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FESTIVAL O F LIGHTS: H OW TO CAPTU RE U NSEEN WO N DERS LI KE TH IS " H E ART-SH APED N EBU L A" D E C E M B E R 2 02 3

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LIFESTYLE LETTER

Those Who Walk in Darkness...

December 2023 PUBLISHER

Hann Livingston | hann.livingston@citylifestyle.com EDITOR IAL COOR DINATOR

Melinda Gipson | melinda.gipson@citylifestyle.com

I made a great friend in Joey Trotz in my early days of trying to guide the Fourth Estate onto the Web. Those days were often an exercise in trying to light a future path through what seemed to many publishers to be dark days for printed media. More recently, as I watched Joey’s work in capturing the stars emerge via his Facebook posts, I one day sat amazed that God, when he put the stars in the sky, made a “Heart-Shaped Nebula.” This may seem like an anthropomorphic leap of faith to scientific minds, but December can be a dark time...yet it is when Christians celebrate the nativity and many other religions celebrate festivals of light. As Matthew quotes Isaiah, “the people that walked in darkness have seen a great light.” This season we have many reasons to contemplate those things that the darkest times in our lives reveal. We’ve emerged from a pandemic only to face crises in the Middle East and Ukraine. But on a much more personal level we face our own struggles of a strained economy and the loss of people we hold dear. So, if only in the slice of life that these few pages allow us to spotlight every month, we try to shed a little light. We profile Leigh Jenks, Blue Ridge Hospice’s Music Therapist, who is an angel of light to people facing death and/or the loss of a loved one. She lightened our lives through some very dark hours, and we’re grateful. We brighten each other’s lives this season by gift giving, and Ketterman’s is a perpetual guiding light to help us say just the right thing to the people who have blessed us all year long. Arthur Murray’s Gabriel and Leigh Gamboa teach us how to experience the joy of living through dance, year-round, but especially during the holidays. Comedy reveals pathos and humanity and love in the work of great filmmakers like Alexander Payne. We’re grateful for the beacon that is the Middleburg Film Festival, annually putting the work of great filmmakers on display. So, turn on the light, read on, and reach out when the darkness seems unbearable. We wish you clear skies. (And we'd be remiss in not thanking our advertising partners for another year of supporting our work at Leesburg Lifestyle. We are in our 5th year of publication and we would not be able to bring you the positive stories about our community without them. So thank you! You are our people and we look forward to year 6!)

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DECEMBER 2023

inside the issue The Holidays & Giving Issue

F E ATU R E D

D E PA RTM E NTS

18 Festival of Lights

Lifestyle Letter

Gift Guide S HO PPI NG

Maker’s Studio A RTS + C U LTU R E

Get Active A RTS + C U LT U R E

Back Stage ENT ERTA I NMENT

Happy Hour FO O D + B EV ER AG E

Local Limelight ENT ERTA I NM E N T

Giving Back LI FE + C U LT U R E

Inspired By A RTS + C U LT U R E

An Awe-Inspiring Earth-Bound View of the Heaven’s Wonders

28 Life is the Event – Dancing is the Introduction 34 Director Alexander Payne Returns to Middleburg Film Festival Reunites with Paul Giamatti in The Holdovers

50 One More Song

Blue Ridge Hospice Music Therapy Shares a Smile Where it’s Needed

O N T H E C OV E R

Photography: Joey Trotz An image of the Heart Nebula in the constellation Cassiopeia, about 7,500 light years from Earth. This glowing cloud of gas and dust is thought to be the birthplace of new stars. It took six hours of imaging time.

Ketterman’s Jewelers Caters to its FAVORITE Customers this Holiday Season No matter who you’re shopping for, you’ll find something special (even if it’s just for you!) ARTICLE BY RICH I NORMAN | PHOTOG R APHY BY KET TE RMAN’ S JE WE LE RS

Lizzy Whiting, Debra Allen, Justin Millnick and Jenna Bishop

We checked in with the staff at Ketterman’s to get some insight on who’s shopping for what finds this Holiday Season. While the inventory in our own favorite gift-giving emporium is constantly changing, the questions put to the family-owned business’ long tenured staff — Lizzy Whiting, 34 years; Debra Allen, 10 years; Justin Millnick, 12 years and Jenna Bishop, 6 years — are often the same — “What can I get my... daughter, wife, husband?” The discerning shopper is even often looking for herself, and what to wear to that special holiday party. We’ve flipped this question to show you the answers to what Ketterman’s favorite customers are selecting for that special someone!

