Evening star., 1946-04-30
Winchester Bids
Festival Visitors
Own Food
Also Warns Housing
Is Unavailable for
Stay Overnight
BY stoff Correspondent Of The stor

WINCHESTER, Va, April 30
Visitors to the Shenandoah Apple
Blossom Festival are urged to bring
their own lunches and not to plan
an overnight stay for the two-day
festivities beginning Thursday.
This situation Is not a reflection
on the hospitality of the community
but is policy that has existed every
year until the festival was suspended
in l941 because of the war.
Even participants in the parade
and pageant have been urged to
pack their lunch boxes in anticipa-
ton of the inability of local res
taurantS to cope with crowd
festival officials estimate will ap-
proach 100000 persons.
Opening From Hollywood.
AS this city completed prepara-
tions for the festival, it was an
nounced that Tom Breneman of
Breakfast in Hollywood" radio
fame will open the second perform
ance OF the pageant here at IL am.
Friday by reading the opening lines
of the pageant from Hollywood,
Calf.
Arrangements for this innovation
were completed by the staff of
WING, Winchester radio station.
Mr.. Breneman's opening will be
heard by the pageant audience ex-
pected to number $4,000, through
a public. address system and by
millions of listeners in the United
States and Canada over an ABC
network Of 1876 radio stations.
Hotels and Homes damned.
Ever since plans to renew the
festival were announced, reserva-
tions have been piling up in the
two principal hotels here which have
only a little more than 300 rooms
Tom Baldridge, director, said. In
addition the more than 100 tourist
homes and some private dwellings
already have been reserved for
weeks, he said.
While the festival headquarters
cannot act as a housing agency
for visitors, Br. Baldridge said, off,
cials will have tables in the lobbies
of the George Washington Hotel
and Hotel Jack to inform the public
of last-minute cancellations of
reservations.
For several weeks now, he said
accommodations in Middletown,
Front Royal and Strasburg, in
Virginia, and at Martinsburg. w.
Va.-about 18 miles distant-have
been going to early corners. A few
may be left, however.
Roads in Good Condition.
Roads feeding into Winchester
from all directions are in good or
excellent condition. a portion of the
road from Observation-Disclosures
the Shenandoah River bridge and
Winchester, have been relocated
and improved to avoid traffic at
Wildwood and Boyce. .,.-,.,
Washington motorists may most
conveniently reach Winchester by
leaving the city over Memorial
Bridge, following Route so (Which
is Lee boulevard in Arlington) over
the dual lane highway to Camp
Washington, at the edge of Fairfax
and continuing on Route so to the
right to Winchester. The distance
from Washington is 73 miles, ac-
cording to the District of Columbia
Motor Club, American Automobile
Association.
More than 80 special buses already
have been chartered to make the
trip from Washington, Mr. Baldridge
said, and it is expected that regu-
larly scheduled lines-Greyhound
Blue Ridge, Charleston and Trail
ways-will place extra sections on
their runs to help meet the trans
portation problem.
The Baltimore e. Ohio Railroad
will place special equipment on its
regular train going to Winchester
Thursday and will run the regular
train and two specials Friday.
On Friday special train will de-
part from Union Station at 8 am
All reservations have been taken by
special parties for a through run
but another special train available
to the public will leave at 8:15 am
with stops at Silver Spring, Rock
vile, Point of Rocks and Brunswick
and will depart from Winchester at
o:45 pm, making the same stops on
the return trip.