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TimberNook
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1: The Leesburg Flower & Garden Festival in April drew about 40,000 attendees and 150 vendors. 2: Leesburg Flower & Garden Show visitors found plenty of plants and flowers for their gardens. 3: Singer Rob Hoey provided entertainment in the Beer Garden during the festival. 4: The festival offered a chance to sample a variety of produce from area growers. 5: Christen Chevalier, Greg Anselene, and Maddie Fuentes enjoyed the Leesburg Flower & Garden Festival. 6: Inspiration was easy to find for gardeners at the Leesburg Flower & Garden Festival. 7: Vendors got creative in showing their wares at the Leesburg Flower & Garden Festival.
Photography by Becky Gardner Photography
MOVE Leesburg gives local visionaries the room and support they need in a beautiful downtown workspace. Small business owners can launch, grow, and stay grounded with office and meeting spaces, workshop and event venues, and a physical mailing address service. "When we come together as a pack to lift each other up, we become a positive force of nature for our community," founder Heather Baynes said. MOVE was nominated for Leesburg’s Best New or Expanding Business Award. moveleesburg.com
Wonder Childhood Learning & Discovery offers hassle-free birthday parties for children ages 1-6 with two full hours (indoor and outdoor access) so you have time to sing, eat cake, and PLAY! All-inclusive party packages offer parents the freedom to lock in their date, invite guests, and actually enjoy celebrating their child! Now booking into Fall 2025! Located at 16 West Market Street. Find out more at WonderLeesburg.com .
Enjoy a glass of red, white, or rosé wine with the rolling hills of the gorgeous Loudoun countryside as your backdrop.
Tucked into the winery hilltop, Black Oak Café is a new foodie haven serving authentic Italian gelato, locally made pizza, charcuterie picnics, and espresso drinks. This charming space is sure to become your new favorite.
TimberNook Loudoun County brings kids outdoors to learn life skills, build confidence, and work together.
Children today spend more time indoors than ever before, and the consequences are showing up in their development. Pediatric occupational therapist Rebekah Highlander says she has seen the impact firsthand in mental and physical health declines.
That realization led Highlander to TimberNook, a nature-based program for children that promotes child-led outdoor play as a foundation for development. The program was founded by another pediatric occupational therapist, Angela Hanscom, author “Balanced and Barefoot.”
“She saw that there were challenges in her kids’ lives and the lives of the kids she was serving, and that the outdoor environment was a wonderful facilitator of growth and development,” Highlander explained. Considering the indoor era of PlayStations, televisions, and computer screens, Hanscom wrote, “This deep decline in outdoor play concurrent with an increase in sedentary behaviors negatively affects children’s development and overall health.”
Highlander agrees. Today she runs TimberNook Loudoun County and weaves its child-centered philosophy into her therapy practice, True Life Connection. “Being outdoors gives a child a sense of something bigger than themselves,” she said. “The outdoors provides the perfect balance of sensory information our body needs to organize information and calm ourselves. That prepares our brains for engagement in new or challenging tasks. When kids are outside and they're down-regulated, the front part of their brain—the part that works on cognitive function and problem solving—can kick in and work better because they're not overwhelmed by sensory information.”
Play the TimberNook Way
“The TimberNook way is child-directed outdoor play,” Highlander said. “The key principles are giving kids extended time outside, giving kids space from adult expectations, using the environment as a facilitator for child development, utilizing ‘loose parts’ with multiple affordances—which are the amount of possibilities a tool or toy provides—and allowing children to work through natural consequences.”
Loose parts might be logs, stones, or sticks—open-ended materials that invite creativity, cooperation, and problem-solving. In Highlander’s view, outdoor environments offer more than fresh air; they support real developmental work.
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“One kid found this really large, long but thin stick, and he tried to pick it up on his own, and he couldn't,” Highlander recalled. “So he asked someone else to help him. They started playing tug of war, and then it became a new game they created. Then other people saw what they were doing, they discussed who’s on what side. They were listening and getting sensory input through their hands. They were getting social interaction, gross motor skills, fine motor skills—they're getting so much.
