Friday, March 13-Sunday, March 15
- Local News: Craigsville library branch has new home, Friday, 10:10 a.m.
- Local Events: WMHS musical on tap, Friday, 10:10 a.m.
- Local Events: Shakespeare Center to offer free performance of The Comedy of Errors, Friday, 10:10 a.m.
- Local Events: Dinner theatre in Weyers Cave, Friday, 10:10 a.m.
- Local News: Garden Week in April, Friday, 10:10 a.m.
Local News: Craigsville library branch has new home, Friday, 10:10 a.m.
When the town of Craigsville dedicates its new Community Center on Saturday, the Craigsville branch of the Augusta County Library will have a new home. Thursday, March 5, was Craigsville Library Station’s last day in the space it has occupied since 1994.
“We are excited that the town has provided such a beautiful space for the Craigsville Library Station,” said Diantha McCauley, Augusta County Library director. “The Augusta County Library Board is glad to work with the town to provide enhanced library service to the citizens.”
The groundbreaking ceremony for the new facility took place in December 2007. The town of Craigsville set aside 1,400 square feet of the new town building, nearly doubling the size of the library.
“The move could not have come at a better time,” said Ms. McCauley. “In this economy, there is a dramatic increase in the demand for library services including use of public Internet computers. We circulated twice as many items from the Craigsville station this year as last year. We can definitely use the new space to make a larger collection, more computers and wireless Internet access available to our patrons in this part of the county.”
The Craigsville Library Station is part of the Augusta County Library system and the broader Valley Libraries Connection, which enables residents of Craigsville to access books, movies and other materials from the libraries of Augusta County, Staunton and Waynesboro.
The new library will be dedicated to Nell Thompson Nicholas, a long-time Craigsville-area resident and library aide. She was known to all as “Grandma Nell.”
Lumber for the new library’s red oak shelving was donated by Blue Ridge Lumber.
The Craigsville Library Station is staffed by Ed Furrow and Vicky Lewis.
As part of the festivities on Saturday, March 14, from 1-3 p.m., there will be crafts for children, and Augusta County Library staff will be on hand to help patrons set up email accounts, access the website and find out how to use the wealth of databases available. To apply for free library cards, residents should bring a driver’s license or other photo identification.
The new address of the Craigsville Library Station will be 18 Hidy St. The phone number, 540.997.0280, will not change. Hours of service will also remain the same: Monday through Thursday, 1-6 p.m.
Local Events: WMHS musical on tap, Friday, 10:10 a.m.
Wilson Memorial High School is presenting a production of the musical Cinderella on Saturday, March 21, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, March 22, at 3 p.m.
Advance tickets are reserved seats are available. For more information, call the school at 540.886.4286 or go online at www.augusta.k12.va.us/wilsonmemorialhs/site/default.asp.
Local Events: Shakespeare Center to offer free performance of The Comedy of Errors, Friday, 10:10 a.m.
The American Shakespeare Center announced this week that it will offer a special performance of The Comedy of Errors at Court Square Theatre in Harrisonburg on Sunday, March 29 at 3 p.m. The performance is offered free of charge by the ASC and Court Square Theatre.
The ASC is offering the free performance as a way to say “thank you” to its many patrons and supporters in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. Last year, more than 3,000 ASC tickets were purchased by residents in the city and county, making this area the third-ranking source of patrons for the Blackfriars Playhouse in Staunton, behind only Charlottesville and Staunton itself.
“As we conclude our twentieth anniversary season, the ASC comes full circle by returning to Harrisonburg,” said David Dreyfoos, managing director of the American Shakespeare Center. “The city has a special place in our history and we continue to be grateful for the thousands of people in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County who have come to see our shows and helped us in so many other ways over the last two decades. We are also grateful to the Arts Council of the Valley for partnering with ASC on this event and for generously providing the Court Square Theatre free of charge.”
The Comedy of Errors is part of the 2008/09 Stark Raving Sane Tour presented by the ASC on Tour, the traveling arm of the American Shakespeare Center. The production is directed by Giles Block of Shakespeare’s Globe in London. In this rollicking farce of mistaken identity, Shakespeare transports Roman comedy to dizzying heights. Two long-separated twins, a cheating husband, a jealous wife, a pending execution, Fat Nell, and two tricky servants (also twins) romp through this fast-paced comedy. All this and the fabulous Dr. Pinch make The Comedy of Errors, Shakespeare’s shortest play, the perfect family show.
