Loudoun Now
Loudoun’s Attractions
CATTY CORNER CAFE
A place where cat lovers can come together, spend time in our cozy lounge, drink coffee, and get the chance to meet our amazing rescue cats. With the option of even being able to adopt and give them their forever home.
CATS - COFFEE - COOKIES
116 E. Market Street, Leesburg VA703-944-4158
cattycornercafe.com
DOUBLE X ARCHERY
Northern Virginia’s Premiere Archery Pro Shop and Indoor Range ARCHERY SERVICES - LESSONS - RENTALS
500 E. Market Street, Leesburg, VA 540-206-0041
doublexarchery.com
LOUDOUN HERITAGE FARM MUSEUM
Travel through time to meet the 10 generations of Loudoun County residents who built this county and left their mark on the land. Exhibits include a schoolhouse, general store, Native American artifact display and the American Workhorse Museum Collection.
21668 Heritage Farm Lane, Sterling, VA 20164 (571) 258-3800 • heritagefarmmuseum.org
MORVEN PARK
Morven Park is a 1,000-acre historic estate on the edge of Leesburg that was home to Virginia governor and agricultural pioneer Westmoreland Davis. Tours of the Greek Revival mansion include 16th century Belgian tapestries, Spanish cassones, hundreds of silver pieces, Hudson River Valley paintings, and Asian treasures. The estate also features the Winmill Carriage Museum, the Museum of Hounds and Hunting of North America, formal boxwood gardens, miles of hiking and riding trails, and athletic elds.
17195 Southern Planter Lane Leesburg, VA 20176 703-777-2414 • morvenpark.org
Loudoun Now
GET OUT LOUDOUN
Get Out Loudoun is distributed monthly to entertainment, tourism, & hospitality venues throughout Loudoun County. For the latest news on the music & arts scene and other community events, go to getoutloudoun.com. CONTRIBUTORS
Hanna Pampaloni
Douglas Rogers
Norman K. Styer TO ADVERTISE
Susan Styer at 703-770-9723 or sales@loudounnow.com getoutloudoun.com
HISTORY
News traveled slowly in colonial times. This month, we celebrate the first local public reading of the Declaration of Independence at the courthouse 250 years ago.
STYLE
For Tyson Lee, the best work a hatter can do starts with a good conversation and is followed by some exacting measurements.
TASTES
Restauranteur Kevin Bednarz has revived his popular Purcellville Eats sandwich shop at a new location.
WINE
Loudoun’s wineries continue to rack up gold medals as the county’s award program enters its 11th year.
BEST BETS
Get Out Loudoun’s top picks for August.
Loudoun's Strange
BREWS
BY DOUGLAS ROGERS
Visit Loudoun
Ayear ago, when he was brewmaster at Loudoun restaurant and microbrewery Sweetwater Tavern, Jon Blake came across an unusual food product: dried white Koji rice imported from Japan. Koji is the grain the Japanese steam into a base and inoculate with an enzyme to create such culinary staples as miso, soy sauce and amazake – sweet sake. Blake is a brewer, not a chef, but when he became head brewer at Ocelot Brewing Company earlier this year, he had an idea: Why not create an amazake base from koji rice, blend it with a traditional yeast for a Belgian ale and turn that into a unique new beer?
Fast forward to this August – Virginia Craft Beer Month – and Blake is set to unveil “Desire,” a Japanese amazake meets Belgian-style ale – Loudoun’s first sake beer.
Preliminary results are positive.
“It’s unique in that it blends together the production of sake and beer into one product, creating a tart, refreshing, slightly citrusy profile,” Blake said.
Sake (and Belgian ale) fans should make their way to Ocelot when Desire comes online August 12 – available in cans and on draft.
Loudoun has a thriving craft beer scene, but why not pay tribute to the innovators this Virginia Craft Beer Month by sampling some of the more unusual brews out there?
At Barnhouse Brewery in Lucketts, Roger Knoell – Loudoun’s 2026 Brewer of the Year – has used a range of unique ingredients in his beers, including lemon drop hops with toasted and ground coriander in a tangy Margarita Goes. But the Swedish Smokeshow – a beer he recreated from a recipe from the Swedish island of Gotland – takes the cake.
“It’s unique in that the malt is smoked with
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Roger Knoell, Loudoun’s 2026 Brewer of the Year, uses a variety of unusual ingredients in his creations at Barnhouse Brewery.
birchwood,” Knoell said. “No one produces birch smoked malt commercially so I smoked it myself with some birch wood I sourced locally. The other unique aspect is juniper berries in the mash. I sourced the berries from an online supplier and bagged and pounded them open with a wooden mallet to expose the fruit to the mash liquid.”
The result? A light juniper nose and flavor added to a complex, smoky-finished beer – yours for $8 a pint.
