To have ongoing events listed free in the Loudoun Connection, mail to 7913 Westpark Drive, McLean, VA 22102, e-mail to Loudoun@connectionnewspapers.com or fax to 703-917-0991. Deadline is two weeks before the event. Photos/artwork encouraged. For more information, call Jennifer Lesinski at 703-917-6454.
<cal2>Paintings and illustrations by Alex Bostic are on exhibit through July 2, at the Waddell Gallery at the Loudoun Campus of Northern Virginia Community College. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. This event is free and open to the public.
Tarara Winery, 13648 Tarara Ln., Leesburg, and Smooth Jazz 105.9 have planned summer concerts, the 2004 World Music Series. Concerts are scheduled for July 3, 10, 17, 24, and 31; Aug. 14, 21 and 28; and Sept. 4, 18 and 25. The concerts will take place from noon-7 p.m. July 3 and 7-10 p.m. each week thereafter. Performers are to include Jazz/R&B band Collaboration, Ron Kronz and Traffic Jam, salsa artists Edwin Ortiz y su Orquesta la Romana, contemporary jazz performers Al Williams & Friends and more. Tickets $10; children under 12 free. For more information or to order tickets online, visit www.tarara.com or call 703-771-7100.
The Loudoun Museum, 16 Loudoun Street SW, Leesburg, will participate in "America Celebrates the Greatest Generation," a 100-day tribute to the World War II generation, now through Labor Day (Sept. 6). All veterans and members of the military with I.D. will be admitted free to the museum during these days. During the tribute, the museum will highlight its exhibit "War and Respite: The Marshalls and Loudoun County," about WWII General George C. Marshall and life on the home front of Loudoun County during the second World War. Museum hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 1-5 p.m. Sundays. Visit the museum's website at http://www.loudounmuseum.org or call 703-777-7427.
"Contemporary Expressions of Fiber Arts" is on display at the Loudoun Museum, 16 Loudoun Street SW, Leesburg, now through June 30. The exhibit is a showcase for works produced by the Waterford Weavers Guild and displays more than 50 hand-crafted items throughout the museum. The museum will also display a few select pieces from its textile collection for visitors to compare textiles made today with those made over a century ago. Museum hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1-5 p.m. on Sundays. For more information, visit the museum's website at www.loudounmuseum.org or call 703-777-7427.
An exhibit by Loudoun Sketch Club artists is on display at the Loudoun County Government Center, 1 Harrison Street S.E., Leesburg. The 37 works in a variety of media can be viewed during normal business hours in the first floor gallery and the Lovettsville Room through June 30. Thirty-one artists are represented in the juried show. Members of the 60-year-old Loudoun Sketch Club meet regularly to paint Loudoun scenes and participate in group shows throughout the county. For more information about the Sketch Club or artworks in the show, contact Aledra Hollenback at 540-338-5803.
Art by Loudoun County Public Schools students will be on display through July 29 at the George Washington University Virginia Campus's Gallery Lounge, 20101 Academic Way, Ashburn. The summer exhibit will feature works in a variety of media from approximately 60 student artists. The gallery will be open 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays. Go to www.gwvirginia.gwu.edu for more information.
"Orchard Grass: The Big Story about a Small Seed" is on exhibit at the Loudoun Heritage Farm Museum now through Oct. 4. Visitors will be able to follow this small seed from Virginia fields across the Atlantic. The exhibit includes documents from a local farmer's club, seed companies and photographs illustrating the role of orchard grass during World War II. Hours of operation are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission fees are $5 for Adults; $4 for Seniors; $3 for children ages 2-12; children under age 2 are admitted free. The museum is located in Claude Moore Park, 21668 Heritage Farm Lane, Sterling, VA 20164. For more information call the museum at 703-421-5322 or visit our website at www.loudoun.gov/lfhm/index.htm.
Civil War History Tours. Interpretive guides will lead free tours of the site of the Oct. 21, 1861, Battle of Ball's Bluff on Saturdays at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. and Sundays at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. through Sunday, Oct. 24. The interpretive program is on easy walking terrain and presents facts about the battle, its significance in history and the roles of the Union and Confederate leaders. The tour includes a visit to Ball's Bluff National Cemetery where records indicate 54 soldiers are buried. No reservations. For more information, call 703-737-7800 or templehallfarm@nvrpa.org.
