Who knew? (homecoming edition)

Laugh Riot featuring Michael Ian Black and Greg Giraldo will take place at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 6 in Burruss Auditorium. Virginia Tech student tickets cost $7 in advance or $12 day of show; general admission tickets are $10 in advance or $15 day of show. Tickets are available through the ticket office in Squires Student Center. See here for more homecoming events.

Also there's a 5k run on Sunday October 11 at 1pm. More details here.

B.B. King this Sunday, October 5. Here's the entire University Union Calendar.

September nearly ends...

and there's some cool stuff over at the Jefferson Center in Roanoke in the next few weeks: Sweet Honey in the Rock this Friday the 25th, Christian McBride (amazing Jazz bassist) and his new band the Inside Straight on Sunday Oct 4, and Sunday Oct 11 Dan Zanes is playing for kids.

Also tomorrow (Sept 25, Fri), Josh Weil reads from The New Valley at Volume II Bookstore at 7:30pm.

This Week...

This week at The Lyric--The Hurt Locker, and then Julie & Julia. Also, Dorothy Allison's reading on Friday at Squires, and a kidsfest from 1-5pm on Sunday at the Salem Civic Center. Also, the Virginia Wine Festival is this Saturday and Sunday.

Thursday night overload

"Coal Country," a documentary about coal towns and mountaintop removal, will be at the Lyric Thurs. Sept 10 at 7pm. See more about this event here.

Also E. Ethelbert Miller will be reading at Volume II Bookstore the same night, at 7pm.

Also Coming Soon!

They've posted the fall schedule at the University Union, and Dan Ahdoot (from my hometown, totally funny comedian) is coming! Another highlight is Star Trek (movie) on the Drillfield! And BB King in October!

There's also some decent stuff at the Roanoke Civic Center--Avenue Q on Nov 5 and A Cirque du Soleil situation on Oct 6.

Best of all, the Hackensaw Boys are playing in Radford at Sunken Garden Sundays at 5pm on August 23. Read more about it here.

Also, save the date: on Friday Sept. 25, my friend Josh Weil will be reading at 7:30pm at Volume Two Bookstore from his brand new set of Novellas (The New Valley), set in this area. He got a great review in the NY Times!

Also, I've recently stumbled on the Star City Harbinger, a new local news source (citizen journalism) for Roanoke.

Coming Soon...

They've announced the fall series at the Lyric, and highlights include Romeo and Juliet from the American Shakespeare Center (Fri, Sept. 11), and The Cowboy Junkies (Thurs, Oct. 15).

On July 31, Away we Go starts at the Lyric.

In bad news, our good live music venue The Lantern has closed and is for sale.

This month, and for most of the rest of the summer, the Floyd Country Store has jams on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights most weeks.

Floydfest is happening RIGHT NOW, and the Virginia Wine Festival is Sept 19-20. Sadly, it's moved to Centreville, VA. I have no idea where that is.

For family fun, it's Salem Red Sox season, and Steppin' Out is August 7 & 8.

Summer Arts Festival

Check out the Summer Arts Festival site here! Unbeknownst to me, the summer concert series started up again--this summer it's on the drillfield...

Summertime!

Saturday June 20 - The Summer Solstice Fest in downtown Blacksburg

General summer stuff:
Sunken Garden Sundays in Radford (concert series)

Claytor Lake State Park

The Starlite Drive-in in Christiansburg

The Frog Pond (for kids) in Christiansburg

Berry picking at Crow's Nest Farm in Blacksburg

Tangent Outfitters leads kayaking, canoeing, fishing and mountain biking trips from Pembroke and Radford

Dixie Caverns in Salem

Salem Red Sox Baseball

Puppet Show!

April 28 at The Lyric! And also lots of Artsfusion events!

Music & Readings

Jonatha Brook is at the Lyric on April 7 at 8pm, and Sara Pritchard will be reading at Volume 2 Bookstore at 7pm that Tuesday too!

Good Food - Good People

It's CSA Share time here in Blacksburg, and we just signed up for a half-share of veggies from the Blue Ridge Growers Cooperative (run by Mike Burton) and a fruit share from Good Food Good People. Seven Springs Farm also offers a veggie share in town.

And it's the coolest Friday ever--Matthew Vollmer is reading from his new fiction collection (Future Missionaries of America) at 7pm (2/20) at Volume 2 Bookstore, and then the Hackensaw Boys are playing at The Lantern.

Somehow, despite all my checking of websites, I managed to miss the fact that Girl Talk is playing on campus (and is sadly sold out already).

At the Lyric this Sunday (2/22), Robbie Schaefer (from the band Eddie from Ohio) is doing "Songs for Kids Like US" at 3pm. And Jonatha Brook is playing on April 7, also at the Lyric (and this is where I decide I'm truly old/in the "adult contemporary" category).

In the way future for kids, there's Playhouse Disney Live March 8 at the Roanoke Civic Center, and a Bob the Builder show at the Salem Civic Center May 8.

Movies!!

Slumdog Millionaire is at the Lyric through Feb 5 (Thurs). Also Milk, Frost/Nixon, Slumdog Millionaire, Revolutionary Road, The Reader, Defiance, AND the Curious Case of Benjamin Button are all at the Regal 14-plex in Christiansburg. That pretty much covers everything I wanted to see all year!

Also, I just found out that B-burg has a Ladies Roller-derby League--the NRV Rollergirls!! I'm kind of tempted...

For Kids - The Roanoke Civic Center & VT Lessons

There's something called the Kazim Shrine Circus at the Roanoke Civic Center from Jan 30 - Feb 1, the Monster Jam (truck rally) from Feb 13-15, and Disney Playhouse Live on March 8.

Also for older kids (8-12), there's Kids' Tech University and gymnastics and swimming lessons for all age kids at VT rec sports.

On a totally unrelated note, Panera opens in Blacksburg (University City Blvd) on Tuesday (1/27/09).