Historic Front Royal: A Wintertime Blast from the Past

Front Royal isn't exactly a hotbed of activity as far as nightlife is concerned, but it's a great place for history buffs and there's always plenty of stuff going on for families, particularly around the holidays. Here's an overview of some of the events in the upcoming months.

Bluegrass Party

Every other Friday (the second and fourth of the month), Front Royal holds a good old-fashioned hoe-down/shindig/jam session in the bluegrass vein. Featuring gospel and old-time music played acoustically, at the Browntown Community Center, anybody is welcome to listen as well as join in, since all levels of musicians are welcome. There's plenty of food concessions at reasonable prices, and from 7pm to 10pm, it's a decent evening that's late enough for the party crowd but not too late for families with young children.

Contact (540)778-4777 or (540)636-3588 for more information.

Christmas Celebration and Parade

During the first weekend of December, Front Royal has its annual "Old Time Christmas Celebration" downtown at the town square and gazebo. As well as live music, there will be authentically dressed Victorian carolers and horse-drawn carriages. They're working on renovating the downtown/old town area, so plenty of new shops will be open to showcase their wares. The parade starts around 4pm, and the holiday lighting will be turned on for the first time.

Contact (540)631-0099 or www.downtownfrontroyal.com for more information.

Historic Walking Tour of Downtown Front Royal

As long as you're in downtown looking at the decorations and window shopping, go by the Visitor's Center (next to the Mill Street restaurant) and get a "Walking Tour of Front Royal" guide. You'll be right there on Chester Street anyway, where the tour begins, and your tour will take you by the Warren Rifles Confederate Museum (closed this time of year except by appointment, but do call for the appointment - it's worth it), the Belle Boyd House (home of famous Confederate spy Belle Boyd) and Soldiers Circle, where the remains lay of 276 Confederate soldiers representing each of the 13 states of the Confederacy. Also, a lot of people don't know that Warren Beatty and Shirley Maclaine grew up here in Front Royal, but their summer home is on the walking tour as well, for all you celebrity hounds. Many of these historical sites have special holiday hours and events and are tastefully decorated for the holidays.

If the weather holds and the roads aren't yet frozen, the biggest attraction in Front Royal, aside from the Civil War battlefields, is Skyline Drive. Front Royal is the entrance of Skyline Drive, and you can take this route all the way down to Charlottesville, VA where it becomes the Blue Ridge Parkway as it goes further south. In this area, however, it's gorgeous this time of year when the leaves are changing, and wintertime scenic vistas on the Drive are breathtaking. Admission to this portion of the Parkway is $15 per vehicle, but it's totally worth it.

http://www.warrenhs.org/
http://www.frontroyalchamber.com/

Shenandoah River Estates Holidays-A-Go-Go

I have to tell you that this last holiday activity is definitely the best one. From I-66, take the Linden exit to Dismal Hollow Road, turn left on Happy Creek Road, and turn right across the railroad tracks to Shenandoah River Estates. Here is Front Royal's true holiday bonanza, for here is where the author of this piece resides (along with Mr. Timbers). You'll be able to spot our house very easily, because it will be the one with no decorations. Or maybe it will be the one with Easter or July 4th decorations. We're very weird. And if you're lucky, you'll come by on one of our bonfire nights. Around the holidays, if you knock on the door and know the password to enter ("Bruce Willis"), we'll let you in, give you a cookie, and let you take a whack at the pinata we have as our sole living room decoration. It's not Christmas without some whacking. And you can quote me on that.

So, in conclusion, I'd just like to say that Front Royal might be a bit of a backwater and kind of slow, but holidays in a little burg, especially one as steeped in history as this one, are pretty cool. I've lived in big cities, and while they have their own Christmas festivity and New Year's crazy parties, they don't have the peaceful, quiet, cozy charm of a down home Christmas in a small town.