1/09/14 Polar Vortex, Hanover Idol, PATS Casino Night, LEGO Morning

Brrrr…hello you chilly town!  By the time you’re reading this, the weather will have warmed, but I am writing two days ago when we were scared to go outside for fear that we would instantly turn into an icicle. I hope your house stayed warm during the polar vortex.

An even-numbered year means no Variety Show, but it does mean that we get the return of Hanover Idols!  Do you have talent, or do you know someone who does?  Start thinking about a song and plan on coming to the auditions on Sunday, Jan. 26^th at 7:00 pm at the Arts and Activities Center.  Hanover Idols is open to ages 16 and older, and the Junior Idols is for kids ages 10 to 15.  Application forms are available at www.hanoverarts.com or by calling 804-798-2728.  Application forms are due January 20^th!

Here’s an opportunity to have a fun evening and support that Patrick Henry athletic teams!  The PATS (Patrick Henry Athletic Teams Supporters) Casino Night will be Saturday, February 1^st at 6:00 pm at Hanover Academy.  Tickets are $30 per person or $50 per couple and are available at Patrick Henry High School.  Prices go up after January 19^th.

LEGO Morning is this Saturday at the Ashland Library!  From 10:30 to noon, bring your 5 to 12 year old and let them start building.  Then next Wednesday evening, stop by the Ashland Library from 7:00 to 8:00 pm to learn how to make your own laundry detergent and household cleaners.  Save money and the environment at the same time. Refreshments at both of these events will be provided by the Friends of the Ashland Library.

There is an interesting concert next week at Randolph-Macon’s Blackwell Auditorium.  On Saturday, January 17^th, at 7:30 pm, Scott Ainslie will showcase his traditional acoustic blues through his personal roots in the Civil Rights movement.  He is billed as a “powerful musician, a fine singer, and a masterful storyteller.”  This concert is free and open to the public and a perfect example of the perks of living in a small college town.

Construction is set to begin on South Center St. from the Ironhorse to the apartments this week.  While this will be an inconvenience, it should be all done by the time its warm enough to sit out on the sidewalk. 

Photo by Lee Francis

Call or email me with your Ashland news: 310-5320, ashlandnews@gmail.com.  The next time the North Pole sends us frigid temperatures, I wish they would send some snow to go with it!

12/19/13 Goodbye Pig, Town Gift Certificates, Christmas Music, Beautiful Ordinary

I was sorry to see the Smokey Pig disappear into a pile of ruble this past week.  It certainly was an iconic Ashland restaurant for many years, and I know that many people have fond memories of dining and working there. 

There are so many places in town to find your Christmas gifts!  Save your gas and get in the Christmas spirit by walking down the lovely sidewalks of Ashland.  If all else fails, stop by Town Hall during business hours to pick up an Ashland Gift Certificate.  These are available in many different denominations and are good at dozens of stores, restaurants, and shops around town.  Call 798-9219 for more information.

From now until December 28^th, Gallery Flux will be open at 5:00 PM for their 2^nd Annual Invitational Miniature Show.  What makes this show so unique is that the art is available for purchase with some pieces as low as $40.  Art is always a wonderful gift, especially when it comes from the Center of the Universe!

The Central Virginia Masterworks Chorale will present their Christmas concert, “Touch the Winter Sky” at Duncan Memorial Methodist Church on Sunday, December 22^nd.  This concert will feature soloist Camille Saint-Saens and will begin at 2:00 PM.

Come see “Despicable Me” at the Ashland Firehouse Theater this Saturday, 12/21, at 7:00 PM.  This is a wonderful cartoon movie that will make everyone in your house laugh.  The Firehouse Theater is located at 201 S. Duncan Street next to the Rescue Squad in Ashland and across from Town Hall and the
Farmer's Market.  Doors open at 6:30 with popcorn and snacks available for purchase.  Check them out on Facebook and their website as well: ashlandfirehousetheater.org.

