Stacy Kelly

Main Stage Spotlight: A Weekend of Folk, Dance, and Americana

The Main Stage at the 81st Waterford Fair will come alive with music, song, and dance from some of the region’s most talented performers. Here’s a closer look at the groups and artists bringing their talents to this year’s Fair.

Old Dominion Chorus — Friday 11:00 am

Based in Leesburg, the Old Dominion Chorus is Loudoun County’s premier men’s a cappella group and a proud chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society. Known for everything from doo-wop to gospel, they bring familiar favorites to life with rich harmonies and infectious energy. You may have seen them around town at First Fridays or community events — their mission is simple: to share the joy of singing and make the world a happier place, one smile at a time.

Kate MacLeod & Paul Hammerton — Friday 12:30 pm & 2:30 pm, Sunday 12:30 pm & 2:30 pm

Award-winning musicians Kate MacLeod and Paul Hammerton blend guitar, fiddle, and mountain dulcimer into a sound that bridges folk traditions with fresh originals. Recently named Best of the West by Folk Alliance International, Kate also brought home a blue ribbon at the Appalachian Stringband Festival in 2025. Together, the duo offers audiences music rooted in tradition but alive with contemporary creativity.

George Jackson & Brad Kolodner — Friday 1:30 pm & 3:30 pm

Clawhammer banjoist Brad Kolodner has carved a national reputation as both a performer and a radio host, carrying forward the folk traditions he grew up with. He’s toured widely, released chart-topping albums, and helped spark a vibrant Old-Time scene in Baltimore. Paired with acclaimed fiddler George Jackson, the duo delivers old-time tunes with technical brilliance and a contagious joy that’s sure to get toes tapping.

Celtic Rhythm School of Dance — Saturday 11:00 am. Celebrating 25 Years at the Fair!

A Fair favorite for a quarter century, the Celtic Rhythm School of Dance is celebrating 25 years of dazzling performances at Waterford. With lively steps and intricate rhythms, these young dancers embody the spirit and tradition of Irish step dancing — a show that always delights crowds of all ages.

Down Valley Ramblers — Saturday 12:45 pm & 2:30 pm

The Down Valley Ramblers bring the heart of bluegrass to the Main Stage with their spirited picking and soulful harmonies. Known throughout the region for their traditional sound and warm stage presence, they keep audiences smiling and feet moving with every set.

Furnace Mountain Trio — Saturday 1:30 pm & 3:15 pm

Hailing from the Shenandoah Valley, Furnace Mountain is known for taking Appalachian traditions in bold new directions. With bass, fiddle, mandolin, and bouzouki, their music can be raucous and foot-stomping or hauntingly poetic. They’ve performed everywhere from the banks of the Yangtze River to the Shenandoah, but they remain a beloved Virginia treasure.

Dance Academy of Loudoun — Sunday 11:00 am

The Dance Academy of Loudoun brings together talented young dancers from across the county for a performance filled with grace, energy, and heart. Their students showcase a variety of styles, delighting audiences and inspiring the next generation of performers.

Chatham Rabbits Duo — Sunday 1:30 pm & 3:30 pm

Husband-and-wife team Sarah and Austin McCombie of Chatham Rabbits have built a loyal following with their heartfelt Americana sound. Their songs are rooted in North Carolina’s old-time traditions, but their newest album, Be Real with Me, shows a band maturing, evolving, and writing with raw honesty. The result is music that is tender, joyful, and unafraid to wrestle with life’s contradictions.

From soaring harmonies and fiddle tunes to Irish dance, bluegrass, and fresh Americana, this year’s Main Stage lineup promises moments you won’t forget.

Click here to see the full line up of entertainment at the Fair!

