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Dylan Thomas' "A Child's Christmas in Wales"
at Morven Park

Begin the holiday season with a dramatic reading of Dylan Thomas' A Child's Christmas in Wales at the Coach House of Historic Morven Park on Thursday evening, December 13th. Tim Jon, Artistic Director of Not Just Shakespeare, Inc. will read the 1955 short story, an anecdotal sketch of the holiday season in which the author describes the old-fashioned, story-book Christmas of his youth. At times witty and poignant, there is something in the story for every listener.

Doors open at 7:30 PM; the reading starts at 8:00 PM and should last about 25 minutes. Refreshments will be served. Suggested donation is $5, with proceeds benefiting Not Just Shakespeare, Inc.

The Morven Park Coach House provides a warm and charming setting. Take the main drive into Morven Park off Old Waterford Road and follow signs for the Coach House.

Christmas 1861
The 17th Mississippi Regiment at Morven Park

A Living History Program

Start a celebration of the holidays early this year with eggnog & gingerbread at Historic Morven Park Saturday, November 10th and Sunday, November 11th at 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

This Civil War living history program recreates camp life of the 17th Mississippi Regiment in winter quarters at Morven Park, following the recent battle at nearby Ball's Bluff. Firing demonstrations, drilling, and camp cooking are some of the activities planned for the public to see during both days, all centered around log huts, replicas of those built by soldiers at Morven Park in the winter of 1861/62. The portrayals of everyday camp life will be complemented by special drilling and firing demonstrations at 11:00 AM, 1:00 PM, and 3:00 PM each day. Exhibits about Morven Park during the Civil War will be on view in the Coach House Visitors Center.

Admission for the program is $5 for adults and $1 for children, and includes eggnog and gingerbread, brought by Leesburg's young ladies visiting the troops in camp. Programs start at the Coach House Visitors Center. Follow Old Waterford Road to the entrance to Morven Park.

For more information call 703-777-6034.

Legend of "Gray Ghost" to Live Again at Morven Park

The story of the legendary "Gray Ghost," Civil War Confederate cavalry genius John Singleton Mosby, will live again at Historic Morven Park in historic Leesburg on Saturday evening August 18th.

Morven Park is reached by Southern Planter Lane off Old Waterford Road just west of the Rust Library. Presented at 7:30 p.m., costumed interpreters will bring back stories from the Mosby legend as they stroll with visitors through the old Leesburg estate. In the two-hour lantern-lit program Cavaliers, Courage, and Coffee, visitors will learn of the Civil War experience of Loudoun County and Leesburg as they came to be caught up in Northern Virginia's bitter guerilla warfare.

In 1862, as the Union Army occupied Leesburg, Loudoun County came to realize the cost of wholesale war. Mosby's Rangers, a Rebel partisan ranger detachment formed on orders from General J.E.B. Stuart, (later formed as the 43rd Virginia Cavalry), was assigned to the region in January 1863. It was ordered to help combat the federal invasion of Northern Virginia in any way possible and to gather useful intelligence for General Stuart, General Robert E. Lee, and for President Jefferson Davis.

Mosby's "hit and run" guerilla tactics would result in lowered Union morale, raised casualties, more Union soldiers assigned to security aspects of their operations, and superbly useful information for the Confederacy. Yet eventually, the devastation through burning of local farms, mills, and even homes in retaliation by Union forces resulted. But for years thereafter, whenever veterans would gather, the stories of Mosby's prowess and Union attempts to capture him would be told, and the places involved learned by the young. Now, with large numbers of new citizens in Loudoun, local organizations strive to bring the new stewards of Loudoun's history up to speed. It is an exciting, uncomfortable, memorable story.

The August 18th program will be presented by the Mosby Heritage Area Association's Gray Ghost Interpretive Group directed by Richard Gillespie. The program is jointly sponsored by the Mosby Heritage Area, Historic Morven Park, and the Loudoun Museum. Families are particularly invited. As some walking will be involved, walking shoes and water are recommended. Admission is free; no reservations are required. Directions and information are available at (540) 687-6681 through the day before.

Morven Park and EEMI Team Up to
Just "Deux" It!

Reserve the evening of Saturday, August 18, 2007, to join us at the Morven Park International Equestrian Center, for the Caroline Muldoon Pas De Deux Challenge. This equestrian competition will feature pairs of riders performing to music in choreographed patterns from first level through Grand Prix, and a fundraiser gala for spectators and guests.

The evening will begin with exhibition rides and a mounted demonstration of the movements featured in the competitive rides. Cocktails and a buffet dinner for those wanting to combine support for Morven Park with gala entertainment. A band will be on hand to enliven the evening with music and dancing. Patron seating will be available at $300 for a table of eight. General admission tickets will be available for $20, $5 for children under 12. Download registration form here.

The Pas de Deux class is offered in conjunction with the Equestrian Event Management (EEMI) Summer Fling Dressage Competition, which will be under way at Morven Park throughout the day on Saturday. The class is offered in memory of Caroline Muldoon, a life long dressage enthusiast and supporter of equestrians and horse sports.

On Sunday, August 19, the Loudoun Therapeutic Riding Foundation, which runs its program at Morven Park, will hold a horse show open to riders with disabilities. Classes will include equitation, dressage and games. LTRF riders will also be among the demonstration rides entertaining Saturday night's audience.

For more information on sponsorship for this event, patron tickets, or general admission tickets, please contact Charles Muldoon at 240-731-2248. For information relating to competing in the dressage show, and the Pas de Deux Challenge Class, please contact EEMI show manager Patricia Patton at (301) 416-7640, or through the website at equestrianeventmanagement.com.

Shakespeare Comes to Historic Morven Park
Henry V

July 20, 21, 22 and July 27, 28, 29

"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers…."

