Museum of the Shenandoah Valley — Attraction in Winchester

We do not recommend the venue! The grounds are beautiful, but working with the facility is nightmare. It is not a welcoming wedding venue. We went though 3 coordinators who left the facility while planning our wedding. Everything seemed smooth through all the changes, until it was time for our rehearsal. Our rehearsal was a complete disaster due to Emily, who operates under the strict guidelines of MSV, had our tent set up in the wrong place. Even tho the tent rental company had the right information on correct setup location, she insisted on the incorrect installation. Which then, caused us to miss our permit inspection. Luckily the inspector came after hours. However, after hours was the time of our dinner rehearsal, which made our guest have to wait another hour while they setup for rehearsal. We then had to also, move our wedding ceremony due the infestation of cicadas. I understand that MSV cannot control Mother Nature..So, My first question is why didn’t MSV call me to confirm where the tent needed to go, once there was an obvious discrepancy? My second question why was there not prior communication on how bad the cicadas were and recommending a ceremony change. BTW Incorrect tent setup was in the cicada infested garden. You know, bugs In my guest food allows for a beautiful reception. This venue does not provide ice in the kitchen, they also only have a small refrigerator, so good luck to your caterer on providing refreshments! The only bride and groom send off you are allowed to do is wave goodbye. All in all this a top dollar venue that provides nothing but the grounds and a babysitter who follows your every move telling you what you’re not allowed to do, while your the one who provides everything and hire all the vendors for special moments of our life. Our greatest recommendation is look somewhere else. My wife cried many tears due to the frustrations we experienced. We emailed Laura Wiley about our concerns and issues, the response.... “we know weddings are stressful, hopefully years to come you can look back and laugh.” DO NOT CHOOSE THIS VENUE FOR YOUR WEDDING! CHOOSE A LOCAL BARN THAT IS MUCH MORE ACCOMMODATING and...

We went to the museum last week on a very cold morning. There were very few people there and not a lot to see as much of the museum was closed off while they get other exhibits ready. The staff that greeted us were very nice and helpful. The focus of the museum during our visit was looking at the contributions of African Americans in the Shenandoah Valley and women, which is great and very interesting. We were kind of surprised by the obvious omission of one black immigrant women from Winchester, and that is our new Lt. Governor Winsome Sears. While our Lt. Governor did not grow up in the Shenandoah Valley, she has called Winchester her home for many years now. She is the first female lieutenant governor and first black female lieutenant governor, so that is two historic milestones, yet there was no acknowledgement of that anywhere in the museum that I could see. You might think that is because she was only elected a few months ago, but there was also a display with references to the war in Ukraine, so it's not like the museum doesn't keep up with current issues. I suspect the oversight is purposeful as Lt. Governor Sears does not have the ideology that museum leadership adheres to. I feel full equality for women and minorities (especially Blacks) will not come to America until they are allowed by elites to have nonconforming viewpoints. It is a metastasized form of systemic racism that is hard to get rid of. I loved the pink-hatted white woman picture which told me a lot! I look forward to coming back when the weather is warmer and walking through the beautiful grounds...

What a glorious surprise. Of course it helped that we visited on one of the most gorgeous days of pre summer!

First, the Norman Rockwell exhibit was in our estimation, more comprehensive than his home/museum in the Berkshires that we have visited several times. The exhibit tracks his Post covers sequentially from roughly 1918 to his painting cessation. It was arranged beautifully such that one could track American history and cultural trends coincident with his painting style....it was a two hour plus engagement.

The museum exhibit on textiles/textural art although small, reflected highly talented local artisanal works.

The miniature room was humbling as my daughter's relics Pennsylvania farm house that we built and decorated did not compare...these miniature's were many levels higher and treasures to appreciate.

The period exhibit on the local habitat development over Two Hundred years we could and should have spent more time in...lots of rich heritage for all ages!

The Winchester house itself and the gardens were a pleasure to stroll through and appreciate the immense cultural contribution the Woods made to Winchester.

We lunched in the gardens adjacent to the house and relished the beauty and serenity of both....an oasis away from the hustle and bustle of today's suburbia!

It was a visit to remember and we will be bringing our 100+ Dad shortly, once the current...