Since 1988 • Priceless
From the Bay to the Blue Ridge
December 2021
oldtowncrier oldtowncrier.com
december’21 A Division of Crier Media Group OTC Media LLC PO Box 320386 Alexandria, VA 22320 571-257-5437 office@oldtowncrier.com oldtowncrier.com Published the first week of every month. Worth waiting for! PUBLISHER Bob Tagert
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MARKETING & ADVERTISING Lani Gering Bob Tagert Meg Mullery
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SOCIAL MEDIA & WEBSITE Erin Koons
A Bit of History ............................................................... 8
Fitness .............................................................................. 38
On the Road .................................................................... 1
DESIGN & PRODUCTION Electronic Ink 9 Royal Street, SE Leesburg, VA 20175 703. 669. 5502
After hours ...................................................................... 11
From the Bay ................................................................. 22
Open Space -...................................................................42
Events .................................................................................. 2
From the Trainer.......................................................... 39
Pets of the Month ........................................................ 19
Arts & Antiques ............................................................. 15
Gallery Beat..................................................................... 14
Points on Pets ................................................................ 18
Business Profile ............................................................... 4
Go Fish .............................................................................. 41
Publishers notes ............................................................ 2
Caribbean Conn ........................................................... 20
Grapevine........................................................................ 34
Road Trip .......................................................................... 24
Dining Out ..................................................................... 30
High Notes ...................................................................... 10
Take Photos -....................................................................16
Exploring VA Wines ................................................... 36
Let's Eat..............................................................................29
The Last Word -..............................................................12
Financial Focus ............................................................... 6
Let's Get Crafty ............................................................. 32
To the Blue Ridge -........................................................26
First Blush ........................................................................ 37
National Harbor ........................................................... 44
Urban Garden ................................................................. 7
Stephen Bearce Sarah Becker Alexander Britel Cheryl Burns F. Lennox Campello Steve Chaconas Carolyn Cockroft Scott Dicken Doug Fabbioli Matt Fitzsimmons Nicole Flanagan Lani Gering Christina Hitchcock Tom Horton Miriam Kramer Genevieve LeFranc
CONTRIBUTORS Timothy Long Cindy McGovern Meg Mullery Melinda Myers Billy Phibbs Ron Powers Kim Putens Julie Reardon Ashley Rosson Ashley Stimpson Bob Tagert Carl Trevisan Ryan Unverzagt Lisa Velenovsky Lori Welch Brown
© 2021 Crier Media Group, Inc. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. The Old Town Crier is published monthly and distributed to select Alexandria residents, hotels, restaurants and retail shops. Also distributed in the Annapolis, Fredericksburg, Blue Ridge and Washington, DC areas and St. John, USVI.
about the cover The wreath on the door makes a statement. Photo by Karolina Grabowska
On the road with OTC We love it when our longtime readers continue to take the OTC on their adventures. David and Laurie Norcross are some of our very favorites. They don’t leave home without it! They were on the move this summer for sure! These photos are just a few of those they submitted along their journey.
Laurie In Bristol
Laurie In The Cumberland Gap
Laurie In Ashville
If you would like to see your photograph in this space, take a copy of the OTC with you and snap a high resolution image and send it along with information for the caption to office@oldtowncrier.com. Your photo will appear both online and in the print version. Please include your mailing address so we can make sure you get a hard copy.
Old Town Crier
December 2021 |
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PUBLISHER’S NOTES
BOB TAGERT
Alexandria
Alexandria Enchants Visitors with Nostalgic Holiday Wonder Photo courtesy Visit Alexandria
This holiday season marks the return of Alexandria’s biggest holiday weekend featuring the Campagna Center’s 50th Anniversary Scottish Christmas Walk Weekend and the 21st Annual Alexandria Holiday Boat Parade of Lights sponsored by Amazon. Don’t miss cherished holiday traditions throughout the season, including Christmas Illuminations at Mount Vernon and Waterskiing Santa on Christmas Eve. Throughout the season, holiday markets abound citywide for festive al fresco experiences. Lovers of the arts can soak up live performances from the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra, Little Theatre of Alexandria, and more. For parades, candlelight tours, festive performances and more, check out the upcoming events below.
3RD & 4TH
24TH
Campagna Center’s 50th Anniversary Scottish Christmas Walk Weekend and Parade
Waterskiing Santa
TASTE OF SCOTLAND: Friday, December 3 at 6:30 p.m. PARADE: Saturday, December 4, at 11 a.m.
Celebrating the holiday season with Sailing Santa and a Virginia Vintage! This issue represents 34 years of bringing the stories “From the Bay to the Blue Ridge” to you readers. It all began here in Old Town Alexandria at the bar in Bullfeathers restaurant (now O,Connell’s). We shared our adventure with our friends at events like our annual Old Town Crier Cup sailboat races in Solomons, Maryland and our annual tent at the Virginia Gold Cup races in The Plains, Virginia. These were very good times that we all miss. Here’s looking to some new adventures next year. As the expression goes...We made one more trip around the sun, and what a year it has been. The pandemic of COVID-19 wreaked havoc on our respective lives. Businesses suffered. We are still in recovery mode. I want to profoundly thank those advertisers who stayed the course with us as well as the ones who returned to support us when they got back on their feet. If it were not for those folks, I would not be writing this now, for there would be no Old Town Crier publication. Once again, thanks to our steadfast advertisers and wonderful readers. Couldn’t do it without either. Speaking of steadfast advertisers, congratulations to Union Street Public House on their 35th Anniversary! If you haven’t stopped in there lately, treat yourself this month! This issue is full of informative and entertaining content. I normally give you all a synopsis of what is inside but I am only allowed so many words for these notes…so keep turning those pages. We would also like to pass on a get well to our writer Julie Reardon who has been with us since almost the beginning. Her From the Blue Ridge column has been part of our success. She has a rough road in front of her but is on the mend! Wishing you all a very happy, healthy holiday season no matter how you celebrate!
Correction to November issue: In the Road Trip column last month about the new Blue Rock, I mentioned that Chef Bin Lu bought the property. The property was actually purchased by Nick Dowling. We apologize for any inconvenience this caused.
Admission: Free to view; $75 registration fee to march in parade; $200 and above for Taste of Scotland Scotch Tasting Throughout Old Town Alexandria 703-549-0111 • campagnacenter.org Campagna Center is thrilled to celebrate the 50th Anniversary Scottish Walk Weekend in Alexandria. In 1749, the City of Alexandria was established by Scottish merchants. Today, the city continues celebrating its heritage with a weekend of festivities. At the Campagna Center’s iconic Scottish Christmas Walk Parade, dozens of Scottish clans dressed in colorful tartans parade through the streets of Old Town, joined by pipe and drum bands from around the region, as well as terriers and hounds. The weekend kicks off with the Taste of Scotland Scotch Tasting on Friday evening in the newly renovated Atrium Building.
1 p.m. Admission: Free waterskiingsanta.com Now in its 36th year, this favorite D.C. area Christmas Eve event returns to Old Town Alexandria. Gather along historic Alexandria’s Potomac River waterfront for a spectacular show by Waterskiing Santa and his merry crew. The prime viewing area is Waterfront Park (1 King St. and 1A Prince St.), with more great views from the Alexandria City Marina (0 Cameron St.), Founders Park (351 N. Union St.), and Point Lumley Park (1 Duke St.). Come early to see the pre-show (on jet skis).
THROUGH THE 19TH Waterfront Art Market Saturdays and Sundays through the 19th 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission: Free Torpedo Factory Art Center 1 Cameron St. 703-746-4570 • torpedofactory.org Visit the Waterfront entrance at Torpedo Factory Art Center to discover new artwork from a rotating lineup of the Art Center’s studio artists. Find paintings and photographs to jewelry and wearables, then step inside to browse the three floors of the Art Center for even more original art for purchase. (There will be no market on Saturday, December 4.)
Photo courtesy Visit Alexandria
4TH Holiday Boat Parade of Lights Parade begins at 5:30 p.m.; Dockside festivities 2 to 8 p.m. at Waterfront Park (1A Prince Street) Admission: Free; $ for food/drink and some activities Parade viewing areas: Founders Park (351 N. Union St.), Alexandria City Marina (0 Cameron St.), Waterfront Park (1A Prince St.), Point Lumley Park (1 Duke St.), Shipyard/ Harborside Park (1 Wilkes St.), Windmill Hill Park (501 S. Union St.) and Ford’s Landing Park (99 Franklin St.) 703-746-3301 • VisitAlexandriaVA.com/BoatParade Old Town Alexandria’s historic waterfront will shine for the 21st annual Alexandria Holiday Boat Parade of Lights sponsored by Amazon as dozens of brightly lit boats cruise along one mile of the Potomac River shoreline. Enjoy dockside festivities from 2 to 8 p.m. in Waterfront Park including a pop-up beer garden from Port City Brewing Company and holiday music and giveaways from 97.1 WASH-FM. Take part in hands-on activities including a Letters to Santa postcard station and a holiday ornament activity. Enjoy savory bites, gourmet popcorn and a hot chocolate bar. At 3:30 p.m., Santa and Mrs. Claus will arrive by fireboat at the Alexandria City Marina to attend the annual Torpedo Factory Art Center Holiday Festival.
3RD, 9TH & 21ST Museum Shopping Evenings at Carlyle House 5 to 8 p.m. Admission: Free Carlyle House Museum Shop 121 N. Fairfax St. 703-549-2997 • novaparks.com Enjoy shopping small and local. Stop by the Carlyle House Museum Shop for wonderful holiday gifts. An assortment of Virginia made items, ornaments, soaps, and more are available for purchase.
3RD-5TH, 10TH-12TH, 17TH-19TH Del Ray Artisans’ 26th Annual Fine Art & Fine Craft Holiday Market Fridays, 6 to 9 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Admission: Free Del Ray Artisans 2704 Mount Vernon Ave. 703-838-4827 • delrayartisans.org Del Ray Artisans annual Holiday Market offers unique handmade fine arts and crafts from local artists. Choose from wall art, pottery, photography, jewelry, glass and much more from different artisans each weekend. Plus, purchase 2022 HOLIDAY EVENTS > PAGE 3
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Old Town Crier
wall calendars, cookbooks and upcycled tote bags to support Del Ray Artisans.
The antique toy exhibit will also be on view. Space is limited to 10 people at a time, and advance reservations are required. Face masks and social distancing will be in place throughout the tour.
3RD – 18TH
5TH, 12TH, & 19TH
The Little Theatre of Alexandria’s “A Christmas Carol”
Old Town North Holiday Markets
HOLIDAY EVENTS | FROM PG 2
Various times Admission: $20 The Little Theatre of Alexandria 600 Wolfe St. 703-683-0496 • thelittletheatre.com The Little Theatre of Alexandria rings in the holiday season with a return of the classic by Charles Dickens. Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserable, bitter old miser, travels with ghostly guides through Christmas past, present and future to find the true meaning of the holidays. Complete with special effects, Victorian carols, and Tiny Tim, “A Christmas Carol” is a mustsee for the entire family. Proof of vaccination or negative COVID test within 72 hours, plus mask-wearing, is required.
4TH & 5TH Metropolitan School of the Arts Presents: “The Nutcracker” 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. Admission: $28+ for adults; $26+ for seniors and students The Rachel M. Schlesinger Center for Performing Arts 4915 East Campus Drive metropolitanarts.org Metropolitan School of the Arts looks forward to bringing you their magical Nutcracker performance. On this great adventure, Clara will be transported to a “fantastical” land where she will meet the dazzling Snow Queen, dancing snowflakes, the Sugar Plum Fairy and many more wonderful characters. This is a delightful performance with over 120 performers and the pure sound of the holidays with the wonderful Tchaikovsky score.
4TH Scottish Walk Open House at Carlyle House 12 to 4 p.m. Admission: Free Carlyle House 121 N. Fairfax St. 703-549-2997 • novaparks.com Visit Old Town on Saturday, December 4, 2021, to enjoy Alexandria’s rich Scottish heritage and see the Scottish Walk Parade march past Alexandria’s oldest stone building, Carlyle House. After the parade, enter the museum gates and step back in time for a free open house in the spirit of the holiday season.
Holiday Festival at Torpedo Factory Art Center 2 to 8 p.m. Admission: Free Torpedo Factory Art Center 105 N. Union St. 703-746-4570 • torpedofactory.org Torpedo Factory Art Center joins the fun on Alexandria’s most festive weekend of the year. Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive by fire boat around 3:30 p.m. on the Waterfront. Music fills the halls and the waterfront, beckoning people to browse three floors of open artists’ studios. Santa will even take a spin on the famous Torpedo Bike. Masks are required for all visitors over the age of 2, regardless of vaccination status.
4TH, 11TH, & 18TH Candlelight Tours at Lee-Fendall House On the half hour from 5:30 p.m. through 7:30 p.m. Admission: $10 for adults; $5 for children (ages 5-17) Lee-Fendall House 614 Oronoco St. 703-548-178 • leefendallhouse.org Celebrate the holiday season with evening candlelight tours of the Lee-Fendall House decked out in Victorian splendor.
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1 to 3:30 p.m. Admission: Free Montgomery Park 901 N. Royal St. 703-836-8066 • www.oldtownnorth.org In addition to Old Town North’s weekly Thursday Farmers Market, the Old Town North Community Partnership will be hosting three holiday markets at Montgomery Park. Explore the festive, European-style markets for hand-crafted gift items and specialty food items.
HOLIDAY MAGIC. HISTORIC STREETS.
5TH & 12TH Holiday Kissing Ball Workshops 2 p.m. Admission: $25 per person (advance registration required) Lee-Fendall House 614 Oronoco St. 703-548-1789 • leefendallhouse.org Learn the history behind using greenery to decorate homes for the holidays, then craft your own boxwood kissing ball using fresh cuttings from the Lee-Fendall garden. Please note that these workshops will be held outdoors, so please dress appropriately.
5TH Del Ray Holiday Tree & Menorah Lighting 6 p.m. Admission: Free Pat Miller Neighborhood Square Mount Vernon Ave. and E. Oxford Ave. 703-683-2570 • visitdelray.com Kick off the holidays with a visit to Del Ray for the annual holiday tree and menorah lighting. Continue the celebration and start your holiday shopping with a stroll down Mount Vernon Avenue, which will be illuminated by thousands of luminarias and feature storefront windows hand-painted for the holidays. Masks are required. Look for a donations drive for Carpenter’s Shelter.
10TH & 11TH Colonial Holiday Nights 5 to 8 p.m. Admission: $10 per adult; $3 for children, ages 6 to 12 Carlyle House 121 N. Fairfax St. 703-549-2997 • novaparks.com Experience the holiday season with Carlyle House focusing on how the Carlyle’s and their enslaved workers observed the holidays during the 18th century. Space is limited and reservations are required. All participants including those under the age of 5 must be registered.
10TH Alexandria Citizens Band’s 5th Annual Alexandria Holiday Sing-Along 7:30 p.m. Admission: Free 434-362-0265 Del Ray United Methodist Church 100 E. Windsor Ave. alexandriacitizensband.org Experience a jolly good time at the always popular Alexandria Holiday Sing-Along. You’ll join in song with your neighbors as Conductor Mike Evans and the hometown Alexandria Citizens Band play your holiday favorites. Don’t miss ringing in the season with this fabulous music tradition. Wear your holiday sweaters and Santa hats. Masks are required. Free tickets available via Eventbrite.
Ice & Lights: The Winter Village at Cameron Run Now-January 2 Alexandria Shop Small Week November 26-December 2 Mount Vernon by Candlelight November 26-27; December 3-4, 10-11 & 19 Campagna Center’s 50th Anniversary Scottish Christmas Walk Weekend December 3-4 “A Christmas Carol” at The Little Theatre of Alexandria December 3-18 Holiday Festival at Torpedo Factory Art Center December 4 Alexandria Holiday Boat Parade of Lights sponsored by Amazon December 4 Del Ray Holiday Tree & Menorah Lighting December 5 Christmas Market and Holiday Craft Show at Carlyle December 11 First Night Alexandria Festivities & Fireworks December 31 For even more holiday events and things to do, check out:
VisitAlexandriaVA.com/Holidays Corporate Partner
HOLIDAY EVENTS > PAGE 5
December 2021 |
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BUSINESS PROFILE
LANI GERING
The Old Town Shop: “Where the Past Is Your Present” THE OLD TOWN SHOP 105 South Union Street 703-684-4682 theoldtownshop.com Open 7 Days a Week 10 am – 9 pm
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It is hard to believe that this wonderful little shop hasn’t been around for many years. It just has that sort of vibe when you walk into the foyer and into the door on your right at 105 South Union Street. The Old Town Shop (OTS) will celebrate its 5 year anniversary in March of 2022. After the closing of a longtime favorite specialty retailer, The Virginia Shop that was located pretty much just across the street from the OTS, it was a welcome addition to the shopping scene in Old Town. We missed our “Virginia” specific retailer and were very excited to hear about long time Alexandria resident Valerie Ianieri’s plan to open an “Old Town Alexandria” specific venue. This shop is not just for those visitors who want to take something home to re mind them of their experience in our fair city but it is for those of us who live here and want to share our fabulous locally made products and history with family and friends alike. Ianieri is definitely following through with her vision to help preserve and promote the culture, history and most importantly the creativity of our Alexandria locals along with others in the Commonwealth. This shop is a PERFECT place to find a gift that will impress that person on your list who has everything. The description on the OTS website pretty much says it all: “The Old Town Shop is the only area shop to feature a variety of local curated artisan products that are offered at the Alexandria Farmers’ Market. This section, known as Locals’ Alley, is dedicated to showcasing a variety of artisans who vend regularly at the Farmers’ Market, giving these artisans a more permanent presence in a retail space. Featured vendors include Truly Life (bath & body), Capital Candles (soy candles), Watermelan Designs (jewelry), Together We Bake (granola & trail mix), and Napier Farms (jams & jellies). In addition, the Shop sells custom-designed “OTX” and Old Town Alexandria branded merchandise. Other gifts include gourmet food, books, collectives, and hospitality items for tourists and residents. The Port, our historical section, promotes the history of Alexandria, known as The Port City, with a representation of twelve state mile markers depicting the historic importance of the area.” The OTC - open 7 days a week from 10am to 9pm - is located at the foot of King Street on North Union Street right next door to the iconic Windsor Salon and just a few steps from another icon, Union Street Public House. It is definitely in good company of this block. While you are checking out the holiday happenings in Old Town, make it a point to explore the side streets off of the main drag and make the OTS one of your stops. You will not be disappointed!