Kulbeth, David

Columbus Cartography

Paper

David Kulbeth is a local Virginia cartographer with a background in geology, geography, and cartography. He is known for creating antique-inspired, copperplate etched maps that integrate modern geography, blending artistic tradition with contemporary perspectives. In 2023, he founded his own mapping business, quickly gaining recognition in the field. David has presented at national conferences and was featured on a leading map-making podcast, where he shared his unique approach to reimagining the craft of mapmaking.

columbuscartography.com

O’Mara, Kade

Eldara Origins

Jewelry

My art is rooted in history and the natural world around us. As a traditional silversmith, I create handcrafted jewelry using centuries old techniques and artistry. Most of my projects include repousse, etching, sand casting, and traditional chain work.

Much like the world around us, my work emphasizes the beauty of the asymmetrical and unique. When I create my pieces I want to make something of the utmost craftsmanship, elegance, and a one of a kind piece of art you can wear.

Instagram

2025 Fine Art Judge Jordan Xu

We are pleased to announce that portrait painter Jordan Xu will be judging our fine art entries this year!

Jordan began studying portrait painting at the Art League School in historic Alexandria, Virginia in 2002. Over the years, he has developed a distinctive style that combines classical realism with vibrant colors and broad, expressive brushwork. His award-winning works have been exhibited in galleries and institutions including the Alexandria Art League Gallery, Cooley Gallery, Artsquare Gallery, and the USDA building, and have been featured in online publications such as City Lifestyle Magazine.

Portraiture remains Jordan’s primary focus, as he is fascinated by the human spirit. He strives to capture the story, joy, affections, fear, anger, and all the qualities that make us human. He also enjoys depicting people in their “natural habitat,” whether it’s their favorite room, sport, book, or travel destination.

In addition to painting, Jordan is an avid musician, playing violin and banjo. He has also created a series of portraits of musicians, from bluegrass jams to concert performances.

His work can be viewed at jordanxu.com.

A Brief History of Waterford

Waterford was settled in 1733 by Amos Janney, a Quaker from Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Janney was soon followed by others and Waterford became the thriving center of a community of small farms. Because the Quakers were grain farmers, a grist mill was very important to them, and the first settlement included a mill near the site of the present structure with a few houses clustered nearby. The settlement that would become Waterford grew around Janney’s Mill. From the 1760s onward, Presbyterians, Methodists and Baptists would also establish a presence here.

A few residents took part in the Revolutionary War; surprisingly, not all Quakers who saw service contrary to the Quaker principles on nonviolence were read out of Meeting. After the Revolution, Waterford grew rapidly with a wide variety of businesses, and by the 1830s, Joseph Martin’s Gazeteer wrote:

“Waterford contains 70 dwelling houses, 2 houses of public worship, 1 free for all denominations, the other a Friends’ meeting house, 6 mercantile stores, 2 free schools, 4 taverns, a manufacturing flour mill, and 1 saw, grist and plaister mill, and (in the vicinity) 2 small cotton manufactories. The mechanics are 1 tanner, 2 house joiners, 2 cabinet makers, 1 chair maker and painter, 1 boot and shoe manufacturer, 2 hatters, 1 tailor, &c. Population about 400 persons, of whom 2 are regular physicians.”

Villagers even produced Shakepeare plays for local audiences.

The Quakers were joined by Scotch-Irish craftsmen from Pennsylvania who were responsible for much of the construction of the village.

While some early residents were slaveholders, the fact that Waterford had a thriving antebellum free Black community was unusual for pre-Civil War Virginia. Waterford’s Quaker roots and the abolitionist sentiments of most Quakers may have encouraged Black settlement here.

By the time of the Civil War, most Waterfordians strongly opposed secession, a stand extremely unpopular among the majority in Loudoun County. For most of the war, the Waterford area was a no-man’s land that neither Federals nor Confederates were able to control for long. As a result of Confederate harassment, miller Samuel Means formed the Independent Loudoun Rangers, the only organized cavalry troop in Virginia to fight for the Union.

In 1871, the railroad was extended from Leesburg to Clarke’s Gap (where Routes 7 and 9 meet) thus bypassing Waterford. The philosophical isolation so obvious during the war was succeeded by a geographic isolation as commercial centers easily reached by rail took business away from Waterford. By the time of the Depression, many of the buildings had deteriorated badly. In the 1930s, brothers Edward and Leroy Chamberlin, descendants of several old Waterford families, began to restore buildings in town and, in 1943, the Waterford Foundation was formed. This provided an impetus for residents, old and new, to work to preserve the village.

