Posts Tagged ‘Events in Cape Charles’

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Carols, Candles And Sleigh Bells Marked The 2nd Annual “Grand Illumination” At Central Park In Cape Charles, VA

Friday, December 9th, 2011

It was a beautiful  Eastern Shore night for the Cape Charles 2nd Annual  “Grand Illumination”,  moon nearly full,  skies clear, stars shining down brightly on the event, temperatures in the mid-40’s,  cool-ish but  not cold.  ( Unlike last year at the 1st Annual  “Grand Illumination”  where  the wind was a little  brisk– I was  sorry I hadn’t brought a pair of gloves and worn a warmer blazer, finding myself doing  jazzercise steps to keep warm —  jingle bells, stomp-stomp-stomp,  jingle bells, stomp,stomp,stomp– you get the picture.)   Running a bit late, I  threaded  through the gathered crowd of  happy youngsters, oldsters,  teenies and toddlers,  to find Daughter #3,  daughter- in- law  # 1 and four grandkids who fortunately had already located good viewing spots near the front of  The  Gazebo at Cape Charles’  beautiful Central Park.  Caroling was just beginning,  kicked off by the  Master of Ceremonies,  Chris Bannon of Seagate B&B,  dressed in a bright red Santa hat and wrapped in a big holiday smile.

Dedicated  in September, 2010, the Cape Charles Central Park,  with its wide green, gracefully curving sidewalks, lovely fountain,  dozens of  Memorial Trees, elaborate children’s playground and The Gazebo,  is the glorious result of years of collective effort by the many, many volunteers of  ” Citizens For Central Park”  and  nearly a million dollars in  donations and grants.  It’s now the pride of  the little coastal town of  Cape Charles,  the site of  public events large and small,  a place for  individuals and families to enjoy a walk,  a jog,  a frisbee contest on a summer’s eve.  And now,  for the holidays,  it’s a magical place of trees and old-fashioned Victorian style lamp posts strung with thousands of  twinkling lights, colors galore and blazing white, a feast for  the eyes,  a sight for every passerby to enjoy as they light up the night.

Meanwhile,  back at  The Gazebo, folks were still arriving,  strolling down the Park’s  curving paths,  now lined with luminaries glowing brightly in the  darkness,  twinkling like little stars  fallen to earth,  everyone receiving  a candle .  Up on stage,  Santa and Mrs. Claus  ( a big shout-out  to Larry and Trina Veber, long time  Cape Charles residents,  for all the time they donate to make so many great local events even better),  gathered with the Mayor, the choir, some members of Cape Charles Town Council, Cape Charles Chief of Police, Commander of the Cape Charles Coast Guard Station as Chris Bannon gave a memorial tribute to Melvin Dudley, without whose tireless efforts  Central Park would not be what it is today.   In fact,  a beautiful red cedar has been been planted in a place of  honor near the playground as a Memorial Tree for Melvin Dudley and has been  designated as the now and future Official Christmas Tree  of Cape Charles.  Its plaque  reads: ” In honor of his dedication to Cape Charles, his gifts of wisdom,  his grand sense of humor,  his love of family and appreciation of the beauty of this environment.”  Then, a  flip of the switch and the Melvin R.  Dudley Memorial Tree  burst into brightly glowing colors, the first  tree to be illuminated.  As  dignitaries came down from the stage to  light the candles of those gathered below, golden flickers spread  until hundreds of candles glowed in the darkness, spreading light and good cheer as  carols continued to be sung and smiles contined to grow.   ‘Tis  after all,  The Season.  Then the big moment- Mayor Dora Sullivan asked everyone to blow out their candles  and turn towards the Park Green.  As they turned,  the entire Park leapt into color, everywhere trees and lampposts  glowed and twinkled  as thousands of points of  shining lights  enveloped Central Park in a brilliant blanket  of  sparkling luminous energy, evoking a wave of applause from the crowd as the 2nd Annual  “Grand Illumination”  was concluded.

Time then for visiting with Santa and Mrs. Claus who had flown in straight from the North Pole just for this event !   Kids large and small lined up for a shy chat with Santa and a big hug from Mrs. Claus. It was really sweet and so authentic,  The Gazebo wreathed in brilliant blue lights, Santa and Mrs. Claus in bright red,  kids waiting patiently in line for a chance to whisper into Santa’s ear their deepest holiday wishes,  phone cameras clicking as parents snapped pictures,  reindeer nickering  just a few feet away,  their bells jingling gaily.  Well, not exactly reindeer,  actually more like horses…. but they definitely were nickering  and their manes were entwined with ribbons and little bells which jingled gaily at every toss of their bedecked  heads.