If Ocelot is an eastern Loudoun trailblazer, Adroit Theory Brewing located in a nondescript industrial park in Purcellville, is its edgy Goth cousin. The company motto? “Pushing Beer
Boundaries in Loudoun.” Among the unusual ingredients used in brews: Siracha hot sauce, Fresno and habanero peppers, crushed tomatoes, celery salt and horseradish. The brewer has even brewed with amchur (mango powder)
and Jasmine green tea. On the sweeter side, the pastry stouts have featured additions like Oreo cookies, peanut butter and maple syrup.
Another recent Loudoun innovation? Non-alcoholic hemp beverages containing THC and CBD. Veteran-owned Honor Brewing leads the way with its range of THC-infused drinks and CBD sparkling waters crafted in partnership with a Virginia cannabis producer. Flavors and varieties include a raspberry sparkling water, root beer, lemonade, iced tea, watermelon and grape soda – all infused with THC.
A reminder that you don’t have to drink beer or even consume alcohol when visiting a Loudoun brewery. Our innovators have seen to that.
Happy Virginia Craft Beer Month! www.visitloudoun.org
Exhibit:
The CASA & YAS Student Art Show
The Loudoun County Art Advisory Committee and the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Services this month are presenting “The CASA and YAS Student Art Show,” a juried exhibition of artwork by local students.
During the spring, elementary school students at nine County After-School Activities sites and middle school students at two Youth After-School program locations took part in the After-School Art Exhibit Club, a four-week pilot initiative. Participants attended workshops led by area artists and
ART SCENE
Scandinavia Northern Lights Resist, watercolor on paper.
Ellie the Elephant, collage on paper.
received training in five artistic techniques: collage, printmaking, sculpture, watercolor painting, and photography. Following these tutorials, students created original artworks using the knowledge and skills they had gained through the program.
Each program location organized its own exhibition to showcase the students’ creativity, and then instructors selected semifinalists to advance to the next round. In June, a jury gathered to judge more than 140 submissions from Algonkian Elementary School in Sterling, Cool Spring Elementary School in Leesburg, Hillside Elementary School in Ashburn, Hovatter Elementary School in Aldie, Hutchison Farm Elementary School in South Riding, Legacy Elementary School in Ashburn, Mountain View Elementary School in Purcellville, Newton-Lee Elementary School in Ashburn, Sycolin Creek Elementary School in Leesburg, River Bend Middle School in Sterling, and Stone Hill Middle School in Ashburn.
The jury selected 43 winning pieces. They will be on display through Aug. 28 at Gallery One, located in the lobby of the Loudoun County Government Center, 1 Harrison St. in Leesburg. The public is invited to view the exhibit Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Learn more at loudoun.gov/advisory-art.
Above, Leaves, tempura nature, stamp on paper. Top Right, Strength, photograph.
Mexican butterfly, air dried modeling clay.
HISTORY
Reading the Words of Independence
Everyone knows July 4, 1776, is the historic day that the American colonies formally declared their independence from Great Britain.
In reality, there are many significant dates for the declaration, not the least of which is July 2,1776, the day members of the Second Continental Congress voted to approve the document. And then there is Aug. 2, 1776, the date when John Hancock and other delegates to the congress—including some who voted against independence a month earlier—signed their names to the original parchment.
In Loudoun, a memorable date is Aug. 12, 1776.
That is when residents were called to the courthouse square in Leesburg to hear the county sheriff read the declaration aloud. That moment in local history will be celebrated on Sunday, Aug. 16, with a program sponsored by the Sgt. Maj. John Champe Chapter of the Virginia Society of the American Revolution starting at 2 p.m. A historical marker commemorating the public reading will be unveiled.
Chapter historian David Welker said most Loudoun residents likely first heard about the Declaration of Independence from either a newspaper brought to Leesburg or
The Spirt of Loudoun statue, a memorial to actions of residents during the Revolutionary War, is located at the site of the original courthouse where the Declaration of Independence was read to the public on Aug. 12, 1776.
by word of mouth from someone returning to town. The first local record of the action was made on July 9, when in the Loudoun County Court Order Book included the entry: “Memo: Independence declared the 4th day of July 1776.”
The order that the Declaration be read publicly throughout Virginia was issued on July 20, 1776, by the Virginia Governor’s Council, a month after Patrick Henry was elected as Virginia’s first governor. The Declaration was first read in Virginia on July 25, from the steps of the Capitol, at the Williamsburg courthouse and the Governor’s Palace.
The first Virginia newspaper to carry word of the Declaration was Williamsburg’s Virginia Gazette, published by Alexander Purdie, on July 19, 1776. That issue included only an excerpt with the promise of the full text in its
next edition. Another Virginia Gazette, published by John Dixon and William Hunter, Jr., carried the entire text on July 20. Leesburg had no newspaper of its own until the True American began publishing in 1798.
