Leesburg, VA August 2023

Advice for what matters most, when you need it most

Congratulations to Jeffrey W. Eveland for being named to the 2023 Barron’s “Top 1,200 Financial Advisors” list, published on March 10, 2023. Rankings based on data as of September 30, 2022.

The Eveland Group

Jeffrey W. Eveland, CFP ®, CRPC ™, CPFA® Managing Director Wealth Management Advisor

703.779.2130

j_eveland@ml.com

Merrill Lynch Wealth Management

3 South King Street

Leesburg, VA 20175

fa.ml.com/evelandgroup

2023 Barron’s “Top 1,200 Financial Advisors” list. Opinions are Barron’s who evaluated advisors with a minimum of seven years financial services experience and employed at their current firm for at least one year. Other quantitative and qualitative measures include assets under management, quality of practice, regulatory records, internal company documents and 100-plus points of advisor-provided data. Rankings do not reflect any client experience, endorse any advisor and are available for client evaluation only. Compensation was not received from any Advisors for the study.

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (also referred to as “MLPF&S” or “Merrill”) makes available certain investment products sponsored, managed, distributed or provided by companies that are affiliates of Bank of America Corporation (“BofA Corp.”). MLPF&S is a registered broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, Member SIPC and a wholly owned subsidiary of BofA Corp.

Banking products are provided by Bank of America, N.A., Member FDIC and a wholly owned subsidiary of BofA Corp. Investment products: Are Not FDIC Insured Are Not Bank Guaranteed May Lose Value

The Bull Symbol and Merrill are registered trademarks of Bank of America Corporation.

CFP Board owns the marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, and CFP® (with plaque design) in the U.S. The College for Financial Planning Institutes Corp. owns the service marks Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor™, CRPC™, and the CRPC™ logo, and the certification marks Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor™, CRPC™, and the CRPC™ logo. © 2023 Bank of America Corporation. All rights reserved. MAP4960336 | AD-04-23-0125 | 472538PM-1022 |

Photo by Christy Kosnic

Architect: Cawood Architecture, PLLC

T

e f o r a N e w F e n c e ?

Beauty. Safety. Security.

If Only My Kids Were More...

It’s not like we’re asking for the moon. We just want our kids to be more ... (fill in the blank.)

If you filled that blank with “like us,” take a deep breath. Our kids can be so much more, with maybe a tad more leeway, plus a smidge of inspiration and encouragement.

Opportunities abound in Loudoun County for kids to practice compassion, to hone coding skills that can literally change the world, and to express their creativity and athleticism: from the horse ring to the ice rink, and in writing, music, dance, and theatre of virtually every genre... not to mention all the art forms they haven’t invented yet!

We had the great pleasure of watching an impassioned performance of “School of Rock, The Musical” recently at StageCoach Theatre, and paid rapt attention to the words of the song, “If Only You Would Listen.” (Do yourself a favor and just google the lyrics.) We’re not saying YOU don’t listen to your kids, or that you haven’t taken stock of your children’s own God-given inclinations and abilities. (We don’t even posit that all of their inclinations are in their best interest!)

We’re just awed by what our kids can become when they’re given the chance to explore their options. Take a look at some of the opportunities we’ve profiled here, and send us your own ideas! We plan to celebrate our kids throughout the month of August, and hope you’ll join us. They grow up so fast.

August 2023

PUBLISHER

Hann Livingston | hann.livingston@citylifestyle.com

EDITORIAL COORDINATOR

Melinda Gipson | melinda.gipson@citylifestyle.com

Corporate Team

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Steven Schowengerdt

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Matthew Perry

VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES Tiffany Slowinski

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF HR Janeane Thompson

MELINDA GIPSON, EDITOR @LEESBURGLIFESTYLE

DIRECTOR OF FIRST IMPRESSIONS Jennifer Robinson

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR Josh Klein

CONTROLLER Gary Johnson

AD DESIGNER Matthew Endersbe

LAYOUT DESIGNER Kirstan Lanier

Proverbs 3:5-6

How fast is your teen athlete growing? During growth spurts, bones grow faster than muscles. While the

Elizabeth Lancaster Elizabeth Lancaster

John C. Whitbeck John C. Whitbeck Jim Beglis Jim Beglis

Best Riding Fitness Book Ever

Do you spend all your time taking care of your horses but forget to take care of yourself? Treat yourself to a book signing August 25th from 4-6 p.m. at Another Turn Tack in Purcellville with author and certified personal trainer Laura Crump Anderson. Absolutely nothing on the market compares with her new book,  Ultimate Exercise Routines for Riders: Fitness that Fits a Horse-Crazy Lifestyle. This invaluable manual for dealing with — and preventing — a range of ailments can be propped open to  follow the exercises. Also available on Amazon.

Photography: Melinda Gipson

STYLISH SENIOR LIVING AT

Ashby Ponds

Find

• Choose from a wide variety of floor plans

• Discover freedom from house repairs

• Enjoy resort-style amenities steps from your door!

Loudoun Laurels Names Laureates, Scholarship Recipients

Josmar Hernandez Chavez and Elizabeth Portillo Morejon are this year’s recipients of the Loudoun Laurels Foundation Scholarship (see loudounlaurels.org). The scholarships are awarded annually to outstanding seniors who have excelled despite the obstacles they’ve faced. This year’s laureates are Lewis Parker, whose Willowcroft Foundation endows science-based scholarships, and Sheila Johnson (pictured above), co-founder of BET and CEO of Salamander Hotels & Resorts. The gala honoring all four will take place September 22 at Lansdowne Resort.