 

Thanks to the folks from the Triple M Ranch,  a 150 acre horse farm with winding  riding trails located just outside Cape Charles,  6 beautiful and patient horses and their  riders had gathered  at the entrance to Central Park so that kids of all ages, including myself, would have  a chance to pat  and talk to them. ( Check out Triple M at  www.triplemranches.com )  My youngest grandson, who is a bit awed by horses,  just loved seeing them all dressed up in their red and green holiday finery.  He even ventured a gentle stroking  of the neck  of  a small filly. What an unexpected treat,  it brought a real old-fashioned holiday flair to this  great small town event,  hope to see these reindeer, I mean horses,  again next year at Cape Charles’  3rd Annual “Grand Illumination” !

 

(Posted by Marlene Cree, licensed Virginia agent with Blue Heron Realty Co., 7134  Wilsonia Neck Dr., Machipongo, VA)

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Posted in Climate and Weather, Entertainment, Events In Cape Charles, Horses, Just Having Fun, Odds and Ends, Our Little Towns, Weather | No Comments »

On Resolute Wings- Celebrating Birds And Birding At The 19th Annual Birding Festival on The Eastern Shore of Virginia

Thursday, November 17th, 2011

Eastern Shore Migration Paths

The importance of the Eastern Shore of Virginia as a feeding and rest area for migrating songbirds and raptors as they travel south down the Atlantic Flyway cannot be over estimated.  Because birds need to catch their breath,  rest up and chow down,   before flying over large spans of open water the beautiful southern tip of  the Virginia Eastern Shore  serves as  a Howard Johnson’s  for birds– pleasant motel plus 24 hour full service restaurant.  ( I know I’m dating myself here but as a child I loved  their fried clam strips and  awesome Indian pudding, not that anyone knows about Indian pudding anymore, and of course Howard Johnson’s has been gone for a thousand years. )  As the birds funnel down the ever-narrowing peninsula  by the thousands each fall,  flying south for the winter, flock after flock between September and November,  the habitate and food resources available in our southern tip, from Cape Charles south to the Bridge-Tunnel become critical to these birds,  life or death even.  And fortunately for these beautiful feathered creatures,  Kiptopeake State Park,  with its unique coastal habitate and ample food supply,  is ready and waiting for them.  And for over 30 years, long before it became a state park,  an important bird banding program has been on-going at Kiptopeake with over a quarter of a million birds banded in that time.

Examining And Measuring Songbirds Being Banded At Kiptopeake State Park

The bird banding program is so interesting, kids and adults alike are  just fascinated by the process.  Nets constructed of a nearly invisible mesh are placed at strategic points throught out the  Park’s wooded areas and then checked by volunteers every half hour or so.   Usually several birds have been caught in the net and these are carefully disentangled by the volunteers and the birds brought into the banding station for a careful examination.  The volunteers have data charts on which they measure and note such items are age, sex, fat, body molts, wing molts, skull size, etc., etc. for each bird that is banded.

Eastern Shore Butterfly Migration

And from the banding program and the interest of many groups including US Fish and Wildlife and the Virginia Department of Conservation and many individuals the concept of a Birding Festival was born and has been gaining strength ever since,  adding additional activities each year for Birding Festival attendees to enjoy.  In addition to all day demonstrations of Bird Banding and various Hawk Observatory programs at Kiptopeake Park,  this year some of the many other activites included  Butterfly Walks at both the Virginia National Wildlife Refuge and Kiptopeake Park, with the expectation of possibly seeing up to 60 + species of butterflies and skippers as they migrate  through,  several Owl Prowls during the evening hours at both the Refuge and the Park,  a Barrier Island Walk  at Fisherman’s Island, home to many waterfowl, shorebirds and wading birds,  A hike through the Savage Neck Dunes Preserve  which has a mile of  Chesapeake Bay shoreline as well as the highest dune on the Eastern Shore and a hike at Wise Point, a pine forest located at the very, very tip of the Shore.

The Popular “Touch and Feel” Tank From The Virginia Marine Science Museum

Water related activities included eco-tours by Broadwater Bay Ecotours leaving from both Willis Wharf and Watchapreague,  getting a duck’s eye view and exploration of our pristine seaside salt marshes, mud flats and open waters, look for seabirds and shorebirds. For kayak lovers there were three wonderful trips, the Cherrystone Creek Kayak trip and the Chatham Vineyard’s Kayak and Winery Tour to see wading birds, osprey, etc. and the Wildlife Refuge Kayak trip along the Virginia Inside Passage, home to osprey, plovers, egrets and herons among others. And this year, for the more adventurous, a Stand Up Paddleboard Trip from the Wildlife Refuge. Paddleboards are billed “as the coolest craft on the water”  and apparently are a great way to do birding, certainly sounds like a lot of fun.  For the less adventurous but also interested, a variety of exhibits and demonstrations take place at the Cape Charles Fire Station including a “touch and feel”  aquarium tank  exhibit from the Virginia Marine Science Museum,  perfect for kids of all ages.  In short, this Festival is a wonderful event for everyone  who is interested in having fun while celebrating birds and birding.  For  information on the upcoming 2012 Birding Festival  on Virginia’s  Eastern Shore,  keep updated by visiting    www.esvafestivals.com .

(Posted by Marlene Cree, licensed Virginia agent with Blue Heron Realty Co., 7134  Wilsonia Neck Dr., Machipongo, VA)

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Even More Delicious Regional Foods and Wine At The 2011 Harvest Festival On Virginia’s Eastern Shore

Tuesday, October 25th, 2011

A week before the 19th Annual Harvest Festival, an Eastern Shore of Virginia annual festival celebrating our regional foods and wines,  held just south of Cape Charles, VA,  I decided it was time to start getting ready…. by that, I mean cutting down on a few calories all week  so as not to feel guilty about definitely tucking in on “the day.”   Tucking in at the Harvest Festival  is part of the fun,  sampling everything at least once and one’s favorites twice,  truth be told, maybe even thrice.   And there are so many favorites to choose from, where to even start ?

Eastern Shore Harvest Fest On The Sparkling Sand Shores Of The Chesapeake Bay

As you hand in your admission ticket  you’re handed back a broad yellow tray,  the better to stack and tote the little plates of  scrumptious goodies you are going to choose.  Sort of  like a tapas bar concept except that you stroll through several acres of  grounds which overlook the Chesapeake Bay and beach and  feature  dozens of  tents,  each preparing one particular and delicious food.   Sponsored by the Eastern Shore of Virginia Chamber of Commerce,  the original concept of the Harvest Fest at its debut 15 years ago was that it would be held at harvest time (duh) and would feature  traditional Southern and Eastern Shore  dishes.  Remaining  true to its mission,  held the first Wednesday of October each year from noon to 4pm,  showcasing   the delicious seafood and other regional foods popular on the Eastern Shore, Harvest Fest is always a sold-out event,  the  3000 tickets offered first to Chamber members and then to the general public.  The Chamber always has tons of  folks calling the week  before,  requesting tickets, which of course are already sold.  Their advice and mine– get your tickets early !

Juicy And Crisp- Delicious Soft Shell Crab Sandwiches With Tarter Sauce

Yellow trays  in hand, we set off on a leisurely stroll to survey this year’s offerings, “we”  being moi, hubby, Eldest Daughter,  Middle Daughter and friend.  I always like to make a circuit,  peek at everything and then start making my choices.  Not everyone likes to do that– the sight of a couple of  plump soft shell crabs nestled on a bun, just waiting for a big dollop of tarter sauce,  slowed some of our group down to a halt,  the better to swoop up a plate of these crustacean delicacies.  (For those not familiar with eating  “soft shells”, when a crab molts,  for a few hours until its new shell hardens, it is a “soft shell”, plucked out of the water so that the shell hardening process is suspended and ready to be battered, friend and eaten whole , legs and all,  accompanied by a squeeze of  lemon or tarter sauce.  For the watermen who process “busters”,  those with cracks in their shell and about to molt,  it is a process of constant vigilance  because the newly molted crab has to be plucked out of the water virtually immediately or else the shell will get hard or  the other crabs will eat it themselves,  not being shy about cannibalism.  The intensive labor to produce them explains why soft shells are not commonly on menus and why they are expensive when they are.)