Old Town Crier
HOLIDAY EVENTS | FROM PG 3
11TH Del Ray Vintage & Flea Market 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission: Free Parking Lot 1900 Mount Vernon Ave. 703-915-2214 • delrayvintageflea.com Don’t miss the holiday edition of this monthly outdoor vintage and flea market in the heart of Alexandria’s bustling Del Ray neighborhood. Find 50+ vendors offering vintage, antique, thrift and artisan goods at two open-air lots, with free appraisals plus bakery and coffee booths.
A Victorian Christmas On the hour from 11 a.m. through 3 p.m. Admission: $10 for adults; $8 for children (ages 2-12); free for children under 2 Lee-Fendall House, 614 Oronoco St. 703-548-1789 • leefendallhouse.org Experience the wonder of the season by visiting the Lee-Fendall House for a family-friendly Victorian Christmas. Enjoy traditional décor, music, seasonal crafts, a visit with Santa, a toy exhibit and more. All recommended health requirements, including face masks and social distancing, will be followed.
6th Annual Del Ray Candy Cane Bar Crawl 1 to 6 p.m. Admission: $15 for advanced tickets; $20 at the door Various locations along Mount Vernon Ave. 703-683-2570 • visitdelray.com Take a break from the bustle of holiday preparations and enjoy specialty drinks and delights at Del Ray restaurants during a neighborhood bar crawl to benefit Neighborhood
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Health. Enjoy holiday costume contests for individuals and groups, raffle prizes and live music. Trolley transportation will be provided along the avenue.
Admission: $5 per person, with a special rate of $25 for families of more than 5 Tall ship Providence 1 Cameron St. 703-772-8483 • tallshipprovidence.org
Christmas Market and Holiday Craft Show
Come aboard the tall ship Providence for a special Christmas story time. This year’s tale will be “The Christmas Ship,” the true story of the schooner Rouse Simmons, the ship that for years supplied Christmas trees to the people of Chicago by making a dangerous winter crossing of Lake Michigan. This story is sure to delight young sailors ages 5 to 12. Check in at the Gazebo on the G-H Pier next to Founder’s Park.
11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission: Free John Carlyle Square Park 300 John Carlyle St. thecarlylecommunity.com John Carlyle Square Park will dress up for the holidays and host more than 80 artisans and crafters, independent consultants and other local small businesses. Check off your shopping list with everything from unique handmade jewelry to organic bath and body products to home décor, holiday ornaments and much more. Take a break from shopping to enjoy the beautiful Christmas Carols Show and bring little ones the Elves’ Shop where they can create a customized Christmas ornament. But make sure they do not miss when Santa stops by, ready to take pictures with him.
Civil War Christmas in Camp 12 to 4 p.m. Admission: Suggested donation is $2 per person; $5 per family Fort Ward Museum & Historic Site 4301 W. Braddock Rd. 703-746-4848 • alexandriava.gov/fortward Get in the holiday spirit with a patriotic Union Santa Claus, reenactors in winter camps celebrating the season, period decorations, soldier-led fort tours and kids’ crafting activities.
11TH, 12TH, 18TH & 19TH Tall Ship Providence Christmas Story Time 12 p.m., 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.
31ST Olde Year’s Day at Torpedo Factory Art Center 1 to 5 p.m. Torpedo Factory Art Center 105 N. Union St. 703-746-4570 • torpedofactory.org The whole family can celebrate the close of 2021 at Torpedo Factory Art Center. Find hands-on activities, meet artists working in their studios, and get inspired for 2022.
17TH & 19TH Alexandria Symphony Orchestra Presents: Home for the Holidays The ASO brings back the joy of live holiday music that audiences yearned for in 2020. ASO will accompany dancers from BalletNOVA with selections from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker. Alexandria Choral Society joins the ASO for choruses from Händel’s Messiah and will lead the audience in popular holiday carols. The concert will be presented with no intermission. Masks are strongly recommended for non-vaccinated attendees by the CDC, our concert venues and the ASO. For information based on current health guidelines, please visit our website prior to each concert. alexsym.org 17th from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Admission: $20 to $85 per adult, $5 per youth, $15 per student Rachel M. Schlesinger Center Alexandria Campus 4915 East Campus Drive 19th from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. Admission: $20 to $60 per adult, $5 per youth, $15 per student George Washington Masonic National Memorial 101 Callahan Dr.
Photo courtesy Visit Alexandria
Annual First Night Alexandria 12 p.m. to midnight Admission: Free for Market Square Kickoff, Battle of the Buskers, Block Party and fireworks finale; ticket prices vary for individual shows Various locations throughout Old Town Alexandria 703-963-3755 • firstnightalexandria.org Experience the region’s signature New Year’s Eve festival of music and more. Enjoy live performances throughout the day and into the evening for kids, teens, adults and seniors. New events include a kick-off at Market Square and a “Battle of the Buskers,” leading up to the midnight countdown and fireworks finale over the Potomac River. Visit the event website for a full schedule of events.
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FINANCIAL FOCUS
CARL TREVISAN, CFP© & STEPHEN BEARCE
Ask about our amazing Pipe and Cigar Humidor Sale and Our Military and First Responders Plus Discount Program
Understanding the complexities of Medicare While they’re working, many Americans become accustomed to getting health insurance through their employer. They make their initial selections and then update their choices once a year when its time to renew and during life events like adding to the family or, perhaps, starting a new job. But virtually all U.S. residents face a milestone when they reach age 65 and qualify for Medicare, which provides a new and, possibly, more complex approach to health insurance. Keep in mind that even if you take early Social Security benefits at age 62, you must wait until age 65 for Medicare.
Breaking down Medicare’s four parts Part A: Hospital insurance Helps pay for: • Inpatient hospital care • Hospice care • Skilled home-health services for homebound patients Part A also helps with short-term inpatient care in Medicare-certified skilled nursing facilities, but only if the patient is there for rehabilitation – not for long-term or custodial care. Qualifying Once you reach age 65, you qualify for Part A. It’s unlikely you will be charged a monthly premium if you have worked and paid the Medicare payroll tax for a minimum of 10 years.
Medicare will pay the plan a monthly fee. You might have to pay an additional monthly premium depending on the plan.
Part D: Prescription drug coverage The optional Part D covers prescription drugs. If you have Part A, Part B, or both, you will qualify for Part D. Like Part C, Part D comes from a private company, not directly from the government. When you turn age 65, you will have the right to enroll in one of several Medicare-approved Part D prescription drug plans. Medicare pays most of the cost of Part D. However, if you choose Part D, you will pay a monthly premium to the company you select.
Supplementing your coverage
Part C: Medicare Advantage
Medicare alone is not likely to be enough. To help minimize out-of-pocket expenses, many retirees have some other arrangement to supplement Medicare’s coverage. Some options include: Former employer health insurance – Your former employer may let you carry its group health plan into retirement. If you are retired and eligible for Medicare, your employer’s group health plan is your Medicare supplement. Medigap insurance – Medigap is supplemental health insurance you buy from a private insurance company to fill in some of the gaps in Part A and Part B. Medigap policies pay some or all of Medicare’s deductibles and copayments, and some cover a few services that Medicare doesn’t. Medicare Advantage Part C – Part C is not a true Medicare supplement because it replaces Medicare’s coverage. But if you have Part C, you will not need a Medicare supplement. This article contains basic information about Medicare, services related to Medicare, and services for people with Medicare. If you would like to find more information about the government Medicare program, please visit the official U.S. government site at medicare.gov. Wells Fargo Advisors does not provide legal, tax, or accounting advice, but your financial advisor will be happy to work with your chosen legal and tax advisors to help you achieve your financial goals. Insurance products are offered through nonbank insurance agency affiliates of Wells Fargo & Company and are underwritten by unaffiliated insurance companies.
Part C offers an option to buy health insurance from the private sector as an alternative to joining the “traditional Medicare” program that comes from the government. If you choose a Part C plan, you will generally get all of your Medicare-covered services, including all services, supplies, and drugs that are otherwise covered by Parts A, B, and D, from your Part C plan instead. However, Part C plans typically restrict your choices of health care providers. Medicare enrollees who choose Part C must continue to pay their Part B premiums, and
This article was written by/for Wells Fargo Advisors and provided courtesy of Carl M. Trevisan, Managing Director-Investments and Stephen M. Bearce, First Vice PresidentInvestments in Alexandria, VA at 800-247-8602. Investments in securities and insurance products are: NOT FDIC-INSURED/NOT BANKGUARANTEED/MAY LOSE VALUE. Wells Fargo Advisors is a trade name used by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, Member SIPC, a registered broker-dealer and non-bank affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company. © 2021 Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC. All rights reserved.
Part B: Medical insurance Helps pay for: Doctors’ services Outpatient hospital care Medical equipment and supplies Some preventive services Qualifying All U.S. citizens and all legal aliens who have lived in the United States for at least five years qualify for Part B at age 65. No work history is required, but everyone who wants Part B must pay a monthly premium. Monthly premiums are based off the worker’s modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) from filed taxes with higher income individuals paying more. Your first opportunity to sign up for Part B is the initial enrollment period, which begins three months before and ends three months after your 65th birthday month. • • • •
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215 King St. Alexandria, VA 22314 sales@johncrouch.comcastbiz.net (703) 548-2900 | (703) 739-2302
Shop Early. Ship Early. Old Town Pack & Ship Service, Inc. • In-house packing • Wooden crates for delicate items • Small and large items • Shipment anywhere using UPS, FedEx and others • Free pickup service in Old Town Alexandria
822 King St. Old Town Alexandria 703.549.7167 [fax] 703.549.7168 www.vatopservices.com Old Town Crier
URBAN GARDEN
POINSETTIA FUN FACTS • Poinsettias are native to Mexico. • In nature, poinsettias are perennial flowering shrubs that can grow to ten feet tall. • The showy colored parts of poinsettias that most people think are the flowers are actually colored bracts (modified leaves). • Poinsettias are priced according to the number of blooms. The more blooms, the more expensive the plant. • A fresh poinsettia is one on which little or no yellow pollen is showing on the flower clusters in the center of the bracts. Plants that have shed their pollen will soon drop their colorful bracts. • Poinsettias were introduced into the United States in 1825 by Joel Poinsett. • December 12 is National Poinsettia Day. • There are over 100 varieties of poinsettias available. • $220 million worth of poinsettias are sold during the holiday season. • Poinsettias are the most popular Christmas plant even though most are sold in a 6 week period. • An NCCA Bowl game in San Diego is named the Poinsettia Bowl. • Poinsettias were introduced into the United States in 1825 by Joel Poinsett.
The Legend of the Poinsettia The month of December is pretty slow in the garden but really bustling with the arrival of holiday plants the likes of the Poinsettia, Amaryllis and Paper Whites. Many of you give them as well as receive them as gifts and we all know that the Poinsettia is the most popular of the three for decorating during the Christmas season. We found the following very interesting and have published it in years past and thought you would enjoy it again as well. A charming story is told of Pepita, a poor Mexican girl who had no gift to present the Christ Child at Christmas Eve Services. As Pepita walked slowly to the chapel with her cousin Pedro, her heart was filled Old Town Crier
with sadness rather than joy. “I am sure, Pepita, that even the most humble gift, if given in love, will be acceptable in His eyes,” said Pedro consolingly. Not knowing what else to do, Pepita knelt by the roadside and gathered a handful of common weeds, fashioning them into a small bouquet. Looking at the scraggly bunch of weeds, she felt more saddened and embarrassed than ever by the humbleness of her offering. She fought back a tear as she entered the small village chapel. As she approached the altar, she remembered Pedro’s kind words: “Even the most humble gift, if
given in love, will be acceptable in His eyes.” She felt her spirit lift as she knelt to lay the bouquet at the foot of the nativity scene. Suddenly, the bouquet of weeds burst into blooms of brilliant red, and all who saw them were certain that they had witnessed a Christmas miracle right before their eyes. From that day on, the bright red flowers were known as the Flores de Noche Buena, or Flowers of the Holy Night, for they bloomed each year during the Christmas season. Today, the common name for this plant is the poinsettia! Watch this column in the January issue for information on caring for your poinsettia(s) after the holidays are over. You can actually keep them alive the entire year and have them bloom again in December of 2022! December 2021 |
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A BIT OF HISTORY | ©SARAH BECKER
To ‘Heed’ or Not to ‘Heed’… “There are errors in our National Government which call for correction,” George Washington wrote on May 18, 1786. “Ignorance & design are difficult to combat. Out of these proceed illiberality, improper jealousies, and a trail of evils…[T]o be so fallen!—so lost! is really mortifying.”
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Old Town Crier
The American Heritage dictionary defines illiberality as “obedience to one’s opinions or prejudices; narrow-mindedness, lacking tolerance or breadth of view.”
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oday’s dilemma: after two years of medical suffering—of living with the COVID-19 pandemic—many Americans still refuse to get vaccinated, to pay heed to vaccine need. Economists define a public good as a good that is non-excludable and non-rivalrous; where no one can be excluded from its use and where the use by one does not diminish the availability of the good to others. Classic examples include clean air, clean water, and national security. Nobel prize-winning author Paul Samuelson confirmed such in 1954. The common good is that which benefits society as a whole; something—like mass vaccinations— that can only be achieved through a mix of political procedures and the collective of citizen participation. John Kenneth Galbraith’s The Affluent Society suggests that public goods are things that “must be provided for everyone if they are to be provided for anyone, and they must be paid for collectively or they cannot be had at all.” Health, generally, is not considered a public good. Public health however is “inextricably linked to government action and the provision of public goods.” Public health, as illustrated by herd immunity [Smallpox, Tuberculosis, and COVID-19] represents a collective benefit from which no one is excluded. Yet in September, 2021, Representative Jim Jordan [R-OH] called “vaccine mandates un-American;” implying founding father George Washington opposed compulsory vaccinations. I would have thought a winning wrestler with a Masters’ in education knew better. Smallpox symptoms include fever, fatigue, headache, backache and deep-seated rash. Young George W. contracted smallpox at age 19 while traveling in Barbados and—for that reason—became immune. To vaccinate is to introduce an antigenic substance intended to boost immunity. Martha Washington received her small pox inoculation on May 23, 1776, in Philadelphia. General George Washington ordered the American military vaccinated on January 6, 1777. He concluded “we should have more dead from [smallpox] than from the Sword of the enemy.” “[T]he smallpox has made such Head in every Quarter that I find it impossible to keep it from spreading thro’ the whole Army in the natural way,” General Washington said. “I have therefore determined, not only to inoculate all the Troops now here, that have not had it, but shall order [Doctor] Shippen to inoculate the Recruits as fast as they come in to Philadelphia.” Those who opposed General Washington’s small pox initiative shared the unfounded belief the British had militarily infected Old Town Crier
the American army. Lastly, the Colony of Virginia again passed a Bill concerning Inoculation for Smallpox on December 27, 1777. On Gov. Patrick Henry’s watch: “Whereas the Smallpox, at this time, in many parts of the Commonwealth is likely to spread and become general, and it hath been proved by incontestable experience that the late discovery’s and Improvements therein have produced great Benefits to Mankind…Be it therefore enacted… that any person…conforming to the following Rules and regulations may Inoculate or be inoculated for the smallpox…Every person willfully endeavoring to spread or propagate the smallpox, without Inoculation…shall be subject [to] the Penalty of five hundred pounds, or suffer six Months imprisonment without Bail.” In 1777, 100,000 North Americans died from smallpox. “[General] Washington’s unheralded and littlerecognized resolution to inoculate the Continental forces must surely rank among his most important decisions of the war,” historian Elizabeth A. Fenn wrote. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a state’s right to mandate smallpox vaccinations in 1905. [Henning Jacobson v. Massachusetts, 197 U.S. 11 (1905)] According to U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan, author of the 7-2 opinion, liberty does not exist outside of law. It is “regulated by law… There are manifold restraints to which every person is necessarily subject for the common good… This court has more than once recognized it as a fundamental principle that ‘persons and property are subjected to all kinds of restraints and burdens in order to secure the general comfort, health, and prosperity of the state…Even liberty itself, the greatest of all rights, is not unrestricted license to act according to one’s own will. It is only freedom from restraint under conditions essential to the equal enjoyment of the same right by others.” Arguing the freedom to carelessly infect another is downright selfish. “When we are young, and sometimes when older, we fail to appreciate the importance of good health and what it takes to preserve it,” Benjamin Franklin said. “It is, by far, much easier to preserve health than to regain it. Smallpox was wholly eradicated in 1979. In 1793 Alexandria’s Superintendent of Quarantine inspected incoming ships to prevent the spread of yellow fever. In 1862 President Abraham Lincoln’s son Willie died of typhoid fever and during the Civil War more soldiers died of diarrhea than battle wounds. Coincident with the Civil War, beginning in 1861, Louis Pasteur developed his germ theory of disease. “Pasteur formulated the principles of immunization of disease and showed that infections may be prevented by introducing into the system a serum of attenuated virus,” The New York Times wrote in 1922. “He showed how to prevent and to control infections in all living things—man, animal, and plant. Pasteur planned a disease-less world and
he advanced structural work on it.” Infectious diseases are caused by living organisms including viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa and parasitic worms. Disease occurs when cells in the human body are damaged as a result of infection. The different diseases spread by direct contact; via vectors like the mosquito; airborne droplets, or contaminated food, water and blood. The Spanish flu slowed the First World War, and in 1918 in Alexandria, Virginia, “expectorating [spitting] on sidewalks” became punishable by law. “The influenza outbreak of 1918 began in the spring with the novel H1N1 virus passing from birds to humans,” history of medicine professor Howard Markel said. “In fact social distancing was one of the great historical lessons learned.” Whether it is today’s enclosed air traveler, George Washington’s half-brother Lawrence, or an 1880s milk-drinking American citizen someone somewhere is newly infected with the tuberculosis bacterium (TB). Tubercle bacillus is an infectious agent that spreads when an infected person coughs or sneezes and the airborne contaminant is inhaled by another located nearby. It is also spread by drinking unpasteurized, contaminated milk. In 1882 German bacteriologist Robert Koch proved that tuberculosis was “caused by a parasite,” not by heredity as others assumed. “If [Louis] Pasteur’s culture experiments have led to the discovery of a method by which the poison of splenic fever is rendered harmless, and the disease prevented by the timely inoculation of the modified virus, may we not hope that the time is not distant when the ravages of [tubercular] consumption will be prevented by the inoculation of a modified bacillus?” The Washington Post asked in 1883. “That tuberculosis is contagious and that it is transmissible from human beings to animals or vice versa are among the statements on which the members of the [first International Tuberculosis] Congress were substantially agreed,” The Washington Post continued in 1888. “The practical identity of tuberculosis in the case of men, women and cattle is now acknowledged.” The cattle type accounted for approximately 10% of all cases of human pulmonary tuberculosis and 100% of all human cases involving organ damage. By 1900 untreated tuberculosis was the country’s leading cause of human mortality, with a death rate of 194/100,000. More than a century later, in 2015, 1.8 million of the world’s people died from tuberculosis. Only 2% of those with multi-drug resistant TB receive proper medication. COVID-19 is an infectious disease that continues to spread: at home and worldwide. Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure. They include: cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, fever, chills, muscle pain, sore throat, and or new loss of taste or smell. Thankfully effective COVID-19 vaccines now exist. Rather than respond enthusiastically, many Americans still sit unmoved preferring to debate their worthiness. The result: only 59.22% of the U.S. population is wholly vaccinated. According to Gallup “Republicans today are much less likely than their predecessors in 1975 to have confidence in science.” As of August 8, 2021, “97 Republicans in the House of Representatives would not say publicly if they had been vaccinated against COVID-19. Asked if he was worried about the COVID virus spreading or mutating… Representative Madison Cawthorn [R-NC] blasted the Biden Administration’s plan to go door-to-door to urge Americans to get vaccinated. ‘They could then go door-to-door to take your guns. They could go door-to-door to take your Bibles.’” Alternatively, Representative Don Beyer [D-VA] A BIT OF HISTORY > PAGE 11
December 2021 |
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HIGH NOTES
RON POWERS
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hope you’re enjoying the holiday season and all the festivities that go along with it. This month I’ll be focusing on a new track by Alabama Shakes. The Athens, Alabama hailing band recently released a deluxe edition of their 2015 multiGrammy-winning album “Sound & Color” which includes three new tracks. “Drive By Baby” is one of the three new songs and I’ll be discussing it here. This song offers all the rich and textured sound we’ve come to expect from Alabama Shakes along with uptempo almost punk rock energy. “Drive By Baby” begins with a fast drum roll played on a piccolo snare, a fresh and clean guitar rhythm, and a rambling bass line. An image of the Road Runner from Loonytoons cartoons comes to mind for some reason. The feeling is so light and zippy, it lifted my mood right away. As the first verse is introduced, low-end frequencies and light distortion are added to the mix, giving the song’s sound plenty of extra weight. We then hear singer Brittany Howard deliver the lines: “I see you screaming, and I’ve never seen you here before / Well come on baby you got my attention come on and get you some more / You give me feelings feeling that I couldn’t digest / I’m in your future You just don’t even know”. After the verse, the band switches gears and
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delivers an unconventional and understated chorus. We hear the instrumentation stripped back to bass guitar and drums during this section, with guitar lightly following the bass line. Atop the music multiple layers of vocals are added which repeat the lines “Drive by baby won’t you let me ride / Then we’ll ride all right all right all right”. These lines have a smooth rock-n-roll attitude that is easy to groove to. The groove mixes nicely with the fast pace of the drums, and the repetitive guitar riff creates a satisfying tension that builds nicely into the guitar solo. For the guitar solo, the band employs a no-frills lightly saturated guitar tone. This allows for the spunky Chuck-Berry-like vibe of the lead guitar to shine through clearly. Howard also matches the
notes of the solo with a falsetto melody adding extra charm and depth to the sound. Under the solo, the rhythm guitar delivers a single-string straight rhythm composed of two notes while the bass and drums maintain a funky groove to keep the hips moving. As the solo draws to a close we hear the lead guitar transition into swelling and chaotic notes. As this happens the drums switch to double-time just before releasing into a sparse rhythmic transition before the second verse. As some of you may already know, Alabama Shakes disbanded in 2018. So, unfortunately, there will not be any tour dates coming. However, the band’s music lives on and with the new song off the deluxe edition of their album Sound & Color, their legacy is enriched all the more. If you’d like to listen to Alabama Shakes music you can find it on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and most places music is streamed or sold. In addition, lead singer Brittany Howard has an amazing solo project. If you’d like to learn more about what she is doing, go to brittanyhoward.com where you’ll find her music, tour dates, and news. Ron Powers is an independent A&R specialist and music industry consultant, and is constantly searching for, discovering and writing about new talent.
