The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Earned Media Coverage - September 25, 2014

The Colonial Williamsburg FoundationEarned Media Coverage

September 18, 2014

http://apartment34.com/2014/09/great-taste-in-the-revolutionary-city/

Great Taste in the Revolutionary City

9/18/2014

There aren’t many things I love more than travel and good food. The best scenario is when the two combine! So when I had the opportunity to jetset across the country to attend Colonial Williamburg The Taste Tradition food festival over Labor Day, I jumped at the chance. Fine dining & cooking lessons with a little American heritage thrown in on the side? Sounded damn fine to me! So off we went to learn about historically influenced culinary traditions, drink good wine {and bourbon!} and generally have a fab time staying in one of the nation’s most unique desinations.

Throughout Colonial Williamsburg The Taste Tradition program, which ran from Friday-Sunday and was spread across some gorgeous hotels and outdoor locations, we had the opportunity to interact with a ton of cool food experts. We chatted with everyone from wine and spirits makers to chocolatiers, cheese makers, mushroom growers and of course, some really amazing chefs. The locavore, seasonal, quality ingredient food movement is really taking hold in the area which was SO fun to see!


I think my favorite seminar had to be with Colonial Wiliamsburg Executive Chef Rhys Lewis. Chef Lewis focused on creating great dishes straight from your garden {or your farmers market should you live in a loft like us!}. The CIA trained chef was not only unbelievably knowledgeable but also hilarious! He had so many great tips: for example did you know that you should use double the amount of fresh herbs for dried {and fresh are always preferred!} or that you can plant your own bay leaf tree?! I certainly didn’t know you could! Instead of buying dried leaves in a $7 jar how fun would it be to just pick your own? Adding to the wish list.



But must importantly, I took home recipes for some incredible dishes from Chef Lewis. My favorites included Carrot Almond Soup, Late Summer Vegetable Hopping John and Swiss Chard Banana Ice Cream. That’s right. I said Swiss Chard. I ate vegetable ice cream and I LOVED IT!

We also got to dive into the world of spirits at a Bourbon Tasting hosted by Garden and Gun Magazine {if you don’t know it, find yourself a copy now. It’s like a cross between Elle Decor and Gourmet for the South and I am OBSESSED!}. There we had the pleasure of hearing from the founders of the Bourbon Review who know pretty much everything there is to know about Bourbon. Like, it is in fact a whiskey, but not all whiskey is bourbon. What qualifies as bourbon {the good stuff is 80% corn & 80% proof} is actually regulated by U.S. law! I think the husband enjoyed this session a bit more than I did, but it certainly got me excited to expand my palette for bourbon-based cocktails.

I couldn’t recommend attending a food festival right before fall enough. The desire to nest is settling in big. After experiencing all that wonderful culinary inspiration I’ve been itching to get back in my kitchen and start whipping up hearty fall dishes {I’m saving favorites here!}.


Don’t think I was going to leave you empty handed. Check out my three favorite recipes from our weekend at Colonial Williamsburg Taste Tradition below!

Carrot Almond Soup

Ingredients:

1 lb carrots, peeled & diced 1 spanish onion, finely diced 1/2 C whole almonds 1 T ginger, peeled and chopped 1 T garlic, chopped 6-8 springs fresh thyme, stemmed and chopped 2 oz whole butter 1 fresh bay leaf 6 C vegetable stock

Melt the whole butter in heavy bottom pot and saute the carrots and onions over medium low heat for 4-5 minutes without browning. Add the ginger, garlic, thyme and the bay leaf and saute another 2-3 minutes. Add the vegetable stock and bring to a simmer and cook until the arrots are tender. Blend in a blender until smooth. Use caution when blending hot liquids by leaving an air gap to allow steam to escape. Season to taste with salt & pepper and serve warm. ____________________________________________________________________________

Late Summer Vegetable Hopping John

Ingredients:

1 C jasmine rice 1 C filed peas, cooked until tender 1 spanish onions, peeled & diced 1 stalk celery, diced 1 C carrots, diced 1 red bell pepper, diced 1 green bell pepper, diced 1 zucchini squah, diced 1 yellow squash, diced 1 T chopped garlic 1 oz butter 1 fresh bay leaf 2 C vegetable stock salt and pepper to taste

In a large stainless steel sauce pot melt the butter and saute onions, celery, carrots, bell peppers over medium low heat until tender but not brown. Add the zucchini & summer squash, garlic and cook until the vegetables are tender. Remove the vegetables to a 2 inch pan to cool. In the same pot combine the rice, the fresh bay leaf and the vegetable stock and season to taste with salt & pepper. Simmer until the rice is tender and fold in the previously cooked vegetables and the field peas. Serve warm! ____________________________________________________________________________

“Going Bananas” Swiss Chard Ice Cream

Ingredients:

1 bunch swiss chard, washed & stemmed 2 T butter unsalted 2 C banana sliced 3 C Whole Milk 3/4 C sugar 4 egg yolks 1 C heavy cream 1 t vanilla

Blanch swiss chard in a pot of simmering water until it’s wilted but still colorful and remove with a slotted spoon to an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Wrap swiss chard in a paper towel and squeeze out the moisture and reserve it. Place 1 oz butter in heavy bottom sauce pot and add 2oz sugar and the bananas, cooking over medium heat until the bananas are soft. Combine the milk and 4 oz sugar in heavy bottom sauce pot and bring to a simmer. Place the egg yolks in a mixing bowl and tmeber in the hot milk in 1/3 increments and return the mix to the sauce pot and heat until you hit 165 degrees.


Quickly transfer the mix into a clean bowl over ice and the vanilla the heavy cream and teh cooked bananas and stir until chilled.

Place the swiss chard in a blender with the ice cream mix and blend 30-40 seconds until smooth. Strain it through a china cap and freeze in an ice cream maker until firm. Allow to set for 4-6 hours.

Brought to you by Colonial Williamsburg. With so much to do, stay and make some history. Book your trip at colonialwilliamsburg.com. Thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. Thanks for supporting posts that keep Apartment 34 alive!

http://www.examiner.com/article/colonial-williamsburg-s-glen-byrnes-discusses-golden-horseshoe-and-more

Colonial Williamsburg's Glen Byrnes discusses Golden Horseshoe and more

9.23.2014

For almost three decades, Glen Byrnes has called Golden Horseshoe Golf Club in Colonial Williamsburg home. Byrnes has been witness to many changes but one thing remains constant at Golden Horseshoe. It's a fantastic place to play golf and soak up some American history. Byrnes is in charge of golf, tennis and the spa at Colonial Williamsburg and he puts his heart and soul into making sure visitors from all over the globe, including Queen Elizabeth II get the best treatment that is possible from this location, that at one time was the heart of the Virginia Colony.

Byrnes has learned that he's not only the caretaker of golf courses, a tennis facility and a world class spa in Williamsburg, he also is a caretaker of American history.

"I have learned more and more about the significant role Williamsburg played in the founding of this country, and then I add to that Colonial Williamsburg’s golf tradition and I couldn’t help but develop a passion for the whole experience," explains Byrnes.

The land that Golden Horseshoe sits on can be traced back to the 1716 expedition led by Governor Alexander Spotswood. This expedition included 63 Spotswood and 63 additional men that set out to explore the western reaches of Virginia.

Now for 50 years, Golden Horseshoe has been tabbed as one of America’s Greatest 100 Courses.


"Think about that," says Byrnes. "Consider the proliferation of golf courses built in the last 25 years; it’s astonishing we continue to make that list. The Golden Horseshoe does not have elaborate facilities; our clubhouse is still the original."

It's a tribute to Byrnes, his team and golfers that play this course each and every day, that have made it a "timeless classic" and a course players can enjoy over and over again.

