Friends of Old Town

First Wednesday Community Information Night
2026-10-07 17:30 - 19:00, 2026-09-02 17:30 - 19:00, 2026-08-05 17:30 - 19:00 (America/New_York) | Bridging the Gaps, 31 S. Braddock Street, Winchester, V, 22601, United States
Addiction is a struggle — for the person and their loved ones. That’s why at Bridging the Gaps, we’re offering ????? ????????? ????????? ????????? ??????????? ?????, a ???? ??????? ????? ???? ?? ??? ??????.
This October, attendees will be able to receive Acudetox (ear acupuncture), a technique used in addiction recovery to help reduce cravings, manage stress and anxiety, ease insomnia, and support healing.
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▪️Receive Acudetox treatment from our nurse trained as a NADA Acudetox Specialist
▪️Q&A with our clinicians and admissions team
▪️Practical tools and resources for recovery
▪️Connections to local support and community resources
▪️Light refreshments provided
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? Individuals struggling with addiction
? Family & friends supporting someone in addiction or recovery
? Community members interested in learning more

YDC Community Flow
2026-10-06 17:30 - 18:30, 2026-09-29 17:30 - 18:30, 2026-09-22 17:30 - 18:30, 2026-09-15 17:30 - 18:30, 2026-09-08 17:30 - 18:30 | Youth Development Center, 302 S Loudoun Street, Winchester, V, 22601, United States
YDC Community Flow is a weekly adult vinyasa yoga class odesigned to support physical wellness, mental clarity, and meaningful connection.
Beginning September 1, this ongoing Tuesday evening class invites adults of all experience levels to explore movement, breath, and mindfulness in a welcoming and inclusive environment. Each 75-minute session is thoughtfully structured to guide participants through grounding, mobility, a dynamic vinyasa flow, and restorative rest, helping to build strength, flexibility, and balance while also providing tools for stress reduction and overall well-being.
Led by a certified yoga instructor, classes are adaptable and accessible, with modifications and variations offered to support both beginners and more experienced practitioners. Yoga mats and blocks are provided to ensure a seamless experience, but we welcome to bring your own if that’s your preference. The cost is donation based. $5-$10/class is suggested, but we encourage each community member to give what they can. Your donation will help us continue to provide free and low-cost programs to our fellow community members.
Beyond the physical benefits, YDC Community Flow is designed to create space for connection. As the YDC continues to expand its programming, this class offers an opportunity for adults to engage with the YDC in a new way, fostering a sense of belonging and positioning the YDC as a hub for holistic wellness and lifelong learning in the Winchester community.
Program Details:
Start Date: September 1, 2026
Schedule: Every Tuesday (ongoing)
Time: 6:00 PM – 7:15 PM
Location: The YDC
Class Type: Vinyasa Yoga (All Levels)
Ages: 18+ (flexible to 16+ upon request)
Equipment Provided: Yoga mats and blocks (feel free to bring your own equipment if you have it!)

YDC Community Flow
2026-10-06 17:30 - 18:30, 2026-09-29 17:30 - 18:30, 2026-09-22 17:30 - 18:30, 2026-09-15 17:30 - 18:30, 2026-09-08 17:30 - 18:30, 2026-09-01 17:30 - 18:30 | Youth Development Center, 302 S Loudoun Street, Winchester, V, 22601, United States
YDC Community Flow is a weekly adult vinyasa yoga class designed to support physical wellness, mental clarity, and meaningful connection.
Beginning September 1, this ongoing Tuesday evening class invites adults of all experience levels to explore movement, breath, and mindfulness in a welcoming and inclusive environment. Each 75-minute session is thoughtfully structured to guide participants through grounding, mobility, a dynamic vinyasa flow, and restorative rest, helping to build strength, flexibility, and balance while also providing tools for stress reduction and overall well-being.
Led by a certified yoga instructor, classes are adaptable and accessible, with modifications and variations offered to support both beginners and more experienced practitioners. Yoga mats and blocks are provided to ensure a seamless experience, but we welcome to bring your own if that’s your preference. The cost is donation based. $5-$10/class is suggested, but we encourage each community member to give what they can. Your donation will help us continue to provide free and low-cost programs to our fellow community members.
Beyond the physical benefits, YDC Community Flow is designed to create space for connection. As the YDC continues to expand its programming, this class offers an opportunity for adults to engage with the YDC in a new way, fostering a sense of belonging and positioning the YDC as a hub for holistic wellness and lifelong learning in the Winchester community.