I have a task for you all this week.  I’d like you to find delight in the small, tiny moments that make up this holiday.  Find the beauty in the ordinary, and watch it become sublime.  Take a breath, pause in your step, and look around.  Make these final days of 2013 last longer than they should by slowing down. 

Call or email me with your Ashland news: 310-5320, ashlandnews@gmail.com.  Keep on decorating until the last minute!

12/12/13 Christmas Lights, A Christmas Carol, PH Swim Team Wins, Firehouse Movies

The Ashland Train Station with "LOVE" sign

 You really should find the time to go for a drive.  One evening when the roads are clear, load up the family into your car and drive around town to see the lights.  We do not have anything outrageous that would qualify for a stop on a “Tacky Lights Tour,” but we have houses that are beautiful, patriotic, quirky, and sweetly old-fashioned with their Christmas lights.


I find it strangely endearing that a fraternity at RMC took the time to spell out their Greek letters in lights, and then to hang those lights in the bushes along the parking lot across from the train station.  I imagine a passenger on a north-bound train smiling to themselves as they catch a glimpse.

Congratulations to the Patrick Henry Swim Team who won back-to-back meets this past weekend!  They swam against Lee-Davis on Friday and then Goochland on Saturday; my arms were tired from just watching them. 

We really should thank Joe and Marilyn Mattys for helping hundreds of people find the holiday spirit for the past 23 years.  That’s how long they have worked to put on “A Christmas Carol” at RMC.  Marilyn adapted the script from Dickens’ original work, and Joe has produced & directed it almost every year with a cast of student and local talent.  It has become a wonderful tradition for our family and we wish Mr. Mattys the best of luck when he retires as Director of Theater this coming May.  I hope RMC find a replacement who will see the beauty in this play.

This Friday is Teen Movie Night at your Ashland Library from 6:00 to 8:00 pm (ages 11& up).  Pizza and beverages will be provided by the Friends of the Ashland Library.  Call 798-4072 for more information.

Then on Saturday, December 14^th, the Library will teach us all how to borrow eBooks from the Library from 10:00 to noon.  Do you have an eReader, a smartphone, a tablet, or laptop?  They will show you how to use Overdrive to find, check-out, and down-load your favorite titles.  Call 798-4072 to register for this class.

The movies return this weekend with “Elf” (rated PG) at the Ashland Firehouse Theater.  This weekend's show raises money for the Model UN team at Patrick Henry, so tickets will be a few more dollars for this special cause.  But the laughs with all your fellow Ashlanders will be plentiful and it will make you feel good to help the PH kids.

The show starts at 7 pm, and the doors will be open at 6:30 p.m.  The Firehouse Theater is located at 201 S. Duncan Street next to the Rescue Squad in Ashland and across from Town Hall and the Farmer's Market.  You can find them on Facebook and on line at
ashlandfirehousetheater.org.  Stay tuned for “Despicable Me” on December 21^st.

If I tried to list every holiday event in Ashland, I would need a whole page in the H-P instead of a column!  Please forgive me for any omissions, and email or call me with your Ashland news: ashlandnews@gmail.com, 310-5320.  Stay warm and dry this weekend!

Holiday Music, Concerts, Performances, and Movies!

Well Ashland, I hope you are well-rested from your Thanksgiving celebrations, because Christmas is alarmingly close.  Pull down those decorations and get those ovens warmed up!  It’s always at this time of year when I ask myself, “Why didn’t you start buying Christmas gifts in July?”

We enjoyed a wonderful Holiday concert and tree lighting recently at the Hanover Tavern, courtesy of the Patrick Henry High School’s Madrigal Choir.  With their new director this year, Carol Ann Dickerson, these talented kids are giving some outstanding performances.  You can catch them next week at the PH Christmas Concert at the school, Tuesday (12/10) and Wednesday (12/11) at 7:00 pm.  Tickets are $5 and are available from any performing arts teacher at PH or at the door.