Buy Barkery Biscuits

Whether you’re a business or just shopping downtown, remember to stock up on your dog biscuits from the ECHO Barkery ( https://echobarkery.org/ ). Production is all done by adults with disabilities; “They handle every aspect of the production from start to finish,” says Peter Yuska, General Manager of ECHO Barkery. Most sales occur online, though they’ve recently been stocked by 14 Whole Foods stores in the mid-Atlantic, as well as several local shops. “By this time next year, I would expect us to be profitable,” Peter said.

Want to be featured?

Get in touch by heading over to our landing page to connect: CityLifestyle.com/Leesburg

Photography: Echo, Kelly Erikson

Photo Caption: ECHO Barkery Associate

Being ‘Pet Friendly’: More than Just Cuddling Puppies

Leesburg loves dogs – so much so that 43 downtown businesses joined with the Town of Leesburg’s Economic Development Department to create a “Dog Friendly” business directory (chooseleesburg.com/ locals-visitors/leesburg-loves-dogs) identifying themselves as places you can not only shop or eat but also bring your pooch to enjoy a cold bowl of water and a treat. We couldn’t resist the opportunity to spotlight some of these enlightened business owners in our Kids and Pets issue, so we reached out to Allison Wood, the Town’s

Small Business Development and Tourism Specialist who quickly arranged a gathering of not only several of the business owners behind the campaign – Delirium Café, Fire Works Wood Fired Pizza; Foliage, a house plant shop in Partnership with Birch Tree Bookstore; MadisonBelle, Misguided Angels, Morningside House Senior Living, October One Vineyard, Sunflower Shack, The Resourceful Woman Thrift Store and Zest – but also a litter of seven puppies from Loudoun County Animal Services who were briefly available for a snuggle before romping off to their forever homes.

ARTICLE BY MELINDA GIPSON | PHOTOGRAPHY BY MJLSTUDIOS, MELINDA GIPSON

LCAS Community Coordinator Talia Czapski and volunteers Jordanne Gattouchi and Henry Emch

So, that’s the story behind our cover, but the “tail” is longer than that. It goes to the heart of Loudoun’s residents and their unbridled support for compassionate treatment of animals and animal adoption. This is nowhere more apparent than the two-year-old home for Loudoun County Animal Services on Adoption Drive in Leesburg, which we wholeheartedly encourage you to visit.

Talia Czapski, LCAS Community Relations Manager, took us on a tour of the facility which houses the Department of Animal Services in addition to all the adoptable cats, dogs, bunnies, gerbils, guinea pigs and any other animals that are legal to own as pets. Proudly, she announces that it is the first publicly funded shelter to meet the American Veterinary guidelines for sheltering – the gold standard for animal shelters – and it is quickly apparent why.

At the cat kennels, one volunteer is engaged in “daily enrichment,” which today consists of Kong toys stuffed with treats they can bat around for fun and to obtain a reward. “We’re trying to stimulate their senses – give them something to do or an activity. Yesterday it was paper bags filled with treats.”

Besides activities, the facility clearly was designed with the animal’s welfare and comfort in mind. Each kennel separates food and play space from the litter box. Every space is well vented and the windows are oriented so they never receive direct sunlight, while still affording a view of the outside. Barn cats even have access to an indoor-outdoor environment so they stay acclimated to the outdoors. “It all keeps them healthier and happier and healthier animals are adopted faster,” she said.

Small animals are separated from cats to support their mental as well as physical well-being (never having to be stared down by would-be predators), and bunnies have their own room where volunteers come to play with them or train them to touch a target for a treat. Girl Scouts supplement small animals’ diets with fresh greens grown on an outdoor patio, but the bunnies eat so much produce that

they’re more than likely to be eating dandelion greens from Wegman’s.

Dogs too have rooms that separate more timid animals from loud, barking dogs, complete with sound panels that mute noise. Each has openings for people to greet the dogs that are on a dog’s eye level. Puppies too can be separated from the general population until they’re old enough for their vaccinations. To help with that as well as spaying, neutering, and diagnostic or injured animal care, X-rays, even dental treatment is a full-time veterinarian Dr. Suzanne Nelson, and two full-time veterinarian technicians. That’s a benefit not enjoyed by many other counties, so LCAS takes on cases from surrounding counties when necessary.

The expert medical care is covered in part by contributions from Friends of Loudoun County Animal Services flcas.org . The group’s “Helping Hands” program funds any extra medical attention that falls outside of the LCAS budget, and “White Whiskers” covers any additional care needed to help move senior animals into a home where they can enjoy their “golden years.”

What appears to be a luxury of space is of course the result of a community that fully embraces both volunteer foster care and adoption. Says Talia, “Something I love about this program is that it’s basically completely volunteer run and community supported.” The shelter currently has around 400 volunteers who do everything from laundry and cleaning kennels to fostering, providing enrichment activities, and even reading to pets, which they clearly enjoy. Of the latter, Talia remarks, “It’s so cute. And it’s also awesome because those animals get used to strangers coming into their kennels and interacting with them quietly, which makes them more confident, which makes them get adopted faster – it’s like this beautiful little cycle of happiness.”

