Photos By Paul Purpura : ©2010 www.nelsoncountylife.com : A crescent moon sets over Veritas this past Saturday night at their monthly Starry Nights series. Click any photo to enlarge.

Afton
Nelson County, Virginia
Even with showers for the past several days, the skies partially cleared and the temps, perfect for the August Starry Nights @ Veritas Vineyard and Winery. Our Paul Purpura was there to capture some of the images.

A huge crowd packed the lawn at Veritas just before dark this past Saturday.

The night kicked off with the Eli Cook Trio.

The main act for the evening was Little Freddie King - New Orleans Blues Legend.

Of course the evening was about great wine and food too!

As the sun set, people gathered around the huge bonfire that's become a stape at each of the Starry Nights.

People danced the night away!

Just because they asked Paul to take their picture!

Next month Saturday, September 11th, 2010, from 7-11 pm the The Hackensaw Boys along with Jim Waive and the Young Divorcees will wrap up the Starry Nights season at Veritas until 2011.

Be sure to make it there!

Veritas Vineyard and Winery on the web: http://veritaswines.com/

Photo By Tommy Stafford : ©2010 www.nelsoncountylife.com : Taylor Smack, co-owner of Blue Mountain Brewery, shows off just a small portion of the hops harvested Monday during their Annual Hop Picking Day at the brewery. Click any photo to enlarge.

Afton
Nelson County, Virginia
Mother Nature cooperated perfectly this year for the Annual Hop Picking Day at Blue Mountain Brewery. “This is our 4th year of harvesting and we decided to open it up to the public. We gave away a free sandwich and a side for everyone that came by and helped us out. We had somewhere around 100 people,” said Taylor Smack, co-owner of Nelson’s first microbrewery in Afton, Virginia.

Chad Dean of Blue Mountain Brewery moves a batch of hop vines Monday afternoon.

“We’ve got 10 times more than we’ve ever had having Stan Driver, a professional horticulturalist, come on board with us. He knew better what to do so we could spend time focusing on brewing the beer,” Taylor continues.

Stan Driver, owner of Riverside Nursery in Nellysford, makes a path through the hopyard for harvesting.

Chad & Stan remove freshly harvested hops from a trailer.

Countless people covered the deck at Blue Mountain Monday afternoon to pick the hops from the vines.

“Probably 30-40% of everything used Monday will be used in a special Cascade Tribute Ale. It’s a tribute to the cascade hops. 30 years as an American beer,” Taylor explained. The rest of the hops will be dried and vacuum sealed for use later in additional beers like the Full Nelson.

Folks continue picking hops from the vines Monday afternoon. The response was so good the day finished well ahead of schedule.

Blue Mountain Brewery opened to the public in October 2007 as Nelson’s first microbrewery. It was followed a year later by the opening of Devils Backbone Brewing in Roseland (Beech Grove) in November 2008. The next microbrewery will join the first two in the coming months. Wild Wolf Brewing in Nellysford has setup a temporary shop with permanent construction beginning soon.

And there’s even more coming down the pike. Virginia Distillery Company in Lovingtson poured concrete in late July. They will be opening in the coming months as well!

Hang on Nelson, even more to come we can’t tell you about it just yet!

Mom and Dads: pack a picnic diner, bring a blanket or chairs and enjoy a real country Hoe Down with your children, family and friends. Live music will keep everyone in the party mood. Wear your fancy western gear and enjoy a toe “kickin” good time. $10 Children under 2 free. This is a fund raiser for the animals. Sat, Sept 18 5:00-8:00 (9/25 rain date)

Event Date: Saturday 18th of September 2010 05:00 PM

Location/Address: MountainSide Petting Farm 141 Blundell Hollow Rd Afton

Contact Telephone Please call 434-361-0203 for more information

This post was submitted by Barb Funke.

Photo BY Tommy Stafford : ©2010 www.nelsoncountylife.com : Hayley Osborne ( one of our NCL photographers) dropped the camera and hopped on her horse, Moseley, this past Saturday to snag a blue ribbon in the Egg & Spoon Race category at the 1st Annual Hope's Legacy Rescue Fun Day held at Rockfish Ruritian Park. Click to enlarge.

Afton/Greenfield
Nelson County, Virginia
In spite of a 102° high temperature Saturday afternoon, the 1st Annual Hope’s Legacy Rescue Fun Show was a complete success. We told you about the new project in our July issue of Nelson County Life, page 22.

Maya Proulx (left) founder of Hope's Legacy chats it up on a hot Saturday morning at this year's Rescue Fun Day.

Hunter classes began at 9:00 a.m. and games throughout the afternoon/ Classes consisted of Green, Beginner and Junior Hunter, Short Stirrup, and “casual” Beginner, Green, Junior and Adult Hunter classes.

The afternoon consisted of leadline, Egg and Spoon Race, Walking Race, Potato Race, Pole Bending, Sack Race, Walk, Trot, Canter and Lead Race, Phone Book Race, and the always exciting Ride-A-Buck. The Rockfish Ruritans also had their famous BBQ chicken on hand for a yummy lunch!

