Kudos to Middleburg’s own Sam Huff, who is retiring after 38 years doing the Redskins’ coverage on the radio. And while he might be in that big time NFL Hall of Fame out in Canton, Ohio, he’s certainly in our hometown Hall of Fame. The Arts at Emmanuel recently presented a staged reading of Mark St. Germain’s hit broadway play, Freud’s Last Session, to benefit the Emmanuel Episcopal Church and the Middleburg Library Advisory Board. Artist Robin Hill played Freud, and David Sheronas portrayed C.S. Lewis. To get into the part, David who had a 5-year acting career on Broadway, shaved his beard, cut his hair, and studied the life of C.S. Lewis. Laurie Maggiano directed the play and Denis Cotter led a question-and-answer session afterward. Rider Teddy Zimmerman is following the family equestrian tradition as he rode Dr. Alex during the spring jump season and captured the Virginia Point to Point Association’s highweight timber series. The horse was trained by Eva Smithwick. When Middleburg residents Susan and Matt Wakabayashi recently booked some rentals for a party they were hosting, they wanted something different. They went from rental company to rental company, but all they found were the same chairs, gold chargers and polyester table cloths they’d seen at every event
Valedictorian Gabriella Pittaluga and Salutatorian Alex Rossi share a moment backstage before Middleburg Academy’s graduation. Photo by Mona Botwick, courtesy of Middleburg Academy.
came out to help the Turner family celebrate the opening of their new cannery at their Virginia Chutney Company in Washington. The event included opera singers from Castleton Festival and an appearance by County Administrator John McCarthy, who was the official ribbon cutter. Verdun Adventure Bound celebrated the
the Salamander from the Mandarin Oriental in Washington, DC, where she worked as spa director for the past seven years. From Upperville, our favorite musical flack has informed Middleburg Life about the sweet sounds of cellos and violins coming from the participants in this year’s Chamber Music Summer Workshop at Trinity Church in mid-June. Twenty-five children, from 6 to 16 years of age, participated in the annual event organized by the Community Music School of the Piedmont. The week-long workshop ended with a public performance at Buchanan Hall for family and friends. The gifted instructors and coaches included Alan Saucedo, Cynthia Saucedo,
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Ewa Tryczynska, Ariel Renner, Miho Sato and Dan Crawford. Now some tennis news. At the annual Morgan Dennis Cup competition, named for the late and beloved manager and tennis pro at the Middleburg Tennis Club, Chestnut Forks of Warrenton took first place with 13 match victories, followed by Ida Lee of Leesburg with eight and the host Middleburg Tennis Club with three. Middleburg’s Michelle Pettibone was the winner of the Gwen Dobson Sportsmanship Award. Middleburg native Amanda Rodgers had an outstanding sophomore season for the Syracuse University varsity tennis team. The daughter of Mary Pat Guest and granddaughter of Jim and Barbara Wilson, Rodgers compiled a 16-5 record in singles and a 14-1 mark in doubles. She twice was Big East conference player of the week and was a unanimous selection for the 12-woman all-Big East team. From Wakefield School in The Plains comes the news of the 34th Commencement on Saturday, June 8, in the upper gym. Alexandra Díaz-Alemán presented the salutatory address. Suzanne Carrier Halekas (‘96) was the commencement speaker and said: “you know a lot more than you think you do. “ EricaJoy Oliverio gave the Valedictory speech, encouraging her classmates to continue their passionate pursuits. The Educators of the Year Awards went to Connie Lalonde, Amy Re and Nancy Geeting. The Above and Beyond Award went to Lisa Winick and Amrit Daryanani. And, the Withers Volunteers of the Year Awards were: Beth Gruneisen, Jennifer Neff and Laura Granruth. The new Excellence in Education Award winner was Judy Lawrence. Linda Bell Wine of Marshall has sent word to Middleburg Life to announce the graduation of her son Ian Spencer Bell from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, N.Y. “Ian earned a bachelor of arts degree with a concentration in poetry, all the while serving as a teaching artist for American Ballet Theatre in New York City and artist in residence at the Nightingale-Bamford School. He is now in Los Angeles for ABT to teach dance to underprivileged children in Watts.” Congratulations to Hill School’s Class of 2013! More than 350 guests attended the commencement ceremony June 7. Howard Allen has been taking pictures of the graduating class since 1959 and this year, Allen got into the picture himself. Middleburg Life has received the news
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Graduation day at Wakefield School
they’ve attended. Why so little creativity, they wondered? They ended up buying items for their event, and in the process, realized their desire to host a different kind of party was not unique to them. As serial entrepreneurs, they decided to start Hunt Country Parties, a different kind of event rental company. They now rent coops (complete with exotic chickens), reclaimed barn wood tables and benches and all you need to host a “Sustainable Party, ” plants and many other interesting items. They even put together themes and acquire new inventory for large events. Worth checking out at www.huntcountryparties.com. And speaking of parties… 200 guests
grand opening of its newly constructed Anne Marie Sheridan Amphitheatre in Rixeyville in early June. The facility, designed by architects Albert Hinckley and David Norden, is named to honor the memory of the daughter of Verdun Adventure Bound founders Dave and Aileen “Bambi” Snyder of Warrenton. The mission of the nonprofit, youth retreat center on 80 acres is to provide children with personal growth experiences while learning from the environment. This news just in from one of our favorite PR people Matt Owen…It’s now official… the opening date of the Salamander Resort & Spa will be August 29. Trey Matheu, formerly with Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Pennsylvania, will be the inaugural general manager. Penny Kriel has been named spa director. She joins
Hill School Class of 2013 with photographer Howard Allen, who has been taking pictures of the graduating class since 1959. Row 1: Nicole Stetson, Pamela White, Lindsay Woods, Leland Burke, Kathryn Whitehead, Mr. Howard Allen, Ashley Boardman, Devin Keeler, Alara Long and Finley Stewart. Row 2: Elle Benefield, Stefanie Hoerner, Sofia Tate, Arianna Soresi, Anna Calloway-Jones, Alison Van Metre, Cassidy Bolden and Annie Dunlap. Row 3: Tucker Graves, Andrew Simon, Malte Petersen, Harrison Whitner, Mac Hartley, Guadalupe Sandoval, Crishon Washington, Jonathan Lee and George Williams Row 4: Sawyer Long, Will Driskill, Andrew Looney, Tully Kennedy, Matthew Simon and Jacob Daum. Photo courtesy of Hill School.