Old Town Crier
candidates John Adams [F-MA] and Thomas Jefferson [DR-VA] especially. More recently Gov. Chris Sununu (R-NH) chastised the Chairman of his State’s Finance Committee for the October, 2021 release of their dis-informational document, The Vaccine Death Report. Loaded with conspiratorial inaccuracies Sununu asked for the Chairman’s removal. The Report falsely claimed “that living organisms with tentacles are entering people’s bodies through COVID-19 vaccines [and] nanotechnology in the vaccines will be used to control people’s thoughts through 5G.” The first U.S. COVID-19 case was reported on January 21, 2020. As of November 12, 2021, the number of reported cases had climbed to 46,855,488; the number of American lives lost 759,678! Economics is the study of choices. Choose wisely and begin the New Year properly vaccinated. Vaccinations are more than “an act of love.” They are a gift, to you and all you hold dear. Enjoy the holiday season. Safely, please!
A BIT OF HISTORY | FROM PAGE 9
has introduced a bill, the Safe Travel Act “to require all domestic travelers to show proof of vaccination or a negative coronavirus test at airports or for Amtrak trips.” The 2021 uptick in COVID-related “passenger aggression and violence” is astonishing. “There is no ‘credible religious argument’ against the COVID-19 vaccine mandates,” Texas megachurch pastor and Donald Trump [R-NY/FL] devotee Robert Jeffress agreed. “Christians who are troubled by the use of a fetal cell line for the testing of the vaccines would also have to abstain from the use of Tylenol, Pepto Bismol, Ibuprofen and other products that used the same cell line if they are sincere in their objection.” Religious exemption letters are little more than a ‘loophole’ to avoid getting a vaccine,” Jeffress said. Many religious leaders share Jeffress’ view. The AntiDefamation League condemns those who compare pandemic restrictions and or vaccination mandates to the Jewish holocaust. Pope Francis launched a “powerful appeal for people to get vaccinated with approved COVID-19 vaccines” in August, 2021. He called the vaccination “an act of love.” Fortunately YouTube has agreed “to crack down on the spread of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation; to ban anti-vaccine videos from its platform.” It seems the misinformation disinformation campaigns have now spread to vaccines in general. To related medical problems including pregnancy, child birth, developmental disabilities and cancer. “I am sure the Mass of Citizens in these United States mean well, and I firmly believe they will always act well, whenever they can obtain a right understanding of matters…[S]erious misfortunes
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A Bit of History ©2021 Sarah Becker Sarah Becker started writing for The Economist while a graduate student in England. Similar publications followed. She joined the Crier in 1996 while serving on the Alexandria Convention and Visitors Association Board. Her interest in antiquities began as a World Bank hire, with Indonesia’s need to generate hard currency. Balinese history, i.e. tourism provided the means. The New York Times describes Becker’s book, Off Your Duffs & Up the Assets, as “a blueprint for thousands of nonprofit managers.” A former museum director, SLAM’s saving grace Sarah received Alexandria’s Salute to Women Award in 2007. Email abitofhistory53@ gmail.com
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December 2021 |
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THE LAST WORD
MIRIAM R. KRAMER
e i t ka goes there.
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f you are not craving a stately overview of a serious rise to the pinnacle of helming television journalism, but instead want a dishy tellall from Katie Couric, America’s former “Girl Next Door,” her new memoir, Going There will satisfy your needs. You may find some of the former mixed in as well. Couric has written a bright, conversational overview of her career that will definitely pull in anyone who watched her for years as the co-anchor of the Today Show, first with Bryant Gumbel, and then with Matt Lauer, and her star turn as the first solo evening female news anchor at CBS. Couric starts off discussing her idyllic childhood in Arlington, VA in the 1950s through 1970s as the baby in a family of four. Her father, a reporter turned PR specialist, was a strong influence on her future career in communications. He would request that she learn a new word every day to present at the dinner table. As she notes, “It’s not an overstatement to say I pursued journalism for my father.” If you find early family dynamics one of your favorite parts of a memoir, you are in luck here. Couric’s steady family life, with parents who valued education and getting into a great college, put pressure on her family of achievers, including the oldest, her sister Emily, and her sister Kiki, who were both accepted to Smith when it was one of the Seven Sisters and the Ivy League was single sex. As she points out, she got into the venerable yet academic University of Virginia, whose social scene was a much better fit for someone whose likability, emotional intelligence, and tenacity allowed her to open so many doors in the future. Couric tackles her own struggles with institutionalized pressure for women to present a perfect image in discussing her bulimia, resulting mostly from her mother’s pressure for her to watch her weight. She and her sisters felt it strongly, and 12
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GOING THERE By Katie Couric Publisher: Little, Brown Katie felt the need to “strive, cheat, binge, and purge” until her twenties. Interestingly, while she notes sexism throughout her career in TV journalism, she does not point this pressure out as a feminist issue. Later in her career, her image was photoshopped once to make her look thinner, although she never had weight issues. After serving as a journalist on the school paper at UVA, Couric took the initiative and talked her way into a meeting at ABC News, who passed her on to PR. Upon such meetings a future depends, and she passed that test to find her way first to ABC News and then a brand-new network called CNN, underwritten by a wild billionaire named Ted Turner. Carl Bernstein, who had just become bureau chief for ABC News, asked her, “Why are you going to the minor leagues?” She replied, “Because I need
to learn how to play baseball.” From her time at the CNN bureau in DC until her time at the mothership in Atlanta, Couric was making her reputation. She became friends with mentors who would help push her to the right place at the right time. She encountered inevitable sexism along the way, such as someone who commented on her breast size in the middle of a big meeting. Unusually for that time, however, she made a stink with her informal support team and got an apology. It is testimony to her sense of self that she was able to do that even as a woman in her early twenties during the early Eighties. Eventually Couric hopscotched to WTVJ in Miami. Covering the bright lights and alternatively glamorous and sordid stories of national interest in Miami gave her the experience to find her way back to the major market of Washington, DC, where she became a general assignment news reporter at NBC’s WRC TV. As she notes, it is unusual that WRC was fairly well integrated at that point in terms of race and gender, with strong local media personalities like Jim Vance, Susan Kidd, and Barbara Harrison. In meeting her future husband, Jay Monahan, Couric had decided that although her own first priority was her career, she wanted marriage and children too. When her sparkling on-air personality was noticed by higher ups at NBC, she was invited to discussions in New York regarding the Today Show, which was in flux. At that point there was a sense of tumult with the temperamental Bryant Gumbel going after Willard Scott, while news executives looked at Jane Pauley as yesterday’s news and today’s fish wrap. In pushing her out, they brought in Deborah Norville, who did not click with Gumbel as co-anchor. Couric had then been asked to be newsreader at the Today Show. As an intensely competitive and ambitious journalist, she scented blood and notes that at that point, the mostly female demographic THE LAST WORD > PAGE 13
Old Town Crier
THE LAST WORD | FROM PAGE 12
watching did not want someone who presented them with “relentless perfection” as they scrambled to get out the door in the morning. She was eventually offered the position of co-anchor with Bryant Gumbel, asking for an equal share of top interviews as part of her contract. With her brand of moxie and single-mindedness, she had reached her long-term goal of becoming an anchor, hitting the vertiginous heights of morning TV at the top-rated morning show in her early thirties, starting on April 5, 1991. As a writer, Couric gossips her way forward, like a bubbly girl who has her locker next to you in high school and gives you the skinny on everything. She talks about her commuter marriage with Jay Monahan before his move to New York from Washington, DC; the birth of her two daughters, and the devastating end to her short marriage when Monahan got colon cancer. When Gumbel retired and Matt Lauer arrived, she continued her fifteen-year reign with a new “brother” as part of America’s morning family at NBC. Her private live was lived publicly through the prism of the Today Show, where her audience felt like they knew her personally. Couric suffered another devastating loss from cancer when her sister died from pancreatic cancer soon after her husband. In the wake of these deaths, she helped establish the National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance and the Jay Monahan Center for Gastrointestinal Health. She had a colonoscopy on TV to help people become more comfortable with the idea so they could catch the disease on time. In the meantime, Couric covered all the important stories of the nineties into the aughts, including 9/11 and lightning rod issues such as school shootings (Columbine and Sandy Hook), racial relations (Rodney King and O.J. Simpson), abortion, religion, homophobia (the Matthew Shepard killing). She looks back with regret on insensitivities she felt she unwittingly supported or enabled in covering stories within the context of those times. She certainly does not back off from self-criticism in looking for ways to forward a better dialogue without institutionalized biases about sensitive issues. Even in interviews on transgenderism that took place in the past decade or so on her syndicated show, Katie, she learned from her mistakes and tried to create a dialogue, however clumsy, that would lead to her audience having a better understanding of such topics. One more humorous aspect to this book is her inadvertently funny battle for interview scoops with Diane Sawyer once Sawyer started at ABC’s Good Morning America in the late 1990s. In bagging guests, bookers from each network might try to find guests at hotels, tell them that their interviews at NBC or ABC was canceled, and steal them for themselves. Some would cry on the phone to manipulate guests trying to turn down requests. As huge money makers for the networks, the morning shows were cutthroat in their pursuits. After fifteen successful years at the Today Show, Couric’s stint as evening news anchor at CBS News proved ill-fated. She talks about coming into a network where she had negotiated a high salary while other employees and even anchors had to take pay cuts. In addition, CBS had a venerable vibe. Couric believes that she came in wanting to make too many changes at an institution that fundamentally did not want her, although CEO and Chairman Les Moonves originally did. She was unable to make headway in doing many stories at 60 Minutes, the apex of respected hard news stories.
As time went on, she and her team of producers became increasingly sidelined for various stories, with little support from Les Moonves once her ratings slipped, and active antagonism from Jeff Fager, veteran executive producer at 60 Minutes. After five years at CBS, she decided to leave. In going on to a two-year stint at a daily talk show called Katie, followed by a period as Global News Anchor at Yahoo! News, Katie tried various broadcast experiments. None lived up to the success she had had at the Today Show. One taught her about what did not work in mixing entertainment and news, and the other about working in a tech industry that valued tech developments at the expense of news distribution.
writing style, but I found her discussion of powerful predators she knew more closely, along with others such as Roger Ailes, Bill O’Reilly, and Harvey Weinstein, curiously detached. If you are interested in looking at the topic of sexual politics and the MeToo movement in a more complex, provocative, and fictional context, I highly recommend at least the first season of The Morning Show on Apple Plus, set at that moment in the MeToo movement. Alex Levy, the character played by Jennifer Aniston, faces her own culpability regarding her co-host, Mitch Kessler, played by Steve Carell. A thinly disguised version of Matt Lauer, he has recently been fired for sexual misdeeds. Eventually Couric, after sixteen years and a number of relationships, got remarried to her second real love, a financier named John Molner. It sounds as if she has come to a very fruitful place in her life with little left to prove. I have several takeaways from this tell-all. Couric muses about her life and work with multiple periods of introspection, but she handles them with a light touch, which reflects her personality. If you are looking for excellent writing, this may not be the book for you. Young adult language prevails. For example, when invited to see Les Moonves after some tumultuous months at CBS News, Couric writes “I couldn’t imagine what it was about, but I doubted it was something awesome.” In describing a married woman Matt approached, she said the woman “found it bizarre and so not cool.” And the kicker? She actually points out that even if some women threw themselves at Matt, he should not have taken that as a reason to go ahead. Couric quotes “As Peter Parker in SpiderMan reminds us, ‘With great power comes great responsibility.’” Her memoir is only gently edited. Luckily, this voice at least feels very authentic. It seems as if Katie Couric has always had a certain internal battle, as she puts it, between “Katie” and “Katherine,” both tenacious personalities who propelled her through her career. Katie is the sunshine girl who lit up morning news and reached a mass audience with her bubbly presence, and Katherine the one who wanted to do hard news, and worked hard to research meaty assignments, eventually going to CBS News to prove herself as the nightly news anchor. I remember watching her first broadcasts on CBS, wanting her to succeed as the first female nightly news anchor, and yet thinking that she was projecting the news in a laborious fashion that felt inauthentic. She did not find a good rhythm as time went on, and Katie and Katherine did not mesh well at CBS. Couric writes sincerely that she would want in her obituary that she was a tireless advocate for cancer research and awareness, and that she is most proud of the two girls she raised as a single mom, albeit with help, to be intelligent, conscientious women with values. Here is the public’s friend and role model, a tireless woman who shaped the news presented to millions of viewers, whose down-toearth values helped her rise to become one of the top media personalities in the country. Over her career in morning TV Couric made a career sneaking up on people with her well-honed interviewing skills because of her superficially shiny image, one that propelled her to huge fame and an equally large salary. It seems that in retrospect, the Today Show was really the perfect fit for reconciling her hard and soft news abilities, because Katie’s image in this book, for better or worse, supersedes Katherine’s almost every time. Perhaps that is both her greatest strength and to a lesser extent, her Achilles’ heel.
As a writer, Couric gossips her way forward ... like a bubbly girl who has her locker next to you in high school and gives you the skinny on everything.
Old Town Crier
The most highly anticipated section of this book is the one covering her long-term relationship with Matt Lauer, whom she considered a good work friend, someone generous and decent. She offers her view on the way Ann Curry was pushed out of the Today Show, possibly with the help of Lauer, and compares it to the debacle when Jane Pauley was pushed out shortly before she arrived at the Today Show. When Lauer was summarily fired in November 2017, she both reached out to him via text, saying “I am crushed. I love you and care about you deeply” while remaining in a state of ambivalence. She also notes that she worried about her own reputation in contacting him. As she met up with some of his conquests, both forced and consensual, she heard more details about his negative effects on these women and their lives. She and Matt texted back and forth, but she never picked up the phone to connect. Eventually their strong professional friendship died on the vine. She also notes that while she had not heard specific rumors about her former boss Les Moonves, who was felled by the MeToo movement, she was unsurprised that the sexist, unprofessional atmosphere at 60 Minutes that Jeff Fager created got him fired. As in other cases, Couric discusses having a more enlightened perspective now in looking back at the way in which older, more experienced men could be predatorial towards young, bright women trying to make their way as journalists. Yet if there is any part of this book I found disingenuous, it may be Couric’s comments on the overt sexism and pressure on women she both saw and did not see as a woman at the top of her field. Is she excusing herself? Was she too caught up in her life to analyze what was going on around her? I do not know if it is just her
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GALLERY BEAT
F. LENNOX CAMPELLO
Going to the Fair…. Year after year I beat the drums about how key and critical it is for galleries, art organizations, art leagues (I’m looking at you Art League), art venues, etc. to participate in art fairs. Your typical art show in the DMV will attract, and thus expose the art to visitors in the hundreds. A decent art fair in New York or Miami during Art Basel week will attract and expose the artwork (and thus the artist) to tens of thousands. Simple math! And if the goal is the commodification of art, then this exponential leap in potential buyers has a k’chiiiing effect on sales. If the goal is simple exposure of the art, then… case closed: thousands always beats hundreds. The planet’s leading art fair week returns this December to the Greater Miami area, also known as the heart of the Cuban Diaspora (but I digress), led by the Art Basel fair in Miami Beach and surrounded by over twenty other satellite art fairs all over the Greater Miami area. In 2020 the fairs were all cancelled as a result of the venom unleashed upon the planet by the Covidian monster, and thus 2021 returns with a bit of held-breath (no pun intended) to see if the denizens of the art world will return to the warmth of Miami and stroll through miles of art and release millions of dollars in exchange for visual pleasures. Over the decades, many DMV area art galleries have made their presence a constant in these fairs, and a quick glance to the fair rosters now details just a handful venturing out to Miami this year. I only found Baltimore’s C. Grimaldis and the District’s CONNERSMITH are back at Art Miami, the oldest continuously running art fair in the United States. The District’s WGS Contemporary also brings works by DC area superstars (and Fulbright scholars) Michael Janis and Tim Tate, DC artist Tony Porto, Mexican uberphotographer Dulce Pinzon, British realism master Simon Monk, and yours truly to the SCOPE Art Fair
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“Call for Bruce Wayne” by Michael Janis and Tony Porto
in Miami Beach. The WGS booth has been curated by Janis to focus upon artwork along the themes of superheroes, but do not expect to find comic book enlargements of the Man of Steel or the Dark Knight – instead these artists interpret the Superhero vein along different and varied themes. For example, Pinzon’s famous photographic series revisits the theme of immigrant workers as the superheroes of their family back in their nations of origin. She writes: After September 11, the notion of the “hero” began to rear its head in the public consciousness more and more frequently. The notion served
a necessity in a time of national and global crisis to acknowledge those who showed extraordinary courage or determination in the face of danger, sometimes even sacrificing their lives in an attempt to save others. However, in the whirlwind of journalism surrounding these deservedly frontpage disasters and emergencies, it is easy to take for granted the heroes who sacrifice immeasurable life and labor in their day to day lives for the good of others, but do so in a somewhat less spectacular setting. The Mexican immigrant worker in New York is a perfect example of the hero who has gone unnoticed. It is common for a Mexican worker in
New York to work extraordinary hours in extreme conditions for very low wages which are saved at great cost and sacrifice and sent to families and communities in Mexico who rely on them to survive. The Mexican economy has quietly become dependent on the money sent from workers in the US. Conversely, the US economy has quietly become dependent on the labor of Mexican immigrants. Along with the depth of their sacrifice, it is the quietness of this dependence which makes Mexican immigrant workers a subject of interest. GALLERY BEAT > PAGE 15
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GALLERY BEAT | FROM PAGE 14
The principal objective of this series is to pay homage to these brave and determined men and women that somehow manage, without the help of any supernatural power, to withstand extreme conditions of labor in order to help their families and communities survive and prosper. This project consists of 20 color photographs of Mexican and Latino immigrants dressed in the costumes of popular American and Mexican superheroes. Each photo pictures the worker/superhero in their work environment, and is accompanied by a short text including the worker’s name, their hometown, the number of years they have been working in New York, and the amount of money they send to their families each week. The fairs, almost 30 of them, run in multiple venues throughout the first week of December.
Haircuts $15 Shampoo, Cut & Blow Dry $18 (extra charge for long hair) Scissors Cut $17+up Color $43+up Permanent $45+up (including haircut & conditioner)
“Rainbow Bat-Mandala” by Tim Tate
ART& ANTIQUES ANTIQUES BW Art, Antiques & Collectibles 108 N. Fayette Street Imperfections Antiques 1210 King Street
Cavalier Antiques 400 Prince Street
Henry Street Antiques 115 S. Henry Street Curzon Hill Antiques 108 S. Columbus Street The Hour 1015 King Street
The Antique Guild 113 N. Fairfax Street
A Galerie 315 Cameron Street
Silverman Galleries 110 N. St. Asaph Street
Random Harvest 810 King Street
Red Barn Mercantile 1117 King Street Washington Square Antiques 425 S. Washington Street
Old Town Antiques
Verdigris Vintage 1215 King Street
Sumpter Priddy III 323 S. Washington Street
Spurgeon-Lewis Antiques 112 N. Columbus Street
Susquehanna Antique Co. 608 Cameron Street
GALLERIES
222 S. Washington Street
Acme Mid-Century + Modern 128 S. Royal Street Van Bommel Antiek Hous 1007 King Street Lloyd’s Row 119 S. Henry Street
Torpedo Factory Art Center 105 N. Union Street Principle Gallery 208 King Street Potomac Fiber Arts Gallery 105 N. Union Street St. George Gallery 105 N. Alfred Street The Art League 105 Union Street Local Colour Old Town 218 N. Lee Street Icon Galleria 101 N. Union Street B&B Art Gallery 215 King Street Gallery West 1213 King Street Enamelist’s Gallery 105 N. Union Street Printmakers, Inc. 105 N. Union Street
Kelly’s Art & Frame 510 N. Washington Street Oerth Gallery 420 S. Washington Street Jeffrey Winter Fine Arts 110A S. Columbus Street
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Johnston Matthew 105 N. Union Street Huddy Studio 105 N. Union Street Mezzanine Multiples 105 N. Union Street Silverman Galleries 110 N. St. Asaph Street Cochran David 105 N. Union Street Betty Grisham Studio 105 N. Union Street Imagine Artwear 112 King Street
Season
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Gifts of the
Below: Sushi tray by Chris Paulsen Fused Glass Art. $89.
Earrings by Silver Forest of Vermont. $22.
Silk jackets by Lori Ross and fused glass ornaments by Theo Keller. Silk Jackets $499. Ornaments and glassware $19. – $79.
Old Town Crier
Above: Ski Cap by Baabaazuzu. Made from recycled fibers. $69.
915 King Street, Old Town Alexandria | 703-684-1435
Exclusively representing the works of
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Syreni Caledonii (Northern Atlantic Mermaid). Watercolor, charcoal and Conte. 2019, 12x36 inches.
Alida Anderson Art Projects, LLC, Washington, DC www.alidaanderson.com / info@alidaanderson.com
December 2021 |
15
TAKE PHOTOS, LEAVE FOOTPRINTS
SCOTT DICKEN
Nepal:
An Adventurer’s Playground In April 2015, Nepal was hit by a devastating earthquake that measured 7.8 on the Richter Scale, killed nearly 9,000 people, and left approximately US$10 Billion of damage in its wake – about a third of Nepal’s GDP! This, twinned with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, might lead you to ask, ‘is this the right time to visit Nepal’? My response is simple; as soon as COVID-19 conditions permit, the answer is a resounding YES! Nepal continues to be negatively affected by a slow recovery of its tourism market; and any visiting tourist is directly contributing to the country’s recovery with every dollar spent in restaurants, hotels, and with local tour operators. None of this is to suggest that this is a transaction solely benefitting the country’s recovery; it’s just a positive side-effect of visiting a country that’s steeped in history, culture, and religion, and can quench the thirst of even the most ardent adventure traveler. Below are five reasons to move Nepal to the top of your bucket list.
History Nowhere is the cultural and religious history of Nepal more evident than in the Kathmandu Valley, which just so happens to be the gateway to a Nepalese adventure! You’ll likely want to divide your time equally between the Valley’s three main cities of Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Patan; cities that are all within an hour of each other. Pretty much everything you touch in Kathmandu Valley is part of a World Heritage Site, so it isn’t just me alone opining its virtues; UNESCO seem to agree! With a vast array of temples, palaces, monuments, shrines and museums the Valley has it all, and can easily occupy the average tourist for a 4-day stay (and a history buff, much longer)!
savanna and grasslands, broadleaf forests, and wetlands. With elevations from 60m to over 8,000m above sea level I guess diversity is the keyword when it comes to Nepal’s scenery.
Culture To say that Nepal has a rich and diverse culture is probably an understatement. Encompassing a multitude of tribes and ethnicities, and influenced by the cultures of India, Mongolia, and Tibet, Nepal is home to a whopping 123 languages (the main language, Nepali, is spoken by approximately 45% of the population) from over 35 ethnic groups. Its rich diversity filters down to its music, religion, architecture, literature, dance and food. From visiting a Kumari (a prepubescent girl selected by a council of Newari people and chosen to be the living representation of the Taleju or Durga Goddess) to photographing the Sadhu’s (a holy person who has denounced worldly life) of Pashupatinath, Nepal is probably, from a cultural perspective, one of the most diverse countries I’ve ever visited.
Food The cultural diversity of Nepal is also visible in its food; it’s a real melting pot. From Chinese Chow-Mein to Indian curry and everything in between. That said, and if nothing else, you must try the dal-bhattarkari (which roughly translates to lentil soup-boiled grain-vegetable curry) and the Momo. Ahh, the Momo. Given that Momo are one of Nepal’s most popular dishes, it’s like hunting for sausage rolls in the UK…. they’re everywhere. Momo are Tibetan style dumplings filled with buffalo, vegetable, lamb or chicken, and Nepali spices - and they’re possibly the most delicious thing you’ll ever eat.
Scenery
Adventure
I think it’s fair to say that one of the major draws of a trip to Nepal is the Himalayas. With seven of the World’s highest peaks located in Nepal, it’s true that the mountain scenery is probably at the top of most visitor’s ‘must-see’ list. From sunrise viewed from the hill stations surrounding Kathmandu, to a trekking holiday in the Annapurna range or Everest Base Camp region, there’s no end to the opportunities when it comes to mountain spotting! But Nepal is more than mountains alone! Heading south to the border with India you’ll find yourself in the biodiverse lowland terrain of Chitwan National Park. Amongst the stunning scenery of this UNESCO World Heritage Site, you’ll have the opportunity to track Bengal tigers, one-horned rhino, and leopard against a backdrop of Terai-Duar
When it comes to adventure Nepal can really offer everything. Besides the obvious trekking and mountain climbing, Nepal offers some of the best white water rafting in the world and provides some of the best chances of seeing Bengal Tigers in the wild. Add to that the opportunity to take a light aircraft flight from Kathmandu to see Everest, hot air balloons, paragliding, bungee jumping, and ultralights and you’ve got the beginnings of an adventure addicts dream holiday!
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Do you think I’ve missed anything? Be sure to check out my 4-day Kathmandu Valley itinerary and Destination Guides for Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur on the takephotosleavefootprints. com website before you plan your trip!
Photos by Scott Dicken
Old Town Crier
The Nepal nature is characterized by being stunningly mountainous, possessing 8 peaks of the 10 highest in the world called ‘Eightthousander’, which is known in this way for having a land elevation higher than 8000 metres (26,247 ft) high above sea level, where Mount Everest with 8848 meters above sea level Earth's highest mountain and most recognized in the world.
Old Town Crier
AT THE TOP OF THE WORLD • Mount Everest - 8848 m
• Cho Oyu - 8201 m
• Kanchenjunga - 8586 m
• Dhaulagiri I - 8167 m
• Lhotse - 8516 m
• Manaslu - 8156 m
• Makalu - 8481 m
• Annapurna I - 8091 m
December 2021 |
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POINTS ON PETS
KRESTEN BIELING
Keeping Your Pets off Santa’s Naughty List: Pet-proofing and Other Holiday Tips Despite spending the last year jumping on the kitchen counter, scratching the sofa arms, chasing each other up and down the stairs at 3 a.m., and harassing the neighborhood birds, my cats are positive they’re on Santa’s nice list (and they aren’t wrong…). The holidays can be such a joyful and fulfilling time spent indulging with friends and family but can also be stressful when you have pets in your home. With the proper precautions though, you can keep your sanity and keep your pets off Santa’s naughty list. Munchies and Liquid Holiday Cheer. Just like we feebly attempt to watch our waistlines around the holidays, we should watch what our pets ingest too. Table scraps in general should be avoided, but especially any items containing chocolate or xylitol as those are especially toxic to animals. Other toxic or harmful items include onions, grapes/raisins, coffee/caffeine, unbaked bread dough/yeast, salt, raw eggs, and nuts. Also take special care to discard bones and produce seeds/pits. Turkey bones, for example, can splinter when ingested and wreak havoc on our pets’ internal systems. Additionally, the essential oils in peach pits and apple seeds can cause nervous system depression if a high quantity is ingested. Secure all trash away from pets to avoid any accidental harm. Although wine, beer, and other liquid holiday cheer flows freely at many holiday parties, pets should not partake even by accident. According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), as little as 1 ounce (less than a standard, bar-sized shot) can kill a pet and PetMD
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| December 2021
indicates that, for cats, even a little over a tablespoon can kill an adult. SANTA’S HELPER TIP: If you’re hoping to treat your pet like you treat yourself, consider a veterinaryapproved snack or toy and extra cuddles. O’ Christmas Tree. Inquisitive by nature, animals are likely to take interest in the tree we bring into our homes. Ensure pets do not chew or ingest on the limbs as pine needles can cause intestinal blockage or puncture. Secure all wires and cords out of reach from your pets higher in the tree or use a “cord keeper” organizer to hide the cords. Consider securing your tree to the wall, which will prevent damage to both your special ornaments and pet should they decide to climb it. Also, take care not to let your pet drink the water in the tree stand. This can not only dry out your tree and create a fire hazard in your home, but the needles and any water treatment chemicals can be harmful to pets. Finally, Christmas decorations and ornaments are likely to catch the eye of a frisky kitty, but items like tinsel and ribbon can be particularly dangerous to them. When ingested, these items can wrap around a cat’s tongue or worse, their intestines, potentially causing an intestinal blockage. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) recommends forgoing tinsel if you have a cat in your home. SANTA’S HELPER TIP: According to the AVMA, hanging a lemon-scented air freshener on the tree
may deter cats from climbing it. (Don’t) Meet Me Under the Mistletoe. Holiday plants add some festive color and scent to your home, but use caution when deciding which ones to buy. When ingested, many plants can cause pets abdominal discomfort or worse. Keep ivy, mistletoe, juniper, and holly out of reach of pets. Lilies, although known as an Easter plant, are especially toxic to cats. According to the ASPCA, lilies “can produce severe toxicosis and acute kidney injury (AKI). In fact, all parts of the plant are toxic and there are documented cases where exposure to the pollen alone has caused AKI.” In addition to plants, other scented holiday items like candles and potpourri can be harmful to pets. When in doubt, it’s best to keep all potentially dangerous items out of reach. SANTA’S HELPER TIP: According to the ASPCA and Humane Society, poinsettias, a vibrant holiday favorite, are not as toxic to pets as many believe. Ingestion may cause gastrointestinal discomfort, but are “generally overrated in toxicity.” Load up the Sleigh. Should you plan to leave your home for the holidays, make plans for your pets well in advance. Consider and research all options to determine whether it’s best to bring them with you or leave them with a pet sitter or kennel. Regardless
POINTS ON PETS > PAGE 19
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POINTS ON PETS | FROM PAGE 18
of the option you choose, ensure all pets have updated contact information on their collars and tags. Should you cross paths with Santa while flying this season, ensure your pets meet all requirements of your destination country. This may include vaccinations and microchips. Refer to the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) and your airline’s website before departing. When hosting visitors in your home, inform everyone, especially first-time visitors, that you have pets. Remind your guests to be mindful of your animals, especially when opening or closing doors. Consider providing a separate room for your pets to rest, especially if you have cats or
other small animals. Include all their necessities, such as a litter box, clean water, food, treats, toys, and bedding. SANTA’S HELPER TIP: Consult your veterinarian with any questions prior to traveling. They are best equipped to help you make the right decisions regarding travel for your pet.
and planning, the holidays can be, as Andy Williams put it, the most wonderful time of the year! Wishing you all a happy holiday season and a healthy new year!
About the Author: A lover of all things Christmas, cats, and cycling, Kristen Bieling eagerly counts down to December 25th each year. She lives in Arlington with her 2 cats, Atticus and Harrison. They make the rules and she just follows them.
With a little forethought
Resources Professional Pet Sitting Organizations National Association of Professional Pet Sitters (NAPPS) Find a Local NAPPS Pet Sitter | The National Association of Professional Pet Sitters Pet Sitters International (PSI) Pet Sitters International, the leading pet-sitter association Professional Animal Care Certification Council (PACCC) CHOOSING A PET CARE PROVIDER - PACCC: paccert.org
COVID-19 Information About Pets “COVID-19: If You Have Pets,” CDC, June 29, 2021
“Current Information About COVID-19 and Pets: Caring for Your Pets with SARS-CoV-2,” AVMA AVMA_SARS-CoV-2_Caring-for-pets_Client-handout.pdf Selected Alexandria-area Animal Shelters/Rescues Animal Welfare League of Alexandria 4101 Eisenhower Avenue Alexandria, VA 22304 703-838-4774 alexandriaanimals.org/
Fairfax County Animal Shelter 4500 West Ox Road Fairfax, VA 22030 703-830-1100 airfaxcounty.gov/animalshelter/
Animal Welfare League of Arlington 2650 S Arlington Mill Drive Arlington, VA 22206 (703) 931-9241 www.awla.org
King Street Cats 25 S. Dove Street Alexandria, VA 22314 703-231-7199 kingstreetcats.org/
PETS
OF THE
MONTH 4101 Eisenhower Avenue Alexandria, VA 703-746-4774 alexandriaanimals.org Mon-Fri, 1-8 pm Closed Wed Sat & Sun, 12-5 pm Old Town Crier
BUTTER
LOGAN
SCISSORS
Who has the best smile, is a connoisseur of Fetch and doesn’t get bashful when you tell him he’s handsome? It’s Butter! This gorgeous 1-year-old never lets compliments go to his head because he can’t hear them. Butter is deaf, but he doesn’t let that stop him from learning all kinds of new tricks or enjoying a quality cuddle with his friends. Butter’s adoption fees have been pre-paid by Priority Automotive as part of the Home for the “Pawlidays” adoption event, so learn more about how to make this Butter’s best holiday ever at AlexandriaAnimals.org/Adopt.
Office assistant Logan at your service! This sweet senior is far from retirement and has taken up a side gig helping his foster human keep their home office organized and efficient - at least according to cat standards! Logan loves the company of his human friends almost as much as he loves tasty treats, and he can’t wait to find a home of his own to make himself comfortable with his new besties. Logan’s adoption fees have already been paid, so email adopt@alexandriaanimals.org or call 703.746.4774 to find out how to meet him from his foster home today.
Don’t be fooled by his stylish ride! Scissors the guinea pig is a low-key, nonchalant fellow who’s just looking for the 3 Fs: friends, family and fruit (that’s his favorite snack). This 1-year-old is looking for a family to include him in all their activities, from movie night (he’s happy to share a blanket) to charades (he promises he won’t accidentally squeak the answer out loud). Scissors’ adoption fees have already been paid as part of the Home for the Pawlidays adoption event, sponsored by Priority Automotive, so schedule time to meet him at AlexandriaAnimals.org/Adopt.
The AWLA has a lot of amazing adoptables at the Vola Lawson Animal Shelter and even more in foster care throughout the community. Meet some of our foster favorites and schedule time to meet them by emailing adopt@alexandriaanimals.org. December 2021 |
19
CARIBBEAN CONNECTION ALEXANDER BRITTELL Now that we're all working remotely
Wouldn't you REALLY rather work from the beach?
The Loose Mongoose: A BVI Destination Beach Bar! It‘s a ritual for travelers to the British Virgin Islands… ...Land at Beef Island Airport, go through customs, gather your luggage and head to Trellis Bay, where you’d find your ferry or charter, step on your boat and begin your BVI vacation. But in recent years, Trellis Bay has become more than just a jumping-off point. It has become a destination in its own right. And that’s in large part thanks to the Loose Mongoose, a Mecca in the British Virgin Islands, a restaurant and beach bar and town square all in one. The open-air eatery on the waterfront in Trellis Bay is a marvelous mix of outstanding food, creative cocktails and even a bustling weekend brunch, along with morning coffee for boaters in search of java fuel (or those heading to an early ride on the Anegada ferry). It’s not new, of course. For years, Loose Mongoose was a haven for boaters, travelers and rum lovers —until the storms of 2017 had their say. And now, following a dramatic
reconstruction project, the Loose Mongoose has a whole new look and a new place in the pantheon of Caribbean beach bars, and a compelling argument for BVI travelers to stay a little longer in Trellis Bay. Loose Mongoose, which is the sister company of the renowned Anegada Beach Club hotel, is green, too, having been built from recycled hardwoods in true Caribbean style, with a thatched-roof look married with sleek, modern design. “Loose Mongoose was created to be a multifaceted gateway to the outer islands, while serving as a unique destination in of itself,” owner Doug Riegels tells Caribbean Journal. That’s precisely what it’s done: Loose, as it’s affectionately known, has instantly become one of the coolest-looking beach spots in all of the BVI, one that should make anyone heading to another island from Trellis Bay think twice. Because when you get here, you’re not going anywhere. Another compelling argument to stick THE LOOSE MONGOOSE > PAGE 20
NAPLES FL TOPS THE LIST FOR BEST BEACHES IN USA BEACHFRONT SEASONAL RENTAL AVAILABLE Naples has again claimed the top spot by Travel and Leisure and several other groups for best beach town in the US. The jewel of SW Florida’s Paradise Coast has sugar sand beaches, turquoise clear waters and every amenity worthy of a world class resort town. Seasonal lease of well furnished 2BR 2BA condo in the very best beachfront location is available this winter (90 day minimum lease term). No finer view from inside and better beach access at any price and most rentals in area start at twice the price. Includes carport parking, heated pool, elevators and privacy; uncrowded beach and, onsite management. Photo is the view from inside! Call (no texts), email or visit our Facebook page @NaplesOceanfrontCondo. 540-364-9480 • hopespringsfarm@gmail.com
k
Ann Street Gardens
y
ey west getawa
Key West Getaway One Block from Sloppy Joe’s Contact: historichideaways.com • 1-800-654-5131 20
| December 2021
Old Town Crier
THE LOOSE MONGOOSE FROM PAGE 20
around, is what is one of the best rum selections in the BVI. A rum bar-within-a-bar called the “Honor Society” whose collection ranges from sought-after rhum agricoles like Rhum Clement to Cuba’s signature Havana Club 7 to a member of the rum pantheon, the ultra-rare Brugal Papa Andres from the Dominican Republic. The rum bar itself is nestled into the original structure of Loose, as locals call it; there’s opulent leather furniture, aged teak flooring, historic photos and some other worthy spirits,
too. Then there’s the food, the product of awardwinning chefs, with a blend of Caribbean and American food and the sort of service that’s tailor-made for locals, boaters and day trippers. It all adds up to more than just a place to begin your Journey, more than a restaurant, more than a bar and more than a rum retreat. “We feel that we have created a genuine arrival and departure location that caters to both tourists and local guests,” Riegels says. In other words, before you step on that boat, you may want to stick around awhile. For more, contact info@loosemongoosebvi. com.
The Cliffhouse On St. John:
Back on the Short-term Market The sun comes up over the mountain and glows on Cinnamon Bay and Peter Bay, a mesmerizing, mystical moment in St John. But it’s nothing unusual. It’s every sunrise at the Cliffhouse in St. John. But the daily arrival of the sun is not the only reason why Cliffhouse is one of the hottest villas on St John; back on the short term rental market, the 12,000-square-foot ultra-luxe villa is one of the most spectacular places to stay in the US Virgin Islands. The recently-renovated four-bedroom retreat, with room for parties of up to ten guests, set in the exclusive community of Peter Bay. That includes private beach access to Peter Bay Beach, the home of some of the best snorkeling and swimming in all of St. John, a corner of the island where you’ll likely encounter turtles and stingrays. Amenities also include A/C and TV with an array of Indonesian antiques, custom-designed furniture, fine linens and a pervasive island chic aesthetic. There’s even an on-site, well-equipped gym. But the biggest amenity is the setting: you’re up, 100 feet above sea level, overlooking astonishing scenery: St. John beaches, the green hills of the British Virgin Islands; the Virgin Islands National Park and the Sir Francis Drake Channel. It’s an almost hypnotizing scene, whether you’re having an invilla massage or a rum cocktail on the deck — and not just at sunrise. “This is one of the best villas on St John,” says Shanna Dickerson, owner of Blue Sky Luxury Travels, the exclusive rental agent for the property. Reservations for the villa are now available starting New Year’s Eve week, Dec. 26 through Jan. 2. For more information, visit BlueSkyLuxuryTravels.com.
CLIFFHANGER SEE OUR AY HOMEAW 5 AT #28629 LISTING AY.COM HOMEAW
As featured on HGTV and winner of “Bang For Your Buck” in St. Thomas. This recently renovated villa resides on the edge of a cliff 200 feet above the Atlantic Ocean crashing onto the rocks below. The best location on the island—a private, secure, gated community of luxury villas—the villa offers spectacular views of the Atlantic and various islands including St. John, Jost Van Dyke and Tortola. The main house has 3 bedrooms with a detached cottage with its’ own queen size bed. Large deck, pool and spa. Phone 703 628-9005 • Fax 703 765-5900 The OTC is happy to partner with Alexander Britell, Founder and Editor-In-Chief of the Miami, Florida based Caribbean journal, and his staff. Check them out online at caribjournal.com for valuable information on all of the fabulous travel options and things of interest in the Caribbean. Old Town Crier
December 2021 |
21
FROM THE BAY
2021 EASTPORT YACHT CLUB LIGHTS PARADE Saturday, December 11th 6-8 pm Sponsored by Long & Foster Real Estate, Eastport Office
Artist Charles Lawrance photo by Alison Harbaugh
Charles Lawrance and the Downtown Christmas Tree
Annapolis Christmas Tree with artists ornaments, courtesy Erik Evans In the spirit of keeping it local, the Downtown Annapolis Partnership has selected local artist Charles Lawrance to design this year’s ornaments for the downtown Annapolis Christmas tree. Charles is known for his nautical-inspired artwork. Many are familiar with his murals that can be found in Baltimore and locally inside Luna Blu Ristorante Italiano and O’Learys Seafood Restaurant. His studio FinArt is located in the Annapolis Design District at ArtFarm. Charles Lawrance is designing the ornaments for the downtown Annapolis Christmas tree with a nautical theme that will reflect his nautical style of art. The 24 foot tall Christmas tree was purchased locally from Diehl’s Produce in Eastport and has was installed by Annapolisbased Garden Girls Landscaping starting on November 22nd. The Grand Illumination
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of the Christmas Tree was hosted by the Annapolis Jaycees on Sunday evening November 28th on Market Space in downtown Annapolis. The downtown Annapolis Menorah lighting and Menorah Parade of Lights was also held that evening. This year’s Christmas Tree sponsor is the South Annapolis Yacht Centre. They will be at the Christmas tree during all three Midnight Madness events this year (December 2nd, 9th, and 16th) to collect new toys and books for local children. Erik Evans the Executive Director of the Downtown Annapolis Partnership said “The Downtown Annapolis Partnership is excited to work with local artists, kids, and sponsors that are all working together with us to make Annapolis magical for all this holiday season.” Additional sponsors of this year’s downtown holiday decorations include Sheehy Lexus of Annapolis, The City of Annapolis, RBC Wealth Management, Zachary’s Jewelers, and others. The public can meet Charles Lawrance at the Grand Illumination event and on select days at his new exhibit at 49 West Coffeehouse, Winebar and Gallery during the month of December. The exhibit is open throughout December including during all three Midnight Madness events. Ornaments on this year’s Christmas tree will be available for purchase directly from the artist and can be picked up after the holiday season.
The Eastport Yacht Club Lights Parade is celebrating 39 years of their Lights Parade this year. Each year the parade illuminates the Annapolis waterfront with up to forty boats of all shapes and sizes—both power and sail—brightly decorated with thousands of lights and crewed by jolly revelers. Two fleets participate and switch places mid-event: one circling in front of Eastport, the City Dock and the Naval Academy seawall, the other circling the length of Spa Creek, inside the bridge. This festive maritime event is great fun for the entire family. Twenty to thirty thousand people line the waterfront each year to watch this glittering holiday parade. Where to watch information is available online: www.eastportyc.org/lights-parade. This year the parade will also be filmed by drone and a video of the event will be made available to the public shortly after the parade.
2021
AT THE BEACH
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! The Town of North Beach is transformed for the season with twinkling lights and Christmas displays. You can enjoy the magic of the holidays all season long! From caroling and campfires, to a movie and the magic that Santa will bring, Christmas shines brightest in North Beach!
DEC 4
DEC 11 DEC 18
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Christmas Campfire| 5:30-7pm | On the Beach
RESIDENTS AND THEIR GUESTS ARE INVITED TO WARM UP AROUND THE CAMPFIRE AND ENJOY HOT CHOCOLATE WHILE YOU ROAST MARSHMALLOWS!
How the Grinch Stole Christmas Movie | 5:30-7:30pm | On the Beach
DRESS FOR COOL WEATHER BY LAYERING YOUR COZY HOLIDAY SHADES LIKE RED AND GREEN. BRING YOUR CHAIR OR BLANKET TO GET COMFY ON THE BEACH TO WATCH THIS CLASSIC CHRISTMAS MOVIE.
Santa Claus is Cruisin’ the Town | 1-3pm | Around Town SANTA WILL TRADE IN HIS SLEIGH FOR A DAY TO GOLF CART AROUND TOWN! COME OUT TO VISIT WHEN YOU SEE HIM MAKING HIS WAY DOWN YOUR STREET!
Christmas Campfire| 5:30-7pm | On the Beach RESIDENTS AND THEIR GUESTS ARE INVITED TO WARM UP AROUND THE CAMPFIRE AND ENJOY HOT CHOCOLATE WHILE YOU ROAST MARSHMALLOWS! THE TOWN CHRISTMAS TREE AND FESTIVE
ALL DISPLAYS SERVE AS THE PERFECT BACKGROUND FOR YOUR FAMILY’S CHRISTMAS PHOTOS. SEASON INDULGE IN SAVORY DELIGHTS, SWEET TREATS AND HOLIDAY BEVERAGES AROUND TOWN. DON’T FORGET TO START AND FINISH YOUR HOLIDAY SHOPPING AT OUR CHARMING SHOPS. SCAN QR CODE FOR MAP OF THE TOWN AND BUSINESS INFORMATION.
To learn more about events in downtown Annapolis visit: www downtown annapolispartnership.org/annapolis-events
Old Town Crier
Firepit Seating HAPPY HOUR IS BACK!
yl visit us b
a n d or s e a
Gorgeous Waterfront Dining in St. Mary’s County
N ! OPE OUND RR
YEA
Merry Christmas to You and Yours
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ROAD TRIP
BOB TAGERT
Photo by R. Kennedy for Visit Alexandria
Every month we write about fun and inviting destinations in the DMV. Some are close to Alexandria and some are states away, however, every December we stay home and write about our beautiful city. Recognized by Oprah Magazine as one of the most magical Christmas towns across the World in 2020 and by Southern Living as the perfect southern town for a Hallmark Christmas movie in 2019, Alexandria brings an old fashioned sense of holiday wonder to the area with centuries-old brick-lined streets, twinkling with holiday traditions that make visitors feel transported. Step back in time and enjoy Colonial Christmas programming at George Washington’s Mount Vernon or skate through Ice and Lights: The Winter Village at Cameron 24
| December 2021
Run. Dozens of independent boutiques are going above and beyond to make their shops dazzle. Stroll among al fresco dining spots along 18th and 19th century streetscapes or pick up gourmet goodies to go. Under a canopy of sparkling lights, a stroll on historic King Street is like being in a real life Dickens Village, complete with a European flair. Recognized as a Top 3 Best Small Cities (up from #5 last year) in the U.S. 2021 for the fourth consecutive year Photo by Lee Moody
HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS > PAGE 24
Old Town Crier
HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS | FROM PAGE 24
If you have never been
by Conde. The Conde Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards are the longest-running and most prestigious recognition of excellence in the travel industry and are commonly known as ‘the best of the best of travel.” More than 800,000 Conde Nast Traveler readers across the globe submitted responses rating the travel experiences across the globe that they long for most when they couldn’t travel and decided to visit first once they could. This year’s awards reflect the ways the world of travel has begun to welcome back guests and the travel professionals that have never stopped serving them to the highest standards. As a resident and business owner for 40 years, I know how hard the leaders of this town work to maintain this excellence. As everyone is aware, the pandemic had an adverse effect on the holiday season in Alexandria last year. Many of the popular events were cancelled but this year they all return. On December 4th the Scottish Christmas Walk will return celebrating the 50th anniversary of this popular event. Also returning will be the 21st annual Alexandria Holiday Boat Parade of Lights. Be sure to be on the waterfront for this magnificent sight. Don’t forget about the Waterskiing Santa on Christmas Eve as well. Also located on the waterfront is the Tall Ship Providence. This fullscale reproduction of one of the most renowned ships in the Continental Navy arrived in the summer of 2019 to great fanfare and opened as a permanent attraction in 2020. The ship is open to the public and tours include family pirate cruises, adult pirate cruises, craft beer cruises and occasional evening cruises. Discover art in person and in progress at the nation’s largest collection of working artists open studios under one roof. A fully operational munitions plant during World War II, The Torpedo Factory Art Center is now home to 82 artists’ studios, galleries, the Alexandria Archeology Museum and The Art League. When I came to Old Town in 1977 the two original buildings from WWII were still standing. Much has changed since then. Other changes brought by the pandemic was the closing of the 100 block of King Street to vehicular traffic and it is now a pedestrian walkway. This allowed the restaurants to increase their outdoor dining space when social distancing was the norm. Since last year there is now enclosed and heated areas to accommodate outdoor dining. Although the 100 block of King Street usually gets the
to Old Town Alexandria,
Old Town Crier
this holiday season would be the perfect time to take in all that we have to offer. You won’t regret your decision to join in the holiday magic of Photo by Lee Moody
Old Town.
Photo by Lee Moody most attention, there are numerous other restaurants that have heated areas for outdoor dining throughout the city, including the side streets. This will certainly be a festive area this holiday season. There is much to see this year as we still try to get back to normal. Old Town Alexandria covers some 18 blocks from the Potomac River to the King Street Metro stop in the west end. First Night will be celebrated the evening of December 31st as we usher in 2022. This is a great night for the family with entertainment throughout the town at select locations. If you have never been to Old Town Alexandria, this holiday season would be the perfect time to take in all that we have to offer. You won’t regret your decision to join in the holiday magic of Old Town.
