Patricia Palermino American Folk Artist We have known Pat Palermino for many years here in Alexandria and began using her artwork on the cover of the Old Town Crier in the mid 1990’s. Her art work has been associated with Alexandria and Old Town for well over 25 years. Palermino is self-taught and began painting in the 1970’s. When I asked her to define Folk Art, she replied, “It is mainly something that is self-taught. Every piece I paint is different and tells a story.” I am sure that you noticed her painting that adorns this month’s cover-The Boat Parade. She continues, “My love for America is inspiring and patriotic to me. I started painting scenes of America in 1979, capturing its cities, countryside, seacoasts, farmlands, and forests. I use vibrant colors and a cast of playful characters to create an array of magical scenes that combine a whimsical spirit with a hint of nostalgia.” Palermino paints using acrylics which tend to make for vibrant colors and depth in a painting. All of her paintings are cheerful and display a lot of detail. You will notice on our cover that her painting brings to life the Alexandria Boat Parade of Lights. We felt this quite appropriate as this month marks the 20th Anniversary of the Parade. It is an annual spectacle that is the highlight of Old Town’s Annual Scottish Walk that takes place the first weekend of every December in Alexandria. Like most contemporary folk artists, her focus is on happy and historical events and holidays that result in her paintings. She is fascinated with American cities and makes frequent visits to places like New York City and Nantucket to capture what she experiences in her paintings. While she considers New York the starting place of her career, her…
Alexandria Events Dec 2019 FEATURED EVENTS 6TH & 7TH 49th Annual Campagna Center Scottish Christmas Walk Weekend & Parade Parade is December 7th at 11 a.m. Admission: Free for parade and Heather and Greens Sales; $180-$290 for Taste of Scotland; $40 for Holiday Home Tours Throughout Old Town 703-549-0111 Don’t miss Old Town Alexandria’s most spectacular holiday weekend. In 1749, the City of Alexandria was officially established by three Scottish merchants and named after its original founder, John Alexander, also of Scottish descent. Today, the city continues celebrating its heritage with a weekend of festivities. At the Campagna Center’s iconic Scottish Christmas Walk Parade, dozens of Scottish clans dressed in colorful tartans parade through the streets of Old Town, joined by pipe and drum bands from around the region, as well as terriers and hounds. The parade, which takes place rain or shine, begins at St. Asaph and Wolfe Streets and concludes at Market Square with a massed band concert. campagnacenter.org/scottishwalkweekend 7th 20th Anniversary Alexandria Holiday Boat Parade of Lights Parade begins at 5:30 p.m.; Dockside festivities 2 to 8 p.m. Waterfront Park (1 King St.) Admission: Free 703-746-3301 Old Town Alexandria’s historic waterfront will shine for the 20th Anniversary Alexandria Holiday Boat Parade of Lights at 5:30 p.m. as dozens of brightly lit boats cruise along one mile of the Potomac River shoreline. Enjoy dockside festivities from 2 to 8 p.m. in Waterfront Park including holiday music and giveaways from 97.1 WASH-FM. Take part in hands-on activities during the afternoon sponsored by local businesses. At 3:30 p.m., Santa and Mrs. Claus will arrive by fireboat at the Alexandria City Marina to take photos with children and families at the annual Torpedo Factory Art Center Holiday Festival. Parade viewing areas: Founders Park (351 N. Union St.), Alexandria City Marina (0 Cameron St.), Waterfront Park (1 King St….
Take Photos, Leave Footprints By Scott Dicken Top Travel Destinations for 2020 Why settle for socks in your Christmas stocking when you can give someone a travel experience to remember for a lifetime? Every year I feel a twinge of excitement when the world’s most famous travel guide publisher, Lonely Planet, releases its annual top ten countries to visit, and the 2020 list has just hit the streets. While their list is by no means scientifically generated, their top 10 destination picks reveal the buzz that countries are generating amongst the tourist industry and general public. But how is a savvy gift giver like yourself going to pick from those ten destinations? Without doubt, all ten are worthy of their place on the list, but I’ve chosen to highlight two countries that, despite their diminutive size, have a whole lot to give! eSwatini (Lonely Planet Ranking Number 5) eSwatini (formerly the Kingdom of Swaziland) may be extremely tiny and often overlooked by tourists, but what it lacks in size it certainly makes up for in its diversity of wildlife, scenery, and culture: World-Class Safari eSwatini is home to three major safari destinations: Milwane Wildlife Sanctuary, Hlane Royal National Park and Mkhaya Game Reserve. Both Hlane and Mkhaya are home to four (Lion, Elephant, Rhino, and Leopard) of the “Big Five” must-see animals on safari and draw tourists keen to experience a traditional big game safari. In the big game hubbub Hlane and Mkhava generate, the Milwane Game Reserve can often be overlooked. This small, but extremely picturesque sanctuary isn’t home to any dangerous carnivores, which means that visitors are free to mountain bike or even walk through the park! It’s certainly a unique and relaxing safari experience that shouldn’t be missed. From personal experience, I just suggest you exercise caution…
By Nancy Bauer 2019 in Virginia Vineyards, a Time to Saber Like a life raft for the forsaken after 2018, this year’s Virginia grape harvest started a little damp and unsteady, but when the sun came out in late spring, all was well. More than well, actually—splendid. Superb. All the right feels–wet, dry, sunny, cool, hot–at all the right moments. Some who live that life 24×7, like Melanie Natoli, might even say that 2019’s is a vintage beyond compare. So a few weeks ago, the winemaker from Cana Vineyards in Middleburg did what many an exhausted, giddy winemaker did to mark the end of this year’s knock-out harvest: she knocked the head off a bottle of champagne with a machete–“sabering” it. When you have a job that, at times, makes you want to turn the machete on yourself, a completion ritual like sabering is relief: mental, emotional, physical. One more harvest over, one more transition from the heat of the vineyard to the chill of the cellar. One more start of the cycle, complete. These days, the wine industry is such an important part of Virginia’s economy that harvest success and failure regularly make the 6:00 news. But twenty years ago, while most of us had some vague, glamorous notion of life on a vineyard, few of us knew anything real about what it takes to run a winery. And what we did know – or thought we knew – looked a lot like those Bartles & Jaymes guys relaxing on their porch. “You call that a job?” we would have scoffed, if we’d thought about the wine life at all. My window into the lifestyle grew from a peephole to a porthole one sunny fall day when my now-husband and I stopped by the now-closed Piedmont Vineyards. After sampling…