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Good morning, Blacksburg.
It's International Sloth Day and in it’s honor you have my permission to take your Blacksburg Connect at a leisurely pace this morning. Forecast for today is a sunny 72 after a 37-degree overnight: crisp enough for a jacket at the bus stop, warm enough for lunch outside.
In today's Blacksburg Connect:
🏈 Blacksburg High is in the Region 4D playoff hunt
🏛️ Town Council recap: homestay fines go civil, meals tax updated, solar easement for the Transit facility
🗳️ Election countdown: register by Friday, candidate forum Thursday
Let’s get to it.
Tuesday, October 20
📜 Humanities Week keynote: Scott Simon, "The Responsibilities of Being American"
7:30pm, Lyric Theatre, 135 College Ave, Blacksburg. NPR Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon headlines Humanities Week, with a Q&A; Blacksburg Books sells books in the lobby, with a signing after. