Calendar

Bring a piece of Stratford Hall into your garden! Plants grown in Stratford Hall’s greenhouse are available to purchase throughout the month of April. A selection of heirloom vegetables, herbs, perennials, trees, and shrubs will be on sale daily from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the Gift Shop.

Bring a piece of Stratford Hall into your garden! Plants grown in Stratford Hall’s greenhouse are available to purchase throughout the month of April. A selection of heirloom vegetables, herbs, perennials, trees, and shrubs will be on sale daily from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the Gift Shop.

Join the Stratford Hall's Director of Preservation & Maintenance for a Preservation Tour of the Great House.  The tour will focus on the main floor of the house and the most recent room restoration projects that span the past 15 years. The exterior and lower level will also be discussed. If you have ever wondered what it takes to preserve and restore a historic house like the Great House, now is your chance to hear the stories.  You might even be able to see areas that are not normally seen by visitors.  What better way is there to celebrate Preservation Month! $30 per person - limited spots available. Free for Friends of Stratford Members. Register at https://www.simpletix.com/e/preservation-tour-behind-the-scenes-tickets-159244.

Together, the tenor, soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones played by the talented, often soloists, WAXQ quartet members evoke the refined sounds of a string quartet, the rich harmonies of an organ prelude, and the excitement of a jazz sax section. The ensemble taps into a rich repertoire from early music to newly commissioned works and draws on a wealth of experience to reach listeners of every age and background. This concert is supported by the Virginia Commision for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. For additional information, go to rappahannockconcerts.org.

Bring a piece of Stratford Hall into your garden! Plants grown in Stratford Hall’s greenhouse are available to purchase throughout the month of April. A selection of heirloom vegetables, herbs, perennials, trees, and shrubs will be on sale daily from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the Gift Shop.

The Rappahannock People have inhabited the Northern Neck since the beginning. It holds a special place in the Rappahannock story and contains some of the most spiritually and historically significant places to the Tribe. In this talk, Chief Anne Richardson graciously shares her thoughts on the Northern Neck and Power of Place.
As Chief of the Rappahannock Tribe since 1998, Chief Anne Richardson is the first woman to lead a Virginia Indian tribe since the early 1700s. As a 4th generation chief in her family, she was instrumental in obtaining state (1983) and then federal (2018) recognition for the Rappahannock—recognition that confers sovereignty and other rights.
https://www.nnk250.us/events

Bring a piece of Stratford Hall into your garden! Plants grown in Stratford Hall’s greenhouse are available to purchase throughout the month of April. A selection of heirloom vegetables, herbs, perennials, trees, and shrubs will be on sale daily from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the Gift Shop.

Bring a piece of Stratford Hall into your garden! Plants grown in Stratford Hall’s greenhouse are available to purchase throughout the month of April. A selection of heirloom vegetables, herbs, perennials, trees, and shrubs will be on sale daily from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the Gift Shop.

Bring a piece of Stratford Hall into your garden! Plants grown in Stratford Hall’s greenhouse are available to purchase throughout the month of April. A selection of heirloom vegetables, herbs, perennials, trees, and shrubs will be on sale daily from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the Gift Shop.

Bring a piece of Stratford Hall into your garden! Plants grown in Stratford Hall’s greenhouse are available to purchase throughout the month of April. A selection of heirloom vegetables, herbs, perennials, trees, and shrubs will be on sale daily from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the Gift Shop.

Bring a piece of Stratford Hall into your garden! Plants grown in Stratford Hall’s greenhouse are available to purchase throughout the month of April. A selection of heirloom vegetables, herbs, perennials, trees, and shrubs will be on sale daily from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the Gift Shop.

Bring a piece of Stratford Hall into your garden! Plants grown in Stratford Hall’s greenhouse are available to purchase throughout the month of April. A selection of heirloom vegetables, herbs, perennials, trees, and shrubs will be on sale daily from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the Gift Shop.

Join us for an unforgettable celebration of spring, where locally-crafted food and beverages, live music, artisan vendors, and colonial history come together against the backdrop of the c. 1738 Great House.