It was nearly a month before Loudoun complied with the state order. Welker attributes the delay to the amount of time it would have taken for news of the directive, as well as copies of the declaration, to reach Leesburg.
According to the Loudoun County Court Order Book, on Aug. 12, a bell was rung at the Leesburg courthouse and the Declaration was read at the courthouse door by the county sheriff. Philip Noland, an advocate for independence, had been appointed to that position on March 11, 1776.
STYLE
NORMAN K. STYER nstyer@loudounnow.org
Three years ago, a friend asked Tyson Lee to accept a couple of western hats his recently passed father had worn. It was a gift that put the Round Hill resident on a path to master the largely lost art of hat making.
It started with a study of how to resize the hats to fit his own head and grew into a hobby of creating hats for his family and friends. A corporate downsizing last spring
Bringing Back the Art of the Handmade Hat
left him with more spare time, and he decided to expand.
“I doubled down and invested in the tools, and decided I’m going to do this for a while and see what happens,” he said.
Today, he spends his days blocking beaver felt and hand-sewing sweatbands as part of his new business: Tyson’s Hattery.
“I got serious about making hats three years ago. I just dove in,” he said. He downloaded a lot of old books off the internet.
“What I have found in the hat community,
other than those old books that are out there, is at least until recently, people have been very reticent to share anything about hat making. It’s been a very guarded industry,” Lee said.
The first hat he made for himself didn’t fit.
“I’m like, what have I done wrong? So, there was a learning process,” he said. “And then you go through that and you end up making 40 or 50 hats, and all of a sudden it’s okay. It becomes a little more second nature.”
The process doesn’t start with asking about a client’s hat size. It starts with a conversation.
“You establish kind of a rapport and a vibe. You kind of pick up on someone’s personality a bit,” Lee said. “I tell people to plan for 30 minutes to an hour. I don’t think any of them are ever really less than an hour to be honest with you. We really get to talking about hobbies and interests, and that tells me a lot. And that’s how I come up with not only the hat band, but sometimes the shape.”
suring tape. Instead, a conformator, a centuries-old technology with sliding keys and locking knobs, is used to form the precise shape of the head.
Each hat starts as a flat piece of felt made from beaver or rabbit hair that is steamed and stretched with brute force over a wood block fashioned to the head shape. Once shaped, the hat is outfitted with a sweatband, silk liner,, and decorative band. It takes three or four days to create each hat.
”
“THAT’S KIND OF BEEN A NICHE THAT I’M HOPING TO FOSTER, AND I’M HOPING TO REALLY DO MORE OF IT LOCAL,"
Lee is seeing a growing demand for custom hats following a trend of people seeking special experiences.
“I’m thinking it’s a direct result of some of this retraction from the explosion of AI. It’s frustrating as hell for a lot of people right now. I think that’s leading a lot of people toward bespoke handmade goods,” he said.
He said there is a hat renaissance going on.
“This younger crowd is wanting hats, and they’re willing to wear hats,” he said. “We kind of lost our way with hats. When I grew up everybody wore hats in my family, and then they just disappeared.”
Getting the right fit isn’t done with a mea-
HATS CONTINUED ON 22
1 50 West Vineyards 39060 Little River Turnpike, Middleburg 50westvineyards.com
2 8 Chains North Winery 38593 Daymont Ln., Waterford, VA 8chainsnorth.com
3 868 Estate Vineyards 14001 Harpers Ferry Rd., Purcellville 868estatevineyards.com
4 The Barns at Hamilton Station 16804 Hamilton Station Rd., Hamilton thebarnsathamiltonstation.com
5 Bleu Frog Vineyards 16413 James Monroe Hwy, Leesburg bleufrogvineyards.com
6 Bluemont Vineyard 18755 Foggy Bottom Rd., Bluemont bluemontvineyard.com
7 Boxwood Estate Winery 2042 Burrland Rd., Middleburg boxwoodwinery.com
8 Breaux Vineyards 36888 Breaux Vineyards Ln., Hillsboro breauxvineyards.com
9 Bozzo Family Vineyards 35226 Charles Town Pike, Hillsboro bozwines.com
10 Cana Vineyards of Middleburg 38600 Little River Turnpike, Middleburg canavineyards.com
11 Carriage House Wineworks 40817 Brown Lane, Waterford chwwinery.com
12 Casanel Vineyards 17952 Canby Rd., Leesburg casanelvineyards.com
13 Chrysalis Vineyards 39025 Little River Turnpike, Aldie chrysaliswine.com
14 Corcoran Vineyards & Cider 14635 Corkys Farm Ln., Waterford corcoranvineyards.com
15 Creek’s Edge Winery 41255 Annas Ln., Lovettsville creeksedgewinery.com
16 Domaine Fortier Vineyards 13235 Miltown Road, Lovettsville domainefortier.com
17 Doukenie Winery 14727 Mountain Rd., Hillsboro doukeniewinery.com
18 Droumavalla Farm Winery 14980 Limestone School Rd., Lucketts droumavalla.com
19 Eagletree Farm & Vineyards 15100 Harrison Hill Lane, Leesburg eagletreevineyards.com
20 Endhardt Vineyards 19600 Lincoln Road, Purcellville endhardtvineyards.com
21 Fabbioli Cellars 15669 Limestone School Rd., Leesburg fabbioliwines.com
22 Farm de Vine 15960 Short Hill Road, Hillsboro farmdevine.com
23 Firefly Cellars 40325 Charles Town Pike, Hamilton fireflycellars.com
24 Fleetwood Farm Winery 23075 Evergreen Mills Rd., Leesburg fleetwoodfarmwinery.com
25 Good Spirit Farm Winery 35113 Snickersville Turnpike, Round Hill goodspiritfarmva.com
26 Greenhill Winery & Vineyards 23595 Winery Ln., Middleburg greenhillvineyards.com
27 Hidden Brook Winery 43301 Spinks Ferry Rd., Leesburg hiddenbrookwinery.com
28 Hiddencroft Vineyards 12202 Axline Rd., Lovettsville hiddencroftvineyards.com
29 Hope Flower Farm & Winery 40905 Stumptown Road, Waterford hopeflowerfarm.com
30 Kalero Vineyard 36140 Charles Town Pike, Hillsboro kalerovineyard.com
31 October One Vineyard 7 Loudoun St., SW, Leesburg Octoberonevineyard.com
32 Old Farm Winery 23583 Fleetwood Road, Aldie oldfarmwineryhartland.com
33 Otium Cellars 18050 Tranquility Rd., Purcellville otiumcellars.com
34 Petit Domaines
37938 Charles Town Pike, Purcellville thepetitdomaine.com
35 Stone Tower Winery 19925 Hogback Mountain Rd., Leesburg stonetowerwinery.com
36 Sunset Hills Vineyard
38295 Fremont Overlook Ln, Purcellville sunsethillsvineyard.com
37 Terra Nebulo
39892 Old Wheatland Rd., Waterford terranebulo.com
1 Adroit Theory Brewing 404 Browning Ct., Purcellville adroit-theory.com
2 Barnhouse Brewery 43271 Spinks Ferry Rd., Leesburg barnhousebrewery.com
3 Bear Chase Brewing 33665 Bear Chase Ln., Bluemont bearchasebrew.com
4 Black Hoof Brewing Company 11 South King St., Leesburg blackhoofbrewing.com
5 Crooked Run Fermentations Central 22455 Davis Dr., Sterling crookedrunbrewing.com
6 Crooked Run Fermentations Market Station, Leesburg crookedrunbrewing.com
7 Dirt Farm Brewing 18701 Foggy Bottom Rd., Bluemont dirtfarmbrewing.com
8 Dynasty Brewing Company 101 Loudoun St, SE, Leesburg dynastybrewing.com
9 Eleven Eleven Brewing Company 725 E. Main St., Purcellville bellylovebrewing.com
10 Flying Ace Farm 40950 Flying Ace Ln, Lovettsville flyingacefarm.com
1 Bluemont Station Brewery and Winery 18301 Whitehall Estate Lane, Bluemont bluemontstation.com
2 Hillsborough Brewery & Vineyards 36716 Charles Town Pike, Hillsboro hillsboroughwine.com
3 Notaviva Brewery and Winery 13274 Sagle Rd., Hillsboro notavivavineyards.com
4 Quattro Goomba’s Brewery & Winery 22860 James Monroe Hwy., Aldie goombawine.com
38 Three Creeks Winery 18548 Harmony Church Road, Hamilton 3creekswinery.com
39 Two Twisted Posts Winery 12944 Harpers Ferry Rd., Hillsboro twotwistedposts.com
40 Village Winery 40405 Browns Lane, Waterford villagewineryandvineyards.com
41 Willowcroft Farm Vineyards 38906 Mount Gilead Rd., Leesburg willowcroftwine.com
BREWERIES
11 Harper’s Ferry Brewing 37412 Adventure Ctr. Lane, Hillsboro harpersferrybrewing.com
12 Harvest Gap Brewery 15485 Purcellville Road, Hillsboro facebook.com/HarvestGap
13 Honor Brewing Company 42604 Trade West Dr., Sterling honorbrewing.com
14 Lark Brewing Co. 24205 James Monroe Hwy., Aldie larkbrewingco.com
15 Loco Lion 36577 Hesketts Lane, Hillsboro locolion.com
16 Lost Barrel Brewing 36138 Little River Turnpike, Middleburg lostbarrel.com
17 Lost Rhino Brewing Company 21730 Red Rum Rd. #142, Ashburn lostrhino.com