“When you're outside, you don't get the over-stimulation to the sensory system,” she added. “You also don't get the under stimulation where your body’s constantly seeking that information.”
“TimberNook is for every kid,” Highlander said. Her programs include children with developmental delays as well as those in the general public. “We get to watch how those kids work through things and interact together and learn together, and it's really beautiful.”
TimberNook Loudoun County serves kids aged 4 to 13 and offers
• Summer camps: July 14-18 and July 28-Aug. 1 The day camps are 4–6 hours daily, five days a week, and cost $340 for the full week.
• Year-round weekend programs: 3.5 hours over two days, $85 per session. Through her True Life Connections program, Highlander also offers one-onone therapy in nature-based sessions with customized goals.
Outdoor play in natural settings can support
· Gross motor skills
· Fine motor skills
· Cognitive skills
· Social skills
Having space to work out ideas also can inspire creativity, a sense of wellbeing, and cooperation.
“Being outdoors gives a child a sense of something bigger than themselves.”
—
TimberNook Loudoun’s Rebekah Highlander
“There are statistics that say kids used to spend four to six hours daily in outdoor play, and now our eight- to 12-year-olds are spending that amount of time on their screens,” Highlander said. “When you think about the benefits of the type of outdoor play I’ve been talking about, when kids aren’t giving their brains and bodies that information, their brains don’t reach their maximum capacity for growth and development, and they don’t reach their full potential.”
For that reason, Highlander suggests that parents advocate for more outdoor recess time for their schoolkids. Getting kids outside doesn’t have to be complicated. You can find a variety of free and paid online resources that allow you to track time outside, and HeadStart.gov also has information about nature-based learning and outdoor play and exploration, including the publication Nature Clubs for Families that you can use at home. Highlander encourages parents to overcome their own fears to allow children to explore with some independence. “Age-appropriate independence now equals safer children later,” she said. “Even if it makes your heart feel a little fluttery.”
She also suggests providing some loose parts for kids to include in their play. “You don’t have to create lots of sensory tables or sandboxes or things you see on Pinterest,” she said. “Just provide some bricks, small tires, safe boards, and some sheets and see where that takes them.”
But don’t be afraid to just let kids be bored, too, Highlander noted. “You don't have to constantly be putting some entertainment in front of them,” she said. “Boredom sparks creativity.”
Learn more about TimberNook Loudoun County at timbernook.com/timbernook-locations
ARTICLE BY MELINDA GIPSON
In the rolling countryside of Virginia, where horse racing and hunting are a way of life, one photographer has spent decades capturing the heart and soul of steeplechase racing. Douglas Lees, a photographer and son of a former Master of Warrenton Hunt, has documented more than five decades of equestrian history, preserving moments of grace, power, and frequent drama on the racecourse. Much of the action and pageantry has centered around the Virginia Gold Cup, which celebrated its 100th running in May.
Until 1978, the race was run for only a trophy, albeit a gold one, which went to the first owner to win the race three times. The inaugural purse that year was $7,500. In 1987, it rose to $30,000, and this year the top five horses split a $100,000 purse, only part of the reason the challenge now draws more than 50,000 attendees. Over the years the sport has become more professional, with fewer amateur riders and more international jockeys, particularly from Ireland and England. Horses, jockeys, trainers, and owners now vie to win a variety of races on the day’s card, while attendees assemble elaborate tailgate and tented parties. There’s even a hat contest.
For Douglas, it’s always been about the horses, and the real prize comes from capturing the best photo. He’s won two Eclipse Awards and countless honors from American Horse Publications for capturing the spirit of a sport— the relationship between horse and rider, the excitement of the race, the beauty of the landscape—over half a century.
