Purcellville, VA., May 23, 2018 – After a week of heavy rain, and scattered showers on May 19th, the 5th Annual Purcellville Music and Arts Festival was held as scheduled, but moved to the parking lot between Town Hall and the Bush Tabernacle. The Art Hall, held inside the Tabernacle, continued as planned. Nearly 600 people attended the festival this year.
The weather drew people inside the Art Hall where there was an art exhibit featuring nearly 30 local artists, a community art project, face painting, balloon twisting, henna artists, a pottery demonstration, live music, and information/activities from local art and community organizations such as Girl Scouts, PetConnect Rescue, the Waterford Quilters Guild, Round Hill Arts Center, Franklin Park Arts Center, the Loudoun Artisan Trail, and the Western Loudoun Artists Studio Tour.
Throughout the day, there were performances by 16 local bands and musicians in the Tabernacle and on the outside stages. There were performances by IWOR, Juliana MacDowell, The Darby Brothers, Colin Thompson, The Virginia Hipnecks, Elizabeth II, The Plate Scrapers, The Papa Stitch Band, Hungry on Monday, The Loudoun Valley High School Jazz Band, as well as solo acts by Bergamot Rose, Emily Horton, Andrew McKnight, Emily Stroud, Willie White, and 11-year-old Ben Demase.
In the parking lot, where local bands performed on two stages, people enjoyed animals with Critters and Conservation and the Wildlife Ambassadors, a performance from the Celtic Rhythm School of Dance, a variety of local vendors, and delicious food. The Purcellville Business Association and the Purcellville Historical Society co-hosted Trolley Tours to a variety of historic sites in Town.
Toward the end of the festival, the Purcellville Arts Council announced the recipient of the inaugural Jim “Doc” Wiley Leadership in the Arts Award. Betty Wiley joined to recognize the winner of this award, which was named in honor of her late husband. The winner, selected by the Purcellville Arts Council after reviewing the nominations, is Discover Purcellville. A formal presentation will be given at a later date.
Another feature during the festival was the premier of the Adirondack benches beautifully painted and decorated by artists as part of Discover Purcellville’s effort to showcase local artistic talent. They will be on display throughout the town all summer. The Adirondack benches will be auctioned off this fall, with proceeds benefiting Discover Purcellville’s future community art projects.
Thank you to the sponsors of the 2018 Purcellville Music and Arts Festival: Loudoun Valley Floors (Title sponsor), Middleburg Bank (Second Stage Sponsor), Purcellville Business Association (Community Stage Sponsor), Shamrock Music Shoppe, Sengpiehl Insurance Group, DiRenzo Family Dentistry, Norbo Dental, and the Businesses of Valley Industrial Park which included Loudoun Valley Roofing, Mountaineer Pipe, Saville Auto Center, Purcellville Electric, New Purcellville Auto Service, Accurate Auto Service, Walsh’s VIP Auto (Main Stage Sponsor). Thank you for the in-kind support from Ohm Productions, American Legion Post 293, Southern States, and Browning Equipment. Thank you also to all of the volunteers who helped with the event, including those from Greater Loudoun Babe Ruth, the Purcellville Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, and the Purcellville Arts Council.
The annual Purcellville Music and Arts Festival is a free event. See photos from the event on the festival’s Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/PVilleMusicArts/ This year, the festival was jointly hosted by the Town of Purcellville, the Purcellville Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, the Purcellville Arts Council, Shaun Alexander Enterprises, and Play to Win.