Fall Art Series
2026-10-03 10:00 - 11:00, 2026-09-26 10:00 - 11:00, 2026-09-19 10:00 - 11:00 | Youth Development Center, 302 S Loudoun Street, Winchester, V, 22601, United States
The YDC is excited to welcome young artists back for our Fall Art Series, a free program designed to inspire creativity, confidence, and imagination in children ages 6–12.
Led by Allee Coffman, Lead Art Teacher and Shenandoah University student, this eight-week series will introduce participants to the exciting world of abstract art. Unlike traditional art classes, abstract art encourages children to think beyond rules and expectations. It gives them the freedom to explore, experiment, make creative choices, and express themselves without worrying about creating the “perfect” piece. Along the way, they’ll build confidence, strengthen problem-solving skills, and discover that creativity looks different for everyone.
Classes will be held Saturdays from 10:00–11:00 AM, beginning September 12, at the YDC.
Thanks to the generosity of our donors, this program is completely free for participating families. Registration is required, and space is limited, so we encourage families to reserve their child’s spot early.
Come create, imagine, and discover the joy of making art in a fun, welcoming environment!

First Friday
2026-10-02 17:00 - 21:00, 2026-09-04 17:00 - 21:00, 2026-08-07 17:00 - 21:00 | Winchester Downtown Walking Mall, Winchester, V, 22601, United States
Friday nights are back in Old Town Winchester.
Join Friends of Old Town for First Fridays, a monthly community celebration bringing live music, local artists, vendors, pop-ups, food, shopping, and extended downtown energy to the Walking Mall throughout the summer and fall.
Each First Friday features:

Live music at Taylor Pavilion
Local artists and makers
Vendors throughout the Walking Mall
Specials and extended hours from downtown businesses
Family-friendly activities
DORA drinks throughout Old Town

Whether you’re grabbing dinner, shopping local, meeting friends for drinks, or just wandering downtown, First Fridays are all about giving people another reason to stay a little longer and experience everything Old Town has to offer.
2026 First Friday Dates:

June 5
July 3
August 7
September 4
October 2

Event runs from 5–10 PM.
Music and programming may vary each month.
Presented by Friends of Old Town and sponsored by First Bank.

You Should Be Dancing - Free Community Dance Night
2026-08-26 19:00 - 21:00 | Vibrissa Beer, 10 N. Kent St, WINCHESTER, V, 22601, United States
Dance Night is like a pop-up dance party.
For two hours, we’ll trade stress for smiles, screens for real people, and worries for rhythm.
We’ll spin a fresh mix of funky favorites, grooves through the decades, and some of your song requests — all designed to bring the fun and keep the dance floor moving.
Whether you’re a regular, a first-timer, or someone who’s been meaning to check us out, this is your invitation. You belong.
Come solo. Bring a partner. Gather a group of friends.
No lessons. No pressure. No expectations.
Just good music, good people, and a welcoming dance floor.

Dawg Days of Summer: Old Town Hot Dog Crawl
2026-08-22 12:00 - 20:00 | Loudoun Street Pedestrian Mall
Get ready for a fun, self-guided crawl through Old Town where participating businesses serve up their own creative takes on the classic hot dog. Check in, grab your map, and make your way from stop to stop tasting, exploring, and discovering new spots along the way.
Along the crawl, you’ll vote for your favorites, compete for prizes by completing multiple stops, and enjoy the energy of a lively day downtown. The day wraps up with a live music celebration, giving everyone a place to gather, hang out, and keep the momentum going. Plus, every ticket supports the work of Friends of Old Town.

Author Event: Alain J. Otárola - Life Among the Willows
2026-08-15 14:00 - 16:00 | Winchester Book Gallery, 7 North Loudoun Street, Winchester, V, 22601, United States
Enjoy (a signed copy of) this collection of vividly told stories about the author’s early years in the Chilean Andes. Each vignette captures the innocence, humor, cruelty, and wonder that shaped the author’s childhood. Whether rooted in ordinary experiences, such as going to the market with his mother, seeing ghosts, and hiking in the mountains, or in extraordinary events, such as a grandmother with an unusual profession or a brother kidnapped by the military dictatorship, each story stands on its own while contributing to a larger meditation on childhood, loss, and memory.

Author Event: C. W. Armbrust - Cibola
2026-08-15 11:00 - 13:00 | Winchester Book Gallery, 7 North Loudoun Street, Winchester, V, 22601, United States
Set in the sixteenth century in a field in central Guatemala, Franciscan friar Marcos de Niza is busy working with the local people, teaching them efficient farming methods aimed at increasing production to cope with the rapidly growing population of New Spain. He also enjoys teaching the local villagers common languages used for trade with the Spanish settlers and the population throughout the New World. From Mexico City, a thousand miles away, the bishop has selected the friar, drafting him into service on an expedition to explore the unknown regions far north of the subtropical region where he has served his mission so well. He is to join the expedition where he will explore new territories and encounter the people of Tierra Nueva.
Through unexpected events and turns of fortune, the friar becomes the leader of a massive expedition commissioned by the viceroy of New Spain. His new mission was to seek out the riches of these new lands and establish contact with Indigenous people who had not been previously encountered.
The unsuspecting friar blazes a trail into history with his expedition that triggers a shift in the future of New Spain and the new land of Tierra Nueva, eventually to become the lands of Mexico and the southwest US.
The friar has long since faded into the background of history, despite being an influential figure in the transformation of Spain’s economic structure and paving the way for Francisco Vázquez de Coronado’s infamous mission to conquer the cities of Cibola, which followed in his footsteps.