Byrnes took time to sit down and answer some more questions about this club that is a non-proft, where all the profits earned go back to the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

Q: 2013 marked the 50th Anniversary of the Golden Horseshoe Golf Club, when did golf first appear in Williamsburg?

A: Actually, death inventories from the 17th century for the Tidewater area of Virginia list golf clubs and sticks and “featheries,” which were the earliest golf balls, so golf in this area goes back to the early Scotsmen who came to the New World and brought the game with them. In modern times, though, John D. Rockefeller Jr. wanted a nine-hole course built when the Williamsburg inn was completed in 1937. He believed in offering a variety of experiences to guests who visited the area. Fred Findlay, a Scotsman who was the greens keeper at the Country Club of Virginia, was hired to design the course. World Word II intervened, and the plans had to be shelved until after the war. Following the war, golf was seen as a way to drive business to the area, and so the nine-hole Williamsburg Inn golf course was built, opening on June 15, 1947.

Q: How did that original golf course lead to the development of what is now the Golden Horseshoe Golf Club?

A: In the 1950s, golf became more and more popular, but frankly the original golf course was not the caliber that would attract golfers. It became more important to the Rockefellers and Colonial Williamsburg to have a championship course. Robert Trent Jones Sr., who had worked on other Rockefeller properties, was hired to design what was named the Golden Horseshoe Golf Couse, which opened to the public on Sept. 11, 1963. The new 18-hole course was built using some of the land on which the original course had been built. Rockefeller later had Jones reconfigure the original nine-hole course into an executive-length course that is now the Spotswood Course, which opened in 1964. It was very creative of Rockefeller and Jones to preserve the land for golf, rather than just letting the course disappear.

Q: Talk about the Jones family – first Robert Trent Jones Sr. and then his son Rees Jones – playing such a significant role in the history of the golf courses at the Golden Horseshoe?

A: Robert Trent Jones Sr. worked with the Rockefeller family early in his career and had a very distinguished reputation as a golf course architect. People would travel long distances to play a Jones golf course, and so there was quite a buzz – even in those days – around the Golden Horseshoe, which Jones called his “finest design” when it opened. One of the first attendees in the media called it, “a course worthy hosting its own Masters.” It always has been known as a stunning golf course.

Years later, as golf boomed in the 1980s, more business was conducted on fairways than in board rooms. Colonial Williamsburg soon found that when a corporation booked the entire golf course for an


event, other guests were disappointed there was no availability for them to play golf. That thus, the decision was made to build a second 18-hole golf course. By this time, Jones Sr.’s son Rees Jones had earned his own reputation as a golf course designer. Since families have always been important to Colonial Williamsburg, having the son design the new course seemed to be a perfect fit. When Rees Jones reconfigured the design of the Gold Course in 1998, he showed great respect for his father’s work, keeping the spirit of the course’s challenges while subtly adapting the design to contemporary standards.

Q: Colonial Williamsburg really has seen it all and had many important links to the legacy of the game?

A: The Golden Horseshoe has hosted several tournaments, including four USGA championships –Yana Tseng won the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links in 2004 by defeating Michelle Wie in the final match – and the NCAA Men’s Championship in 2007. And, here’s a fun fact, from 1983 to 1997, silversmiths from Colonial Williamsburg’s silver production shop made the Ryder Cup Trophy replicas presented to the captain of the winning team and to the course that hosted the tournament. Products silversmiths also made the only full-sized replica of the Wannamaker trophy designed to withstand the rigors of the tournament trail. The original was retired due to damage and the fragility of the trophy. During this same period, the silversmiths also made smaller replicas the PGA presented to the tournament winner and to the host course.

He added, "we love hosting events and we are always on the lookout for different and new events to bring to the Golden Horseshoe."

Byrnes also want to make sure visitors don't forget about tennis and The Spa of Williamsburg.

The top-rated spa in Virginia offers steam rooms, a signature shower, plenty of whirlpools and relaxation lounges to accompany just about any spa treatment one would desire.