Douglas’s photographic journey began in the mid-1960s, deeply rooted in a family tradition of hunting and racing. His father, D. Harcourt Lees Jr., Master of the Warrenton Hunt for 13 years,
instilled in him a love for equestrian culture that would shape his life and profession. Harcourt was on the Gold Cup Committee for 50 years, eventually being honored with a Virginia Gold Cup medal for his service to the sport. The family also had its own dark room, making picking up the camera a foregone conclusion. But for Douglas, photography wasn't just a livelihood; it was a way of preserving a vanishing world of tradition and pageantry.
Starting in the late 1960s, Douglas’s photos were appearing in local papers. In 1970, he captured the fall of Haffaday and Paddy Neilson at the 21st fence of the Virginia Gold Cup, which caught the eye of the Richmond Times-Dispatch editor.
“I gave them permission to run through the AP the next day [Monday],” Douglas said. The photo appeared in papers across the country and sparked a lifelong competitiveness for capturing that one photo that best depicts the thrill of the chase.
Today, technology has transformed the craft, with remote triggers and high-speed cameras capturing split seconds of equine athleticism. In the early days, it was a more manual affair. Douglas says he would go out the night before with a sickle to trim the front side of the fence facing the camera, a side the horses couldn’t see.
“From the camera’s standpoint, if you had a lot of grass growing in front, that made the fence look smaller and also made it look
more ragged, so basically I cleaned it up,” he explains. “It was also a good time to walk the course. It was usually very cool and dark, and it was different when nobody was there, you know?”
One of his favorite subjects was Saluter, a legendary timber horse who won six Virginia Gold Cups between 1994 and 1999 and two International Gold Cups (held on the same course but in the fall). Saluter’s rider-trainer, Jack Fisher, won the Cup 12 times as a trainer and nine times as a rider. He was famously captured cradling the cup he retired in 1998 after his first five wins, in a shot the “Steeplechase Times” called “My Cup.”
From the original course at an estate called Oakwood near Warrenton to Broadview Farm in Warrenton and finally to Great Meadow in The Plains, each location represents a chapter in Virginia's equestrian history. Over the years, Douglas’s images bear witness to a landscape and a tradition fighting to survive.
Development and traffic forced the move to Great Meadow. In 1982, philanthropist and media executive Arthur W. (Nick) Arundel bought a 500-acre site on an abandoned farm about 10 miles north of the Broadview course near The Plains that had been scheduled to become a massive housing development.
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The longtime horse enthusiast not only established a racecourse but preserved a key bulwark of open space, enticing a new generation of steeplechase devotees.
Modern races see fewer falls and stricter drug testing. The national fence replaced manually stuffed brush fences, making races safer and the jumps more consistent. Photographers like Douglas documented this transformation too, capturing both the traditional and the modern aspects of steeplechasing, and the rare glimpses of local, landholding luminaries whose accomplishments are better known in the worlds of banking, news, and politics.
Douglas captured societal change as well. For nearly seven decades only gentlemen raced, clad in foxhunting jackets or their military uniforms in the early days. Douglas was there to catch the first female winner, Sanna Neilson, in 1991 on Joe's O.K.
Other “society” shots like that of Arundel on his 1986 Virginia Gold Cup winner Sugar Bee foxhunting with Jackie Onassis, are part of the historical tapestry too. But Douglas’s own photographic journey is deeply personal. He recalled several foxhunting experiences, including falls that could have been disastrous. He shared the story of his mother Eleanor, whom friends called Scottie. She was a frequent presenter of the trophy in its early days when she was wife of the
For
Over the years, Douglas’s images bear witness to a landscape and a tradition fighting to survive.
Warrenton Hunt master. A passionate rider, she was paralyzed in a hunting accident in 1980—a stark reminder of the dangers of the sport.
One of Douglas’s few regrets is missing the 1977 event, when his mother presented the cup. He’d decided to go fishing instead. Decades later, he still rues his only missed Gold Cup of 56 years, but there’s a silver lining. Now 75, he’s made fishing his passion and enjoys the more leisurely sport with his girlfriend.