Standing In Line For The Ever Popular And Totally Scrumptious Shrimp

So we proceeded on, the day sunny and bright, soft  breezes wafting in from the Chesapeake Bay, temperatures in the mid-70’s, a perfect Indian Summer’s day.  After completing one full circuit,  pausing at the Holly Grove Winery station,( one of our three excellent local wineries ),  to pick up a refreshing  glass of  cold chardonnay,  I headed around to the shrimp station while my husband headed across the green for the crabcake tent.  I am pretty picky about fried shrimp-  they need to be dipped in a very light, silky tempura type batter which clings as a diaphanous coating to the shrimp so that when they are fried the result is a thin, crispy crust encasing a juicy, plump shrimp. (  Highly recommend the soft shell crab batter recipe in John Schield’s  excellent cookbook, “Chesapeake Bay Cooking”  as a great  batter for shrimp.)   I’m delighted to say that these were delicious–  sweet,  pink,  juicy mouthfuls of succulent  shrimp served with an excellent homemade tarter sauce.  And fortunately the french- fry and corn-on-the-cob tents were  almost adjacent !   With my trusty yellow tray loaded with a hefty  helping of shrimp  plus fries, corn plus a cup of Eastern Shore style clam chowder,  I headed back to our chairs.  ( Harvest Fest is a  “bring your own lawn chair”  event unless you want to stand for 3 or 4 hours. )   There I found the rest of the group enjoying crabcakes, softshells and flounder, piping  hot and savory.

          

Johnny Mo, The Eastern Shore’s Singing Chef, With His Luscious Spicy Pork BBQ

Nothing Says Autumn Like Sweet Potato Pie

After savoring my last shrimp,  I decided to sample something from the landlubber side, BBQ, the great Southern favorite.  This year there were two different  BBQ stations,  Mallard Restaurant’s and private caterer Bruce Richardson’s, each quite different, both very flavorful.  Mallard’s  (  in Onancock and home of Johnny Mo, known locally as the “Singing Chef” ) served their well-seasoned chopped pork BBQ  atop a sweet potato biscuit half, topped with a dollop of a delicious, spicy aoli– different and delicious.  I ate two on the theory that two halves equal a whole, right ?   But by then the important thing was to save room for a little slice of pie– sweet potato pie, that old Southern standby, like pumpkin but according to my husband,  much better.  So we did it,  thin slices  of  sweet potato pie, honeyed, toothsome, topped with a generous spoonful of fluffy whipped cream.  And then, like Bugs Bunny, my stomach said, That’s all folks !

Art Work By Well Known Painter, Thelma Peterson

Besides the food, the other fun aspect of Harvest Fest is running into people you know but haven’t seen for a while, maybe even since last Harvest Fest,  and it’s fun to catch up.  And the Artist’s  Tent is always great,  lots of talented  local artisans and artists, a number of mediums presented.  Among the many exhibitors this year was Thelma Peterson, ( www.thelmapeterson.com  ), a very well known local painter showing  mostly her watercolours,  and  Al “Buck” Doughty, ( www.hogislandcreations.com )  his exquisite bronze castings beautifully reflected on the display mirrors  as well as several destinctive decoy carvers.

Dana Simpson, (www.chesapeakeeast.com ) , multi-talented, a writer and  illustrator was there with her children’s books, Eldest Daughter ended up with  her  charming  book entitled “Moon Goes Fishing” , a birthday gift for her neice .  There is always a last minute rush at the Artist Tent about 3:30,  folks making selections or picking up packages on hold for them until closing.

                       

And then all too soon,  it’s 4pm,  time to go, food stations closing,  time having passed on winged feet.   Except for the band.   Yep, down at the beach there was  a band and a lot of folks sitting in lawn chairs amongst the shade trees,  settling in for a few more hours of fun.  Although my music tastes are broad, running  the  gamut  from Mosart  to  Tommy Dorsey, Dave Brubeck to  Sarah Brightman,  MoTown to Willie  Nelson,  Elvis to  Aaron Copeland,  Josh Groban  to Gilbert & Sullivan, etc., etc.,  nevertheless,  I usually can’t tolerate  the mostly overwhelming ear splitting noise that currently  passes for music with most of these bands.  So,  no musical interlude under the oaks for us,  just  a smile for an afternoon well-enjoyed and heading for home,  time to burn up a few calories walking our lively Newfie dogs,  Honey and Pumpkin(Posted by Marlene Cree, licensed Virginia agent with Blue Heron Realty Co., 7134  Wilsonia Neck Dr., Machipongo, VA)

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Oyster “Buy-Boat” Reunion A Big Hit in Cape Charles, Virginia For The Town’s 125th Anniversary

Tuesday, August 30th, 2011

A wonderful example of Chesapeake Bay maritime know-how!

