{"id":2569,"date":"2026-10-27T20:23:45","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T00:23:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/charlottesville\/?page_id=2569"},"modified":"2026-11-09T13:07:27","modified_gmt":"2026-11-09T18:07:27","slug":"kick-off-gala-at-farmington-13-october-2026","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/charlottesville\/kick-off-gala-at-farmington-13-october-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Kick-Off Gala at Farmington &#8211; 13 October 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<section id=\"\" class=\"esu-basic-full-width advgb-dyn-d41d8cd9\">\n\n    <div class=\"inner\">\n        <div class=\"wrapper\">\n\n            \n            \n            \n                            <div class=\"content\">\n                    <h2 style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"color: #000080\">Kick-Off Gala at Farmington &#8211; 13 October 2026<\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">&nbsp;<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-2576\" src=\"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/charlottesville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2026\/10\/20261013_180230-205x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"273\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/charlottesville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2026\/10\/20261013_180230-205x300.jpg 205w, https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/charlottesville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2026\/10\/20261013_180230-698x1024.jpg 698w, https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/charlottesville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2026\/10\/20261013_180230-768x1126.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/charlottesville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2026\/10\/20261013_180230-1048x1536.jpg 1048w, https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/charlottesville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2026\/10\/20261013_180230-1397x2048.jpg 1397w, https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/charlottesville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2026\/10\/20261013_180230-scaled.jpg 1746w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 273px) 100vw, 273px\" \/>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">First Lady Marilyn and Branch President Phil were excited to welcome everyone back from summer vacation. He hoped that everyone enjoyed some true relaxation&nbsp;to recharge batteries so to speak. For this he shared a little humor from several famous authors as follows:<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Spanish Proverb \u2013 <em>How perfect it is to do nothing, and then afterwards rest.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Somerset Maugham \u2013 <em>It was such a lovely day. I thought it was a pity to get up.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">James Thurber \u2013 <em>It is better to have loafed and lost than never to have loafed at all.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">&nbsp; &nbsp;<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-2577\" src=\"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/charlottesville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2026\/10\/20261013_182921-300x267.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"255\" height=\"227\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/charlottesville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2026\/10\/20261013_182921-300x267.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/charlottesville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2026\/10\/20261013_182921-1024x911.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/charlottesville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2026\/10\/20261013_182921-768x683.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/charlottesville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2026\/10\/20261013_182921-1536x1366.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/charlottesville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2026\/10\/20261013_182921-2048x1822.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 255px) 100vw, 255px\" \/>&nbsp; &nbsp; <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-2587\" src=\"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/charlottesville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2026\/10\/IMG_9259-300x246.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"277\" height=\"227\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/charlottesville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2026\/10\/IMG_9259-300x246.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/charlottesville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2026\/10\/IMG_9259-1024x840.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/charlottesville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2026\/10\/IMG_9259-768x630.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/charlottesville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2026\/10\/IMG_9259-1536x1260.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/charlottesville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2026\/10\/IMG_9259-2048x1680.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 277px) 100vw, 277px\" \/>&nbsp; &nbsp; <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-2575\" src=\"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/charlottesville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2026\/10\/Unknown-4-300x227.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"227\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/charlottesville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2026\/10\/Unknown-4-300x227.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/charlottesville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2026\/10\/Unknown-4-1024x774.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/charlottesville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2026\/10\/Unknown-4-768x580.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/charlottesville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2026\/10\/Unknown-4-1536x1161.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/charlottesville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2026\/10\/Unknown-4-2048x1548.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">After a moment of silence for beloved&nbsp;members Philip Keevil and Bill McCowen, as tradition would have it, a Blessing was spoken by former President Patricia Taylor. Head table guests were introduced, featuring Guest&nbsp;of Honor, the Honorable Lady Blanka Rosenstiel &#8211; longtime gifting &#8220;Angel&#8221; of the Branch. New members and guests were introduced. Continuing the tradition, an American anthem was sung, &#8220;Oh Beautiful for Spacious&nbsp;Skies,&#8221; this year, and two members each led toasts to King Charles and President Trump.<\/p>\nngg_shortcode_0_placeholder\n<p>The opening formalities were preceded by a Champagne Reception where members engaged in lively&nbsp;conversation and general&nbsp;merriment. The ladies were beautifully turned out in long dresses and gowns. The gents all looked smart in tuxedos.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\nngg_shortcode_1_placeholder\n<p>Then members moved to their tables, formalities then observed, followed by a lovely dinner served in the Ballroom of Farmington Country Club.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\nngg_shortcode_2_placeholder\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Though the invitation spoke to the fact, when &#8220;Queen Charlottes&#8217;s&nbsp;Villeins,&#8221; a local Shakespeare Troupe, swept into the dining room, cavorting, haling, and filling the room with their boisterous&nbsp;presence, the audience was, I may say, delightfully awe-stricken and wondrous at the sights and sounds they seemed surprised to behold. The actors presented scenes from the Bard&#8217;s comedies, histories, and tragedies.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2574 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/charlottesville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2026\/10\/Screenshot-2026-10-27-at-8.15.41-PM-1024x831.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"764\" height=\"620\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/charlottesville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2026\/10\/Screenshot-2026-10-27-at-8.15.41-PM-1024x831.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/charlottesville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2026\/10\/Screenshot-2026-10-27-at-8.15.41-PM-300x243.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/charlottesville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2026\/10\/Screenshot-2026-10-27-at-8.15.41-PM-768x623.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/charlottesville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2026\/10\/Screenshot-2026-10-27-at-8.15.41-PM-1536x1246.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/charlottesville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2026\/10\/Screenshot-2026-10-27-at-8.15.41-PM-2048x1662.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 764px) 100vw, 764px\" \/><\/p>\nngg_shortcode_3_placeholder\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">By the close of the evening, the members evidenced a joyous mood, a sense of grand pleasure, with smiles on their faces &#8211; much energized by the evening&#8217;s offerings.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Adieu, President Williams<\/p>\n                <\/div>\n            \n            \n\n            \n        <\/div>\n\n    <\/div>\n\n<\/section>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2569","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.2 (Yoast SEO v28.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Kick-Off Gala at Farmington - 13 October 2026 - Charlottesville<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/charlottesville\/kick-off-gala-at-farmington-13-october-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kick-Off Gala at Farmington - 13 October 2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/charlottesville\/kick-off-gala-at-farmington-13-october-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Charlottesville\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-11-09T18:07:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.esuus.org\\\/charlottesville\\\/kick-off-gala-at-farmington-13-october-2026\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.esuus.org\\\/charlottesville\\\/kick-off-gala-at-farmington-13-october-2026\\\/\",\"name\":\"Kick-Off Gala at Farmington - 13 October 2026 - Charlottesville\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.esuus.org\\\/charlottesville\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-28T00:23:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-11-09T18:07:27+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.esuus.org\\\/charlottesville\\\/kick-off-gala-at-farmington-13-october-2026\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.esuus.org\\\/charlottesville\\\/kick-off-gala-at-farmington-13-october-2026\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.esuus.org\\\/charlottesville\\\/kick-off-gala-at-farmington-13-october-2026\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.esuus.org\\\/charlottesville\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Kick-Off Gala at Farmington &#8211; 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