Keeping track of all the volunteers and foster families is the job of a full-time coordinator, who also runs a Facebook group. Using emails, texts

“We’re working to create a pet friendly community... anything we can do to help support a community that loves animals as much as Loudon.”

and Facebook, any special needs can be communicated quickly. Volunteers who have been through training can sign up for their own shifts. Talia adds, “In the morning it’s always housekeeping. In the afternoon, it’s walks and enrichment. Everyone is trained in different levels on different tasks so they can come on in and do our never-ending pile of laundry!”

She offers, “Some people might think, ‘Oh, you volunteer at the animal shelter, you must cuddle puppies all day long!’ But it’s really so much more than that. Volunteers are the

ones disinfecting kennels, so we’re not spreading germs; they’re the ones doing laundry so we have clean linens for animals. They’re the ones doing the enrichment and helping us sort donations, drive transports, put up crates and collapse crates, and all that other work that goes into taking care of an animal. Naturally, they get to work with the animals, but it’s not just the snuggles that provide a healthy, holistic environment like this one.”

On Fridays through the summer months, animal lovers of all ages make frozen treats and are allowed to

Dr. Suzanne Nelson

visit the animals in their kennels. More intensive, training oriented camps and internships are available, but these fill up fast, months before it might occur to most volunteers to look for such opportunities. So, the best way to get involved is to just sign up here loudoun.gov/646/Volunteer for either volunteering or fostering and to watch for notifications of need. Foster orientations are held throughout the year. The shelter’s highest needs are for fosters for adult dogs (40lbs+), kittens with and without moms, fearful adult cats, pregnant small animals and pregnant cats.

Year round, one of the organization’s biggest needs is for food for the pet pantry. The Loudoun Pet Pantry is a partnership between The Humane Society of Loudoun County, Loudoun County Animal Services and Loudoun Hunger Relief. Its mission is to help keep pets in loving homes by providing food supplies for families in need. Talia says, “For cats and dogs we need adult food – just regular adult food, no puppy/kitten or prescription diets. Both canned food and dry food are needed with canned dog food and dry cat food being our highest priority.” You can learn more about the pet pantry here: loudoun.gov/3020/Pet-Pantry

Despite a “no-questions asked” policy on relinquishing pets to the shelter, everyone there is committed to do what they can to help pet owners keep their animals. “What animals really want and need is that security of a home and that family that they know, right? That’s what they love. That’s what they’re used to. And that’s something that we’re really passionate about maintaining. Anything we can do to keep the animals from coming here we’re going to try to do because they’re going to be happier in a home versus in a shelter where they don’t know their caregivers.”

As Talia puts it, “We’re working to create a pet friendly community. That improves not only the lives of the animals that are being adopted, but all of our lives. It’s fun if we have nice places to walk our dogs or places to take our cats and businesses who offer them treats. We’re creating not only a community of businesses that support animals, but also inclusive housing where you can live with your animals. All of those things are really important to us – anything we can do to help support a community that loves animals as much as Loudon.”

“Righting” Your College Application Essay:

ARTICLE BY MELINDA GIPSON | PHOTOGRAPHY BY MJLSTUDIOS

Christine Gacharná Helps Your Student Jump Off the Page and Into the College of Their Dreams

Christine Gacharná, gifted educator and writing coach

Christine Gacharná doesn’t believe writing is a “soft skill,” but rather “a technical skill that serves as an essential component in an interconnected and global economy. Any professional who does not master confidence in communication suffers greatly as a result.”

Through her laser-focused ESSAYCURE.com classes, she has demonstrated that exceptional writing can be learned, mastered and employed to not just gain entry into elite institutions of learning but to earn the kinds of scholarships that can make acceptance affordable. And, in her recently released workbook, Right My College Application Essay, she has broken down the often-messy process of helping aspiring college students write precisely what they need to communicate about themselves, their experience and their aspirations to attract the attention of busy college entrance professionals.

The importance of the application essay can’t be overestimated. In a world where many colleges have made SAT and ACT scores optional, and tens of thousands of students boast high academic marks, “the college essay is the only way students have to differentiate themselves.” It’s also the first time many have had to sell themselves and what makes them unique to strangers who aren’t naturally inclined to be their cheerleaders. “Each of them has to jump off that page and become real to administrators to give themselves options,” Christine says.

To prove the point, in Christine’s book essays morph from barely adequate accounts of students’ experiences into life tutorials demonstrating wisdom beyond their years. They become profiles, in effect, of exactly the kinds of students best able to enrich a campus community. In the process, students learn how to write academic essays that will ensure their success at the collegiate level and beyond.

The drive to perfect this craft in first herself and then others is deeply ingrained in this impassioned, articulate educator. “Writing involves putting symbols on a page that are then interpreted or filtered by the reader in the way you  intended  them to be.

Just because something happened to you doesn’t make it interesting or something that someone else wants to read. Creating that interest is really difficult and is not at all a soft skill,” Christine said, “But it can be learned. To that I’d add, don’t tell me about your passion, show me what you’ve done.”

What Christine has done was join two of her siblings in becoming the first generation from her family to earn a college degree. As a member of a single-parent household, she did so with the help of a scholarship from the Dr. Bernard Daly Educational Fund, the oldest continuously operated, place-based college scholarship fund in the U.S., which sends Lake County students to any college or technical school in the state of Oregon. Christine’s mom demonstrated the life-changing nature of the grants to her family by spending every Memorial Day from 1979 until she died in 2021 tending Dr. Daly’s grave and decorating it with fresh silk flowers.

