1st Wine Festvial

This weekend was another first for Belle Grove Plantation!

We played host to the Hanover with Brunswick Wine Festival. This was a first for both the Parrish and us.  This Wine Festival was a fund-raising event for Hanover with Brunswick Parrish to continue to support area food banks (Fredericksburg Food Pantry and King George Love Thy Neighbor), out reach programs that provide meals for the homeless at the Fredericksburg Thurman Brisben Center, and support to Empower House for Domestic Violence. Part of their mission provides all five King George area schools funding that guarantees a lunch for children who cannot pay. Funds will also help Hanover with Brunswick to continue supporting the King George Opportunity Shop that provides outreach support to the community as well as supporting other organizations who benefit from this work. Funds will also help to offset the costs of restoring, conserving, and enhancing the churches within Hanover with Brunswick Episcopal Parrish.

You may remember Emmanuel Episcopal Church, the church located at the entrance of Belle Grove Plantation. This is one of the three churches within this Parrish. The other two are St. John’s and Lambs Creek. Lambs Creek was built first in 1769. The inside of this church was destroyed by the Union Army during the Civil War. They removed the wood seating and burned the wood as firewood. The inside of the church was then used as a horse stable. St John’s is the mother church and was built in 1843. Emmanuel’s property was originally part of Belle Grove Plantation. One acre was donated in 1859 by Carolinus Turner. The church was built and opened in 1860.

During the Wine Festival, Belle Grove and Emmanuel opened their doors to the public for tours in the afternoon. Belle Grove is opened daily, but Emmanuel is not open except by appointment only. The public had a chance to see the original organ and to stand where families from Belle Grove worshipped since 1860.

The wine at the festival was flowing as attendees enjoyed the sights and sounds of Belle Grove. General’s Ridge Winery, Ingleside Vineyards and Oak Crest Winery were pouring their Chesapeake Bay Wine Trail vino for the lucky attendees at the festival.

Vendors from around King George County also came out to support this fundraising effort. Three food vendors brought their food trucks and offered food from Gourmet to Greek to just “Grub” to snack on.

The event finished up with the band “Save the Arcadian” playing their Indie and Folk Music with Belle Grove Plantation’s mansion all a glow.

We would like to thank Hanover with Brunswick for allowing us to be apart of this special event! We would also like to thank the vendors for coming and sharing their products and services with our guests. We would also like to thank those who came for the tours, wine, food and music! We appreciate all the support!

We would like to give a great big thank you to Lana! She along with her partners put in a lot of work to bring this together! She and her partners are to be commended for their efforts and for the wonderful time everyone had!

If you would like to help Hanover with Brunswick with their outreach efforts, please consider sending a donation to them. You can send your donation to:

St Johns Church

PO Box 134

King George, Virginia 22485