2nd Annual Brentsville Day to Feature Blue Grass

Submitted by Prince William County Government 

Banjos, mandolins, guitars and fiddles will provide a bluegrass soundtrack for the second-annual "Brentsville Day" at the Brentsville Courthouse Historic Centre on Saturday, Sept. 22.

The free event, set to run between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. at 12229 Bristow Road, will also include hayrides, farm animals and living historians.

This year's event, hosted by the Prince William County Historic Preservation Division, will also include local artists who will gather to show their work.

All of the buildings at the historic centre — including the schoolhouse, the Haislip House, the jail and the courthouse — will be open to visitors, said Lisa Struckmeyer, a historic interpreter with the county.

Living history interpreters will be at the circa 1850 Haislip House to demonstrate how people lived and worked on a farm in the middle of the 19th century.

"We'll have people cooking and eating and hanging out as though they lived there," Struckmeyer said. "It a classic example of a middle-class farmhouse in Prince William County during that timeframe."

The bluegrass bands playing at Brentsville Day will include the "Page County Ramblers," "Skystone" and the "Andrew Acosta Band."

There will also be a food truck on the premises, Struckmeyer said.

The Historic Properties Division will also host a number of other events in September.

Folks who attend "History by the Campfire" for $5 at Ben Lomond will learn about the Carter family, one of Virginia's first families, and their relationship with Great Britain, as well as the peculiar history that would lead to the founding of Ben Lomond. The event will be held on Friday, Sept. 28, at 6:30 p.m.

Join local birding experts for the Fall Migration Bird Walk at the Julie J. Metz Neabsco Creek Wetlands on Saturday, Sept. 29 at 8 a.m. The 120-acre preserve, located in the heart of Woodbridge at 15875 Neabsco Road, is home to a diverse bird population. Bring binoculars and guidebooks. The wetlands will be muddy if it rains in the days before the bird walk. Wear appropriate shoes.

Also on Saturday, Sept. 29, visit Rippon Lodge for "Make, Create or Take Art!" between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Local artists will be encouraged to bring their easels, canvases, palettes, paintbrushes, cameras or sketchbooks to make, create or take art. "We'll have local artists from the Prince William County Arts Council, local high school art students and art teachers, art crafters, people selling art and youth tables for kids," Orrison said.

Art played an important role in Rippon Lodge's history, from the famous Benjamin Latrobe watercolors that hung at Rippon Lodge to Rippon's very own Aviza Black a fashion illustrator and painter. Admission to the lodge is $5 for the event. The house is located at 15520 Blackburn Road in Woodbridge.

For more information about programs at the county's historic properties, visit www.pwcgov.org/history.