by Lee Graves
Nature plays a nasty trick on us this time of year. As our “to-do” list grows, it seems our available time shrinks.
Fortunately, we have the ability to make time for “must-do” items. When choices stretch like an endless string of lights across the season, it’s important to reserve a spot on our holiday schedule to take in activities that brighten our spirits and create shining memories.
With that in mind, here are suggestions—some just for fun, others for fulfillment—to put on your can’t miss list.
HEAD TO THE SLOPES
Few recreational endeavors are as exhilarating as charging down a snow-covered slope with brisk mountain air fueling the adrenaline rush. And Wintergreen Resort in Nelson County is poised as never before to provide memorable experiences for snow sports enthusiasts.
Last year’s late-arriving snows prevented Wintergreen from making full use of its $6.2 million investment in a fully automated snowmaking system.
“This year we hope to have full utilization with a normal weather pattern,” says Hank Thiess, general manager at Wintergreen.
That means thrills galore for skiers and snowboarders on the 25 slopes and trails crisscrossing the 129 skiable acres. In addition, there are two terrain parks for working on freestyle moves and two snow-tubing sites. The latter features Ridgely’s Fun Park for youngsters and The Plunge, a 900-foot ride that drops 100 vertical feet in a mad dash.
“It’s particularly fun and exciting, and we get a good number of 10- to 18-year-olds tubing,” Thiess says.
Wintergreen provides instruction for beginners and those with special needs. And if you prefer flat to steep, head to Shamokin Ice, the skating rink in the heart of the village.
If there’s no snow, there’s always golf. Devils Knob, the highest course in the state at 3,850 feet, offers expansive views and a challenging Ellis Maples design. Please note: After Dec. 1, play will be limited to resort members, resort guests and their guests. Stoney Creek at Wintergreen, in the Rockfish Valley, has 27 holes in three nines, each with a distinctive character.
CATCH SOME CULTURE
Name your passion—ballet, opera, the classics, pop or jazz—and you’ll find a performance this season to satisfy your cultural sensibilities.
It’s hard to imagine the holidays without “The Nutcracker,” and the Richmond Ballet, celebrating its 30th season, is embracing venues beyond the home city.
“With the opportunity to bring our production back to the Hampton Roads area for performances in Chrysler Hall at the start of December, we are so excited to share this wonderful tradition statewide, and truly embrace our role as The State Ballet of Virginia,” says Brett Bonda, managing director for the Richmond Ballet. The performance dates are scheduled for Dec. 4-6 at Chrysler Hall in Norfolk, and Dec. 14-23 at Richmond’s Carpenter Theatre.
Richmond Center Stage also has scheduled singer Liz Callaway for Nov. 21-24 as part of its “U.S. Trust Life is a Cabaret!” series in Rhythm Hall. Vocalist Molly Ringwald will perform jazz and American standards in “A Winter Wonderland” from Dec. 12-15 in the Gottwald Playhouse.
In northern Virginia, the lilting strains of Hawaiian chanters will warm the winter chill when the mother-son duo of Kekuhi and Kaumakaiwa Kanaka‘ole performs at The Barns at Wolf Trap on Nov. 22. A review in the Honolulu Star Bulletin described the singing of Kekuhi, granddaughter of one of Hawaii’s greatest chanters, as “primeval, suggesting a life spent in some remote and unspoiled jungle valley.”
On a more mainstream note, acoustic guitarist/singer Jonathan Edwards will take the Wolf Trap stage on Nov. 23, and pianist/vocalist John Eaton will turn back the dial with “The Roaring Twenties: A Salute to the Jazz Age” on Nov. 30.
Just across the Potomac, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts will spotlight jazz and more in its “American Voices” program. A three-day festival curated by soprano Renée Fleming will include workshops as well as performances from Nov. 22-24.
And of course the Kennedy Center will provide its own dose of sugarplum fantasy when the Joffrey Ballet performs “The Nutcracker” Nov. 27-Dec. 1.
Folks in the Tidewater region can look forward to a different interpretation of the classic when the Moscow Ballet presents “The Great Russian Nutcracker” at the Sandler Center for the Performing Arts in Virginia Beach on Nov. 29.
Two more classics will be featured at the Sandler Center—Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” by the Virginia Opera on Nov. 15 and Nov. 17, and Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony by the Virginia Symphony Orchestra on Nov. 30.
STAY IN HORSE COUNTRY
If you love horses—or history, hunting and having a good time—a trip to Middleburg and a weekend stay a The Red Fox Inn and Tavern belong on your travel itinerary.
“I would say that horse people are some of our biggest clients,” says Matilda Reuter, general manager of the inn.
Also in Middleburg, the National Sporting Library & Museum celebrates the culture of horse and field sports with art and literature (more than 15,000 volumes make it one of the world’s largest collections). In its courtyard stands a bronze sculpture depicting a war-weary horse in honor of the 1.5 million horses and mules killed in the Civil War.
The town will put its best hooves forward on Dec. 7 with the Middleburg Hunt and Hounds Review at 11 a.m. and the Christmas Parade at 2 p.m. The festivities feature roughly 100 horses and red-coat riders accompanied by hounds, floats, marching bands and more.
Afterward, put your feet up at The Red Fox, which dates to 1728 and is the oldest continuously operated inn in the country. The complex—16 rooms and suites in five buildings—blends modern amenities with the stone-and-wood romantic feel of history. The inn offers special dining events on Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve.
WALK THROUGH HISTORY
Virginia’s Colonial Triangle takes on a special charm this time of year.
The Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown Victory Center combine for “A Colonial Christmas” from Dec. 1 to Jan. 5. At Jamestown, films and interpretive programs shed light on English holiday customs and how they might have been observed during the difficult days of Jamestown’s founding. Meanwhile, at Yorktown, the tribulations of soldiers encamped in the Continental Army will be recalled with artillery demonstrations and other displays.
Yorktown also plans a festive affair for the lighting of its Christmas tree, a tradition dating to 1945, with the Fifes and Drums of Yorktown, a procession through the historic village, and music at Riverwalk Landing, beginning at 7 p.m. on Dec. 6.
Stay the night and join the vendors and shoppers for the Christmas Market on Main—that’s Yorktown’s historic Main Street—on Dec. 7. Beat the chill with roasted chestnuts and hot cider while crossing off items on your holiday gift list.
That evening, the annual Yorktown Lighted Boat Parade kicks off at 6 p.m. Scores of sailboats and powerboats will be decked out for the season, and caroling around a beach bonfire will add to the merriment.
Williamsburg’s Yorktown Lighted Boat Parade pops the cork on the season Dec. 8 with musical performances on multiple stages. The free event culminates at 7 p.m. with fireworks from three sites—the Governor’s Palace, the Magazine and the Capitol. The weekend also includes the 54th annual Christmas Homes Tour.
On Dec. 24, Williamsburg’s Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony will include the firing of the Christmas Guns, carols and a special reading of “The Night Before Christmas.”
While you’re in the Colonial Triangle, you can tee it up at several highly ranked golf courses. The Golden Horseshoe Golf Club features three layouts, including the award-winning Gold Course, a Robert Trent Jones Sr. masterpiece which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. The Gold Course is ranked among the “Best Courses You Can Play” in Virginia by Golfweek magazine. Also at the Horseshoe, golfers have the opportunity to play the Green Course and the Spotswood Executive Course.
Kingsmill Resort’s River Course, which welcomed a PGA Tour event and is the host site for the Kingsmill Championship, an LPGA Tour stop. The resort also offers the Plantation Course and the Woods Course.
The area north of Williamsburg sports, among others, two scenic courses—Colonial Heritage Club and Kiskiack Golf Club—and to the west you’ll find Ford’s Colony Country Club, which recently completed a capital improvement program. The Club at Viniterra in New Kent also deserves a spot on your must-play list.
SHOPPING
Speaking of holiday gifts, the season’s shopping can be a cheery chore at some of Virginia’s premier destinations. Williamsburg Premium Outlets, which boasts more than 145 retail stores, will have strolling carolers and visits by Santa beginning Nov. 30 to spice up the shopping experience.
Johanna Slack, director of marketing for Williamsburg Premium Outlets, recommends checking out their website, premiumoutlets.com, for deals before visiting the complex on U.S. 60.
“We see a lot of shoppers around holiday time who are taking advantage of our savings every day,” she says.
In the Richmond area, Stony Point Fashion Park, just south of the James River and Short Pump Town Center in western Henrico County, are merchandise meccas. Both celebrate 10 years of business this year, giving them special emphasis on this season’s “must-do” list.
Author Lee Graves is a writer from Richmond and a regular contributor to Virginia Golfer, the official publication of the Virginia State Golf Association.