Buchanan Hall & Buchanan Hall Community Market

Dear Community Supporter and Friend,

I’m reaching out this giving season to clear up a common misconception and to ask for your support of Buchanan Hall, your hyper-local, hardworking, and results-proven nonprofit community center.

There is a belief that our Community Market, featuring weekly live music, celebrated for its charm and consistently outstanding attendance, generates the revenue needed to sustain Buchanan Hall. In reality, Buchanan Hall pays a significant expense to operate this free, season-long event as part of our mission to serve the community.

For the past five years and more than 140 free-to-attend community markets, we have relied on the goodwill of friends and neighbors who donate at the end of each season to fund our following year’s programming and operations. Every contribution makes a difference. In this letter, I outline where your support goes and why we work so hard to continue providing these costly but vital community experiences and resources. Your generosity is essential to helping Buchanan Hall remain a valued and effective part of this village and the wider community.

During our first few years of hosting the Market, we were humbled by the community fellowship and generosity that allowed us not only to sustain operations but to surpass our original expectations for this event. But as we continue to provide more robust programming each year, we, like many others, face sharply rising expenses.

Because we remain committed to keeping fees affordable for our vendors and neighbors, we are turning once again to you, our community, for support. Your contribution will help make our 6th Market season and our 2026 operating year possible.

Why do we offer 22 weeks of markets in an inviting atmosphere filled with free live music, exceptional vendors, delicious food, and the beautifully maintained gardens at the Hall? Because this Market provides a powerful sense of community and fellowship, and has become a hub not only for Upperville but for the entire surrounding area. And the impact extends far beyond our guests: we support local musicians, small vendor businesses, summer enrichment for children, and educational spotlights such as trades and native plant nurseries.

This commitment, by our staff, our volunteers, and our supporters, requires both tremendous effort and substantial funding. Weekly musician payments, ABC permitting, staff compensation, and less visible costs such as increased trash removal, utilities, cleaning, and interior and exterior maintenance all add up. As you can imagine, the expenses are numerous, and we deeply need the support of those who want to see this beloved event continue.

But Buchanan Hall is more than the Market. For over 100 years, we have fulfilled our 501(c)(3) mission to provide a central gathering place for cultural and community events. 

In the past year alone, we have sponsored:

• A Co-op Kitchen for Entrepreneurs
 Our commercial commissary licensed kitchen is home to several local food businesses, including the beloved Auntie Rachelle of Auntie Rara’s Ice Cream.

• Meeting & Event Space and supplies for our fellow nonprofits, including the Upperville Colt & Horse Show, Virginia Point-to-Point Foundation, Foxcroft School, Wakefield School, numerous garden clubs, Virginia Piedmont Heritage Area Assoc., Piedmont Fox Hounds, Land Trust of Virginia, Piedmont Symphony Orchestra, Willisville Preservation Society, several church groups, The Herb Society of America, and many more!

and events such as

• Piedmont Pride
 A sold-out, joy-filled celebration featuring bold entertainment—an unforgettable, rarely offered experience in Hunt Country.

• The 60th Annual Daffodil Show
 Hosted by the Upperville Garden Club and accredited by the American Daffodil Society, featuring thousands of daffodils and drawing guests from across the Piedmont.

• The Holiday Bazaar & Pictures with Santa
 A cherished, free annual event where kids, families, and even pets meet Santa and enjoy holiday shopping from local vendors. (Join us December 14 from noon–4 pm, with Santa from noon–2 pm!)

• Buchanan Hall Community Market
From May through the fall, guests enjoy farm and artisan goods, great food, wine—and now beer—alongside live performances from our talented local musicians.

We ask for your support of this vital civic and cultural cornerstone of Upperville.

With gratitude,

 G. Fletcher Slater, President

& The Board of Directors