Announcing August Ashland Fourth Fridays Artists

☀️What ART you doing August 25? Cooks, creators, and all new artists are DRAWN to Ashland Fourth Fridays.👇

Live entertainment:

🩰 5 PM Ashland Dance Academy’s junior dancers perform inside The Depot.

🎵5 - 8 PM the Ham Biscuits cooks up New Orleans-style jazz, soul, and blues in the Ashland Town Hall Pavillion. 

🎵6 PM Saint Square plays unique indie rock married with heartfelt lyrics in The Depot

🏛️Ashland Museum tells the story of our town through historical artifacts, oral histories, biographies, and more.

👻 Ashland Haunted History Tours reenacts the haunted history of our Victorian town.

🐇 RED VEIN Escape challenges guests to puzzling games.

🎥 Ashland Theatre shows a movie at 7 PM.

Eat and Drink:
🍜 Ban Thai Restaurant dishes out authentic Thai tea and cuisine for carryout.

🥘 The Henry Clay Inn provides dine-in options inside the historic space. 

🍺 Origin Beer Lab pours craft brews inside, on the patio, and in their beer garden.

🥘 The Iron Horse Restaurant serves seasonal elevated southern cuisine on the patio.

🥘 The Caboose Market & Cafe pairs beers and wine with farm-to-table meals indoors and out.

🥘 Ashland Meat Co. At Cross Bros serves up sandwiches, salads, ice cream, and beverages indoors and out.

🥘 The Depot serves pizza and libations with three art vendors on display and a 5 PM performance by Ashland Dance Academy.

🥘 Trackside Kitchen and Wine show off their renovated space with all-American meals.

🍨 Sweet Frog lets you make your own frozen yogurt dreams come true.

🍹 Casa Herradura Family Mexican Restaurant offers a can’t-miss margarita special on the patio or in the expanded dining room.

🥘 Huddle Up Sports Bar is the destination for a giant dance floor, drinks, and dining.

🥘 Andy's Restaurant & Lounge’s homestyle plates pair perfectly with their outdoor patio and billiards. 

🍲 Tops China serves Chinese food favorites for dine-in or takeout.

Food trucks:

😋 Bikini Panini LLC wants you to taste the sun with Mediterranean and Cote d'Azur-inspired pressed sandwiches and cuisine.

🥤 Pop's Kettle Corn LLC pops out salty and sweet treats
🧁 Sugar Florist Bakery specialty baker sets up their booth for custom-made cupcake bouquets, floral sugar cookies, and boozy treats in Origin Beer Lab’s beer garden.

🍦Farmview Creamery in the Caravati's Architectural Salvage parking lot sells fresh, farm-made ice cream and flavored milk.

Art:

📝ReFunkIt curates funk, handcrafted art, and gifts 

🏠The Shop at 112 is open to peruse posh antiques and collectibles shop.

🚂Tiny Tim's Toys & Trains features unique toys and games for ages 0 to 99.

🌻 SkyCart Crafts makes custom signs, wreaths, and home goods. 

👕 Give for You on Town Hall lawn sells original t-shirts and cup designs.

🎨 Immagine', LLC on Town Hall lawn produces art prints, stationery, and gift items.

🕯️ Living with Grace on Town Hall offers stylish home decor.

🧢 BeKurved is an iconic fashion brand with sweatshirts, hoodies, hats, and more on Town Hall lawn.

🐶Wigglebutts dog bakery bakes organic, locally made dog treats and hand-stamped ID Tags on Town Hall lawn.

☕️ Marigold Art Studio on Town Hall lawn sells affordable watercolor prints on paper, mugs, totes, tee-shirts, and more.

🖼️ Aergase Art on Town Hall lawn displays original stained glass art.

🪴 KP Jenkins Jewelry and Fine Arts on Town Hall lawn have jewelry inspired by nature.

👕Say Hello Threads inside The Depot prints shirts that promote inclusivity.

🕯️Luxx Design Studio inside The Depot has wall Art, wood door signs & candles.