Today, Waterford’s buildings and rolling fields look much as they did 200 years ago. The village is a Loudoun County Historic and Cultural Conservation District. In 1970, the entire village with the farmland surrounding it was designated a National Historic Landmark.

The Pink House

40174 Main Street

Open on Friday: 10am to 5pm

In 1825, Lewis Klein opened this building as a “house of entertainment” —a tavern. He had purchased the lot from Quaker William Hough about 1815 for $80. Like many of its neighbors on Main Street, it was designed for mixed use—a store or other business below and a residence above. It therefore had no interior staircase between the first and second floors until a 1950s modernization.

The present large downstairs room was built as two rooms with a central corridor; it has seen many uses over the years. After serving as a tavern the space became variously an apothecary and hardware store. In the 1880s the building was the home and office of Dr. G. E. Connell, an enterprising physician. He introduced the telephone to the village in 1884 and charged customers ten cents to call Clark’s Gap, three miles distant at the other end of the line. A side addition was used as a barbershopin the early 20^th century. In the early 1950s, a new owner painted the house the color “of the setting sun on Waterford brick.” The paint was meant to slow weathering of the soft brick; it has been repainted in other shades since. The Pink House later was a popular bed and breakfast destination.

The present garden area has seen a succession of buildings over the past 200 years, including blacksmith and wheelwright shops and a succession of stores. A town hall and auditorium occupied the loft area of a large stable on the site. One of these shops stood where the new stone kitchen now stands. At least one of them served briefly as a residence. During an exceptionally rainy period with water pouring down the hill, a tenant joked, “I have the most modern house in Waterford— running water in every room!”

The Pink House is open through the courtesy of Isaac Johnson and Jeff Darrah.

The Samuel Steer House

15580 Second Street

Open on Sunday: 10am to 5pm

In 1856 Waterford miller Samuel C. Means (1827-1884) purchased vacant lots 39 and 40 of Mahlon Janney’s 1814 subdivision. By January 1861, with war looming and busy with his mill on Main Street, Means sold the lots on which this house stands to Robert W. Thomas (1825-1905), a blacksmith and hotel keeper. Thomas promptly built this house, but by September 1861, when Confederate troops occupied Waterford, they took over the new house for a hospital.

Later in the war, when the Rebels had withdrawn, Quaker businessman Samuel Steer (1811-1883) rented the house and moved his family into town from his farm south of the village for safety; he finally purchased it in 1867 for $700. Northern sympathizer Steer spent much of the war “exiled” at nearby Point of Rocks, Maryland, serving as the U.S. Customs Agent. During the war, his daughter Sarah and her young neighbors Lida and Lizzie Dutton co-established the fervently pro-union Waterford News. The young women would note, in their paper, after their father’s rare visits home that John Dutton and Samuel Steer had “returned safely to the United States….” In 1864 Steer was arrested by Confederates as he tried to visit his family and imprisoned for his Union sympathies.

At the close of the war, Sarah Ann Steer (1837-1914), held classes for village African-American children, first in her home, then in 1867 at the new one-room school just down Second Street. She taught until 1870 when that school became part of the County’s school system. Her sister Ella taught at the first public school for white children, the Waterford Academy, the predecessor of the Old School on Fairfax Street.

In the 1980s, the owners enclosed a porch. The present owners added an outbuilding, remodeled and enlarged the kitchen, installed a patio and designed and put in a garden with stone walls and a pond.

The Samuel Steer House is open through the courtesy of Edith Crockett and Ed Lehmann.

Samuel Steer House

In the 1980s, the owners enclosed a porch. The present owners added an outbuilding, remodeled and enlarged the kitchen, installed a patio and designed and put in a garden with stone walls and a pond.

The Samuel Steer House is open through the courtesy of Edith Crockett and Ed Lehmann.