After graduation, Christine auditioned for and won a job as a newspaper journalist in Arizona, then went back to school at the University of Arizona for a Master’s in Journalism. There, she became the Editor in Chief of the much honored Arizona Daily Wildcat and is recognized as the founder of the Wildcat’s online edition, one of the first college newspapers in the country to go digital.

She honed her system for teaching writing as Lead Faculty for Communications at the University of Phoenix (Baton Rouge and New Orleans campuses), where she was emboldened to make writing an integral part of every student’s instruction and not just a feature of the English Department. Adult students of the University most often go on to lead careers in technical fields, but have equal if not greater need to be able to communicate effectively as those who pursue careers in the arts, she asserted.

“I really am on a mission to change the way we teach writing, because academic writing is something that every student can do. Once I tell them, ‘it’s a formula, you can do this, you just have to follow these steps,’

they get so excited.” Even proficient writers who have been coasting on their talent can improve. Often these perfectionists become bogged down on grammar and punctuation. “I try to retrain their muscle memory to make their ideas more important than their sentences. It’s so hard; they’re so resistant. But once they adapt, it really makes a difference.”

Results tell the real story. Christine’s 2023 students earned an average of $80,000 in scholarships. One soon-to-graduate college student she worked with five years ago, who was herself a first-generation college student, emailed her recently to say, “Thanks for believing in me.” That is of course true; Christine did provide the emotional support the student needed to move across the country to pursue her

college dreams. But she imparted so much more: the confidence to communicate in any situation, wherever those dreams lead. That’s more than a skill. It’s a gift.

You can purchase Christine’s book from Amazon or here, at a site that supports local bookstores, bit.ly/RightMyEssayBook. ESSAY CURE’s summer workshops walk students through the entire process. We’ve reserved a handful of seats for Leesburg Lifestyle readers, use the coupon code “LIFESTYLE” for $400 off summer workshops if purchased by August 30. See  bit.ly/EssayCure The next workshop is  Sunday, August 6, 1-4 PM EST Northern Virginia | River Creek Club, 43800 Olympic Blvd., Leesburg VA 20176, or see EssayCure.com for upcoming workshops or to get one-to-one assistance at essaycure.com/contact

Christine Gacharná Offers the Keys to Unlock Your Scholar's Future

STAGECOACH THEATRE COMPANY ROLLS THROUGH 20 CAMPS THIS SUMMER:

Giving Young Performers a Home in the Limelight

ARTICLE BY MELINDA GIPSON | PHOTOGRAPHY BY MELINDA GIPSON, STAGECOACH THEATRE

The musical, “The School of Rock,” Andrew Lloyd Webber’s re-imagining of the comedy film, ushers us into an oasis of self-expression where an under-qualified, rock-and-roll wanna-be becomes a substitute teacher at an exclusive private school, accidentally tapping into the unrealized aspirations of overscheduled, under-appreciated pre-teens who feel ram-rodded into their parents’ idea of perfection.

You can probably imagine how well the material resonated with the talented young actors of Loudoun County who mounted a performance of the show in June. The full list of production team, directors, choreographers, backstage crew and cast are here: https://bit.ly/SORprogram . But we’ll also offer a shout out to exceptional first weekend performances by Natalie Brown and Hannah Visser, the inspired casting and an impassioned performance of “If Only You Would Listen,” which raised goosebumps.

But what’s truly amazing – astounding even in the manner with which it recurs three or four times every summer – is that “School of Rock’s” cast of 21 kids with student directors, stage dressers and technical support, could go from zero to a half dozen remarkably polished performances in just two weeks of 7-hour weekdays of summer camp.

How is that possible?

Jerri Wiseman, executive producer of StageCoach Theatre Company (https://www.stagecoachtc.com/), which runs a professional theatre operation in addition to a burgeoning number of summer camps and after-school classes, says, “It’s because the teams that we get in are super talented. They all have to audition to get in” to the summer intensives, she explained. And, “they are in charge of their own rehearsal at home to learn their lines. They come in here to learn their blocking and their dancing, get up to speed on their singing, learn who is singing what parts and then they put it all together.”

This summer the theatre’s camps nearly tripled from last year – from 7 to 20: 11 camps for pre-K to age 12 ranging from everything from improv to musical theatre and cabarets for beginning to advanced actors – all besides three “intensive” play production camps for “School of Rock,” “The Diary of Anne Frank” and “9-5 The Musical.” All of the “intensive” public performances likely will sell out, so be sure to book your tickets for “9-5 the Musical” early; it runs from August 10-20, alongside the regular company’s production of “Disco is Dead,” which will run through August.  (See stagecoachtc.com/tickets).

Jerri, whose entertainment industry career spans 20 years of community theatre, music and dance festivals and casts and crews of 200+ in many genres, appears bemused by our astonishment at the sheer amount of StageCoach’s creative output. “It’s what they do professionally,” she says of adult performers. She adds, “I mean, yeah, when you're talking a Broadway show they’re given more than two weeks, but they are putting on a professional quality show. The students in the musical intensives have nine full days of work, with

Jerri Wiseman

Student Playwright Lily Rossi

guidance from an instrument coach who's come in to help those who don't play an instrument, enough to make it believable. We teach them a few chords on the guitar or how to hold the drumstick and what to hit. The music is going to be recorded because we don't really have the space in our theater for a full orchestra or a full band.”