18 Loudoun Brewing Company 310 E. Market St., Leesburg loudounbrewing.com
19 Ocelot Brewing Company 23600 Overland Dr., #180, Dulles ocelotbrewing.com
20 Old 690 Brewing Company 15670 Ashbury Church Rd., Hillsboro old690.com
1 Henway Hard Cider Company 18780 Foggy Bottom Road, Bluemont henwayhardcider.com
2 Loudoun Cider House 43376 Spinks Ferry Rd., Leesburg loudounciderhouse.com
3 Mt. Defiance Cider Barn 495 E. Washington St., Middleburg mtdefiance.com
4 Wild Hare Hard Cider Cabin 106 South St., Leesburg wildharecider.com
42 The Wine Reserve at Waterford 38516 Charles Town Pike, Waterford waterfordwinereserve.com
43 Walsh Family Wine 16031 Hillsboro Rd., Purcellville northgatevineyard.com
44 Williams Gap Vineyards 35785 Sexton Farm Lane, Round Hill williamsgavineyard.com
45 Zephaniah Farm Vineyard 19381 Dunlop Mill Rd., Leesburg zephwine.com
21 Route 7 Brewing 20051 Riverside Commons PL, Ashburn route7brewing
22 Solace Brewing Company 42615 Trade West Dr., Sterling solacebrewing.com
23 Stockyard Brewery 12428 Mountain Road, Lovettsville stockyardbrewery.com
24 Sweetwater Tavern 45980 Waterview Plaza, Sterling greatamericanrestaurants.com
25 Vanish Farmwoods Brewery 42245 Black Hops Ln., Lucketts vanishbeer.com
26 Water’s End Brewing 1602 Village Market Blvd SE #120, Leesburg watersendbrewery.com
27 Wheatland Spring Farm + Brewery 38506 John Wolford Rd., Waterford wheatlandspring.com
28 Whites Ferry Brewery 42484 Whites Ferry Rd. Leesburg, Va. whitesferrymanor.com
Catoctin Creek Distillery 120 W. Main St. Purcellville catoctincreekdistilling.com
2 Cool Spring Distilling 37871 Nicewarner Lane, Lovettsville coolspringdistillery.com
3 Flying Ace Farm 40950 Flying Ace Lane, Lovettsville flyingacefarm.com
4 Mt. Defiance Cidery & Distillery 495 E. Washington St., Middleburg mtdefiance.com
Stonehouse Meadery 36580 Shoemaker School Rd., Purcellville stonehousemeadery.com
TASTES
Purcellville Eats Reopens at New Location
BY HANNA PAMPALONI hpampaloni@loudounnow.org
The Town of Purceville last month celebrated the re-opening of Purcellville Eats at new location, this time just doors down from the Purcellville Pub, both owned by local Kevin Bednarz.
The sandwich shop is actually Bednarz’ third restaurant, with him taking over the Ashburn Pub a decade ago.
Formerly located at the Purcellville Center behind the McDonalds, Bednarz moved the restaurant across the street to the Shoppes and Main and Maple where he hopes to
benefit from more regular foot traffic.
“Two to five [p.m.] was dead and in the winter when it got dark, there wasn’t a lot of business,” Bednarz said.
It also helps to have the two restaurants collocated.
“It made sense because we were also doing a lot of catering out of there for the pub and doing storage for the pub. So being closer is going to be a lot easier,” he said.
Despite the practicality of having the buildings close to each other, both restuarants will maintain their own character and menus.
Hanna Pampaloni/Loudoun Now Loudoun restauranteur Kevin Bednarz has reopened Purcellville Eats at a new location near the Purcellville Pub, also owned by Bednarz.
TASTES
“They’re totally different. I think the only thing we have here that the pub has is tater tots and soda, right? Because I want to make it different; two different businesses, two different licenses,” he said.
The Monte Cristo, available at Purcellville Eats is a callback to the well-known sandwich from Bennigan’s and is Bednarz’ favorite menu item.
“It was basically ham, turkey, cheese, a little bit of mayo and mustard on Texas toast, wrap it in cellophane the night before, then when someone orders it, you dip it in pancake batter and frosted flakes and deep fry it,” he said.
Other menu items offered at Purcellville Eats include dirty sodas that come with a sealed lid for easy transportation, boozy milkshakes including espresso martini, Irish cookies and cream and salted caramel bourbon flavors and a wide variety of other sandwiches.
“This is you know fast-casual, easy, and I don’t think there’s anybody even around that really has boozy milkshakes, dirty sodas, the Monte Cristo. I want to make it things that are super unique and put together,” he said.
