Blue Ridge Country May/June 2020 - 6

FROM THE EDITOR

Virginia Tourism's LOVEwork
installations (such as this one in
Lynchburg and featuring one man's
sweetheart seated in the O), may well
have the potential to take on new
meaning in the uncertain times that
appear to be arriving as of the mid-March
day this magazine goes to press. May the
message be, in all things on all days and
all situations, to keep kindness and love
at the forefront of all we do, no matter
the circumstances we face.

CORONAVIRIS

A Crisis and an Issue of a Magazine
No one knows what form, severity or impact that crisis may or may not have reached by the time you
receive this issue. Our hopes are for the best to you and yours, whatever those circumstances.
By KURT RHEINHEIMER

S

uddenly, here in mid-March, 2020, we are all
one region, all one nation, all one world. Or
at least such is the case on the day when this
is being written, when the world as we live it,
move within it and work within it, is changing by the hour, and on this date not for the
better.
In fact, we're aware that much of the issue we have
been working on for the past few weeks and are about
to send to the printer could reach readers as something
somewhere between a relic and an odd keepsake.
Yes, this is our annual Festivals edition, off to press
on a day that may well be at the front edge of mass
cancellations of festivals, travel and gatherings-things
which in many ways are the basis of what Blue Ridge
Country, or any regional magazine, presents.
And within that context of a rapidly unfolding crisis,
there are few media entities less able to present current
and timely information than a bi-monthly magazine
such as this one. In the world as we knew it, we were
well-practiced at presenting the here-it-comes over the
there-it-went, and with how to build a package of columns, departments, stories and information that could
serve our readers over the two-month period of the cover date; in this case, May and June.
As I'm typing this, we have nothing in the way of
solid information in the context of this issue arriving
in your mail. Or, perhaps, its even getting delivered to
your mailbox.
But in the same way that we have spent this morning

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BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COM

in company-wide meetings with a blend of preparing for
the worst and hoping for the best, we can only do the
same as we go to press.
Again to the festivals theme for the issue: World, regional and state events and their timing happened simply
at the perfect-storm time to prevent our ability to alter
our content for this issue. Please, if there is opportunity
for travel as you read this, as we so hope there is, check
ahead on the status of your destination as well as on any
events, dining and lodging associated with your trip.
And if travel is not an option as you read this, we hope
you'll read with an eye on planning for future visits to the
places covered in this issue, and the places that have provided advertising support for the issue. Someday, if not
this day, things will again be open and ready for visits.
We are beginning work, starting after we upload this
edition to print, toward the potential inclusion of more
in the way of "evergreen" content for the July/August
issue; that is, stories and information less tied to a specific time and more tied to the timeless beauty, history,
geography and geology of the region we all love.
And infinitely more important than any content in
any magazine, allow all of us associated with Blue Ridge
Country to convey to you and your family, to you and
your friends, to you and your community our warmest
greetings and our best wishes-best wishes in meeting
the challenges coming or having come your way or, we
hope, best wishes for a continued healthy and peaceful
time beyond the unprecedented crisis that has engendered this note on this day in mid-March.
http://www.BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COM
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country May/June 2020
