Last Friday, Fearrington Village hosted and co-sponsored the annual meeting of the Chatham County Economic Development Corporation.  Before a sold-out audience of the county’s business and political leaders in the Barn, Governor Beverly Perdue spoke about the state's role in job creation and fiscal discipline.  Also in attendance were North Carolina Speaker of the House Joe Hackney, State Secretary of Commerce Keith Crisco, and county commissioners, including Chair Sally Kost who also made remarks.

In a touching moment, after the Governor spoke, Dianne Reid of the Chatham County EDC presented the Governor with a framed picture of the county’s historic courthouse which was nearly destroyed in a fire two months ago. The Governor pledged to hang the picture in the Capitol Building and reaffirmed the state’s support in rebuilding this important landmark. More...

I recently walked through the kitchen of the Fearrington House Restaurant – luckily my camera in hand – and stumbled across not only the most spectacular cake, but also an interesting moment when everyone was ever so carefully moving it. It made for an interesting picture.

Our cake designer, Jill Leckey, later described it as a 4-tiered, round cake with lemon, coconut, and marble cake inside, designed to feed around 150 people. It was destined for a wedding reception in the Barn that night.

Because the bride had asked for a spring-themed Fearrington wedding, Jill decided to adorn the cake with flowers so life-like I first thought they had just been plucked from our cutting gardens. More...

Don’t miss the beautiful oil paintings of Shannon Nyimicz now on display in the the gallery (mezzanine level) of the Old Granary Restaurant.  We’re delighted that Shannon has allowed us to display her works for an additional month, through May 31st!

Her art captures and isolates beauty found in the natural world – be it a bird, cut flowers or forced winter blooming branches – with a twist of whimsy.  Remarkably, she works from imagination to create playful paintings that are primarily representational but with an element of abstraction.  Large brushstrokes create energy and movement, rich colors express pleasure, and smaller brushes add the drawn elements. After many passes of adding and taking away paint, Shannon’s paintings are complete.  Among our favorites now on display at the Old Granary: “Forsythia,” “Sunflowers,” “Yellow Finch” and “Anemones”.

Shannon was raised in Macon, Georgia and has been a self-taught artist most of her life. She currently resides and paints in Atlanta, Georgia.  Her works are worth a special trip or – better yet – combine a visit with lunch or brunch at the restaurant!

Fearrington House partnered with Architectural Digest, the international magazine of interior design, to host its reception this week at the High Point Furniture Market.  Located only an hour from Fearrington House, High Point hosts the largest furnishings industry trade show in the world.

Executive Chef Colin Bedford and his culinary team went to High Point’s J.H. Adams Hotel where they served hors d'oeuvres and light buffet fare prepared in our kitchens. Colin also had an opportunity to mingle with the crowd of 100 which included furnishings executives, designers, Architectural Digest top staff and other tastemakers.  More...

The Fearrington Farmers' Market opened for the season this week, providing a welcome opportunity to buy local fresh produce. Available for purchase this week could be seen root vegetables, leaf lettuces, greenhouse grown tomatoes, jams and jellies and eggs (if we keep getting sunny 85 degree days, can peaches be far off?)

The market is held each Tuesday from 4-6pm in the field next to the Administration Building; for more information visit its page on our website. This year also marks the 20th anniversary of our Farmers' Market – a terrific milestone and thanks to Cathy Jones from Perry-winkle Farm for her efforts organizing this over the years! 

Don’t miss the wonderful in-depth profile on Vollis Simpson that appeared in yesterday’s New York Times. Vollis created the whimsical whirligigs that grace the entrance to Fearrington and the entrance to our Village Center. Mounted on tall poles, this folk art features our Belted Galloway cows, bicycles and animals greeting visitors and residents to Fearrington Village.

Now 91, Vollis continues to create whirligigs, although on a smaller scale, at his workshop in Lucama near Wilson, NC.  Vollis' work can be found at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, and the annual Whirligig Festival in Wilson.