top of page
Writer's pictureFredericksburg-Este

November 2018 Newsletter


There's lots of news from Fred-Este!

First up... Free lecture series updates.

Nov. 9 Lecture Cancelled! “The Piero della Francesca Trail,” the lecture scheduled for Friday, Nov. 9, at St. George’s, has been cancelled.

Please mark your calendar for upcoming dates. Social gathering at 6:30; lecture begins at 7 PM. St. George’s Church, George Street Entrance. Free.

January 18, 2019: Dr. Billy Chestnut will complete his lecture on Pre-Roman cultures in Northern Italy.

February 8, 2019: Dr. Rusty Neal will lecture on the Medieval University in Italy.

April 12, 2019: Dr. Marjorie Och, UMW professor of Italian Renaissance art, returns as guest lecturer.


 

Fall Flurry of Fun! Adult Exchange Visit: September 13-21.

We welcomed our Este friends during the Adult Exchange visit. Lorena Benetazzo, Massimo Giordano and wife Luigina Bernardi, Marcello Pistorio, Stefano Borraso, Ivan Zogia, and Vice Mayor Aurelio Puato experienced a busy week of touring, including trips to Monticello, Ash Lawn and Michie Tavern, as well as local highlights of Fredericksburg, including Chatham. A river boat cruise and dinner aboard the Spirit of Washington, views of DC from atop the Kennedy Center, shopping at Richmond’s Short Pump mall, lunch at Potomac Point Winery, and dinners and parties at members’ homes were all a part of the busy visit. Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw presented Vice Mayor Puato with gifts from the City at a business and civic leaders’ breakfast at the Marriott. There was a lovely riverside picnic with friends from another sister city, Kathmandu. Our farewell event featured a special treat: Thanksgiving in September, complete with traditional turkey, ham, dressing, gravy, sweet potato, green bean casserole, and lots of pumpkin pie! Both of our performing “divas” Ashley Anglin and Toni Maxine treated the group to their wonderful voices. Thanks to our Visit chairs Cathy and Scott Walker for their hard work, and to all our members who hosted, helped, cooked, drove, and participated. It was memorable!



Fall Lecture September 14: Billy Chestnut on Northern Italian cultures before the Romans

About 70 folks gathered at St. George’s to learn about Italy’s ancient civilizations before the Roman Empire. Billy Chestnut, a member of the Este board and an amateur scholar in Italian history and culture, gave the first of two lectures on this interesting and complicated subject. Folks can return to hear the second part on January 18, 2019, again at 6:30, in St. George’s Sydnor Hall (the George Street Entrance). Many thanks, Billy!


Este International Weekend September 28-30

Jack and Ginny East, along with Toni Maxine, visited Este to join with representatives of all its sister cities in the annual International Weekend. Jack and Ginny, relatively new members, plunged into this assignment and enjoyed meeting folks from all over Europe to discuss ideas about youth opportunities made possible through E.U. programs. We thank them for participating and for presenting their sister city counterparts with gifts from our fair city. Well done!


Artist Exchange October 12-26, 2018 Nadir Frizzarin, Este oil/pastel/acrylic painter and tattoo artist, experienced a taste of American culture and hospitality for two weeks. A busy schedule for Nadir aimed at pairing him with many local artists for up to two days, so that he could meet many local talents, experience a variety of artists in studios, homes, and classrooms, and get a true feel for the depth, quality and range of our lively arts scene.

Among the artist pairings were Gabe Pons at PonShop, Ed King at both Germanna and at LibertyTown, Joan Limbrick and Cameron Limbrick at their home studios, Steve Griffin at his Montross home and studio; Jon McMillan and the UMW Art Department, and two days with our own Cathy Herndon—one doing art, and one travelling to the new Institute for Contemporary Art at Richmond’s VCU. Trips to the Virginia Museum, sightseeing in Washington, and parties and dinners at members’ homes were also on his social calendar.

