Author: Brynn Boyer

The James Monroe Museum and the Fredericksburg Area Museum are pleased to present a talk by Andrea Wulf, author of the recent New York Times best-seller Founding Gardeners, on Friday, November 4, at 7 p.m. at the Area Museum!

For the Founding Fathers, gardening, botany, and agriculture were elemental passions, as deeply ingrained in their characters as their belief in liberty for the nation they were creating. Wulf’s talk will offer a fascinating look at the revolutionary generation from the unique and intimate perspective of their lives as gardeners and farmers. A book-signing will follow.

Tickets are $12 ($10 for Friends of JMM) and can be purchased by calling Adele Uphaus-Conner at x1123 or e-mailing auphaus@umw.edu. Find out more about Andrea Wulf and the book at her website.

Additional support for this program comes from Ron Singleton, Roxbury Farm and Garden Center, the Ann Page Garden Club, and the Rappahannock Area Master Gardeners Association.

The University of Mary Washington athletic department co-hosted the first annual Run with the Law 5K and Special Olympics fun run on Saturday, October 22 with the Fredericksburg City Police. The races raised over $5,000 for Special Olympics Virginia, and more than 350 UMW student-athletes provided support for the fun run by lining the course and cheering for the runners.

“I was truly blown away by the support of the UMW athletes”, said Carrie Dyer, the Director of Development for Special Olympics Virginia. “I know our athletes felt extra special with all those fans cheering them on… Truly spectacular.” Several UMW athletes also accompanied some of the 75 competitors throughout the race.

The day began with a 5K run, followed by comments from UMW President Richard V. Hurley. The final event was the fun run, which began at the William M. Anderson Center and stretched to the Campus Bell Tower and turned back across campus to the starting point. The Student Athlete Advisory Council provided UMW athletes with t-shirts, lining the course and providing support.

“The 5k race for the Special Olympics and one mile ‘fun run’ helped raise over $5,000 dollars for the Special Olympics,” said UMW men’s basketball coach Rod Wood, who helped organize the event.  “That pales in comparison to the reward our athletes, coaches, and UMW community received from the special friends we met, encouraged, and shared with on Saturday. This will be a life-long memory for all of us. It really puts in perspective what we do and what we, as a community, can do. We changed lives this weekend, mostly ours. It was a powerful day and something I hope we can continue for years to come.”

Bring your little monsters and join us for C.O.A.R.’s annual Pumpkin Palooza this Sunday, October 30th from 1-4pm. We will have more than 20 crafts and games for kids of all ages. We will also be sending out “tours” to trick-or-treat around dorms on campus. Costumes are strongly encouraged! The event is free of charge. Please direct any questions to coarumw@gmail.com.

Join the UMW Galleries for “Mysteries of The Night Café: Hidden Key to the Spirituality of Vincent Van Gogh,” presented in conjunction with the traveling exhibition Van Gogh, Lichtenstein, Whistler: Masterpieces of World Art from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The lecture will be held on Sunday, October 30 at 2 p.m. inside Combs Hall, Room 139. Admission is free. However, pre-registration is required to ensure proper seating.

Dr. Cliff Edwards, professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, explores the spirituality of one of the world’s most beloved artists, Vincent Van Gogh, through one of Western art’s most mysterious paintings, The Night Café. Enter the imagination of Van Gogh through the books he read, the art he admired, and the people with whom he identified, and arrive at startling conclusions that include a new and deeply spiritual understanding of a café after midnight and the “night prowlers” who inhabit it.

Please call the Galleries at (540) 654-1013 or e-mail Justine Geiger, Visitor Services Coordinator, at jgeiger@umw.edu to reserve your seats.

This program has been organized by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and is supported by the Paul Mellon Endowment.

W. Brown Morton III, UMW professor emeritus, has been elected Vice-Chair of the recently formed Loudoun Heritage Commission, a body created by the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors to address matters of natural and cultural heritage in Loudoun County.

Brown Morton will also present a paper, “Beyond History:  Success and Failure in Historic Preservation,” on Friday, October 28 at the Master Builder Dialogues: Preserving America presented by The Carpenters’ Company of the City and County of Philadelphia in collaboration with Drexel University and the National Park Service.