The Hanover Concert Band will present two concerts of Christmas music in December to close out their 24th year as "Music Ambassadors for Hanover County". This Saturday, December 7th, at noon, they will perform at the Virginia Center Commons food court. In addition to the program of Christmas favorites old and new, they will present a special musical tribute to the men and women who were at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on that "Day of Infamy" in 1941. If you can, please bring a donation of non perishable food for the Central Virginia Food Bank.

Then on Tuesday, December 17th, you can catch the band at 7:00 PM at the Hanover Arts and Activities Center. This will be a Boston Pops style concert of Christmas Music with table seating available, and beverage and food treats to enjoy throughout the show. Again, donations of non perishable food for the Central Virginia Food Bank will be collected.

Stay tuned for lots of great musical events from the Concert Band as they will be celebrating their 25^th anniversary in 2014! There are plans to feature local musicians in the concerts and present special commissioned concert music written by VCU Jazz Studies head, Antonio Garcia. 

This weekend at the Ashland Firehouse Theater, Louise Keeton and the Whistlestop Theater will be performing “The Gift of the Magi” Friday and Saturday, December 6^th & 7^th.  Tickets are $5 each and you can reserve your seats at whistlestoptheatre@gmail.com (please provide your name, and indicate the day, time, and number of tickets requested). This is a show for the whole family! Visit their website: www.whistlestoptheatre.com to learn about this troupe’s exciting opportunity in NYC!

Next weekend, the films will return with “Elf” on Saturday, December 14^th.  The show starts at 7:00 PM, and I believe that tickets are $2 each, but this is a fundraiser for the Patrick Henry Model UN, so please come support this great group of kids. The Firehouse Theater is located at 201 S. Duncan Street next to the Rescue Squad in Ashland and across from Town Hall and the Farmer's Market. 

I have the perfect gift for everyone:  an Ashland gift certificate!  Visit Town Hall to purchase a town gift certificate which can be used at thirty-eight different businesses!  You could use it for books, pecans, a rake for all those leaves, honey, or some old fashioned candy.

Call or email me with your Ashland news: 310-5320, ashlandnews@gmail.com.  Have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am putting this column to bed early this week as we all scatter to the corners of the map for Thanksgiving.  I hope that there are lots of big dinners planned in town.  It funny, but I honestly don’t like leaving Ashland for any holiday.  It always seems like we should be here, maybe because holidays are more fun in our sweet town, don’t you think?  Whether it’s Easter, the 4^th, Thanksgiving or Christmas, I think we always have the perfect setting for celebrations. 

Resist the urge to get up early on the 29^th and save your shopping for Small Business Saturday in the Center of the Universe!  If you sit down with your gift list, I know that you could find everything you need right here. 

Speaking of which, Ashcake Gardens will celebrate Small Business Saturday with lots of sales and specials.  Visit their website for special offers and coupons.  I have heard that their selection of Christmas trees is superb this year; www.ashwoodgardens.com. 

If you don’t know what to buy, visit Town Hall to purchase a town gift certificate which can be used at thirty-eight different businesses!  You could use it for jewelry, chicken feed, a hair-cut, furniture, or dinner out.  It may be the perfect gift for everyone. 

There are two opportunities to see theater productions in town this holiday season.  As always, Randolph-Macon will be showing Charles Dickens ‘A Christmas Carol” at the Blackwell Theater December 6^th through the 8^th.  There’s more information on the RMC website: www. rmc.edu/academics/drama. 

Also, our own Louise Keeton and the Whistlestop Theater will be performing “The Gift of the Magi” at the Firehouse Theater December 6^th and 7^th.  Tickets are $5 each and you can reserve your seats today at whistlestoptheatre@gmail.com(please provide your name, and indicate the day, time, and number of tickets requested!).

Do you have student in grades 4^th through 8^th who loves the stage? Sabrina Lacoss, a senior at Patrick Henry High School, is producing a Reader’s Theatre production of “Twelfth Night” by Shakespeare for her Girl Scouts Gold Award project, and she is looking for cast members. Rehearsals will start December 3 for two weeks, and the performance is December 19 at 7:00pm at the Center. Interested parents should call the Hanover Arts and Activities Center at 798-2722.

