Otter Peaks Alpaca Farm

Do you want to learn more about alpacas? Then, come to the Otter Peaks Alpaca     Farm in Thaxton, VA.  The farm is owned by John and Cindy Ferrante, who love their animals and love what they do. They have worked with experts such as successful alpaca breeders, veterinarians, farmers, and building contractors, so that they can provide the best services for those interested in alpacas. The farm is active locally, but also participants in the Virginia Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association (VAOBA) and the national Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association (AOBA).

Otter Peaks Alpacas take great care in their alpacas by providing quality and personal attention through good management practices such as: daily medical care; nutrient, mineral and vitamin supplements; parasite prevention programs, and they provide excellent hay and pastures. They also practice good farm management by deploying rotational grazing and isolating the animals from sensitive habitats, such as wetlands.

Otter Peaks Alpaca Farm can provide you with fine alpacas for showing or for growing fine alpaca fiber for spinning. They can help you in answering your questions, and offering free consulting services to the customer for a year from the original purchase. They will mentor you as your farm develops and can even support you in breeding, birthing and a full range of alpaca husbandry and farm development.

They also take great pride in caring for their alpacas by making sure that they have no more than 25 alpacas and only conduct selective breeding to improve the quality of the herd.  This allows Otter Peaks Alpacas the opportunity to give the alpacas the special attention that they need. They currently have 15 alpacas.

Visiting Otter Peaks farm is a fun activity for school trips, field trips, camps, and individuals. To learn more about farm visits, you can contact John and Cindy at JFerra745@aol.com

Otter Peaks Alpaca Farm is also active in events, such as the Sedalia VA Farm Show and Fiber Festivals, and other such local events. The alpacas usually draw a big crowd at these events to see the alpacas and to learn more about the farm.

Otter Peaks Alpacas prides itself in supporting other local businesses by buying their supplies locally. John and Cindy also traveled to Peru to establish a business arrangement between two companies there that produce alpaca products. They sell many products that came from the United States and Peru, such as handbags, accessories, rugs, clothes, tapestries, paintings, and home-made alpaca products, which were made on their farm from their own fiber. They also have an exclusive line of unique Peruvian jewelry that is designed and made only for them by a company in Peru using products from the Amazon jungle.

For more information about the farm you can contact John and Cindy by emailing them at JFerra745@aol.com or by calling their office at (540) 587-6766 or cell phone at (540)525-0965. The farm is located on 2398 Union Church Road Thaxton, VA 24174. So, come by for a visit today!

Lynchburg’s Beer and Wine Festival

Do you love great food, music, and wine sampling? Well, then the Lynchburg Beer and Wine Festival is just for you. The Lynchburg Beer and Wine Festival will be held in the Riverfront  Festival Park in Downtown Lynchburg, on Saturday September 18^th from 10:00-5:00. There will be lots of entertainment and fun that you won’t want to miss out on.

Sampling admission is $15 in advanced or $20 at the gate. A general admission (non sampling) ticket is $5 and tickets for children 10 and under are free.

You can purchase tickets in advance at Lynch’s Landing, Accent Flags and Gifts, Travel Lovers, The Basket Case, Virginia Handcrafts, and Hill House Interiors or you can purchase them online at www.LynchburgTickets.com.

There are more than 18 breweries and wineries with sampling, PLUS, there will be artisans and craft businesses along with other local businesses. There are many different types of foods, such as coconut shrimp, sweet potato fries, pizza, burgers, gyros, and much more.

There will be many wineries such as Bright Meadows Farm, Tomahawk Mill Winery, Brooks Mill Winery, and Hickory Hill Vineyards and Winery. Some of the breweries who are participating in this events are Jefferson Street Brewery, Century Beverage, Tuppers, and Starr Hill Brewery. Plus, vendors such as Blue Ridge BBQ Company, CoCo’s Jewelry Boutique, Koto’s Grill, Little Treasures, Ned’s Beer Shop, and Pints O Plenty will also be there. To learn more about the other breweries, wineries, and vendors participating in this event, go to http://www.lynchburgshows.com/beer-wine-festival/participating-vendors/.

