Summaries of Local Activities

FFNCA holds various events throughout the year. These might include getting together with other clubs for a day, small gatherings of club members, and activities open to all of FFNCA. Read on to join us after the fact for some of these.

FFNCA and Harrisburg Clubs Visit Gettysburg

On Sunday July 11, 2021, members of the Friendship Force National Capital Area and Friendship Force Greater Harrisburg clubs – 27 people!– enjoyed a joint outing at the Gettysburg Battlefield hosted by FFGH. We started in the visitors’ Center with an outstanding film, A New Birth of Freedom, narrated by Morgan Freeman. Next we viewed the Cyclorama–a huge painting in the round with sound and lights narrating the Battle of Gettysburg, (July 1-3, 1863), a turning point of America’s Civil War Battle. 

Members of the two clubs at Little Roundtop.

We moved back into our cars to tour the Battlefield in two groups. The groups were led by Mike Staub of the Friendship Force of Greater Harrisburg, who grew up in Gettysburg, and Cliff Beasley who grew up in Richmond and offered the Southern perspective on the “war of Yankee aggression.” Both shared their wealth of knowledge of the Civil War and the details of various parts of the Gettysburg battle such as Pickett’s charge. 

Discussing the battle at Little Roundtop

The historic Dobbin House Tavern (circa 1776) served the group a delicious lunch including their famous onion soup. There we learned how the tavern served as a clinic to care for some of the many wounded in the Battle. We agreed that we should continue these joint outings and FFNCA will host the next one.

Lunch at Dobbin House Tavern

Visit to Glenstone

We recently visited Glenstone a private contemporary art museum in Potomac, Maryland. Exhibits are both indoors and outdoors and visits are by reservation, several months in advance. We were lucky to reserve what turned out to be a beautiful day in September. Photos are not allowed inside the museum.

Annual Meeting and Dinner

FFNCA held its annual meeting on December 3, 2021. This meeting was held in conjunction with a wonderful holiday pot-luck at the spacious community room of a community where one of our members lives. It was a lovely evening, and we were able to catch up with our friends, discuss the plan for journeys over the next few years plus electing officers and voting on some structural changes to committees, etc.

Holiday Lights at Brookside Garden

A highlight of the holidays is the light shows at various venues around the area. One of them is the Garden of Lights at Brookside Garden in Maryland. We enjoyed a visit there plus a meal at a nearby Vietnamese restaurant in December 2021.

FFNCA Vists Planet Word

On February 6, 2022, FFNCA members spent the afternoon at Planet Word, a new museum in Washington, DC.

Spring Picnic 2022

Our picnic this year was during a heat wave. Fortunately, the picnic was at the home of one of our members whose home provided great respite from the heat. Everyone enjoyed the day.