About the Bluemont Citizens Association
Founded in 1955, the Bluemont Citizens Association (BCA) is a neighborhood organization committed to enhancing the Bluemont community, with a focus on protecting, celebrating, and preserving its rural heritage and character. As an unincorporated village, Bluemont does not collect municipal taxes.
The Bluemont Fair
The BCA serves as the cornerstone of the Bluemont Fair, an annual event held on the third weekend of September. Organized entirely by volunteers, the fair began in 1970 and raises funds for various BCA initiatives, including numerous charitable endeavors. Proceeds also support Bluemont’s essential infrastructure, such as sidewalks, streetlights, and the upkeep of the E.E. Lake Store. Since 2016, Cynthia Morris and Jen Stone have skillfully co-chaired the Bluemont Fair.
Bluemont Citizens Association Meetings
Community meetings are held on the first Wednesday of each month at 7:00 pm at the Bluemont Community Center, located at 33846 Snickersville Turnpike. As a 501(c)4 organization, the BCA primarily serves residents of the Bluemont zip code (20135), which spans Loudoun, Clarke, and Jefferson Counties, as well as those with a 540-554-xxxx landline phone number. Everyone in the community is welcome to attend and share their input. The monthly BCA meeting is an excellent forum to present ideas—and often, to gain support for them.
The current (2021) elected BCA officers are:
President Peter Weeks
Vice-
President Lisa Seeberger
Treasurer Dave Ewald
Secretary Michelle Condon
Trustees Charley Billman, John Constant, John Sullivan
The BCA Serves Bluemont in Many Ways
As an unincorporated area, Bluemont thrives through a strong volunteer tradition. Many local organizations are connected to the BCA in one way or another.
In 2014, the BCA supported the creation of the Bluemont Spring Fling, a free event for the community, which has since become an annual tradition.
The local historical group, the Friends of Bluemont, has received significant backing from the BCA for its restoration project of the Snickersville Academy (1825), Bluemont’s first school and church. The group now operates under the name Bluemont Heritage.
In partnership with Loudoun County, the BCA has secured several grants, primarily public funding, to preserve the historic E.E. Lake Store. While the county holds the property title, Bluemont Heritage manages the site.
The BCA also advocates for the community on important issues. For example, it petitioned the Loudoun Zoning Board to waive a requirement that would have forced the Village Montessori School (then preparing to open) to install an asphalt walkway in front of its property, which would have resulted in the loss of several mature trees and old stone walls. More recently, the BCA lobbied the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors to fund speed-readout cameras for the village.
Until his passing, Henry Plaster, Chairman of the Snickersville Turnpike Association (STA), was a regular attendee at BCA meetings, serving as a watchdog and advocate with the Virginia Department of Transportation (V-DOT) for road maintenance in Bluemont. In recent years, the BCA contributed funds to support the STA’s efforts to place historical markers along the turnpike from Aldie to Bluemont.
Jen Stone manages the Bluemont area email list. To be added to the list, email jenclark[@]stonefrog.com.
The BCA also organizes local road trash cleanups under the auspices of Keep Loudoun Beautiful (KLB) every April and October. As a result of these volunteer efforts, the BCA has been awarded an “Adopt-a-Highway” certificate.
In addition, the BCA purchases bedding plants for the village flower barrels each spring. Volunteers set them out and water them during dry spells, and the barrels are refreshed with colorful fall chrysanthemums just in time for the Bluemont Fair.
The BCA sponsors local community forums with members of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, as well as planning and zoning staff.
The BCA is deeply involved in charitable work. It assists neighbors in need by providing Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, giving Christmas gifts to children from families facing difficulties, donating to local food banks, supporting the Volunteer Fire Department, contributing two chairs to the Franklin Park Arts Center, and responding to special requests for assistance, such as for daycare children at the Community Center.
The Association also awards scholarships to local graduating seniors—over $11,000.00 was distributed in 2023. To qualify, seniors must live within the 20135 zip code or have a 540-554-xxxx phone number, and demonstrate interest and pride in their hometown, such as by volunteering for the Spring Fling, Bluemont Fair, or litter cleanups.
To stay informed about events in Bluemont, propose a civic project, gain support for your own ideas, make an announcement, work with others on local matters, or simply meet your neighbors, come to one of the monthly BCA meetings held on the first Wednesday of each month at 7:00 pm at the Bluemont Community Center, located at 33846 Snickersville Turnpike.