Free Admission for Active Military & Their Families
$10 Ticket Includes Music, Children’s Activities, and Admission
to MSV Gardens & Galleries 

Winchester, VA 6/02/15…Music from the Soul Expressions Band, free activities for children, and admission to the gardens and galleries will highlight Gardens at Night at the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley (MSV) on Friday, June 12, from 6 to 9 p.m. In addition, those attending will be able to purchase food, beer, and wine.

According to MSV Executive Director Dana Hand Evans, this summer’s Gardens at Night concert series includes a great lineup of musicians and—thanks to the sponsorship of Navy Federal Credit Union—free admission to all active duty, National Guard, and Reserve military personnel and their families. Admission to Gardens at Night remains free to MSV Members and ages 12 and under. The ticket price for all others, which includes the concert and admission to the MSV’s Glen Burnie Gardens and galleries, is $10.

From Richmond, Virginia, the Soul Expressions Band will play a high-energy mix of funk, rock, Motown, and today’s pop hits from 7 to 9 p.m. A Gardens at Night favorite returning to the MSV for the fourth time, this seven-member band includes bass player Wilbert Anderson, drummer Rickk Gray, lead guitarist William Anderson, keyboard player and guitarist Eric Anderson, saxophonist Richard D’Abreu, and lead vocalists Tyrone Jackson and Jamela Bullock. Each of the musicians in the Soul Expressions Band has been performing for more than 25 years, and their collective professional experiences include large festivals to private house parties and more. For their Gardens at Night performance, the band will play songs made famous by Aretha Franklin; Stevie Wonder; The Rolling Stones; KC and The Sunshine Band; Lynyrd Skynard; UB40; Earth, Wind & Fire; Van Morrison; and many other music greats. Along with live music, Gardens at Night features free family activities. From 6 to 8 p.m. families may enjoy a variety of lawn games, including Frisbee, hula hoops, and pitch-and-toss.

Throughout the evening the MSV’s six-acre Glen Burnie Gardens and the Museum galleries will be open. Gardens at Night attendees may experience garden statues, fountains, and trees illuminated by nighttime lighting. New exhibitions in the galleries include Collect, Preserve, Interpret: Ten Years at the MSV, which presents some of the most important objects the MSV acquired during its first decade, and Mort Künstler: The Art of Adventure, which exhibits the art of renowned illustrator Mort Künstler. Organized by the Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, Massachusetts, the exhibition features more than 80 works in a variety of genres.

Those attending Gardens at Night also may purchase food and drinks at the event. Sodexo catering will serve a buffet dinner for $10 per plate that will include pork barbecue, beef hot dogs, potato chips, coleslaw, watermelon, and cookies. Cheese, cracker, and grape trays will be available for $5. Drinks available for purchase include bottled water and soda ($2), domestic beer ($4), imported and craft beer ($6), and wine by the glass ($6) or bottle ($24). Cash sales are preferred. No outside food or drinks will be permitted in the concert area.

The gates, gardens, and galleries will open at 6 p.m.; the music will begin at 7 p.m. The concert will take place on the lawn by the MSV. All those who plan to listen to the musical performance should bring their own chairs. In the event of rain, the musical performance will take place in a tent and children’s activities will move inside to the Museum’s BB&T Learning Center.

The 2015 Gardens at Night series is sponsored by Navy Federal Credit Union and Shenandoah Country Q102. Following June’s concert, Gardens at Night will take place on July 10, August 14, andSeptember 11. In July, Beatles tribute band The Return will play Fab Four classics. The Robbie Limon Band will celebrate the music of the 1970s in August, and September’s concert will feature ’80s favorites from The Reflex.

The Museum of the Shenandoah Valley is located at 901 Amherst Street in Winchester, Virginia. The MSV complex—which includes the Museum, the Glen Burnie House (not open during Gardens at Night), and the gardens—is open Tuesday through Sunday. Additional information is available by calling 540-662-1473, ext. 235, or referring to www.theMSV.org. – END –

About Navy Federal:
Navy Federal Credit Union is the world’s largest credit union with over $64 billion in assets, more than 5 million members, 265 branches, and a workforce of over 12,000 employees worldwide. The credit union serves all Department of Defense and Coast Guard active duty, civilian, and contractor personnel and their families. For additional information about Navy Federal, visit www.navyfederal.org.

                         

Photos by Rick Foster.