🚲 Ashland Dance Academy raffles off a bike inside The Depot to fundraise for their bike-a-thon.

✨Sassy Sparkles Fairy Hair inside The Depot makes you sparkle with hand-tied silk hair extensions.

🧵AVA Handmade on Robinson Street sells sewing bags and accessories. 

🌟 Sazha Star’s Closet on Robinson Street repurposes jewelry and art.

🖼️ The Asylum on Robinson Street is a self-publishing and collaborative press working in the traditional printmaking techniques of intaglio, woodcut, and monotype.

📝 Handmade Greeting Card Factory on Robinson Street creates custom cards and journals.

🪵 Tailored Crafters on Robinson Street is a family of craftsmen and artists making custom woodwork.

🐢 The Box Turtle Sanctuary of Central VA on Robinson Street totes their turtles to Ashland Fourth Fridays for meet and greets as well as educational activities.

Mid-Atlantic Railroad Park is Chugging Along

This summer, Downtown Ashland Association will break ground on a self-guided walking tour! The Mid-Atlantic Railroad Park will include nine stops, beginning at Ashland Train Station and continuing to railroad attractions like the red caboose, steam train mural, and many more. The tour will stretch one mile from the tracks, along England Street, to Pufferbelly Park.

We cannot wait to share the stories of Ashland’s railroad heritage and our place in the national railroad scene with residents and visitors alike! In the meantime, here’s info on how the Mid-Atlantic Railroad Park keeps chugging along…

Inspiration
In an effort to spur local business by increasing foot traffic along downtown sidewalks, Downtown Ashland Association’s Board of Directors dreamed up a self-guided walking tour for visitors to discover our historic train town. They envisioned a series of small parks to be educational and entertaining while highlighting Ashland’s rich railroad history. Nine exhibits will be located within easy walking distance of each other, free to the public year-round, and include interactive elements with a website and mobile app to enhance the tour.

Input
Downtown Ashland Association put the idea to the test in 2019 by holding public input sessions and an online survey. Ashland residents were overwhelmingly in support of building the Mid-Atlantic Railroad Park as a placemaking feature to tell Ashland’s story. The Association gathered valuable ideas for interpretive content, locations, and design.

Approval
Following public input, Downtown Ashland Association presented a proposal for the Mid-Atlantic Railroad Park to the Town of Ashland. It was unanimously approved by Town Council in 2020. Once the park is constructed in the summer of 2023, the town will take on ownership and maintenance of the nine sites.

Volunteers
Building a public park is a group effort! Volunteers worked diligently for years to fundraise and plan for the park. Thanks to their efforts, more than one hundred individuals and businesses have donated toward the Mid-Atlantic Railroad Park’s construction. Doswell Limited Partnership is its largest supporter, followed closely by the Mary Morton Parsons Foundation. Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, CSX, and The Port of Virginia provided support as well.

Collaboration
Creating the interpretive content of each exhibit was a joint project of the Hanover County Black Heritage Society, Ashland Museum, and Downtown Ashland Association. We have designed exhibits on major railroad inventions and innovations, railroad workers, technological advances, and their impacts on our local community.

Construction
Our local team is bringing the Mid-Atlantic Railroad Park from idea to reality! Landscaping has been generously donated by James River Nurseries of Ashland. Engineering was contracted from Timmons Group. Construction plans are being prepared by Stable Foundations LLC of Ashland. Nine kiosks were fabricated by Randy Jackson of Steel Standing in Hanover Air Park. The Town of Ashland provides oversight throughout the process.

Breaking Ground
After years of planning and effort, the Mid-Atlantic Railroad Park is breaking ground in August of 2023. Sites include the 1923 train station, Tinder Guest House’s restored 1926 red caboose, a wheel truck, a Janney coupler, and America’s longest railroad mural.

Launch
Stay tuned on our website, Facebook and Instagram to join the October ribbon cutting ceremony and community celebration.