Perhaps the high point was the Sunday night reception at LibertyTown, where many of his works were exhibited, and our own Ashley Anglin translated many of his comments and insights about how he approaches his art. Nadir offered several of his works as prizes for fundraising to help offset the expenses, and two very happy winners—Midge Vittoria and Khaki Berry—were the lucky names drawn at the LibertyTown event.

Many thanks to Steve and Dianne Elstein, Nadir’s hosts for the first week; to Cathy Herndon for the cocktail party in her wonderful home; to the Lecky’s for their barbeque party; to Pat Baughman for events planning and for the VA Museum visit; to the Walkers for dinner at their home; to Chip and Kathryn Willis for the Welcome dinner and for hosting Nadir for the second week; to Felix Fraraccio and Patti Bricken for their dinner party, and to Lisa Durham for lots of things, from transportation and coordination to the LibertyTown reception work.

Numerous folks contributed mightily to the success of this visit, but special recognition goes to LibertyTown and D.D. and Ken Lecky, who once more have partnered with us in helping with the Este artist exchange. We also owe our gratitude to Lisa Durham, chair of the Cultural Exchange Committee, and to the committee members whose planning and hard work made the experience such a happy one for Nadir: Cathy Herndon, D.D. Lecky, Carolyn VanDerJagt, Kathryn Willis, and Neal Reed, who was our artist sent to Este as last year’s honoree. We love this program, and hope to incorporate lessons learned in planning for future exchanges.

Also visiting for part of Nadir’s exchange time were Sabrina dal Bello and Franco Rubini, Este folks who enjoyed sightseeing and photographing the area at their own pace, and who attended some of the events. Many thanks to their hosts, Jack and Ginny East.



Pizza Palooza

October 20! Pizza Palooza #3 rolled out in Market Square, with Italian flags flying, yummy pizza aromas in the air, and rock ‘n roll making all the pre-schoolers bounce! Postponed from September 15, our signature fundraiser brought about 700 folks out to enjoy Adventure Brewery beers, Italian wines, and hundreds of pizza slices. Acoustic Onion once more did a fab job “channeling” the Fab Four Beatles tunes, and our pizza vendors Castiglia’s, Paisano’s, Primavera, and Vocelli, competed for top honors. 


Everyone received a playing chip with the entry fee of $2, and pizza lovers voted for their favorite: Primavera won People’s Choice, while Vocelli won both the judge’s prize for Best Cheese and Best Specialty. Thanks to our judges Bob Whittingham, Travis Bullock, David Frazer, our Celebrity group, take their job seriously!!! Thanks to them ALL!

Palooza doesn’t happen without LOTS of planning. Hats off to Bob and Barbara Antozzi, to Chip Willis, and to all the volunteers who manned the tables, put up and took down the décor, and made it work. 


 

William Prescott Carter Italian Composers Series October 26

Washington’s Camerata performed a varied and interesting program at St. George’s Church as our guest artists for this annual concert, named in honor of Bill Carter, whose love of music and enthusiasm for our Este organization inspired us all. Playing on period flute instruments, featuring Italian composers from Northern Italy, and adding insightful comments about the composers and their compositions, Dr. Kelly Kazik led the trio. Tristan Bennett played on organ, harpsichord and fortepiano, and Caitlyn Bennett’s lovely soprano voice filled the nave of St. George’s with wonderful selections. While the weather was nasty, the 50 or so brave souls in attendance were well rewarded.

In addition, a drawing for additional works by Nadir Frizzarin was held. Winners were selected from those supporting the GoFundMe fundraising page as well as those who contributed $25 at the evening’s performance. Winners of the three works are Carol Fitzpatrick, Christy Campbell, and Kathryn Willis.


Again, thank you to all the volunteers who helped in offering this free performance to classical music fans:  Ashley Anglin and her dad, Bob Bevilacqua; Cathy Herndon; Christy Campbell; Chip Willis; Carolyn VanDerJagt, and Lynda Baer.

bottom of page