G IF T GU ID E | SHOPPIN G

Super Hero Husband Debra’s favorite customer is the “Super Hero Husband”. Ketterman’s has many impressive options to wow your wife on Christmas morning.

Diamond Earrings by Christopher Designs L’Amour Pear Collection $7,455 Ruby and Diamond Ring by Beverley K. Vintage Reproduction $4,750 Emerald and Diamond Pendant crafted by Ketterman’s $2,295

Daughters and Moms Lizzy loves to help mom’s buy for their daughters and vice versa. Bracelets are a great option for a meaningful gift, as they fall in the wearers eyeline, reminding them of the gift-giver or the sentiment it represents.

Gold Bracelet with engravable disc $635.

CONTINUED >

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For The Gentlemen Justin wants you to know that Ketterman’s isn’t just for the ladies! And he loves to help them shop for their gentlemen. While most of the store does lean to more feminine options, the KetterMEN’s corner offers great jewelry, accessory and gift options for him.

Cuervo y Sobrinos “Habana” Automatic Watch $5,800 Mova Globe 6” with wooden base $298 Guitar Pick Necklace by John Varvatos $458 Business Card Case by Davin & Kessler $50 Petrified Wood Side Table $385

For Your Holiday Party Look Because Ketterman’s is a jewelry store and a whole lot more, Jenna’s favorite Christmas Shopper is looking for a head-to-toe Holiday Party Look.

Joseph Ribkoff Gold and Black Top $230, Sparkle Peek-Front Fitted Pant $165 Brighton “Rosie” Camera bag $375 Brighton Auburn Watch $145, Illumina Necklace $98, Illumina Lights Hoop Earring $130 Brighton Bangles “Meridian Eclipse” $68, “Light Hearted” $48, “Meridian” $78

G IF T GU ID E | SHOPPIN G

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F E S T I VA L OF LIGHTS Joey Trotz offers us an Awe-Inspiring Earth-Bound View of the Heaven’s Wonders

On a clear night from his Atlanta backyard, Joey Trotz captures the universe. This self-described amateur astrophotographer uses a kit consisting of gear available to any hobbyist. But Joey is more than your average photographer. When the Internet was new and online publishing was self-taught, Joey was an award-winning photojournalist and editor at the Augusta Chronicle owned by Morris Communications. One of his earliest claims to fame was creating the first ever continuously independent website covering the annual Masters Golf Tournament, complete with a continuously updated online leaderboard. That led to a partnership with Sports Illustrated, covering events like the Olympics and the Word Series, taking an integral role in shaping Web-based storytelling (with awards that bested the New York Times on occasion) and introducing game-changing technologies to the digital newspaper industry. He went on to direct ad operations for SI.com, pioneer interactive television for CNN, write rules for digital video at the Interactive Advertising Bureau, direct data monetization for Turner, master programmatic advertising, and match wits with IBM’s Watson as global head of advertising. Today, his day job consists of devising privacy protocols for Google’s “Privacy Sandbox” – an essential toolkit for making

sure that digital content can be supported by advertising while respecting the personal privacy of its consumers. “It’s a little bit geeky for sure,” allows Joey, “but it represents a sea change in how digital advertising works online for both web and mobile.” Yet at night, his eyes turn skyward. As a kid, he’d always been fascinated with space and long thought that many of the photos he enjoyed of distant galaxies were taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, far beyond the light-canceling effects of Earth’s atmosphere. Not so, as he learned in 2017 when he decided to bone up on how to photograph a total solar eclipse that was visible along a path from Oregon through his home state of Georgia. He bought a used telescope on eBay and figured out how to attach a digital camera. “I was thrilled to be able to capture the ‘Bailey’s Beads’ phenomenon, an effect that happens when the sun shines through the mountains and craters of the moon around the edges. It only lasts seconds. That was the beginning of my plunge into astrophotography.” His current gear cost him around $5,000, but it’s the investment of time that is more significant. “Astrophotography is the hardest thing I’ve ever tried to figure out on my own. There are optics, mechanical engineering, software, meteorology... so many disciplines that go into planning and CONTINUED >

ARTICLE BY MELINDA GIPSON PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOEY TROTZ, JOEL SILVERMAN

M AK E R’S ST U D IO | A RTS + CULTURE

The Andromeda Galaxy is visible to the naked eye under dark-sky conditions, and is the closest galaxy to our own Milky Way.

