Cowbells? Effects pedals? Dueling harpsichords? Yes, all that and more is coming to this year’s Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival. If you think the Bach Festival is an “EMU thing,” think again! This year the Festival will have a bigger downtown Harrisonburg presence than ever before, and you’ll hear sounds you never thought you’d hear from classical musicians! more
Inside the brewery, owner Jeffrey Moon is talking about new signage for his recently purchased business. Things are moving along, and Moon is eager to get to February 24th, the day Restless Moons will celebrate the Grand Reopening of the former brewery on Wolfe Street that was aptly named Wolfe Street Brewing Co. more
Last Saturday, Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance and Brothers Craft Brewing teamed up to celebrate both of our anniversaries at the brewery. more
“Time flies,” says Jason Shifflett of Brothers Craft Brewing. It’s hard for him to believe that five years have passed since the three Shifflett brothers first opened the brewery in December of 2012. Brothers Adam, Jason, and Tyler started the business as a way to collaborate on a shared passion, but the “brotherhood” has evolved to include a large and supportive community in Harrisonburg. And that’s what their 5th Anniversary Celebration on Saturday, January 13 is all about. more
Last Thursday, a cool show popped up in downtown Harrisonburg that united music lovers, beer drinkers, and concert goers alike. Sofar Sounds, a music organization reaching 376 cities across the globe, made its third appearance in the “friendly city.” A group of JMU Marketing and Music Industry students brought Sofar to Harrisonburg last March. The JMU seniors handle all of the logistics, including booking the artists, selecting the venues, promoting the shows, and hiring and managing a production team of photographers, videographers, and audio/sound engineers. more
The Friendly Fermenter is getting ready to open its doors in downtown Harrisonburg. This nanobrewery and homebrew shop will be the first Harrisonburg brewery that is open for lunch during the week. Located at 20 S. Mason Street, Suite B10 on the corner of Route 33 and Mason Street, next to Rocktown Bicycles and near Urban Exchange, Friendly Fermenter will be on the basement level of a three-story, newly renovated building which will also house LAFAH Café, a middle-eastern based restaurant, directly above. The third level will offer loft apartments which will also be ready soon. more
On the evening of Tuesday, April 11, every barstool, patio chair, and indoor table is occupied. There’s a friendliness in the air—the kind in which a stranger will scoot over so that you can have your own space at the bar, and the bartenders ask how your day was before taking an order. As bustling as the taproom is, it feels more like a community’s living room, filled with the laughter and chatter that you hear during a distant family’s holiday get-together. In front of most of the patrons is a pint glass; many ordering at the bar request Arrant (Pale Fire’s newest IPA), with it’s name descending from Shakespeare’s writing. In fact, even the establishment’s name derives from one of the founder’s favorite books, Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov and an excerpt of Shakespeare’s Timon of Athens, “[t]he moon's an arrant thief, And her pale fire she snatches from the sun.” more
In Harrisonburg, we recognize the importance of standing up for what we believe in. After a recent survey’s results, the Arts Council of the Valley (ACV) launched a Save a Seat fundraiser, concluding that sitting down (comfortably) is also important to our community. After 18 years of patronage, with spare parts deplenished and the replacement parts unavailable for the theater’s 250 well-loved seats, Court Square Theater (CST) is in need of a pragmatic makeover which will enable our community’s residents to support the variety of shows, music, films and activities in comfort. more