Four of the five stops on this year’s annual Dolley Madison Garden Club Tour are in Madison County – William and Ann Tidball’s Ashland in Wolftown, David and Trish Crowe’s Firnew Farm in Hood, Graves Chapel in Graves Mill and Jess and Sharon Sweely’s Sweely Estate Winery between Wolftown and Oak Hill. The tour, entitled “Legacies from the 1800s Amid the Blue Ridge Foothills … with One Modern Twist,” is set for 10 a.m.-5 p.m. this Saturday, April 18.

Make your plans now to enjoy the March 25 Spring Tea at the Kemper Residence. It’s a wonderful way to welcome spring! There is limited seating, so it is necessary to make a reservation. Call (540) 547-4398 and give your name, telephone number and how many are in your party. Spouses and other guests are welcome, and small groups can be accommodated.

A collection of old Madison County-made wooden chairs owned by local resident Steve Hoffman is currently on display at the Arcade museum.

Tim Lewis is a 54-year-old Englishman who is now a U.S. citizen and resident of Charlottesville. He is a published author, historian and poet with seven books to his credit. He has judged and won poetry competitions, including the Virginia Writing Competition, and he runs writing classes and tutors authors across the country. Lewis will speak to the Madison County Historical Society about his seventh published book, “The Virginiad,”  at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 15 in the auditorium of the Madison County Administration building.

The Harlem Superstars will invade Mountaineer Country to take on the Madison All-Stars Jan. 31 in basketball action in Wetsel Middle School’s gym.

The gifts parents are grabbing off the shelves for their children this holiday season bear only a slight resemblance to typical toys from the past. Before miniature laptop computers and stuffed animals that walk and talk on their own were commonplace – children played with toys that relied heavily on the imagination.

Madison American Legion Post 157 is observing Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day by hosting a dinner for veterans and their families and other invited guests at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 7 at the post home on Thrift Road in Madison. The dinner includes spaghetti, salad and dessert. The post is not charging for the dinner; however, donations will be accepted.

After years of wear and tear, the “candles” on downtown Madison’s Christmas tree no longer shine so brightly. In fact, not a single one of the more than 1,000 lights adorning the branches of the Main Street tree would light up this week. The last minute discovery prompted officials to make other plans for this weekend’s tree lighting ceremony, which is typically in the park in front of the War Memorial Building each December.

This holiday season, residents will be treated to more than just the sweet-smelling wreaths that typically brighten each corner of Main Street in downtown Madison. A new contest – sponsored by the Brightwood Ruritan Club – aims to fill the town with an abundance of holiday cheer. All town residents and businesses are invited to participate in the club’s first annual Christmas Door Decorating Contest.

Lights fade in on the still tableau of students dressed in black and faces covered with white masks. The music fades in and the students gently come to life discovering their devastated “lives” in what remains of the bombed Hiroshima.Madison County High School’s show of “A Thousand Cranes” explores life in Hiroshima, Japan, through the eyes of Sadako, a 12-year-old runner, and Kenji, her best friend and running companion, 10 years after the atomic bomb fell upon the city.

Throughout the spring, summer and fall, Madison County’s weekly farmers market has provided an opportunity for fresh, locally grown food and fellowship. During the market’s second season – which comes to a close at the end of this month – between 10-20 vendors have set up shop at Hoover Ridge every Saturday, according to Madison County Extension Agent Brad Jarvis.

Lyra, the famed choral group from Russia, will present a concert of both religious and secular Russian music at Mount Zion United Methodist Church at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 30. Lyra is a community of more than two dozen musicians, most of whom are students or graduates of the St. Petersburg Conservatory, which offers the highest level of musical training in Russia. The musical program is a mix of songs and hymns from the Russian Orthodox tradition as well as folk songs and secular music from Russia’s most accomplished composers.

Self-described “cancer conqueror” Ada Summers of Aroda has organized a free cancer awareness workshop set for 9:30 a.m.-noon Saturday, Sept. 20 at the George James Community Center in Radiant. The workshop will feature a variety of speakers, including cancer survivors.

Once again, Madison’s annual Taste of the Mountains festival will transform Main Street as thousands of visitors and more than a hundred vendors flock into town next week. The 16th annual event – set for 9 a.m.- 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 30 – includes various food offerings, a variety of musical performers and non-stop entertainment.

The Greater Love Quartet will perform 11 a.m. Aug 24 at Rochelle Christian Church.

Love at first sight is a wonderful thing. In the case of the Four County Players’ summer Shakespeare production of “As You Like it,” it’s the premise of an amusing, outrageous and intentionally confusing adventure that opened July 31 in Barboursville.

During a charcoal making demonstration – set for Saturday, Aug. 2 at the Madison County Farmers Market – demonstrators will use a modified chicken feed hopper designed to moderate the burn such that it distills the wood to its raw carbon form. This is accomplished through a low oxygen burn that not only drives all the moisture away but also ignites a chemical reaction exuding gasses and tar resulting in nearly pure carbon.

Under different circumstances, the Grammy award-nominated bluegrass family band Cherryholmes may have been full-time Madison County residents.
“We often said if the music didn’t work out, we would just pick apples on the mountains in Syria,” said Sandy Cherryholmes – mother, mandolin-player and vocalist of the group, set to perform during a Sunday, July 20 concert at Graves Mountain Lodge in Syria.

Colorful costumes and bright-red engines will dot Main Street as the annual Madison County Firemen’s Parade rolls into town July 15. The Tuesday evening event will kick-off the Madison County Fair, which will run until Saturday, July 19. Hundreds of spectators pack downtown Madison each year to enjoy floats by fire companies, rescue squads and organizations from Madison and surrounding counties, according to Madison Chamber of Commerce Tourism Coordinator Tracey Williams, who helps organize the event.

This year’s Fourth of July celebration at Graves Mountain Lodge in Syria will have residents tapping their toes and snapping their fingers. The Michael Wayne Project – featuring Madison County native Dennis Weaver – will provide jazz music starting at 6 p.m. Friday, July 4 at the Sycamore Pavilion.

The band opening this year’s Music on the Lawn series has its roots in old-time Appalachian string band traditions, but if you’re going to its June 12 concert, be prepared to hear the unexpected. The Web site for the Charlottesville-based band – Mando Mafia – says, “A typical performance might, in addition to old-time hoedown music, include calypso, reggae, rockabilly, klezmer and bluegrass, together with the occasional Finnish wedding march, Chilean sikureada, Puerto Rican or Argentine waltz and Italian polka.”

Audiences attending the Graves Mountain Lodge Festival of Music have heard multi-instrumentalist Randy Kohrs play in a number of bands over the years. This season, it’s his turn in the spotlight. Kohrs will be leading his own band, the Lites, in two performances Thursday, May 29, to help open the Syria resort’s 16th annual bluegrass festival.

Where can you find a homemade, local, fresh, budding community with a party atmosphere? The Madison County Farmers Market, which is now in full bloom showing off the county’s fresh produce, meats, herbs and honey every Saturday morning at Hoover Ridge.

Saturday, May 17, hundreds are expected to spend the day scoping the sights of Madison County on two wheels.
The area’s expansive scenery and minimal traffic are just two reasons why the Tour de Madison, now in its 21st year, has become such a success with bicycling enthusiasts from Madison County and across Virginia. 

This past spring, nearly 500 people made their way to Madison County’s first ever Business Expo. This year the Madison Chamber of Commerce – which sponsors the event set for 1-7 p.m. Thursday, May 15 at the Madison County Volunteer Fire Company fire hall – hopes the business affair will be even bigger and better than before.

In the early 1900s, the buzz of a dentist’s drill sounded more like a quiet hum. A century-old pedal-powered drill is among the tools once used by Dr. Lee Taliaferro, who treated Madison County residents in the early 20th century. In addition to the drill, Taliaferro’s polishing discs and vials of tablet triturates (a precursor to the medicinal pills used today) are currently on display at the Arcade museum in downtown Madison.

You don’t have to be drop dead gorgeous to be a pageant queen. The Madison County Scholarship Pageant – set for Saturday, April 12 – isn’t just about looks, according to the pageant’s co-director Erin Stickler of Locust Dale.