Douglas’s work preserves a rich tradition, with each image telling a story of skill, courage, and the timeless connection between horse and rider. As development threatens open spaces and time reshapes long-held traditions, his photographs serve as a powerful testament to what makes steeplechasing more than a sport—it's a living culture, deeply rooted in Virginia's landscape.
As the 100th running of the Virginia Gold Cup entered the history books this spring, so too did the legacy of a visual storyteller—one who has immortalized moments of beauty, drama, and triumph that might otherwise have been lost to time.
The scenic Washington & Old Dominion Trail offers enjoyable side stops and healthy fun.
ARTICLE BY GLENYE OAKFORD
PHOTOGRAPHY BY NOVA PARKS
A paved ribbon of parkland running through some of Northern Virginia’s busiest neighborhoods and greenest countryside, the Washington & Old Dominion Trail—known to many as the W&OD—is more than just a trail. It’s a place to move, connect, and explore. At 45 miles long and just 100 feet wide, it's also affectionately called “Virginia's skinniest park.”
“The Friends of the W&OD is a huge part of what we do,” — NOVA
The trail stretches from Shirlington all the way to Purcellville, touching a number of communities along the way. “It really brings people together,” said Ryan Corder, who manages the trail for NOVA Parks. “Somebody who lives in Arlington has direct access to get all the way out to Leesburg and Purcellville virtually uninterrupted.”
Originally a rail line, the W&OD had its last commercial run in 1968. “It was owned by VEPco Power, which was the local power company at that time,” Corder explained. “Then it changed hands from them to NOVA Parks in 1974.”
The first paved section opened on September 7, 1974, with a ribbon-cutting by the mayor of Falls Church. “It was sort of like a test: ‘Hey, we’ll pave this little section of trail and see if people like it,’” Corder said. “Well, everybody loved it.” Fourteen years later,
in 1988, the trail was completed to its full length, with the final nine-mile section reaching Purcellville.
Today, the W&OD Trail attracts an estimated three million visitors each year. Cyclists, walkers, runners, wheelchair users, and even equestrians share the route.
“The trail means so much to so many,” Corder explained. “There are just so many different people from all walks of life that use the trail in some fashion, all over the Northern Virginia area.”
But managing a park this long and narrow has its challenges. “You may have someone that sends an email and says, ‘Hey, there’s a tree down in Dunn Loring or Vienna,’ and it’s like, okay, well, that takes 20 or 30 minutes to get to—or if it’s in Purcellville, it could take 45 minutes,” Corder explained. “But trail safety is our number one priority.”
Top: Ryan Corder, of NOVA Parks manages the Washington & Old Dominion Trail. Photo: NOVA Parks
Bottom: The W&OD Trail sees an estimated three million visitors each year.
Next page: The W&OD Trail was one of the first of the more than 2,400 railsto-trails routes in the nation.
Recent improvements include Dual Trails in Falls Church—side-by-side paths for walkers and cyclists— and the Wiehle Bridge in Reston, which lets trail users bypass busy intersections. “That is the model we’re looking to move towards in the future,” Corder said.
NOVA Parks is continuously enhancing the trail to ensure it is user-friendly for its wide variety of uses. Over the years, the trail has transitioned from a weekend recreational resource into an important carbon-free transportation network for its more than 2 million users per year.
One of the trail’s appeals is the variety of experiences it offers.
“As you make that journey from, let’s say, Arlington out to Leesburg, you’re passing through all of the other locations—Dunn Loring, Vienna, Falls Church, Sterling, Herndon,” Corder explained. “And you have the chance to partake in activities that those locations may have going on, whether it be festivals like the Viva Vienna festival or simply a restaurant or something that you may see or go to that’s right off the trail.
“It’s the access that it provides,” he added. “You’re kind of in parkland the entire way.”
