Farmville presents gifts to candidates
Published 2:53 pm Tuesday, October 4, 2016
- Al Buczek, a local carpenter and artist, and Gerry Spates, Farmville town manager, pose with one of the banners that will be given as a gift to the candidates.
Al Buczek has brought a lot of “love” to Farmville with the hand-crafted LOVEworks sculpture that sits at the entrance to High Bridge Trail on Main Street. Now, with his creativity and hard work, the Vice Presidential nominees will be taking a little piece of Farmville home with them.
The town enlisted Buczek to create a one-of-a-kind commemorative gift for the nominees. Crafted from the same heart pine used to construct the LOVE sign, the gift is carved into the shape of Virginia. A spike from the old railroad soldered to the top evokes the iconic shape of the High Bridge girders. The bridge, and the town of Farmville, was the backdrop to the end of the Civil War and is now High Bridge Trail State Park, a popular hiking, biking and horseback riding trail that cuts right through the middle of Main Street, where you can find shops ranging from antiques and furniture to handmade gifts, restaurants and art galleries.
Two of these special commemorative gifts were presented to the Vice Presidential candidates.
Candidates will also be presented with 2016 Vice Presidential Debate banners that were displayed throughout downtown Farmville leading up to the big event.
