REASON #11: WINTER WINE FESTIVAL

February 25 from 12-6 pm 

Thaw out this winter with the 7^th Annual Winter Wine Festival hosted by the Stonewall Jackson Hotel in partnership with the Historic Staunton Foundation. Spend the afternoon sampling wine from over a dozen wineries and vineyards, enjoy food by local purveyors and live music.

Looking for a mid-winter weekend getaway? Check out the Winter Wine Festival package the Stonewall Jackson Hotel is offering. This discounted lodging package includes:
-Overnight accommodations
-Two tickets to the wine festival
-Breakfast for two and overnight self-parking

For the hotel package—while supplies last—visit, the Stonewall Jackson Hotel website, here.

For tickets to the Winter Wine Festival, visit the Historic Staunton Foundation website.

For the complete list see:
REASON #1 – Queen City Potter Party
REASON #2 – Polyface Farm’s Lunatic Tours
REASON #3 – Staunton Music Festival’s 20th Anniversary Season
REASON #4 – Staunton: Your Gateway to Shenandoah National Park
REASON #5 – ASC’s 2017/18 Season Announcement
REASSON #6 – The Shack Makeover
REASON #7 – More Brew
REASON #8 – An Elegantly English Tea
REASON #9 – Fall Foliage Bike Festival
REASON #10 – Virginia Hot Glass Festival
 

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REASON #10: Virginia hot glass festival

 
May 27-28, 2017
Feel the heat of the furnace as you watch live glassblowing demonstrations and flame working techniques throughout the weekend. Visit the expansive exhibit by artists from around the region while enjoying wine tasting by Barren Ridge Vineyards. This annual event is FREE. For more details check out Sunspots Studio.

For the complete list see:
REASON #1 – Queen City Potter Party
REASON #2 – Polyface Farm’s Lunatic Tours
REASON #3 – Staunton Music Festival’s 20th Anniversary Season
REASON #4 – Staunton: Your Gateway to Shenandoah National Park
REASON #5 – ASC’s 2017/18 Season Announcement
REASSON #6 – The Shack Makeover
REASON #7 – More Brew
REASON #8 – An Elegantly English Tea
REASON #9 – Fall Foliage Bike Festival

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REASON #9: Shenandoah fall foliage bike festival

October 20-22, 2017
With the fall colors on full display, take in the scenic views of the Shenandoah Valley with a full weekend of riding, sightseeing and Staunton hospitality. A favorite of cyclists up and down the Mid-Atlantic, this annual bike festival offers a range of riding opportunities for all skill levels from motivated century riders to families with young children and everything in between. Fall is a popular time to visit Staunton so be sure and book NOW! For details on the bike festival, visit their website.

For the complete list see:

REASON #1 – Queen City Potter Party
REASON #2 – Polyface Farm’s Lunatic Tours
REASON #3 – Staunton Music Festival’s 20th Anniversary Season
REASON #4 – Staunton: Your Gateway to Shenandoah National Park
REASON #5 – ASC’s 2017/18 Season Announcement
REASSON #6 – The Shack Makeover
REASON #7 – More Brew
REASON #8 – An Elegantly English Tea

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REASON #8: an elegantly English tea

Enjoy an authentically English tea at the Anne Hathaway Cottage Tea Room. Delight in a beautiful spread of homemade tea sandwiches, shortbread, and scones all served with clotted cream and jams—imported from England and served in fine china. The pleasant proprietors offer insight into the history of high tea and conclude the afternoon with the custard dessert posset which makes an appearance in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. After tea, peruse the rare collection of tea sets and imported goods. The Tea Room will re-open in April just in time for you to enjoy their beautiful gardens. Reservations are highly recommended and fill up quickly so be sure and book your tea when planning your next trip to the Queen City.

For the complete list see:
REASON #1 – Queen City Potter Party
REASON #2 – Polyface Farm’s Lunatic Tours
REASON #3 – Staunton Music Festival’s 20th Anniversary Season
REASON #4 – Staunton: Your Gateway to Shenandoah National Park
REASON #5 – ASC’s 2017/18 Season Announcement
REASSON #6 – The Shack Makeover
REASON #7 – More Brew

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REASON #7: more brew

Looking to take a beercation? Look no further. Staunton’s newest brewery, Bedlam Brewing plans to open on January 25 becoming the 14^th brewery on the Shenandoah Beerwerks Trail. Plan your next adventure using the Beerwerks website which includes a trail map, a complete listing of the participating breweries, lodging options and much more! To check out the status of Bedlam Brewing check out their Facebook Page.

In other beer news, Shenandoah Valley Brewing Company is moving their operation to 103 E. Beverley Street. The new location will allow the brewery to double their production and add more beers to their already robust list of quality beers.

