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Arts and Culture
NEW! Custom Designed Banners
Woodstock sits in a beautiful location flanked by two mountain ranges connected to a river that runs south to north. The goal of the Custom Street Banner project is to create an outdoor gallery for both motorists and pedestrians in our central downtown area. Currently, seasonal banners are displayed in the main downtown intersection of Court and Main streets, but Woodstock Enhancement realizes the importance and greater impact custom banners will produce. With a very large artist population in the Valley, we are confident in the success of this project.
Fifteen artists and twenty-six designs were selected to print on 2 x 4 foot banners on nine different light posts in the downtown parking lot. This art will be displayed by May 31, 2023, and will continue for up to four years, depending on the condition and longevity of the materials, public input, etc. There may be times the banners will be removed temporarily for various maintenance reasons.
Location: Downtown parking lot behind the Woodstock Café in Woodstock, VA.
Woodstock Pumpkin Characters (Annually in October)
Six years ago, Town Staff spearheaded a town wide public art project displaying nearly twenty pumpkin head characters (both locally and internationally known) in an effort to add color, character and fun to our community- and it has been a tradition every year since!
If you feel creative we invite you to try your hand at creating a pumpkin character(s) in your own front yard! We will be judging the residential pumpkin characters in town and will select one lucky winner of a $50 VISA gift card and a $50 Woodstock branded merchandise voucher!
We invite businesses to participate too for bragging rights!
2022 BUSINESS/ORGANIZATION WINNERS:
1st Place - Seven Bends State Park, Fly Fishing Whitetail Buck
2nd Place - Cooks Exxon/Shenandoah Stuff, 1970s show, "Zoo Review"
3rd Place - Travelers Treasures, Hot Air Balloons
Honorable Mentions - WWR, Campsite & Pollywog Place, Peppa Pig
2022 RESIDENTIAL WINNERS:
1st Place - Queen Elizabeth and her Corgi @ 426 W Court St
2nd place - Spidermen @ 104 S Lee St
3rd place- Ice cream stand @ 106 S Summit Ave
Bicycle Art (June 2019)
The natural beauty of Shenandoah County and it's sister towns (including Woodstock) increasingly attract outdoor enthusiasts which includes cyclists. Locals and visitors venture to the mountains for mountain bike (MTB) trails or to our paved and gravel scenic roads to enjoy the open space. The Town of Woodstock continues to welcome cyclists and plans for future growth of this activity with a bicycle and pedestrian trail that will traverse around thirteen miles through town. As a simple way to show our support, Woodstock Enhancement and staff worked with a handful of local businesses on a public art installation that involves custom designed bicycles. Public Works staff replaced the traditional wheel with a solid metal disk that acts as a canvas for the art. The frames are powder coated in custom green which makes the pieces to stand out all over our central downtown. Over the years, we plan to add more to this project and welcome any business owner to contact us if they're interested.
The Woodstock LOVEwork (June 2018)
The inspiration behind our second sculpture installation comes from Virginia Tourism Corporation’s LOVEwork program that was created to promote travel and tourism. Woodstock Enhancement began discussing how we would go about setting our Woodstock LOVEwork apart in November 2016. We started with design concepts for each letter and then moved on to their colors. Many ideas were presented for what each letter could represent but after whittling it down to four designs, it was time for colors. We went back and forth between any and all color combinations and finally settled on the greens and blues adopted in our new branding in 2017.
Public Works staff and local quilter took over six months to bring the piece to life with their great talents. We partnered with Massanutten Military Academy who graciously have allowed us to place the piece on their property and Virginia Tourism supported our efforts with advertising and a grant that provided partial funding of the project.
You can enjoy the piece on location at 614 South Main Street. We encourage you to "share the love" by posting your pictures at our LOVEwork on any social media platform.
#loveva #discoverwoodstockva #woodstockartstock #visitshencova
Woodstock Enhancement Volunteers excited about LOVE (JPG)
Traffic Signal Control Equipment Box Wraps (October 2017)
Drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists traveling through Woodstock along Route 11 can now enjoy our newest public art project which is a series of colorfully wrapped traffic signal cabinets in five locations. The Virginia Department of Transportation granted the Town permission to execute a pilot project for this form of public art. We are very appreciative for the chance to be the start of what can bring color and inspiration to other localities across Virginia.
Meet our artists (PDF) behind the great designs and their goals of inspiration!
PAC-man at Jane’s Garden (August 2015)
In 2014, the Town of Woodstock established a small garden to celebrate past Enhancement Coordinator, Jane Beasley, for her hard work and dedication in the beautification and improvement of the Town. Affectionately named Jane’s Garden, the project flanks Old Valley Pike on the South end of the historic downtown district. The Town thanks local telecommunications company, Shentel, for allowing the creation of this garden on their property.
To increase its beauty, the Town of Woodstock placed our first piece of public art in Jane’s Garden. The theme of the piece at this location is meant to "Capture the Valley" and PAC-Man was chosen because he/she represents people who long ago settled in our beautiful Shenandoah Valley. In the words of PAC-Man’s talented sculptor, Craig Gray, "He is symbolic of the travelers who walked across our country to ’capture’ better places to live, work, and raise families. He could be about life and our experiences... the sharp edges rounded as we make our journey."
So take the time to experience PAC-Man for yourself! Standing nearly seven feet tall next to the Spring House Tavern and The Hair Gallery on the South end of Town, you’re sure not to miss it! Snap a few photos to share on Instagram and Facebook with #discoverwoodstockva and #woodstockartstock.