It's obvious how much the support of volunteers matters to the StageCoach family. At its core, the theatre has three owners: Jerri; Terry Smith, the Artistic and Technical Director, and April Bridgeman, director of operations. Directors, choreographers and others work under contract by production, but students, area artists and parents always are pitching in to help create the sets and costumes and anything else that’s needed.

Less obvious, but a credit to the magnetic pull that StageCoach Theatre has created for young talent, is the degree to which students themselves have raised the bar for the company. Says Jerri, “We had an 8th grade student recommend that we change our lighting system. He was working with us on regular theater lights that we've had for eons when he said, ‘Why don't you switch to LEDs?’ The cost was so inexpensive that we agreed.

Instantly we went from 8 incandescent lights to 22 LEDs, now with every color of the rainbow. Plus, you can design a show lighting program and save it. Do another and pull it up without having to reposition everything. We can do multiple shows at the same time. It’s all there.”

The theatre’s mentorship program allows it to train students on lighting and sound design and special effects, and offers even more real-world possibilities for instruction now that they’re live streaming several events. The single-story black-box theatre recently was allowed to expand to an upstairs yoga studio, one of the reasons for the rapid expansion of summer programs this year. “Now that we've got more room to work with, we are working more on teaching set building, prop making, costume making.... It's awesome. We have some great people leading these efforts. At the top of that list is Torie Dunlap, who recently came on board as our Education Administrator. She's been a true student magnet.”

Inclusion of younger talent has the professional program bursting at the seams. Auditions for a teen improv troupe the Banditos, an offshoot of the adult improv troupe, The StageCoach Bandits, were held

"School of Rock" Rehearsal

in July to let teens spread their wings in the shadow of local professionals.

Young playwrights like Liliana Rossi (who goes by Lily), also are being invited to share their talents. Lily, just turned 18, has been writing plays since 8th grade, but the first she’s had professionally produced was “Into the Valley Below,” a play about the Jonestown Flood of 1889. StageCoach produced it this Spring.

The idea sprang from Lily’s drama teacher at Potomac Falls High School, Corinne Fox, who suggested it as a topic for Loudoun County’s local one-act competition and co-wrote the final version. Over several re-writes, the 30-minute play was performed at Potomac Falls High School’s 25th anniversary and again last summer at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland. The latter experience made enough of an impression that Lily will enroll in the University of Aberdeen, Scotland in the fall to study art history and history after which she’d like to become a museum curator.

StageCoach’s 90-minute version was produced by Torie Dunlap, StageCoach’s education coordinator, and directed by Lily and Evan Gorman. Lily, who loves history, found the story fascinating, particularly when framed by the dichotomy between the rich and the poor that existed in the Gilded Age, the event’s notoriety in its day, and the degree to which the story since has been largely forgotten. “I felt like it was an important story and one that deserves to be heard.”

Lily could see herself expanding her studies into the history of the theatre, particularly the influences of history on theatrical works, with an eye to bringing similar stories to light. For now, she’s working on getting “Into the Valley Below” published so it can be performed by other high schools, beginning with one in the town where the tragedy occurred.

If your own school-age children have been bitten by the theatre bug, they may have already found a home at StageCoach. As Jerri puts it, “We have some kids who have been here for years and years. They love the instructors and the program and the excitement of being part of the theatre.” Teens will play several parts in the October production of Zombie Prom. And insiders already are beside themselves with excitement for the September auditions for “Ride the Cyclone,” a play about six teenagers from a Canadian chamber choir who take “one last ride on a rollercoaster that changes the course of each of their lives forever.” Said Jerri, “We’ve been getting more emails than we ever have from people wanting to be involved.” Performances will begin in January or February 2024.

More on after school programs will be out soon as well as a solicitation for more student-written scripts. But the StageCoach is moving fast, so the best way to stay in touch is to come to a show or text STAGECOACH to 22828 to subscribe to the newsletter.

And, welcome to the band.

Anthony Battaglia as Freddy

Stage Dressing

ARTICLE AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY MELINDA GIPSON

Dancing Down E Washington St.

Misneach Irish Dance Academy Steals the Show In Charles Town

LEFT: Charlotte McCabe and Breana Schwam clap for a HighStepping Peyton Willingham

RIGHT: Eliza McCarthy and Ava Brenneke

Misneach – from Irish, pronounced “MISH-nah” – means courage. Hopefulness. Strength; a feeling of well-being. When they took WV Fest by storm in Charles Town last June, the intrepid Irish dancers from the Misneach Irish Dance Academy ( htmisneachirishdance.com/index.html) displayed all of those qualities plus camaraderie, patience, professionalism, extraordinary timing and a sprinkling of pure joy.

Ariel Raguso captains the academy which offers classes for both kids and adults from her studios in Ashburn and Purcellville. She began Irish dance when she was eight years old and loved it enough to weave her life around it. She’s won local open championship competitions and achieved multiple top-10 titles at regional events. At the top of her competitive career, she was qualified to compete in national and world level events and performed everywhere from Irish weddings to Wolf Trap and the Kennedy Center. She passed her TCRG exam at her first sitting, a certification that allows

Ava Brenneke, Eliza McCarthy, Emma Stiles, Breana Schwam, Gabi Furletti, Peyton Willingham

Eliza McCarthy and Siobhan Ross

her to enter students in competitions in the largest Irish dance organizations in the world. She opened Misneach in 2019 and boasts more than 80 students, ranging from toddlers all the way up to adult beginners.

