Good morning, Blacksburg.
A camel's hump can hold up to 80 pounds of fat, which they use as an emergency energy supply when traveling across barren deserts
In today’s Blacksburg Connect
🔭 One last look at the secret lives of stars
📦 What Virginia Tech throws away, and what people pay for it
🏘️ Elliston neighbors organize ahead of the October 13 vote
Let’s get to it.
Wednesday, September 23
Walk-In Wednesdays, 10am to 12pm at 201 Wheatland Ct in Christiansburg. Open interviews for positions company-wide every Wednesday, open to all job seekers at any background or experience level. Questions: 540-235-5687. Facebook event
Sustainable Blacksburg Lunch and Learn on Hacksburg, the NRV's makerspace, 12 to 1pm at the Blacksburg Library. Link
Blacksburg Farmers Market Wednesday Market, 2:00pm at Market Square Park.
Banned Book Club: Persepolis, Wednesday at Moon Hollow Brewing. Join Blacksburg Books to discuss Marjane Satrapi's graphic memoir, one of the NYT's 100 Best Books of the 21st Century. 6:30 - 8:00pm Blacksburg Books
The 2026 Paddling Film Festival at the Lyric Theatre, hosted by Blacksburg Parks and Recreation; $15 in advance, $20 at the door, with raffle prizes from local sponsors. paddlingfilmfestival.com
The 2026 Market Square Jam with host band The McKenzies, 7 to 9pm at Market Square Park. The weekly Crooked Road old-time jam is free; bring a chair. blacksburg.gov
The Think and Drink Trivia Night, 7 to 9pm at Eastern Divide Brewing. Free to play, three rounds of general trivia with host Wes, seating first come first served. Link
Thursday, September 24
16 Squares Walking Tour, 12pm, meeting at the Alexander Black House (204 Draper Rd SW). An every-other-Thursday guided walk through the original 16 Squares of Blacksburg, with the stories behind the buildings and landmarks you might walk past every day. RSVP to [email protected]; tours limited to 15 people. Facebook event
Regional Deep Dive with Cassandra: Argentina, 6 to 7pm at Blacksburg Wine Lab 223 Gilbert St. in Blacksburg. Wine Director Cassandra walks through four Argentine wines. GoToMontVA
Freedom's Classroom: Exploring the Legacy of Black Education in Southwest Virginia, 6:30 to 7:30pm at the Christiansburg Library. Hosted with Christiansburg Institute, Inc. GoToMontVA
Robin and Doug Duo at The Farmhouse, 6 to 9pm, 285 Ridinger St in Christiansburg. The Roanoke duo plays classic old school rock covers. GoToMontVA
Signal Quartet, 7:30pm at Squires Recital Salon. A contemporary saxophone quartet in VT's Concert Artist Series. Virginia Tech
Thursday Night at the Planetarium: "Secret Lives of Stars," 7pm at the Radford University Center for the Sciences, room M75. A 27-minute show narrated by Sir Patrick Stewart. Link
Friday, September 25
Eastern Divide Oktoberfest, 3175 Commerce St in Blacksburg. The annual celebration runs Thursday through Saturday, and Friday is the big day: doors open at noon, Blue Ridge Axe Throwing is on site, and The Sauerkraut Band plays from 6 to 9pm. Expect an Oktoberfest platter (pre-order online for a discount), hand-painted gingerbread cookies, pretzel bites with beer cheese and spicy mustard, Marzen lager on tap, and custom steins. Free to attend. Eastern Divide
Five Minutes in the Forest: Hunting Safety, 12:15pm on the Virginia Tech campus. Virginia Cooperative Extension's Jason Fisher on safety tips for a safe hunting experience. Facebook event
Isidore String Quartet, 7:30pm at the Moss Arts Center's Fife Theatre. The Banff-winning, Avery Fisher Career Grant quartet plays Britten, Haydn, Bridge, and Mendelssohn. Tickets $25 to $60, $10 for students and ages 18 and under. Moss Arts Center
Sinkland Farms 35th Annual Pumpkin Festival, 4 to 8pm Friday (limited activities), 3060 Riner Rd in Christiansburg. Sinkland Farms
VT School of Communication 50th Anniversary Gala, 6pm at the Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center. Facebook event
🔭 One last look at the secret lives of stars
The Radford University Planetarium wraps up its September run this Thursday with "Secret Lives of Stars," and it costs nothing to attend. The show starts at 7:00 p.m. in room M75 of the Center for the Sciences, and it runs 27 minutes.
