Arts & Entertainment

Olivia Persinger of Raphine made the fall dean’s list at the College of Arts & Sciences, Baylor. -Caroline Joyner of Lexington was named to the fall dean’s list at Dickinson College. -The following people recently were initiated into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. All are from Buena Vista and attend Southern Virginia University.

Timely Topics

Two area residents received degrees during Radford University’s 2022 winter commencement exercises on Dec. 9-10.

Students from Waddell Elementary and Lylburn Downing Middle School participated in the 2023 Virginia State Chess Championships in Norfolk on March 25-26. The team from Lylburn Downing finished in first place in the K-8 under 1,200 division. The Trojans dominated a competitive field of 19 teams, finishing first with 13 points, a full two points ahead of the second-place team. Pictured at left with their team and individual trophies are (from left to right) Graham Shester, Elliott Allen, Edison Rahl, and Sammy Eastwood. Missing from the picture is teammate Luke Drumbl. The team from Waddell finished in fourth place out of 11 teams in the K-5 under 1,000 division. Pictured at right with their team trophy are Alex Eastwood and Theo Rahl. Missing from the picture is teammate Gibson Fox.

The members of Cats Unlimited have begun preparing for their 18th annual “Catapalooza” yard sale to be held at the Sam Houston Ruritan Club Auction Barn north of Lexington on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 15-16. They are currently seeking donations to be sold during the event, such as accessories, electrical appliances, artwork, antiques, books, CDs, DVDs, crafts, tools, housewares, Christmas and other seasonal items, jewelry, kitchen items (dishes, glassware, utensils, baking dishes), linens, pet items, “picker” items, toys, yard decorations, garden implements, sports and exercise equipment, etc.

The Brownsburg Ruritan Club will be hosting its first Rockbridge County Corn Hole Tournament this Saturday, April 29, at the Whistle Hollow Farm located at 2488 Borden Grant Trail, Fairfield.

John Adamson (right), the new owner of the Grands Home Furnishings building, speaks with members of the community – including Morgan Roper (center), incoming executive director of the Historic Lexington Foundation – at a Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours reception in the former furniture store last Thursday. Adamson met with members of the community during the reception to hear their ideas on how the space could be used. He said he does not currently have any specific ideas for the building, but he plans for the lower floor of the building to remain a retail space. (Joseph Haney photo)

International Chairman Pays Visit

Karyn Gardner, (540) 228-2176, (540) 655-3646 [email protected]

Lower Campsites To Open In July

Rachel Clark, (630) 607-9938 [email protected]

Members of the RCHS community gathered at The Seclusion April 19 to honor educators at the 2023 RCHS PTSA Wildcat Inspiration Awards. Each year the PTSA invites senior students to nominate an adult in the RCPS/LCPS community who has inspired, challenged or encouraged them during their school career, and this year six educators were honored: David Miller, teacher and coach at RCHS; Katelyn Nicely, fifth grade teacher at Fairfield Elementary; Jessika Crance, special education teacher at RCHS; Heather Kilgore, former English teacher at LDMS; Ariadne Paxton, environmental science teacher at RCHS; and Robyn Sherman, CTE supervisor at RCHS. Pictured are (from left) Paxton, RCHS senior Destiny Breeden, Kilgore, RCHS senior Meg Liwag, Miller, RCHS senior Sofia Vargas, Nicely, Crance, and RCHS senior Anna Rhodenizer. “The PTSA extends its sincere gratitude to Brian Daniel at The Seclusion for hosting the event, as well as members of the RCPS and LCPS school boards for joining us for this special evening,” said a spokeswoman. (photo courtesy of Lexington Superintendent Rebecca Walters)

Attendees of Lexington’s Historic Garden Week tour Saturday check out the dining room at Stonegate, one of the four Lexington properties on this year’s tour sponsored by the Blue Ridge Garden Club. Despite the off-and-on rain that day, approximately 400 people toured the homes and gardens. (Mary Woodson photo)

HLF Plans Workshop At Church

HLF Presents Founders Awards At Annual Meeting

Esther Pennington, 540-291-2629

Rachel Clark, (630) 607-9938 [email protected]

An HUF Celebration

Wednesday, April 19

Plans are well underway for the sixth annual Balloons Over Rockbridge Festival on July 1-2 at the Oak Hill Property of the Virginia Horse Center.

Two artists share the exhibit space at Nelson Gallery for April, Kathryn Tucker and Maren Nixon.