Her younger dancers’ zeal and proficiency already are making her proud. At this year’s North American Irish Dance Championships (naidc2023.com/ ) July 4-8 in Nashville, Tennessee, Misneach will be represented by Peyton Willingham (in the Solo Championship category) and Emma Stiles (in the Traditional Set Championship). Another past champion who is sitting out the competition this year is Eliza McCarthy, all three of whom performed in Charles Town. Also competing: Erin Tumulty, Caitlyn Pelkey, Alexis Leach, Madeline Briskey, Aislinn O’Connor, Mary Botros and Karen Nalls. Together the troupe forms a Championship team made up of Emma, Caitlyn, Madeline, and Aislinn.

A competitive spirit and the urge to excel at something unique forms part of the mystique that drew 16-year-old Peyton to the art form. She explains, “I used to be a ballerina but it was always just too slow and boring for me. My friend, who was also a ballerina, joined an Irish dance class. One day I went to her performance and immediately decided, that is what I want to do.”

Only the top 25 percent of regional dance competitors go on to compete at the national level, and our region is huge,

stretching from Maryland, south to Florida and west to Texas. Judges look for musicality – making sure dancers are in time with the music and that their posture and techniques are precise. Each performs with a live musician who can play a wide variety or reels and other Irish dances. Though her niche is “solo,” at the championships large groups of competitors take the stage all at once and the best rise to the top. Dancers must demonstrate sportsmanship all while trying to stand out above the rest. To stay on top of her game she’s in the studio for two hours a day and practicing at home after that.

None of that really mattered to the crowd in Charles Town, but all were stopped in their tracks by the dancers’ boldness, as they strode out into the street dancing to Irish music on Ariel’s boombox that fought for attention with the tortured strains of a rock band down the street. Heedless to the din, dancers captured the crowd drawing a semicircle of onlookers four and five deep, all clapping to the rhythm and cheering each performance.

Many onlookers stayed to watch them mount the main stage for a late afternoon performance. As the sun waned and the crowd thinned, neither spirits nor energy lagged and each and every member of Misneach held true to the name on their tee shirts, giant smiles on their faces, feet flying.

Lewis Lyons

In Front, Troy Fultz

Breana Schwam

Emma Stiles and Melanie Hendrickson Emma Stiles

Coder Camp in Full Swing

ARTICLE

PHOTOGRAPHY BY MELINDA GIPSON

A lot has happened since we last checked in at theCoderSchool in Ashburn (thecoderschool.com/locations/ ashburn). For one, it’s not only in Ashburn anymore! More than 200 students are now engaged not just in Ashburn but also a satellite location at Lifelong Education in Sterling and at a stand-alone facility in McLean. The school’s same philosophy persists throughout: first, that learning to code can change the world, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun. And second, that fitness is a key adjunct to learning.

So, this year, Skate N Code campers can start their day coding in Ashburn and skate at the Ashburn Ice House in the afternoon, and Kick N Code campers can play soccer in the morning with Loudoun Soccer and code in Sterling in the afternoon. In McLean, campers play soccer in the morning with McLean Soccer and code in McLean in the afternoon. The kids we visited in Ashburn were as excited about working on their game development as in hitting the ice because coaches in both locations target campers’ ability and interests.

Week-long subject matter camp courses come in a variety of topics from robotics to artificial intelligence to video game design and development. This year there’s even an “Intro to Python Programming” camp, one of the fastest growing programming languages in the world, and an opportunity to explore artificial intelligence for beginners.

Come fall, after-school classes will resume, both in person and online, with an added incentive. Nationally, theCoderSchool is a sponsor of the Congressional App Challenge (congressionalappchallenge.us), a national competition for middle- and high-schoolers designed to spark kids’ interest in pursuing a career in computer science. Co-owner Ellen Hamel says, “We had the opportunity to go to the House of Code event at the Capitol in April, which was basically a celebration of last year’s winners. It was such an inspiring and cool event. We talked to all the kids who had submitted apps for the challenge and that won for their congressional district.” Winners from each district get to pitch their app to Congress.

Winners also have the opportunity to rub shoulders with others in the technology industry like Amazon, Apple and Facebook. The prestige of putting such an award on their college applications motivates many, but others do it just to “change the world” as theCoderSchool motto promises, and to network with other kids with similar interests.

theCoderSchool’s approach to project based, individualized instruction is perfectly designed to encourage students’ ideas and help them figure out how to bring them to life, without stifling their own creativity. “While we teach them foundations and fundamental principles, we do also like them to do projects and build apps so that they can apply that knowledge in a more practical and tangible way,” Ellen explains, adding “It helps them engage with the material better, and retain it better, frankly, when it has more of a realistic purpose to it.”

Of course, the same could be said for theCoderSchool itself! Students benefit from some exceptional high school coaches who have achieved perfect scores on their AP Computer Science Exam or who attend the Academies of Loudoun in related advanced fields. Many college students and post-grads coach as well, all of them computer science or engineering majors, some of whom actually learned to code while attending theCoderSchool. These can coach in person or online, depending on where they’re enrolled.

