Lovingston
Nelson County, VA
A large crowd of people turned out Tuesday night for the first public presentation by executives from Dominion Transmission regarding a proposed natural gas pipeline through Nelson and adjoining counties.
Anne Buteau of Nelson County (R) waits on people getting a No Pipeline shirt this past Tuesday night during a large meeting of Nelson residents, the BOS and executives from Dominion. August 12, 2014
After some opening remarks by the BOS the meeting was turned over to Dominion. Several points were made by their representatives saying eminent domaine would be used only as a last resort and that surveying in Nelson would begin around the end of August.
-“Minimum distance requirement between home and pipeline is 25 feet” — answer from Dominion replying to question from west district supervisor Bruguiere.
These were a few of the points highlighted by Dominion. Several grassroots anti pipeline organizations including Free Nelson were following play by play during the meeting. Click on their link in the paragraph to read those.
Friends of Nelson is also another group working closely in opposition to the pipeline.
Chet Wade, VP Corporate Communications at Dominion addresses the Nelson BOS Tuesday evening – August 12, 2014 during a packed house meeting held at Nelson Middle School in Lovingston.
Afton
Nelson County, Virginia
Back in the Summer of 2011 we introduced you to Todd Rath and his Blue Toad Restaurant and Pub that opened in the old D’Ambola’s Italian Restaurant building along Route 151 in Afton. As of Monday – August 11, 2014 the popular Nelson hangout has sold and will become Rockfish One Fifty-One Pub. “It’s bittersweet. I am involved in a logistics company, which is my real paycheck, many rental properties at Smith Mountain Lake, Blue Toad, the old BB&T bank building in Afton, the old Afton Family Medical building in Afton, and as big as I am, I’m just stretched too thin,” Blue Toad found Todd Rath laughingly told us on Sunday evening. He said future expansion plans here in Nelson coupled with an already full plate in other business ventures helped seal the decision to sell. Rath says the new pub owner is Randy Snead. “After a career of 20 years in public safety service, I’ve decided to continue to serve the public by offering a great place with a great atmosphere, good food an events at a decent price and with customer service being paramount. This is beautiful country and everyone I have met so far in the past week have been kind friendly and very excited,” Sneed said.
@2008-2014 Blue Ridge Life : Prior to The Blue Toad opening in 2011 the building was the home of D’Ambola’s Restaurant owned and operated by Phil D’Ambola (L) and his wife Linda. It was a hotspot for italian food since it opened in the early 2000’s until the 2011 change.
Todd also told BRL he’s involved in a relatively new venture that will bring Nelson’s second hard cider company to the area within the next 24 months. “Our goal to have a functioning cidery on 151 just across the road from our old Blue Toad within 2 years. It will have a cidery barn, an open air pavilion, along with a restaurant on the other side overlooking Pilot Mountain,” Todd added in our conversation Sunday evening.
Todd Rath says he recently purchased a hard cider company back in his home area of New York in Rochester.” The goal, once we are established in Rochester, is to put a location on our property already owned in Afton.”
Todd also recently bought the old Afton Family Medicine building in Afton near Five Star Fitness. Rath says he’s recently gotten approval for a 7 unit hotel and suites that should open in about 4 months.
Though the forecast called for rain, skies remained dry and made for a beautiful evening at Starry Nights this past Saturday – August 9, 2014 in Afton, VA
Roseland
Nelson County, Virginia
In just a few days the Blue Ridge will step back in time when Wolfbane Productions presents Macbeth in an outdoor setting at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains on the grounds at Devils Backbone Brewing in Roseland.
“Wolfbane Productions is a non-profit theatre company based out of Central Virginia. It all started back in 2008 when our Artistic Director just wanted to do a show. He had a script for a new absurdist musical and decided he wanted to direct a production of Bat Boy: The Musical. Since then, we’ve been producing shows, mainly musicals, that are not normally seen in this area. We look for shows we enjoy, that we’re excited about and that really challenge our audiences and performers. We strive to present unique theatrical experiences that connects with each audience member while engaging them in an immersive story. We want to do theater that is new and that we would want to see. Even when we present classics like Shakespeare, we try to find a different way to present the material in a new light but still serves the story and our audience members,” said Aaron Farr, Marketing Director for Wolfbane.
James Vesey of Danville, PA (left) and Hubbard Farr of New York City (right) practice stage combat with the instruction from Michael Kurowski of Chicago (middle).
“Our first show is Wolfbane’s Macbeth. It’s our own version based on Shakespeare’s classic and its a very fast paced, epic and gruesome adventure. Shakespeare’s story and language are still present in our production but we’ve streamlined his version to be more visual. Instead of talking for pages describing a battle, you’re going to see the battle. Instead of describing a murder, you’re going to see it happen. We want to show you Macbeth as well as tell you about it. You’ll be completely immersed in the plot line from start to finish. We are setting it in pre-historic Scotland, in a castle, and there the audience will be surrounded by the castle walls. The show is outside, in the Blue Ridge Mountains on the Devils Backbone property in Roseland, VA. Add in the fact that we are using Scottish accents and you’ll feel like you’re actually in Scotland yourself,” Aaron continued.
Wolfbane describes the production as “An epic take on Shakespeare’s Classic.”
“We’ve been partnering with the Devils Backbone for 3 years now. We have previously performed Foxfire and Dark of the Moon at their location and it has proven to be a wonderful marriage; Blue Ridge Mountains, theatre and beer! The performances are August 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 28, 29, 30 all at 8 pm. It’s picnic style seating so feel free to bring your own chairs or blankets to sit on. The Devils Backbone will be open for dinner and brew before hand as well so you can really make it a a fun evening out all in one location. Tickets are available at www.lynchburgtickets.com and we will have a few tickets available at the door each night. If you’re purchasing tickets at the door, we can only take cash. Prices are $15 for general admission, $12 for students and seniors and each Thursday is Thrifty Thursdays and all tickets are only $10. Any additional information you may need you can find at www.wolfbane.org.”
Afton
Nelson County, VA
Technology is pretty darn cool, and this proves it. I did a weathercast Monday morning from Trager Brothers 2.0 at the RVCC. I toaled a little with Will Trager about the coffee of the day, and more!
Near Nellysford
Nelson County, VA
It was just about as perfect as it gets for a run this past Saturday at the Corkscrew BE BOLD 4 Miler held at Bold Rock Hard Cider just south of Nellysford. BRL has been a sponsor of the Corkscrew series since the beginning.
To see all of the race results, click here, and you can view lots of photos of the race by clicking on our Facebook album below.
Nellysford
Nelson County, VA
Just a few more days remain before the Corkscrew Racing BE BOLD 4 Miler kicks off this Saturday – August 2, 2014 at 9AM. It’s all on the grounds at Bold Rock Hard Cider just south of Nellysford. BRL has been a sponsor of the Corkscrew series since they started. We’ll be on hand with lots of cool BRL swag!
Central Virginia Blue Ridge Area
There’s a decent chance for strong to severe storms this afternoon and evening across the region. The better chances are to the west and southwest, but if we see some sunshine break through today, that greatly enhances the chot at severe weather. The most likely problems would be very heavy rains and damaging winds.
Thanks to our friends over at Virginia Weather Network for their graphics below. Click on their images to more detail for your specific area.
