thank him for his contribution to our community. You could also buy a new living room set or mattress while you are there, Rick would appreciate it.

We will feature Miriam’s House in greater detail in a Coming Soon section of the www.Lynchburg-va-insider.com that will focus on the organizations and people that personify the phrase Lynchburg Cares. Come back and visit us.

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Big Doings at Poplar Forest

In case you missed it in the News and Advance, a remarkable conversation is scheduled for next Saturday, May 7th at Poplar Forest.

Thomas Jefferson, in the person of Bill Barker, will be hosting King George III, in the person of John R. hamant.

You can attend and eavesdrop for the advance price of $24 (youth $12, house tours $9) which includes a tea reception at 1:30 pm and the performance at 2:15 pm.

For the nightowls, there is a 7:00 pm wine and cheese reception and performance at 8:00 pm. Advance tickets are $30 for the evening events with house tours included.

Advance tickets can be purchased online at www.poplarforest.org/events/conversations. A lot more information is also given at the website shown.

For American history buffs and Poplar Forest supports, this should be an intensely interesting event.

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Support Lynchburg Cooks for Hunger Relief

It's happening Monday, April 18th from 6-8pm at Phase 2 (remember Cattle Annies?) at 4009 Murray Place...like you're going to Outback only turn right.

This is the time of year that big names in the Lynchburg restaurant scene open their hearts and donate samples of their cuisine to benefit the hungry in our community.

Specifically, the annual event benefits the Central Virginia Area Agency on Aging, The Daily Bread and Rivermont Area Emergency Food Pantry.

You can expect to sample delicacies from over 30 participating restaurants and the cost is minimal and will benefit a lot of people who need our help.

Advance tickets are $25, available at participating restaurants or $30 at the door. Pay at the door, the extra five bucks helps.

So far, the list of participating restaurants include:

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The Williams Home...Where the Ladies Are!

On Langhorne Road, just a little South of Rivermont and around the bend on the right sits the Williams Home.

This is a spacious, elegant home for active young ladies who have crossed the fifty-five year threshold and are relatively healthy, able to live independently, and Virginia residents.

The reasons for choosing the Williams Home are as varied as the wonderful ladies living there. Some might say they feel secure and cared for, others like the cost, for some it is the variety of activities, the meals, the library, the exercise room, and the caring staff and on and on.

This past Valentine’s Day, I had the pleasure of participating in a luncheon for the residents. A number of men from the community were invited to sit and dine with the ladies and I was one of the fortunate’s to be included.

I shared a table with three wonderful ladies, all in their 90’s, two were 97 as I recall. They were all highly complementary of Williams Home, praising the food, their accommodations and the staff. They were delightful company and we parted best of friends.

One very major reason that Williams Home is so affordable is that it is a not-for-profit retirement community established and endowed by philanthropist James Luther Williams.

Due to the benevolence of Mr. Williams, it is able to remain very competitive with other, larger corporate run facilities in our area.

Much of the income from the low monthly fees goes to continually modernize, beautify, and provide new services.

Another plus is that assisted living services have been added to accommodate residents if they ever need this type of care.

If anyone reading this is considering an independent living facility for a family loved one, be sure to take an in-depth look at Williams Home.

Yvonne Axiotis is the Director of Williams Home and you should feel free to contact her at 434-384-8282 for more information or to arrange a visit (or maybe lunch?)

Williams Home
1201 Langhorne Road
Lynchburg, VA 24503-2599
Tel: 434-384-8282

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Centra's HeartAware Risk Assessement

Have a heart? Want to know what kind of shape it's in? Good News!

The Cardiovascular Group of Centra's Stroobants Heart Center is offering a free online risk assessment.

For anyone concerned about the health of their heart, taking this simple assessment survey could be a lifesaver. It just takes a few minutes so do it now.

To take advantage of the HeartAware Risk Assessment, go to http://tcg.centrahealth.com/wellness or just click on the highligted link above.

Next click on the "HeartAware free online risk assessment" and a window will open to the start the assessment.

After completing the questionaire and providing your contact information, you will receive your risk assessment right on your computer.

Depending on your risk factors, you may get a phone call from the lovely Melissa, inviting you to come in for a more indepth series of heart risk assessments in which Becky Hunt will measure your blood pressure, cholesterol, body fat, BMI and more; still all free.

Next will be a briefing on how lifestyle factors affect cardiovascular function and steps you can take to maintain a heart healthy quality of life. Finally, depending on how those measurements turn out, you will be briefed on the diagnostic tests available to look inside your heart and all that plumbing going to and from it.

This part is not free but it is priced very reasonably and you can always say "no". However, if your risk assessement indicates a further look is needed, your answer better be "yes".

The Cardiovascular Group is located at 2410 Atherholt Rd; that is almost at the end of the road, across from the Orthopedic Center, and enter from the backside (south) of the building. Turn right at the CVS coming from Rivermont or turn left at the CVS coming from the EC Glass direction.

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Happy New Year! What Can I do Tonight?

It's the morning of December 31st, 2010 in Lynchburg, Virginia and you haven't decided what to do tonight.

If one wanted a few last minute ideas, here's a few, complements of our News and Advance.

There's the Mad Hatter Ball at the City View Sky Top Lounge, 828 Main Street, from 8 pm to 1 am. Call 434-455-0384 or visit www.mhball.com. $25 for dancing, $50 for dancing and eats, $75 for that plus entry to the VIP lounge.

