Good morning! Since Anita and I worked 3 years and lived apart for 4 to get this house turned into South Court Inn B&B (I had a friend’s basement room in the DC area during the week and came out to Luray on weekends, holiday and vacation time to work on the house and business, while Anita was here full time from Sept 1997 on.) we are always glad to share the success of somebody else’s dream come true. That and the fact that it is such a great artistic asset to the Town is why I choose to encourage you to make sure you visit the Warehouse Art Gallery every time you visit the Town of Luray.

The Warehouse Art Gallery was the dream of one man: Jim Mayes.  He opened the gallery in 2002 and has stuck with it through thick and thin.  He solicited artists to display at the gallery and has added more and more artists and types of art as time passed.  Today the gallery is a fantastic collection of art from artists across the Shenandoah Valley.  You’ll especially appreciate the various types of art…pottery, oil, pastels, mixed media, sculpture, photographs, mobiles, jewelery and much more.  Jim is constantly out looking for new and challenging artists and art forms.

You’ll want to check out the Warehouse Art Gallery web site for special events such as music jams Jim pulls together periodically and his bring your lunch program.  Pick up a sandwich and drink at a local restaurant and take advantage of the tables set up throughout the gallery.  It is a break from the usual lunch scene and a chance to enjoy a longer view of the artworks on display.

Some of the sculpture exhibited at the Warehouse Art Gallery, Luray, Virginia

Good morning!  Just got guests on their way home and came up to see if I can get this updated posted before noon.

Today I want to tell you about the Singing Tower of Luray. It sets in a park just South of  RT 211, opposite the entrance to Luray Caverns, and houses a carillon of 47 bells ranging in size from nearly 4 tons to only 12 pounds.  The park is a great place to take a break, enjoy a picnic or listen to a concert of the bells.

The timing on carillon concerts varies throughout the year, so here’s a listing to let you know whether there will be a concert during your visit:

April, May, September and October – Saturdays and Sundays at 2:00 PM

June, July and August – Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 8:00 PM

Easter Sunday for Sunrise Services

Labor Day at 12:00 Noon

Sunday before Christmas at 4:00 PM

Good morning!  Today I want to talk about insights into our history and the opportunity you have to enjoy relics of the past as part of your visit to Luray.  So, I choose a visit to the properties owned by the Page County Heritage Association in Hamburg, today only a small cluster of homes and buildings about two miles outside Luray.  There you’ll find the Association’s Calendine Museum set up in the house  once owned by famed sculptors William Randolph Barbee and his son Herbert, along with the Mauck “meeting house” (a place where those not members of the Episcopal Church when the Church was the Official State Church could meet with fear of problems with the local constabulary) which dates from the mid-1700s and the Hamburg Store which recreates a well-stocked “country store” circa 1940s.

In Calendine, the Association displays lots of items from Page County and its residents dating all the way back to Colonial times.  If you’ve forgotten that our early settlers actually wore some pretty bright clothing rather than just the dark black so often (wrongly) attributed to the Pilgrims, keep an eye out for the bright yellow deerskin pants from the frontier times and the hole in them where the musket ball injured the wearer in battle.  In the kitchen you’ll get a chance to examine up close one of the few surviving “Pennybacker” stoves and marvel at the good quality of ironwork being turned out by Pennybacker’s furnace right here in Luray in 1799.

The Mauch Meeting House and the Hamburg Store are directly across the street from Calendine and worth the effort to see, as well.

NOTE TO READER:  These Association’s buildings are open the 2nd Saturday of each month June through Oct, and by special request in advance of your visit, so do visit their web site for details and try to see these properties when you are here.

Keep in mind as well that the Association opens all 3 buildings during the Page County Heritage Festival, scheduled for 8 & 9 Oct 2010 at the Page County Fairgrounds in Luray, and on the 1st Sunday of December each year, when it hosts a community sing along with guest visitors singing.  Come enjoy an “old time” sing in the Mauck Meeting House and refreshments at Calendine afterward.

Good morning!  As promised, I’m up and going early to make sure I can post a comment about Things to Do in Luray.   But first, I have to tell you that we finally got rain last night!   I have not been out to get the paper yet, but I am hoping it came in time to rescue some of our black-eyed Susans.  I’d sure like to see that sea of yellow begin to break across the front garden beds.

Now, let me tell you about the BB&T Center for Performing Arts Luray .  It began about 6 years ago with the idea of converting a large bank building in downtown Luray to a center where performing artists could share their love of music, stage and performance with the public.  The group formed a non-profit corporation, started raising funds and approached BB&T Bank about buying the building.   It took a keen bit of negotiation, but they were successful and have been open for several years, presenting concerts, plays, improv and live mike nights for everyone to enjoy.

Right now, they are working on a Children’s Theater presentation of Charlotte’s Web scheduled for the end of July and early August.  In September, they have  scheduled an evening of  classical music, another of blues  and on 25 September, they will host their inaugural Chili Cook-Off, Car Show and Beer Garden.  In short, there’s an activity at the Center several times each month and you’ll be surprised at the quality of the performances!

And, of course, we hope you will remember that South Court Inn caters to couples.   We strive to provide accommodations and an atmosphere where you can slow down and have time to recall those special things that brought the two of you together.  Whenever you head in this direction, we hope you will come stay with us here at South Court Inn…and see if there is something going on at the BB&B Center for Performing Arts of Luray!

Good morning!  Looking for an upside to the weather?  Well, aside from the fact that the forecasters are promising some relief in the next day or so, the upside for me is that I’m reminded that I need to be more active on this blog.  So today I’m posting the first of what will become 10 postings on my listing of the Top 10 Things to Do in Luray VA … things you should plan to see or do when you visit South Court Inn and the Luray, VA area.

I  have to admit that my own title here scares me just a bit.  All too often, lists of 10 whatevers become newspaper or magazine articles.  That works out well for the reader who can pick up the paper product and resume reading from where they left off.  I, however, find long on-line articles more challenging, so I’m doing this one suggested activity at a time.  I hope you’ll come back to read my daily posting and let me know if there is something you think I’ve missed.

So, with all that said, what is the #10 thing I recommend you plan as part of your visit to Luray?  Visit the Luray Zoo! The zoo has a large collection of animals and offers daily outdoor presentations and demonstrations from April through October.  You’ll get the chance to see birds of prey, the tiger, lots of reptiles and outdoor animals.  There is lots for the kids to enjoy and the price is right.

When we lived in the Washington DC area, I always enjoyed visiting the reptile building at the National Zoo.  Growing up in rural eastern North Carolina, I was accustomed to encountering snakes in the woods and fields.  It was always fascinating to come across them and observe their behavior.  But I had a real Ah Ha moment when we moved to Luray and I visited the Luray Zoo.  As it turns out, it has a snake collection that rivals or maybe even exceeds that of the National Zoo.    You see, the Luray Zoo is  a rescue haven for abused and illegally imported animals, particularly reptiles.  When police and animal rescue organizations throughout the tri-state area find themselves holding snakes and other reptiles and need to find a home for them, many contact the Luray Zoo immediately.  So, when you are in Luray, plan a visit to the zoo and enjoy the wide range of programs they offer and enjoy an opportunity to view an exceptionally large collection of  rare and exotic reptiles too boot!

So, mark that on you list of activities for your visit to Luray, VA, and return tomorrow when I discuss #9 on my list of 10 Things to Do in Luray, VA!  Cheers, Tom