Under the beautiful tall trees on the manicured lawns of the Grand Front Yard of the Wilton House Museum, the Art Deco Society of Virgina hosted their eighth Annual Gatsby Picnic. It was a stunningly beautiful day, with not a cloud in the sky. The fabulous
Grace Street Seven Vintage Jazz Band, under the leadership of Jay Brown, played for us, and performances from
The Old City Sweethearts certainly tickled our fancy. It was easy to add to our vintage collections thanks to the presence of Bygones Vintage Clothing, Halcyon Vintage, Jenna Lea Anderson Vintage, and Palmyra. The ambiance of the event was further enhanced by the presence of vintage cars from Old Dominion Model A Ford Club, and helping us stay cool was King of Pops (offering, in my opinion, the best fruit popsicles). Aside from relaxing in this perfect calming environment, there were so many other activities: Charleston dance lesson taught by Shane Gifford (and then the competition, won by Erica Vess), fashion show (Nichol Gabor and Jay Brown won best dressed), picnic display competition (won by Joanne Casey and Casey Kneipp), and croquet to be played on the rear terrace.
I was thrilled to once again photograph portraits for the event. This year, we were able to shoot portraits in the beautiful Washington Bedroom. For those who purchased a portrait, please email me for the digital download. Additional downloads, prints and other photo-gifts are available for purchase.
This beautiful historic house was originally built around 1753 for William Randolph III. In 1932, The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in the Commonwealth of Virginia undertook to rescue this storied Virginian home from ruin. As the land on which Wilton stood had been rezoned for industrialization, the house had to be dismantled, moved, and rebuilt around 1934 on the grounds where it now stands, beautifully restored. Plan a visit, and tour the house, if you haven't done so already - please
visit their website for more information.
Why not join the
Art Deco Society of Virginia, a member of the
International Coalition of Art Deco Societies,
and help preserve and promote the Commonwealth’s art deco history - the
ADSVA Website has information about upcoming events too!