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Tickets: $25 per event, or $100 for season pass.
Each event is from 4-6pm and will have a wine and cheese reception prior to the presentation. ​​​
This winter when it's cold outside, join us inside the warm, historic Long Branch House for a series of educational and thought-provoking presentations by experts.
​​To purchase tickets:
Online: click on button for each event
By Mail: download order form here and mail with a check to us. ​​
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We will confirm receipt of your payment by email. Your tickets will be ‘will call’ at the door of the event.
February 22: 4-6pm
Behind the Scenes of Conservation Easements
Clarke County Conservation Easement Authority
Join us for a frank discussion about conservation easements and how they work in Clarke County. Conservation Easement Authority Chair George Ohrstrom II and County Conservation Planner Lorien Lemmon will lead the talk. Several easement landowners will share their experiences.
What You Will Learn:
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How does the process work, from start to finish?
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What are the benefits of easements for landowners?
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How do easements benefit the community?
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How does the Authority “score” your property?
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What are the tax implications?
This session will also leave plenty of time for questions and answers.
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This presentation is free - please rsvp so we may plan.
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March 1: 4-6pm
African Americans in the Civil War Era
Shenandoah Valley
Jonathan Noyalas, Professor, Shenandoah University
We welcome Jonathan Noyalas, the McCormick Chair in Civil War History and Director, McCormick Civil War Institute at Shenandoah University, as he provides an engaging session on the lives of African Americans living in the Shenandoah Valley during the Civil War era, their navigation on the road to freedom and their role in the fight for freedom during the Civil War. His fields of specialty include Civil War History, and is the author of Slavery and Freedom in the Shenandoah Valley During the Civil War Era.​​​​
March 15: 4-6pm
From Red Truck Bakery to the Next Chapter
Brian Noyes
In this presentation, Brian traces an unconventional journey from a distinguished 30-year career in publishing to reinventing himself as an entrepreneur, founding the successful Red Truck Rural Bakery in Warrenton and Marshall, VA. Blending storytelling with hard earned lessons, his talk explores reinvention, community impact, baking secrets and why retirement sometimes lead to an even more meaningful next chapter.
Brian will have copies of his two
cookbooks, and discuss the next
chapter, a new restaurant venture
in Little Washington.
Book Signing
There will be a book signing after this event
March 22: 4-6pm
New Tools of Thought: Understanding Artificial Intelligence
Hunt Lyman
In this talk, Hunt will offer a clear and approachable introduction to today’s leading AI models, explaining what they can do, where they fall short, and how to use them wisely. Attendees will come away with practical suggestions for trying AI in their own work and daily routines, as well as a few guidelines for what to watch out for as the technology becomes more woven into professional and rural life here in Virginia. He hopes people will come with many questions.
February 1: 4-6pm
Antique Furniture Restoration
Jeff Headley & Steve Hamilton of Headley & Sons
Jeff and Steve will discuss the history and development of Headley & Sons, a family based furniture making and restoration business based in Clarke County. In addition, they will discuss many different furniture pieces copied from Shenandoah Valley based originals seen in the valley as teaching tools including desks, tall clocks, tables and chairs. They will also discuss the influences of the area's unique architecture features seen in the Valley. View their work at https://headleyandsons.com/
February 8: 4-6pm
From Kings to Commoners: a History of Silver in America
William McLeod
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Join William McLeod on a journey of the history of silver, so valued over the ages and in early America as a signs of wealth within a household. From its early stages as works of art only obtainable by the very wealthiest, to craftsmen making artisan pieces for the well heeled, to more standardized manufacturing practices that made it commonplace in households, its design, use and display has changed over America's history. Using pieces at Long Branch and others as examples, he will provide hands on look of different qualities of silver, and their uses and standards.​​​
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