Author Event: Sharon Pajka - Haunted Colleges & Universities in Virginia
2026-08-09 12:00 - 14:00 | Winchester Book Gallery, 7 North Loudoun Street, Winchester, V, 22601, United States
Colleges are more than classrooms and quads. They are living relics where history lingers and, sometimes, refuses to stay quiet. A phantom hugger roams the President’s Houseat William and Mary, and the grave-robbing secrets of historic medical schools refuse to be forgotten. Blending folklore, history, and mystery, author Sharon Pajka reveals a supernatural side of academia, where legends linger, spirits wander, and the past and present walk hand in hand.

Author Event: Craig Matthews - Multiple Titles
2026-08-08 11:00 - 13:00 | Winchester Book Gallery, 7 North Loudoun Street, Winchester, V, 22601, United States
Author Craig Matthews got a late start in his publishing life, as his first book, Immigrant Patriot, was published when he was 57. His family heritage, life experiences, and vast vocational undertakings have only deepened his love of the written word. Now with six published works he feels like he is justscratching the surface.
Craig has always been fascinated by the interplay of the unseen spiritual world upon our physical reality. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places, which is why he uses the hash tag #thespiritualthriller.
His stories are intense, gritty, and hopeful. They are filled with real people wrestling against tremendous issues, and they overflow with an underlying hope for freedom and a future.
Although Craig has Michigan roots he has significant ties to Northern Virginia as his youngest son and their family lives near Winchester. Meet him today!

Shift Happens: Driver Safety & Preparedness Day
2026-08-08 10:00 - 17:00 | Cody’s Auto LLC, 32 w cecil st, Winchester, VA, 22601, United States
Hands-on vehicle safety tips, emergency preparedness, giveaways, and confidence-building skills for every driver.
Hands-On Tips. Real Confidence. Zero Judgment.
Because “I have no idea what that light means” isn’t a roadside assistance plan.
Join us for a fun, hands-on community event focused on helping drivers feel more confident, prepared, and safer on the road.
Whether you’re a daily commuter, road trip enthusiast, student heading back to school, parent chauffeuring the family around, or simply want to learn more about your vehicle, this event is for you.
🚗 What We’ll Cover
🔧 Basic vehicle maintenance & safety checks
💡 Understanding dashboard warning lights
🛞 Flat tire basics
🔋 Dead battery & jump-start essentials
🧰 Building an emergency roadside kit
🚨 What to do during a roadside emergency
🙋 Open Q&A with automotive professionals
🎁 Giveaways & Prizes
We’ll be giving away prizes throughout the event, plus a few surprises along the way.
Why Attend?
✔ Gain confidence behind the wheel
✔ Learn practical skills you can actually use
✔ Ask questions in a relaxed, judgment-free environment
✔ Meet local automotive professionals
✔ Leave better prepared for whatever the road throws your way
Admission
🎟 FREE TO ATTEND
Bring a friend, bring your questions, and join us for a day of learning, giveaways, and community.
Because when Shift Happens, being prepared makes all the difference.

Summer Art Class
2026-08-05 10:30 - 11:30, 2026-07-29 10:30 - 11:30 | Youth Development Center, 302 S Loudoun Street, Winchester, V, 22601, United States
Our Summer Art Series at the YDC is a fun, creative opportunity for kids to explore, learn, and express themselves in a welcoming environment.
Made possible by the generosity of our donors, this program is offered free of charge to families in our community.
Each week features a new project designed to inspire creativity, build confidence, and encourage self-expression. Ms. Lindsay will be back leading the series, joined by a few special helpers along the way to bring fresh ideas and energy to each session.
This program is best suited for ages 6–12, however we’re happy to work with families. If you have a child outside of that age range who is interested, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
We look forward to creating with you this summer!
Please contact ad***@***dc.org with any questions!

Author Event: Michael Amos Cody - Avalon Moon
2026-08-01 11:00 - 13:00 | Winchester Book Gallery, 7 North Loudoun Street, Winchester, V, 22601, United States
We’re excited to welcome back author Michael Amos Cody. In Avalon Moon, a local man has gone missing and then is soon found dead in a highland meadow, side-by-side with an unknown woman. When another man and woman go missing and a female deputy is found murdered, Gabriel Tanner, editor of Runion’s weekly newspaper, and Plumer Reeves, a reclusive local hawkshaw working for the niece of the first dead man, suspect a monster is hunting in their western North Carolina mountains. Two extraordinary young women, the Avalon community’s Ariel Anderson and Lonesome Mountain’s Livvy Goforth, join Tanner and Reeves to lead the attempt to discover and stop the killer.
