Love Local Nights Spark a Season of Giving for Loudoun
It all started with a few lights on the vines to usher in the holiday spirit. Then a conversation about lighting up more of the vines around the family dinner table grew into an opportunity to spark a season of giving back to the community that supports us all season long.
Our first Lighting of the Vines (LOV) event ,in 2019, lit up the vines surrounding Bluemont Vineyard and Dirt Farm Brewing with a kick off night supporting The Arc of Loudoun and has now grown into a month long series of events to support 4 local charities doing incredible work for our Loudoun County Community.
Each of these groups holds a special place for our family and teams here in Bluemont and we would love to introduce you to each of one of them. When the lights turn on at 5:30pm sharp, Thursdays-Sundays in December, we hope you will feel the LOV.
Love Local Night - Boulder Crest Foundation
Thursday, December 2, 2021 | 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. | Bluemont Vineyard
We have generations of military service in our family, including our Grandfather Gretzinger who served in WWII and can still wear his “Ike jacket” and share stories of the Battle of the Bulge today. With Veterans of the Korean, Vietnam, Gulf & Afghanistan wars, and four active duty family members scattered from Korea to London, our family understands the importance of supporting our military and their families as they come home to civilian life. The team at Boulder Crest Foundation, located right here in our village of Bluemont, is the world leader in advancing the science of Post-traumatic Growth (PTG). Their mission is to train people to thrive in the aftermath of their trauma. Boulder Crest’s signature PATHH programs teaches participants how to make peace with their past, live in the present, and begin planning for their future. Boulder Crest has a location right here in Bluemont, VA and is a station that rallies our hearts and our minds. We encourage you to join us to LOV Boulder Crest and support them and the incredible work they do everyday.
Love Local Night - INOVA Health Foundation
Thursday December 9, 2020 | 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. | Bluemont Vineyard, VA
When we think of 2020 & 2021, we cannot imagine a group that has given more to our Community than the first responders who have gone to work every day to care for those in need during these pandemic times. INOVA Health has been part of our family for 3 generations from the time that Faye Zurschmeide worked as a Nurse at the old Loudoun Hospital on Cornwall Street to caring for the arrival of 19 Zurschmeide grandchildren to the live saving care provided for family members experiencing GBS and heart attacks.
INOVA Health Foundation supports INOVA’s mission to provide world-class healthcare – every time, every touch – to each person in every community they have the privilege to serve. We have certainly experienced this high quality care and encourage you to help us support the first responders who make such a difference when we need them the most.
Love Local Night to Benefit Hero Homes
Thursday December 16, 2021 | 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. | Bluemont Vineyard
Continuing in our spirit of giving back to military families in our community, we just had to jump in to support Hero Homes, a non-profit started by a good friend of our family to build homes for wounded veteran heroes right here in Loudoun. The inspiration for Hero Homes began in early 2015 when Jason Brownell was asked to manage a home building project in Lovettsville, Virginia for wounded veteran Tony Porta. Tony is a medically retired Marine corporal who was burned beyond recognition by a roadside bomb while serving in Iraq. These deserving vets and their families cannot regain what they lost defending our country, but Hero Homes gives them a new start in building a solid foundation for their future and the dignity of an independent life in a wonderful small town community setting. Hero Homes provides the opportunity for disabled veterans to rejoin society with the security and pride of home ownership. This year’s home is being built for Sgt. Jimmy Ochan and his wife Pat, pictured here.
With a goal of building a home each year, the excitement and dedication of this team of volunteers is unparalleled. To share a bit in giving joy to these veterans is a honor and privilege and we hope you will join us in sharing the LOV.
Love Local Night to benefit Bluemont Citizens Association
Thursday, December 23, 2021 | 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. | Bluemont Vineyard
We are so blessed to be part of the Bluemont Community. Our family has farmed and lived in Loudoun for over 50 years with 29 stationed right here in Bluemont. This little village may be small but the community spirit is mighty. From providing welcome baskets to new neighbors, to planning for care of large animals in an emergency, to helping care for our oldest and most vulnerable, to hosting 50+ years of the Bluemont Fair, this community is always ready to lend a helping hand.
The Bluemont Citizens Association (BCA) is structured as a neighborhood association, dedicated to the betterment of the Bluemont community, namely the protection, celebration, and preservation of our rural heritage and character. What started as a community group to purchase street lights for the town has certainly come a long way to welcoming thousands to the annual Bluemont Fair. The non-profit, Bluemont Heritage is a partner to the BCA and beneficiary for this LOV Local event and has focused on restoration of historic buildings in our village.
We are excited to gather as friends and neighbors and raise funds for this community that we are all proud to call home!
The Lighting of the Vines in Bluemont takes place each Thursday-Sunday from Thanksgiving weekend through January 1. The lights come on each evening at 5:30 sharp and guests are welcome to join us in our tasting rooms. Love Local Nights are Thursdays in December from 5-7pm.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” ~Matthew 5:14-16