This fall, robotics and AI classes will ramp up spanning 8-12 weeks each along with technical communication. “We’re really trying to bolster our students’ abilities in public speaking and giving presentations, and we start by helping them effectively communicate what they’ve accomplished with code.”

Ideally, students will sign up for the whole school year in late summer, but there is rolling enrollment to accommodate students who might also be involved in sports or other activities. “We continue to sponsor youth sports throughout the school year and strongly encourage students to participate in both. Exercising both body and mind is important for both current and future success!” she says.

“While we teach them foundations and fundamental principles, we do also like them to do projects and build apps so that they can apply that knowledge in a more practical and tangible way.”

Girls Rule the Court

After School Program Helps Girls Succeed On and Off the Tennis Court

Have you noticed more girls and women taking to the tennis courts in Loudoun County? A new afterschool program called Girls Rule the Court™ at some of Loudoun County’s elementary schools could be responsible. Beyond a simple beginner’s tennis program, it represents a movement that is redefining youth sports, especially for young girls and women – not just here but nationwide.

According to research from the Women’s Sports Foundation, boys receive 1.1 million more sport opportunities per year than girls and only one-third of girls aged 6 through 12 participate in sports on a regular basis. Dig deeper and you’ll find disparities not only by gender, but by race/ethnicity, household income, and the inner city vs. the suburbs. Girls of color have the least opportunities to participate in sports of any demographic group of youth in the United States.

When I first saw this research, I was startled. We at the USTA Mid-Atlantic knew we had to do something and that we were especially equipped to change the

trajectory for girls in our region. So, our women-led nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and growing tennis in the Mid-Atlantic, decided to go full-court on our program, Girls Rule the Court™.

In every leadership role we have organizationally at USTA Mid-Atlantic, a woman holds that position. Closing the equity gap for girls and introducing them to a sport such as tennis, which can deliver so many life-changing benefits, is a passion for us. It’s no wonder that a program like Girls Rule the Court is imperative to our mission and vision.

Essentially, GRTC is an introductory tennis program for girls between the ages of 7 and 12 to promote health, wellness and teamwork while building self-esteem through tennis. Led by female coaches, mentors and organizers identified by USTA Mid-Atlantic, the program focuses on serving girls from BIPOC (black, indigenous and people of color) and other underrepresented communities, and is open to all girls and non-binary persons. USTA Mid-Atlantic piloted the program for

FOR USTA MID-ATLANTIC | PHOTOGRAPHY BY USTA MID-ATLANTIC

ARTICLE BY BETH TWOMEY, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

GRTC Sugarland Elementary School Group Photo

the first time in 2022 in three regional locations, one being Loudoun County.

We know that tennis can deliver important physical and emotional health benefits that are needed among today’s youth and that the lessons they can learn through the sport now as they are developing will be beneficial later in life. This is why it is so important to give girls, especially those who may not have the means or opportunity, the chance to play.

GRTC isn’t like your average tennis lesson because it is geared just toward girls, and every session pairs instruction on the technical, tactical and physical performance skills of tennis with important social-emotional growth concepts. The program is designed to have dedicated class time for group discussion and workshop style activities among participants and their female coaches, volunteers and mentors.

Getting Girls Rule the Court off the ground and bringing it to Loudoun County took significant effort on the part of USTA Mid-Atlantic and our team of female organizers. Funding was not readily available, but, thanks to a few early supporters – many of whom were avid local women tennis players – USTA Mid-Atlantic began offering the program in the spring of 2022 in one Title 1 elementary school and added two more last fall.

GRTC is completely free for the participants and offered as an after-school program which made it convenient for parents and caregivers. All the equipment needed, including racquets balls, nets, curriculum for the coaches and workbooks for the participants in both English and Spanish, were provided at no cost by USTA Mid-Atlantic. Women subject-matter experts collaborated with us to write the curriculum and even to design the workbooks.

Another way GRTC is taking aim at inequities in sports is by putting women into coaching roles as an opportunity for girls to see someone that looks like them in leadership so they can visualize their own a future career path – something important to me personally as a former collegiate athlete and coach.

USTA Mid-Atlantic found a strong partnership with the Community School Initiative for Loudoun County Public Schools and we worked with them

to offer Girls Rule the Court as part of their wraparound services and resources for students and their families. Since launching in the county, the program has reached 146 participants across the three schools and our surveys indicated overwhelming satisfaction with their experience. The girls had a lot of fun, and everyone got a free, new tennis racquet to take home at the end of the program.

When some of the girls came to the Citi Open, a professional tennis tournament in Washington, D.C., they got to meet and walk professional women tennis players onto the court before matches and perform the ceremonial coin toss. These are special experiences that can leave a lasting impression.

The spring of 2023 proved successful with the program returning to all three schools in Loudoun County where the pilot began, and serving nearly 60 girls. As we look ahead to the new school year this fall, we aim to grow the program and continue to build the body of evidence for the importance of tennis to support community health and overall wellness, which is especially important to us as we work to bring a world-class tennis center to Loudoun County near Heritage High School in Leesburg.

At our future tennis center, we plan to provide daily tennis activities and instruction for the public of all levels, abilities and ages. Combined with tennis in school through PE classes and in after-school tennis programs such as Girls Rule the Court, this facility will give young tennis players a natural “next step” to improve their game, and ultimately enhance their lives. With nearly 50 courts, both indoor and outdoor, the tennis center is poised to bring a level of exciting and inspiring sports activities not currently available in the county. We estimate the center will contribute $8.5 million in economic impact each year.

