Author: PHW

Friday Roundup: Insight Academy and Shop Sneak Peek II

Have you attended the Insight Academy? The next round of events begins in January. Read more about the purpose and activities of Insight Academy and learn how to register at the city’s website.

The Bough and Dough Shop officially opens in one week! Due to a number of feedback suggestions last year, the Shop will be open until 6 PM on Friday, November 22 and Saturday, November 23. There will also be extended evening hours in December to coincide with the Holiday House Tour. You can find a day by day breakdown of the shop times at the Virginia.org website. If you asked for later hours, we encourage you to utilize them in 2019!

Several more artists dropped off goods for the Shop. Hide your wallets while we whet your appetite for opening day next week!

The Clowser Foundation returns with notecards, calendars, and ornaments this year. As in past years, all proceeds from goods sold through the Bough and Dough Shop go back to the Clowser Foundation to save and restore the Clowser House in Shawneeland.

New in 2019 is Angel’s Roost Quilts. Not only are there quilted ornaments and wall art of flora, historic buildings, and Santas, but artist Carol Spalding also creates outfits for 18″ dolls. The outfits are cute enough you’ll wish they were your size!

TL Cards and Crafts is back this year with her paper crafts and cross stitch. New this year are shadowboxes and small artificial arrangements. Be on the lookout for a large snowman pillow that is just asking to be hugged! Her cross stitch pieces will be displayed around the house as well.

Norma Fredrickson of Fibergig has a selection of one of a kind bags, scarves, hats, and garments for you to see and sample this year. There are also notecards featuring past fabric designs and fabric-covered journals for your special writing.

Libba Pendleton has a delightful assortment of felted critters, food ornaments and snowmen salt and pepper shakers this year. In addition, she has hand knit children’s winter hats, framed art, and “Christmas in a cup” mixed assemblages.

Our favorite Basket Cases Virginia Stultz and Jean Whetzel return this year with their woven ornaments and handmade baskets. Be on the lookout for more antler baskets, a big hit last year, as well as the angels, bells, corn, deer and stars ornaments hanging on their tree.

Making their first appearance at the Shop is Hackwood Farm’s pickles and applesauce. In addition to the aforementioned, there is also a selection of relish, chili, and apple crisp. By the time the Shop opens, we should have recipes to go with all of their delicious canned goods. While they could not make it in 2019, we think the wait will be worth it!

Thanks again to our artists, and thank you as well to our major sponsor in 2019 Lisa T. McCoig, CPA, PC. Look for their ad in the Holiday House Tour booklets and be sure to check our their services!

Shop Sneak Peek: First Artists

The Bough and Dough Shop opens November 22. Several of our artists were able to set up early this year, and we are pleased to offer you a sneak peek at some of the wares that will soon be for sale!

Sky Blue Pink by Phyllis is one of our new artists this year. She creates original watercolor cards on high quality paper stock. Each piece is one of a kind. They can be used as a greeting card and are then suitable for framing by the recipient. Look for flowers, butterflies, trees, and winter scenery among her offerings.

Best in Glass returns this year with an expanded collection of stained and fused glass items. Coasters plates, and ornaments return along with bottle stoppers, votives, spoon rests and decorative trees. There is even one small decorative vase and some mousepads and notebooks in the mix. Each piece of glass is one of a kind and truly stunning!

George S. Davis is another of our new artisans for 2019. He crafts unique tables from reclaimed wood. His offerings this year are primarily walnut side tables. The smaller tables will be on display in the foyer, and a larger walnut table suitable for a dining room will be on hand as well.

Rosemary Tarrant is back with her popular quilted microwave bowls, coasters, trees, and ornaments. She has added small fabric baskets, dishcloths, and tissue holders to the mix this year. Rosemary will not be able to replenish her stock in 2019, so if you see something you want, be here early to claim your goodies!

New in our food selection this year is locally produced wildflower honey from Buzzword Honey in Berryville. Look for the jars immediately to your right as you enter the back door of the Hexagon House.

David Sipp of the Alley Gallery in downtown Winchester is back this year with art card prints featuring Christmas scenes as well as Winchester images. Cards are priced individually or in sets of four. David will also have work available in Deck the Walls upstairs if you don’t see anything you fancy at the Bough and Dough Shop.

Very Merry Mittens joins us as a new fiber artist in 2019. Her work takes unwanted sweaters and recycles them into stylish mittens, brooches, ornaments, and pillows. Her pieces are always unique due to the nature of her materials.

Thank you to our artists, and thank you as well to our major sponsor in 2019 the Shenandoah Group of Wells Fargo Advisors. Look for their ad in the Holiday House Tour booklets and be sure to check our their services!