Byrnes says that the spa is all about relaxation and a chance to refresh your body, mind and soul.

Byrnes essentially runs a small business that is part of a big conglomerate. As I noted, all profits from his divisions are put to good use. Seeing that what is offered in Colonial Williamsburg continues for generations to come.

Check out more at www.colonialwilliamsburg.com and more about what Byrnes has to offer in terms of golf, tennis and the spa at http://www.colonialwilliamsburg.com/do/wellness-and-recreation/golf.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/colonial-williamsburg-sells-carters-grove-plantation-after-bankruptcy/2014/09/19/ebe79418-403b-11e4-b0ea-8141703bbf6f_story.html

Colonial Williamsburg sells Carter’s Grove Plantation after bankruptcy

By Susan Svrluga

9.19.2014

For centuries, Carter’s Grove Plantation served as an imposing symbol of Virginia’s rich history. The

mansion is considered one of the finest examples of Georgian architecture in the country, and the nearly

500 acres that surround it include not only sweeping views of the James River but also archaeological

remains of a doomed English settlement from the 17th century.

But in recent years, it also became a cautionary tale about the challenge and expense of maintaining

historic properties — as well as the volatility of self-made fortunes — as it fell into neglect under private

ownership.

On Friday, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation announced a new owner for the national historic

landmark a few miles south of Williamsburg: Samuel Mencoff, a co-chief executive of a prominent

private equity investment firm in Chicago who is known for preservation projects, bought Carter’s Grove

for $7.5 million.

“The property is in the hands of somebody who is going to preserve it, take care of it,” said Colin G.

Campbell, president and chief executive of the foundation.

When Carter’s Grove was built in 1750, its location and elegant craftsmanship would telegraph to

visitors that its owners were extremely wealthy and important, said Matt Webster, director of

architectural preservation for the foundation. Everything from the quality of the mortar and brick to the

elaborate pine paneling, parquet floors and grand central staircase was of the highest quality at the

time, he said, with an attention to detail extending to carving tiny wooden fleurs-de-lis and stars to

cover the nail holes in the stairs.


“For someone coming through the door, this would read like a book to you,” Webster said. “You would

understand all these details to tell you about the people that lived there.”

The property, in private hands for hundreds of years, was donated in the 1960s to the Williamsburg

foundation, which opened it to the public and did archaeological work on the grounds. But the estate

was expensive to maintain, Campbell said.

The foundation closed it and sold it in 2007 — with conservation easements designed to protect the

house and most of the land — to Halsey Minor, a tech entrepreneur whose family had deep Virginia

roots.

When Minor’s self-made fortune crashed, the property fell into neglect, with some simple maintenance

work left undone.

A spokeswoman said Friday that Minor would not comment on personal matters.

After Minor’s limited liability company filed for bankruptcy in 2011, the Williamsburg foundation took

over the needed repairs.

Water had seeped from clogged gutters and worn-out flashing on the roof, damaging plaster and brick.

The elements that defined the house were nearly lost, Webster said, but the foundation was able to

make repairs in time.

The plantation was on the market for a year, with a nearly $15 million asking price, but no offers were

made. At a public auction this spring, only Colonial Williamsburg bid on Carter’s Grove.

The sales price to Mencoff covers the expenses paid by the Williamsburg foundation during the

bankruptcy process and the outstanding principal balance on the mortgage loan to the previous owner,

according to Campbell.

“It’s in excellent shape. I think now it probably exceeds the condition it was in before all the drama,”

said Megan Melinat with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/struggling-to-attract-visitors-historic-houses-may-face-day-of-reckoning/2012/12/22/349116b6-4b93-11e2-a6a6-aabac85e8036_story.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/the-sorry-fate-of-a-tech-pioneer-halsey-minor-and-historic-virginia-estate-carters-grove/2012/05/30/gJQAwdJG4U_story.html


“I was worried about it all the time,” said Ivor Noel Hume, who did extensive research such as

documenting early grave sites as an archaeologist for Colonial Williamsburg years ago and was sorry to

see it sold. “I am cautiously optimistic.”

