Towns & Villages Column by Sarah Smarrelli

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Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012

Marshall Middle’s ‘Dream Team’ takes second place

The Dream Team, comprised of girls from Marshall Middle School, performed well last weekend in the annual volleyball tournament organized by Always Active Sport & Recreation.

After falling into fourth place early, they came back and captured second place overall.

Led by volunteer coach Marcia Johnson, the team included Emma Symanski, Madison Martin, Paige Grimes, Lindsy Smarrelli, Emily Johnson, Micensie Barrett, Elizabeth Heras, Mandy Joseph, Erica Passmore, and Lauren Canard.

For more information about Always Active programs, visit www.alwaysactivesport.com  .

Winter is the perfect time for chili, and you can get your fill this weekend at the Annual Marshall Methodist Men all-you-can-eat Chili Feed on Saturday, Feb. 4 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The event features chili, corn bread, hot dogs, hamburgers, iced tea, lemonade and salad.

Tickets can be purchased at the door, and the cost is $7 for adults, $4 for children age 5 to 12, and 4 and under are free.

Carry-out will also be available. From noon to 2 p.m. local musicians Cobbler Mountain Grass will perform.

For more information, call Joe Bersack at 347-1757.

Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012

Good food, friends at community lunch

Enjoy a warm meal and friendly fellowship at the free community lunch hosted by Grace Episcopal Church in The Plains from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 28, in the parish hall.

This month’s free lunch features a country breakfast with homemade French toast. Bring yourself, family or friends and enjoy visiting with neighbors over a hot meal.

If you know of anyone who needs a ride to the lunch, contact Sue Smith at (703) 753-4947 or sue@paulandsue  smith.net  . If you can help in the kitchen that day, please arrive at 10 or 10:15 a.m.

Grace Church also announced a new addition to its concert series — two freewill offering concerts.

These non-ticketed events are open to the public, and the church is asking only for a donation for admittance.

The Girls’ Choir of the National Cathedral, directed by Michael McCarthy, will present the first of these evenings, on Jan. 29.

The program entitled “For Gods and Kings and Queens” explores music inspired by the English monarchy, the start of the Anglican faith, and the music they have inspired in the last half millennium.

The second evening will present a seasonally appropriate program on Feb. 26, with the song cycle Winterreise by Franz Schubert.

The ticketed concert series at Grace Church continues on March 11, with internationally acclaimed baroque performing and recording artists Jacque Ogg, Wilbert Hazelzet and Jaap ter Linden.

This will be an evening of harpsichord, cello and traverse flute. This is rare opportunity to listen to the music of J.S. Bach on the instruments for which it was originally intended.

And the grand finale of the series on April 22, the Fletcher Opera Institute, University of North Carolina School of the Arts, will present “A Night at the Opera.”

The Grace Church Concert Series is funded in part through the generosity of Mrs. Jacqueline Mars in memory of her mother, Mrs. Forrest Mars, who was devoted to music and loved Grace Church.

All concerts are held Sunday at 5 p.m. at Grace Episcopal Church, 6507 Main St., The Plains, for more information, call 253-5177 or visit www.gracetheplains.org  .

In addition to the concert series, Grace Church boasts a skilled Parish Choir which leads each Sunday service at 10 a.m.

The choir will be completing its first choral residency at Canterbury Cathedral and St. Martin’s Church, U.K., in July.

Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012

‘Adventures in Art’ coming soon

Attention all budding young artists: Zigzag Gallery in The Plains invites you to attend its Adventures in Art on Saturday mornings from 10 a.m. to noon, beginning Feb. 4.

The four-week sessions will continue through March 24. Featured activities will include simple printmaking; writing and illustrating short stories; book making; drawing in a variety of media; wire sculpture, and other fun art projects.

The age level is somewhat flexible, within approximately the 7- to 12-year-old range. The cost is $80 for each four-week session.

For more information and to register, please call Susan Jeffries at Zigzag Gallery, 253-5364, or stop by the shop at 6477 Main St., The Plains.

The gallery is open Wednesdays through Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Zigzag also has a fantastic children’s room, full of a wide variety of creative and educational games, puzzles and craft kits, plus books, puppets, and old fashioned toys. Stop by the shop and see for yourself.

In the deep of winter, the Grace Church Concert Series launches a new venture: two free-will offering concerts open to all for whatever donation you wish to make.

The first concert, on Sunday, Jan. 29, is presented by the Girls’ Choir of the National Cathedral, directed by Michael McCarthy. “For Gods and Kings and Queens” explores music inspired by the English monarchy and the Anglican faith in the last half millennium.

A seasonally appropriate program on Sunday, Feb. 26 offers the song cycle Winterreise by Franz Schubert.

This dramatically intense masterpiece will be performed by two familiar regional artists, tenor Byron Jones and pianist Michael Adcock.

Both concerts will be held at 5 p.m. at Grace Episcopal Church, 6507 Main St., The Plains. For more information, call 253-5177 or visit www.gracetheplains.org  .