ANNIVERSARY
STREET PARTY
Coach House unveiling ties in with 25th Anniversary
Final street party will go out with a bang PAGE
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Vol. 1 No. 10 | Richmond Suburban News | September 9, 2015
October Spooktacular – making the Town of Ashland a destination By Meredith Rigsby News Editor ASHLAND — In the same vein as the “Christmas Light Up the Tracks” idea, presented by Dan Bartges at the Aug. 19 Ashland Town Council Meeting, Arthur Brill, owner of Behind the Curtain studio, during the Sept. 2 council meeting, presented a similar idea for a series of Halloween events called “October Spooktacular.” Ashland is somewhat of a hot spot location for Halloween trick-or-treaters,
attracting anywhere from 600 to 900 kids, Brill said. “This whole thing came about because business owners were trying to figure out how, what we could do to generate more foot traffic here downtown,” Brill said. … “We’ve already got something of a substantial event happening on Halloween day already, and how do we capitalize on that momentum?” Brill and local businesses along the railroad corridor have been working together to come up with an idea that
Photo courtesy of Arthur Brill
Organizer of Ashland’s ‘October Spooktacular,’ Arthur Brill stands in front of Chiffarobe Fine Antiques and Gifts. The business will be themed after “The Raven” for the Halloween event.
Ashland Theater renovation talks continue to develop By Meredith Rigsby News Editor ASHLAND — Waukeshaw Development Company, the potential developer for the Ashland Theater project, was present at the second of four planned work session meetings with Ashland Town Council to discuss a strategy for the Ashland Theater and its feasibility study. At the Wednesday, Sept. 2 meeting, Dave McCormack, president of Waukeshaw Development, spoke about the different aspects of the project and how he came up with the idea for the theater that is presented in the study. The feasibility study recommends that the Ashland Theater be turned
into a music and entertainment venue with an accompanying restaurant on the side in the space where Slipped Disc, currently a recording studio, is located. “There’s all sorts of other circumstances around that theatre that make it a difficult nut to crack, so to speak. The parking is not really ideal, there’s a limited amount of seats, the thing is small, the stage is small, it’s all set up for movies in an environment where movies don’t make economic sense anymore,” McCormack said. … “The challenge for me was creating a plan and a programming that I felt could do as much of the stuff that the folks I was hearing from wanted see THEATER pg. 3
would fill in the gaps between when the new Bowman Body Shock Theater episodes premiere at the Ashland Theater on Sept. 26 and Halloween. “The idea was to create a whole series of smaller events,” Brill said. … “And brand it under ‘October Spooktacular.’ ” As part of “October Spooktacular,” beginning Sept. 11 and continuing until Oct. 31, Brill will be hosting a Haunted History Tour, walking people around town and talking about the history
of Ashland, adding anecdotal ghost stories to the mix. Tiny Tim’s Toys and Ashland Coffee and Tea have teamed up to create a new series of events called the “Lego Star Wars Brunch Event,” with the next one scheduled for Sept. 27. On Oct. 3, Ashland will be hosting the Rails Craft Beer Festival and, on Oct. 10, Industry Tavern is putting on a Monster Walk and Haunted Car Show to raise money for Faces of Virginia Families. see OCTOBER, pg. 5
Groundbreaking held for Fairfield Inn & Suites
Submitted photo
Winding Brook Hotel LLC and Guest Services Inc. broke ground on Friday, Aug. 28, for the new Fairfield Inn & Suites, which is to be located in the Winding Brook Development at 11625 Lakeridge Parkway in Ashland. The new fourstory, 103-room Fairfield Inn & Suites, located off Interstate 95, exit 89, is planned to open Memorial Day 2016. Austin B. Haynes Jr., senior vice president of Holladay Properties, extended thanks to “Hanover County for the support of this project, with a special thank you to Rhu Harris, Hanover County administrator, and Wayne T. Hazzard, chairman of the Board of Supervisors for all their work and support.” Haynes also offered thanks to BB&T Bank, Thomas Hamilton & Associates, Willmark Engineering, Haley Builders and Greenfield Landscaping for their contributions and continued work.” Shown are, from left, Harris, Hazzard, John T. Phair, Winding Brook Hotel LLC general partner, and Barry Trice, Guest Services, partner.