River lovers from around the Valley and region gathered at Fort Valley Nursery in Woodstock on Oct. 2 to celebrate the work of Friends of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River and to raise money to fuel its work to support the river and the populations that thrive in and around it.
For this, nearly 175 people from the community gathered for an exuberant dinner and auction. Shaffer’s Catering provided excellent dining, with locally crafted beer and wine poured by Woodstock Brewhouse, Muse Vineyards, Third Hill Winery and Star in the Valley Estate Winery.
A special partnership with Triplett Tech’s Paje Cross brought students from the school’s Culinary Arts program, sharing their talents and growing skills in event service.
While a silent auction ran throughout much of the evening, featuring vacation packages, artwork, specially curated events, and more, dessert was followed by a truly lively live auction as well as a special appeal to raise funds for FNFSR’s community-based programs. Combined with the generosity of such corporate sponsors as Regulus Group, Muse Vineyards, TREX, and Woodstock Brewhouse, and of more than 50 individual sponsors and families, this year’s event raised over $50,000.
The evening would not have been possible without the support of Friends of the North Fork’s many extraordinary volunteers, the staff and management of Fort Valley Nursery, Laughlin Auctions, our devoted Fish Fry Committee, and most especially, Committee Chair and Master of Ceremonies for the night, Laura Bennett.
Friends would like to thank everyone in its wonderful and broadening community of supporters.
To learn more about the ongoing work of Friends of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River, visit www.fnfsr.org.
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