Send announcements to The Loudoun Connection, 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.
This free listing is reserved for activities and events that are open to the public at no or minimal cost. For additional ongoing events listings, visit our Web site at www.connectionnewspapers.com.
The July edition of "Inside Loudoun County" takes a look at the county's agriculture and rural enterprise with Lou Nichols, agricultural development officer. The television show also features information about on-site wastewater treatment systems with Robert E. Lee and Erin Fisher of the Environmental Health Division of the Loudoun County Health Department. http://www.loudoun.gov/news/ilc.htm.
"Valley Apples," for all ages, at the Loudoun Heritage Farm Museum, 21668 Heritage Farm Lane in Sterling. Call 703- 421-5322 for details. Museum admission $5/adults, $4/seniors, $3/ages 2-12. Tuesdays-Saturdays through July 9, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Black and white monotypes created by Tucker Hill will be featured at the Waddell Art Gallery on the Loudoun Campus of Northern Virginia Community College. The exhibit runs from July 11-Aug. 5, and features HillÕs recreations of VirginiaÕs rural landscapes. Hill is a member of ONE/OFF, a group of printmakers whose work has been featured around the world, and his works are in private collections across the country. The Waddell Art Gallery, Northern Virginia Community College Loudoun Campus, 1000 Harry F. Byrd Highway, Sterling. Gallery hours 9 a.m.-7 p.m., Monday-Friday. Free and open to the public.
Oatlands Plantation will hold its annual "Four Seasons of Oatlands" art show and sale July 10-Aug. 21, in the Carriage House. Free admission. Includes images of the Mosby Heritage area, which encompasses Clarke, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William and Warren counties and Jefferson County in West Virginia. The art show and gift shop are open Mondays-Saturdays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sundays, 1-5 p.m. Proceeds benefit the Oatlands Inc., a nonprofit organization, which maintains the property, located at 20850 Oatlands Plantation Lane, Leesburg. Call 703-777-3174 or visit www.oatlands.org.
What was it like for the people living along the Little River Turnpike (the John Mosby Highway-Route 50) during the turbulent years of the Civil War? Participants of the newest Mosby Heritage Area Association's program, Impact of War, are lead on tours that focus on the Civil War in the areas of Aldie and Atoka. Interpreters will be at Mount Zion Church, Saturdays through Aug. 20, from 10 a.m.-6 p.m., to give tours of the church and cemetery, rich in Civil War history. The church was one of the rendezvous places for John Singleton Mosby; battles were fought around and near the church; and the building served as a hospital and burial ground for Confederate and Federal soldiers. Incorporated in the tours are stories of the people who lived in the area and the soldiers who marched past the church. Sundays through Aug. 21, from 10 a.m.-6 p.m., interpreters will be at the Rector House in the village of Atoka, four miles west of Middleburg along Route 50. This too was a rendezvous place for Mosby, and the site where Mosby signed the original orders creating the 43rd Virginia Battalion. The Battle of Aldie, Middleburg and Upperville, fought along the turnpike, is interpreted on a two-mile walk from the Rector House to Goose Creek Bridge. This walk will be taken at 3 p.m. The programs are free to the public. Contact the Mosby Heritage Area Association at 540-687-6681 or e-mail info@mosbyheritagearea.org.
The 2005 Potomac River Sojourn, from Shepardstown to Great Falls, will be July 8-16. This week-long canoeing and kayaking expedition will visit key sites, including Antietam Battlefield, Harper's Ferry, Tarara Winery and Balls Bluff. Camping, ecological restoration projects, festive meals, meetings with elected officials and more. The Sojourn boosts awareness of the Potomac River's regional importance and encourages local residents to actively play a role in its restoration. Novice and experienced paddlers welcome. Come for a few days or the whole week. Visit http://www.acb-online.org/project.cfm?vid=241.
Amateur and professional photographers who live or work in Loudoun County are invited to submit work to the "Dog Days of Summer-and Cats Too!" exhibit at the Loudoun County Government Center. Sponsored by the Loudoun County Art Advisory Committee, the exhibit will run July 18-Sept. 8. Photographers should deliver one or two photographs depicting the "Dog Days" theme to the Loudoun County Government Center, first-floor gallery, 1 Harrison St., S.E., Leesburg, Tuesday, July 12, 9-11 a.m. Photographs must be framed, ready for hanging and appropriate for exhibit in a public location. Size is limited to 36 inches by 36 inches. The Arts Advisory Committee reserves the right to make final selections for the exhibit. Photographs will be on display through Sept. 8 and may be removed by the photographers on Friday, Sept. 9, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. For information or an entry form, contact Sally Keefer at 703-771-5034, or e-mail skeefer@loudoun.gov.
More than 200 top horses in the region are expected to compete in the annual Morven Park Summer Dressage Classic July 30-31, from 8 a.m.-5 p.m., at the Morven Park International Equestrian Center in Leesburg. The highlight of the competition is the Musical Freestyle, the $10,000 Pas de Deux Challenge Cup, which will begin at 1 p.m., Sunday, July 31, which matches choreographed movements to the beat of specially selected music, similar to synchronized swimming, which emphasizes the gracefulness of communication between horse and rider. The Pas de Deux is a musical freestyle with two horses and riders executed in exact mirror image.
The Morven Park Equestrian Center is located just north of Leesburg on Route 15. Call Shannon Pedlar at 703-777-2890 or visit the Morven Park Web site at www.morvenpark.org.
The Challenge Cup is sponsored by Patton Equine Legal Services in honor of the Dancing Horse Fund. There is no admission fee for spectators.
Artwork by Loudoun's leading artists will be on display at Gallery 222 through July 30. Artists represented include painters Trisha Adams, Don Black, Dasher Chagnaa, Carmen Howell, Alfred McAdams, Antonia Walker, Velda Warner and clay artist, Mary Wolff. Gallery 222 is located at 222 South King St. in historic Leesburg. Gallery hours are Wednesday-Saturday, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and by appointment.
"The Tempest" performed by international, regional and local professional actors A