The W&OD Trail’s success also depends on the help of dedicated volunteers. “The Friends of the W&OD is a huge part of what we do,” Corder said. “They’re awesome. They’re a volunteer group of very dedicated, very passionate people who care about the trail.”
Known as “Virginia’s skinniest park,” The Washington & Old Dominion Trail is 45 miles long and 100 feet wide. It draws about three million visitors annually: cyclists, walkers, runners, wheelchair users, and even equestrians.
This group supports events, promotes trail safety, and even fields a Trail Patrol—a team of about 60 regular trail users who report maintenance issues like downed trees or broken glass. “That’s a big part of how we keep tabs on what’s going on,” Corder said. “It’d be a lot harder for me to do my job without them.”
The Friends group also contributes to education and community events. “We just did a partnership with Trailside Middle School where
the kids did a seed bombing on a piece of property that runs adjacent to the trail,” Corder said. “The Friends showed up there and had a booth and promoted trail safety to the kids.”
Want to get involved? “It is $20 for a year membership to join the Friends of the W&OD,” Corder said. “If you get $20 worth of entertainment or use of the trail in a year, then consider joining. And I think that’s a no-brainer for a lot of people.”
Learn more at wodfriends.org .
ARTICLE BY BETH RASIN PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF ERIN GIFFORD
Left: Kids can enjoy many of the hikes in the area.
Next page, Left: Whether you’re hiking with kids, looking for a challenge or just want to get outdoors, there’s a hike to suit.
Right: Numerous trails straddle the Virginia-West Virginia border.
When the COVID pandemic hit in 2020, many people who’d previously spent little to no time hiking headed from the metro DC region to outdoor opportunities in Shenandoah National Park and the surrounding area. Erin Gifford of Ashburn was one of those. She’d enjoyed a few hikes before, but during the pandemic, she ventured all over to places she’d never known about previously.
“I’d lived here since 2001 and had no idea that the Appalachian Trail went through Loudoun County, and I think most people don’t know that,” she said. “We have such beautiful and iconic hiking trails in our backyard.”
She created three guidebooks to encourage others to enjoy the trails: “Virginia Summits: 40 Best Mountain Hikes from the Shenandoah Valley to Southwest Virginia” (2023); “Hiking Coastal Trails of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia” (2022) and “Hiking with Kids Virginia” (2022).
“I’m excited when people get out on the trails and learn about hiking,” she said. “I encourage people to get out there and explore.”
She shared some of her favorite destinations for day trips from Leesburg, and—just as importantly—some suggestions for where to refuel post-hike.
Sweet Run State Park in Hillsboro, the first state park in Loudoun County, opened in 2023, offering 11 miles of wooded trails. “In the fall it’s really beautiful with the leaves and a cute pond,” Erin said. “It’s nice and quiet, a great place to go for reflection, and there’s a nature play area, so it’s a great place for families.”
Wineries abound in this area, including Breaux Vineyards, Two Twisted Posts, 868 Estate Vineyards and several others to quench that post-hike thirst.
Bears Den in Bluemont follows the Appalachian Trail for less than 2 miles to a great west-facing overlook. Erin recommends this trail for new hikers and families, but those who want more of a challenge can continue past Bears Den on the AT.
“That goes on the roller coaster section of the AT [climbs interspersed with flat sections], which is more strenuous but also quiet because fewer people go that far,” she said. “It’s a nice summer hike.”
Right across from Bears Den you’ll find Bear Chase Brewery. “This super-sized brewery has pizza, food, beers, and an outdoor green space with Adirondack chairs and activities, with a great view,” Erin said. “It’s a must to go to either of those places.”
Beaverdam Reservoir in Ashburn offers a great, 8-mile loop hike around the lake. “But you don’t have to go whole way,” Erin said. “It’s a regional park, with kayak rentals, and it’s very scenic. You can watch people paddling, and there’s a
“WE HAVE SUCH BEAUTIFUL AND ICONIC HIKING TRAILS IN OUR BACKYARD.”
boathouse where the Briar Wood High School crew practices, which is fun to watch.”
