JMU Student Org Invites H’burg Community to Explore the World of Films

Next Monday, October 5, Clementine and Cinemuse Film Club will present a free showing of Amelie, a 2001 French romantic comedy and five-time Academy Award nominee, including nods for Best Foreign Film and Best Original Screenplay. The event starts at 7 PM with a short discussion afterward.

Cinemuse is a student-run JMU organization where film enthusiasts gather to watch and discuss classic, independent and foreign films. Club president Jessica Weaver states that members selected Amelie “due to its name recognition and the fact that it’s been embraced by a variety of movie goers,” from independent and foreign film buffs to so-called “chick flick” fans and people whose only experience with foreign movies is the spaghetti-eating scene from “Lady and the Tramp.”

Celebrate the One Mile Challenge!

Come celebrate the One Mile Challenge Saturday, October 3 from 1-4pm at the Farmers’ Market lawn downtown! Listen to music, teach your child to ride, eat bike churned ice cream or participate in the bike parade. The purpose of the event is to advocate for a bicycle and pedestrian friendly city.

Activities include:

Map for Oct. 2 Museum and Gallery Walk

Time again for the Museum and Gallery Walk! The fall 2009 event will take place from  5 to 7 p.m. on Friday, October 2 and everyone is invited to enjoy free art, music, dance and more. Highlights of this fall’s walk include Block Party in the ‘Burg battle of the bands and several stops at new downtown establishments including Madison Interiors, The Gaines Group, Harrisonburg League of Therapists, and Zion Gate Center for Positive Living. Download the map here, or keep reading for the list of exhibits and links to artists.

Beyond Opens with a Bang

The new Asian-fusion restaurant in downtown Harrisonburg, Beyond, has become an instant hit with downtown diners. Since opening on September 10 the restaurant has been filled every night with eager customers — purely on word-of-mouth.

As JMU alum Matt Little described the scene, “I haven’t seen a single ad for this restaurant, but it’s already so popular! It is clearly the new hot spot for downtown.”

Latino Film Fest at Court Square Theater

Court Square Theater will host the Latino Film Festival of Shenandoah Valley as it returns for its seventh year of entertainment.  The festival will run from October 1^st through October 4^th, 2009 and feature films from Mexico, Uruguay, and Honduras.  All films run in Spanish with English subtitles.  Tickets are available at the door for $6 or $4 with a student ID.  For more information call (540) 433-9189 x 2 or visit www.courtsquaretheater.com

Welcome to Downtown, Beyond!

Posted by Lisa N. Ha

Beyond became my favorite downtown restaurant before it even opened.

No, it’s not because I’m Vietnamese and they serve Pan-Asian cuisine…not entirely, at least. I loved the idea of the business emerging from the Spanky Macher/pedestrian walkway/parking deck construction incidents. (True dowtownies will know the events to which I refer without further explanation.) Like a phoenix rising from the smelly midnight steam of Black’s Run, this restaurant was going to elevate the scandal-laden Water Street to a new plane of existence. Even its name, Beyond, seemed to imply that it would eclipse our small town squabbles in the shadow of its uber-modern facade.

Buy Spaghettifest Tix, Help Downtown

Spaghettifest is on its BACK September 25-27, with three full days of independent music hosted at Natural Chimneys. Mickey Glago of Midnight Spaghetti and the Chocolate G Strings (the band from whence the festival gets its name) is a longtime HDR supporter and this year has arranged it so people buying tickets for the event can support downtown at the same time.

For each ticket purchased through this link Spaghettifest will donate $5 to HDR’s Block Party in the ‘Burg, to be held on October 1. Please help spread the word to anyone who may want to by Spaghettifest tickets by emailing the link or posting it on your social networking sites!

Buy your tickets today! Click here.

The Next Steps in the Downtown Streetscape Project

Q: What are the next steps with the downtown streetscape project?

