• Buy your tickets now! Invitations have been mailed for the LCVA's 12th Annual Meeting and 2007 Tourism Awards Luncheon on Tuesday, March 25, 2008 from 11:30am-2pm in the brand new ballroom at West Belmont Place at The National Conference Center. The LCVA's Annual Meeting celebrates and honors Loudoun's tourism industry and is a great time for networking and recognition. The LCVA's voting members also elect the LCVA Board of Directors for the next three-year term. Click here to register and buy tickets.
  
  
• The LCVA Tourism Awards program is made possible by program sponsors. Sponsors receive incredible visibility for their business and it is a great opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to the tourism industry in Loudoun County. Sponsorship opportunities are still available. Click here for more information or contact Wendy Ferrigno at 703-771-2170 ext. 24. This year's Tourism Awards program sponsors include: Platinum Sponsor - The National Conference Center; Patron Sponsors - Dulles Hotel Connection, Town of Leesburg, and Salamander Hospitality; Table Sponsors - Lansdowne Resort, Washington Dulles Airport Marriott, Middleburg Business and Professional Association/Town of Middleburg, Washington Airports Task Force, Historic Morven Park, INOVA Loudoun Hospital, Tuscarora Mill and Country Inn & Suites Dulles/Fairbrook Hotels.
  
  
• The deadline to advertise in the 2008/2009 edition of the LCVA's Shopping & Dining Guide is March 31, 2008. Twenty thousand copies of the new guide will be printed and distributed to hotels, retailers, attractions, wineries, and government offices in Loudoun County. The guide is also used by the travel trade, group decision makers, and as a fulfillment piece for consumers, residents, web and telephone requests, and members of the media. Please contact Wendy Ferrigno 703-771-2170 ext. 24 for more information.
  
  
• The LCVA's brand new culinary tourism guide, Loudoun Food + Wine has arrived. This beautiful 128-page guide to the culinary and wine treasures of Loudoun County features five destination restaurants, ten local favorites, seven restaurants to watch, profiles of Loudoun's sixteen wineries and their winemakers, beautiful photography, and much, much more. To receive a copy, please visit the LCVA Visitors Center at 222 Catoctin Circle, SE, Leesburg, or call 703-771-2170 ext. 11.
  
  
• The deadline for the next round of applications for the LCVA Cooperative Marketing Fund is March 31, 2008. For more information and application forms, please click here.
  
  
• The Virginia Tourism Corporation often provides advertorial content to media partners and it is often unscheduled. To ensure that your destination or attraction is eligible for consideration for these types of opportunities, please be sure to update your event listings on Virginia.org here, so your events are presented accurately. All advertorial content is generated from Virginia.org.

• Mary Pultz has joined the Embassy Suites Dulles-North as the Director of Sales and Marketing.
  
  
• The Country Inn & Suites by Carlson in Sterling has hired Alex Pineda as the new General Manager. Alex is a native of El Salvador and brings eight years of experience in the hospitality industry to the position. Click here to read more about Alex.
  
  
• The Restaurant at Patowmack Farm has won a Blue Ribbon Small Business Award from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Winners from across the country will be honored at America's Small Business Summit 2008 in Washington, DC in mid-April. The restaurant also received much national media attention for its mention in the February issue of Conde Nast Traveler magazine's article about top "farm tables."
  
  
• Lansdowne Resort was recently presented with the Virginia Green Lodging Certificate of Environmental Commitment. The Virginia Green Lodging Program is an initiative of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality to advance pollution prevention methods in the tourism and hospitality industry. Click here for more information.
  
  
• Loudoun County was recently awarded the 2008 "Outstanding Service in Community Preservation Award" by the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (APVA), in recognition of the county's historic districts interactive website, www.loudoun.gov/historic. The website, launched in 2007, highlights the six county-designated historic districts of Aldie, Bluemont, Goose Creek, Oatlands, Taylorstown, and Waterford. The website is designed as an educational tool and employs a combination of audio, video, and high resolution photography which allows users to virtually tour the districts. For more information, contact Heidi Siebentritt, Department of Planning, 703-777-0246.
  
  
• Meadowkirk Retreat, Meeting & Camp Ministry, near Middleburg, recently dedicated its newest facility - The Center at Meadowkirk. The new facility includes a dining room with banquet seating for 150 and The Stone Barn Chapel/meeting room with theater seating for 185. For more information, click here.
  
  
• The Franklin Park Performing & Visual Arts Center in Purcellville officially opened February 2, 2008. The center, Loudoun's first dedicated home for the arts, will house the VSA Arts of Virginia - Loudoun County program, along with concerts, recitals and plays in a 275-seat stadium-style theater. Visual art exhibits by local artists will rotate through the center's gallery in the main lobby. Classes and camps are offered for children and adults in a variety of disciplines including art, music, and drama. For more information, please call 703-777-0343.
  
  
• Chrysalis Vineyards recent acquisition of neighboring Caeli Farm and Aldie Dam has nearly doubled the size of the winery. Click here for more information.
  
  
• Notaviva Vineyards is now open for tastings on Saturdays and Sundays from 12-6pm. They will be sampling their Viognier along with Fabbioli Cellars wines until this summer when their Cabernet Franc is ready. For more information, please visit NotavivaVineyards.com.
  
  
• Fabbioli Cellars Raspberry Merlot was elected best red blend by visitors to the recent Virginia Wine Showcase, the first indoor wine show to be held in Virginia. In March, Fabbioli Cellars will release a new wine called LoCo Vino, a blended white wine that is the perfect complement to their strong selection of red wines. Winemaker Ben Renshaw, brother of Mom's Apple Pie owner Avis Cox, shows his skills in producing a light and flavorful white wine built for the warmer days of Loudoun County.
  
  
• Andy's in Lovettsville will open in the former Fleur de Lis location at the beginning of March. Owner Andy Ghuzlan, who also owns Andy's Pizza and Subs and Bacchus Café in Leesburg, promises that his new venture will be a combination of those two restaurants.
  
  
• Vino Virginia! is an annual recognition program for restaurants run by Virginia Wine Lover magazine, which will debut in May 2008. To participate in the program, restaurants must offer Virginia wine varieties by the glass for the duration of their participation. To find out more information about the benefits of the program and how to participate, please click here.
  
  
• The Goodstone Inn and Estate was recently featured in Piedmont Virginian Magazine, Virginia Living, Elan Magazine, and on the local CBS morning show. Goodstone's Valentines package was mentioned by the New York Daily News and ETN's Romance Concierge e-Newsletter.
  
  
• Historic Morven Park's renovation efforts were recently featured in a cover story for Foundation Drilling magazine. Click here to read the article.
  
  
• The Holiday Inn Leesburg is currently hiring a Sales Coordinator. Please contact Judy McHenry at 703-771-9200 ext. 413 for more information.
  
  
• Want to advertise employment opportunities to the industry? You can do so on the LCVA website under Industry Jobs. Email Greg Harp or call him at 703-771-2170 ext. 14 for more information.

Please email your industry news to Chris Geno, LCVA Director of Industry & Media Relations, by March 15, 2008 for inclusion in the March Tourism Industry Compass.