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Good morning, Blacksburg.
On this day in 1787, 39 delegates signed the U.S. Constitution in Philadelphia. It took them less than 100 days to write it, and 239 years later it is still the oldest written national constitution in use.
In today's Blacksburg Connect:
🍂 Saturday is stacked: pumpkins, pawpaws, blues, and a 53rd-annual downtown festival
📌 The community board
📰 News Around the NRV
☀️ Peak heat today
The National Weather Service in Blacksburg says an upper-level ridge is bringing the heat: highs run 5 degrees above normal on Tuesday, 10 above on Wednesday, and peak 10 to 15 degrees warmer than normal on Thursday.
Thursday, September 17th
🏛️ Supervisors and Planning Commission joint meeting, dinner 6:30 p.m., meeting 7:00 p.m., Government Center. Data centers are the subject.
🎙️ Tech Talk Live (football edition), 6:00 to 7:00 p.m., McClain's at First & Main. The Thursday night coaches' show, live from First & Main.
🎬 "Flamekeeper: The Michael Cleveland Story", free film, 7:30 p.m., Lyric Theatre. Documentary on the blind fiddle prodigy, ahead of his Saturday show with Béla Fleck.
👹 WORMWOOD, 8:00 p.m., the Sandbox. The AI-themed dance piece from the New Music + Technology Festival.
🎵 Kat Mills, 6:00 to 9:00 p.m., Rising Silo Farm Brewery.
🎵 Solacoustix, 6:00 to 9:00 p.m., The Farmhouse, Christiansburg. Dog-friendly patio.
Friday, September 18th
🍷 Friday Night Music with Jeff Levy, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Beliveau Farm Winery, Blacksburg. The weekly free Friday night series with extended bar hours. Bring a picnic or grab food at the winery.
Saturday, September 19th
🎃 Sinkland Farms Pumpkin Festival opens, 35th year, runs through Nov. 1. Hayrides, the super slide, petting zoo, food trucks, vendors, and live music.
🫐 New River PawPaw Fest, 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Rising Silo Farm Brewery. A full day celebrating the pawpaw at the farm brewery.
🎷 Blues, Brews & BBQ, 12:00 to 5:00 p.m., St. Luke & Odd Fellows Hall, 203 Gilbert Street, Blacksburg. The Blacksburg Museum's annual blues afternoon returns with the JoJo Stockton Project, Seedpicker, and Lady D and Mi$$ion. Free admission, $10 donation suggested.
🎪 Kiwanis Wilderness Trail Festival, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., downtown Christiansburg. Free 53rd-annual festival: artisans, heritage demos, two stages, food trucks. Proceeds fund youth programs.
🎭 Blacksburg Summer Improv Graduation Shows, 7:00 p.m., McClain's at First & Main. Two summer improv classes perform scenes from audience suggestions. Doors at 6:30, ages 13 and up.
🪕 Béla Fleck with My Bluegrass Heart, 7:30 to 10:00 p.m., Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech. Grammy-winning banjo project with Michael Cleveland and Dominick Leslie. $30 to $75, $10 for students and youth.
🏈 Hokies at Maryland, 7:30 p.m. ET, FOX or FS1. The first regular-season meeting in 13 years, and Virginia Tech is 2-0 coming off Sunday's 44-21 win over Old Dominion.
🎺 Christiansburg Festival of Bands, 3:00 to 7:00 p.m., Christiansburg High School. The Blue Demon Marching Band hosts bands from across the region.
Sunday, September 20th
🏃 Hokie Half Marathon and 5K, 7:30 to 11:30 a.m., VT Corporate Research Center. 14th-annual race, Hokie Bird medals, bands along the Huckleberry Trail. $90 to $110 for the half, $40 to $55 for the 5K. Online registration closes Saturday at 7:00 p.m., no race-day registration.
🚗 Car Cruise-In and Music Jam, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., Wildwood Farms General Store, Floyd. Free classic-car cruise-in plus an open music jam for all levels, rain or shine.
🍀 Irish Trad Jam, 5:00 to 8:00 p.m., Rising Silo Farm Brewery. Free open monthly Irish session for newcomers and veterans.
📌 The community board
Empty Bowls is back. The YMCA hosts its 2nd Empty Bowls fundraiser on Tuesday, October 14, 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. at the Y Center, 1000 N. Main St. Handmade bowls from the Pottery Studio, soups from Bull & Bones, Next Door Bake Shop, Our Daily Bread, and Wikiteria, plus live music. Proceeds benefit Meals On Main, which feeds NRV kids facing food insecurity. Tickets start at $25 single or $50 couple, $35 or $65 with a handmade bowl.
Race volunteers needed. The Hokie Half Marathon and 5K is this Sunday, and volunteer signups are still open. The Hokie Kids Run course marshal slot on Saturday from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. still needs at least two more volunteers. You must be 16 or older.
Missing in Christiansburg. A pet has been missing from Craigs Mountain Road in Christiansburg since September 8. The owner says he is microchipped and very missed. If you have seen him, call 540-641-0075.
Cards for veterans. Volunteer Montgomery is bringing back its evening event on September 29, 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., making patriotic cards and crafts that go to local veterans on Veterans Day. All ages welcome, all supplies provided. RSVP by calling 540-382-5775 or emailing [email protected].
🍂 Saturday Spotlight
Saturday is packed, and two free afternoon festivals stand out. One celebrates a fruit most people have never tasted, and the other raises money for one of Blacksburg's most important historic buildings.
🌳 New River PawpawFest, 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., with live music until 9:00 p.m., Rising Silo Farm Brewery, 2351 Glade Road. The 4th annual festival celebrates North America's largest native fruit with free fresh pawpaw tastings, native plant nurseries, and food and art vendors. Nursery Natives presents the event, which moved this year from Dobbins Hollow to Rising Silo. Father Sun plays 3:00 to 5:00 p.m., and The Red Ferns close the night 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Admission is free, rain or shine. If you want your own trees, reserve saplings ahead on the Nursery Natives page. Our Sept. 2 issue explains why you need to plant two.
🎷 Blues, Brews & BBQ, 12:00 to 5:00 p.m., St. Luke & Odd Fellows Hall, 203 Gilbert Street. The Blacksburg Museum & Cultural Foundation's annual blues afternoon returns to the historic hall, the last building standing from New Town, Blacksburg's Black neighborhood during segregation. The JoJo Stockton Project, Seedpicker, and Lady D and Mi$$ion perform. Kirk's Famous BBQ and Blue Ridge Beverage sell barbecue, sweets, beer, and wine. Seating is limited, so bring a chair. Visitors can also see a new 3D-printed model of historic New Town from the hall's exhibit redesign. Admission is free with a $10 suggested donation, and proceeds fund that redesign ahead of a Juneteenth 2027 reopening.
📰 News Around the NRV
VT and Lockheed Martin build toward 6G. A Virginia Tech team spanning Wireless@Virginia Tech, the Bradley electrical and computer engineering department, the National Security Institute, and the Institute for Advanced Computing has built a working prototype demonstrating mobile distributed MIMO, a key technology for future 6G networks. The group just completed the second phase of the multi-year project, testing for both commercial and defense uses.
School security grants. The Virginia Department of Education announced its 2026-27 School Security Equipment Grant recipients, and in the NRV, Giles County got $236,000, Carroll County $194,013, Craig County $192,300, and Radford City $17,663. Montgomery County is notably not on the recipient list.
New exhibition at the Moss. The Center for the Arts hosts a new exhibition from Salvadoran artist Guadalupe Maravilla, featuring sculptures, paintings, and installations about migration, illness, and healing. The show runs through November 21.
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