Lynchburg Living

2010 Hitched

77th ANNUAL LYNCHBURG GARDEN DAY TOUR

Historic Garden Week is the oldest and largest statewide house and garden event in the nation. This year it celebrates 77 years of tours sponsored by The Garden Club of Virginia to benefit the restoration of important historic grounds and gardens throughout the state. Each event offers an engaging variety of five to six local houses and gardens, most open to the public for the first time.

On Tuesday, April 20^th, The Lynchburg Garden Club and Hillside Garden Club is hosting the Lynchburg Garden Day Tour, featuring five private homes. Visitors can enjoy the interiors of the homes as well as their gardens. Included in this year’s tour are “The Perkins Home,” built in 1921 and located at 3116 Rivermont Ave., a beautiful Georgian home, built in 1938 and recently remodeled, at 1031 Langhorne Rd., and 3328 Woodridge Place, built in 1923, boasting an art collection including works of the owner’s mother and local artists.

A charming stone cottage, located at 3814 Sheringham Place and a pale yellow brick home, located at 1050 Greenway Ct., built in 1964 by the homeowner’s grandfather will also be featured in the tour.

CASA HAS TWO REASONS TO CELEBRATE

As CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) of Central Virginia celebrates its 20^th Anniversary, it will also be holding its 11^th Annual Heart and Sole Shoe Market.

The CASA program began when the Honorable Dale Harris saw a need for trained volunteer advocates in the Lynchburg area to assist Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court Judges determine what was in the best interest for children involved in such proceedings. During the past 20 years, over 400 CASA volunteers have helped to achieve more positive outcomes and safe, permanent homes for over 2,500 abused and neglected children.

The anniversary celebration and luncheon will be held on Friday, March 19, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Oakwood Country Club, 3409 Rivermont Ave., in Lynchburg. Tickets for the event are $30, and limited seating is available. The keynote speaker for the event is John Seita, Ed.D., a nationally known speaker on the plight of foster children who are aging out of the system. Exemplary volunteers also will be recognized.

The Heart and Sole Shoe Market, sponsored by Wachovia, will be held on Saturday, April 17, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and on Sunday, April 18, from 1 to 4 p.m. in the Lynchburg Armory, located downtown at 1200 Church Street. This fundraising event supports CASA’s mission to recruit and train volunteers to advocate for abused and neglected children. The event not only boasts new, brand name shoes at drastically reduced prices ($5 – $20); vendors are also invited to set up a display of their accessories and products. The vendor fee for the entire weekend is $350; or $250 for Saturday, April 17, only.

The First Annual Preview Party will be held on Friday, April 16, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. A limited number of tickets at $25 each will be available for advance sales only, beginning April 1. Ticket holders will be able to shop early as well as enjoy pampering services and chances to win door prizes.

For more information on these events and more, please contact CASA of Central Virginia at (434) 528-2552, e-mail staff@cvcasa.org, or visit www.cvcasa.org.

FOURTH ANNUAL NEW LONDON DAY

The 4^th Annual New London Day, sponsored by Friends of New London, will be held on May 1 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Among the many activities throughout the day include guest speaker Dr. William Marvin Bass, III, the renowned forensic anthropologist who founded the Research Facility at the University of Tennessee, more popularly called “The Body Farm.” He will be speaking at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. at Timberlake Christian Church located on the Lynchburg Salem Turnpike (Route 460) at New London. Charge at the door is $20 per person. Seating is limited and no advance sales will be offered. Dr. Bass has family ties to New London and will be selling and autographing his books. Cash or check only will be accepted.

In addition, there will be history related events in and around the historic village of New London, which played an important part in the Revolutionary War. The Historic home, Liberty Hall, recently placed on the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places, will be open for tours for $5 per person. Tickets will be sold at the door. Liberty Hall figured prominently in Hunter’s Raid and Battle of Lynchburg during the Civil War. The house features “the piano that saved Lynchburg” along with interpreters in period dress. There is no charge to tour grounds where Confederate re-enactors will be stationed.

Learn more about New London’s historic past and present at the New London Interactive Heritage Forum at the museum. Staffed from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., this forum offers a chance for visitors to look for family connections in New London, by helping them utilize information in the library files. Any information on any New London related topics (old stories, family histories, etc.) is also welcomed for possible inclusion in the library.

In addition, the FNL batteau, “Thomas Jefferson’s Spirit of New London”, will be on display at the museum. Cap’n Glen and crew will familiarize the public with batteau lore. The Historic African American Church, located in New London village, will also be open for tours. A brush arbor service will be held in the wooded area beside the church, along with a musical concert. For more information, contact Brenda Shrewsbury at (434) 525-4999 or Cindy Lewis at (434) 821-4309.

2010 PURSE & PASSION LUNCHEON

Join the YWCA of Central Virginia for the 2010 Purse & Passion Luncheon on April 23. This year’s focus is the YW’s housing program, with hopes of raising much-needed funds to help in the continuation of this service to low-income and homeless women in the community.

To be a Table Captain, simply invite three to seven of your friends (three for 1/2 table; seven for full table) and ask them to provide a donation at the luncheon of a suggested $75 each. There will also be fabulous purses to bid on and raffle prizes.

“This is an excellent networking opportunity for business men and women as we have several companies, from all over the city, sponsoring tables,” Michelle Duncan, Events Coordinator at the YWCA, said.

According to Duncan, the 2010 Purse & Passion Luncheon is one of the most fun fundraisers for the YWCA, and one of the most important. Funds raised at the Purse & Passion Luncheon help hundreds of women each year. To reserve a table, call (434) 847-7751.

1945 SWEET BRIAR GRADUATE ENDOWS $3 MILLION FUND TO SUPPORT ENGINEERING PROGRAM

Thanks to a $3 million donation by Sweet Briar College (SBC) ’45 alum Margaret “Peggy” Jones Wyllie and her husband, Malcolm Robert Jesse Wyllie, an endowment has been created to support the engineering program at the school. Currently, SBC is one of only two U.S. women’s colleges to offer an engineering program.

In recognition of the gift, SBC Engineering will henceforth be known as the Margaret Jones Wyllie ’45 Engineering Program. It is the first named academic program in the college’s 109-year history.

Sweet Briar’s engineering curriculum was built over several years beginning in 2002, largely with $1.5 million in grants from the National Science Foundation. The first class of degree candidates was enrolled in 2005 and graduated last year. The college offers a B.S. in engineering science and a B.A. in engineering management.

TICKETS ON SALE NOW FOR YOUNG WOMEN’S CONFERENCE

Tickets are on sale now for the Young Women’s Conference, “Beautiful from the Inside Out,” that will be held at Liberty University on May 22nd. Presented by Living Pure Ministries, the conference is for ages 13 and up and will feature drama, music and discovering the beauty of purity. Tickets are $12; the deadline to register is May 12. For more information and to register, visit www.livingpureministries.org.