Sir Patrick Stewart narrates, which is a draw for anyone who grew up on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Evans & Sutherland produced it, and that same company built the projection system overhead, so the film was made for the dome rather than adapted to it. Show details
Thursday is the last of three showings, following Sept. 10 and Sept. 17, so this is the end of the run rather than the start of one.
The dome holds 55 people and Radford describes that as an absolute fire-code limit, not a guideline. Shows are free and open to the public, and the planetarium operates during the fall and spring semesters when the university is in session. Planetarium information
🏘️ Elliston neighbors organize ahead of the October 13 vote
An Action Committee meeting is set for Sunday, September 27 at 6:30pm at Meadowbrook Library to prepare for the October 13 Montgomery County Board of Supervisors vote on the proposed Fotheringay development near the Elliston schools. A signup form is circulating in local community groups. Facebook post
The rezoning request (REZ-2026-4) from Stateson Homes would rezone about 276.66 acres owned by Fotheringay, LLC from Agricultural to Planned Unit Development-Residential. The application lays out two options: 349 homes (152 townhomes and 197 single-family) or 400 homes (152 townhomes and 248 single-family), built in phases over 5 to 8 years with public roads, sidewalks, a multiuse trail system, and open space. Under the 349-home option, the county would get a right of first refusal on 13.16 acres next to Eastern Montgomery High School. County agenda
The project has been moving through the county process since last year. In May 2025 the Board of Supervisors voted 5-2 to amend the comprehensive plan, redesignating the Fotheringay property from Resource Stewardship to Village Expansion. Residents pushed back over traffic, environmental impacts, and strain on local resources. WSLS The property also holds a 1796 home listed on the National Register of Historic Places and an adjacent cemetery, with open space planned as a buffer around them. News Messenger
📦 What Virginia Tech throws away, and what people pay for it
Every month, Virginia Tech empties its closets and lets the public bid on what comes out.
September's results say a lot about who shows up. Shop equipment drew the real money. A Dyna Torch plasma cutting lathe took 60 bids and sold for $1,450. A JET bench lathe drew 118 bids and finished at $1,505, and a Grizzly metal lathe took 95 bids to reach $1,275. An OMTech laser cutter and a radial arm saw rounded out the fabrication lots.
Two pianos and a marching band's worth of brass also went out the door. September's catalog included a Boston grand piano, plus three sousaphones in one lot, mellophones, snare drums, bass drums, and bells.
The oddest lot may be the eight stereoscopes, sold together. These are the instruments students once used to read terrain off overlapping aerial photographs, holding a stereo pair under the lenses until the ridgeline lifted into three dimensions. Geography, forestry, and geology departments bought them by the cabinet before software replaced the technique. Collectors pay $150 to $400 for a single antique viewer on eBay.
Bidding follows a fixed rhythm. Lots go up the first Thursday of each month and close the second Thursday, so October's auction lists Oct. 1 and closes Oct. 8 at 6:00 p.m. . Everything sits at Virginia Tech Surplus, 1425 S. Main Street, and regular pickup runs the Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday after the sale from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.. Everything sells as-is, where-is, with no warranty, no returns, and no shipping.
📰 News Around the NRV
Hokies cash back: Virginia Tech Athletics is piloting a partnership with Upside that lets fans earn cash back at participating businesses and direct the earnings to Virginia Tech Athletics. There is a $10 signup bonus after your first qualifying purchase through the VT portal. hokiesports.com
Montgomery County pauses Flock cameras: The county has paused its use of Flock cameras amid student privacy pushback. A change.org petition to end the cameras on Virginia Tech's campus has gathered 851 signatures since August 24. Collegiate Times
School zone cameras now issuing fines: Blacksburg's 30-day warning period ended and enforcement began September 9. Drivers caught speeding in an active school zone now face $100 civil fines, with no points on their record. The cameras only run when the school zone lights are flashing. blacksburg.gov
Veterans cemetery expansion: The VA awarded up to $243,467 to expand the Southwest Virginia Veterans Cemetery in Dublin, which serves more than 108,000 veterans and eligible family members. The grant funds 482 new in-ground cremation gravesites, irrigation, and a Space Force emblem at the assembly area. Patriot Publishing
📌 The community board
Cider study needs tasters: A Virginia Tech Food Science grad student is looking for volunteers 21 and up for a cider aroma research study. Two 30-minute smell evaluation sessions on the same day with a one-hour break between them; snacks provided afterward. The results will benefit apple and cider producers in Virginia and beyond. Facebook post
THANKS!
Thanks for reading Blacksburg Connect today. Please share it with someone who would enjoy!
Forwarded this Email? Subscribe to get the latest Blacksburg news, local events, and deals in your inbox