If you venture to New Town on Thursday’s, check out the New Town Farmer’s Market. It runs Thursday’s through the end of August from 3-7pm at the Gazebo (corner of Ironbound and Monticello). Rain or shine!
“The market will include fresh local produce, herbs, baked goods, herbs, specialty cut flowers, handmade soaps, jam, jellies, cheese, fresh meat and seafood, and more!”
It’s a cute little market. Check it out!
*** Update! Tonight (8/28) is the last New Town Farmer’s Market of this summer! ***
Author Walter Mosley will be coming to our area in October. For those interested in his writings, more details can be found at the York County Public Library site!
Have you read the Toano-Norge Times yet? I’ve been an avid reader of this newspaper since it’s startup a couple years ago. I loved the novelty of a true community newspaper. At first it was free, but now there is a fee – unless you read it online! Check out their website and visit the Online Edition section to have a look. It’s really a charming paper, and if you live near Toano or Norge I’m sure you will find some kind of intriguing news. I also credit an ad in this paper for leading me to adopt my first kitty! Take a few minutes to check it out – you may just find a new source of local news to check often!
From the Inside Business publication, August 25th edition:
Mermaid Books, a rare and used bookstore in Williamsburg, is set to close its doors by next spring unless the business is purchased, according to reports in the Daily Press.
Owner of Wilson’s The Leather Experts announced earlier this month it’s going out of business and will liquidate its 100 mall locations by the fall. The company operates three locations in Virginia, including an outlet location in Williamsburg.
I’ve never been to Mermaid Books, but now I’m intrigued! Check out Mermaid Books’ website here.
Wilson’s Leather can be found at the Prime Outlets. Check out their company website here.
Have you ever been to Mermaid Books or Wilson’s Leather? What was your experience like? What do you think of the possibility of Mermaid Books closing, and the imminent closing of Wilson’s Leather?
Here’s a fun tool for vacationers and residents alike:
If you’re heading out on the road and don’t want to sit in traffic for an hour, check the VDOT 511 site before you leave for road delays. It’s a handy little tool that can save you a lot of hassle!
I don’t know much about deer hunting in the area, but this article from the Daily Press about a local development caught my eye:
JCC neighborhood pointedly debates proposed deer hunt
Some Stonehouse residents call the animals nuisances. Others allege a plot by hunting fans.By NICOLAS ZIMMERMAN | 247-4760
August 17, 2008JAMES CITY – A controversial proposal to manage the local deer population is pitting man against beast and neighbor against neighbor in James City County.
The proposal under consideration by the Stonehouse neighborhood’s board of directors would bring in a local hunt club, under the auspices of a Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries program, to conduct managed deer hunts in the upscale subdivision of about 1,000.
Oh, and the hunts would be carried out with bow and arrow.
The board formed an advisory group this year to explore culling deer after several residents complained that the animals were using their gardens as personal buffet lines.
Al Ford, who’s lived in Stonehouse for seven years, said he’s tried everything from commercial deer repellent to spreading human hair across his property — to no avail.
“They’ve been eating my plants, several have been hit by cars in the community and I think they’re just multiplying rapidly,” Ford said. “Of course, we’re continuing to build houses in here, so their space is limited. I think it’s natural they come up near the houses. They’re pretty brazen.”
Ford said that he could never kill a deer himself but that he’s in favor of bringing in the Oak Tree Hunt Club, which has about 60 members who now hunt on land adjoining Stonehouse.
If the board votes to authorize the cull, possibly in mid-September, it would first have to apply for a permit under Virginia’s Deer Population Reduction Program.
The plan also would need to be sanctioned by James City County’s chief of police, said Tom Proctor, a member of the board and its liaison to an ad hoc citizens’ deer-management advisory group.
At a town hall-style meeting at Stonehouse recently, Tom Turner, a Virginia State Police captain and a member of Oak Tree, explained how the club would carry out the managed kill — if asked.
He described how the hunters prepare the carcass before donating its hide to the Jamestown Foundation and the meat to the club’s members or indigent families.
Tempers flared during his presentation when an observer gasped at his graphic descriptions and fled the room. One woman interrupted Turner’s presentation to ask him to tone down his descriptions.
“Do you see marauding deer?” Helen “Lainie” Haferasked another resident outside the meeting. “What’s next? Rabbits, mice and possums?”
The outbursts were emblematic of the struggle that has gripped the subdivision as partisans trade accusations of conspiracy, secrecy and hypocrisy.
In an e-mail sent to every Stonehouse homeowner, one resident accused a small cadre of hunting enthusiasts of trying to push through the initiative without input from the larger community.
“We moved out here not only to be away from the traffic and the noise and the floods and hurricanes, but to come up here where it’s a little more peaceful and quiet and we’re close to nature,” Brad Purvis said. “The fact remains that some of the planning for this has taken place without the general knowledge of a lot of the residents of this community. A lot of it has been kept on the QT — that’s my opinion.”
But Proctor said the group had no hidden agenda. No decisions have been made, he said, and none will be made until results of a neighborhood survey are tabulated and input is received from a state deer biologist.
All hunting would be done during daylight from stationary tree stands at least 300 feet from any building or public road, Proctor said.
Residents wouldn’t even know the hunters were there unless they actively searched them out, he said.
He blamed an “opinionated, uninformed” group of residents for concocting conspiracy theories and spreading false rumors.
“There is no hidden agenda, no secrecy,” Proctor said.
“The board is going to do what’s good for the overall interest of the residents of Stonehouse.
If it’s our perception, based on a number of components, that it’s just not time or it’s never going to be time to go in the direction of a managed deer hunt, then it won’t happen.”
What’s your opinion?
Williamsburg is finally getting a Trader Joe’s! While shopping at the Newport News location, friendly staff told us the one in New Town is scheduled to open September 26th. I can’t wait!
* Updated to add: John Womeldorf from MrWilliamsburg.com recently posted photos of the site with more details. Check it out!
Have you ever been to Pirate’s Cove Mini Golf on Bypass and Mooretown (by K-Mart)? It’s one of my favorite mini golf courses I’ve ever played on. I’m totally into the pirate theme, and every hole has a sign with an interesting fact about some pirate. There are two different courses here, “Captain’s Course” or “Blackbeard’s Challenge”and if you’re really feisty, you can play them both for a discounted price. This place is almost always hoppin’, but for good reason – it’s well worth a visit! Pirate’s Cove is also right next to Dairy Queen, so you can walk over after your game and have a hot fudge sundae or a Blizzard! I suggest this for a casual date, or a night out with the family. I mean, pirates, mini-golf, and DQ? You can’t go wrong with that combo!
I’ve found that Shelley Rauch’s blog on DailyPress.com is usually pretty dead-on when it comes to restaurant reviews. She has reviewed quite a few Williamsburg eateries, as well as others on the peninsula. If you’re looking for a good place to eat, check out her blog for advice on where to go and where to avoid!