The ASC traces its roots back to Harrisonburg. In 1988, Ralph Alan Cohen, an English professor at James Madison University, and Jim Warren, his former student, founded Shenandoah Shakespeare Express. The company began as a touring theatre troupe based in Harrisonburg, and in its first year it presented 14 performances of Richard III at venues around Virginia.
In its early years the company also gave many performances in Harrisonburg, at such venues as the JMU Arboretum, Trinity Presbyterian Church, and Thomas Harrison Middle School. Cohen and Warren were involved in discussions for the planning of Court Square Theatre, and after the space opened to the public in 1998, Shenandoah Shakespeare Express was among the first companies to perform there.
Harrisonburg has provided many of the members of the ASC’s board of trustees, including attorney Larry Hoover, who served a term as the board’s president.
“As the ASC looks forward to its next twenty years,” said Dreyfoos, “we hope to strengthen our connections to Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, to welcome many more theatre lovers from the Friendly City and its area, and to build new partnerships to support the arts, tourism, and economic development in the central Shenandoah Valley.”
“The Arts Council of the Valley is honored to share the Court Square Theater stage with the ASC to recognize the significance of this special anniversary,” said Cecilia Carter Browne, director of the Arts Council of the Valley. “The performance of Comedy of Errors happens to be a fitting—and amusing—conclusion to our Comedy Festival, which is also scheduled for the weekend of March 27-28.”
Seats are limited for the March 29 performance at Court Square Theatre, and tickets for the show may be obtained free of charge by calling 540.433.9189, by e-mailing manager@courtsquaretheater.com, or in person at the Court Square box office in the Smith House (beside the Quilt Museum) at 311 S. Main St.
Local Events: Dinner theatre in Weyers Cave, Friday, 10:10 a.m.
The Pleasant Valley Dinner Theatre is presenting The Case of the Mysterious Benefactor by Brian Bopp at Pleasant Valley Church of the Brethren in Weyers Cave on April 2, April 3 and April 4 at 6 p.m. each evening.
Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for children 10 and under. Proceeds go to benefit God’s Garden Project by The Lion’s Den Class to grow vegetables for the Verona Food Pantry.
For more information, call the church at 540.234.9921.
Local News: Garden Week in April, Friday, 10:10 a.m.
More than 200 of Virginia’s most beautiful private houses and gardens, spanning four centuries of development, will be showcased across the state during Historic Garden Week in Virginia, April 18-25, 2009. Known as “America’s Largest Open House,” the program is the oldest and largest statewide tour event of its kind in the nation.
Three dozen outstanding tours are sponsored by member clubs of The Garden Club of Virginia. Proceeds benefit the restoration of historic landscapes throughout the Commonwealth. Many of the private houses and gardens are open to the public for the first time. All periods of Virginia history are reflected in the styles of homes and landscapes featured, including the Colonial era, American Revolution, Civil War, Victorian period and recent decades.
Event locales range from the ocean to the mountains and include rural, urban and suburban settings at the peak of Virginia’s springtime color. Tourists have a wide choice of places to visit for an inside peek, from Colonial plantations to Victorian farmhouses, suburban estates, city townhouses, hillside retreats and waterfront villas. Beautiful gardens range from formal 18th century terraces to backyard habitats, boxwood mazes, walled city spaces, and cutting, water, herb and “secret” gardens. In keeping with the 40th anniversary of “Virginia is for Lovers,” the state’s signature theme, lovers of gardening, architecture and interior design will find much to enjoy on Garden Week’s many and varied tours.
Historic Garden Week in Virginia celebrates its 76th season this year. Garden Week tours have been held annually since 1929, except for a period during World War II when members of The Garden Club of Virginia took time off to tend their Victory Gardens. More than 3,300 members of the GCV, along with other friends and supporters, work to produce the tours during the last full week of April each year. Each tour offers an engaging variety of five to six local houses and gardens for public visiting. Over the past seven decades, Historic Garden Week ticket sales have exceeded $14.5 million.
For tour dates and details, access the Schedule page of the Garden Week web site www.VAGardenweek.org. A comprehensive 220-page guidebook, available beginning in February, may be obtained by sending a $6 donation to Historic Garden Week, 12 E. Franklin St., Richmond, VA 23219.
Prices for tour tickets range from $10 to $35 per event. Tickets may be purchased on the day of the tour at any of the properties open, at designated information centers, and in advance from local tour chairmen or via the website. It is not necessary to buy tickets in advance, although bus groups may wish to make earlier plans. Tours will be held on their scheduled days, rain or shine.