Purcellville Eats is located at 737 E. Main St. and is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
THE RESULTS ARE IN: 14 Loudoun Wineries Earn Gold Medals in 2026 Judging
“THIS YEAR’S RESULTS DEMONSTRATE BOTH THE MATURITY AND THE MOMENTUM OF LOUDOUN COUNTY WINE,” STATED AIMEE HENKLE, CHAIR OF THE LOUDOUN WINE AWARDS COMMITTEE. “BORDEAUX BLENDS AND CABERNET FRANC REMAIN DEFINING STRENGTHS FOR OUR REGION, BUT WE ARE ALSO SEEING TREMENDOUS ENERGY IN CATEGORIES SUCH AS SPARKLING WINE AND TANNAT
—Aimee Henkle, Chair, Loudoun Wine Awards Committee
The Loudoun Wineries & Winegrowers Association has announced the results of judging for the 11th Annual Loudoun Wine Awards, with 23 entries earning gold-level rankings.
This year’s competition evaluated 132 wines
from 30 Loudoun County wineries. All wines entered in the competition were required to be produced from 100% Loudoun County fruit. After more than 10 hours of judging at the Echelon Wine Bar in Leesburg, 23 Gold medals and 103 Silver medals were awarded.
WINE CONTINUED ON 17
“This year’s results demonstrate both the maturity and the momentum of Loudoun County wine,” stated Aimee Henkle, chair of the Loudoun Wine Awards Committee. “Bordeaux blends and Cabernet Franc remain defining strengths for our region, but we are also seeing tremendous energy in categories such as sparkling wine and Tannat. Most exciting of all, this year’s top wine earned the highest score in the history of the competition. That achievement reflects the dedication of our growers and winemakers and the extraordinary quality now being produced from Loudoun County vineyards.”
SEE WINE WINNERS NEXT PAGE > > >
The competition’s highest-scoring wine, along with the Grand Award winners in each category, will be announced during the Loudoun Wine Awards Grand Tasting and Awards Dinner on Friday, Oct. 23, at Lansdowne Resort.
Boden Young, Domaine Fortier and Lost Creek Winery each landed three gold medals. Zephaniah Farm Vineyards took a competition-leading nine medals, all silver.
“There are some really strong wines. ‘23 is a great vintage—a riper, warmer vintage. The
reds are showing well, and there are more reds than whites in the competition,” Competition Director Neal Wavra said. “White wines from 2024 and 2025 also are rating well, and the competition includes some older vintages— from 2021, 2022 and even one from 2019.”
Wine lovers, producers, industry members, and the general public are invited to attend the Grand Tasting and Awards Dinner where Grand Award winners and the top industry leaders of the year will be honored. Tickets are available for $150 per person at loudounwineawards2026.eventbrite.com. >>>
BODEN YOUNG: GOLD: Albariño 2024, Cabernet Franc 2023, ‘Triumvirate’ 2022; SILVER: Grüner Veltliner 2024
8 CHAINS NORTH WINERY: SILVER: Albariño 2025, Cabernet Franc 2023, Cabernet Sauvignon 2023, Furnace Mountain Red 2023, Petit Verdot 2023, Pink Link 2025, Sauvignon Blanc 2025
868 ESTATE VINEYARDS: SILVER:
Chardonnay 2023, Meritage 2023, Petit Manseng 2024,Tannat 2023
BLEU FROG VINEYARD: SILVER:
Bleu Blanc 2025, Cabernet Franc 2023, Five Dog Night 2023, Mad Frog 2023
BLUEMONT WINERY: SILVER: Helping Hands 2023, Petit Manseng 2025, Tannat Reserve 2022
BOZZO FAMILY VINEYARD: SILVER: DK43 Red Blend 2022, GregoryM Tannat 2021 RJB Petit Verdot 2021, SJR Chardonnay/Viognier 2024
BREAUX VINEYARDS: SILVER: Meritage 2021, Merlot 2021, Orleans 2025
CANA VINEYARDS: GOLD: Grüner Veltliner 2025; SILVER: Cabernet Franc 2022, Chardonnay 2024
CARRIAGE HOUSE WINEWORKS:
SILVER: Brio White Port 2025, Petit Manseng 2024, Shelly Sparkling Wine NV, Tannat 2023
CATAMARAN HILLS CABERNET: GOLD: Franc 2023, Sparkling Petit Manseng 2025; SILVER: Catamaran Hills Reserve 2023