To learn more about Hope’s Legacy, email Maya: hopeslegacy@hotmal.com

Photos By Kim Chappell : ©2010 www.nelsoncountylife.com : People packed the grounds at Veritas this past Saturday evening for the second Starry Nights of the summer season. Click photos to enlarge.

Afton
Nelson County, Virginia
Late Saturday evenings in Nelson generally mean Starry Nights over at Veritas Winery and Vineyard. The event is held one Saturday a month throughout the warm months. This past weekend The Abbey Road Band played to over a thousand people at Starry Nights. Thanks to Kim Chappell over at www.experiencenelsoncounty.com for sharing a couple of her photos with us!

Kim's hubby Bill Chappell enjoys a nice Rose' just before sunset at Veritas.

Starry Nights continues next month on August 14th, when LIttle Freddie King, New Orleans Blues Legend, will be on hand.

Photos By Paul Purpura : ©2010 www.nelsoncountylife.com : The Swannanoa Palace opened to the public this weekend. It's located in far Northern Nelson County. Click and photo to enlarge.

Afton
Nelson County, Virginia
The 1912 mansion built by the late millionaire, James H. Dooley, opened up this weekend to give folks a look inside the spacious mansion that straddles the Blue Ridge Mountains at the top of Afton Mountain. It took almost eight years for the construction to be completed. Our Paul Purpura headed up the parkway and grabbed a few shots from this weekend’s open house.

People dropping by got a rare look inside the mansion which (according to wiki) was the first home in Nelson County to have electricity via a power plant on the property.

The palace is so large it is located in portions of both Nelson and Augusta Counties.

More than 300 artisans were hired to create the palace as a replica of the Villa de Medici in Rome.

Stained glass is just one of the many beautiful parts of the mansion now owned by J. F. Dulaney, Jr. of Charlottesville.

The palace is open again Sunday - June 6th until 5PM. There is a small fee to visit.

For more information about visiting the palace, call: 540-342-5201

More historic information on the mansion from wiki by clicking here.

Thanks to Stacey Johnson for this photo : RRES administration and faculty members dance on the roof Friday morning to celebrate the excellent results of their SOL scores. Click to enlarge.

Afton
Nelson County, Virginia
If you were anywhere near Rockfish River Elementary School this past Friday morning, you no doubt, saw an unusual sight! About a dozen people were dancing on the roof of the school to the Cha Cha Slide!

Members of RRES’ faculty and administration danced on the roof for the student body to celebrate the best ever SOL scores!

Way to go Rockfish Eagles, and congrats!!

Click image to enlarge.

Afton
Nelson County, Virginia
Mark your calendars for the 2010 RVCC Consignment Sale! This is an annual project that RVCC offers the community … a giant sale where you can sell your STUFF! The 3rd Annual Consignment Sale runs this weekend June 4th-6th.

Get lots more information by heading on over the RVCC’s information page on the sale, by clicking here.

See you there this weekend!

Photos By Norm Shafer : ©2010 www.nelsoncountylife.com : Nelson County Sheriff, David Brooks and Deputy Robbie Brooks, lead Austin Griffin (left) and Christopher Meeks (right) into a Nelson Courtroom during a March 2010 hearing. The two are now officially indicted on Capital Murder charges. Click photo to enlarge.

Lovingston
Nelson County, Virginia
Austin Griffin & Christopher Meeks have been officially indicted on the charge of capital murder for the May 6, 2009 killing of retired teacher’s aid, Opal Page. The grand jury heard evidence Tuesday morning and handed down what’s called the true bill or indictment. “Ironically, Meeks was in a Nelson court Monday with his lawyers for an unrelated appearance,” said Nelson County Sheriff, David Brooks. Sheriff Brooks department along with the Virginia State Police investigated the crime scene just north of Greenfield along Route 151. Meeks and Griffin were arrested on May 12th days after the murder. Prosecutors and police say the duo are the men responsible.

“The two have been charged with Statutory Burglary, Capitol Murder, and Robbery,” said Debbie Giles, Administrative Assistant, in the Nelson County Commonwealth Attorney’s office. She confirmed the indictments to NCL by telephone Tuesday afternoon.

“Numerous other hearings are in the works now,” Giles continued. The pair is expected to be back in court within the coming weeks to get a firm trial date set. The pair appeared together most recently back in March of 2010.

More on the history and time line of the Opal Page murder by clicking here

Photos By Yvette Stafford : ©2010 www.nelsoncountylife.com : Kids enjoy the annual cakewalk at the 2010 Band Fair-8 which benefits North Branch School. Click any image to enlarge.

Afton
Nelson County, Virginia
A little rain didn’t squash this year’s Band Fair held at Cardinal Point Vineyard & Winery. It’s the 8th year running the event has been held to help raise money for North Branch School in Afton.

As always, face painting is a big hit!

Lots of different bands played throughout the daylong event.

In addition to live entertainment and great food, folks enjoyed great wines from Cardinal Point!

Here’s a little bit of video shot by North Branch of the popular cakewalk!

You can see lots more from the 2010 Band Fair 8 by heading on over the North Branch School’s website:
http://northbranchschool.wordpress.com/2010/05/23/a-rainy-band-fair-but-there-was-cake-and-singing/