The first weekend of August this eleventh year of the third millenium proved to be truly memorable for Cape Charles residents and visitors alike.  Jam-packed with activities that began the month-long celebration of our historic Town’s 125th anniversary,  there was something for everyone of all ages to enjoy, including open house tours of several of  Cape Charles’  beautiful historic homes for sale.
The Harbor of Refuge of Cape Charles is,  of course,  no stranger to working watercraft of the Chesapeake Bay. Its first 60 years of service as a transportation hub for the railroad and steamship industries attracted many hundreds of Chesapeake Bay workboats such as log canoes, skipjacks, bugeyes and deadrises that worked the plentiful and famous oyster reefs of the Bay.   Unfortunately,  since the late 1950’s,  the oyster populations in the Bay have declined substantially due to over-harvesting of the resource and decimation by an oyster virus.  Slowly but surely, these wooden workhorses of the Bay have fallen prey to abandonment and rot until there are very few examples of these splendid watercraft left afloat.

A tall bow helps these heavy boats plow through the steep swells of the Chesapeake Bay.

No one wants to glorify the overfishing that in large part caused the decline of this valuable fishery,  the oyster,  a “keystone” species of the Chesapeake Bay watershed but appreciation of the design and construction of these historic wooden watercraft is part of the preservation of the Eastern Shore’s  rich nautical heritage. ( In fact, the not-so-humble oyster was so important to the Shore that over on the Seaside, less than 10 minutes from Cape Charles,  sits the quaint little  town of  Oyster, Virginia. )   Traditionally,  these “buy- boats”  cruised the waters of the Bay, buying oysters and clams,  dredging for oysters and in general hauling lumber, farm produce and other products from the Eastern Shore to market.  Historians believe that there are maybe thirty of these  “buy-boats”  left in the Chesapeake Bay.  Another that is still known to be afloat is in Honduras in Central America of all places.   A  fleet of twelve buy-boats from as far away as the Sassafras River arrived in the Cape Charles  harbor as a culmination of their weeklong annual cruise reunion.  This is the first time they have visited Cape Charles, as the Town has now completed the installation of  new floating docks which will  accomodate fleets such as this.

The ship’s wheel where the captain steers these heavily laden craft safely into port.

The fleet of buy-boats arrived Thursday afternoon and Cape Charles’ Harbormaster Smitty Dize and his hardworking crew were prepared to tie them up on B dock where they could all be observed together by the hundreds of eager fans awaiting their arrival here.  As Blue Heron Realty Co. is an avid supporter of efforts to revitalize the Town of Cape Charles,  we had signed up to sponsor the first Cape Charles Harbor Boat Docking Competition scheduled to take place Sunday afternoon and one of the highlights of the buy-boat reunion here.  So we were invited to the VIP party Thursday evening at the harbor and allowed very easy access to all the buy-boats and their owners, captains and crew.

I was readily invited aboard the buy-boats for first-hand tours, their captains proudly displaying for us fans of Bay Chesapeake maritime heritage their beautifully restored and maintained boats. Pictures really cannot do justice to the beauty and magnitude of these incredible boats. It was more than obvious that owning and maintaining one of these craft is a real sacrifice of time, labor and finances, and the owners that I met expressed without reservation their generous attitude of stewardship in preserving an increasingly rare example of Chesapeake Bay maritime know-how.

 

The Smith Island Crab Skiff

Friday of that special celebratory weekend brought our first full day of public visitation on these historic watercraft.  Hundreds of new visitors to Town were attracted by this display and to tour some of the beautiful historic homes for sale in Cape Charles.  That night the local band “Quadpod” entertained the crowd and plenty of good, homegrown food was prepared and served.  The next day, Saturday, was anticipated by all as one of the highlights of our month long anniversary celebration with a parade through town by the Shriners and our county fire departments. Then that afternoon, we cruised down to the docks to watch the Smith Island Crab Skiffs Association race around a marked course in the outer harbor.  Now that was some excitement to see these wooden skiffs, hand-built by their owners, no more than 13′  long and powered by 20 hp lawn mower engines,  flying around the course and even capsizing in the water!  Saturday evening brought a beautiful sunset over the horizon of the Chesapeake Bay and we were again entertained late into the night with a live band with everyone looking  forward to the boat docking competition the  following day.    (Posted by Marlene Cree, licensed Virginia agent with Blue Heron Realty Co., 7134  Wilsonia Neck Dr., Machipongo, VA)

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Posted in At the Beach, Boating, Business, Events In Cape Charles, Fishing, Historic Homes, Just Having Fun, Our Little Towns, Real Estate | No Comments »