Runners and craft beer enthusiasts alike have a reason to come hang out in New Town this weekend.
The REV3Glow Run is returning to New Town on Friday, challenging runners to don their brightest, shiniest, and flashiest apparel and complete the 5K or one-mile run in style.
Both races are untimed, so participants are encouraged to “run, walk, skip or jump their way around the course. Whatever makes you happy,” according to a news release.
The races, which will begin as the sun is setting around 8:30 p.m., are just one attraction participants can access when they pay admission into the event. A pre-run dance party featuring local DJ Amanda Pearl from Fat Cat Productions will kick things off, and event organizers will be scouting the crowd and handing out prizes for the best outfits and most creative use of glow sticks.
Participants will each get a free glow-in-the-dark T-shirt and a glow stick upon check-in, which begins at 6 p.m. Friday. Registration for the 5K is $40 until race day and $45 on site. Registration for the 1-mile is $30 until race day and $35 on site. Interested individuals or groups can register at at active.com.
For those looking for something a little more laid-back than a nighttime neon dance party race event, New Town will also be hosting their third annual Summerfest this weekend.
The festival will take place within the fenced-in portion of Sullivan Square, with guests entering and exiting through Legacy Hall. Event planners anticipate that several hundred people will come out, and more than 250 tickets have already been sold.
The star of this show will be the 24 craft beers, presented by 12 different breweries, that will be available to sample. The breweries present include Devil’s Backbone, Alewerks, O’Connor, New Belgium, Smartmouth, Legend, St. George, Duclaw, Bold Rock Hard Cider, Lagunitas, Goose Island and Heavy Seas.
Additionally, there will be food, games and live music on site. Center Street Grill, The Corner Pocket and Cogan’s Deli and Sports Pub will all have kiosks selling food at the event, and there will be cornhole sets set up on the lawn for guests who care to strike up a game.
Local 1960s rock, soul and folk band The Hark will be providing the soundtrack for the afternoon with their unique brand of crowd-pleasing party and dance music.
Admission is $20 before the event, $25 at the door and includes eight tasting tickets and a 6.5 oz. sample glass. Tickets can be purchased through Ironbound Gym, and some of the proceeds will go to benefit Williamsburg Meals on Wheels.
Piano Salesman Maintains Outstanding Sales in Tough Economic Times
Pianos have long been staples of upper-middle class homes, but the economic downturn in recent years has made it hard to move these pricey instruments.
Jesse “Buddy” Parker has managed to continue to turn in impressive sales numbers for Yamaha, the largest musical instrument manufacturing company in the world, despite a depression in the industry as a whole.
Yamaha recently recognized Parker, who is president of Parker Piano Outlet in the Williamsburg area as well as two other locations in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake, for his outstanding sales and customer service records at all three of his businesses.
Parker beat out hundreds of other dealers throughout the country to join an elite group of salespeople who have surpassed the high standard set for them by their parent company.
Parker first got into the piano business in 1969 when he started a used piano repair and refurbishing business out of his garage. From there, his business grew and expanded into selling both new and used pianos and electronic keyboards, in addition to offering repairs and music lessons.
Not content to simply buy, sell and fix pianos, Parker began a collection of his own more than 40 years ago. It includes rare and antique musical instruments as well as mechanical music machines, phonographs and personal items from famous Virginian musicians such as Patsy Cline and Wayne Newton.
Parker made the decisions to display his collection at his very own Virginia Music Museum, which is housed in the same building as his Williamsburg area piano outlet.
“Whether it’s the retail business or the museum, it’s really about the passion for music, and sharing that passion with people,” Parker said. “We take the same approach in making sure a family is getting just the right piano for what they need as we do in our work with the museum. Our mission is and always has been to put the magic of music first, listen to what people are interested in and work your hardest to make them happy.”
