PHW’s Memberfest 2015 Is a Secret . . .

Memberfest 2015

Shhh…it’s a speakeasy!

Join us on Friday, October 23, 2015 for an evening of 1920-30s jazz by the Bob Larson Trio, finger foods, wine and homebrew beers at PHW’s 2015 Memberfest at Below the Fringe, 137 South Loudoun Street. The first 50 guests through the door will receive a souvenir mason jar for your drinks during the event. Tales of Winchester’s time as a “dry” town will be told during the musical intermissions. Even better, the event is FREE for our current PHW members as a thank you for your continued support!

Date: Friday, October 23, 2015

Time: 6-10 p.m.

Place: Below the Fringe, 137 South Loudoun Street

Dress: Casual cocktail or flapper attire (check out Glamour Daze, Fashion-Era.com, Victoriana Magazine, and Vintage Dancer for men and women’s 1920s fashion ideas.)

Cost: FREE to current PHW members, or
$30/single, $55/couple (includes 1 year membership to PHW)



PHW Membership (Yearly Subscription)




If you prefer to mail a check, click here for a copy of our membership application form to return with your dues. One time credit card payments can be made in person at the PHW office or by using the PayPal Donation option.

PHW Fall Program Updates

We’ve been quiet at PHW lately…because we’re hard at work on Holiday House Tour! All the houses are set this year for the December 7 and 8 event. There are still a few things we’re working on to bring the tour together, however, and here’s where you can help:

Ad space is still available in the program booklet (prices range from $75 to $250) and a Major Sponsor slot at $1000. The deadline to get an ad in the booklet is October 31; email us at phwi@verizon.net if you have questions or want to place an ad.

Volunteers are always needed. If you are willing to be a docent on December 7 and 8, or if you want to be added to PHW’s list of volunteer decorators to work in the houses before the event, please send your contact info to phwi@verizon.net with your job preferences.

But that’s not all on our events calendar! Don’t forget the Membership Signup Contest is going on until Dec. 6. Our next Lunch and Learn Lecture with Maral Kalbian on “How to Research Your Historic House” is set for noon at the 126 N. Kent St. on Oct. 29, to be followed on Nov. 12 by David Logan with “How to Restore and Repair Historic Wood Windows.”

Results Are In from Memberfest!

Thanks for everyone who came out to visit us on Friday night. We had a number of activities going at the front door, and we’re happy to announce the winners for three of the four events that kicked off last night:

Winner of a wreath from the Bough and Dough Shop:
Laura Stokes

Winner of the Winchester Trivia Game, with 9 out of 10 correct answers for two Holiday House Tour Tickets:
Chris and Melissa Ferguson

New member signup for four Holiday House Tour tickets:
Rob Holmes

Winners can expect a voucher in the mail soon so you can claim your prizes during Holiday House Tour.

The fourth event, the Membership Signup Contest, is open now until December 6. Refer at least four friends to join PHW for a chance to win a $200 gift certificate to EBS Gallery.

Save the Date for PHW’s 2013 Memberfest

Date: Friday, October 4, 2013
Time: 6-9 p.m.
Location: The Feltner Museum at 9 Court Square
Admission: FREE for PHW Members and Their Guests

Join Preservation of Historic Winchester in Old Town Winchester during the October First Friday celebrations. Meet and greet other PHW members. Information on PHW membership and upcoming activities will be available. Tour the Feltner Museum, enjoy light refreshments, and even try your hand at a Winchester trivia game to win some prizes. Bring a friend and introduce them to PHW, too!

For more information, contact PHW at phwi@verizon.net or (540) 667-3577.

Membership Signup Contest Deadline Next Friday

For everyone working on the membership signup contest, we are down to the wire with just one week to go. If you’re holding onto any memberships, they need to be turned in to the PHW Office Friday, December 7 by 5 PM. Entries will be tallied and announced on Monday, December 10. The current leader has 16 entries, so make sure you work hard to match or beat that number to be in the running for the framed Beyer print or the $300 store credit to Eugene B. Smith’s Gallery!