D ECEMB ER 2 0 2 3 | C I TYL I FE STYL E . C OM / L E E S BUR G

setting up the equipment. Any slight error in any of these things means not capturing usable data.” He uses an attached Raspberry Pi computer with specialized software that relays instructions such as how the telescope mount should compensate for the Earth’s rotation, how often to refocus, how many exposures it should take, and how long they should last. And then there are hours spent processing the raw data on a computer to create the images! Websites like “CloudyNights.com” helped immeasurably in sharing methods and tips for overcoming challenges. Like any perfectionist, he’s happiest with the images that were most difficult to capture, some of which we’ve shared here. We do so during this season in which we celebrate the Festival of Lights because of the awe they inspire and maybe the impetus they provide to launch other explorers. Joey says, “Every time I shoot something new, I can’t wait to see what I’ll be able to capture. It’s exciting to create these visuals that, a few years ago, I honestly thought were all being shot by Hubble in space. I didn’t really have an understanding, and probably a lot of your readers as well, that these kinds of images can be captured by amateurs on the ground, which is truly mind-boggling. It’s awesome in the true sense of that word, that we can capture this light that’s been coming to us in some cases for billions of years, traveling across the universe to land on Earth.” It doesn’t make him feel small, exactly. “I do think about how big everything is in the hidden, hardly visible world that’s all around us. It is as mesmerizing in scale as it’s miraculous in its beauty. I feel very privileged to have figured out how to capture these images and make this into an enjoyable hobby that I try and do every time I get the chance.” He gives back not only by sharing his astronomy work but also by donating proceeds of his book, Quarantine Cocktails, chock full of his creative mixology recipes, to Giving Kitchen, an Atlanta charity that provides emergency assistance for food service workers through financial support and a network of community resources (see givingkitchen.com). You can find the book here: tinyurl.com/qcocktails. Image 1: The Veil Nebula encompasses an area six times the full moon’s diameter in our nighttime sky. It’s divided into three main parts: the Eastern Veil (NGC 6992), the Western Veil (NGC 6960), and Pickering’s Triangle (NGC 6979), captured here all at once through a fairly wide-field telescope measuring only 275mm in focal length. Each of these segments reveals the intricate beauty of a supernova remnant, the result of a massive star’s dramatic end. Its delicate tendrils, filaments, and cavities

CONTINUED >

Left: The Veil Nebula, 2023 | Top right: Total solar eclipse of the Summer of 2017 as the shadow of the moon obscured the sun on a path that stretched from Oregon to South Carolina | Center: Spanning an astonishing length of approximately 20 light-years, the Elephant Trunk Nebula is approximately 2,400 light-years away from Earth (5 hours exposure) | Bottom: The socalled ‘Green Comet’ from Fall 2022. The green glow seen here comes from elements burning off as the comet approaches our Sun.

M AK E R’S ST U D IO | A RTS + CULTURE

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The North American and Pelican Nebulas, 2023

M AK E R’S ST U D IO | A RTS + CULTURE

The Pinwheel Galaxy, 2023

“It’s awesome in the true sense of that word, that we can capture this light that’s been coming to us in some cases for billions of years, traveling across the universe to land on Earth.” — Joey Trotz

tell a story of powerful stellar explosions and the ongoing dance of matter and energy in space. This image has 19 total hours of exposure time. Image 2: NGC 7000, also known as the North American Nebula, and its celestial companion, the Pelican Nebula, was discovered around 1786. These stunning nebulas reside in the Cygnus constellation, about 1,600 light-years away from us. The North American Nebula, aptly named for its resemblance to the continent, spans an enormous area in space equivalent to about four times the apparent width of the full moon in the night sky. The nebula itself is about 100 light-years wide. Nestled alongside NGC 7000, we have the Pelican Nebula, resembling a bird in flight across the vast expanse of the universe. Its intricate network of gas clouds and dust intricately weaves the tale of cosmic creation and transformation, as it’s believed this is an area of star formation. 14 hours total exposure. Image 3: A picture featuring the supernova discovered by astronomers around May, highlighted within the gorgeous Pinwheel Galaxy. At *only* 21 million light-years away, the supernova dubbed CONTINUED > D ECEMB ER 2 0 2 3 | C I TYL I FE STYL E . C OM / L E E S BUR G

Astrophotographer Joey Trotz pictured with one of several imaging rigs he uses to capture stunning images of our night sky.

SN2023ixf is the closest observed in the past 5 years. Witnessing the explosive death of a star is a rare and extraordinary event; only two or three occur within our galaxy every century, and only a few hundred are found annually outside our Milky Way. But they rarely become as bright as this one. Betelgeuse, the red star located in the constellation Orion, is reportedly close to going supernova relatively soon, at least, that’s suggested by some cycles of darker and brighter illumination for the last 4 years. When it goes, it’s expected to be as bright as the full moon - but concentrated on a single point of light. At only 650 light years away from Earth, it could be visible in the daytime. A short list of Joey’s gear: • Telescopes: Explore Scientific 102mm, Sharpstar 61mm, and a Celestron SCT 8” • Cameras: ASI 1600MC-Cool-Pro, ASI 120mm, Olympus EM1-MkII • Mount: ASI AM5 Harmonic Equatorial Mount • Imaging Computer: ASI AirPro • Software: Pleiades Astrophoto Pixinsight, Adobe Photoshop Other resources that may help include The Northern Virginia Astronomy Club novac.com/wp, and DarkSky. org, the International Dark-Sky Association, which in 2021 designated Sky Meadows in Delaplane an International Dark-Sky Park. You can also follow Joey on Instagram at instagram.com/jetrotz.

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LIFE IS THE EVENT – DANCING IS THE INTRODUCTION

PHOTOGRAPHY BY GABRIEL AND LEIGH GAMBOA

ARTICLE BY MELINDA GIPSON

Leigh and Gabriel Gamboa

G E T ACT IV E | A RTS + CU LTURE

Gabriel and Leigh Gamboa celebrate the sheer joy of living every day they go to work. They are not just dance instructors and owners of two Arthur Murray Dance Studios; they met through Arthur Murray dance classes! They’ve been married now for 18 years and are raising four kids – Kai, 16; Natasha, 12; Katja, 9 and Wren, 7 – and are juggling all the usual things working parents and business owners do. They just do it with a kind of contagious enthusiasm. Dance for them involves both artistry and athleticism. Being proficient opens up countless opportunities to meet new people, have fun and, yes, maybe show off a bit. But dancing, as they earnestly explain, is much, much more. Says Leigh, “Dancing does so much. Of course, there’s the social and the physical exercise, but it’s also a learned skill, so it exercises your brain. You’re remembering things and learning things and connecting all these synapses. There are medical studies and countless articles on how it prevents Alzheimer’s and dementia. But that’s just one of the benefits. I also think it allows

you to enjoy life more because life has so many opportunities, if you would just be there and be aware of them.’ “We all love music and celebration and socializing. If there’s an opportunity to dance, that makes it that much more enjoyable – that much more memorable. We have lots of students who are getting ready for events such as weddings, or cruises or holiday parties and business functions, but really, I mean life is the event. And if you know how to dance it’s a whole lot more fun!” Gabriel has been a dance instructor for 30 years, and opened his own studio in Ashburn in 2007. Just last year, the couple expanded to Gainesville and group both studios under the URL arthurmurraynova.com/. As they put it, “With two Northern Virginia locations, the music never stops!” That often means they don’t see each other for much of the day. Arthur Murray teaches individualized instruction geared to each person’s interests and abilities, so they’re each in high demand as instructors. But every instructor is certified as an Arthur Murray instructor meaning they’re “enthusiastic, patient and fearless... They can’t just be incredibly talented they must be positive and encouraging. With their support – and lots of laughter – we know that anyone can learn to dance,” Gabriel asserts. He explains, “So, what we do is we offer a complimentary lesson for students to get acquainted with the studio, and see if the studio is a good fit. Then they can sign up for an introductory, short-term course that lasts anywhere from two to six weeks, depending on their schedule. It’s comprised of maybe four to six private lessons, as well as group classes. And then we have dance parties!” Moving from private instruction to

Competition Hones Skills

Individualized Instruction Brings Out Your Best Gabriel Dancing with his Daughter Katja

group classes gives each student the confidence to dance not just with a pro, but with anyone. “What ends up happening is that the next time they go out to any particular venue where there are no instructors, they’re better prepared to dance in public.” It’s a process that sometimes involves retraining your body to relax and enjoy the music, while also performing learned motions. Gabriel recommends that, particularly for a wedding party, people sign up and come at least two to three months prior to the wedding. “Sometimes they come in a week before or two weeks before and I always tell them, ‘Do you have a sleeping bag?’ Especially if you’ve never danced before, it could be very, very challenging!” he laughs. The syllabus contains more than 30 dances, mainly focused on American Style Ballroom dancing, including Foxtrot, Waltz, Tango, Rumba, Cha Cha and Swing. Also increasing in popularity are Bachata and Salsa because of the rising popularity of Latin dance halls, or restaurants that popularize weeknights where there is Latin dance music. Because there are seven Arthur Murray Dance Centers in the DC area (see arthurmurraydc. com), students have an opportunity to grow far CONTINUED >

