Friday, April 30, 2010

4/29/10 Farmer's Market Opening, Movie at Firehouse, May Day, Contest in the Third Part




Ladies and Gentlemen, the score now stands Lower Ashland: 1; Western Ashland: 1. Congratulations to Tim Crowder who knew that I was talking about the Ashland Feed Store last week in the contest, and won a $10 gift certificate! The secret word was a clue, too. For those of you who don't know, owner Danny Adams ran in the San Diego Marathon several years ago. Look further down the column for this week's contest.

The Ashland Farmer's Market opens this Saturday! We're really lucky to have a Farmer's Market in town, and if you can walk to it, you're luckier still. Come out and see all the early vegetables, find some beautiful flowers to put on your kitchen table, and some freshly baked breakfast goodies. You can find out more information on the town website: http://www.town.ashland.va.us.com/.

The Farmer's Market sits on the parking lot of the Town Hall, which, if you're a Town resident, is where you need to be on Tuesday, May 6th to vote for Town Council. This is a really important opportunity that you need to grab a hold of. This governing body is responsible for running our sweet town; they make decisions about growth, capital improvements (sidewalks), and the services that our taxes pay for. We want this group of people to be dedicated, trust-worthy, dependable, and (here's a big one) steadfast. We need people who have shown their love and support of this town. Come out and vote!

Congratulations to all the Catholic children who celebrated their First Communion at St. Ann's recently, including Kellan Morris, Madison Spence, Jack Wheeler, and Sadie Flag.

The Ashland Pool is opening soon- have you turned in your membership? It is THE place to be in the summer- all the best people are there.

Congratulations to Tamra Bardwell and Tom Hatz who competed in the National Duathalon in Richmond this past weekend! Riding a bike and running by themselves are difficult at times, but when you combine them and start running as soon as you jump off the bike- that it a feat unto itself.

The Central Virginia Masterworks Chorale will present two performances of its 2010 spring concert featuring Mozart’s Coronation Mass and Randall Thompson’s Frostiana: Seven Country Songs. The first performance will be Thursday, May 13, 7:00 pm, at Duncan Memorial United Methodist Church, in Ashland, and the second will be Sunday, May 16, 7:00 pm, at Grace Baptist Church, 4200 Dover Road, in Richmond. Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for students, and may be purchased in advance at Cross Brothers’ Grocery or from any Chorale member, and may also be purchased at the door prior to each performance. To reserve tickets, call 804-798-3283.

This Saturday, May 1st, the Firehouse Theater presents "Charade" by Alfred Hitchcock at 7:30 pm staring Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn- their only movie together! The movie is set in Paris and Johnny Mercer wrote the music for it- so you know that the score is fabulous. The Firehouse Theater is in the old Ashland Firehouse at the corner of Duncan and Hanover Ave. Tickets are $6 and refreshments are available at the concession stand.

Do you mind if I tell you a quick story? May 1st is a special day; it's May Day. When I was at school (all-girls boarding school) all the seniors (Sixes) would get up early and decorate the entire school with flowers. Everyone would wake up to find flowers outside their dorm room doors, and all the teachers would have flowers in their classrooms. I'm sure the azaleas were decimated, but everything did look really nice. I think it's a nice tradition to continue, so an early Happy May Day! Pick some flowers, bring them inside, give them away.

Ok, I hope you didn't skip to the end, but read through all the other Ashland News. Here's the third installment of the Ashland Column Contest. Figure out the clue, be the first to go to the business and say the secret word, and you'll win a $10 gift certificate to that store! The clue is: "This young business helps us wake up in the morning and has a very good sense of humor." The secret word is:"schnitzel."

The column will be here next week, but the contest has to take a hiatus. It will return the week of May 10th. Call or email me with your Ashland News: 310-5320, or ashlandnews@gmail.com. Have a wonderful week! Auf Wiedersehen!

4/22/10 Chemistry Award at RMC, Officer of the Year, Second Installment of Contest


Hopefully by the time you read this, they will still be there: the weeds. If you look up or down the tracks early in the spring, before CSX has had a chance to spray weed killer, you'll see green grass growing between the rails and through the gravel. I really like the way it looks because I think that it must have looked that way a hundred years ago. A lazy town where dogs sleep in the middle of the streets, and grass grows on the train tracks- isn't that nice?

Ladies and gentlemen, the score now stands: Lower Ashland, 1; the Rest of Ashland, 0! Corinne Luck of LA figured out that a "big red monster" was actually a bottle of wine (very good wine) and picked up a $10 gift certificate to The Caboose Wine and Cheese shop. If you have never been inside this wonderful shop that sits directly across the tracks from the library, you are missing a treat. Not only can you find excellent wine, proseco, and beer, but they have an extensive selection of cheeses, olives, and crackers to go along with it. There is usually a wine tasting Friday night. You can find out more information by visiting their website: www.caboosewine.com.

Congratulations to Professor April Marchetti who was awarded the first Garnett - Lambert Endowed Professorship in Chemistry at Randolph-Macon! April earned this distinction because of her "exemplary teaching, innovative research and scholarship.” Not only did April graduate from RMC, but (and this may be the most important thing) she is from the Northern Neck. She's also an incredible mom to three little kids, a fabulous wife, and a super neighbor. Well done!

This coming Saturday, April 24 at 7:30 PM, the Ashland Firehouse Theater will screen the great James Stewart movie, "Harvey". This is a delightful movie about a man and his imaginary rabbit. Tickets are $6 at the door, with refreshments available at the concession stand.

The Central Virginia Masterworks Chorale will present two performances of its 2010 spring concert featuring Mozart’s Coronation Mass and Randall Thompson’s Frostiana: Seven Country Songs. The first performance will be Thursday, May 13, 7:00 pm, at Duncan Memorial United Methodist Church, in Ashland, and the second will be Sunday, May 16, 7:00 pm, at Grace Baptist Church, 4200 Dover Road, in Richmond. Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for students, and may be purchased in advance at Cross Brothers’ Grocery or from any Chorale member, and may also be purchased at the door prior to each performance. To reserve tickets, call 804-798-3283.

Please join me in congratulating one of our own- Dave Klisz, who was chosen as Hanover County's Officer of the Year! I think this came as no surprise to many, as Dave consistently shows dedication and care when protecting the people of Hanover. Thank you, Dave!

OK, here's your chance to win the second $10 gift certificate in the Ashland Column contest. Figure out who this merchant it, go and be the first to say the secret word to the proprietor, and you'll win a $10 gift certificate to this store. Here is your clue:

If I was 10 years old, this is a store that my grandfather would take me to on a Saturday morning. The floors are old and worn, but they feel soft under bare feet. On it's shelves can be found dog collars, apple-flavor wafers, and quick-kill. The secret word is "San Diego Marathon."

Call or email me with your Ashland news: 310-5320, ashlandnews@gmail.com. Have a wonderful week- enjoy this spring weather!

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 ...