Early Bird Ticket Pricing Feb. 1 through May 9: $20

Day of Event Ticket Pricing: $30

Ages 7 – 12: $10

6 and under: free

Dating from the Miocene Epoch - approximately 17 to 10 million years ago, the Stratford Cliffs are part of a rare geological phenomenon ranking among the most important fossil research sites in the Mid-Atlantic region. Whether you are a seasoned collector, or this is your first experience, Stratford Hall is the place for you! Spend a day hunting for fossils along the shores of the Potomac, explore the Stratford Cliffs, and enjoy the beauty and tranquility of the great outdoors!
Excursions are rated at a moderately strenuous to strenuous activity level requiring long periods of walking, hiking, standing, stooping, and bending. If you wish to access the further extremities of the beach, this will include climbing over or under washed up debris or felled trees. Minimum age requirements for all fossil hunting excursions are 8 years old. Any participant under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult.
Event Dates: 
Sunday, May 12 (Registration opens April 1st)
Sunday, June 23 (Registration opens May 1st)
Saturday, July 27 (Registration opens June 1st)
Sunday, August 4 (Registration opens July 1st)
Sunday, October 6 (Registration opens September 1st)
Event Time: 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Cost: $40 per adults and $35 per child (ages 8 to 13)
Age requirements: 8+ years of age
Availability: 40 slots per excursion
Fossil hunting excursions are weather dependent activities and Stratford Hall reserves the right to cancel excursions at any time. A full refund will be given unless the cancellation is due to inclement weather, in which case a reschedule date will be provided. All participant cancellations require a 48-hour email notice before the excursion takes place. Absence from an excursion is nonrefundable. Refunds are the sole discretion of Stratford Hall and will be considered in such cases where there is an illness or emergency. All requests for refunds must be submitted in writing to Kelly Childress, Director of Education, at kchildress@stratfordhall.org.
Pre-registration and pre-payment are required for all Stratford Hall fossil hunting excursion. Registration for each trip will open a month in advance. To register, please visit our website at www.stratfordhall.org. Under the Events tab, click on Events and Programs, then scroll down until you find paleo excursions. Once registration has opened on the specified date, a link to purchase tickets will appear beside the excursion date.
Additional information will be provided via email prior to your visit. Please contact Kelly Childress at kchildress@stratfordhall.org with any questions regarding Stratford Hall’s fossil hunting excursions.
 

Bring a piece of Stratford Hall into your garden! Plants grown in Stratford Hall’s greenhouse are available to purchase throughout the month of April. A selection of heirloom vegetables, herbs, perennials, trees, and shrubs will be on sale daily from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the Gift Shop.

Sam Reider is a pianist, accordionist, composer, and educator from San Francisco, whose work brings together various streams of American music, from jazz and folk tunes to popular song and contemporary composition. His unique compositional voice and melodicism runs throughout his eclectic projects, including his genre-bending acoustic ensemble The Human Hands, a virtuosic ensemble of acoustic musicians originally based in Brooklyn and described by the New York Times as “modern folk music with saxophone and accordion.”

More than 100 crafters, vendors and food trucks are expected again this year at the St. Stephen’s Strawberry Festival in Heathsville. The free, one-day festival on Saturday, May 25, 2024 from 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. is a Northern Neck tradition for the Memorial Day weekend. It is held rain or shine and is consistently rated one of the area’s best festivals.

The spectacular line up of festivities draws 5,000 attendees and includes craft exhibitors and vendors selling handmade goods, homemade strawberry shortcake, a plant sale with hundreds of native plants at low prices, a bake sale, local strawberry sales, live music, kid’s activities, face painting, a silent auction and bargains at the St. Stephens Thrift Shop.

Each year church volunteers bake 1,200 homemade strawberry shortcakes and sell 1,000 quarts of fresh, local strawberries. 

This is a fund-raising event as proceeds from the festival support various local non-profit organizations.

The festival is on the grounds of the historic St. Stephen's Episcopal Church located at 6807 Northumberland Highway (Route 360) in the center of Heathsville, VA. Parking and admission are free. More information is on the church’s website at StStephensHeathsville.org. (https://ststephensheathsville.org/strawberry-festival)

Grand opening/ribbon cutting for new Washington Parish Museum--4 p.m., Friday, May 31. It will be a brief program at the site of the burned St. Peter's Church at Oak Grove. The museum is behind the church.
The public is invited to attend.

Meeting of the Trails 2024!
A "National Trails Day" Meetup on the Potomac River

June 1 is National Trails Day! Join us on the shores of the Potomac River to learn about local National Historic Trails, National Heritage Areas, and more!

From colonial voyages to civil war battlefields, the Potomac River flows through the heart of American history. Did you know that five National Historic Trails, five National Heritage Areas and dozens of National Park sites are found along the Potomac River? This National Trails Day, June 1, 2024, discover the trails, heritage areas and community organizations working to preserve, protect, and tell the story of the Potomac.

The event will take place at George Washington Birthplace National Monument.

Information tables from each participating organization will be set up around the monument's "Memorial Area." Tables will include historical and cultural information, plus family-friendly activities. Each participant will also be providing presentations about their organization inside the auditorium.

Participants will include:
Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail
Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail
Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail
Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail
Potomac Riverkeeper
Northern Neck National Heritage Area
Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin
And more!

Location: George Washington Birthplace National Monument.
Head to the "Memorial Area," past the monument to the right.
Address: 1732 Popes Creek Road
Colonial Beach, VA 22443

Date: June 1, 2024
Time: 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Drop in anytime during event hours.
Admission fee: None. Free admission to site and special event.

Taking place on the first Saturday in June, National Trails Day® is a day of public events aimed at advocacy and trail service. Join thousands of people around the country as they maintain, clean up and discover their local public lands and trails.

Accessibility information: https://www.nps.gov/gewa/planyourvisit/accessibility.htm

Cover image photograph credit: CC BY 2.0 DEED BY Richard Ricciardi.