This is a great opportunity for those in sales who are looking for potential customers and to show them your products and services; to increase sales and drive quality leads. In addition to this, you can learn about sponsorship opportunities to help your marketing strategy. For more information about vendors, you can go to http://www.lynchburgshows.com/beer-wine-festival/vendor-information/http://www.lynchburgshows.com/beer-wine-festival/vendor-information/.

There will be great music and entertainment feature Dragonfly, The House Band, and Jerry Wimmer. Dragonly will perform at 10 with a mixture of country, rock, and dance hits. Do you love some of the 70’s great hits? Then, you will love The House Band who will perform hits from people such as The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Jeffrey Osbourne, and many more.

Jerry Wimmer is very talented and has been the featured tenor soloist in Handel’s Messiah when he was a student at Radford University and he did solo acoustic shows entertaining thousands in The Worx. He has done bluegrass and jazz and gospel quartets in his first band called Southern Breeze. He will be performing an acoustic show at 3:00.

So, come on out and join the fun! You can get directions from Charlottesville, Danville, and Roanoke on the lynchburgsshows website, plus find close hotels near the downtown Lynchburg area.

Gerald’s

Are you looking for a new place to eat in Lynchburg? Well, come on over to Gerald’s in Wyndhurst. This is a local, comfortable restaurant that even has a lounge near the back of the restaurant for private parties, along with TVs and leather black couches.

Gerald’s has a unique menu with dishes such as the chicken curry, steaks, fried potato salad, German potatoes, and even has a five-cheese mac and cheese. Gerald’s also has a fun desert Gimmie S’mores, for those who love classic s’mores. For those who love the south and southern food, Gerald’s also has grits that comes with shrimp.

Gerald’s, owned by Michelle Hamrick, is a small unique local restaurant in Wyndhurst. This restaurant has many different types of foods, such as Italian, Irish, German, and Mexican. Gerlad’s also has delicious foods such as, smoked sausages, different types of sandwiches,  lobster ravioli, burgers, pastas, and so much more.

Gerald’s also has many different types of hoagies, such as the Hawaiian Chicken Salad Hoagie with chicken salad, cucumber, spinach, pineapple, bacon, lettuce, and nuts. The Smoked Sausage and Bacon Roll has BBQ sauce, pepper jack cheese, and sweet pepper relish. For the vegetarians out there, Gerald’s also has a Grilled Veggie hoagie with different vegetables and wasabi mayo. These are only some of the items Gerald’s offers.

Michelle Hamrick spent four years as the head chef in a local restaurant in Wyndhurst called Home Gourmet, and had also been the executive chef at the Holiday Inn’s Lunchbag on Main in Downtown Lynchburg.

Michelle Hamrick also networks with other restaurants nearby, such as Montana Plains Bakery, who fixes their dinner rolls, and Mountain Frost Creamery who make ice cream.

This is what one customer had to say about Gerald’s, “It’s nice to have something different for a change.  The menu was very different from the usual fare in Lynchburg.  I really hope this restaurant succeeds.  If you want something that is reasonably priced and different from the typical steakhouse fare, then this is the place for you.”

To contact Gerald’s you can call (434) 582-1414 and it is located in Wyndhurst on 112 Tradewynd Drive. You can also find Gerald’s on Facebook. Their hours are from 11am-10pm daily. There are so many different items to choose from, so come out to Wyndhurst and check it out today.

Lynchburg’s Underground Supper Club

Do you want a fun eating experience? Then, you should come and find out more about Lynchburg’s Underground Supper Club. This is really unique because it is in non-restaurant locations with people you may not know. You will enjoy a 5-7 course meal at a place the chef will choose with people that you will meet that you might not have known before.

Chef Preston Cravey III makes all of his foods from locally and organically grown meats and vegetables. He’s from Charleston, SC. He has learned a lot from Chef McKee and has won the highest award for cooking from the Charleston Food and Wine Fest as well as the James Beard House. He graduated from the Culinary Institute of Charleston.

He is a certified chef with the American Culinary Federation and has been a judge for two high school culinary programs, which are the VICA and FCCLA. He has also been a personal chef to Robert McNair who is the NFL owner of the Houston Texans, has worked with celebrity chefs, and local authors of different cookbooks.

After leaving Charleston, Chef Preston, was the Campus Ex Sous Chef for UNC Chapel Hill until arriving in Lynchburg to take over as Executive Chef at Liberty University. A knee surgery in 2009 ended what was to be his last stop before returning to North Carolina, as a Regionial Chef. He took a job as an Instructor at Culinas, and taught his way of cooking. In keeping with his Southern background,in 2010 started running his Famous Underground Supper Clubs.

The Supper Club announces its next meal online once a month a week ahead of the event. The next event is August 7^th Dancing Leaf Premier Dinner Party, welcoming the special guest, Mayor Joan Foster. You can purchase tickets online at http://lynchburgsupperclub.com/tickets/.

You can contact Chef Preston at pcravey1021@gmail.com. To learn more you can go to http://lynchburgsupperclub.com and by following Lynchburg’s Underground Supper Club on Twitter. It will be a fun experience with the most incredible food! You don’t want to miss out.

Ned’s Beer and Wine

New businesses in Lynchburg are growing every day, and one unique business that has just recently opened is Ned’s Beer and Wine. Ned’s Beer and Wine opened May 24^th this year and the grand opening was June 26^th.

The co-owners are Ashby Smith and Nate Hall. Nate Hall is also the owner of Rivermont Pizza and most of the foods are made at Rivermont Pizza.

The co-owners built up this business. They took two half walls and turned them into the counter and they used the leftover wood to build the sign that hangs behind the bar, which was done by Evan Puckett. He does the design/photography of the store as well as working the desk. They built it up themselves and have been successful.

Ashby Smith has worked for a specialty beer distributor for three years prior to opening this business, so he knows a lot about different types of beers and wines. One of his goals is for this store to be a “new way to spread some culture and new ideas to our town.” Ways that he wants to accomplish this would be to have some beer/music festivals, and by having block parties on Rivermont Avenue.

They have over 200 varieties of beers, many of which come from Virginia. This store also has unique art such as jewelry, candles, and paintings made out of beer cans. These items are actually made by artists from the surrounding Lynchburg area.

Ned’s Beer and Wine also has unique beer ice cream, along with other flavors, and might have beer-based soups in the fall. Even though Ned’s Beer and Wine has not been open for very long, they have had many block parties and tastings and can’t wait to do more in the future. One of their goals is to raise “cultural awareness about beer.”

“This is exactly what Lynchburg has been missing. They have hundreds of different micro-brews from around the United States and Imports from all over. I hear they are also going to start selling home-made ice-cream!” – a Five star reviewer

Ned’s Beer and Wine is also “the biggest selection of Micro-Brew and Import beers in Lynchburg City.” They specialize in Craft Brews, Domestics, and Imports and sell coffee, as well as locally made food from Rivermont Pizza.

Ned’s Beer and Wine is located on 2486 Rivermont Avenue Lynchburg, VA 24503 and their phone number is (434) 485-2008. Also, their hours are Sun:11am-4pm; Mon-Thurs:12pm-10pm, and Fri-Sat 12pm-12am. So come out, and see it for yourself. They have many different types of wines and beers and are very active in planning events.

Old Tunnel in Lynchburg, VA

There are a lot of different things about Lynchburg that a lot of people don’t know about. A lot of people have lived here their whole lives and don’t know some of Lynchburg’s Best Kept secrets.

One of these secrets is the tunnels in Downtown Lynchburg. There is an old tunnel underneath Jefferson Street near Amazement Square. Many people pass through here every day, but very few have noticed this. The tunnel has been filled in.

There is so much history here and we still have old buildings and old tunnels from the past. There are places, such as Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, and history from the Battle of Lynchburg during the US Civil War. There’s so much to discover and explore!

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Piney River Campground

Are you looking for something fun to do in Central Virginia for the summer? Do you love nature and the outdoors? Well, then come to the Piney River Campground in Nelson County.

