Booth Buddies - The Arts Center in Orange

Yesterday we were in Orange, VA for the 41st Annual Orange Street Festival. Orange is a charming town near the blue ridge mountains. Our booth was by the town's beautifully restored train station    that is now  a visitors center. The train still runs through the center of town which made for some fun breaks during the festival to watch and wave at the train as it passed by. Our kids tagged along for this show and they were thrilled to find an awesome kids zone across the street from our booth. They were able to moon bounce, play with really cool blocks provided by a regional children's museum, and ride the tractor train to their hearts' content. They also had fun checking out all of the booths. 

Our booth buddy this week was The Arts Center in Orange. The Arts Center is in a beautiful old building in the center of town. In addition to classes the center has a large and bright gallery space, and a retail shop that sells work by regional artists - including our paint by number kits! 

If you visit Orange, you won't be able to miss the center. It's entryway is covered with tiles painting by local children. The gallery rotates exhibits and frequently hosts art competitions. They are currently accepting submissions from Virginia artists for the upcoming show, Equus IV: For The Love of Horses.  The retail shop is also always changing and is filled with unique goods - too many to share! I LOVED these whale tale bowls by De Haven Pottery. 

On our way home from Orange we stopped in the town of Culpeper, VA for dinner - another historic  main street worth exploring! After a great meal at The Copper Fish, we wandered into Harriet's General. This adorable shop sells an eclectic assortment of cool gifts, clothes, and home goods - all made in the USA. At the moment, the store has a really clever window display that includes two oversized coloring pages of the presidential candidates. We took turns coloring and I was happy to see that the colorers who came before us were respectful - i.e. no mustaches or "colorful" language. The display also gave me an idea... details to come.