Rendezvous

Treasures on the Turnpike

Hundreds of visitors celebrated spring with a daylong "treasure" hunt in the Loudoun countryside on May 21. The Church of our Redeemer in Aldie welcomed visitors to the village-wide flea market yard sale, Treasures on the Turnpike. Also known as the Great Route 50 Yard Sale, this nationwide event encourages people to enjoy the treasures in their own backyard. The Church of Our Redeemer's traditional Attic Sale was dovetailed with these efforts, which allowed 100 percent of proceeds to support the church's outreach efforts to the Aldie Volunteer Fire Department and the Seven Loaves Food Pantry. The entire village participated with rummage sales at the church and school, electronics recycling, kids activities, and a flea market featuring antiques, crafts, jewelry, railroad artifacts, sterling silver and collectibles. "Our Redeemer supports Treasures on the Turnpike as a way to bond our community and enjoy ourselves," notes Rev. John Sheehan, church rector.

Loudoun Bluegrass Festival

The Rotary Club of Dulles International Airport presented the Second Annual Loudoun Bluegrass Festival on May 7. The event was a huge success, bringing hundreds of visitors to Loudoun County from all over the region, some traveling several hours to get here.

"The Rotary Club of Dulles International Airport is an important part of the Loudoun county community, and so is bluegrass music," said Tony Nerantzis, club president. "When we recognized the impact a bluegrass festival could have on our charitable outreach, as well as the local economy, it became an obvious choice." The participating bands, Della Mae (from Boston) and Nothin' Fancy (from the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia), received an enthusiastic response from the audience. "We also aimed to include and spotlight our local economy," Nerantzis said. "So we invited local wineries to participate ... and presented the opportunity for them to sell their product."

The festival also showcased the individual talent of fiddlers, guitarists, banjo players and mandolinists who performed in competitions for each discipline. The top three performers in each category received cash prizes of $100, $50 and $25 for first, second and third place, respectively. The winners were: Guitar - 1st place, Jack Dunlap; 2nd place, Daniel Caton; and 3rd place, Mike Hansen; Banjo - 1st place, Dan Mazer; 2nd place, John Thomson; 3rd place, Brennen Ernst; Mandolin - 1st place, Taylor Baker; 2nd place, Jack Dunlap; and 3rd place, Brennen Ernst; and Fiddle - 1st place, Malia Furtado; 2nd place, Dawn Herron; and 3rd place, Elizabeth Dunlap.

Get Lost in Loudoun

What do four hip, young out-of-state tourists do when they get lost in Loudoun? They make wine at Sunset Hills Vineyard, go paint-balling at Pev's, chased chickens at Great Country Farms, throw pottery at Chris Cooley's gallery and go whitewater rafting on the Potomac, just for starters. The group is part of a reality-style promotional series for Visit Loudoun. Talk Loudoun was treated to a behind-the-scenes peek at the filming of Episode 5 at Goodstone Inn and Estate in Middleburg on June 12.

"Get Lost in Loudoun" is the second series produced for Visit Loudoun by Cile Spence Elley and her husband, Chris Elley, owners, directors, producers and writers for Austin, Texas-based Electro-Fish Films. The previous Electro-Fish web series for Visit Loudoun won an Emmy® Award for Cultural/Heritage Programming from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' Capital Region.

The latest webisodes feature light-hearted competitions among the tourists at each venue. Goodstone's Executive Chef William Walden hosted a Food Network-inspired cooking challenge in which two teams were tasked with harvesting a variety of vegetables and herbs from the restaurant's garden to incorporate into a mystery entree and salad.

The contestants faced more challenges than merely having to prepare restaurant-quality meals in 20 minutes, such as sweltering in the 95 degree-heat of the garden, working in a cramped prep kitchen with a broken oven and losing electricity during a vicious thunderstorm just before judging. The contestants and the film crew took it all in stride and managed to get all the shots required for a successful episode -- as well as present some surprisingly tasty dishes.