DOMAINE FORTIER: GOLD: Cabernet Franc 2022, Chardonnay 2022, Petit Manseng 2022; Silver: Les Quatre 2023, Merlot 2022, Petit Verdot 2022, Tannat 2021
ENDHARDT VINEYARDS: GOLD: Cabernet Franc 2023, Fervor Red 2023, Serendipity 2022; Silver: Chardonnay 2024, Golden Turkey 2023, Merlot 2023, Petit Verdot 2021, Sauvignon Blanc Upper Block 2024
FABBIOLI CELLARS: SILVER: Cabernet Franc Reserve 202, Sparkling Rosé NV, Viognier 2024
FARM DE VINE: SILVER: Cabernet Sauvignon 2023
GOOD SPIRIT FARM WINERY: SILVER: Merlot 2023, Pinot Deux 2024, Winery Rosé 2024
GREENHILL VINEYARDS: SILVER: Mythology’ 2023, Viognier 2024
HILLSBOROUGH VINEYARDS: SILVER: Carnelian 2025, Ruby Nights 2023
HOLMES WINE: SILVER: Cabernet Franc 2024, Merlot 2024
IRON WILL WINERY: SILVER: LH Petit Manseng Sweet Ellie 2023, Sparkling Viognier 2025, Tannat 2022
LOST CREEK WINERY: GOLD: Allure 2021, Blanc de Blancs 2023, Echelon 2019, Tannat 2021; Silver: Cabernet Franc Reserve 2021, Viognier 2024
OCTOBER ONE VINEYARD: GOLD: Cabernet Franc 2023; Silver: Cabernet Sauvignon 2023, Merlot 2023, Rescue 2023, Sparkling Viognier 2025, Viognier 2025
OH’S VINEYARD: GOLD: Fifty/Fifty Red Blend 2021; SILVER: White Blend 2024
THIRD CULTURE KID: GOLD: Rosé 2025; SILVER: Albatross 2025, Viognier 2025
THREE CREEKS WINERY: GOLD: Rosé 2025; Blanc de Blancs 2022, Harmony’ Red NV, Petit Manseng 2024
TWIN OAKS WINERY: SILVER:
Anguenet Red Blend 2024, Anguenet Rosé 2024, Anguenet White Blend 2024
TWO TWISTED POSTS: SILVER: Winery
Chardonnay 2024, Thomas Great 2022, Traminette 2023, Viognier 2023
WALSH FAMILY WINE: GOLD: Paeonia White 2022; SILVER: Albariño 2025, Bethany Ridge Tannat 2022, Chenin Blanc 2025,
Spies and Cyanide Mystery Dinner Theatre
June - August
Paeonia Red 2022, Petit Manseng 2022, Russ Mountain Merlot 2021
WILLIAMS GAP VINEYARD: GOLD: Black Label Chardonnay 2025, Williams Gap Red 2023; SILVER: Black Label Cabernet Franc 2023, Black Label Merlot 2022, Black Label Viognier 2025, Merlot 2023, Petit Manseng 2025, Sauvignon Blanc 2025
WINE RESERVE AT WATERFORD: SILVER:
Phoebe Petit Verdot 2022, Prossimo Meritage 2021, Slumber Petit Verdot 2022
ZEPHANIAH FARM VINEYARDS: SILVER:
Adeline White Blend 2023, Cabernet Franc 2023, Friendship Red Blend 2023, Mill Road’ Red 2022, Petit Verdot 2022, Rosé 2025, Three Captains’ Red 2019, Three Captains’ Red 2020, Three Captains’ Red 2022
Disney’s The Little Mermaid
July 24 - Aug 2
CREATING CREATING UNFORGETTABLE UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCES - EXPERIENCESONSTAGE & OFF ONSTAGE & OFF
She Kills Monsters
August 14 - 16
Madagascar, A Musical Adventure KIDS
Aug 7 - 9
Summer Camps for ages 5 - 19+
August Final Month!
lh
loudoun
happenings 08.2026 Get
TASTE LEESBURG FESTIVAL RETURNS AUG. 8
TASTE Leesburg will be held in downtown Leesburg on Saturday, Aug. 8 from 5 to 10 p.m.
Food vendors, breweries, wineries, businesses, and entertainment will fill five blocks of the historic downtown. Experience the flavor of Leesburg with over 65 booths showcasing a taste of all that the town has to offer.
Breweries and wineries will be on-site offering samples of beer, wine, cider, and mead. Local restaurants, food trucks, and vendors will offer a variety of menu options for purchase or stop into one of the downtown restaurants for a bite to eat.
Drink tickets are available online through Aug. 7 and cost $50. Ticket prices increase to $60 on the day of the event.
Music will begin at 5 p.m. on the Center Stage, located on the courthouse grounds.
The Sip & Savor Stage will be located on North King Street and will feature a DJ along with other entertainment.
New for 2026, the Karaoke Lounge on the Town Green invites festivalgoers to take the stage themselves. Grab the mic, sing your favorite hits, and enjoy a fun, high-energy atmosphere that’s perfect for performers and spectators alike.
