Good morning, Blacksburg.

Welcome to the “ber” months (September, October, etc.). If you’ve ever wondered why the final four months end in ber, it’s because of the Romans. The names are Latin numbers with a suffix (ber) that makes them descriptive nouns. Septem is Latin for seven. Octo = eight. Novem = nine. And decem = ten. But wait a second. . .

There were originally only ten months, but Rome’s second king, Numa Pompilius, introduced January and February to better match the lunar year. Even though the numbers no longer matched, the names weren’t changed.

The more you know…

In today's Blacksburg Connect:

Let's get to it.

The Lyric has posted its fall schedule, six special screenings between September and November, plus three live shows.

The free ones. Flamekeeper: The Michael Cleveland Story screens Sept. 17 at 7:30, tracing the fiddler from child prodigy to ten-time IBMA Fiddle Player of the Year. The timing isn't an accident — it lands just before Cleveland plays the Center for the Arts with Béla Fleck. And Balance: A Perimenopause Journey runs Sept. 19 at 11 a.m., with Glade Road Growing presenting the first two episodes; reserve through their site.

The one with the best story behind it. Granite Rapids Moon, Sept. 10 at 7:30, is the first narrative feature shot mostly inside the Grand Canyon. A cast and crew of eight carried every piece of equipment in over two 41-mile hikes. Part of ticket sales go to Friends of the Blue Ridge and Feeding Southwest Virginia.

The one you'll want to see in a theater. Faust turns 100 this year, and on Oct. 1 at 7:30 the Austin band The Invincible Czars plays a new score live over Murnau's 1926 silent — classical, bossa nova, and stretches of heavy metal, on flute, violin and electric guitar.

And the art films. The Exhibition on Screen series runs three: Michelangelo: Love & Death on Sept. 8, spanning all 88 years of him; Frida Kahlo on Oct. 27; and James McNeill Whistler on Nov. 17. All three screen twice, 10 a.m. and 7 p.m., and all are open captioned.

One more for the outdoors crowd: Blacksburg Parks and Rec brings the 2026 Paddling Film Festival on Sept. 23, doors at 6:30, $15 in advance and $20 at the door.

On the live side, Sounds of Simon & Garfunkel plays Wednesday, The American Soldier follows Sept. 9, and NY NY Dueling Pianos takes the stage Sept. 16.

Town Council meets for a work session at 11 this morning at 400 S. Main. Nothing gets voted on at a work session — this is where Council talks through what might become an ordinance later, which makes it the best early look at what's coming.

Two potential code amendments are on the agenda: the meals tax and homestay regulations. Homestay is the town's term for short-term rentals, the Airbnb-and-similar category, and in a town where two-thirds of the population is students and football weekends move a lot of visitors, how those are regulated shapes both neighborhoods and the housing market.

There's also a closed session on possible real property in central Blacksburg. Virginia law lets a locality discuss acquiring or disposing of property in private, on the reasoning that negotiating in public would drive up the price. It also means the specifics stay off the record until something is signed — so this line is worth watching rather than reading anything into.

Rounding out the docket: a community branding update, ARPA items covering a childcare workforce grant through the Community Foundation and the Food Security Network through LWEG, and a discussion of meeting recordings.

Planning Commission meets at 6:30 at 300 S. Main for officer elections. No public hearings, so nothing on the calendar that would draw a crowd.

The November ballot is now final. Here’s a preview of who will be on it for our area.

Blacksburg Town Council, two seats. Joel Goodhart and Leslie Harwood are running. Goodhart was appointed to an interim seat in January; Harwood is a newcomer. Both vacancies trace back to the Michael Sutphin's election as mayor which opened one seat, and the other came from Liam Watson's resignation, which took effect Jan. 2. A jury convicted Watson in December on two counts of felony election fraud and one count of illegal voting, finding he had not lived at the Blacksburg address he used to register to vote before the November 2023 election. He was sentenced in April to two years of unsupervised probation, with all prison time suspended. Andrew Kassoff, the other interim appointee, is not running.

Montgomery County Sheriff, special election. Tim Brown, who won the Democratic primary on Aug. 4, faces Robert Page, the interim sheriff, who won the Republican firehouse primary in June.

The dates you need:

🗳️ Election Day — Tuesday, Nov. 3
📅 Early voting opens — Thursday, Sept. 18
📅 Last day to register — Tuesday, Oct. 13
📍 Registrar — 750 S. Roanoke St. #1C, Christiansburg · 540-382-5741
🔗 vote.elections.virginia.gov

Early voting opens in under three weeks.