Augusta County: Bursting Out in Spring

by Theresa Curry

Augusta County Tourism Information
Staunton Tourism Information
Waynesboro Tourism Information

Come to Staunton for the new season of world-class comedy and drama at the American Shakespeare Center's Blackfriars Playhouse. There are previews, lectures, “pay-what-you-can” nights, “talk-backs”, and all the excitement surrounding the opening of two of Shakespeare’s best loved works, Romeo and Juliet and All's Well that Ends Well, debuting in April. You'll love the uproariously funny Francis Beaumont play, The Knight of the Burning Pestle. Find out more about them all online, or pick up a brochure at the Staunton Visitors Center on the corner of New St., next to the parking garage. In case you’ve never visited Staunton, Blackfriars Playhouse is a replica of Shakespeare’s original indoor theater. The American Shakespeare Center has plans to build a replica of the Globe Theatre, as well. When you “talk back” to the director and actors, you’ll be behaving much like the patrons of the original theater, who did not always behave as well as modern theater-goers.

Staunton’s careful restoration of both its elaborate Victorian neighborhoods and its whimsical smaller dwellings creates a wonderful streetscape, and in good weather, you’re likely to see people simply wandering the streets looking up. When you come out of Blackfriars, you’ll be right at the New St. Garage, which connects the theater with another recent restoration—that of an important early 20th-century landmark, the Stonewall Jackson Hotel.

Named after the Valley’s best-known Civil War hero, Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson, the hotel first opened in 1924 and became a center of commerce and culture. Drop in any time, or stay in one of the luxurious and affordable rooms. Or just find a quiet place in the lobby for tea, or to check your email with the available wireless service. There’s a low-key, elegant small lounge, Sorrels, one of those comfortable spaces you hardly ever find anymore, to relax and enjoy a cup of tea or a glass of wine in the evening.

Heading east on US250, you’ll pass the Frontier Culture Museum. Just off I-81 at Exit 222, the museum is a living history center, depicting the roots and melding of cultures of the Shenandoah Valley’s early European settlers, through the activities of working farm life. An early American farmstead is joined by authentic German, Scotch-Irish, West African, and English farms which were brought here brick by brick, and stone by stone, from their countries of origin, and reconstructed in perfect detail. The farms are worked by authentically-costumed interpreters, who truly bring the past to life. The museum is open year ’round, seven days a week. Over the next few years, the museum will add an 1850s hamlet, an American Indian village, and a gallery representing the ocean voyage from the Old World to the New. Special spring programs and tours feature herbal remedies, sheep-shearing and Easter traditions.

As you approach Waynesboro, you’ll want to take Exit 94 off I-64, and continue into town to explore the quaint

Also downtown, you’ll see the restoration of the Wayne Theatre underway, the first step in bringing a performance center to downtown Waynesboro. If you arrive downtown on the third week of the month, you’ll be welcomed to the free monthly entertainment produced by the Waynesboro Cultural Commission. “Third Fridays” includes The Boogie Kings, the River City Radio Hour, and occasional appearances by Elvis.

The P. Buckley Moss Museum on US340 at the southern edge of Waynesboro, is devoted to the works of this popular American artist. You’ll recognize the graceful brick building right away—it looks like the unpretentious but substantial farmhouses Moss has painted for the past quarter-century. Moss will be at her home, The Barn, to sign prints, April 23-25.

Two consecutive weekends will draw attention to Waynesboro’s most precious resource, the South River. The Virginia Fly Fishing Festival is held outside each spring on the banks of the river. This year’s Festival, April 17-18, is the 10th annual such event. The Festival draws anglers from across the mid-Atlantic with nonstop free lectures and tips on where, when, and how to fly-fish in the Old Dominion and across the globe. For those who want to keep their boots dry, there’s wine-tasting and live music. It’s the largest fly angling event in Virginia.

The following Saturday, April 24, is Riverfest on all the features of the river, with activities designed to encourage residents and visitors to learn more about the river and its denizens, as well as its vital place in the ecology of the Valley as the headwaters of Shenandoah River’s South Fork. This year is the year of the Wood Duck, one of the creatures of the South River totem pole. The Road and River Relay is the highlight of the event, putting runners, paddlers, and bikers in serious competition for a number of prizes. If you don’t feel like competing, come and watch.

Article text ©2010, Shenandoah Specialty Publishing, LLC.
May be printed for personal use only.

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