Mencoff was not available to comment Friday, according to a spokesman. In a statement, he said he and

his family were honored to take on stewardship of the property and that he and his team would work

closely with Colonial Williamsburg to preserve it.

“Carter’s Grove is a treasure,” he said, “in many ways chronicling the history of the New World.”

[Type text]

http://images.burrellesluce.com/image/2210AA/2210AA_8727

[Type text]


[Type text]






http://wydaily.com/2014/09/20/history-music-in-harmony-for-colonial-williamsburg-early-music-festival?cat=localnews/neighbors/localnews/

History, Music in Harmony for Colonial Williamsburg Early Music Festival

By Hannah S. Ostroff

9.20.2014

Just as interpreters breathe life into the past at Colonial Williamsburg, the music resonating from a harpsichord makes the halls of historical buildings come alive as they would have hundreds of years ago.

Visitors can partake in the sensory lesson at the foundation’s Early Music Festival. It starts Tuesday and runs through Friday with a mix of concerts, lectures and fully staged musical.

Jane Hanson, supervisor of music and dance for the foundation, said the festival is a way for 21st-century guests to connect with 18th-century ancestors.

“’That the future may learn from the past’ is the motto for Colonial Williamsburg, and I often think that music is just one of many ways to teach about the past,” she said. “It’s a way that people can emotionally experience the past, they can audibly experience the past.”

This is the fifth iteration of the event, which started as a celebration of Handel and the next year expanded its musical scope. In the years since, Hanson and other organizers have learned what helps make the festival most successful.


One of those lessons was to market to a local audience. Hanson remembers trying to generate interest in the foundation’s music programs and not finding local enthusiasm in years past. While small venues limited residents’ access to concerts and other events, she has seen a recent influx of activities to connect locals with the living history museum.

“I think local people for a long time have somehow figured that Colonial Williamsburg was for outside people,” Hanson said. “Maybe we’re beginning to bridge that.”

Also new this year is a connection between afternoon and evening programs. They were unrelated in the past, but now lectures earlier in the day will give guests insight into the people and time period of the music they hear at night.

In this year’s programming, Hanson is most looking forward to Wednesday’s viol concert and the show “Thomas and Sally” on Thursday.

The viol, or viola da gamba, is a predecessor of the violin that was popular in Renaissance and Baroque music. This week’s program at the Capitol will feature four of the instruments being played at once, a sound hitherto unheard in Colonial Williamsburg.

Hanson said this is also the first time in 30 years the foundation has mounted a full musical production. The piece is an hour long and completely sung, with accompaniment provided by the foundation’s resident early music ensemble, The Governor’s Musick.

“It is a hoot,” Hanson said of the show. “It is a rollicking comedy. It’s got very little plot, lots of fun little songs.”

The play’s first documented performance was in 1770 in Williamsburg, and Hanson said George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were in attendance.


“It’s allowing the visitor to put themselves in a seat that was a seat that might have been sat in by Thomas Jefferson,” Hanson said.

Festival Events:

Peter Pelham and Cuthbert Ogle: Rivals or Colleagues?: 2 p.m. Tuesday at Hennage Auditorium.

Colonial Williamsburg harpsichordist Michael Monaco explores the relationship between London concertmaster Cuthbert Ogle and contemporary musician Peter Pelham. Ogle is believed to have arrived on the ship carrying the Bruton Parish organ, but died suddenly six weeks later.

Monaco will perform selections from the inventory of Ogle’s estate.

Museum admission is required.

Palace Concert: From the Collection—“The Ogle Inventory”: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Governor’s Palace.

The Governor’s Musick, Colonial Williamsburg’s resident performing ensemble, will perform an opening concert on 16th- and 18th-century instruments. Selections will come from the surviving inventory of music teacher and London concertmaster Cuthbert Ogle, followed by a question and answer session with the musicians.

