Priscilla Richardson

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This Roanoke-based caterer and event designer lives in Botetourt County, in Troutville. While building his business, he came to know about Fincastle's Kyle House.

"I fell in love with the building," Schaal, 40, said. "So I was keeping an eye on it over the last three to four years." He even had the opportunity to cater a wedding reception there.

Schaal wondered if he could manage Kyle House as an event location for his catering business, but at first nothing came of it. Although he did talk to Don Wetherington, who is a Fincastle attorney and the Kyle House's owner. But Schaal really wanted a downtown location, and he thought he'd have to build in Botetourt to get what he needed.

But, as the saying goes, while he was making other plans, life happened. It turned out that he and his marketing director, Allan Mower, had been accustomed to going to a little coffee shop in downtown Roanoke for their morning coffee and business sessions. Then one day, suddenly, the coffee place was no more. Schaal saw the location as a good one for his planned downtown event venue.

The next step was to find out how he could get his hands on it. He investigated and discovered the owner was -- guess who? -- Wetherington. Their discussions eventually led to a question: Do you want to make a deal for two locations? So Schaal decided to take on both spaces.

"I thought," Schaal said, "that since Fincastle is only 20 minutes outside Roanoke, and lot of other places brides go to are the same or further, I'm going to give this thing a shot. I thought we could work with this location and do something fantastic with it. We're not just about food; food is only a small portion of what we do. We're about the whole experience from when you come in the door until when you leave: service, ambience, flowers, proper lighting, air conditioning, everything."

The Kyle House features a barn in the back and two ballrooms upstairs, so the total capacity for any event is 300. The staff puts food stations all around the space to allow guests to move freely without missing the goodies Schaal's famous for, such as seafood.

To showcase the building and his business, Schaal originally planned a large open house. But then he got together with Historic Fincastle Inc.. The result: The Gather to Gavel, the HFI art auction planned for the evening of July 28, will cap Fincastle Heritage Day celebrating Virginia's 400th birthday at the Kyle House. The actual auction will take place upstairs in the ballrooms, but you don't have to climb steps to participate, thanks to closed circuit video and spotters with walkie talkies.

You can preview the art all day, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Then start again at 6 p.m., with the auction starting at 7. The $12 admission for the evening includes the food, and the admission goes directly to HFI, because Schaal is providing everything at no cost.

So here's your chance to enjoy a fabulous evening and benefit HFI at the same time, even if you don't buy any art. Although, buying will be well worth considering, because the selection will include special work from more than 40 of the best area artists.

See you there!

You can see a slide show of a wedding reception at the Kyle House at schaalsevents.com/home. Click on venues, and then Kyle House. For more information about Heritage Day and Gather to Gavel, go to hisfin.org.