By KIM RAMSEY
Editor, News aRound the Hill
As towns nationwide tighten their belts and cut programs, many of Round
Hill's most popular spring and summer events will be able to continue
because they've never relied solely upon financial support from the Town
budget.
"Since the Town has a relatively small tax base, we have always had to
use great discretion in how we budget those tax dollars," said Mayor
John Heyner. "Luckily, for our successful annual events, volunteer
organizations and committees have consistently stepped up to provide
nearly all the planning, ideas, coordination, and fund raising,” he
said.
"The Town may supplement these efforts with staff time and tax dollars,
but these are without question community events, by the people and for
the people," he stressed.
TOWN PARK CLEANUP
The Town Park Cleanup has been organized annually by volunteers
since 2004. This is the third year the effort will be spearheaded by the
Round Hill Junior Women's Group and the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office
Community Policing Unit.
According to Community Resource Officer Deputy Aaron Taylor, the
cleanup's goal is to give residents “a sense of ownership of their
community, not just their homes.” During the event, volunteers pick up
trash, prune and weed existing flower beds, lay mulch, and plant
annuals. Organized groups, such as Girl and Boy Scout troops, will often
pick up litter around Town.
Blake Landscapes has donated mulch each year, and the Town covers the
cost of the annuals. Local residents have contributed perennial plants
divided from their yards to supplement the annuals.
The Town Park Cleanup is scheduled for April 25, which will put the park
in tip-top shape for the Hometown Festival.
HOMETOWN FESTIVAL
The Seventh Annual Hometown Festival, to be held May 23, “is a day
to have a good time meeting your neighbors and enjoying some hometown
fun,” said Festival Coordinator Tobi Moriarty.
The Festival features a full day's worth of activities, including a 5K
race, a parade, Memorial ceremony, entertainment in the park, a
pie-eating contest, a downhill derby and Moriarty's favorite event, the
gourmet feast.
"I love sitting down next to people I might not know before dinner and
by the end of dinner do," she said.
According to Moriarty, "there is not one person running the festival,
but a group of people dedicating their own time to putting this all
together." Festival committee members each coordinate one aspect of the
day while scores of additional volunteers pitch in the day of the event
to make it all happen.
The Festival is funded through ticket and T-shirt sales and sponsorships
by local businesses and families. The family sponsorship is new this
year, and Moriarty said "a number of families have stepped forward to
help support the event." The music is provided by the Round Hill Arts
Center through a matching grant from the Virginia Commission for the
Arts and the Town of Round Hill.
 WESTERN
LOUDOUN ARTISTS STUDIO TOUR
The Round Hill Arts Center, along with the Franklin Park Performing
and Visual Arts Center, the Friends of Franklin Park and the Loudoun
Academy of the Arts Foundation, are the organizers of the Fourth Annual
Western Loudoun Artists Studio Tour, to be held this year on June 20 and
21.
During the Tour, local artists welcome the public into their work spaces
and share their crafts.
"Folks love the opportunity to come by just to visit and see our gallery
and studio," said Round Hill potter David Norton. "There is no better
way to meet and experience the many fabulous local artists who make
their homes in western Loudoun County."
In addition to providing exposure for the participating artists, the
Tour "lets the Loudoun County community and government know that artists
are an important resource in terms of cultural tourism and quality of
life," said Jeanne Niccolls, one of the event's organizers.
Approximately 50 Western Loudoun artists will participate in this year's
Tour, and organizers are expecting close to 1,000 visitors. In addition
to Norton's Round Hill studio, there will be artists setting up shop at
the Round Hill Arts Center and the Franklin Park Performing and Visual
Arts Center. Beadmaker Katy Stidley's Round Hill studio will also be
featured.
The Tour is funded through a variety of sources, according to Niccolls,
including the Loudoun Convention and Visitors Association, the Town of
Round Hill through the VCA matching grant, local foundations and
businesses, and individual donors.
Volunteers are needed to help staff the Round Hill Arts Center and help
distribute materials.
FOURTH OF JULY
Planning is just beginning for this year's Round Hill Fourth of July
celebration. The event typically starts with a morning parade
coordinated by the Round Hill Volunteer Fire Department, followed by
festivities at the Town Park. This year should prove no exception.
Volunteers from the Round Hill Junior Women's Group expect to provide
lemonade, baked goods or ice cream, and children's activities in the
Town Park post parade. Local musician Barry Charlton is scheduled to
perform acoustic favorites from artists like James Taylor, Jimmy Buffett
and Simon and Garfunkel. This event is funded by the Town.
To find out how to help volunteer or sponsor any of the events above,
see the box below. For more details on all of these events, see the
Upcoming Events box on Page 8 and the Hometown Festival pullout in the
center of this newsletter.
(Kim Ramsey is a member of the Round Hill Junior Women's Group.) |
|
TO VOLUNTEER FOR OR SPONSOR THESE EVENTS, CONTACT: |
Town Park Cleanup/July 4
Round Hill Junior Women’s Group:
roundhillwomen@hotmail.com
|
Hometown Festival
Committee Chair Tobi Moriarty
moriartyrh@yahoo.com |
Western Loudoun Artists Studio Tour
Barbara Sample
bsample@loudoun.gov |
|