Top 5 Ashland Theatre 75th Anniversary Events

Ashland Theatre has been a beacon for cinema and entertainment in the Center of The Universe since 1948. 75 years later, they’re rolling out the red carpet to celebrate with prizes, snacks, and 75¢ films. Fast forward to the fun with these top-five anniversary events:

🍿 Open House - August 10th at 10 AM, the classic movie house has 75¢ popcorn, door prizes, and surprises. Get your tickets here.

🎀 Ribbon Tying Ceremony - 11 AM that day, the Hanover County Chamber of Commerce congratulates the Ashland Theatre on 75 years.

🐰 75¢ Looney Tunes - What’s up, doc? That rascally rabbit returns to the silver screen at 1 PM on August 10 with cartoon shorts from the Ashland Theatre’s founding year - 1948. Get your tickets here.

🤠 75¢ Red River - Take ‘er easy there, Pilgrim! You can watch John Wayne’s 1948 western hit for just 75¢ on August 10 at 7 PM. Get your tickets here.

🎞️ 1948 Films - Once a month on Monday nights, the Ashland Theatre will show the top films from 1948 for - you guessed it - 75¢! Find the full list of shows here.

Taste of Ashland Tickets Now on Sale

On Thursday, September 7, Downtown Ashland chefs will showcase their farm-to-table faire for 100 lucky guests and local food critics. Diners will sample Ashland’s culinary scene when selecting four tasting plates and two drinks from the Center of the Universe beer or The Vines wine.

The “Taste of Ashland” chef showcase will challenge local legends from The Caboose Market & Cafe, Jake's Place Restaurant & Market, Ashland Meat Company, Homemades by Suzanne, and Sports Page Bar & Grill to utilize locally-farmed foods as inspiration for their dishes.

Chef Jeremy from The Caboose feels confident in the ingredients on his plate: “Our menu is 90% local food. Seeing the effort local farmers put into their products is motivation for me to match their effort. The quality is so high, the food speaks for itself.”

All proceeds benefit Downtown Ashland Association’s free community events: Ashland Train Day, Ashland Halloween, Light Up the Tracks, and Ashland Fourth Fridays. A limited number of tickets are available to the Taste of Ashland. Secure your serving on September 7 from 7 - 9 PM at The Depot by purchasing tickets below.

Spoken Word Hip-Hop takes the Ashland Fourth Fridays Stage

Award-winning artist Zbey tha Poet has felt a connection to the Center of the Universe ever since recording with Free Jambalaya at Slipped Disc Recording Studio in Downtown Ashland. Now, the spoken word hip-hop artist aims to amp up Ashland Fourth Fridays on July 28.

“As an artist, I feel it is my obligation to share uplifting messages with audiences by designing works of art through words and sound,” Zbey tells Downtown Ashland Association. “I’m motivated to share my gift and inspire others to do the same.” Zbey’s empowering tunes have been featured by Virginia Museum of Fine Arts’ 2021 Community Makers and YWCA’s Outstanding Women Awards. She is going to be featured in Ashland Fourth Fridays next.

Zbey Tha Poet recording with Matt Treacy of Free Jambalaya

“Working with Free Jambalaya Studios as an independent recording artist brought me to Ashland,” says Zbey. “As a community advocate, I’m looking to connect with the people of Ashland to build community through artistic expression.” 

Zbey has already connected with Ashland Fourth Fridays as a vendor. In May, she showcased the grassroots non-profit Community 50/50 with t-shirts, giveaways, and affirmations. Guests were encouraged to write down their positive “I Am” statements on a board which would be taken to other events with hopes the messages encourage positive self-talk. “Affirmations are one of the things we encourage at Community 50/50,” says Zbey. “Affirmations reprogram negativity out of your mind, out of your thinking, and just lift your spirits.”

Zbey plans to lift spirits as Ashland Fourth Fridays live entertainment next. On Friday, July 28 she will perform spoken word hip-hop at the Ashland Town Hall pavilion from 5-8pm with Free Jambalaya’s Matt Treacy. “I’m excited to connect with the audience and to use my art to touch other human beings,” smiles Zbey. “The feedback I receive from families, teens, and elders in the community is all the motivation I need to keep writing and performing.”