Photo by Lee Moody
December 2021 |
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TO THE BLUE RIDGE
JULIE REARDON
A friend who lives in the mountains shares this story every holiday season and it’s one of my favorites. I only recently found out the author’s name since various versions have been around for many years, variously titled A Christmas Prayer and The Rifle, and that it’s not actually a true story. The author was a sheep herder and wrote it one freezing night while pondering how to explain the true meaning of Christmas to his children. I think you will enjoy it as much as I do. A Christmas Story BY RIAN ANDERSON Pa never had much compassion for the lazy or those who squandered their means and then never had enough for the necessities. But for those who were genuinely in need, his heart was as big as all outdoors. It was from him that I learned the greatest joy in life comes from giving, not from receiving. It was Christmas Eve 1881. I was fifteen years old and feeling like the world had caved in on me because there just hadn’t been enough money to buy me the rifle that I’d wanted so bad that year for Christmas. We did the chores early that night for some reason. I just figured Pa wanted a little extra time so we could read in the Bible. So, after supper was over, I took my boots off and stretched out in front of the fireplace and waited for Pa to get down the old Bible. I was still feeling sorry for myself and, to be honest, I wasn’t in much of a mood to read scriptures. But Pa didn’t get the Bible, instead he bundled up and went outside. I couldn’t figure it out because we had already done all the chores. I didn’t worry about it long though, I was too busy wallowing in self-pity. Soon Pa came back in. It was a cold clear night out and there was ice in his beard. “Come on, Matt,” he said. “Bundle up good, it’s cold out tonight.” I was really upset then. Not only wasn’t I getting the rifle for Christmas, now Pa was dragging me out in the cold, and for no earthly reason that I could see. We’d already done all the chores, and I couldn’t think of anything else that needed doing, especially not on a night like this. But I knew Pa was not very patient at one dragging one’s feet when he’d told them to do something, so I got up and put my boots back on and got my cap, coat, and mittens. Ma gave me a mysterious smile as I opened the door to leave the house. Something was up, 26
| December 2021
Merry Christmas from the Blue Ridge!
but I didn’t know what. Outside, I became even more dismayed. There in front of the house was the work team, already hitched to the big sled. Whatever it was we were going to do wasn’t going to be a short, quick, little job. I could tell. We never hitched up the big sled unless we were going to haul a big load. Pa was already up on the seat, reins in hand. I reluctantly climbed up beside him. The cold was already biting at me. I wasn’t happy. When I was on, Pa pulled the sled around the house and stopped in front of the woodshed. He got off and I followed. “I think we’ll put on the high sideboards,” he said. “Here, help me.” The high sideboards! It had been a bigger job than I wanted to do with just the low sideboards on, but whatever it was we were going to do would be a lot bigger with the high sideboards on. When we had exchanged the sideboards, Pa went into the woodshed and came out with an armload of wood - the wood I’d spent all summer hauling down from the mountain, and then all fall sawing into blocks and splitting. What was he doing? Finally I said something. “Pa,” I asked, “what are you doing?” ”You been by the Widow Jensen’s lately?” he asked. The Widow Jensen lived about two miles down the road. Her husband had died a year or so before and left her with three children, the oldest being eight. Sure, I’d been by, but so what? “Yeah,” I said, “why?” “I rode by just today,” Pa said. “Little Jakey was out digging around in the woodpile trying to find a few chips. They’re out of wood, Matt.” That was all he said and then he turned and went back into the woodshed for another armload of wood. I followed him. We loaded the sled so high that I began
to wonder if the horses would be able to pull it. Finally, Pa called a halt to our loading. We went to the smoke house and Pa took down a big ham and a side of bacon. He handed them to me and told me to put them in the sled and wait. When he returned he was carrying a sack of flour over his right shoulder and a smaller sack of something in his left hand. “What’s in the little sack?” I asked. “Shoes. They’re out of shoes. Little Jakey just had gunny sacks wrapped around his feet when he was out in the woodpile this morning. I got the children a little candy too. It just wouldn’t be Christmas without a little candy.” We rode the two miles to Widow Jensen’s pretty much in silence. I tried to think through what Pa was doing. We didn’t have much by worldly standards. Of course, we did have a big woodpile, though most of what was left now was still in the form of logs that I would have to saw into blocks and split before we could use it. We also had meat and flour, so we could spare that, but I knew we didn’t have any money, so why was Pa buying them shoes and candy? Really, why was he doing any of this? Widow Jensen had closer neighbors than us. It shouldn’t have been our concern. We came in from the blind side of the Jensen house and unloaded the wood as quietly as possible, then we took the meat and flour and shoes to the door. We knocked and the door opened a crack and a timid voice said, “Who is it?” “Lucas Miles, Ma’am, and my son, Matt. Could we come in for a bit?” Widow Jensen opened the door and let us in. She had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. The children were wrapped in another and were sitting in front of the fireplace by a very small fire
that hardly gave off any heat at all. Widow Jensen fumbled with a match and finally lit the lamp. “We brought you a few things, Ma’am,” Pa said and set down the sack of flour. I put the meat on the table. Then Pa handed her the sack that had the shoes in it. She opened it hesitantly and took the shoes out one pair at a time. There was a pair for her and one for each of the children--sturdy shoes, the best, shoes that would last. I watched her carefully. She bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling and then tears filled her eyes and started running down her cheeks. She looked up at Pa like she wanted to say something, but it wouldn’t come out. “We brought a load of wood too, Ma’am,” Pa said, then he turned to me and said, “Matt, go bring enough in to last for a while. Let’s get that fire up to size and heat this place up.” I wasn’t the same person when I went back out to bring in the wood. I had a big lump in my throat and, much as I hate to admit it, there were tears in my eyes too. In my mind I kept seeing those three kids huddled around the fireplace and their mother standing there with tears running down her cheeks and so much gratitude in her heart that she couldn’t speak. My heart swelled within me and a joy filled my soul that I’d never known before. I had given at Christmas many times before, but never when it had made so much difference. I could see we were literally saving the lives of these people. I soon had the fire blazing and everyone’s spirits soared. The kids started giggling when Pa handed them each a piece of candy and Widow Jensen looked on with a smile that probably hadn’t crossed her face for a long time. She finally turned to us. “God bless you,” she said. “I know TO THE BLUERIDGE > PAGE 26
Old Town Crier
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TO THE BLUERIDGE | FROM PAGE 26
the Lord himself has sent you. I’ve been praying that he would send one of his angels to spare us.” In spite of myself, the lump returned to my throat and the tears welled up in my eyes again. I’d never thought of Pa in those exact terms before, but
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after Widow Jensen mentioned it I could see that it was probably true. I was sure that a better man than Pa had never walked the earth. I started remembering all the times he had gone out of his way for Ma and me, and many others. The list seemed endless as I thought on it. Pa insisted that everyone try on the shoes before we left. I
was amazed when they all fit and I wondered how he had known what sizes to get. Then I guessed that if he was on a first name basis with the Lord that the Lord would make sure he got the right sizes. Tears were running down Widow Jensen’s face again when we stood up to leave. Pa took each of the kids in his big arms and gave them a hug.
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They clung to him and didn’t want us to go. I could see that they missed their Pa, and I was glad that I still had mine. At the door Pa turned to Widow Jensen and said, “The Mrs. wanted me to invite you and the children over for Christmas dinner tomorrow. The turkey will be more than the three of us can eat, and a man can get cantankerous if he has to eat turkey for too many meals. We’ll be by to get you about eleven. It’ll be nice to have some little ones around again. Matt, here, hasn’t been little for quite a spell.” I was the youngest. My two older brothers and two older sisters were all married and had moved away. Widow Jensen nodded and said, “Thank you, Brother Miles. I don’t have to say, “’May the Lord bless you,’ I know for certain that He will.” Out on the sled I felt a warmth that came from deep within and I didn’t even notice the cold. When we had gone a ways, Pa turned to me and said, “Matt, I want you to know something. Your ma and me have been tucking a little money away here and there all year so we could buy that rifle for you, but we didn’t have quite enough. Then yesterday a man who owed me a little money from years back came
by to make things square. Your ma and me were real excited, thinking that now we could get you that rifle. I started into town this morning to do just that. But on the way I saw little Jakey out scratching in the woodpile with his feet wrapped in those gunny sacks and knew what I had to do. So, son, I spent the money for shoes and a little candy for those children. I hope you understand.” I understood, and my eyes became wet with tears again. I understood very well, and I was so glad Pa had done it. Just then the rifle seemed very low on my list of priorities. Pa had given me a lot more. He had given me the look on Widow Jensen’s face and the radiant smiles of her three children. For the rest of my life, whenever I saw any of the Jensen’s, or split a block of wood, I remembered; and remembering brought back that same joy I felt riding home beside Pa that night. Pa had given me much more than a rifle. Publishers Note: Julie has been under the weather for the last few months but is finally on the mend. We thought it would cheer her up a bit if we published her column from December 2016.
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Old Town Crier
CHARLES OPPMAN
YULE LOG
LET’S EAT
Christmas
We’ve all seen the famous French Christmas Yule log—the bûche de Noël. A bûche is made by slathering butter cream on a sheet of pliable sheet cake called roulade, rolling it into a cylinder and decorating it with butter cream to resemble a small log. Making a bûche requires a bit of work, but it’s not beyond the skills of serious home bakers. Your family and guests will be impressed. They make great gifts too.
Serves: 8 Time: 2 hours Old Town Crier
Roulade (Jelly roll cake) Ingredients • 4 egg yolks, from large eggs • 1/3 cup white granulated sugar • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, sifted • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled • 4 fresh egg whites, from large eggs Instructions Grease a standard jelly roll pan (about 11 x 7 inches) and line it with parchment paper or waxed paper. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. These tasks must be done prior making the roulade. Whip the yolks and sugar on medium speed until the mixture turns pale yellow and ribbons form. This bowl intermittently over hot water or a low flame on top of the range. Once ribbons have formed, incrementally fold the flour into the yolks and sugar mixture with a curved rubber spatula. Folding is best accomplished by turning the bowl whilst you fold in the flour in stages. This provides uniform distribution of the flour. If you have only one mixer, remove this mixture to another bowl then wash and dry the machine bowl for whipping the whites. In a very clean and dry mixing bowl, whip the egg whites until stiff and peaks form. Whipping should be done on medium speed as this will result in firmer, more stable meringue. High speed will result in a meringue that collapses easily. Combine the whites with the egg, sugar and flour mixture. This is a very delicate procedure. This is best accomplished by combining half the whites with the mixture and gently folding the
remaining whites into the mixture. Take care to turn the bowl as the whites are added incrementally. With an off-set palette knife, spread the entire mixture over the prepared jelly roll pan. The batter should be spread to a depth of only ½ inches thick as the batter will rise when baked. Place pan in the middle of the oven and bake for 5 to 7 minutes or until the edges begin to turn light brown. Do not overcook as it will become brittle and break when you roll it. To check for doneness, insert a toothpick in the center and if it comes out clean the roulade is sufficiently cooked. Remove from oven and allow cooling before removing from pan. Remove the paper by beginning at a corner and gently pulling towards the opposite end.
Vanilla Butter Cream Ingredients • 1 cup water • 3 cups white granulated sugar • 9 fresh egg whites, from medium eggs • 4½ cups unsalted butter, softened • 1 tablespoons pure vanilla extract Instructions In a clean, heavy-bottomed sauce pan combine sugar and water. Rapidly boil the syrup to precisely 240ºF. A candy thermometer should be used to obtain the exact temperature. While the syrup is cooking whip whites on medium speed in a clean and dry machine mixing bowl. Once syrup has reached 235ºF remove it from the fire. The temperature will continue to rise to the desired 240ºF. With the mixer on high speed, slowly drizzle
the hot syrup into the whites. Reduce mixer speed to medium and allow meringue to cool down to nearly room temperature, about 100ºF. With the mixer still on medium speed, slowly add dollops of butter to the meringue. Allow each addition to incorporate before adding the next. Add vanilla. Chocolate butter cream may be made by adding ½ cup of melted dark semi-sweet chocolate to the batch. You can also make hazelnut butter cream by adding Nutella.
Assembling and Garnishing the Cake Spread a thin layer of butter cream on the sheet of roulade and roll it into a cylinder. Wrap the cylinder in waxed paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Once thoroughly chilled remove to cutting board and slice each end at a 45º angle. Place the cylinder on the serving platter with which you intend to serve the bûche. This will obviate the need to transfer the finished log and possibly damaging it in the process. With an off-set palette knife or spatula slather butter cream ½ inch over the entire cylinder including the ends. Drag a pastry comb or the tines of a dinner fork along the length of the log to make textured lines that resemble tree bark. Make the bark design on the sides of the trunk only. The butter cream on the ends should remain smooth. If you wish, the ends can be made to resemble tree rings by piping alternate concentric rings of melted dark chocolate and butter cream. Refrigerate cake until service. You can even decorate the plate with sprigs of holly leaves.
December 2021 |
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DINING OUT
THE GASTRONOME
DISCOVER THE BEST OF TIMES!
Experience Upper King Street With the Christmas and Holiday shopping season upon us, we thought we would take a different approach to Dining Out. As we all know, there are many very fine restaurants and shops in Old Town Alexandria, so I thought I would recommend a few spots to grab a bite to eat as well as long standing go-to shops for just about anything. When I talk about upper King Street I am refering to west of Washington Street. Here you will find unique shops as well as eateries for a quick lunch during your shopping break or a nice dinner afterward. Our first restaurant is our friends at MACKIE’S BAR AND GRILL. This restaurant is properly named. Out front is a neighborhood bar that is frequented by industry folks. The friendly vibe is a result of that Cheers axiom...Everybody knows your name! To new customers it may seem a bit rowdy, but in fact, it is everyone having a good time.
The bar food is very good ranging from my favorite, pot stickers, to onion soup to great steak dinners. Their burger is rated number one in Alexandria. Between the dining room and bar area they have 8 tv’s showing different sporting events on each one. The place is also a Green Bay Packers retreat so when the Packers play it is pretty crowded. A recent addition, and a very cool one, is a projector that projects sporting events on their large plate glass front window. The perfect spot to watch a football game al fresco and order a game day special. You will feel like you are in the box seats at the stadium. Time to breakout the heaters! The dining room in the back is a different story - consisting mostly of four tops in a room bathed in warm rugged colors. This is a place you can get that uptown prime New York Strip steak in a relaxing environment. The steaks at Mackie’s are spot on as are the offerings on the balance of the menu. Once again it is a great
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UPPER KING STREET > PAGE 31
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| December 2021
Old Town Crier
UPPER KING STREET | FFROM PAGE 30
place to catch a game over a very nice dinner. I also have to mention their brunch. They have all the egg dishes and more but their hash browns are killer and the Eggs Benedict are perfect with one suggestion…if you like dark toast, you may want to ask them to toast your English muffin a bit longer. Don’t forget to order that $5 Bloody Mary or $3 Mimosa! In the same block as Mackie’s you will find a very unique store...TEN THOUSAND VILLAGES selling fair-trade crafts and housewares from Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. Shopping here is an eyeopening experience and the choices will amaze you. “They are more than just a store, they are a way for you to shop with intention, shop your values and connect with your global villages.” At 1124 King Street you will find IMAGINE ARTWEAR, a longtime business in Alexandria. When the Old Town Crier was first published in 1988, owner Carol Suplee was one of the first advertisers
and continues to advertise to this day. Imagine Artwear means just what the name implies. They showcase the best in contemporary American crafts, selling sophisticated clothing, jewelry and accessories made exclusively by American artists. Imagine is a gallery dedicated to displaying the talents of weavers, painters, surface designers, jewelers, potters, glass artists and furniture makers. Here, you will find something that you like and want! If this shopping has made you hungry or thirsty, head on back to the 700 block of King Street to the VILLAGE BRAUHAUS. The Brauhaus opened in 2018 and was greeted by the pandemic. Not a good time to open a business but Bill Gross and wife Chelsey made it happen. Since then, the skilled and experienced chefs and staff have proven to please with quality interpretations of classic German/Bavarian dishes and daring new ventures into the unchartered territories of food and drink.
If you have a favorite German dish...they have it as well as a huge selection of German beers. Their brats are the best. You have to try their imported Giant Bavarian Pretzel. You may think you can’t eat it all, but you will. I couldn’t put mine down. Directly across the street from Village Brauhaus is one of Old Town’s oldest and one of our longtime favorite restaurants/bar. MURPHY’S GRAND IRISH PUB was opened by friends and family with a passion for their Irish heritage and a desire to bring traditional Irish food and entertainment to their community. Since 1978 (and we were there), people have been meeting at Murphy’s to enjoy hearty meals in an atmosphere that puts everyone who enters in a good mood. In addition to great food (you have to try their Irish Stew on a cold day), they also provide entertainment every night. This place is old style. If you are out shopping on a very cold day, check out Murphy’s blazing fire in the middle of the room and enjoy a perfectly poured Guinness!
Discover upper King Street in Old Town Alexandria this Holiday season. There is much to do and many and varied eating establishments to be explored. If you are looking for something to do with the kids on New Year’s
Eve, check out Alexandria First Night celebration. The entertainment starts at the King Street Metro with and is a family affair. See details in the calendar section of this issue.
