THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 24, 1996 TAG: 9603220079
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STEPHEN HARRIMAN
LENGTH: Long : 115 lines
NOW THAT SPRING has blustered in, can the dogwoods, rhododendrons and azaleas be far behind? It's time to mark the calendar for upcoming rites in the region.
Tops on the list is the 63rd annual Historic Garden Week in Virginia, April 20-27. The statewide house and garden tour program, sponsored by the Garden Club of Virginia, covers more than 250 properties, from 17th century Colonial manors to contemporary homes, from city townhouses to country farms.
Tours are self-guided, with local shuttle buses providing transportation at some locations. Admission to individual houses costs $3 to $5, and tours - usually covering six homes - are $8 to $20.
Locally, tours are scheduled for Portsmouth, Suffolk and Franklin, April 20; Princess Anne, April 21; Virginia Beach, April 23; Hampton, April 24; Norfolk, April 25; and the Eastern Shore, April 27.
A guidebook listing Garden Week tours is available for $3 from Historic Garden Week, 12 E. Franklin St., Richmond, Va. 23219; (804) 644-7776, fax (804) 644-7778.
Also this: The National Trust for Historic Preservation's weeklong Grand Houses and Plantations of Virginia includes visits to the homes of George Washington (Mount Vernon), Thomas Jefferson (Monticello) and James Madison (Montpelier) plus the State Capitol in Richmond, designed by Jefferson, and the 19th century Woodlawn Plantation, near Mount Vernon.
The tour, April 10-16, will be accompanied by William Kloss, an art and architecture historian. The trip, which starts and finishes in Washington, costs $1,495 a person based on double occupancy, and includes several meals and all entrance fees. Accommodations are at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington and the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond. Info: (800) 944-6847, fax (202) 673-4246. SHORT NOTICE
Friday is President John Tyler's 206th birthday. Needn't bother with a card, but you can extend appropriate comments to his grandson, Harrison Ruffin Tyler, at the family home, Sherwood Forest, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. during birthday celebrations. Friday also marks the third anniversay of the re-opening of the 10th president's home for public visitation.
Sherwood Forest is located off Va. 5, about 15 miles west of Williamsburg in Charles City County. Admission is $7.50 for adults, $4.50 for students. Info: (804) 829-5377.
The Civil War Battle of Five Forks will be re-enacted Saturday and Sunday (9-5 each day) off U.S. 1 in Dinwiddie County, 11 miles south of Petersburg near the Southside Speedway.
Five Forks was a crossroad in the middle of nowhere but one, along with the Southside Railroad, that the Confederates had to hold or they could not hold Petersburg. The battle, Phil Sheridan vs. George Pickett, April 1, 1865, was the most decisive Federal victory of the war.
Pickett, the tragic hero of Gettysburg, did not cloak himself in glory this day.
In addition to battle re-enactments, there will be a field hospital amputation demonstration and a fish-fry Saturday night. The latter is a re-enactment of sorts, too; Pickett and his Confederate troops seem to have been eating shad when the Union soldiers attacked. HORSING AROUND
There's steeplechase racing at Richmond's State Fair Grounds - the Strawberry Hill Races - April 13. Tailgate dining is a serious affair there. Admission is $15 in advance, $25 after April 9. Info: (804) 228-3200.
The 37th annual Hunt Country Stable Tour, a self-driven look at Northern Virginia horse country, is scheduled May 25-26 in the Middleburg-Upperville area west of Washington.
Tickets, $15, are valid for two days and may be purchased on tour days at any stop. Children under 12 are free. A catered country luncheon will be served at the event, hosted by Trinity Episcopal Church, at a price of $8 for adults and $4 for children. Advance-sale and group discounts are available.
Proceeds from the weekend support numerous organizations, including Habitat for Humanity and So Others Might Eat. Info: (540) 592-3711. TOURING WASHINGTON
The White House has resumed its tourist-season tour ticket policy. Until Aug. 31, free timed-entry tickets for White House tours must be obtained at the White House Visitor Center, 1450 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, the morning of your visit. The limit is six tickets per person. Tours are Tuesdays-Saturdays 10 a.m. to noon. Info: (202) 208-1631 or (202) 456-7041.
Beginning April 7, you'll need a timed ticket to go up in the Washington Monument. After a successful test period, the National Park Service has adopted the ticket method for the peak tourist season, which runs to Sept. 2. The tickets will be marked for half-hour intervals and are available free on a first-come, first-served basis at a ticket booth at 15th Street just below the monument. Tickets also can be reserved in advance, for $2, through Ticketmaster (800) 505-5040. If you order through Ticketmaster, the tickets will be mailed and you can avoid even the booth line.
The Washington Water Bus has launched Potomac River service that may be the best way to experience the annual Cherry Blossom Festival, which runs for two weeks starting March 31.
Continuous daylight service will be offered from 9 a.m. until dark through October by four electric-powered tri-hull boats, which will seat about 20 passengers on open decks (with canopies for inclement weather). They'll make four stops: Fourteenth Street Bridge-Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln-FDR Memorials, Washington Harbour-Georgetown, and Theodore Roosevelt Island.
All-day tickets ($9 for adults, $7 kids 14 and under) will be sold on board, and discount tickets will be available at various capital locations. Info: (800) 288-7925. FREE STUFF
To get a Virginia Is For Lovers Travel Guide and/or a Virginia Is For Outdoor Lovers Guide (the latter is new, produced in cooperation with Backpacker magazine), call (800) 424-LOVE.
Maryland has a new advertising slogon: ``So many things to do. So close together.'' To see what our neighbors are talking about, call for a Destination Maryland travel guide - (800) MD IS FUN, Ext. 123. MEMO: Travel-wise is compiled from wire-service reports, news releases, trade
journals, books, magazines and the deepest recesses of the writer's
mind. Send comments and questions to Travel-wise, The Virginian-Pilot,
Norfolk, Va. 23501-0449; phone (804) 446-2904. by CNB