Loudoun Museum has announced the 2004 schedule for downtown walking tours. Each tour meets at the Loudoun Museum located at 16 Loudoun Street SW in historic downtown Leesburg and lasts approximately one hour. Tours are offered every Friday and Saturday at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Tours cost $5 per adult, $2.50 for museum members. Reservations are required and can be made by calling the museum at 703-777-7427. The Loudoun Museum has locations at 200 N. 21st Street in the Train Station in Purcellville and 16 Loudoun Street SW in Leesburg. Museum hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 1 p.m.-5 p.m. on Sundays. To learn more, visit the website at www.loudounmuseum.org or call 703-777-7427.
* June/August 2004. Leesburg in the Age of Jefferson: From the triumph of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" to the fiery trial of slavery and sectionalism, learn how Leesburg and America established political ideas and traditions and created a steadfast political foundation in the early national era.
* June/September 2004. Architecture of Leesburg: Learn how Leesburg got its name, what the connection between the Norris House Inn and some of the most beautiful houses in town are, why a local restaurant has a bank vault at the bar and more.
* July/October 2004. Loudoun in the American Revolution: Citizens of Loudoun were more than "sunshine soldiers and summer patriots." Listen to the story about one of the most notable covert operations of the war and follow in Lafayette's footsteps celebrating 50 years of American independence.
Ballroom Dance Studio. Weekly Friday night drop-in workshops for beginners to intermediate, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Cost is $15. The studio is located in the Sterling Plaza Shopping Center. Call 703-444-3061 or visit www.dancewithme.net for more information.
Flea Market. Sterling Annex, 1115 W. Church Road, holds outdoor Flea Markets one Saturday per month from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Summer dates are July 10 and Aug. 7. Spaces are $10 each. Crafters and home businesses are welcome. Call 703-430-6673.
Historic Plantation. Oatlands, a 330-acre co-stewardship property of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, is located six miles south of Leesburg on Route 15. Tours start each hour between 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday-Saturday; and 1-4 p.m. on Sunday. Cost is $10 for adults, $9 for seniors, $7 for students 6-16, and free for children under 5. For more information, call 703-777-3174 or visit www.oatlands.org.
Internet Training. One-on-one training at Loudoun County public libraries. Ashburn Library: Call for dates at 703-737-8100; Eastern Loudoun Regional in Sterling: Tuesdays, from 2-3 p.m.; Rust Library, Leesburg: Mondays, from 7-9 p.m. and Tuesdays, from 2-4 p.m.; Purcellville Library: Call for dates at 540-338-7235; and Sterling Library: Call for dates at 703-430-9500.
Leesburg Animal Park. Hours are 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Friday-Sunday, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Thursday, closed Monday-Wednesday except to previously scheduled groups. Admission is $5.95 for children 2-12 and senior citizens (55 +). Adults are $7.95 each. Children under 2 are free. For more information, call 703-433-0002 or visit www.leesburganimalpark.com. Located two miles south of Route 7 on Route 15 at 19270 James Monroe Highway in Leesburg.
Leesburg First Fridays. Galleries and shops open their doors on the first Friday of each month with special events, refreshments and entertainment, from 6-9 p.m. Free. Call 800-752-6118. Visit www.leesburgfirstfriday.com.
Leesburg's History Walking Tour. Loudoun Museum, Leesburg. Led by Museum staff, learn the political and social development of Leesburg, on Fridays and Saturdays at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.; by appointment for groups. Fee is $5 for adults; $2.50 for museum members. Reservations required. Call 703-777-7427. Visit www.loudounmuseum.org.
Loudoun Bluegrass Association. Weekly acoustic jam session held every Tuesday night, 7-9 p.m., at the Morningside House Retirement Center, 316 Harrison St. in Leesburg. All bluegrass/country musicians, singers and spectators are welcome. Free. Call Randy Collins at 703-777-2176, Ext. 20 (work) for more information.
Senior Trips. Senior Center at Cascades Marketplace plans several trips this summer including Charles Town Casino, the Air & Space Museum at Dulles, Baltimore, International Spy Museum, Shenandoah Valley and Longwood Gardens, Pa. Call 703-430-2397 for more information.
Afternoon Teas. Stone House Tea Room, Leesburg.
See web page at www.norrishouse.com/tearoom for availability and information. For reservations call 703-779-2933. Reservations are required.