As Erin explains on her website, gohikevirginia. com, she had lived within 11 minutes of Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve in Leesburg for 13 years but didn’t learn about the nature preserve or its 20 miles of hiking trails until the pandemic hit. She recommends checking out the preserve, then heading to Stone Tower Winery, which has a beautiful patio.
If you’re looking for an easy hike, you might start with Red Rock Wilderness Regional Park in Leesburg, with a trail that’s just over a mile. Historic buildings can be seen at the start of the hike, and there isn’t a lot of elevation.
“There’s a nice point where a bench overlooks the Potomac River, and it’s very shaded, so it’s a nice summer hike,” Gifford said.
Ball’s Bluff Battlefield in Leesburg offers seven trails that incorporate Civil War history and steps along the Potomac River. “It’s an educational experience with placards, a cemetery on site, and it’s an easy hike to the river, where kids can throw rocks into the river,” Erin said. “The loop hike is less than 3 miles, and they have interpreters quite often who can give you a feel for the history of the battle that took place at that site. It’s a suburban community, but there’s a lot of history in Loudoun.”
The AT marks 100 years this year, and Erin loves this iconic trail. She’s enjoyed visiting its shelters and getting a feel for the through-hiking experience.
“It’s a great opportunity to get out and think about the through hikers who came on this path 50 or 100 years ago. It’s fun to see a through-hiker and chat them up to talk about where they’ve been and what the experience is like.”
She recommends visiting the David Lesser Shelter at Keys Gap, straddling the border of Virginia and West Virginia. “I love stopping at shelters and checking them out,” Erin said. “This one has a picnic pavilion, a shelter for sleeping, and an Adirondack bench. It has nice views, especially in the fall.”
Whether you want to explore nature, history or get some exercise, there’s an opportunity for you and your family nearby—so get out and explore!
JULY 1ST - 10TH
Readers Theatre Re-Imagined
Franklin Park Arts Center, 36441 Blueridge View Lane, Purcellville | 6:30 PM
Readers Theatre is a dramatic presentation where individuals read aloud from a script, bringing a story to life through voice and expression. It is a powerful tool for developing reading fluency, comprehension, and confidence. Ages 13+. Students must be able to read or memorize. Register via PRCS Connect. Tuesdays and Thursdays: July 1, 3, 8, 10. $40. franklinparkartscenter.org
JULY 20TH
The Davis Mansion at Morven Park, 17269 Southern Planter Lane, Leesburg | 12:00 PM
Explore all the nooks and crannies of the Davis Mansion with Jana Shafagoj, Morven Park’s director of preservation and history. This is the Davis Mansion's most popular specialty tour and tickets sell out fast. The 60-minute tour is limited to 12 people and is appropriate for ages 12 and up. $15-25. insidenovatix.com
JULY 22ND - 26TH
Loudoun County Fair
17558 Dry Mill Road, Leesburg | 10:00 AM
Five great days of animals, attractions, and entertainment for you to enjoy while also supporting our 4-H members, their projects and accomplishments. It's fun for the whole family, with educational and agricultural events, as well as a carnival, concerts, petting zoo, and more. $16.50-$44. loudouncountyfair.com
In order to be your best, you have to sleep your best. Whether it is consultation regarding lifestyle changes or testing for vitamin D-3 deficiency, we are here for you. We can also assess your need for a CPAP, or another device to help you sleep and fight sleep apnea. A much better approach to treating apnea is the Panthera device. It is made by a dentist and brings your chin forward (just like in doing CPR) to open the airway. It is very effective and easy to wear. For most people it does the job as well as a CPAP and in some cases even better. There are many other ways to deal with apnea- most of these are surgical-but the above ideas are simple and generally quite easy to implement for most people.
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