Now that our finalists have been chosen, it’s time for the finals competition for Hanover Idols and Hanover Junior Idols.   Both competitions will take place on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012 at the Hanover Arts & Activities Center.  The high quality of talent for everyone who auditioned made the selection of finalists a difficult  job for the judges.  Finalists in each category will compete to win the title of Hanover Idol and Hanover Junior Idol.  Our current reigning Idols – Ammie Mines-Derricott and Junior Idol (Abram Dean) will entertain us by performing at both shows. 

The Junior Idol final competition will begin at 3:30 pm at the Hanover Arts & Activities Center (doors open at 3:00 pm).  The Hanover Idol (ages 16 and up) finals begin at 7:00 pm (doors open at 6:30 pm).  General admission tickets ($7.00 each) go on sale Monday, Feb. 6, 2012 at The Hanover Arts & Activities Center.  We have a sell out crowd every year so be sure to purchase your tickets early.  To purchase tickets, please call The Center at 804.798.2728 or email info@hanoverarts.org.

For a list of finalists for Hanover Idols and Hanover Junior Idols, please click here.

The first of these three events is one that you will want to be sure to put on your calendar.  Dylan Pritchett, master storyteller, will be presenting a free program on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2012 at the Hanover Arts & Activities Center at 2:00 pm.  Dylan’s unique style and focus on African and African-American stories provides audiences with opportunities to experience history, build self-esteem, and develop critical thinking tools.  With African and African-American stories, riddles, games, music and constant audience participation, audience members come to understand universal morals and values.  Dylan is an Artist in Education for Bluemont; to read more about Dylan’s resume on the Bluemont web site, click here.

Dylan’s storytelling skills are well known in the area, and his programs have been met with pure delight by so many.  Certain to entertain everyone in your family, be sure to join us for this free program.  Donations are welcome.

The second event in the Black History celebration will be a free showing of Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns, sponsored by the Ashland Community Theatre Foundation, held at the Firehouse Theatre March 16, 2012 at 7:30 p.m, followed by a ”Talkback” with desserts and refreshments.   To learn more about the Firehouse Theatre and see a trailer for the film, click here.

The third and final part of our free Black History Celebration will be a visit by Ezibu Muntu - an African Dance Group – on Sunday, May 6, 2012 at the Hanover Arts and Activities Center from 4:30 – 5:30 p.m.  According to their web site, ”Ezibu Muntu African Dance and Cultural Foundation is a professional organization of dancers, drummers, entertainers and other individuals dedicated to invoking a better educated positive understanding of African culture, values, traditions and the cultural arts as a whole. Through exposing the community-at-large to educational and artistic programming based on African culture and art forms, Ezibu Muntu hopes to enrich the diversity of the community and reintroduce basic African concepts of family and community into society by informing and exhibiting.”  To read more about this organization, please click here.

Join  the cowboys and cowgirls in a rootin’ tootin’ Storybook Series of the Concert Ballet of Virginia - Pecos Bill’s Saturday Night in the Great American West….on Sunday, April 15, 2012 at 3:30 p.m. at the Hanover Arts & Activities Center.

Based on the tall tales of Pecos Bill and the Saturday night shenanigans of the Ya-hoo barn dance!  Dancin’ is energetic, costumes colorful – a perfect show for guys and gals alike!

Tickets $5.00 each or $8.00 at the door.  Light refreshments will be on sale at the show or bring our own snacks.  Click here for more details.

Come join the fun ~ help us raise the FUNds for major painting and repair of the tin roof over our 153-year-old building 

Mark your calendars now for Saturday, March 3, 2012 from 7:30 – 11:00 PM at The Center!A limited number of tickets will be available, going on sale beginning Monday, February 6, 2012 at The Center, at Cross Brothers Grocery and online.  To purchase tickets online, click here.  Tickets purchased online will be held at the Will Call table the night of the event.  Tickets are $25 per person or $45 per couple and include heavy hors d’oeuvres, dancing to your party favorites and a night of fun….. all to benefit a good cause  Cash bar will be available.   FYI – DJ Sunny Girl (aka Elizabeth Melson) will be “spinning” the tunes.

For more information, visit www.hanoverarts.org or call 804.798.2728 or email info@hanoverarts.org.

Other events include a 5k Fun Run/Walk, a 1 Mile Kid’s Run, and a “Green Fair” to celebrate our efforts to keep our race eco-friendly.

For race information, please click here.

There are two ways to Register:

• Register online at RaceIt.com or  click here  to print a paper form and send it in with payment to the Hanover Arts and Activities Center. 

Looking forward to another great race!

Thanks so much for supporting our 2nd Annual Online Recycled Art Auction and for visiting the Center at our Holiday Open House on December 5, 2011.  We enjoyed getting to meet and greet so many new friends and neighbors and to welcome back old friends.   Your purchase of our recycled items helps us to raise funds to maintain our historic home, built in 1859.

Remember to Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.  How is the Center green?  Our 2012 Railroad Run once again features a Green Fair – free to the public.  This year’s Green Fair will be Saturday, April 21, 2012.  Vendors who support green/organic  initiatives are being solicited.  In addition to hosting the Green Fair, we use recycled products – copy paper, hand towels, and tissue.  We recycle at our events, and we collect aluminum cans for Habitat for Humanity.  If you have CFL (compact fluoresent light bulbs), we have a collection bin just inside the ramp door at the Center, and we are happy to recycle your bulbs – they must not go in the landfill.  As a fundraiser, we recycle ink cartridges from your desktop prints (for cash). 

The doors to the Center will creak open to welcome all starting at 6:30 p.m. as trick or treaters begin to roam the streets of Ashland.

 The Center will echo with the sounds of the Hanover Concert  Band’s  Classical Spooky Music Concert. According to long-time Center board member Paige Christy, “What really highlights the whole evening is the eerie and haunting music being performed by the Hanover Concert Band.  They do such a good job and really get into the spirit of the spookiness to create the perfect atmosphere for the evening.”  While at the Center families can enjoy free apple cider and baked goods and vote for the best carved pumpkins. 

Families should come ready to show off those costumes, too, as there will be a costume contest for both humans and pets. Christy adds, For more information call the Hanover Arts and Activities Center at (804)798-2728 or please visit www.hanoverarts.org.

The Dixie Power Trio delights audiences across the country with their eclectic mix of New Orleans jazz, zydeco, Cajun and original compositions, and charms them with their zany wit.

Neither a trio nor purely a Dixieland band, the Trio is comprised of Zack Smith on cornet and accordion, Andy Kochenour on tuba, Wayne Wilkinson on guitar and Byron McWilliams on drums.

The Washington Post praises the Trio’s “…class menagerie of tunes… from Lou Reed to Louis Armstrong, The Beatles to Led Zeppelin, Dr. John to The Neville Brothers. They call it Dixieland music for the 21st century, but it’s worth hearing now!” Their interpretation of classic tunes is equaled by the excellence of their original works. Recent winners of the prestigious WAMMIE award (Washington Area Music Awards) for Best Traditional Jazz Recording, this band is not to be missed.

If you would like to purchase a two-disc DVD of the 2011 Musical Variety Show, please visit WulfTeam Productions to purchase online.

If you would like to view and/or purchase professional photos of the Musical Variety Show, please visit 402 Photography.