Community Notebook: CASA Hosts Blue Elephant Sale

By Amber Lester Kennedy Thursday, April 14, 2011

Thrifty shoppers looking to do some good with their dollars should attend Colonial CASA’s fourth annual A Blue Elephant Affair on Friday.

The event is a catered tag sale, allowing shoppers to sip wine, snack and look for great bargains. It will start at 6:30 p.m. Friday at the Williamsburg Crossing Shopping Center. Tickets are $25 and may be purchased here.

The profits from the fundraiser support CASA’s mission to ensure all abused and neglected children have advocates. CASA, or Court Appointed Special Advocates, pairs volunteers with children who need a voice in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. A CASA advocate researches all areas of a child’s life, consults with all professionals involved and then provides an in-depth report, including recommendations, to the court. Learn more here.

Williamsburg Celebrates Earth Day

The Williamsburg Parks and Recreation Department will host an Earth Day celebration from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday at Waller Mill Park. The event is free, but there is a $2 entrance fee per vehicle.

Families will have a chance to watch a fish shocking demonstration, plant flowers, make bird feeders and have faces painted at the event. The Parks and Recreation Department will also collect batteries, cell phones, plastic shopping bags and tennis shoes to recycle.

The vendors and demonstrators include: A Zoo in my Luggage; Bay Disposal; Tai Chi demonstration; Chesapeake Bay Foundation; Custom Welding; Game & Inland Fisheries; Jim Orband; JuJu Beads; Mary Lynn Wilding; Master Naturalists; Nature Camp, Inc.; Optimizing Resilience; Paula’s Palette; Rehubs; Riverview Plantation Trading Company; Virginia Institute of Marine Science; Williamsburg Climate Action Network; Williamsburg Fire Department; Williamsburg Police Department; and the York River State Park.

For more event information, call (757) 259-3778.

Enjoy Lawn Bowling in CW

Indulge in some 18th century-style recreation on Sunday at The Williamsburg Inn Lawn Bowling Club’s open house.

From 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, club members will provide free lessons in lawn bowling on the green behind the Williamsburg Inn at 136 E. Francis Street.

The game dates to 13th-century England, and was played by Henry VIII, Charles I and Sir Francis Drake. In Virginia, William Byrd created a green at Westover Plantation, and many taverns and estates had greens.

Colonial Williamsburg built a professional lawn bowling green behind the Inn in 1966, and members of the club hold regular tournaments. The club has 60 members, making it the second largest in the Northeast Division of the U.S. Lawn Bowling Association. For more information, click here.

Alliance Hosts Taste of Williamsburg

The Greater Williamsburg Chamber and Tourism Alliance is hosting the 18th annual “Taste of Williamsburg” from 6 to 8 p.m. on April 20 in the Virginia Room at the Williamsburg Lodge.

The event brings out the best chefs from the area’s dining establishments to offer samples of special fare. Colonial Williamsburg Executive Chef Rhys Lewis and Sommelier Charles Birr will team up to offer select wine and food pairings, as well. Tickets are $35 and are available now. They can be purchased online here or by calling Donna Martin at (757) 253-7982.

WM Concert to Benefit Japan

The College of William and Mary’s A Cappella Council will present “Sing For Japan,” a benefit concert, at 8:30 p.m. on April 21 in the Commonwealth Auditorium of the Sadler Center on campus.

The event will feature 10 of the college’s 11 a cappella groups, as well as the hip hop dance group, The Syndicate. Admission will cost $3, and a simultaneous bake sale and T-shirt sale will be held in the lobby of the Sadler Center.

“A cappella groups on campus spend a lot of time and energy focusing on the details of their own individual performances,” said Jake Nelson, vice president of the Council and musical director of the group DoubleTake, “so it’s nice to have an opportunity to perform with other groups and to rally around a cause in which our campus community has shown a demonstrated interest.”

The concert will include performances by the following a cappella groups from the College: the Stairwells, the Gentlemen of the College, One Accord, Common Ground, the Intonations, the Accidentals, Reveille, Passing Notes, the Cleftomaniacs and Double Take. The event is host in collaboration with the college’s Japan Recovery Initiative.