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Costume Dance Party

G E T ACT IV E | A RTS + CU LTURE

beyond rudimentary dance skills and many take the floor in competitions. Each center plans four local events each year ranging from competitions to showcases and recitals. Preparing for either gives students both the kind of focus and satisfaction of accomplishment that so enhances their dance experience. The big event, the “Holiday Ball Dance O Rama” occurs this month from December 7-10 at the Washington Hilton, but is only open to Arthur Murray students and professionals. Those aren’t the only places to dance locally, Gabriel hastens to add. He and his students recommend: • Loudoun Kitchen and Bar, Leesburg for line dance, country • Nectar Bar and Lounge, Sterling for Latin dance/Salsa/Bachata • Colvin Run, Great Falls for Ballroom/Swing • The Salsa Room, Tysons Corner for Latin dance/Salsa/Bachata/Zouk, and • Calypsos, Reston for Latin Dance/ Salsa/Bachata And, in March, the Gamboas will host their third fundraising dance gala where proceeds will fund Loudoun Hunger Relief. Leigh says, “People are forever saying, ‘I’ll do it when...’. It’s like an article I was reading said, ‘Don’t wait for the occasion – just wear the dress!’ I read that and thought, yes! That is dancing. Just dance. Life is the event; it’s happening all around us. It’s so short and so unpredictable! Why not enjoy it and make the most of it!” Being busy is no excuse, she adds. “We have students that are traveling for work; they have young kids; they have shift work; they are working on their masters or their PhD. We will work around your schedule and your availability and your circumstances. If you want to learn how to dance, we are going to teach you how to dance. We just make it work.” Call 703-729-7055 to book your first free class in Ashburn or 703-740-3695 in Gainesville.

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Director Alexander Payne Returns to Middleburg Film Festival

Director Spotlight Headlines Middleburg Film Festival

B ACK STAGE | EN TERTA INME NT

Payne Reunites with Paul Giamatti in The Holdovers ARTICLE AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY MELINDA GIPSON

Because Alexander Payne’s film Nebraska helped launch the first Middleburg Film Festival in 2013, there’s symmetry in his return to the Director Spotlight this year. With him, he brought The Holdovers, his eighth feature film and one that united him with his Sideways actor Paul Giamatti. In the movie, Giamatti plays a curmudgeonly instructor at a 1970’s-era New England prep school forced, as punishment for flunking the son of a big donor, to babysit students who must remain on campus during Christmas break. The universally disliked teacher ends up forging a makeshift family with a “damaged, brainy troublemaker” – a student played by an ingenue actor Dominic Sessa, who was a drama student at one of the four Massachusetts boarding schools where the movie was filmed – and the school’s cook, who just lost her only son in Vietnam, played by Da’Vine Joy Randolph. Why a boarding school a half century ago? Payne quipped, “The script was ready,” a reference to the recently resolved writers’ strike. But on a deeper level, he says he liked a script the author David Hemingson wrote for a series pilot with the same theme, and ordered up a feature-length version. He says he wanted to return to a period in film that made the biggest “imprint” on his own sensibilities as a filmgoer. But it’s not a period film, rather a film produced as if it were a low budget film actually made in the 1970’s, complete with seventies-appropriate fonts in the title screen. He typically detests “period” pieces that overdo attention to detail – “Look at this wallpaper; look at this costume; look at these hairdos and look at these period appropriate kitchen appliances.” Rather than immerse the viewer in the film, they become more of an attention draw than the actual story. By shooting in Massachusetts, he says he found many locations which haven’t changed since the era. “There’s a candle pin bowling alley there; there’s a diner and they’re really unchanged.” The fictitious academy is an amalgam of four boarding schools and a public school, and the extras included 150 “teenage boys with the right hair.”