For the complete list see:
REASON #1 – Queen City Potter Party
REASON #2 – Polyface Farm’s Lunatic Tours
REASON #3 – Staunton Music Festival’s 20th Anniversary Season
REASON #4 – Staunton: Your Gateway to Shenandoah National Park
REASON #5 – ASC’s 2017/18 Season Announcement
REASON #6 – The Shack Makeover

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Reason #5b: American Shakespeare Center’s 2017/18 Season
  
The 2017/18 Artistic Year features seven plays by William Shakespeare:

• Much Ado about Nothing
• Love’s Labour’s Lost
• The Fall of King Henry (Henry VI, Part 3)
• Macbeth
• The Taming of the Shrew
• Hamlet
• The Life and Death of Richard II

Also included in the 2017/18 Season:

• Tony Award-winning Peter and the Starcatcher by Rick Elice
• Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility
• Equivocation by Bill Cain
• Antonio’s Revenge by John Marston
• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard
  
  The holiday favorite A Christmas Carol returns and is joined by the family-friendly Every Christmas Carol Ever Told (And Then Some!)

  For all the details visit American Shakespeare Center’s website. 

For the complete list see:
REASON #1 – Queen City Potter Party
REASON #2 – Polyface Farm’s Lunatic Tours
REASON #3 – Staunton Music Festival’s 20th Anniversary Season
REASON #4 – Staunton: Your Gateway to Shenandoah National Park

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Reason #5a: American Shakespeare Center’s 2017/18 Season
  
We anxiously wait for the American Shakespeare Center to announce their 2017/18 Artistic Season. Artistic Director, Jim Warren will announce their season TODAY during the Opening Night Party, directly following the PAY WHAT YOU WILL performance of The Merchant of Venice. Can’t be there in person? Tune in on the ASC’s Facebook page as they live stream the event. Or, check out their website, tomorrow Sunday, January 15^th for the complete listing.

For the complete list see:
REASON #1 – Queen City Potter Party
REASON #2 – Polyface Farm’s Lunatic Tours
REASON #3 – Staunton Music Festival’s 20th Anniversary Season
REASON #4 – Staunton: Your Gateway to Shenandoah National Park

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Staunton: your gateway to Shenandoah national park
 

Staunton is your ideal “base of operation” for exploring the Shenandoah Valley. Located just minutes from the entrance to Shenandoah National Park be sure and take advantage of the National Park Service’s ten entrance FEE-FREE days in 2017 while staying in Staunton. The first fee-free day is Martin Luther King Jr. on January 16. For a complete listing of all FEE-FREE days visit: https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/fee-free-parks.htm  Book your STAUNTON trip now!

For the complete list see:
REASON #1 – Queen City Potter Party
REASON #2 – Polyface Farm’s Lunatic Tours
REASON #3 – Staunton Music Festival’s 20th Anniversary Season

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reason #3: Staunton music festival’s 20th anniversary season
  

August 11-20, 2017
The Staunton Music Festival celebrates 20 years of music making with a 10-day festival. One of the most popular music events of the summer—happening August 11-20—includes multiple performances a day with music ranging from the Middle Ages to commissioned world premieres and taking place throughout historic downtown Staunton in variety of locations ranging from intimate venues to traditional settings. For the first time, SMF welcomes Happenstance Theater, a renowned DC-based troupe that will perform alongside the musicians in what will be a multi-sensory experience for all ages. Some highlights include:

• classic musical comedy at Blackfriars (Aug 13)
• Beethoven’s monumental Ninth Symphony for orchestra, soloists, and chorus (Aug 20)
• Happenstance Theater’s “Brou-Haha” at historic Cobble Hill Farm (Aug 12)
• the beloved children’s classic Peter and the Wolf, featuring SMF Chamber Players, Staunton Academy of Ballet dancers, and guest narrator (Aug 13)
• Piano Extravaganza – music for up to four players at one piano (Aug 19)
• Hollywood Songbook (Aug 14)

   

  For the complete list see:
  REASON #1 – Queen City Potter Party
  REASON #2  – Polyface Farm’s Lunatic Tours
   
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reason#2: Polyface Farm’s
Lunatic tours

 Select dates: May-October, 2017

Known for their diversified farming techniques—not to mention their delicious products—Polyface Farm announces their 2017 Lunatic Tours. A family affair, children 12 and under are free, spend a day on the farm with members of the Salatin Family as you take a hay ride, visit the Egg-mobile, and see the turkeys in the Gobbledy-Go while learning first-hand about Polyfaces’ practices. And don’t forget your wallet, so you can purchase their many organic products. For tickets click here.  

For the complete list see:
REASON #1 – Queen City Potter Party 

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