A: Phase one of the streetscape project emcompassing the east side of Main Street from Bruce to Elizabeth Streets was completed at the end of 2008. We’ve received many compliments from business owners, tourists, and the public for the new brick sidewalks, landscape beds and trees, benches and trash containers and light poles. The WWI Memorial project with new lights, flag poles, limestone wall facing and landscaping has been completed and presents a very attractive southern gateway to downtown.

The Gaines Group Architectural Firm Opens Downtown

On September 1, 2009, The Gaines Group, PLC an architectural firm with more than 22 years of experience in Central Virginia will officially open its Harrisonburg, Virginia office to serve its growing clientele in the Shenandoah Valley. “We are opening our second office in Central Virginia because of the huge demand for green architectural design and LEED consulting services in the area”, explains Charles Hendricks, AIA, CSI, CDT, LEED AP, the principal in charge of the Harrisonburg office. There is a real need in the area for practical design solutions that offer clients energy efficiency, durability, and healthy indoor air quality. We are expanding our service area to enable us to continue to provide the high quality of service and personal attention that our clients have come to expect from us over the last 22 years.” The new office is located in historic downtown Harrisonburg, Virginia at 107 S. Main St, Suite 2, Harrisonburg, VA 22801.

The Gaines Group, PLC, named the “best green designers” in Virginia by the Virginia Sustainable Building Network in 2008, is known for its attention to detail, knowledge of green architecture, and for their practical approach to design projects. As an award winning graphic design firm and a leader in the “green” movement in Central Virginia, the firm has the ability to deliver the complete package for a design project, from marketing, 3-D modeling, design, specification development, LEED consulting, to construction documents.

The Gaines Group, PLC was established in 1987 in Charlottesville, VA. Principals in the firm include Raymond E. Gaines, RA, CSI, CCS, Charles B. Hendricks, AIA, CSI, CDT, LEED AP, and Roger N. Bryant, CSI. The firm has worked on a multitude of green projects including the first LEED for Homes certified project in the Southeast United States and the first LEED for Homes high school student built project in the United States. Other projects include a historic tax credit LEED for Homes project, a LEED NC industrial project and commercial office, a LEED ND neighborhood project, and a LEED CS office project as well as various projects certified under the Earthcraft program. Charles Hendricks, AIA, CSI, C DT, LEED AP has contributed his time on the BRHBA Green Building committee for several years and help to adapt the Earthcraft program for the Mixed Humid Climate, he assisted in establishing the JRGBC-CV branch in Charlottesville, and is the Vice Chair of the SVBA Green Building Committee in Harrisonburg.

The Gaines Group, PLC services range from intimate house addition to large scale residential community planning. Our areas of specialization include residential architecture, commercial development and redevelopment, residential communities, site planning, residential additions, historic renovations, interior design, ecclesiastical design, Specification Consulting, graphic design, and LEED consulting. The Gaines Group, PLC has assembled a remarkably talented and experienced team of professionals to pull all building elements into a single elegant and functional design. We all look forward to many successful projects in the Valley.

The firm is currently designing a environmentally friendly farmhouse in Dayton, a LEED for Homes project in Broadway, Virginia, and serving as a LEED consultant for a commercial project in Grottoes, Virginia.

For questions about our services or to discuss a design project, contact Charles Hendricks, AIA, CSI, CDT, LEED AP at 540-896-2302 or email at cbhendricks@thegainesgroup.com.

The Gaines Group, PLC will host an open house on October 2, 2009 from 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm to introduce the community to their work.

On September 1, 2009, The Gaines Group, PLC, an architectural firm with more than 22 years of experience in Central Virginia, will officially open its Harrisonburg office to serve its growing clientele in the Shenandoah Valley.

“We are opening our second office in Central Virginia because of the huge demand for green architectural design and LEED consulting services in the area,” explains Charles Hendricks, the principal in charge of the Harrisonburg office. “There is a real need in the area for practical design solutions that offer clients energy efficiency, durability, and healthy indoor air quality.” The new office is located in downtown at 107 S. Main St, Suite 2. An open house is scheduled for the public on October 2.