Thursday, September 11, 2008

9/11/08 MOPS, Tiger Trot, Last Street Party (sigh), Ashland Nap Day


It seems that Hanna was good for washing things off and watering the lawn, but she did not bring me any excitement or blowing lawn furniture. Oh, and she shut down the Ashland Farmer’s Market, which did not please me at all. However, you should be able to easily dig a hole now to plant your Ashland 150 tree that you ordered last week. You can go to http://www.ashland150.com/ if for some reason you didn’t get around to placing that order.

St. Ann's MOPS (Mother's of Preschoolers) meets the second and fourth Wednesday of each month beginning September 24, 2008 at 9:30 a.m. in St. Ann's Parish Hall. At our MOPS you will have a chance to socialize with other moms, hear some great teaching, have discussion time and participate in creative activities. For more information on MOPS and meeting dates and times contact Julie Hottinger at 261-2732 or jc4@carolina.rr.com


This Saturday, September 13th is “Hands on Colonial Day” at Scotchtown, home of Patrick Henry. From 10 am until 3:30 pm, costumed interpreters will show you how to turn raw materials like flax, cotton and wool into cloth used to make clothing. Try your hand at colonial spinning and weaving. The cost is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, and $7 for a child or student. For more information, call 227-3500. It’s hard to ignore history when it’s sitting in your backyard.

There are two big events happening on Saturday, September 20th here in Ashland. The Henry Clay and John Gandy Elementary Schools' PTA's 2nd Annual Tiger Trot 5K race will begin at 9:00 am at Henry Clay. There are two races for the kids to choose from: The Half-Mile Run will begin at 8:00 am, and the One Mile Run will begin at 8:15am. I’ve heard that there will be lots of fun door prizes and fun things to do. Pick up your entry forms at Fin & Feather, Henry Clay, John M. Gandy Elementary, or the Ashland Library, or register on-line at http://www.raceit.com/. All proceeds will go to the two PTA’s: Henry Clay and John M. Gandy. For more information please contact Susan Spence at 804-537-5257, or Tracy Brown at 804-752-7762.

So after you’ve run the 5K, treat yourself to a fun evening at the last Street Party of the summer. Come dance to the music of Ron Moody and the Centaurs, Saturday Sept. 20th from 6 to 11pm behind the Ashland Library. There are always lots of children’s activities, as if giggling and dancing around weren’t fun enough. Tickets are $5 in advance, $10 at the gate. Children under 12 are free with a paying adult. For more information call 752-7944.

Do you put out your recycling every week? Central Virginia Waste Management Authority is having a contest with a change to win $250 just for doing what you already do- recycle! Go to their website: http://www.cvwma.com/, and click on “Win with Your Bin”. Entries will be accepted until September 30th.

No one should have an excuse for not exercising in our sweet town. Not only do we have block after block of lovely sidewalks, but there is a race of some kind in town almost every weekend. On Saturday, September 27th, the Slay the Dragon 5K Walk/Run will be held in memory of Richard Lloyd and to raise money for the National LeiMyo Sarcoma Foundation. The race begins at 9am at Carter Park, and you can register online at http://www.slaythedragon5k.com/.

If you go out in your backyard in the evenings now, you can hear the crickets- not the cicadas of summer, but fall crickets chirping in the leaves that are beginning to appear on the ground. The tomato plants are all dried up, the morning glories are strung up over the fence, and deflated pool toys are taking up space in my garage. There is an event every single weekend, and we are all going to too many meetings during the week. I propose a Town Nap Day sometime in November where we all have to go inside our houses at 2pm and go to bed for several hours. We will all be exhausted by the time Thanksgiving gets here. Call or email me to get on the Nap Committee: 310-5320, ashlandnews@gmail.com. Have a great week!

It's a shame we didn't get any snow this winter...

Especially since we're building this new town ski lodge.  I mean, I guess it could potentially bring in tourism dollars, if we ...