Realizing those dreams and growing Girls Rule the Court will draw on more community support. We have volunteer and coaching opportunities available and are looking for even more partners interested in positively impacting the community through youth sport. Donations will widen the program for more girls to join GRTC and to pursue healthy, positive lifestyles. See  usta.com/girls rulethecourt to learn more and donate.

GRTC Girls at the Citi Open Last Summer

GRTC Takes Place After School in Loudoun County

ARTICLE BY MELINDA GIPSON PHOTOGRAPHY BY DILLON KEEN PHOTOGRAPHY

WHERE SPIRITS – AND HORSES – FLY

Sensory overload is the only way to describe the week-long celebration of horses and horse culture in Upperville. We can’t do it all justice in print, so we invite you to browse our expanded Facebook coverage.

For the second year, First Lady of Virginia, Suzanne S. Youngkin, presented the “Spirit of the Horse Award”, this year to Barbara Riggs, who has ridden and whipped in for multiple hunts in the region, served on the Piedmont Fox Hounds and the Upperville Horse Show boards, and is a former Upperville Horse Show competitor, volunteer and fundraiser. Barbara embraced horses as a much-needed respite from her demanding job in the Secret Service. She was one of the first 10 women to join the U.S. Secret Service as a special agent, and also the first woman deputy director of the agency. She plans on donating her $1,000 award to the UCHS “Jump In!” Capital campaign, which aims to raise a total of $7.5 million to care for and improve the iconic show grounds.

Already, $4.3 million has been raised and much of it invested to update the entire electrical and water systems, dig two new wells, construct a new equipment shed and horse show office and plant nearly 100 new trees. Upcoming improvements include renovating the historic Grandstand at Grafton and refreshing the footing in the jumper rings at Salem. Funds also will support new exercise/schooling/lunging rings; upgraded sound, signage and spectator facilities; a new food stand; a potential headquarters/visitors center and permanent bathrooms. To donate, please visit upperville.com/donate or contact the Show Office at 540-687-5740.

As for whether horses themselves can fly in Upperville, you be the judge. The height of the jumps in the $226,000 Jumper Classic is 5’1” and photos of this year’s historic finish show this year’s Pegasus look-alikes clearing that by ample margins.

170th Year of Upperville Colt & Horse Show Launches Capital Campaign

2: Joe Fargis, UCHS Pres. w/Wall of Honor recipients: Thomas McLaughlin, Jr.; Lysa Burke Hutton; Rev. Canon Dr. Betsee Parker; Daniella Teie; Doug Flemer for Carl. | 3: Horse pals forever | 4: McClain Ward, the Upperville Jumper Classic Winner | 5: Barbara Riggs with Governor and Mrs. Younkin 6: Lead-line participants carry on family tradition. | 7: UCHS Launches Capital Campaign | 8: Canadian rider Tiffany Foster Captured Second Place

realty report

A sample of recently sold properties in Leesburg.

When it comes to buying and selling homes virtually, “Rely on Pam”!

After retiring further south, we decided to sell our River Creek home after leaving it on the rental market for over ten years. Selling an older home in a high-end neighborhood, with a tenant in place, with $150k of needed updates, long-distance and during COVID-19 pandemic—this could have been the ultimate real-estate horror story. Instead, it was one of the easiest, smoothest house sales I’ve ever experienced. Pam handled everything and quickly sold the house for more than the asking price. Pam is the most professional and capable agent that I’ve

worked with.

Ice on Fire Ignites World Class Artistry

LSO / ION COLLABORATION LEAVES THE AUDIENCE WANTING MORE

ARTICLE BY MELINDA GIPSON

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SHARON HALIMON PHOTOGRAPHY AND DAVE LEMAY

From the moment Ion International Training Center took shape as a venue for both world class skating and musical performances, founders Mitra Setayesh and Luiz Taifas saw it as a place to serve their community. Says Mitra, “It is our pleasure to partner with the Loudoun Symphony Orchestra, not only one our county’s non-profit organizations, but more importantly, a jewel risen from the heart of our community” to mount a truly extraordinary collaboration featuring live orchestral music and award-winning skaters in a performance June 10.

Associate Conductor of LSO and Music Director of the Loudoun Symphony Youth Orchestra Dr. Hayden Denesha selected the music featuring Ritual Fire Dance from El Amor Brujo, Chariots of Fire, Habanera from Carmen and Suite from The Firebird (1919) to match the passions and “fireworks’ of the skaters’ choreographic talents and the concept of “Ice on Fire” was born.

It took four years of planning, interrupted by a pandemic, and a year of intensive work on the program for Ice on Fire to come together, but when it did, the magic exploded sending Ilia Malinin (the first and only skater to land a quadruple Axel) spinning, bows flying and hearts soaring. Says Hayden, “ION brought one of the best sound technicians I’ve ever worked with. He perfectly balanced the orchestra for the space.”

In early July we learned that a repeat collaboration is now planned for June 2024. It’s no surprise since Hayden’s fascination with the interaction of choreography and music left him – and his awestruck Loudoun audience – wanting more.

See ionitc.com/events for upcoming events and loudounsymphony.org/lsyo for info on auditions

August 25 and 26.

Ilia Malinin Spins

Capital Theatre on Ice

ION Ice Dance Academies

Conductor Dr. Hayden Denesha