This timeless quote appears in one of William Shakespeare's greatest plays, Henry V, which will be performed in the gardens of Historic Morven Park this summer by the Not Just Shakespeare theatre group. Performances are scheduled for Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, July 20-22 and July 27-29. Showtime is 8 PM on Fridays and Saturdays and 7 PM on Sundays. Audience members are encouraged to arrive early to picnic in the gardens before the show. Tickets are available at the gate or in advance at the Loudoun Convention & Visitors Association at 222 Catoctin Circle SE in Leesburg. Ticket prices are $15 for adults and $10 for seniors and students. Group rates are $12 per person for a group of ten or more. This is an outdoor theatre, so bring your own lawn chairs or blankets to sit on - and maybe a picnic!

Henry V is set in England in the early fifteenth century. Young King Henry V had just ascended to the throne and embarks on an invasion of France. The play traces how his decision to go to war affects the people he rules, and ultimately how he comes to terms with his responsibilities as king.

Not Just Shakespeare is a local educational community theatre group, founded in the fall of 1999 by Artistic Director Tim Jon. Henry V will be their ninth full-length Shakespeare production, and accompanies non-Shakespeare productions such as Barefoot in the Park and Steel Magnolias. The July productions of Henry V mark the first time that Not Just Shakespeare makes an appearance at Historic Morven Park, home of World War I-era Virginia Governor Westmoreland Davis and his wife Marguerite. Their boxwood gardens will provide the elegant but simple backdrop for Shakespeare's play.

For more information, go to www.notjustshakespeare.net, or call Morven Park at
703-777-2414.

Fun Theatre Joins Historic Morven Park to Present
Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Classic Musical, State Fair

June 22, 23, 29 and 30

Leesburg, VA―Historic Morven Park and Loudoun-based performing arts company, Fun Theatre, are teaming up to present an outdoor production of the Rodgers & Hammerstein classic musical, State Fair, this June 22, 23, 29 and 30. Showtime is 7 pm each evening. Gates will open at 5 PM, come early and picnic!

"The production will be set outdoors on the lawn beside the historic mansion, picnic style so you can bring a blanket and a basket or buy your dinner from the vendors," explains the musical’s director, Martha Lynch. "We’re going to provide great family entertainment and don’t be surprised if some of the cast stop by and join you on your blanket for a spell."

This first-ever collaboration with Historic Morven Park will expand that facility’s value to the community as a venue for the performing arts. "We are excited to see our historic landmark host an outdoor performance of a musical as the first step in our plans to expand our cultural offerings in the coming year," said William O’Keefe, executive director of the Westmoreland Davis Memorial Foundation, Inc., which operates Morven Park.

Tickets will be available at the gate and are priced so families can have a fun night out with great music and romance in this classic tale of farm living. (Adults $10; children 12 and under $5.) Due to the outdoors nature of the site, no performances will be held in rain.

For further information, visit www.funtheatre.org or www.morvenpark.org.

Fun Theatre is dedicated to bringing family appropriate entertainment to the community through local talent and resources.

The Westmoreland Davis Memorial Foundation, Inc., protects preserves and promotes the historic and cultural resources of Morven Park, home of Westmoreland Davis, 55^th Governor of Virginia.

 
For Immediate Release

Historic Morven Park announces its spring and summer 2007 schedule of tours, beginning on Friday, April 6th. Tours of Morven Park's 200-year history, including the story of Virginia Governor and Mrs. Westmoreland Davis, the Winmill Carriage Collection, the Confederate Civil War camp site, and the boxwood gardens, will be available from Fridays through Mondays, on the hour from 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM. The Historic Mansion and the Museum of Hounds & Hunting remain closed to the public during an extensive interior and exterior preservation project.

Historical programs will change throughout the 2007 season, and will include an in-depth look at the various time periods in Morven Park's history. Weekend programs will change intermittently. 1918: A Living History Program on World War I and the Home Front presents Governor and Mrs. Davis and their efforts to lead Loudoun County and Virginia through the Great War. They will be joined by Morven Park farm workers and Leesburg citizens of the time to tell the fascinating story of life on the home front. The life and times of Mrs. Marguerite Davis are explored in a 1920's program Flags, Flasks and Flu: My Experiences in Richmond.

Fighting & Frolicking: The Civil War Comes to Morven Park brings to life Confederate soldiers in camp early in the war. The program features historical interpreters portraying Civil War soldiers who lived at Morven Park in the winter of 1861-62, as well as civilians from the nearby town of Leesburg. The program includes a visit to log huts -- replicas of structures built by Mississippi troops who had fought at nearby Ball's Bluff - and a look at authentic objects of the time period found on the property. The Winmill Carriage Collection Tour offers a view of nearly thirty horse-drawn vehicles of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Included are a Silsby Steam Pumper, a 19th century hearse, and a Hansom Cab.

On Fridays and Mondays, tours will feature From Swann's Castle to Governor's Mansion, exploring Morven Park as a Southern Estate from its 19th century plantation roots to its early 20th century role as hunt country estate and working farm. All weekday tours include a visit to the exhibit Symbol of the New South: Governor & Mrs. Westmoreland Davis, and a Carriage Collection tour.

Admission prices for all regularly scheduled tours are $5 for adults and $1 for children 6 - 12. Children under 6 are admitted free of charge. Tours on Tuesdays through Thursdays may be scheduled with at least 24 hours notice, and are subject to a higher admission fee.

For specific dates of the tours listed above, please see our tours page for a complete calendar listing. For further information, directions, or to request a special tour, call 703-777-6034 Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM.

Tracy J. Gillespie
Director of Historical Operations
Morven Park
17263 Southern Planter Lane
Leesburg, Virginia 20176
703-777-6034
tgillespie@morvenpark.org