Towns & Villages Column by Billie VanPay

Submit Aldie and Middleburg community news to Billie VanPay.

Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2012

Animal portraits on display at National Sporting Museum

The National Sporting Library and Museum preserves and shares the literature, art and culture of equestrian and field sports. The NSL&M’s permanent art collection of paintings, sculpture, prints, weathervanes, and objets d’art date from the 17th century to the present.

In addition, there have been special exhibits that draw national attention, as did the recent inaugural exhibit for the museum, “Afield in America: 400 Years of Animal and Sporting Art 1585-1985,” curated by F. Turner Reuter, Jr., and based on his book “Animal and Sporting Artists in America.”

Mickey Gustafson, director of communications and education for NSL&M, has announced two upcoming exhibitions in the new museum building.

On Friday, Feb. 3, the Ivy Circle and Chairman’s Council members were invited to a preview of the exhibit, “Wildlife and Paintings of Bruno Liljefors” (Swedish, 1860-1939), which opened Feb. 4 and will continue through March 15.

The museum described the exhibit as, “...a collection of paintings by the Swedish artist that depict grand, sweeping and innovative scenes of the dance of predator and prey. Liljefors had a vision that was ahead of his time, foreshadowing a movement that would reach its heyday a half a century later. Many would follow, but Liljefors was altogether without peers. ‘I paint animal portraits,’ he said, modestly.”

In addition to the animal portraits by Liljefors, prominently on display in the museum’s foyer is the sculpture “Still Water” by Nic Fiddian-Green who is recognized for his monumental equine works.

Later this spring, April 6 through June 30, the museum will exhibit “Scraps: British Sporting Drawings from the Paul Mellon Collection” that the museum describes as taking “… its title from Henry Alken’s series of drawings and prints that depict varied and often-humorous episodes of sporting and country life. Unlike the more formal, traditional scenes represented in commissioned paintings, these works allowed artists to indulge a personal vision of animals, sport and country pursuits they encountered and observed directly.”

Then, in October, “Bob Khun: Drawing on Instinct” will open on exhibit.

The National Sporting Library was founded in 1954 by George L. Ohrstrom, Sr., who was president of Orange County Hunt, and by Alexander Mackay-Smith, who was editor of The Chronicle of the Horse, at that time.

Today, for equestrian and field sports, the NSL&M is world renown as both a library of more than 17,000 books and a museum of both American and European art.

Information is shared through exhibitions, lectures, seminars, publications and special events.

The NSL&M is open to researchers and the public; Admission is free. For more information, visit www.NSL.org  .

The Piedmont Philosophical Society has begun its series of featured speakers.

Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012

Middleburg Players to stage ‘The Real Inspector Hound’

Upperville has been designated as a historic district and is a Virginia Historic Landmark that is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Situated eight miles to the west of Middleburg, the area is home to a number of prominent thoroughbred breeding farms and country estates and is part of Virginia’s famous Piedmont horse country, as well as home of the Upperville Colt and Horse Show, the oldest such event in America.

Buchanan Hall, the community center in Upperville, founded in the 1920s, was incorporated as a not for profit corporation way back in 1933, and, since that time, has been maintaining and operating very successfully a meeting place for the community and the surrounding areas.

Through the years, the community center has served the area very well in providing a meeting place for a number of excellent events of interest to the community.

For example, the “Daffodil Show” in 2011 was a tremendous success, one of the center’s many events attracting national interests and tourists.

This year, on Sunday, Feb. 26, 1 to 4 p.m., the center will host the Winter Bridal Open House with Market Salamander catering and providing wine tastings and food samplings.

Chef Jason Reeves will showcase his famous wedding cakes. Also featured will be a variety of other businesses associated with producing “state of the art” weddings, particularly local vendors for floral arrangements, photographers and carriages, for example.

For more information, call Michele Hobson at Buchanan Hall (540) 592-3455 or Market Salamander (540) 687-8011.

In March, the Middleburg Players will be on stage again in the community center. This time it’s a comic gem by Tom Shoppard, “The Real Inspector Hound.” Rave reviews greeted this masterpiece of farce when it was recently revived in London.

According to Alyn Beauchamp, who has been active in the Middleburg Players for several years and is a frequent director of their productions, this is a highly entertaining play.