Friday Roundup: Holiday House Tour Booklets and Schedule

Happy Friday! As you know, we are closing in on our increased updates for the Holiday House Tour and Bough & Dough Shop. We are also prepping for the Shop opening at the Hexagon House on Friday, November 22.

From now until November 22, please be patient if you stop by the Hexagon House to purchase tickets. We are able to process orders but might need to take a few extra moments. Sunday tickets are also available now at The Final Yard, Kimberly’s, Winchester Book Gallery, Winchester-Frederick County Visitors Center, or online.

Booklets are in production and not expected to arrive before November 15, but you can get a sneak peek of the booklet and the house descriptions in our online PDF. Be sure to patronize and thank the advertising sponsors, especially our major sponsor Bank of Clarke County, for once again helping us produce a lovely booklet.

Friday Roundup: Curated Reading and Watching Selections

If you missed Carl Ekberg’s presentation in September on “George Washington and the Making of Winchester,” we were informed the program will be running again on C-SPAN Sunday, November 3 at 8 PM and midnight. Check it out if you get the chance!

Larry Webb once again provided us images from the 2019 Battle of Cedar Creek. You can check out the photos on our Flickr album and the top of our photo stream.

Building Tomorrow’s Heritage: Correcting “Architectural Myopia” is part of a series about compatible new development in historic districts. This is often a topic of discussion in Winchester surrounding our historic district.

In a similar vein, The Beauty of Degraded Art: Why We Like Scratchy Vinyl, Grainy Film, Wobbly VHS & Other Analog-Media Imperfection may explain why humans prefer old places – the wear and imperfections of an old place are nostalgic and comforting reminders of our past.

If you are looking for a short road trip, you may want to visit the Camera Heritage Museum in Staunton. They are currently on vacation, but the museum is open six days a week and showcases thousands of cameras from the high tech to your everyday Brownie. We know we have many photographic enthusiasts in our ranks who may enjoy a look back at the cameras of yesteryear.

While we put the final touches on the Holiday House Tour booklet, we thought this video and article How Magazine Pages Were Created Before Computers: A Veteran of the London Review of Books Demonstrates the Meticulous, Manual Process was fitting. Digital copy and pasting is much easier than the manual version!

And just for fun to round out Halloween week is Searching for ‘Spooklights’ in Southern Georgia. Not only is it a look at this strange phenomenon, but also tells the story of a small, forgotten town that is more known today for its ghost lights than the people who lived and worked there.

Preview Party Tickets on Sale Now!

Although we ended up being behind schedule and could not get the mailed invitations to members out this week as planned, Preview Party tickets for the Holiday House Tour on December 7 are on sale now at the Hexagon House. Preview Party tickets are limited to 100 and are a special perk for current PHW members this year. If you know a member who does not get emails from PHW, be sure to inform them the next time you see them!

Please call ahead at 540-667-3577 or email phwinc.org@gmail.com to make sure someone is in the office at the Hexagon House prior to the Bough and Dough Shop opening (November 22).

Tickets are $50 for PHW members; nonmembers will be charged for an individual ($30) or family ($55) membership if you are interested in attending the Preview Party. ALL Party ticket sales are going through the PHW office this year to record memberships and party RSVPs. A mail order RSVP form will be mailed to current members as of October’s membership list.

Thank you for your interest, and we hope to have more to share about the tour and party houses next week.

Friday Roundup: The Holiday Season Approaches

We had a great time at Oktoberfest! If you missed the event, PHW volunteers will be back again for Holly Jolly Celebration festivities in December.

Did you miss out on getting a copy of “Why Old Places Matter” at the October 4 book talk with Tom Mayes? Drop us a note at PHW if you are interested in purchasing a copy. We plan to have a number of copies available during the Bough and Dough Shop as a bit of a make-up. (We also hope to have the revised Limestone books in hand by then as well; keep your fingers crossed.)

Although it’s hard to believe, October is halfway over. If you committed to a Holiday House Tour booklet ad, remember to get your ad in to PHW by end of day on October 31. You may email questions or ad files to phwinc.org@gmail.com. As always, we are eternally grateful to our major Holiday House Tour sponsor, Bank of Clarke County, and all our other advertising sponsors for enabling us to produce the full-color tour booklets and postcards we have come to enjoy. (Thanks to our advertising sponsors’ support, we were also able to secure high quality printed tickets again this year!)

As some of you may know, we also had some issues processing online ticket sales last year for the Holiday House Tour via PayPal. In an effort to avoid the issue this year, you may begin ordering Sunday Daylight Tour tickets for December 8 online now through Eventbrite.

