This week’s round-up is a bit abbreviated, with only 3 outings of note. The first is the Purcellville Family Restaurant, on the main drag in downtown Purcellville. This place is what the Leesburg Restaurant used to be. It’s that local diner where all the regulars show up, with the usual Saturday morning breakfast crowd and a few stragglers from the bike trail. The blueberry pancakes are not to be missed, sporting marble-sized blueberries in plate-covering pancakes. The usual breakfast combinations are there and if you aren’t a complete pig, you can get more food than you can stand for about $6.50. Obviously the typical family diner lunch and dinner fare are there as well. Definitely worth the 6 mile drive from Leesburg if you’re looking for a good breakfast outing.
As an added bonus, it’s right across the street from Nichol’s Hardware, which is a must-visit-once-a-month blast from the hardware past. If you’ve never been, you owe it to yourself to see this bit of Americana.
This week’s second adventure includes picking black raspberries at the Mackintosh Fruit Farm in Berryville. This nice little family orchard is on the far side of Clarke’s Gap and has blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, apples, peaches, and lots and lots of different vegetables according to the season. Their prices are about half of what the more touristy Great Country Farms charges. They have a very nice picnic area, lots of locally grown and baked/cooked/prepared foods, and acres of stuff to pick. This week is probably the last week for raspberries, but the blackberries looked like they’d be ready to pick any day now.
Finally, Red, Hot, and Blue on E. Market St. in Leesburg got a quick lunch visit. As usual, the meat was good. But all things considered, you’re better off searching for more authentic barbecue a bit further afield. Good, but only occasionally.
For all of you workaholics that can’t stop looking at your iphone or blackberry while driving, be aware that the new law starts July 1st. No more sending or reading text and email messages while driving. See the Leesburg Today for more information.
A warm, sunny weekend in Leesburg promises to offer up a LOT of Fourth of July festivities. There are several evenings to catch fireworks around the area. And there are numerous community celebrations throughout the day on the 3rd and 4th.
Here’s a list of things on our calendar for the weekend.
Friday, July 3rd
Leesburg’s First Friday kicks off the weekend of celebration. Come stroll downtown Leesburg, visit with friends, and check out the new shops and old favorites. Starts around 6 PM and goes until 9.
Fireworks fans can start early with shows in several surrounding communities on Friday night.
- Lovettesville Community Center, party starts at 6 PM with fireworks start at 9:15
- Lansdowne Resort, fireworks start after the concert which begins at 7:30 PM
Saturday, July 4th
The real celebration starts with the Leesburg 4th of July Parade, which rolls down King St. from Ida Lee Park to the Safeway parking lot, starting at 10 AM. You can’t miss the inaugural appearance of Stanley Caulkins as a parade participant!
Celebrations
- Leesburg: Ida Lee Park opens at 6 PM for music and fun prior to the fireworks display at 9:30. Word to the wise, the traffic afterwards is horrific through town and the fastest way to anywhere is to go the opposite way and take the bypass to wherever you’re trying to go.
- Middleburg: all day at the Middleburg Community Center, with the serious party running from 6-9 PM.
Fireworks
- Leesburg fireworks – 9:30 PM at Ida Lee Park. (Rain Date: July 5)
- Franklin Park Fireworks Display—9:30 p.m. (Rain Date: July 5)
- Ashburn Village Fireworks Display—9:30 p.m. (Rain Date: July 5)
- Middleburg Community Center Fireworks Display—Dark (Rain Date: July 5)
- Hillsboro Community Center Fireworks Display—Dark (Rain Date: July 6)
Sunday, July 5th
The Bluemont Concert at Dodona Manor is a good way to recover from the 4th. A relaxing picnic on the lawn seems like a nice way to spend the evening, starting at 7 PM.
This is a picture of the ongoing construction at Colonial Square on Edwards Ferry Rd. It seems to be another exercise in taming the underground streams that Leesburg is built on. But this project is taking forever and while I’m a big fan of doing what it takes to get the job done, I’m not sure why these guys get to work at all hours of the night. Anyone know when this project will be complete?
Anyone go to the Bluemont Concert last night at Dodona Manor? Care to give a report on the new venue? I stepped outside for a bit to listen in, but couldn’t tell where they had the stage set up or how many people were there. Give us the scoop!
Two big events at Morven Park today, the Fighting and Frolicking Civil War reenactment, complete with a tour of the newly restored mansion, and the Northern VA Summer Brewfest. Not sure exactly how beer swilling and musket firing mixes, but it might be fun to watch from a distance.
The traffic carnage begins anew on Wednesday as the east/west segment of the Gilbert’s Corner roundabout monstrosity is closed, diverting traffic south to the roundabout on 15, then back up to 50. This article has more details.
I thought it might be fun to keep track of interesting food finds around Leesburg. There are lots of hidden gems in the area ranging from new eateries to local markets and this is a good opportunity to pass along some of them as well as a chance for others to contribute their discoveries.
La Lou’s Bistro – Market St. next to the Tally Ho Theater. A couple of readers sing its praises. This Yelp review provides more info. There was also a Loudoun Times Mirror article on them this week in the print edition.
Fractured Prune – This one is on the must-go-see list if for no other reason than their tag line is “Hot Hand-Dipped Homemade Donuts.” 828 S. King St.
Leesburg Farmer’s Market – I’ll second Valérie’s recommendation on Baker’s bacon (email bakerinc@shentel.net). This is not your normal, fatty, thin grocery store bacon. It’s thick-cut, and shorter strips that fit better in your pan. And much more meat than fat. Perfect for that summer B.L.T. with fresh heirloom tomatoes and some lemon basil instead of lettuce. Mmm.
Pretty soon it’ll be cheaper to call a cab for a ride into DC than to pay the tolls to get there. The Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority (owner/operator of the Dulles Toll Road) just announced a $.25 toll increase which will rise to a 100% increase over the current $.75 toll by 2012. Allegedly, the toll increase is to fund the Metro extensions down the Toll Road. We’ll see…