Beyond atmospherics, of course, there’s the assembled talent. Of Giamatti, he said, “The reason he wasn’t nominated for an Oscar [for Sideways] was because he made it look so easy.” Giamatti rises to a level of professionalism like Meryl Streep or Sir Laurence Olivier, he added, admitting he often asked for a third or fourth take of a scene that was already perfect, “because I can and because in that moment I become as much filmgoer as filmmaker, just wanting to see what he’d do with it.” It’s an approach he takes into all of his filmmaking, assembling all the right ingredients, then waiting to see what happens. “If I don’t have a really great idea of how the scene should go, that’s okay. We’ll figure it out.” He explains that filmmakers should embark on each film with the same eagerness and nervousness as their first, but especially with “curiosity about how it’s going to turn out.... It’s like cooking. You try to get good ingredients. You don’t know exactly how your recipe is going to turn out. Every time you make it. It’s a little bit different. We just hope it’s edible!” Payne has been lauded for how often he can make audiences both laugh and cry in the same movie. It’s not so much intention as observation that lends his work that facility, he says, and maybe that comes from his second career choice, journalism. “I’ll say this. I think that it’s comedy directors who are uniquely at that depth, not drama directors. Comedy directors are most capable to achieve what’s called emotional effects without sentimentality.” Being a truly great director may also rely on another quality: “The degree to which you can make friends with despair. Honestly, if you want to be a filmmaker, it’s not a job choice. It’s a lifestyle choice and part of that lifestyle is making friends with despair – how long it takes to get things done. What happens if you fail? Picking yourself up, blocking yourself off. It’s a tough road. And now, at 62 I certainly feel more grateful than ever.” We’re grateful for two reasons: That Payne also has made himself a friend of the Middleburg Film Festival and that The Holdovers will at least in part quench our thirst for more of Giamatti after Billions’ last season is history.

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ARTICLE AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY MELINDA GIPSON

rich

HARVEST The Loudoun Wineries & Winegrowers Association (LWWA) celebrated its 40th year with a treasure trove of award-winning wines at their 8th annual Wine Awards Dinner October 20th. The county now boasts 50 wineries; more than 113 wines were submitted for consideration and 21 bottles were awarded gold medals. The golds were concentrated at just 14 wineries, but an additional 14 wineries won silver medals – many of them more than one of each. There are, in short, a plethora of great choices this year to grace your holiday table. Besides the best dozen wines of the year, the association also crowned Lew Parker, owner and winemaker at Willowcroft Farm Vineyards the Winemaker of the Year; Severino Maya Garcia, owner of Maya Vineyard Services, Winegrower of the Year and Teri Riggs, owner of Forever Farm and Vineyard Wine Ambassador of the Year. That only scratches the surface of the contributions these three have made to the wine industry in Loudoun County, of course – Lew Parker, for example, was the first, post Prohibition, to grow grapes for winemaking in the county, planting in 1981. Since then, a host of young and exciting relative newcomers have made their mark, notably Sarah and Nick Walsh, whose wines notched a total of six combined golds and silvers and the best Merlot in the county; October One Vineyard with a pair of gold

CONTINUED >

Loudoun’s Wineries Deliver Wonder at This Year’s Loudoun Wine Awards

H AP PY H OU R | FOOD + BE VE RAGE

Top left: Bill Hatch, Zephaniah Farm Vineyards | Top right: Wine Ambassador Teri Riggs | Center, top: Fernando and Jan Mathov, Iron Will | Center, right edge: Loree and Bob Rupy, October One Vineyards | Center, left edge: Doug Fabbioli, “Loudoun Wine’s Mt. Rushmore” | Center, bottom: Cori & Jonathan Phillips, The Wine Reserve at Waterford | Bottom left: Winegrower of the Year Severino Maya Garcia | Bottom right: Kerem and Mitchell Baki