No PayPal account? No problem! Look for the guest checkout option, highlighted by the red arrow.

If you do not have a PayPal account, that’s okay! Begin the checkout and when you are redirected to PayPal, scroll down past the log in information to the “Pay with Debit or Credit Card” option (highlighted with a red arrow on this sample image). You will be directed to the guest checkout option on PayPal.

You will be given the option for a printable PDF ticket from Eventbrite; we highly suggest you print them! You should also receive a reminder email from EventBrite prior to the event. The venue address is given for the Hexagon House, so if you have problems or questions during the tour you can visit PHW at the Bough and Dough Shop for a quick and professional resolution, pick up some tour booklets, or get a free hot drink and to do a little shopping.

If you run into other issues with Eventbrite, let us know at phwinc.org@gmail.com, as this is the first time we’ve used their platform for a paid event and we might have missed something.

This Weekend: Oktoberfest Walking Tours and PastForward Conference Livestream

The annual Old Town Winchester Oktoberfest returns on October 11-12. Attendees will have the opportunity to enjoy German inspired beer and food this evening and tomorrow while experiencing sights, sounds and traditions of Oktoberfest. This event happens throughout Old Town Winchester, including the Loudoun Street Mall, historic Taylor Pavilion and the 1840 Courthouse lawn.

Look for PHW-led walking tours starting near the Hideway Cafe to take you on a tour of historic haunts and lauded drinking spots from Winchester of yesteryear. The tours are free and open to all visitors. More information on the event can be found at oldtownwinchesterva.com.

If you prefer staying indoors this weekend, select events from the National Trust’s 2019 PastForward Preservation Conference will be livestreamed online. The stream can be found on the Trust’s website. If you couldn’t make it to Denver for the event, you can at least catch a few topics to feel like you’re part of the action.

Deck the Walls – Call for Art
While the Bough & Dough Shop is full of artists for this year, you have a second chance to join the action at the Hexagon House! Visit our upstairs neighbors at the Shenandoah Arts Council to learn about their event held concurrently with the Bough & Dough Shop.

Friday Roundup: Book Talk, House Tour, and Shop Updates

Our book talk and signing with Tom Mayes on “Why Old Places Matter” is happening today at the Handley Library between 3-5 PM. The event is free and open to the public. We hope to have a full crowd to hear our author and speaker Tom Mayes, who serves as the Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The talk should be accessible to anyone interested in how our history and built environment impacts our enjoyment of life. Be sure to stay for wine and cheese and book signings.

If you are thinking of placing an ad in the Holiday House Tour booklet this year, remember to get your ad in by October 31! We have had great response this year and the book should be lovely. To date we are only “sold out” of the back cover; we can work with any other size ad you would like to place. The sponsorship information can be downloaded here.

Due to some unforeseen circumstances, the call for Bough and Dough Shop artists will be closing early. Like last year, we will be happy to accept applications received after today and keep them on file for contacting you next year or should a spot open up at the last minute this year. If you are an artist who already made contact, your spots are saved and we ask for your patience as we adjust the last few details and get back to you.

Last, many thanks are owed to those who have helped keep PHW functioning over the past two weeks. We will be getting back into a more normal routine slowly but surely. We ask for patience and gentle reminders if you have not had a response to email or phone calls that are business related. We have received all the messages of condolence and are very thankful.

Friday Roundup: Event Photos and Upcoming Events

Thanks to everyone who came out to the PHW table for Celebracion. While we did not capture images from that event, we do have some other recent event photos to share this week. Larry Webb provided two sets of photographs from September 21 events. The French and Indian War encampment held at Abram’s Delight can be viewed here (24 photos) and the Constitution & Bill of Rights Celebration can be viewed here (17 photos).

Next, don’t forget about our fabulous upcoming book talk and signing with Tom Mayes on “Why Old Places Matter.” The event will be held October 4 at the Handley Library between 3-5 PM and is free and open to the public. We hope to have a full crowd to hear our author and speaker Tom Mayes, who serves as the Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The talk should be accessible to anyone interested in how our history and built environment impacts our enjoyment of life.

If you are thinking of doing some shopping on AmazonSmile , you can now support Preservation of Historic Winchester, Inc. in the Amazon shopping app on your Android device! Simply follow these instructions to turn on AmazonSmile and start generating donations:

  1. If you have the latest version of the Amazon Shopping App, open the App on your Android device.
  2. View Settings and select AmazonSmile.
  3. Follow the in-App instructions to complete the process.

If you do not have the latest version of the Amazon Shopping App, update your App. Click here for instructions.

AmazonSmile is not currently available for iOS users.