Archive for December, 2018

LIGHTING UP THE SKY WITH EASTERN SHORE HOLIDAY SPIRIT !

Thursday, December 20th, 2018

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Say it with lights – -that’s a wonderful way to spread effervescent holiday cheer ! Beautiful colors and dazzling designs can radiate joy and exuberance from a chimney top to the shrubbery below and all points in between. So take a moment, take a drive, check out some of the beautiful light displays on the lower Shore this season. On Fairview Road, just past Kiptopeake School, a dazzling Christmas wonderland, with music ! In Cape Charles this year, from Central Park to the Beach Gazebo, up and down every street, sparkling lights are glowing in the dark, brilliant colors of illumination, brightening the holiday season for every passerby. Cheriton is on board too ! Lots of colorful lights twinkle hello. And congrats to Blue Heron Realty agent Mike Killebrew of Cheriton, your house looks really great, beaming a silent but sparkling and vibrant Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all !

 

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We Saw An Elf At The Palace On Sunday !

Tuesday, December 18th, 2018

DSC_4193Yes, we definitely, positively, absolutely, unequivocally …… saw an Elf in the Palace. The Palace being the historic Palace Theatre in Cape Charles and the Elf being the star of “Elf Jr. The Musical”. With a delightful stage set and a large and enthusiastic cast, this newest live Palace production by the GEAR School of Dance and Theatre, was a bubbly holiday treat. Plenty of singing and dancing, from tiny tots to tweens and adults, they put on a real show ! It may have been cold and rainy outside but inside the audience was toasty warm and enveloped in cheery Christmas spirit. So bravo to the cast members and all the volunteers whose time and hard work made this holiday entertainment possible, thanks so much, we loved it !

 

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Pick Up Some Holiday Vibe ! Two More Chances To Experience A “Festive Friday” Evening In Cape Charles This Holiday Season !

Monday, December 17th, 2018

DSC_3778If you haven’t been to Cape Charles on a Friday night this holiday season, happily, you still have two more opportunities to enjoy the fun during the 5th Annual Festive Friday evening celebrations in the historic downtown area. Strolling down Mason Avenue will give you a Close Encounter of the Best Kind with Santa and Mrs. Claus. You can find them relaxing in front of their Cape Charles “vacation home” at Strawberry Street Station, a respite from their busy North Pole primary residence at the Toy Factory. Nearby, a ballooning project will be happening, myriad shapes and colors magically fashioned for delighted boys and girls. Last Friday at the Candy store, busy kids gathered around a table of colorful icings to decorate their gingerbread men, a tasty task. Across the way at Lemon Tree Gallery, the Boot Scootin’ Belles were bursting with energy and ready to go, those boots were made for dancing and dance they did ! Out front, a magician made one tiny foam rabbit turn into about 8 tiny rabbits right in my own chilly hand- – amazing, still can’t imagine how he did it !

So many things to see and do for kids and adults alike. Beautiful and cheery shop windows along Mason Avenue and down Strawberry Street, dressed to the nines for the holidays, beckon to smilingly folks strolling past. Lively songs by Christmas carolers, horse drawn carriage rides, clever street performers, candlelight story reading by Mrs. Claus at the Library, free holiday movies – – always something to delight everyone. Many of the shops feature live music to entertain customers who clearly love it all.

Festive Friday is the perfect opportunity to get your holiday spirit on and shop for your Special Someones. Check out the new jewelry at Moonrise, find a unique piece of art at the Lemon Tree or Ellen Moore Gallery, relax over a scrumptious gourmet dinner at Hook Up, warm up with a steaming cup of hot chocolate at the popular Cape Charles Coffee House, indulge in a hot read plus hot coffee at the newly-opened Peach Street Books, explore international gifts at Voiajer, browse the new inventory at Periwinkle’s. Try sampling the wonderful flavors of sweet balsamic vinegars at Drizzles or head down Gull Hummock’s way to select your New Year’s Eve champagne. Take some time to drop in for info on new listings from Blue Heron Realty or browse the gift shop at the gorgeously renovated Northampton Hotel. This and so much more awaits you each Friday night until Christmas !

It’s so, so easy to get into the swing of things and pick up some holiday vibe. On Friday, December 14th or 21st, just grab your whole group and head on out to one of the Eastern Shore’s best holiday events, Festive Friday in historic downtown Cape Charles. Get ready to discover the old-fashioned fun of a small town coastal Christmas . You’ll have a great time, guaranteed !

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Candles, Holiday Music, Decorated Golf Carts, Lights and Smiles Highlighted the 8th Annual Grand Illumination In Cape Charles

Friday, December 7th, 2018

 

IMG_2318We’ve all heard the phrase “The show must go on”. But last weekend we saw it in action as, after holding off for most of the day, rain began falling at a pretty good rate just as the Lighted Golf Cart Parade, traveling down Peach St., crossed over Tazewell Ave. and headed into Central Park for the 2018 Grand Illumination. But no worries, everyone just kept going, undaunted, this unique- to-Cape-Charles Parade and Illumination kept moving forward, offering dazzling lights and decorations, wonder and joy to the many kids and adults who ventured out to see it. Tots bundled in zipped up strollers, parents with umbrellas at the ready, headed into the Park. Over at the Gazebo, plenty of hot chocolate on hand to warm cold hands although fortunately temps were pretty mild. In fact, in retrospect, rain doesn’t seem so bad, actually a silver lining- – thank heavens it wasn’t sleet !

It was a wonderful evening, with candles lit and a moment of silence held in memory and honor of loved ones and first responders. Then the traditional countdown, a flip of the switch – – voila’ ! Holiday lights strung around the Gazebo and the trees were revealed in their shining glory. (A shout-out here to Citizens for Central Park, without whose hard work we would not have this amazing community amenity.)

Definitely a highlight of the event was a rousing performance in the Gazebo by the impressive Tidewater Concert Band. What a splendid treat to have live orchestral holiday music, 30 musicians strong ! The Band was great, playing favorites of the season, the percussion section making Little Drummer Boy and Do You Hear What I Hear particularly delightful, loved their rendition of Feliz Navidad with its upbeat tempo and joyful wishes. Super Kudos to those who arranged the booking of this Band, I really hope that having the Tidewater Concert Band back every year could become a favorite Cape Charles Grand Illumination tradition!

Of course, no Christmas event would be complete without a visit from the jolly old Elf himself. Pretty sure the little kids and big kids alike loved seeing Santa and Mrs Claus who dispensed hugs, danced do-se-do with youngsters and posed for many a photo, kids smiling ear to ear ! ( Another Shout Out, this time to Trina Veber, Santa’s better half since the very 1st Grand Illumination. On that freezing evening, December 4th, 2010, so many folks, young, old, toddlers and teenagers alike, poured into Central Park for the celebration. Chris Bannon, aka Mr. Cape Charles, dressed jauntily in a bright red Santa hat and jacket, was the first Master of Ceremonies. Mayor Dora Sullivan threw the Illumination switch for the very first time and Trina & Larry Veber made the first “surprise” Santa visit, passing out candy canes, sitting for photos, listening to kids earnestly whisper Christmas hopes and dreams in their ears. )

Not to sound too sentimental, as a lot of water has passed over the dam since that first Illumination, yet I believe that the same spirit of goodwill, hope and holiday joy that was present when the very first Memory Candles were lit 8 years ago still prevails today. In that spirit, Blue Heron Realty Co. wants to wish you a Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad from the bottom of our hearts.

P.S. if you’re interested in seeing photos from that 1st Grand Illumination in Dec., 2010, click the link http://www.easternshorevablog.com/2010/12/ to our Life and Real Estate blog and open the Dec. 2010 Archive in the right- hand navigation bar.

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Autumn on Virginia’s Eastern Shore

Tuesday, December 4th, 2018

DSC_3317I love Frank Sinatra’s rendition of “Autumn in New York”. I’m especially intrigued by his question “Why does it seem so inviting?” which question applies equally to Autumn on the Eastern Shore. Why does it indeed seem so inviting? To me, Autumn is one of our most beautiful times of year, offering common yet timeless scenes of crops being harvested, fields newly tilled for winter grains, myriad yards with fall azaleas and camilias blooming in gorgeous shades of rosy pinks and fuscias. Along blue waters, marsh grasses slowly fade from brilliant green to butterscotch to winter’s brown. Halloween pumpkins come and go, Fall events like the Agricultural Fair, Birding Festival and Thanksgiving Artisan Tour are exciting but really, the main event is color, the amazing colors of the season taking center stage, everywhere – – leaves with near infinite shades of tangerines and ambers, crimsons and scarlets, rustle on trees from seaside to bayside, acres of cotton transform brown fields to snow-white, late soybean leaves gleam like bright yellow mustard, open landscapes of tender green blades of newly sprouted rye crops lend a pastoral feel. And the Air, the breezes blow fresh, cool, crisp. But best of all, clear cerulean skies frosted with billowing white clouds that float boldly above the cobalt blue waters of creeks and bays. All of which is why the Eastern Shore in Autumn seems so inviting to me!

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