Bull Branch at 109 11th Street is having its 9th annual One Love One World Multimedia Bacchanalia for Peace. Foods from around the world, dancing and an interesing Venezuelan ritual. Call 434-847-8477.

The Kirkley Hotel at 2900 Candlers Mountain Road has two party options; either Laugh Away the Old Year, or Dance in the New Year. Call 434-237-6333.

New Years eve parties at the Big Lick Tropical Grill, 4001 Murray Place, 434-528-3604; Charley's at 707 Graves Mill Road, 434-237-5988; Marilyn's at 15225 Wards Road, 434-237-8008; The Neighbors Place at 104 Paulette Circle (Wyndhurst), 434-455-4300; Mangia and Rivermont Pizza, 2496 Rivermont Avenue, 434-846-2585 and 434-846-2877 respectively; and Phase 2 at 4009 Murray Place, 434-846-3206, offers several party packages for the night.

Can't decide? Well there's always the TV and watching the Times Square ball drop. Yawn! See you next year.

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Lynchburg Grows has a Wish List

The "Lynchburg Grows" community garden has a wish list for 2011. At the top of the list is YOU!

All kinds of farming implements are needed such as wheelbarrows, shovels, pruners, shears, mowers and the like but, most of all, volunteers are needed to work the implements.

People and their time is always of highest value to the enterprise.

Lynchburg Grows list of corporate sponsors reads like of list of who's who in the Lynchburg business community. Their 200+ private contributors also greatly helped make the 2010 capital drive a success but more are needed; many more.

These are trying times in the community and many of our people rely on the fresh vegetables produced by the gardens and donated to those in need. Hunger is here and it is not going away.

Your help is needed. To donate, volunteer or help provide the material needs of Lynchburg Grows, contact LG at 434-846-5665 or e-mail them at info@lynchburggrows.org.

You could also just drop in the office at 1339 Englewood Street, just one block south of the City Stadium. Say "hello" to LG president, Derek Cunningham.

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Tomorrow is the First Friday of November

Tomorrow is November 5th in Lynchburg and you know what that means...it's First Friday time.

November's First Friday will feature some wonderful exhibits by many of our best area and regional artists.

Riverviews Artspace and 901 Jefferson St. is hosting the second annual Regional Juried Art Show featuring 36 works by 33 Virginia artists. You can see this from 5:30 to 8:00 pm.

The lower level Urban Art Bazaar will be open and the works of local artist Purnell Hearn Pettyjohn will be featured in the Coop Gallery.

Rivermont studio at 1204 Rivermont Ave. will have printmaker Jack Glover showing his woodcuts and hosting a reception from 6-8 pm.

Light Wings Gallery at 849 Belmont St. will have Terry and Sharyn Coffee showing their watercolors, acrylics and oils from 5 to 8 pm with a concurrent reception.

The ZEN micro spa and salon at 1301 Main St. will feature Loren Baker and her photographic works of city scenes focused on street life in Paris. This is from 5 to 8 pm also with a reception.

Other events include Greg Krueger giving a talk on Lynchburg silversmiths; 5 to 8 pm at the Lynchburg Museum, 901 Court St...

Two kiln loads of fresh pots at Oxide Pottery, 1337 Main St. and a reception from 6 to 8 pm...

Terry Arnold showing her work at the Lodge of the Fisherman, 4415 Boonesboro Rd from 5:30 to 8 pm. The works reflect her spiritual and creative journey...

The Dance Theatre of Lynchburg at 722 Commerce St. will have mini-workshops by dancers Theodore Coates and Kim Sheppard, focusing on hip hop and tap, 5 to 8 pm...

The Up Front Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts will feature the works of Charlottesville artist Jeannine Regan and the Arts and Education Building will be hosting its annual Artist Members Cash & Carry sale and show.

It will be a memorable First Friday in Lynchburg; don't miss it.

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The Daura Visits Deep Space

For the next few weeks we can go where no man has gone before right here in Lynchburg at the Daura Gallery.

An amazing exhibit is currently up for viewing at the Daura on the campus of Lynchburg College.

Through November 14th, the Smithsonian Institution will have its traveling exhibition, "Beyond: Visions of Planetary Landscapes" available for public viewing; free of charge. Can't beat that!

The exhibition is the work of author, film-maker and photographer Michael Benson. His photographic prowess is presented in an impressive art book, "Beyond: Visions of the Interplanetary Probes" which chronicles five decades of robotic planetary space exploration in extremely fine photographic prints. The works on display in Benson's traveling exhibition are selected from his "Beyond" book.

The Daura Gallery hours are 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, Monday through Friday and on selected Sundays from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. More information is available at 434-544-8595.

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E.C. Glass Hosts "Oklahoma"

Oklahoma, the first musical by Rogers and Hammerstein is coming to Lynchburg, compliments of E.C. Glass High School and the Roberts Group, an Indianapolis based entertainment company.

Is there anyone out there who hasn't seen Oklahoma yet? After all, the original broadway production opened way back on March 31st, 1943. Wow, that was before I was born. So if you haven't seen it, now is your chance.

The setting of the production is in the Oklahoma territory of 1906 outside the town of Claremore. Other than that, all we will say is that it is a musical love story and it will be worth the price of admission.

Tickets are now on sale for the October 17th performance, doors opening at 6:30 pm and curtain up at 7:00 pm. There is reserved seating for all ages and tickets can be ordered by calling 800-594-8499 or online at www.LynchburgBroadway.Tickets.musictoday.com.

E.C. Glass High School is located at 2411 Memorial Avenue and parking is plentiful.

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