Street closures will begin at 10:30 a.m. and are expected to re-open at approximately 1 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 9.
The event is sponsored by Pella Mid-Atlantic Windows & Doors, Kaiser Permanente, The Bath Authority, Renewal by Andersen, Loudoun Now, Brain Treatment Center, Drees Homes, M.E. Flow, LUKA Design & Build, Patient First, Prince William Home Improvement, and Wegmans Food Markets Inc.
For more information, go to tasteleesburg. com.
Out
EXPLORING MONROE’S LIFE AT OAK HILL
The People Enslaved at Oak Hill is the next installment of the “Monroe at the Mill” series offered by Aldie Mill.
Starting at 1 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 9 living history performer Jay Harrison will portray the fifth
U.S. president James Monroe and a panel of public historians will reveal information about many of the individuals enslaved at Monroe’s Loudoun County farm and the stories of some of enslaved people who were trafficked to Louisiana. The 1,100-acre property along Rt. 15 south of Leesburg is being converted into a state park.
Harrison and the panel also will discuss the challenges and opportunities of interpreting the difficult subject of slavery in first-person. Admission is $20, cash only, at the door. Students will be admitted for free.
Learn more at novaparks.com/parks/aldie-millhistoric-park/events.
Aldie Mill Historic Park is located at 39401 Little River Turnpike in Aldie.
GO FLY A KITE
The Leesburg Festival or Crafts and Kites invites families to Ida Lee Park on Aug. 22 to enjoy a day filled with flying kites, handmade arts and crafts, interactive activities, and community fun. The program runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and includes kite flying, crafts and artisans, food and
beverage vendors, moon bounces, a coloring tent, face painting, and live entertainment.
Bring your friends, family, and furry companions and jump into a day of outdoor excitement at one of Leesburg’s most colorful summer celebrations.
Admission is free. Learn more at chiceventsdc.com.
GEORGE C. MARSHALL’S
Dodona Manor
LEESBURG, VA
HATS FROM PAGE 11
Lee is taking four or five orders a week, largely based on word-of-mouth connections. Now he is hoping to build a local client base.
“That’s kind of been a niche that I’m hoping to foster, and I’m hoping to really do more of it local,” he said. “The one thing I’ve enjoyed about this is I’ve met some amazing people from West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania already that have found me and have come down and gotten hats, and these are the same people that have driven back and like brought me smoked ribs.”
More recently, he has worked to build more local connections with displays of his work at wineries and breweries.
“I’m trying to just get connected with the community more, and I really want to foster more local clientele rather than the internet,” he said.
Beaver felt hats go for $800 to $850, with the lighter rabbit felt hats in the $500 range. He is also offering workshops in which one or two people learn the process hands-on and create their own hats over a period of several days.
Lee, with two children still in school, knows he’ll likely have to return to a corporate office, but until then he is enjoying this opportunity.
“I’ve always loved working with my hands, but I was raised such that you had to go to college, you had to get a degree, and you either need to be a doctor or a lawyer. Computers kind of came around, and that’s what I went into,” Lee said. “I’ve been very fortunate, and I’m glad I was steered that direction. But my passion is working with my hands.”
Learn more at tysonshattery.com.
THE EXPENDABLES
Friday, Aug. 14, 7 p.m. (doors)
Tally Ho Theater tallyhotheater.com
The Santa Cruz, CA, band performs a diverse blend of reggae, ska, surf rock, punk and metal. $40.
JOHNNY KASUN’S JIM CROCE TRIBUTE
Saturday, Aug. 15, 7 p.m.
Leesburg Town Green idalee.org
A long-time Loudoun favorite, Kasun brings intricate guitar-work, massive vocal harmonies, and fresh arrangements to Croce’s original recordings. Free.
THE SEVEN WONDERS
Saturday, Aug. 15, 6 p.m.
Tarara Vineyards tararaconcerts.com
With spot-on vocals, masterful musicianship, and the true spirit of Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks, this show takes us on a journey. $20.
8.28 8.15
U.S. Army Blues Swamp Romp has been active for almost two decades, performing traditional jazz and folk music of Louisiana in support of recruiting and community outreach initiatives. Free. 8.14
U.S. ARMY BLUES SWAMP ROMP
Friday, Aug. 28, 7 p.m.
Hillsboro Old Stone School oldstoneschool.org
August is Virginia Craft Beer Month, and Loudoun’s breweries are celebrating America’s 250th birthday with limited-release commemorative poursincluding dueling lagers at LoCo Lion Brewery where patrons will cast a vote for history. The LoCo Ale Trail passport turns sips into swag.
Scan to start your LoCo Ale Trail passport and find your 250th pour.
@VisitLoudoun #LoCoAleTrail #LoveLoudoun