“Feuding critics Moon and Birdboot are swept into the whodunit they are viewing,” she said. “In the hilarious spoof of Agatha Christie-like melodramas that follow, the body behind the sofa proves to be — oh, that would be giving it away. As mists rise about the isolated Muldoon Manor, Moon and Birdboot become dangerously implicated in the lethal activities of an escaped madman.”

Performances are March 23 and 24, March 30 and 31, and April 1 in Buchanan Hall. For more information, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) .

Middleburg Community Center will be the location for Art of the Piedmont, an art auction and reception hosted by Middleburg Montessori School on Friday, Feb. 24, at 5:30 p.m., and proceeds will benefit the school.

Original art works from the community’s best artists will be at auction.

With more than 15 artists, including the furniture of craftsmen at Plank & Nickel, the event will showcase the art of Misia Broadhead-Barham, Anthony Barham, Kim Basinger, Armand Cabrera, Hwa Crawford, Mikel Diaz, Richard Dimon, Charles Matheson, Lilla Ohrstrom, Dana Lee Thompson, Dana Volkert, Charlie Westbrook, Henry Wingate, and Cathy Zimmerman, among others.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with these talented artists,” said Beth Ann Slater, head of the school. “Ultimately, we are all coming together to benefit the children in our community.”

Middleburg Montessori School is a primary Association Montessori Internationale accredited environment that for more than 30 years has educated children, age 2-1/2 through 6, in the Middleburg community.

Last fall, the school opened a new elementary classroom for children age 6 through 14.

The benefit, organized by parents and friends, will help the non-profit continue growing its primary and elementary programs.

The public is invited to this open event. Delicious hors d’oeuvres from Julien’s on Washington Street and wine from Barrel Oak Winery will add a festive touch.

For more information, call (540) 687-5210 or visit .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012

Middleburg plans for new year

Middleburg’s Law and Order: Plans for the new year

The Town of Middleburg has had world-class events and attractions in and around its area for many years, and it is known nationally as a tourist destination.

It is easy to take the efficient management of all these activities for granted, as well as the basic services of the town, but that management is difficult.

The town is managed very well by 11 employees, headed by Town Administrator, Martha Mason Semmes.

That management includes the water supply, wastewater treatment, solid waste collection, budgeting, revenue collection, zoning, planning, tourism (including the Pink Box), business assistance, its building/grounds maintenance, supplemental snow removal and police services, as well as supporting the town council and its appointed boards and commissions .

Semmes became Middle - burg’s town administrator in 2010, and her background as a certified urban planner with special expertise in historic preservation, environmental and small-town planning prepared her for work in protecting the historic character of the town, supporting and promoting a strong business community and providing quality services in the current climate of limited revenues and slow economic growth the entire nation is experiencing.

For example, one primary challenge is the Water and Sewer Fund.

Its revenues for many years have not been sufficient to cover both daily and operating expenses plus the capital improvements to water and sewer infrastructure.

Many repairs and upgrades had to be deferred, but with free assistance from the Virginia Rural Water Association, one major leak was repaired recently, which permitted a significant cutback in water production and operating costs.

Too, Semmes hopes that the updated billing software and the meter replacement program will increase the efficiency of the billing system and services, resulting in both stabilized water and sewer rates and also more repairs and improvements to the system.

Semmes spent considerable time last year working with the Salamander Resort to complete its water and sewer facilities in order to get the resort development started again.

She anticipates major progress toward completion of the resort and modest improvement in the economy this year.

“I love it here,” Semmes said. “It is such a special, caring community, and there is never a dull moment on the job. I welcome questions and feedback on the town’s government.”

For more information, call (540) 687-5152 or visit .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Working with the administration and staff to ensure a safe and efficiently managed town, Police Chief Bill Klugh, who has been in Middleburg for about six months now, has become a vital part of the community already.

“For the new year, the department plans to continue our high level of community policing service with high-visibility enforcement of traffic laws, as well as continued business checks and frequent foot patrols,” he said.

“Officers are available to consult with businesses and homeowners on ways they can better secure their structures. Crime continues to be low in Middleburg, and our goal is to keep it that way through our efforts, in partnership with the community. Violent crime was nearly non-existent in 2010, and property crime was very low as well. We encourage citizens to report suspicious activity. Even if you think it may be nothing, let us check it out.”

To contact Chief Klugh, call (540) 687-6636 or email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).