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907 KING STREET OLD TOWN ALEXANDRIA 703.684.3288 MACKIESBARANDGRILL.COM December 2021 |
31
LET'S GET CRAFTY
TIMOTHY LONG
Wassail and Other Holiday Delights “Wassailing? What the hell is wassailing?” Was the reply my 15-year-old self gave to his friends when they said we were going wassailing. “Caroling” they said. “You mean door to door?” “Yes” No way! I was too cool for that! Not happening! Then the girls showed up to join us. Suddenly my attitude changed, and I’ve been wassailing ever since. The word “wassailing” has evolved for over 1000 years. It is derived from Old Nordic and Old English words that meant “be in good health”. A British tradition, it originally referred to a drink made of mulled ale or cider, curdled cream, roasted apples, eggs cloves, ginger, nutmeg and sugar. According to WhyChristmas.com: “One legend about how Wassailing was created says that a beautiful Saxon maiden named Rowena presented Prince Vortigen with a bowl of wine while toasting him with the words ‘waes hael’. Over the centuries, a great deal of ceremony developed around the custom of drinking wassail. The bowl was carried into the room with great fanfare, a traditional carol about the drink was sung, and finally, the steaming hot beverage was served.” Wassailing was traditionally celebrated on New Year’s Eve, or Twelfth Night. But as time moved on, rich people began to drink wassail during the twelve days of Christmas. Starting in the 1600s it was common to take a bowl of wassail from door 32
| December 2021
to door while caroling. Over time, wassailing became known as caroling. The drink’s heyday is in the past. But it is still not forgotten. Lost Boy Cider in Alexandria will be hosting a Wassail event on January 7th‘ complete with the traditional drink and wassail songs. They are also releasing a 12-pack of their monthly explorer series ciders representing the 12 Days of Christmas. With flavors such as gingerbread, cherry bomb, and sage advice, these ciders could be a great addition to any wassailing activity. While the British were developing their wassail, Christmas beers were beginning to flourish on the European continent. From Frances Biere de Noel to Germany’s Weihnacht, the spicing of beer for the holidays was becoming a tradition. It all began with the Vikings. According to vinepair.com: “Our story begins in pre-Christian Scandinavia. Vikings would brew winter beers during “Jul,” also known as “Yule,” in late December to honor Norse gods and the winter solstice. As Christianity was introduced to the region in the 10th century, certain laws actually mandated its citizens create Christmas beers to honor the new deities and earmark the holiday. Failure to do so could result in fines or forfeiture of property.” Today we enjoy a variety of holiday beers. Craft brewers all over the country have revived the Christmas spiced beer tradition. The Beer Judge Certification Program states that a Christmas beer should be “a stronger,
darker, spiced beer that often has a rich body and warming finish suggesting a good accompaniment for the cold winter season.” Not all holiday beers follow this rule, but I recommend that you go with the ones that do. I suggest starting with the American original, Anchor Steam’s Christmas Ale. First released in 1975, it was the first craft brewed Christmas Ale in the country. It evolved over time, and in 1987 became the first spiced ale ever brewed in the United States. What I really love about this beer is not only does the Christmas tree on the label change every year, so does the recipe. It’s always spiced ale, but they do tweak the secret recipe each year to produce slight differences in taste. This bold and unique approach makes it a fun holiday tradition. And if you see this beer on any store shelf, grab a six pack. Between decreased production and supply chain problems, this Christmas Ale was in short supply last year. Another great holiday ale is Great Lakes Christmas Ale. Great Lakes Brewing Company is located in Cleveland Ohio. Now, being from the Pittsburgh area myself, I am hard pressed to state that anything good comes out of Cleveland. However, these guys make great beer. This award-winning Christmas Ale is packed with holiday flavors. The honey, ginger, and cinnamon blend perfectly to produce a delightful ale. But beer isn’t the only beverage of delight during the holidays. Whiskey
is also necessary. And you will need to have a good cigar to go with it. For your whiskey, I suggest Blade and Bow Bourbon. Produced by Stitzel-Weller Distillery in Louisville, Kentucky, this smooth wonderful bourbon is a perfect holiday delight. You’ll detect peaches, honey, and hay on the nose. But then the white pepper, vanilla, oak, and spice on the palate make for a fantastic smooth experience. I must admit that I love this bourbon. There is always a bottle on my shelf. But it never seems to be there for very long. You’ll need to pair that fine bourbon with a good cigar. May I suggest the My Father Le Bijou 1922. This smoke will hit you up front with spice, but these cigars are never harsh. The spice blends with a subtle sweetness as you smoke it. This cigar is captivating. It’s moist, chewy, and delightful. And the spices will blend well with the Blade and Bow Bourbon you’ll be drinking. The holidays are meant to be enjoyed with friends and family. Beers, whiskeys, and cigars are meant to be as well. It’s the perfect pairing. Be sure to share these delights with your family and friends this holiday season. It’ll be nice to be able to gather and celebrate with loved ones this year. Enjoy yourselves but stay safe. Have a great holiday season. And have fun trying those great holiday and winter craft ales. Tis the season my friends. Cheers! Timothy Long is an educator, writer, consultant, and experienced restaurant operator. Instagram and Twitter: @ wvutimmy. Blog:What Is That Fly Doing In My Soup? https://whatflyinmysoup. com/ Email: tlong@belmarinnovations.com Old Town Crier
MerryChristmas and
Happy New Year
from all of us at
Open Christmas Eve till 9pm • Closed Christmas Day
NEW YEAR’S EVE
Enjoy our Regular Menu or Try Our $75 Tasting Menu and $35 Wine Pairing
NEW YEAR’S DAY HANGOVER BRUNCH!
We Will Be Closing at 2 pm
7966 Fort Hunt Road (In the Hollin Hall Shopping Center) Reservations: 703-347-7545 • RiverBendBistro.com Old Town Crier
December 2021 |
33
GRAPEVINE
MATT FITZSIMMONS
Shenandoah Valley Wine Trail Celebrates Its Best
GOLD MEDALS WERE AWARDED TO: Bluestone Vineyard 2017 Houndstooth (Shenandoah Cup winner) Bluestone Vineyard 2019 Chardonnay Stainless Briedé Family Vineyards 2019 Tannat Cave Ridge Vineyard NV Blanc de Blanc Sparkling Cave Ridge Vineyard 2019 Fossil Hill CrossKeys Vineyards 2019 Meritage CrossKeys Vineyards 2019 Petit Verdot
On November 12th Bluestone Vineyard hosted the Shenandoah Valley Wine Trail’s 3rd Shenandoah Cup Gala, celebrating wine made in Shenandoah Valley American Viticultural Area (AVA). Wines from this year’s competition earned a total of eleven gold, 37 silver, and 14 bronze medals. The location was fortuitous, since Bluestone earned the Cup with their 2017 Houndstooth Bordeauxstyle blend. Not only is the Shenandoah Valley Virginia’s oldest AVA, it’s also a place of untapped potential. In discussing Virginia’s best vineyard sites, Virginia wine expert Jay Youmans of the Capital Wine School recently stated, “Honestly, where I think a lot of fantastic vineyards are is out in the Shenandoah Valley.” This potential is based on the Shenandoah Valley’s unique terroir. High ridgelines protect the valley from heavy rainfall, making it one of the driest areas in the state. Limestone soils give wines grown here a rich minerality. Cooler temperatures allow grapes to retain their acidity. It’s a trifecta practically designed for making award-winning wine. The list of awards earned by wines in the wine trail backs this up. While
the trail’s 21 wineries comprise less than 10% of the wineries in the state, they are well represented in the state’s major wine competitions. In the past decade, 11 wines from the trail were selected for the annual Virginia Governor’s Case, with the 2009 Clio from Muse winning the Virginia Governor’s Cup in 2015. Wine writer Frank Morgan assembled a panel of experts to judge this year’s competition, including wine consultant and author Richard Leahy. In discussing the wines he sampled, Richard enthused, “I was really enjoying the very lively acidity and fresh vibrant fruit that appeared the flights today in the Shenandoah Cup and I think it’s a really good indication of the region’s terroir.” Wine judges Matthew Brown and Jeff Latchum had high praise as well, especially of the sparkling and riesling. Frank explained how he felt the Shenandoah Valley is “really dialed in on riesling”, while also complimenting the cabernet francs and red blends. The gala included representatives from the seven wineries that won Gold, who poured for an assortment of guests and industry professionals. It was also a time to dress up and socialize, as many in attendance hadn’t
seen one another since early last year. Normally, Emma Randel – “Grand Dame” of the Virginia wine industry, founder of Shenandoah Vineyards, and creator of the Shenandoah Valley AVA – would have given away the Cup, but due to health concerns she was not in attendance (understandably so - she’s in her 90s). But attendees were fortunate to have special guest Richard Leahy, who spoke about not just the quality of Shenandoah wine but its diversity. Richard’s observation was dead on. Not only are ubiquitous Bordeaux and hybrid grapes found all over the valley but it’s also home to tannat, riesling, grüner veltliner, as well an assortment of red Burgundy, Rhône, and Portuguese varieties. This year’s competition also included two new categories; sparkling wine and cider. Both categories have taken off in recent years, with a number of new cideries opening in the Shenandoah Valley and wineries offering a new sparkling option. Sage Bird Ciderworks’ “Last Call” won Best Cider.
Muse Vineyards 2017 Clio
Shenandoah Sparklers
Rockbridge Vineyard 2017 DeChiel White Riesling
The holidays are fast approaching and holiday parties = sparkling.
Rockbridge Vineyard 2017 V d’or Wolf Gap Vineyard and Winery 2017 Chambourcin
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| December 2021
Not only is it a traditional celebratory drink, it’s also one of the most versatile wines to pair with food. The Shenandoah Valley has its own sparkling lineup, with Bluestone, Briedé Family, Cave Ridge, Shenandoah Vineyards and others offering their own sparkling options.
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35
EXPLORING VA WINES
DOUG FABBIOLI
Shift of the Seasons Farmers know the change of the seasons more than most people. It’s not just the fewer hours of daylight and the cooler temperatures, it’s how the daily job focus and planning changes from absorbing sunshine to dealing with the “hibernation” season. No, we certainly do not hibernate around here, but the seasonal shift in our work efforts keeps the job interesting and challenging. One seasonal change for me is getting out in the public more in these few weeks than during the rest of the year. This is the busiest time of the year for wine sales, so I need to get my face out there to build the brand and get folks excited about our wines. And I’ll admit, this is invigorating to me as well. When I am in the tasting room and customers enjoy our wine, I know I have the “home field advantage.” Folks come to us for Fabbioli wine, and many already know what they are getting. But out in a shop or at a public pouring, I know this is frequently the first time people have tasted our wines. When they come back for more, or ask for a wine recommended by a previous taster, I know they have found a taste they will remember pleasantly, and I hope they will find their way out to our tasting room. Another area in which 36
| December 2021
we shift for the season is maintenance. It’s not really sexy, but very critical to our success. As most farmers do, we do as much of the work ourselves as possible. We have specialists we depend on for mechanical issues, heating systems and the like, but we take cleaning, repairs, and build-outs as far as we can ourselves. I have hired too many contractors over the years who charge more and know less, and if I or my crew can do something, so much the better. In this year of lean staffing, lots of acres to tend means that we had to put a lot of work on the back burner until we got through the more pressing issues. Well, now is the time to finish things up! Cleaning is probably the biggest thing we try to do before the weather gets too cold, both in the vineyards and in the production areas. But believe it or not, we are planting a bit this time of year! We grow a few things other than our grapes, and our efforts in growing garlic seem to be fruitful. It grows well here, has a good shelf
life, and we can sell it through Farmer John’s Market here in Lucketts. By planting the bulbs in the fall, the roots develop in the relatively warm soil and the green sprouts are hearty enough to survive the winter. Next June, we will have fresh, locally grown garlic to sell.l good! We have another project to do around the farm at this time, and that is decorating for the holidays. We always have some of that with our monthly theme changeovers,
but we enjoy the Christmas lighting projects and giving our farm that seasonal glow. When we lived in Sonoma, California the wineries would have a friendly competition for the most spectacular lighting display. This might not be a bad idea for the wineries around here—I guess I should chat with a few folks about that, and pick up a few more strings of lights. By the way, our theme for December at the Fabbioli Cellars tasting room is National Lampoon’s
Christmas Vacation, so more lights will go up and any thoughts of subtlety will fly out the window! Come out to visit us or your favorite winery this holiday season and see what’s happening on the farm. About the Author: Doug Fabbioli is the proprietor and wine maker at Fabbioli Vineyards. He has also consulted with many of the Commonwealth’s winemakers and vineyard managers over the last several years.w
real people. earth friendly. fabulous wines. OPEN THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY 11-5 PLEASE CALL FOR RESERVATIONS FOR GROUPS OF SIX OR MORE FAMILIES WELCOME FROM 11-2. 21 AND OLDER ONLY FROM 2 PM TO CLOSE 15669 Limestone School Rd • Leesburg, VA 20176 703.771.1197 • fabbioliwines.com • info@fabbioliwines.com
Old Town Crier
FIRST BLUSH
KIM PUTENS
Glam Up
FOR THE HOLIDAYS!
Y
ou’ve trimmed the tree, hung the stockings, decorated the house, and bought the gifts, but what about you? With invitations to holiday parties abound, make sure you sparkle for every occasion. Consider these trendy make up looks for any possible holiday festivity that may come your way.
The Office Party Your normally conservative office look is still the best course of action even though it is a “holiday” party. Keep your makeup light, but fresh. Freshen and awaken your look with a dab of concealer to the corner and outer edges of the eye. Dab on a sheer lip gloss. And, to lend some festive sparkle, add a dab of shimmer to the apples of the cheek and to the corner of the eye. So as not to compete with the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree, be sure not to overdue the shimmer. Be light, be strategic and be discreet.
Drinks with the Girls Think girly fun, think pink, think glossy, and think fresh. Glossy, sheer lips with a dab of dazzle are
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best. Pink tones on the eyes and cheeks make for a fresh and flirty look appropriate for an exclusively girls only fete. To ensure a fresh and dewy look, choose cream based products for the cheeks and eyes. Finish the look with a light coat of black mascara on your upper and lower lashes.
Cocktail Party Take subtle to new heights with heavier eyeliner and metallic tones. Try heavy eyeliner over subtle eye base colors for a “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” look. Layer generous eyeliner along the lash line on the top eyelid only, choosing from rich tones such as navy blue, black or chocolate brown. To pull off this look correctly, be sure to keep the eye shadow a neutral shade swept over the eyelid and all the way up to the brow. Keep cheeks bare and choose a sheer or light colored lip gloss. You could also choose to sparkle at your next cocktail party. Metallic tones in all shades of gold, pewter and bronze are very in style and festive for the holiday season. Sweep the appropriate shade for your tone (golds for blonds, pewter for dark hair, bronze for brunettes) over your eyelid only. Pair with a
generous amount of eyeliner and mascara making sure to pump up the volume to add drama to the eyes. Next sweep a bronzer over the face and add a neutral lip gloss.
Black Tie Event This is the event to add some drama to your normal makeup routine. Try a few different looks depending upon your mood and the scene. The smoky eye is still the way to add drama to your evening look. Be sure to pair it with neutral, but glossy lips to avoid looking vamped out. Shimmer is still in too! You can’t go wrong with bringing a little sparkle to your face. As I’ve always cautioned though, be sure to reach for the shimmer, not the glitter … you don’t want to apply your makeup
like you’d do an art project. Be strategic with the shimmer - try sweeping it across the cheeks, pressing it along the brow bone, and applying to the center of the lips. Another option for the black tie event is a look I like to call the festive look. Try a pale face matched with ruby red lips. In order for this to resonate over the holidays, be sure to match the red of your lips to the red of your outfit. Clashing reds will make everyone else see red. The rest of the makeup should be light and subtle. Only the lips can take center stage with this look. Have fun with your makeup and enjoy the Holiday season in style!
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NICOLE FLANAGAN
FITNESS
Keeping Up Your Workout In the Winter!
W
ith the cold weather rolling in and the days getting shorter it seems like we all have less time on our hands. With an already jam-packed schedule we tend to skip out on workouts (or stop exercising entirely) and by the time we get to the New Year we all feel compelled to get back to that pre-holiday shape. This year let’s try to do things a little different. Instead of slowing down on the exercise routine and abandoning your diet completely, keep up the good work and by the time the New Year gets here you will be starting off on a positive foot. Pay attention to what you eat at your holiday parties and keep your butt moving through the last leg of the holiday season. Here are just a few tips to keep you looking and feeling your best!
Keep Moving Without realizing it we sometimes slow down on our exercise routines. This time make a steadfast commitment to workout. Just like you make your work schedule, take time to pencil in a workout. If you end up missing a workout make it up as soon
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| December 2021
as possible. Remember it is easier to stick to a fitness program than it is to start one after months of inactivity.
Take your workout outdoors Most people will bring their workouts inside when the weather starts to get chilly. Instead, take advantage of what the weather has to offer. Bundle up a bit and take a walk, you’ll have to walk a bit faster to keep yourself warm while also burning more calories.
Travel Smart Don’t abandon your workout because of traveling for work or family holiday parties. If you are on a business trip try staying at a hotel that has a gym. You don’t need a whole room full of exercise equipment to get a workout done. If gym access is not available get yourself moving with a light jog around the block and some AB crunches and push-ups. It is always better to do something than do no exercise at all.
because you don’t feel as thirsty. Remember that dry indoor air can be more dehydrating that running outside. Make sure to keep drinking plenty of fluids during the day and especially during and after a workout.
Eat hot and HEALTHY: Most people throw out those diet guidelines for the winter and fill up on home made chili and beef stews. Start your meals off with a bowl of chicken and vegetable soup instead. Not only is chicken soup good for you, studies have shown that people who ate it as an appetizer consumed less calories throughout the entire meal.
Go Nuts! At the office holiday party instead of pigging out on the baked goods, candy and chips grab a handful of mixed nuts and munch on it slowly. Nuts are loaded with protein and healthy fat which makes you feel more full and therefore less likely to fill up on empty calorie foods.
Keep yourself hydrated You won’t drink as much water
WINTER WORKOUT > PAGE 40
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FROM THE TRAINER RYAN UNVERZAGT
Gifts for Your Health
I
t is “that time of year” and it sure feels like it snuck up on me way too fast. I’m still recovering from pulling together my kids late summer birthday parties! But….here it is, December, that time for finding that perfect gift for the holidays. If you are one of those people who struggle to think of gift ideas, you might want to consider something fitness-related. In this covid-era, being vaccinated is the smart thing to do but also maintaining good health helps stave off many seasonal ills. Each year I try to compile a list of gifts that won’t break the bank but will let your loved ones know you care about their health. Here are a few things that I recommend:
EXERCISE BALL (A.K.A. Fit Ball, Swiss Ball, or Stability Ball) I’m talking about the big ball you can sit on at the office or perform multiple exercises for the “core”. However, you can do much more than abdominal exercises with a Fit Ball such as squats, stationary lunges and pushups. Every ball should have an exercise sheet included to show you how to use them. They also come in different sizes and colors, so which one should you buy? Most manufacturers will have a size chart printed on the side of the box. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends these sizes for height:
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4’8” - 5’5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 cm Ball 5’6”- 6’0. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 cm Ball (most common size in stores) 6’1” – 6’5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 cm Ball (most common size in stores) Taller than 6’5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 cm Ball Prices for exercise balls vary from $20 (typical) to $45 (burst resistant quality)
HEART RATE MONITOR This is a tool that I think everyone should own. Heart rate monitor prices can vary anywhere from $30 to well over $300 depending upon the brand and type. The best thing about having one is that it will track the intensity of your workout no matter where you exercise! You don’t need to rely on a cardio machine at the health club to check your heart rate. It’s also easier than stopping in the middle of your workout to feel your pulse and count while watching the clock.
KETTLE BELL You might be wondering, “What the heck is a kettle bell?” I can give you a visual. It basically looks like a cannonball with a handle on top. Kettle
bells have been used for centuries in Russia, but are now becoming popular fitness tools in the U.S. Sizes typically range from 5lbs to 25lbs in stores, but can be ordered much heavier. Some kettle bells will be listed in kilograms (kgs), have a cast iron look and feel, or have some sort of covering or coating for a better grip. Kettle bells can be a bit pricy, ranging anywhere from $25 to over $180 for a single one. Kettle bell training does take more practice and skill than traditional weight training, so you should seek guidance from a fitness professional before diving into this type of training.
HEALTH CLUB MEMBERSHIP/ PERSONAL TRAINING SESSIONS This gift can be a tricky one because the recipient might be offended at such an offer thinking, “What are you trying to say!” However, if you have heard someone talking about joining a gym or thinking about personal training, this might be the gift to help them take that next step toward a healthier life. I hope these ideas will be helpful in your quest to find a great holiday gift this season! Unverzagt holds Bachelor of Science degree in Wellness Management from Black Hills State University. He is a certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist through the National Strength & Conditioning Association and a Registered Diagnostic Cardiac Sonographer through the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography.