Memberfest Raffle Winners

If you weren’t on hand for the drawing at the end of the night for Memberfest, here’s the rundown:

Welcome Pack Prizes (Beside a Valley Road, The Impossible Task, $25 gift certificate to the Total Image and Workingman’s Store, quilt block notecards, certificate for two Holiday House Tour tickets, and a pineapple welcome pin) – Angela Duncan

Apple Pack Prizes (Three limited edition apple sculptures depicting the Frederick County Courthouse, Abram’s Delight, and Glen Burnie, with matching stands, and also the “Follow the Apple Trail” driving tour and a golden apple pin) – Tina Scully

Winchester Pack Prizes (Decorative plate of the Kurtz Building, three packs of assorted notecards, certificate for two Holiday House Tour Tickets, and one downtown Winchester pin) – Jessica Watson and Barbara Laidlaw

PHW Pack Prizes (Limestone, Sycamores, and Architecture, lap afghan, three packs of PHW notecards, certificate for two Holiday House Tour tickets, and one downtown Winchester pin) – Robbie Marchant

Basket Items (Gift certificate/wine tasting for 4 at Kindred Pointe Winery, red and white wine from Williamsburg Winery, four wine glasses, truffles, marble wine cork, dip mixes, napkins, and wine light) – Justin Hoppes

Crate Items (Eugene Smith framed Apple Blossom poster, apple crate, apple wine, pie plate, apple pie filling, apple cranberry spread, apple cookbook, apple candles, dip mix, collectible Apple Blossom Coke bottles) – Sandy Pumphrey

Door Table (Table made from reclaimed historic wood from three buildings in the Winchester Historic District) – Donna Downing

Congratulations to our raffle winners! If you didn’t get lucky this time, look for more events like this in the future. You never know what we might raffle off next!

Memberfest Success!

Thank you to everyone who stopped by Memberfest on Friday! We had a full house at Eugene B. Smith’s Gallery for the party. The “Vanished Winchester” slideshow was quite a hit; we hope you were able to see that while you were out and about for First Friday. We are also so pleased at all the members who joined — or rejoined — PHW at the event. We could not be a working organization without all of our members. Thank you for your support!

If you are working on the membership signup contest, the competition is getting stiff! Our current leader has signed up 12 members so far with the help of the Memberfest party. You have until December 7 to meet or beat that number to be in the running for the grand prize of a framed Beyer print or $300 in store credit to the Eugene B. Smith Gallery.

Concerning the raffle prizes, including the special table made from reclaimed wood, a little over 400 raffle tickets were sold at the event. We are now working on getting the prizes ready to go to the lucky winners. Look for another post when all the winners have been notified!

Memberfest is Coming

November 2 is almost here, and that means First Fridays downtown! Remember to stop in the Eugene B. Smith Gallery at 25 North Loudoun Street between 6-10 PM to meet up with the folks from PHW while you’re taking in the other activities. Downstairs in the gallery space will be a reception and live music surrounded by Eugene Smith’s artwork. Upstairs will be PHW central, with information on the organization, membership signups and a special slideshow highlighting “Vanished Winchester,” a look back at some lost buildings both inside and outside the Historic District. You can also try your luck at an assortment of door prizes, with the most special prize being the “door table.”

The table is made from reclaimed wood from three buildings in the Winchester Historic District that were recently renovated or are undergoing work currently, including 427 North Loudoun, 507 South Loudoun, and 201 South Braddock Street (the Samuel Noakes house, which you have seen undergoing a transformation here at the PHW blog). This is a once in a lifetime chance to own a special piece of Winchester history, and it could be yours for just a single raffle ticket. Bring some dollar bills and take a chance – tickets are $1 each or 6 for $5.

This event is the perfect opportunity for you to socialize with other PHW supporters and introduce your friends to PHW as part of the membership signup contest. While you have until December 7 to sign up new members to PHW to be in the running for the Beyer print “A View of Winchester” OR the $300 store credit to the EBS Gallery, you’d better hurry! December 7 (and Holiday House Tour) will be here before you know it.

Memberfest Updates

It has been just about a week since PHW announced Memberfest and launched the Membership Signup Campaign. We’ve already received some new member signups at the office — thank you very much! Remember, the more members you sign up, the better your chances are for winning the grand prize, a framed print of Edward Beyer’s “A View of Winchester” or $300 in store credit to the EBS Gallery. If you haven’t started yet, don’t worry! The signup contest runs until December 7, so you have plenty of time.

We also have a bit more information on the special table which will be available as a door prize at Memberfest on Nov. 2 at Eugene B. Smith’s Gallery. This table is made from reclaimed wood from the Winchester Historic District. The table legs were made from an oak rafter from 507 S. Loudoun St. The table top was made from a board and batten door of heart pine from 427 N. Loudoun St., while the table skirt was made from a heart pine doorjamb from 201 S. Braddock St. Tommy Beavers of Beavers Carpentry and Nancy Murphy have been working on this project for us. We’ll be sure to share pictures of the finished table when they’re available.