Future Events

Keep up with Bracketts. Our newsletter will detail our Events Schedule for 2013

Nature Walks
History Walks

Workshops
Charity Harvests

Concerts by the Lake 
Painter, Watercolor, & Photography Workshops
Louisa County Open Hearth Cooking Guild
The Annual Christmas Bird Count

Events at Bracketts

Update on the Charity Garden at Bracketts Farm

The  Charity Garden continues to fulfill its promise of contributing fresh produce to the Louisa Food Bank.  Under the leadership of Mark Bailey, with help from his wife Lisa and lots of hard work from the two summer interns, the Garden has now contributed more than 4,000 lbs of produce.  I think this is a remarkable achievement.

Some of you may have seen the article in the Central Virginian of August 9th by Kate Killham.  Interns Mike Thacker and Cody Sprouse have worked very hard in spite of the hot and humid conditions.  Mike and Cody are being paid for their hard work thanks to a grant from BAMA Works, a charitable fund established by the Dave Matthews Band.  The fund is administered by the Charottesville Area Community Foundation but, the Band members themselves review grant requests every year.  We are grateful for this support  because it is good experience for these young men and they see where the fruits of their labor goes when they take the produce to the Louisa Food Bank.

Mark Bailey has been doing some staggered planting that will keep the Garden producing well into the Fall.  Mark has some tricks up his sleeve that may even allow the Garden to keep producing even well into the winter months.

How it Works
The Foundation applied to BAMA Works Fund, of the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation, for a grant in 2011.  That grant enabled us to hire two interns to work the garden and take all harvested produce to the Louisa Food Bank.  This effort was very successful and we plan to apply for another grant to continue this important work !

Community volunteers are invited to help with garden tasks like planting, weeding, culling, harvesting, etc.  There is always plenty to do in the garden.  We experimented in 2011, with shade covers for sun-sensitive crops like lettuce, chard, celery, and others.  IT WORKED ! 

Beyond the Garden....

A very wide range of activities are compatible with the many dimensions of Bracketts
Farm.   Our plans for programs, demonstrations, and workshops is in a state of change.   Many changes are underway this winter at the Farm.  We will notify "Friends of Bracketts" as these changes take place.   You may want to watch this page for updates and additions.

Call Louisa County Parks & Recreation to sign up -- at 540.967.4420.
Please note: A $3.00 charge is levied by Parks & Rec.

Louisa County Open Hearth Cooking Classes: Elaine Taylor
Learn historic 1800s foodways as you cook and enjoy eating an entire meal prepared in the slave kitchen Bracketts Farm. Long cotton pants, good shoes required. Instructors- Louisa County Historical Society. Adults only. Fee $17 plus $3 for P&R. Limit is 10 per date.

Birding & Wildlife Trail: Dr Lou Verner, VA Dept of Game & Inland Fisheries
Open Now For Self Guided Walks
The Birding & Wildlife Trail remains open but there has been a heavy undergrowth of weeds, vines and brush this year.   We plan the bush hog the trail just as soon as we have access to the right size tractor and bush hog.  The terrain is pretty challenging and driving a ractor with bush hog over the trail is not for the faint of heart. 
The trail is worth the challenge.  There are dozens of native American plant species that were used for medicinal purposes.  Some of these plants are called out in the signs along the trail.  If you come walk the trail, you wont be disappointed by the experience.  

History Walks: Mike Seaton; Native People 1491-1700; Bracketts in 1820
A two-hour, interactive discussion will feature the history of Bracketts Farm in the timeframe of 1820. This was a period when Bracketts was prosperous and figures such as Jefferson, Madison, Cabell, Monroe and other notables visited, dined and stayed at the Farm. Part of the discussion will include ancient Native People who lived on this land for thousands of years before English settlers came. The November date will feature Civil War events affecting Bracketts Farm.

Photography workshops: Elaine Taylor
Bring your camera and join us as we discuss composition, lighting and other basics of photography. We will walk around the farm discussing the particular possibilities and problems encountered in shooting landscapes, historic structures, and animals at Bracketts Farm.

Louisa County Blacksmith Guild Demonstrations

Nature Walks

The Annual Christmas Bird Count