December 2021 |
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WINTER WORKOUT | FROM PAGE 38
Drink Better Eggnog is a diet disaster. Instead of consuming half your day’s calories in one drink go for a glass of red wine or a rich tasting dark beer. Drink a glass of water in between each alcoholic drink. This will keep you hydrated and reduce your calorie intake.
Eating Out When eating out try to avoid that “too full” feeling that usually comes at the end of a meal. One pasta plate at a restaurant is enough to easily feed two people. Instead of devouring everything yourself, offer to split a low fat appetizer, a salad and a meal. By doing this you will eat less and also save a couple bucks.
Stay Healthy One of the biggest setbacks during the winter months is getting sick. Catching a cold or contracting covid can set you back a week or more depending on how sick you get. Work toward improving your immunity by keeping up on your cardio. A recent study at the University of South Carolina in Columbia found that adults who get regular moderate exercise have significantly fewer colds. If you already have a cold, moderate exercise probably won’t make it worse, but consult your
doctor if you have possible flu or covid symptoms such as fever, muscle aches or heavy coughing, fatigue, etc.
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Go to Sleep Missing out on sleep as stress and time demands grow can result in lower virus fighting “natural killer” cells in our bodies. Sleep gives your body the recovery time it needs to stay healthy and to keep your immune system working at its best.
Eat your Vegetables Eat plenty of carotenoid rich vegetables like winter squash, carrots and pumpkin. According to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report, a diet high in carotenoids can raise your immune-cell count by a third, which will help ward off illness and keep your fitness level intact Trying to stay healthy through the holidays can be tough, especially when everyone brings out their favorite pies and dessert goodies. Remember that the holidays come around once every year so it’s not like you are going to miss out on something if you don’t stuff yourself like a Christmas goose. Focus on keeping your fitness a priority and you will be able to start the New Year with a lot more pep than everyone else who decided to take the last three months off of exercise. Enjoy the rest of the holiday season by staying healthy and fit!
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GO FISH
STEVE CHACONAS
Fishing for Holiday Gifts
S
hopping for anglers is frustrating; but for people on the receiving end, there’s a guaranteed stint in return lines! Choose gifts for on and off the water! For the recipient who wears the pants in the family, there’s a pair they’ll put on one leg at a time to give them a leg up in the outdoors. Sitka’s background traversing the backcountry bridges technology gaps in fabric, construction, with a performance perspective. Hunting for pants where the unexpected is always expected, waterproof Dew Point pant has micro-taped seams and no pockets making it easily packable. Waterproof and breathable GORE® C-KNIT® backer technology with 20-denier nylon ripstop allows movement. Sitka’s Dew Point Pant is easy is on and off with two-way side zippers for pocket access and venting. Boots come on and off with sides unzipped. Articulated fit won’t tug when you’re active, no matter the weather. Adjustable nylon web belt. Can be layered for versatility. sitkagear.com Carl Grundén, the son of a fisherman, grew tired of unforgiving weather in Sweden and took on the forces of Mother Nature. Today, foul weather fishing clothing specialist Grundens’ steps up with their Gaff Pant. Pockets for everything. Two back pockets. Two side mesh hand pockets for a cooler, dryer feel, a thigh pocket with a drain, and a thigh welt pocket tailored into a nylon spandex blend fabric with a Durable Water Repellant
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finish and more flexibility. Grundens’ Gaff Pant gives fishermen waterresistant, quick drying performance. 7 belt loops provide a better belted fit and a metal riveted button adds security for active anglers. Perfect for warm weather rains or wading. grundens.com In 1992, the FBI chose 5.11 Tactical® for training pants. More extensive 5.11 law enforcement gear was developed in 2003 to meets the needs of real men and women in the field. 5.11 jeans are ready for anything. Defender Jeans are on an outdoors mission. Constructed with a cotton/polyester (Lycra® T400 Tough Max) mechanical stretch denim, comfortable Defender Flex Straight Jeans provide durability, stretch and recovery. Five pocket styling plus two mag pockets carry anything needed. A riveted button top fly stays put. High-stress areas receive double needle construction with bar tacks. Fitted waistband provides a perfect fit with or without a belt. Good looking pants ready for any activity. 511tactical.com Established in 1897 when people were tough and clothes were tougher, Filson became legendary to outdoor enthusiasts. You can’t outwork exceptionally-high quality denim sewn in the USA Filson Rail Splitter Jeans. Compact woven denim creates smoother surfaces for durability and comfort. Preshrunk Rail Splitter Jeans remain true-to-size. Filson’s double stitched rear patch pockets and heavytwill front pocket bags are tough. Rail Splitter jeans are cut with straight
legs with room to move, squat and climb without binding. Leg holes fit over boots. A slightly higher rise than typical straight-leg jeans, provides ease of motion. A heavy-duty zippered fly and metal wreath-button waist closure hold up. Belt loops are bar-tacked. filson.com Sport sandal maker TEVA reinvented the comfortable ReEmber. Part sneaker, part sleeping bag, ReEmber is a shoe in for frequent flyer footwear with carry-on packability, standing up to layovers in style. Around the house or the campground, this outdoor leisure shoe features a recycled polyester collapsible heel for easy on and off. Heels rebound for slipper-like comfort, repelling light splashes. Aegis® antimicrobial treatment keeps smells at bay. 100% Recycled ripstop, rib knit, and microfiber delivers soft comfort with an ultra-light EVA foam midsole, and grippy rubber outsole for
all-day wear. Men’s and women’s. teva. com Some multi tools do everything, but nothing well. The sharpest knife in the pocket since 1939, all-American Gerber products are carried by hunters, soldiers, and tradesmen. If it takes up space in your pocket it better do more than cut. The Lockdown Pry has a low profile, modern aesthetics, and a purposeful mix of tools. MacGyver would be proud as the Lockdown Pry solves any predicament with a pry bar, replaceable #11 blade, plain edge blade, scissors, file with chisel edge and a bottle opener. gerbergear.com Batteries operating trolling motors, electronics, livewells and firing up outboards can come up short. PowerPole’s CHARGE Marine Power Management Station keeps batteries ready to perform as a traditional battery charger, charge-on-therun, and emergency start system, in a compact and easy to install unit. CHARGE reserves power to crank outboards. CHARGE juices up boaters and every battery. power-pole.com Nothing lasts longer or charges faster than made in America DEKA AGM deep cycle batteries. DEKA can withstand rough water, long trailering vibration and hold up without spilling or leaking in any weather. Santa brings with piece of mind with DEKA batteries. eastpennmanufacturing.com Gift certificates are great. Online, catalog and brick and mortar stores are loaded with outdoors gifts. But the best gift of all is time on the water. Find a buddy, a spouse and especially a child, and go fish! About the Author: Capt. Steve Chaconas is Potomac River bass fishing guide. Potomac fishing reports: nationalbass. com. Book trips/purchase gift certificates: info@NationalBass.com
Potomac River Bassing in December Target hard cover near drops as fish head into winter holes. Downsize to GAMMA 6-pound test Edge fluorocarbon either as a main line or leader with 10-pound test GAMMA Torque braid on reels with smooth drags. Drop shot, shaky head, and split shot are best bets. Use Mustad 1/0 Mega Bite hooks along with 3/16-ounce Water Gremlin BullShot weights for drop shots and split shots. Time for 3” avocado stingray grubs on ¼ ounce ball head jigs made with Mustad Ultra Point hooks. Also break out hair jigs with matching chunks. Use slow horizontal presentations. Soak soft plastics and jigs in bait spray. Time for ½ ounce Silver Buddy lures: silver when sunny, gold when cloudy, on 10-pound test GAMMA EDGE on casting reels on spinnerbait rods with tip flex for casting and hook-setting backbone. Flat-sided cranks on 10-pound test EDGE work along warmed surfaces. Shad patterns in clearer water or sunny days, craw otherwise. When water reaches 50, try suspending jerkbaits
December 2021 |
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OPEN SPACE
LORI WELCH BROWN
Shopping with the Ghosts of Holidays Past
H
olidays make me melancholy. Given that the holiday season now officially begins before the ghosts and goblins have left the building, the ache is encouraged to fester early and often. Between Mariah Carey’s voice and the faux pine scent being pumped out, there are ample opportunities to be triggered. Fa la la la BLAH, BLAH, BLAH. I’m no Grinch by any stretch, but some of us prefer a slow roll into the holiday season. Some of us are awash in memories of sitting around the table with loved ones who are no longer here, raising glasses to ghosts. Some of us are yearning for one last meal with our beloved Dad, would give a kidney to buy Mom one more bottle of her favorite perfume, or are mourning the end of a union. Please allow us time to dance with our ghosts a bit before launching Cupid and the Easter bunny at us. As we transition from Halloween to Thanksgiving to Christmas, my memories grow stronger and the grief gains momentum. I find it harder and harder to stay grounded and present when my mind keeps transporting me back to the holiday of my youth. In our household, the beginning of the holiday season was marked by two events: Santa waving from his sleigh at the end of the Macy’s Day parade and the arrival of the Sears, Roebuck and Company catalog delivered to 42
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our door. Let’s just say the Welch’s didn’t kick off the holidays with peace and joy, but rather a fight between siblings to see who would get to ogle and drool all over its pages first. That poor catalog would be dog-eared and Kool-Aid stained within hours of its arrival. I’m sure our parents wished we studied our textbooks or were at least half as excited over them as we were that catalog. A couple of weeks before Christmas, Mom and Dad would load me and my brother Marty into the car and we’d head off to Landmark Shopping Center. This was the era before malls. It was anchored by Sears and Woodward & Lothrop (and maybe Hecht’s?) and Santa’s workshop was placed in the middle. It was the place where we sat on Santa’s lap and told him which pages he could find the things we wanted. Then we would head off to Sears so Mom and Dad could knock out some Christmas shopping. Either my parents couldn’t afford babysitters, or didn’t believe in them because as they filled the cart with items that were remarkably the same as the ones on our lists they’d say, “The Sargent’s asked us to pick up these gifts for their nieces and nephews.” Our neighbors were perfectly capable of doing their own shopping, but this story went unquestioned for years. That memory brings a smile to my face. I laugh when I think about the year Mom unwrapped her gift from Dad, a new vacuum. She had
wanted an air hockey table. Not good, but a step up from the year he got her a butter dish. XXL isn’t great at shopping, but even he knows better than to drag a butter dish home and wrap it up. For whatever reason, our small house was the Christmas Eve pit stop and gathering place for neighbors and relatives alike. Dad wasn’t much of a drinker, but on Christmas Eve, the make-shift bar was stocked and the pours were plentiful and generous. Mom’s brother, Uncle Ronald, was the life of the party. We were his last stop before heading home, but definitely not his first. At 6’7”, he held court at our small kitchen table, retelling stories year after year that we never tired of hearing. By the end of the night, he was trying to give each of us kids fresh $100 bills which was like the equivalent of a thousand dollars now. We were never allowed to keep the money, but he wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer so you’d just have to take it and hand it off to mom for safekeeping. Luckily, Uncle Ronald lived close by, but there were a few years when Dad had to drive him home and put a few bikes together for him. Years after Mom and Uncle Ronald passed and our childhood home was sold, my Christmas Eve tradition shifted to parties at my bestie Holly’s house. The house and festive “garagema-jal”, as Holly called it, was overflowing with people drinking, smoking, talking, and laughing the night away. And, the white elephant
gift exchange was a highlight not to be missed. Her husband and kids pulled it off for quite a few years after she passed, but it was never the same without her laughter filling the house. The memories of holidays past make me smile, but they also make me sad. I’m grateful for the gifts, but didn’t realize they would disappear before I was ready to let them go. If only my memories were more vivid. If only I could remember Uncle Ronald’s stories the way only he could tell them. If only I could hear Holly’s laugh one more time. If only I could hug Mom and Dad and thank them for all those trips to see Santa and our time together. My tree will be decorated, my stockings hung. And, I will try to stay in the moment and enjoy the time I have with my loved ones after I’ve danced with the ghosts of holidays past and reveled in the memories they’ve left me. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from my family to yours. May you be blessed with people and pets to love and may you experience that love tenfold. And, if your loved ones have gone on before you, I hope your soul is blessed with the memories of their spirits so they can live on through you. Please follow Lori on Medium. She is a local writer, painter and pet lover who loves to share her experiences and expertise. Old Town Crier
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December 2021 |
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NATIONAL HARBOR
Those of you who have followed this column know that I go a little nutty with the holiday happenings in the Harbor and especially those at the Gaylord. It was a very sad holiday last year for me without the Resort being open so I am very happy they are going all out this year. While many of you have asked me what the theme for ICE is this year, I am sad to say it isn’t coming back. But, the new theme - “So. Much. Christmas.” – is literally that! I can’t believe all of the new activities that have been added. I contacted Patrice Clayton, the GNR PR Guru, for some detailed info and she was at the ready. The newly added experiences include holiday cooking classes, a Christmas-themed pop-up bar, a festive desserts shop and ice bumper cars and a snow ball making and tossing experience. In addition, Gaylord National will feature several suites decked out in holiday décor for a home-for-the-holidays feel. These new experiences perfectly complement the resort’s other fanfavorite Christmas attractions and its new Gaylord Hotels original production, I Love Christmas Movies™. Visitors can enjoy the following newly announced experiences: Overnight guests can leave Christmas tree-decorating to the experts and book one of the resort’s Christmas Dreams Suites complete with garland, wreaths, lights and even holiday stockings. This home away from home includes a onehour professional photo shoot in the resort creating the perfect setting for family Christmas pictures or even a sweet holiday proposal. The Christmas Tree Lot is reminiscent of the time-old tradition of selecting the perfect Christmas tree. This “instagrammable” pop-up bar will bring visitors together over spirited holiday cocktails and fun photo opportunities. For guests looking to impress at the next holiday gathering, Gaylord National’s Resort Chef will lead a Holiday Hosting 101 cooking class. Participants can expect to enjoy a festive libation and learn how to prepare three popular holiday hors d’oeuvres. This hands-on, interactive class is fun and tasty. Gaylord National’s hit 80’s themed pop-up bar, Replay Rooftop, will take visitors back to the 80’s holiday-style. 44
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LANI GERING
So. Much. Christmas.
Photos courtesy Gaylord National Now serving up holiday milkshakes and cocktails with the well-known instagrammable moments, spectacular views and retro arcade games visitors know and love! Holiday sweets and tasty treats are on the menu at the Holiday Sweet Shoppe. Guests can visit the Holiday Sweet Shoppe for a delicious hot chocolate or eggnog and check out the impressive selection of chef-prepared desserts to take home and enjoy with family. The beloved and larger-than-life Gingerbread display is back this year! Visitors will experience an Old English village with over 15 homes, churches and more created from more than 300 lbs. of baked gingerbread, 400 lbs. of royal icing and 100 lbs. of chocolate. The 200 sq. ft. village was concepted and constructed by a team
of 9 pastry chefs, led by Executive Chef Mohan De Silva. To experience it all, visitors can choose to stay overnight. Overnight visitors will have an extra sweet treat with the exclusive Sugary Sweet Storytime performance, complimentary to hotel guests! This whimsical and interactive sing-a-long features the Sugar Plum Fairy and The Nutcracker Prince joyfully telling the story of The Nutcracker. In addition to the holiday fun, Gaylord National’s Old Hickory Steakhouse, revered for decadent premium beef, will be offering a four-course seasonal prix fixe menu as well as a special holiday version for Christmas on December 24 and 25. Along with the newly announced activities, Gaylord National will
be debuting the Gaylord Hotels’ original production, I Love Christmas MoviesTM. The guided experience allows guests to walk through the most iconic scenes from classic Christmas movies! Guests will enjoy moments with the sets they know and love while interacting with more than 13 fully immersive scenes complete with replicas of film props, audio, and more. I Love Christmas MoviesTM will feature five beloved films, including: The Polar Express™, Elf™, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation™, A Christmas Story™, and The Year Without A Santa Claus™. With more than a dozen different experiences taking place throughout the resort, and holiday lights at every turn, visitors will find it easy to get into the holiday spirit. From the beloved Peanuts classic, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Merry Snoopy Christmas Scavenger Hunt promises to keep the fun moving as sleuths explore the 19-story atrium in search of hidden holiday clues. Storytime with Mrs. Claus’ Christmas Traditions is going to be a perfect respite to enjoy T’was the Night Before Christmas and share Santa’s favorite, Christmas cookies. Snow is guaranteed to be in the forecast at the Snow Factory with the new Snowball Build and Blast attraction where guests will build and toss real snowballs or take a thrilling slide down the frozen hill at Snow Flow Mountain. Ice Skating with views of the Potomac River is back but now you can take a spin in the new Ice Bumper Cars in the newly located Winter Square! While I will miss the 2 story ICE slide of years past, I plan on taking advantage of every one of these activities! Watch the Old Town Crier Facebook page for photos and videos of me in action in the next couple of weeks! With more than 155,000 square feet of magical holiday décor, 2 million twinkling Christmas lights and So. Much. Christmas. at every turn, Christmas at Gaylord National will not disappoint. To learn more about Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center and book an overnight stay, room package, meeting, or event, visit christmasatgaylordnational. com or call 301-965-4000. Old Town Crier
A G AY LO R D H OT E L S O R I G I N A L E X P E R I E N C E
WALK THROUGH YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE SCENES IN AN ALL-NEW, MULTI-SENSORY POP-UP
This holiday season, see five iconic holiday films come to life through more than 13 fully immersive scenes in I Love Christmas Movies™, only at Gaylord National. Enjoy days of Christmas activities, fully renovated guest rooms, and proximity to National Harbor attractions. It’s all part of So. Much. Christmas.
BOOK YOUR TICKETS AND OVERNIGHT PACKAGES TODAY.
OPEN NOW THROUGH DEC. 31 ChristmasAtGaylordNational.com ELF and all related characters and elements ©️ & ™️ New Line Productions, Inc. A CHRISTMAS STORY and all related characters and elements ©️ & ™️ Turner Entertainment Co. NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION, THE POLAR EXPRESS, THE YEAR WITHOUT A SANTA CLAUS and all related characters and elements ©️ & ™️ Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (s21)
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