Dog Days of Summer
Dog Days of Summer
Summer Camps, Craft Beer Cup Winners
July can feel laboriously sluggish here in Virginia. The humidity is high by 7 a.m. — if it even breaks the night before. It’s a month that drags, where it feels hard to accomplish the chore list after work, or go for a run, and let’s not even think of turning on the oven….
The phrase, dog days of summer, comes from a constellation, if you can believe it. The hottest part of summer typically falls just after the rise of star system Sirius (the “dog star”). Ancient Greeks connected the rise of the constellation with drought, heavy thunderstorms and general lethargy.
As a child, July was the month of summer camps and county fairs. I remember learning all sorts of things at Hidden Valley 4-H camp. From archery lessons, to canoeing, to learning the names of certain stars. Our summer issue featured not one, but two stories about camp! Project Grows Summer Camp was held in June and is an immersive experience for youth to learn how to grow, harvest and prepare their own food. Learn how Project Grows encourages curiosity and individualism while connecting youth to the land.
This weekend, adult campers spend the weekend at Oeno Camp. A three day immersion program, Oeno Camp invites campers to experience the best of Virginia wine while creating opportunities and building bridges in the industry. Camp alumn and writer Sedale McCall shares his experience in Enter the Oenoverse.
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Thanks for reading, happy eating, and enjoy your weekend,
Lisa - Publisher & Editor
EVENTS
Have an event you’d like us to share? Email: info@edibleblueridge.com
7.27 Heifetz Festival of Concerts - Staunton
7.27 Sip n’ Ride - Charlottesville
7.24 Tomato Festival - Botetourt
8.02-8.03 Steppin’ Out - Blacksburg
8.04-8.10 National Farmers Market Week
8.24 Southwest Virginia Bee Festival - Roanoke
2024 Virginia Craft Beer Winners 🥇!
Last weekend the Virginia Craft Brewers Guild held their annual Craft Beer Cup. The Virginia Craft Beer Cup is the largest state competition in the U.S. and this year it saw 128 breweries compete with 473 beers submitted in 33 different categories.
Congratulations to our Edible Partners WildManDan, Heliotrope, and Big Lick Brewing who all medaled at the competition! It’s a great weekend to stop in at one of their taprooms and celebrate the excellence that is Virginia craft beer!
POEM OF THE WEEK
Back Yard
by Carl Sandberg
Shine on, O moon of summer.
Shine to the leaves of grass, catalpa and oak,
All silver under your rain to-night.
An Italian boy is sending songs to you to-night from an accordion.
A Polish boy is out with his best girl; they marry next month;
to-night they are throwing you kisses.
An old man next door is dreaming over a sheen that sits in a
cherry tree in his back yard.
The clocks say I must go—I stay here sitting on the back porch drinking
white thoughts you rain down.
Shine on, O moon,
Shake out more and more silver changes.
From The Chicago Poems (Henry Holt and Company, 1916) by Carl Sandburg.
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