September 29, 2025 / News
A Real Fall Highlight: Brookfield Farms Pumpkin Patch!
Hey all,
One of the great things that happens in our neighborhood at this time of year: Brookfield Pumpkins opens to the public for a fall celebration!
Created by Sam and Mary Jane Roop and their three children in 1996, the Brookfield Farms Pumpkin Patch has been in operation every fall since then. This year, following Farmer Sam’s retirement, Kelsey and Dan Maslen and their three children continue the tradition as the new owners of Brookfield Pumpkins.
Brookfield offers hayrides to their 15 acre Pumpkin Patch (where you can pick your own pumpkin), a corn maze (whose proceeds are donated to charities), a farm animal petting zoo, and other activities to entertain your children. It’s a great experience and an opportunity to take home the perfect pumpkin for Halloween! And we know you’ll like seeing the farm itself, which always makes us feel like we’re walking around in a carefully tended garden.
We hope you’ll visit Brookfield Pumpkins to enjoy a special family adventure that has become a tradition in our area.
You’ll find Brookfield Farms at 8302 Ramsburg Rd, Thurmont, MD 21788, just up the road from Links Bridge. The Pumpkin Patch is open September 27 through Oct 31. Mon-Thurs 3pm-6pm. Fri-Sun 10am-6pm. Visit www.BrookfieldPumpkins.com for more information.
Best wishes for a great October!
Bob & Joan
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September 9, 2025 / News
Hey all–
Here are two things we want to make sure you know about, both happening on Saturday September 13. The first is our final installment of Goat Yoga for the year. The second is the Vine & Vendor Harvest Market, brought to you by Dysfunctional Housewives. Look below for more information.
Come on by!
Bob & Joan
Goat Yoga at Links Bridge
Saturday September 13, 10 am – Noon
Instructor: Laura White
We hope you’ll come by on Saturday morning, September 13 from 10am-Noon, for the last Links Bridge Goat Yoga experience of the summer. Begin with a complimentary mimosa, then enjoy Goat Yoga with instructor Laura White on a quiet green meadow overlooking the Monocacy River at a place we call “The Riffle.” After the yoga session is over, join us up at the tasting room for a complimentary flight of seven Links Bridge wines, and you’re welcome to bring a picnic (or grab one of our charcuterie boards) for a post-yoga lunch.
All ages are welcome! For kids we will have orange juice before the yoga session begins, and a flight of two sparkling grape juices afterwards at the tasting room.
Cost, $46 per person. Make your reservation here.
Vine & Vendor Harvest Market
Saturday September 13, 11 am – 6 pm
This poster says it all!
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September 4, 2025 / News
Hello all,
From September 6-28, Links Bridge Vineyards will be hosting a new exhibit of paintings by members of the Frederick Plein Air Artists, including James Bricker, Margaret Huddy, Rebecca Jackson, Jane Knighton, Deborah Lovelace Richardson, Elayne Rogge, Paula Rubin-Wexler, Ann Schaefer, Bonnie Sydnor, Peggy Thompson, and Karen Winston-Levin. The plein air works in this exhibit were painted either in Frederick County or while exploring distant shores, including (among others) the charming streets of Paris, the timeless canals of Venice, the fishing villages of Croatia, or even on our beautiful Chesapeake Bay. The exhibit is a treat for the eye, in part because of its diversity of subjects and styles and in part because of the skill of these artists.
Cloudscape Over Milden
© Jane Knighton
Frederick Plein Air Artists was formed out of a shared desire to paint outdoors on a regular basis, in a safe environment and at inspirational locations. Starting in the spring, they paint each Wednesday through November. It is the magic of the experience of capturing the mood of the atmosphere, the dancing of the clouds or the brilliance of the light that brings these artists together.
Reception for the Frederick Plein Air Artists . A reception for these artists will be held in the Links Bridge Tasting Room on September 7 from 1 to 3 pm. They will be here to greet visitors. Light refreshments will be served, and wine is available for purchase.
We hope you’ll come by to see for yourself what they have been painting and to enjoy a glass of wine!
Cheers!
Bob & Joan
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August 1, 2025 / News
Being There–Catching the Light
Paintings by Ann Schaefer, August 2-31
This month at Links Bridge Vineyards, we’ll be hosting a collection of paintings by Maryland artist Ann Schaefer. Ann exhibited pictures here last year as well, many of which were inspired by rural Maryland and Virginia. This time around, though, her new selection reflects her far flung travels, taking us from New England to California, New Mexico to Key West, Curaçao, the Bahamas, and a good bit of western Europe. Her paintings in watercolor, acrylics, and oils are in the plein air tradition.
Peeking Out (Key West)
© Ann Schaefer
Ann holds a Fine Arts degree from George Washington University and has pursued a career in Federal environmental programs. She has had many solo shows and has entered into plein air events and group shows where her work has often received awards. Since 2009, as a partner artist at Gallery 322 in Frederick’s historic district, her work is always on view. In addition, her work is on display at Gallery 209 in Artists and Makers Studios in Rockville. For more information about her work, visit her website.
Ann will be here at Links Bridge to chat with customers on Sunday, August 3, 1-3pm. We hope you’ll come by to meet her and see this remarkable display of her work. Light refreshments will be served, and wine is available for purchase.
Cheers!
Joan & Bob
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July 17, 2025 / News
Hi All,
We invite you to join us on Saturday July 26, 11am-5pm, as we host the Wine & Vendor Summer Market.
Organized by Dysfunctional Housewives, producers of the famous Salted Caramel Coffee Bean Bark and other delicacies, this event will include a wide selection of local artists and artisans, not to mention a food truck (Cookin with Greece, 1-5 pm), live music (Paul Zelenka & Friends), Tarot (readings by Nancy Houston), and Tasca’s Love Co-op Dog Rescue Meet & Greet.
Come on by, enjoy a glass of wine or two, take in the Vine & Vendor Spring Market, and commune with the summer!
Cheers,
Bob & Joan
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June 26, 2025 / News
Two Painters, Separate Paths: Paintings by Lissa Abrams and Tom Ritchie, July 4-27
(Demonstration by the artists: July 12, 1-3pm–see below)
From July 4-27, Links Bridge will feature paintings by Lissa Abrams and Tom Ritchie. Both are members of the Mid-Atlantic Plein Air Painters’ Association. Both have won numerous awards in regional plein air competitions. Both are familiar to Frederick County and the surrounding area due to their participation in Frederick County’s annual Barnstormers Plein Air Competition, where Ritchie won the Best in Show award in 2023 and Abrams won the
Peoples’ Choice award in the following year.
Neighbors © Lissa Abrams
The plein air approach to painting involves working rapidly, typically outside, attempting to capture the fleeting effects of light, atmospheric conditions, and emotional response to the subject at hand. Many plein air works are completed within a two to two and a half hour framework because–let’s face it–in the world we inhabit, things change rapidly. While Abrams and Ritchie are both plein air painters, their painting styles are markedly different, and visitors to this exhibit will enjoy comparing the work of these two successful and increasingly well-known artists.
Rainy Day–Yellow House © Tom Ritchie
Demonstration by the artists: On July 12, 1-3pm, both Abrams and Ritchie will be here in the Links Bridge garden and vineyard to demonstrate the plein air approach to painting. They will be happy to chat with visitors as they work!
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