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medals, both of them best in class for the county; and The Wine Reserve at Waterford, with just seven vintages under its belt, which took two golds, one of which – the Gila Petit Verdot – was judged best in show. What was crystal clear in so many cases was the strong role that family plays in creating and sustaining the viticulture of Loudoun County. There were multiple examples of “next generation” winemakers learning the craft from their elders, like Mitchell Baki, assistant winemaker to and nephew of Kerem Baki, the winemaker at Hillsborough Vineyards and this year’s president of the LWWA. This year Kerem also was appointed to the Wine Board by Virginia Gov. Younkin. October One celebrates the owners’, Bob and Loree Rupy Loree, wedding anniversary. The couple last year opened a downtown Leesburg tasting shop where many of the award-winning wines may be found. To track down the others all in one spot, visitloudoun.org is helpful, as is the following list of best-in-class awards. • Best Hybrid White: 50 West Vineyards, 2022 Vidal Blanc • Best White Vinifera: Zephaniah Farm Vineyard 2020 Adeline • Best Albariño: October One Vineyard 2022 Albariño • Best Chardonnay: Williams Gap Vineyard, 2022 Black Label Chardonnay • Best Sauvignon Blanc: Walsh Family Wine 2022 Bethany Ridge Sauvignon Blanc • Best Viognier: October One Vineyard 2022 Stainless Viognier • Best Petit Manseng: Williams Gap Vineyard 2022 Petit Manseng • Best Rosé: Willowcroft Farm Vineyard 2022 Rosé of Sharon • Best Hybrid Red: Zephaniah Farm Vineyard 2019 Three Captain’s Red Blend • Best Red Vinifera: Hillsborough Vineyards 2021 Ruby • Best Cabernet Franc: Fabbioli Cellars 2019 Cabernet Franc Reserve • Best Merlot: Walsh Family Wines 2019 Russ Mountain Merlot • Best Petit Verdot: The Wine Reserve at Waterford 2021 Gila • Best Bordeaux Red Blend: Iron Will Winery 2020 Vitraux We’d be remiss if we didn’t also note that LWWA does more than hand out awards. The LWWA, representing 50 wineries in the county besides the growers, enables the success of the Loudoun County wine industry by promoting agriculture, social stewardship and by facilitating marketing, legislation, education, and communications between member wineries, winegrowers and their partners. Its annual dinner also raises money for its Harvest Kindness initiative to support winegrowers and makers in need. See Loudounwine.org.

Top: Marine Conn with Walsh's double golds Middle: Winemaker of the Year Lew Parker Bottom: 50 West’s Vidal Blanc

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where’s the music? ARTICLE BY MICHAEL GAVREAU

Russell Anderson and Ed Ruff

LOCA L LIM E LIGH T | EN T E RTAI NME NT

What happens when two music-loving advertising executives can’t find where their favorite local bands are playing on a particular weekend night? How about when they grow increasingly weary of having to visit the several hundred websites of Loudoun’s music venues to see who is playing where? “That’s pretty much what drove this idea,” recounts Russell Anderson, CEO and President of ACS Creative, a prominent, Northern Virginia-based advertising and marketing agency. “Often, one of my favorite bands would be playing next door to where we were having dinner and I had no clue.” After missing one too many of those shows, Russell and Ed Ruff, Director of Creative Development for ACS Creative, decided it was time to act, and their aptly named website “Where’s the Music” venture was launched. (See wheresthemusic.us.) Russell, an American University Music Major who has long lost count of how many guitars he owns, and Ruff, also an accomplished guitar player who has been successfully creating branding media at ACS since 1998, both proudly confess to being total local music junkies. “The big stadium concerts are great, but they are expensive, and the logistics are always a hassle,” says Ed. “We are so lucky to have a vibrant, very talented music community right here in Northern Virginia. When you combine the wide range of music genres performing here with the serene settings of Loudoun’s wineries, breweries and other long-established Loudoun music venues, you have a rich offering of quality live music that few counties anywhere can boast. We love supporting the artists and the venues, but we are well on our way to being the live music resource for fellow melomaniacs like Russell and myself.” In just a few short months, “Where’s the Music?” already has become that local entertainment resource area music lovers have been waiting for. Catering to over

1,300 artists, 270 venues, 2000 Facebook/Instgram followers, and more than 1000 locals who have signed up for their email blasts, this music event “clearinghouse” is off to a running start. “Where’s the Music?” promotes an average of 250 events per week and delivers between 80,000 and 90,000 digital “touches” monthly to those in search of their weekly live music fix. Promoters, artists and venues can list free, non-ticketed concerts, recitals and other music events at no cost, while ticketed-event organizers can choose from a menu of advertising options that include intensive region-specific and targeted social media broadcasts, highly personalized direct email campaigns or a combination of both for a fee. Loudoun’s talent pool runs deep. Several national artists live here or are from here, like jazz singer Tracey Hamlin, who just performed at the Hollywood Bowl with Peabo Bryson; Les Thompson, founding Member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band; former Leesburg resident James McMurtry; 4 out of 5 Doctors Alumni Cal Everett; Emmet Swimming’s Todd Watts; Leesburg’s own My Kid Brother; Lovettsville’s Short Hill Mountain Boys; the globetrotting Randy Thompson Band; Purcellville’s Emma Rowley; local Singer/Songwriters like Todd and Ryan Wright; Juliana MacDowell and Jason Masi, as well as young, emerging artists like Sela Campbell and Carliegh Jane. Celebrity DJ Cerphe Colwell of Music Planet Radio, a major supporter of Loudoun’s live music scene, also calls Leesburg home. While future growth and expansion planning for “Where’s the Music?” is still “down the road a bit,” Anderson and Ruff are enjoying a smooth ride so far. Russell Anderson sums it up best- “This project combines our passions – music and advertising. And the best part is…. we don’t miss the local shows we want to see anymore.”