There’s so much to do here. The temperature is usually high 80’s during the day and 60’s at night in the summer and high 40’s during the day and 10’s at night in the winter and there are high levels of precipitation. October is the rainiest and January is when there is the least amount of rain.

There are lots of things to do such as hiking, fishing, whitewater rafting, kayaking, swimming, and so much more. There are many trails around, such as  Mills Creek Trail, White Rock Gap Trail, Kennedy Ridge Hiking Trail, Turkey Pen Ridge Trail, Tolley Gap Trail, and many more.

You can go whitewater rafting on the Buffalo River and on the Tye River. Kayaking and whitewater rafting on the Tye River is fun, and is easier to do in rivers like this and other rivers in  Virginia then it is in most places. The South Fork on the Tye River is a lot of fun and the Upper North Fork is exciting for those who live for adventure.

Is the summer just too hot for you?  You can go to Wintergreen, which is a fun ski slope. Wintergreen has many different slopes both for those who are just beginning to learn how to ski and those who are more advanced. Wintergreen has five ski lifts, and it drops to 1003 feet. There are twenty ski trails, 38% of which are expert and advanced; 42% are intermediate and 20% of which are beginner runs. Wintergreen also has 90 acres and gets 3 feet of annual snowfall.

There is also history in Piney River, VA. Saunders Brothers Orchard & Farm Museum has Indian artifacts and many farm antiques. If you love art, then you will love Tye Brook Studio. Tye Brook Studio has many beautiful paintings of nature. It’s also fun to go horseback riding at Narrow Gate Trekking for those horse lovers out there. If you love bike riding, you can ride bikes at the Blue Ridge Bike Trail.

Virginia is such a beautiful state and the mountains are just incredible. This is such a great part of Virginia and Piney River Campground is the perfect opportunity to enjoy nature and all of the fun outdoor activities.  There’s hiking, fishing, swimming, and many other fun outdoor activities here to do.

For more information you can go to http://www.hikercentral.com/campgrounds/112524.html and Piney River Campground’s mailing address is Rt 778 Piney River, VA 22964. Piney River Campground is a fun place for the whole family so come and see for yourself!

97.9 The Planet Rock Station

Do you love rock music? Well, turn that radio to 97.9 or 106.9 to The Planet

Radio Station, which plays rock music from decades ago and today, such as Train, ZZ Top, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Nirvana, Aerosmith, Soul Asylum, Alice in Chains, Styx, Pink Floyd, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and much more!

Listening to constant commercials instead of music can be annoying and you’re probably sick of switching radio stations, so that you can listen to music. From 10am, 2pm, and 6pm, there is a 90 minute period of NO COMMERCIALS. The Planet Radio Station plays your favorite rock music commercial free.

Listening to the same few songs can be obnoxious, which is why The Planet Radio Station has “No Repeat Weekends.” From 5:00 on Friday to midnight on Sunday, The Planet does not repeat a single song, so there’s a great variety of what you listen to during the day.

Have a friend coming up with a birthday? Let The Planet radio station celebrate it with you by sending it online ahead of time. They will wish your friend a happy birthday over the radio. The radio station usually announces birthdays around 8:30 each morning. At the end of the week, Tina will draw from the birthdays that week and the winner will receive a fun party package, which includes one topping large pizza with an order of breadsticks brought to you from Upper Crust Pizza, 2 movie tickets to the Carmike Cinemas, a six-pack of either Pepsi or Diet Pepsi, and an ice cream cake from Cold Stone Creamery. In order to do this, you can either fill out the form online at http://www.rocktheplanet.fm/birthdayform/ or mail it to 19-C Wadsworth Street Lynchburg, VA 24501. They don’t accept phone calls, so remember either to do it online or mail it.

The Planet is also having a contest called 97 Days of Summer. You can register to win and the prizes are from Wildwood Campground. You will either win either,  two nights at a   9 person cabin plus 5 passes for mini golf or a 6 person cabin plus 5 passes for mini golf. Wildwood Campground is located at 6252 Elon Rd Monroe, VA 24574.

