Southside Surprises

I thought

I knew what was going on around  here until I talked to our B&B guests. 

Three of them I met over breakfast had driven all the way from Newport News to see a Renaissance Faire.  Really? Here? Yes, Woodbine Vineyards in Buffalo Junction had 300 visitors in November for  sword-fighting, jousting and costumed revelry, followed by a legacy ball in the evening. 

Who would have thought? (I’ll bet they sold a lot of wine.) Then the two guests were going to visit an aqua-zoo in the afternoon. Huh?  What’s an aqua-zoo? Oh, it is a mixture of an aquarium and an animal zoo called the Hill City Aqua/Zoo at a shopping mall in Lynchburg. 

Another told me about a haunted hayride held every October at Staunton River Battlefield State Park. 

Really? Several years ago, guests told me about a new winery across the border into North Carolina: Tunnel Creek Vineyards. I visited the next day and they hired me to play piano. 

So I looked up a bunch of things people might not have known about in the area. 

—Kirby Cultural Arts Complex in Roxboro. I’ve seen a bunch of shows there including “Hats,” “ A Christmas Carol” and “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill”.  It is often overlooked because it is in another state. 

—TJM Center in Cluster Springs is a great venue for community events and meetings. It hosts a seniors appreciation dinner once a month. 

—Moton Museum in Farmville recalls the 

student strike that led to a landmark court decision on desegregation and Prince Edward County’s decision later to replace public schools with private schools. 

—Prestwould Plantation, sandstone Georgian manor  near Clarksville, provides a glimpse of plantation life in the 18th and 19 th  centuries.

—  The Boydton Model Railroad Club, based above the Town Hall at 461 Madison Street in Boydton, maintains several operating model- train layouts and hosts open-house events when visitors can run trains. It is open 9 to 11 a.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. 

— MacCollum Moore Gardens in  Chase City is a historic museum and beautifully landscaped garden complex showcasing regional history, art, and nature in a serene setting

—  Poplar Forest, near Lynchburg, is Thomas Jefferson’s octagonal retreat home, a beautifully preserved architectural masterpiece he designed for privacy, study and experimental building. 

—Danville Baseball: The city has two summer baseball teams of college players, the Otterbots and the Dairy Daddies. They both play at the stadium in Dan Daniels Park. 

—The Thomas Day House in Milton, N.C., has psostponed renovations until next December. That means you can still visit Tuesdays through Saturdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Hourly tours are given of the home of the African-American cabinet maker who was the state’s largest furniture manufacturer before the Civil War.  Info at 336-592-8120.