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In this issue of Blacksburg Connect
🗓️ Upcoming Local Events
⚽ VT Soccer Double Header
🚧 I-81 widening starts this week — 8 weeks of blasting and delays
🗳️ (In case you missed it) Review of upcoming Election for Virginia's 9th Congressional District
Upcoming Events
Sunday, August 23nd (today)
Blacksburg Vintage Market — 10:00 AM–5:00 PM (Market Square Park, 100 Draper Road, Blacksburg) — free
Dr. Forde's Jazz Band in Concert — 1:00–3:00 PM (Radford Coffee Company, 333 West Main Street, Radford) — free
2026 Summer Music Series: Stephanie Lea & The Wannabees — 4:00–6:00 PM (Mountain Lake Lodge, Salt Pond Pub, 115 Hotel Circle, Pembroke) — free
The Brown Mountain Lightning Bugs in Concert — 5:00–7:30 PM (Palisades Restaurant, 168 Village Street, Eggleston)
Men's Soccer: Howard vs. Virginia Tech — 4:00 PM (Thompson Field, Blacksburg)
Women's Soccer: Maryland vs. Virginia Tech — 6:00 PM (Thompson Field, Blacksburg) — free, gates open 60 minutes before kickoff, cashless concessions
Monday August 24th
Historic and Design Review Board — 4:30 PM (Blacksburg Motor Company Conference Room, 400 S. Main St., Blacksburg) — one item: 400 N. Main St. lighting and walkway repair
Monday Night Madness — 5:30 PM shotgun start (The Hill, Blacksburg Municipal Golf Course, 800 Graves Ave., Blacksburg)
Free Acroyoga Class and Jam — 6:30–8:30 PM (outdoors at Pratt Dr. & Kraft Dr., Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center, Blacksburg) — free; no experience or partner needed — first hour guided instruction, second hour open jam; rain location is the In Balance Yoga CRC studio, 2000 Kraft Dr., Suite 1204
Montgomery County Board of Supervisors — 7:15 PM (Government Center, 755 Roanoke St., Christiansburg)
Tuesday, August 25th
Blacksburg Town Council — 6:30 PM (Municipal Building, 300 S. Main St., Blacksburg) — no public hearings; next hearings Sept. 8
Farmer Auctions: Kenneth McCoy Funeral Collection, Part 1 — bidding closes (online only, Blacksburg)
⚽ Two matches, one field (no ticket needed)
Sunday, August 23 · 4:00 PM & 6:00 PM · Thompson Field, Virginia Tech campus · Free
4 p.m. — Men vs. Howard. The Hokies are 0-1 after a 1–0 loss at Ohio State, but the story out of that night was the goalkeeper. Redshirt sophomore Diego Dauzier, a January transfer from Temple, made seven saves in his Virginia Tech debut — tying the program record for stops in a debut and standing as the most by any ACC keeper on opening day this season.
6 p.m. — Women vs. Maryland. Tech is 2-0-1 and scoring at will: nine different players have found the net in three games. The 6–0 win over VMI on Aug. 16 came with 43 shots, breaking a program record for shots in a match that had stood since 1993.
Head coach Chugger Adair picked up his 175th career win in that match — only the seventh coach in ACC women's soccer history to reach the mark. The Hokies have never lost to Maryland at home (3-0-1), though they haven't played the Terrapins since 2013, before Maryland left the ACC. Maryland arrives 2-0.
Both matches stream on ACCNX. After tonight the women go on the road for three straight — no soccer back at Thompson Field until Sept. 6.
🚧 I-81 widening starts this week — 8 weeks of blasting and delays
Starting week of August 24 · Exits 143–150 · Roanoke and Botetourt counties · Through October 22
If you drive I-81 toward Roanoke for work, groceries, or the airport, plan ahead: WSLS reports thVDOT is starting an eight-week widening project between exits 143 and 150 this week.
The big disruption is blasting — Tuesdays through Thursdays, 9 to 11 a.m. During blasting windows, VDOT will run slow rolls starting at the exit 146 on-ramp (Plantation Road) northbound and the exit 156 on-ramp (Troutville) southbound. Each slow roll can last up to 15 minutes.
Outside of blasting hours, expect general construction delays through the corridor. Message boards along I-81 will post specific timing each week. The project runs through Oct. 22 — if your morning commute takes you through Salem or beyond on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, plan for an extra 15–20 minutes until late October.
🗳️ (In Case you Missed It) Joy Powers to face Rep. Morgan Griffith in November
Bedford County business owner Joy Powers won the Democratic primary for Virginia's 9th Congressional District on Aug. 4, taking 52% of the vote with 9,521 ballots across all 365 precincts. Software engineer Adam Murphy of Cave Spring finished second at 36%, and retired attorney Douglas Crockett of Wythe County came in at 12%.
Powers will face Republican incumbent Morgan Griffith in the November general election. Griffith has held the seat since 2010 and hasn't received less than 65% of the vote since 2012. The 9th District stretches from Bristol to Bedford and includes Montgomery County.
During the primary, Powers argued the district has been "largely forgotten" and criticized Griffith for not holding public town halls "in 16 years." Murphy pointed out the district covers 20% of Virginia's landmass but receives just 3% of state funding.
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