Do you love blues music? Then, come to the 5^th Annual Blue Ridge Blues and BBQ Festival on Saturday, July 17^th at Elmwood Park in Downtown Roanoke. Gates open at 11:30, but the event goes from noon to 10:00 pm. The event features Matt “Guitar” Murphy with the Nouveax Honkies, Sean Chambers, Labron Labenzy & L.A. 3, and much more!

Tickets for kids ten and under are FREE and are $20 at the gate, $15 in advance for adults. To order tickets in advance you can either call the box office by calling 540-345-2550, go online and order them from www.jeffcenter.org, or you can purchase them at the Jefferson Center at 541 Luck Avenue Roanoke, VA 24016. To learn more go to www.blueridgeblues.org . So, order your tickets today!

So, enjoy your day at work, while listening to Tina and Cody, and your favorite rock station 97.9 The Planet. There are limited commercials and a great variety of different songs. You can call The Planet Studio Listener Comment Line at (866) 376-0979.

Crabtree Falls

Are you looking for something to do this summer? Do you want to just relax and get away from the busyness of the city? Then, come to the Crabtree Falls in Tyro, VA, which is between Lynchburg and Charlottesville in Nelson County. Here, you can enjoy Virginia’s beautiful mountains, the hiking trails, and enjoy being in nature. There’s so much here to do.

The Cabins at Crabtree Falls are really nice and out in nature. It also has one of the biggest  waterfalls on the East Coast and is  over 1500 feet.  The different cabins are Richard’s Retreat, Annie’s Cabin, Jack’s Place, Barb’s House, and Tony’s Place.

Richard’s Retreat is unique because it is an Appalachian cabin that had been brought from Kentucky. It has old structure, with modern additions and renovations. There is also heating and cooling so that you can be comfortable during your stay. Love great views? You can see the mountain called “The Priest” on the porch of Richard’s Retreat. Upstairs is a sleeping loft that can fit as many as six people.

Do you love old, historic places? Annie’s Cabin was built in the 1830s and was named after Annie Carr. This cabin had been in the Carr family  for over 150 years and Annie was the last family member to live here, who moved in the 1970s. Annie’s Cabin also has a great view of the mountains and a grill and fire pit outside.

Are you looking for a small getaway? Jack’s Place is a small cabin with one bedroom and one bath upstairs, with a living room and kitchen downstairs. There is also a double fold-out futon in the other side of the bedroom.

While Jack’s Place was built as more of a weekend getaway, Barb’s House was built for Barbara and Ray Otto, who lived here year round. Ray passed away in 1997 and Barbara treated it as a guesthouse until 2000, when she moved. Barb’s House also includes satellite with the TV/VCR. VCRs can be rented from the office. Heat and air conditioning is provided, so that you can use it to your comfort.

Would you rather stay somewhere really modern rather than historic? Tony’s Place is for you. This cabin was named after Tony Cermele, who also built the Crabtree Falls Campgrounds and is managed by his son Mark. Tony’s Place has two stories, one bedroom, and one bathroom. In the upstairs bedroom, is a queen sized bed, nightstand, lamp, drawers, and a swivel chair. Downstairs, is a washer/dryer.

Pets are allowed in all of the cabins, with the exception of Tony’s Place. Firewood is available for those who want to start a campfire, and supplies such as towels, linens, sheets, blankets, pots, pans, and tableware are provided, along with toiletries. Check-in is at 4:00 pm and check-out is at 10:00 am. You may check in early if there was nobody staying in your cabin immediately before you. You may also check out late if there is nobody staying in your cabin immediately after you, but you need to check with the office the day before. The Cabins at Crabtree Falls is very accommodating to your needs.

Is there anything to do around Nelson County? There is plenty to do. You can go hiking at the Hiking Crabtree Falls, canoeing and kayaking in the James River Basin, and go hiking at the Appalachian Trail. For those who love bike riding, you can bike ride in the back roads of Nelson County and go mountain biking at the Wintergreen Resort.