Do you know what I am thankful for?  A newspaper column, an editor who lets me occasionally write about ridiculous things, and, of course, readers who think it worth their while.

Call or email me with your Ashland news: 310-5320, ashlandnews@gmail.com.  Happy Thanksgiving!

11/25/13 Christmas Parade Recap

If you didn't brave the freezing temperatures yesterday to watch the Ashland Holiday Parade go by, you missed something special.  The beauty queens were beautiful and smiling, the clowns were ridiculous, the Patrick Henry marching band was rousing, and the fire trucks were gleaming.  But what you missed more than all that specacle was the chance to be a part of that collective Ashland memory that we all somehow, unknowingly agreed to live within.  I don't know that any of us realized, when we found that cute house to live in, that we were agreeing to be a part of something much larger than a picket-fence and train whisltes.  Ashland has given us those things which we didn't know we were missing- this town has given us friends, neighbors, laughter, and collective tears.  This town has given us more reasons to celebrate than the average person should have in a lifetime; let's see if we can sqeeze in a few more opportunities before 2013 is over with. 

11/21/13 Christmas Too Early?, Holiday Parade, Arts and Crafts Show, Firehouse Theater

I have seen the first strand of multi-colored lights in town, and it is a good thing.  I know that people have been complaining that Christmas is coming too early, but is that really a bad thing?  Did you ever watch “Auntie Mame”?  There was that wonderful song called, “We Need a Little Christmas.”  We all love the feelings that the holidays bring up- no wonder we’re anxious to see it begin. 

But if you’re hesitant to jump into the shopping frenzy that retailers would like to ignite, then look a little closer to home for your presents. I think that if we tried, we could find every-single one of our Christmas gifts at a store or shop right here in Ashland.  If you can’t find it, then it probably wasn’t the right gift in the first place. 

This weekend is the Heavenly Creations Arts and Crafts Show at St. James the Less Episcopal Church (Beverly Rd).  This great event has been going on now for 18 years, and it proves to just get better with time!  The Show begins on Friday evening, November 22, 2013, with an Opening Night Wine and Cheese Reception from 6:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m., and continues on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.  

Do you love a parade?  This Sunday is the Annual Ashland Olde Time Holiday Parade!  The parade begins at 2:30 in front of St. Ann’s Catholic Church, and makes its way across the tracks to end at Gandy Elementary.  Bring a blanket, a thermos of hot chocolate, and find a spot along the route to wave to the beauty queens.  This is the beginning of Christmas in a small town. 

Happy belated birthday to our very own Chief Doug Goodman who celebrated his birthday last weekend!  Chief Goodman does so much to keep our town safe; we are lucky to have him here.

Congratulations to Louise Keeton whose play, "Cinderella:  The Fairy Godmother's Tale" (which debuted in May at the Firehouse Theatre) was selected to be shown at the New York Children's Theatre Festival in May of 2014!  We hope that this show gathers much attention and praise when it visits the Big Apple.

The Ashland Firehouse Theater is showing an award winning film: “Hugo” directed by Martin Scorsese this Saturday at 7:00 pm.  This movie is rated PG and is set in the city of Paris during the 1930’s.  Hugo is an orphaned boy who lived in the walls of the train station and repairs the station’s clocks.   Tickets are $2 per person, and it sounds like a lovely escape, don’t you think?

There are two opportunities to see theater productions in town this holiday season.  As always, Randolph-Macon will be showing Charles Dickens ‘A Christmas Carol” at the Blackwell Theater December 6^th through the 8^th.  There’s more information on the RMC website: www. rmc.edu/academics/drama.  Also, our own Louise Keeton and the Whistlestop Theater will be performing “The Gift of the Magi” at the Firehouse Theater December 6^th and 7^th.  Tickets are $5 each and you can reserve your seats today at whistlestoptheatre@gmail.com(please provide your name, and indicate the day, time, and number of tickets requested!).

Did I add enough to your calendar? Call or email me with your Ashland news: 310-5320, ashlandnews@gmail.com.