“This project combines our passions – music and advertising. And the best part is…. we don’t miss the local shows we want to see anymore.”

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The City Lifestyle

Giving Campaign

2023 46

G IV IN G BAC K | L IFE + CULTURE

“

This Giving Campaign is all about personally impacting the lives of people we know with an unexpected check in the mail just to say that someone thought of them this holiday season.”

The annual City Lifestyle Giving Campaign is in its 4th year. Last holiday season we gave away over $300,000 to help 116 individuals and families in need, but we need your help to make it happen again this year. With nominations flooding in from community members and leaders such as judges, police officers, teachers, nurses, social workers, mentors and readers like you, we were able to reach people who might otherwise go unnoticed. Perhaps you know of a single parent struggling to provide for their family, an elderly person who has experienced loss, someone enduring a health issue, a co-worker suffering a sudden, unexpected tragedy or a neighbor with a financial hardship who has fallen between the cracks of getting assistance. Chances are you know someone with a specific need, even if no one else does. “We believe in giving back and serving the communities where we live in a real and tangible way,” says Steven Schowengerdt, CEO and founder of City Lifestyle. “This Giving Campaign is about personally impacting the lives of people we know with an unexpected check in the mail just to say that someone thought of them during this holiday season.” “We believe God has blessed our company with continued success, so we in turn want to be a blessing to others,” Matthew Perry, President of City Lifestyle adds. City Lifestyle has also enacted an internal giving program whereby every employee in the company receives $100 to give away to someone in the community. “The idea is to encourage our employees to keep giving on their own,” Steven says. “Taking care of one another and blessing others is truly rewarding and it perpetuates a cycle of giving. It’s extremely important to me as a person and as a company to foster a culture of generosity.”

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Nominate Nominations accepted Nov. 27 – Dec. 10, 2023

Follow @CityLifestyle on Instagram for reminders! To submit a nomination, follow @CityLifestyle on Instagram and fill out the form found in the bio link. All entries will be read, and because this is not a raffle, there is no need to nominate someone more than once. The amount given to each recipient will be based on need. All nominations and recipients will be kept confidential. D ECEMB ER 2 0 2 3 | C I TYL I FE STYL E . C OM / L E E S BUR G

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one more song Blue Ridge Hospice Music Therapy Shares a Smile Where it’s Needed

Leigh Jenks playing a patient testimonial

ARTICLE BY MELINDA GIPSON | PHOTOGRAPHY BY SHARON FISHER FOR BLUE RIDGE HOSPICE When Leigh Jenks received her Master’s in Music Therapy from Shenandoah University, she launched the Blue Ridge Hospice Music Therapy program, and it’s the only job she’s ever known. She began singing for an audience of one – from neonatal intensive care units to the homes of the elderly at the end of their days – and has never looked back. As she told a fundraiser in Winchester recently, she has “been using a patient’s preferred music to accomplish physical, social, emotional, and spiritual goals for 249 months. 1083 weeks, 7580 days. 181,913 hours 10 914,880 minutes and 654,889,100 seconds,” one song at a time. Her renditions range from old time hymns like “It is Well With My Soul,” to “You Picked a Fine Time to Leave Me, Lucille,”

and everything in between. Along with a dozen songs she performed, she shared a few recorded testimonials from adoring family members. Said one, “My wife has had Alzheimer’s since 2015. She’d been bedridden almost a year.... We got to picking songs out. And I remember what was our song when we got married. It was ‘A Thousand Stars.’ I told Leigh about it and she found it.” When his wife heard the song, “she really lightened up. I know she looks forward to hear Leigh come to sing for her. She may not smile all day, but when Leigh gets here, she finds a smile and that brightens all our days. It’s a blessing to her and to me and I have sure appreciated it.” For more information or to support this cause, visit brhsopice.org.

“She may not smile all day, but when Leigh get s here, she f inds a smile and that brightens all our days. It’s a blessing to her and to me and I have sure appreciated it .” —From One Recorded Testimonial

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