An old farm is restored and refigured into an exceptional showcase for the arts in Berryville
Every community produces an artistic landscape that is representative of the people who comprise that community. It takes dreamers. People who aren't afraid to lend a hand to celebrating the better part of our human nature. We celebrate human milestones of birth and death, weddings and harvests, pastoral milestones of plantings and reapings. When it's all well and good and further enhances and enriches the life of a community, we humans want to keep it as a part of who we are. We are quickly losing vast stretches of northern Virginia to suburban expansion and 'progress' and for me personally it's all very sad. Once known for breeding racing champions, fine livestock, and tons of grain that flowed on post-Civil War railroads to Alexandria and Baltimore, the edge of the Blue Ridge is now dotted with very conspicuous 'upscale' housing developments and ugly shopping centers. Moving out to these areas used to seem like a great idea, until one discovers that all your beltway neighbors have the same plan.
These thoughts cross my mind as I reach a certain point on Route Seven past Purcellville. You start climbing one of the first ridges of the Blue Ridge foothills and once you reach the top and start down the other side, you encounter a vista that any glitzy travel mag would love to have as next month's cover photo. What you are viewing is the Shenandoah Valley, rolling and green, and filled with herds of grazing cows. For me, the armchair military strategist, you understand immediately why this vast stretch of valley gained so much importance in the great Civil War. The area reeks of historical importance on many counts and for the record, no other local entity does a better job of explaining it than the relatively new Museum of the Shenandoah in Winchester. While the changes occur, the loss of who we were in the past excelerates and the agricultural market is being supplanted with wine economics, land speculation, and how to deal with the new demographics. I read a few years ago that Virginia had become the Number Four wine producer in the United States. Whether this is true or not, I don't know. I have no interest in the matter than to say that if it's bringing more money into our state then so much the better. Like any person of my age, I cling to the past, that more civil period when spending time in the country or going to Uncle Bill's farm meant that there wasn't an admission fee or Dad didn't have to find just the right parking spot.
It takes a courageous step forward to retain what we once had. My trip today is to find out how that's done. I've been invited out to Berryville to meet with Cheryl Ash, the Executive Director of the Barns of Rose Hill Arts Center. I had met her the night Dry Mill Road was performing. She was busy with her husband Brian greeting the crowd and both were engaged in final preparations for the show, the wine bar, the catered Chili coming in from the Berryville Grill. I fell in love with the place as soon as I entered. An old dairy barn completely re-fashioned and up-graded for music and the arts or just about any other kind of occasion you could think of. Let your mind go wild with possibilities: art exhibits, music, music, music, or seminars on local history and culture. One visit to hear one of my favorite bluegrass bands (Dry Mill Road from Winchester,) wasn't enough. I asked Cheryl if I could come back and really make a full inspection of the place. Cheryl graciously accepted. It's a wonderful, crystal-clear fall day to leave the 'Burbs and head out to Clarke County. That in itself is enough of an enticement. Get away from the drudge and take a step back into time. There is so much to see on old Route Seven heading up into the mountains. And oh yeah, there are lots of new vineyards, local wine festivals, food-tastings, and all the trappings if you're in to that sort of thing. For the planners of the 'Barns' the dream to make the Barns of Rose Hill a central focal point for the arts in Clarke County started around 2004 and finally culminated in a grand opening in 2011. It took a lot of money, personal contributions, and promises of support. You have to believe that the steering committee, struggling through one of America's worst economic periods had faith in the future of Clarke County and the emergence of the geographical location of the western reaches of northern Virginia. It's all there: many small liberal arts institutions, beautiful scenery, an excellent climate, easy access to Martinsburg, Harper's Ferry, Washington, D.C., Roanoke and points south, western Maryland and Pittsburgh. Nearby Winchester is booming with a population explosion.
I have grown to respect the abundance of artistic talent in this region, too. Whether fiddler, singer, or the next great concert performer, emerging photographer or painter, I took a look around the Barns facility and recognized the possibilities of the place providing the proper venue to showcase what talent there is - and there is plenty of it, waiting for the chance. A beautiful stage/musical area that can hold 200 customers. A huge art gallery downstairs in the old milking area that is very beautifully lit with natural sunlight on one side. Two more, smaller galleries and little nooks and crannies could serve as highlighted private showing spaces. My visit was also enriched by meeting up with Logan Van Meter, a native son of Berryville and recent MFA recipient (James Madison University). He currently serves as the Director of Berryville's Visitors Center which also has a home in the Barns facility. I could see his enthusiasm for his new position, and both he and Cheryl Ash provided me with an exciting view of the future programming at the Barns of Rose Hill. No rose-colored glasses here, they realize the depth of the challenge, the hard work it will take, and the money too, that will have to be raised to keep the Barns going as a viable Clarke County Showcase for the Arts. I appreciated the candor. An undertaking like this has to have a game-plan, a mission statement, and dedicated artists and customers to keep it going. It's been a year now since officially opening for business and already a full calendar of performances and presentations has been logged. The offerings have been fascinating and eclectic. There has been a string of sell-outs and lots of excited visitors and customers. I have a feeling though, the intent will be to show what's best about, and for, Clarke County and northwestern Virginia. We are a lucky and blessed community - as long as we can keep a check on the thorns of so-called progress and over-development. Go west and get away from it all. Start your day-trip in a little town called Berryville. Top it off with a night of entertainment at the Barns of Rose Hill.
www.barnsofrosehill.org
P.O. Box 738, Berryville, Va. 22611
(540) 955-2004
Easy to find, plenty of easy and free parking, good local restaurants, town-strolling can be a lot of fun and interesting.
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