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First rate First Night
To all but the most experienced, organizing Leesburg's First Night may seem to be a logistical nightmare. All those downtown establishments that want to be part of the festivities.All of those performers and entertainers to audition and to decide whether or not to include in the program.
All those tickets to be sold and money to be accounted for.
All the time slots to organize.
All the public's interests and needs to be met.
But Peter Dunning of Berryville is among the most experienced and, as president and artistic director of the Bluemont Concert Series, has been organizing the event in the historic area of downtown Leesburg every year since 1979.
He admits it's a challenge, but says, "It's a wonderful thing to see it all come together, where we end up with about 20 locations and put on about 100 performances between 6 p.m. and midnight. And these are top-quality cultural performances, focused on things for the whole family throughout the entire evening."
The highlights, Dunning said, are those performances that have consistently proved to be crowd pleasers in the past.
There will be Al and the Arcadians, a group of retired professional musicians, a couple of younger jazz musicians and songstress Diva Lynch. This group brings the same energy and rhythm, the same professional polish and the same jazz and Big Band sound to First Night that they do every Tuesday night at King's Court Tavern in Leesburg.
Dunning also talks about the puppet show that will be presented by the Marks brothers, a group of classically trained musicians who are joined by Loudoun author John Gardiner, who does the reading and Gardiner's wife, Joan, who makes all of the puppets herself.
There'll be some a cappella singing from the Sine Nomine (Latin for No Name) trio -- Melissa W. Dunning, Maggie Siner and Linda Conti.
The Master Singers will bring their artistry to the stage as well.
"Then there's a group call Gold Heart, a family from Hamilton that has formed a bluegrass band and they are made up of four kids -- just the kids perform," Dunning said. "...They are very energetic and they're competing in the world. They are performing nationally and this is pretty exciting."
Another crowd pleaser has always been John McLauglin, a magician.
The Immortals rock band will be there under the guidance of the instructor Frank Keim of Lovettsville, founder of the Loudoun Music Academy.
For the first year, local actor, director and drama teacher Tim Jon will provide an evening of dramatic readings which includes excerpts from Dylan Thomas' "A Child's Christmas in Wales." Jon will be joined by the Not Just Shakespeare troupe and Stokes Tomlin.
"And rumor has it that there'll be a performance by the Dunning girls," Dunning said, referring to his daughters. "They'll all be coming back from college."
To summarize, he said, "There are things both inside and things on the street, including hayrides, to take in middle hours of the event between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. and absolutely wonderful performances scheduled."
Contact the writer at ecarlton@timespapers.com
Bluemont has done another excellent job creating a venue for artistic talent of the Loudoun community. Mr. Dunning, his family and volunteers deserve high praise for their contribution to the intellectual and cultural vitality in Loudoun.
Special praise for to the Gardiner and Marks families for their insightful and humorous presentation, "Jack in Loudoun." These two families are at the heart of the arts community of our fine county. They make Leesburg First Night an entertainment with depth and meaning.
Happy New Year, Loudoun!
Posted by LoudounPatriot
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