Do you like horseback riding? There’s horseback riding at The Rodes Farm Stable in Stoney Creek mid March through November at the Wintergreen Resort. The Virginia Horse Center in Lexington is also fun to watch horse shows and exhibitions.

There is also lots of history. Cyrus McCormick Farm is a historical landmark which honors Cyrus McCormick for being the first reaper.  At this site is also his historic blacksmith shop, and manor house. Stonewall Jackson’s house is in Lexington, where he lived before the US Civil War.

The Blue Ridge Arts and Crafts Trail has many gallaries along the trail full of arts and crafts such as pottery, weaving, painting, sculpture, and much more.  The heritage museums also give you the history of the landscapes.

Were you ever a big fan of the series, The Waltons? The Walton Mountain Museum has replicas of sets from the series The Waltons. Earl Hamner Jr, the creator of the show, went to school in this building.

There’s a ski resort at Wintergreen that is fun for the whole family as well. There’s so much around here to do and so much to explore!

So, come and enjoy nature at Crabtree Falls! Make your reservation today. You can do so by calling 571-291-9370.

Rise Up Climbing

Are you looking for something fun and exciting to do in Lynchburg this summer? Come try Rise Up Climbing. It’s an indoor climbing gym in Lynchburg that has a lot of different programs going on such as summer camps, events, open climb, basic skills classes, birthday parties, private groups and much more!

The summer camps are for kids ages 9-14, and it will be a great experience. These kids will learn climbing,  and how to do basic movements and turns through climbing. Not only will they learn a lot about climbing, but they will learn about more important life lessons, such as team building, respect for teammates, and other such things that kids learn through sports.

The summer camps are a great way to get your kids off the couch and having them stay active, athletic, and involved. It will also be educational and they will learn different basic things about geology. So come, get ready for the fun! It’s going to be a great summer at Rise Up Climbing.

The three sessions are from July 12-16; July 26-30, and August 9-13 and you can register your child online at http://riseupclimbing.com/index.php/summer_camp/ . It’s a day camp that goes from 9:00-3:00 and is $190 per session. Members of Rise Up Climbing will have $20 discounted off the original price and siblings will have $25 discounted as well.

There will also be fun events going on this summer. The next event is Get Outdoors 3: New River Weekend, which will be June 19-20th. This place has some of the best stone in the country and it will be a fun trip!

There are also open climb classes Friday 4-7 and Saturday 2-4. There is no pre-registration and it costs $4. There are staff there who help you learn how to climb and help those who are new.

The basic skills classes are Mondays and Fridays 7-9 and Saturdays 1-3. Pre-registration is needed for these classes and you must be at least 14 years of age. These classes teach you the safety that you will need when climbing on your own. You will learn how to put on a harness, tie yourself into a rope, and belay for a partner. These classes are $20 for members and $25 for non-members.

Does your child have a birthday coming up? Rise Up Climbing has fun birthday parties, so come celebrate.  It will be a lot of fun where the kids can climb in the gym and afterwards play in the party room. The invitations can even be downloaded online. You need to pre-register to have a birthday party and the cost is $18 for members and $20 for non-members. So come, and have fun!

Do you want to meet here after a business meeting? Are you looking for something to do with a group of your friends? Whether kid, teen, or adult, Rise Up Climbing has private groups, where the staff can teach you the skills you are learning, or can teach you how to climb.  Pre-registration is needed and the group needs to be at least 6 people.

Rise Up Climbing also has a competitive team called Team Rise Up for climbers who would like to advance their skills.

There are also classes that work on specific skills such as, Wall Contact and Sequencing, Turning, Balance and Movement, Movements for steeper walls, Personalized Training, On-sight and Redpoint Tactics, and Sport Leading. These classes are $35 for members and $75 for non-members.

It’s important for kids to stay active and stay healthy and Rise Up Climbing can not only accomplish that, but can make it fun for kids to learn how to climb. This is an opportunity for kids to learn a new sport and to have fun. Their location is 1225 Church St. Lynchburg, VA 24504 and their phone number is (434) 845-7625. So, come and try it out today!

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