Tickets are $25 each.

Music of Virginia: The First 100 Years: 2 p.m. Wednesday at Hennage Auditorium.

Sarah Glosson, of The Governor’s Musick and The College of William & Mary, will present a talk on the musical life of early Virginia. She will use information from letters, inventories, and archaeolgical excavations to describe the musical landscape, as well as perform on viola da gamba.

Museum admission is required, and the event tickets are $5 each.

Music for Viols in Concert: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Capitol Hall of Burgesses.

Multiple viola da gambas will sound in performance, accompanied by a harpsichord. Performers will include Wayne Moss, Sarah Glosson, and Ulysses Kirksey of The Governor’s Musick.


Thomas Arne’s Thomas and Sally and Theater Music in 18th-century America¨2 p.m. Thursday at Hennage Auditorium.


Dr. Sterling E. Murray will speak on how Thomas Arne’s “Thomas and Sally” fit within the context of 18th-century theater.

A professor at the College of William & Mary, Murray will consider how colonial audiences might have experienced the major hit of London’s 1760-61 season. The show quickly made its way to the colonies with traveling theater troupes.

Museum admission is required, and the event tickets are $5 each.

Thomas and Sally; or the Sailor’s Return by Thomas Arne: 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Kimball Theatre.

“Thomas and Sally,” the first fully sung English play performed on the American stage, returns to Williamsburg where it was first documented performance was in 1770. Historically, it would have followed a full five-act comedy or tragedy.

Tickets are $19 for those ages 13 and older, $9.50 for children ages 6 to 12 and free for children younger than 6.

George Washington: Music for the First President: 2 p.m. Friday at Hennage Auditorium.

David and Ginger Hildebrand, nationally renowned specialists in early American music, will sing and perform on harpsichord, violin, English guitar, Spanish guitar and hammered dulcimer a program of 18th-century music. The concert will include works performed in Washington’s honor, songs heard at Mount Vernon during his lifetime, tunes he danced to and military ballads.

Museum admission is required, and the event tickets are $10 each for those ages 13 and older, $5 for children ages 6 to 12 and free for children younger than 6.

Palace Concert: The 1766 Concert in Fredericksburg: 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Governor’s Palace.

The Governor’s Musick will create a concert presented Dec. 30, 1766 in Fredericksburg which featured the largest ensemble advertised to perform in 18th-century Virginia. The 10 musicians include full strings, oboe, horn and harpsichord.

A reception will follow the concert.


For more information and to purchase tickets for events, visit the Colonial Williamsburg website.

http://wydaily.com/2014/09/22/shindig-at-jamestown-to-benefit-archaeology-with-barbecue-bluegrass?cat=hometown/

ShinDIG at Jamestown to Benefit Archaeology with Barbecue, Bluegrass

By WYDaily Staff

9.22.2014

Barbecue and bluegrass tunes combine along the James River this Thursday to support the study of local history.

The third annual “ShinDIG at Jamestown” will be held on Jamestown Island, featuring live music and dinner provided by Carrot Tree Kitchens.

The event is a benefit for the Jamestown Rediscovery Project at Historic Jamestowne. All proceeds support its archaeological research, educational programs and operations.

Bill Kelso, Historic Jamestowne’s director of archaeology, will take the spotlight on banjo, performing with his group The Who Ever Shows Up Band. The bluegrass ensemble will perform at the Dale House Café, starting at 6:30 p.m.

Gates open for the event at 5:45 p.m.

Tickets must be purchased in advance online. The cost is $30 per person, which includes the barbecue dinner. Beer and wine will also be available for purchase.

Join Colonial Williamsburg’s Edward Joyner every Friday at 4:15 pm for

Career Corner

Tune in to WMBG AM 740

http://www.wmbgradio.com/

http://www.wmbgradio.com/

Documents

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Earned Media Coverage - September 25, 2014