Wingfield Farm is a stop on the Humane Foundation's Bow Wow Meow Garden Tour. Visit the Photo Place

FESTIVALS IN URBANNA AND LURAY BECKON ON SATURDAY

Top picks for out-of-town activities

BY PEGGY CARLSON

Date published: 5/7/2009

BY PEGGY CARLSON

Spring is festival and garden time in Virginia. If you are looking for an off-the-beaten-path road trip for this weekend, here are three possibilities for your consideration.

The ninth annual Art on the Halfshell Festival will be held in Urbanna at Tabor Park on Rappahannock Street, Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Urbanna is a picturesque, historic town on the Rappahannock River on the Middle Peninsula, established in Colonial times as a port to ship tobacco. This fine art and craft event includes 100 exhibiting artists, a hands-on children's art center, live entertainment, demonstrations, performing arts, food and much more. For details, call 804/758-5788 or visit arton thehalfshellfestival.com.

In an entirely different direction, you might want to visit the fifth annual Festival of Spring in Luray, "the town where the caverns meet the sky," in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley. This event will be held in the historic downtown area, and includes live entertainment, crafts, foods, wine sampling from Virginia wineries, children's activities at Inn Lawn Park, farmers market, duck race, dog disc contest, beer tasting and more. The festival will be held Saturday, 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m. For details, call 540/743-7700 or visit luraydowntown.com.

If you want to enjoy beautiful gardens and help homeless animals at the same time, the Bow Wow Meow Garden Tour in Middleburg is the place to be. The gardens at Wingfield Farm and Ellerslie Farm offer sculptures, fountains, flowers, secret garden rooms, evergreen gardens, topiaries, a Russian chapel and more. The event is sponsored by the Middleburg Humane Foundation and proceeds benefit the organization. The foundation will have some of their animals present for adoption. The tours will be held Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Tickets are $25 and can be bought at the Pink Box Visitor Center in Middleburg at 12 N. Madison St.; the MHF Thrift Shop, 6 W. Washington St. in Middleburg; or Horse Country Saddlery, 60 Alexandria Pike in Warrenton. For details, visit middleburghumane.com or call 540/364-3272. Rain dates are May 16-17.

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Date published: 5/7/2009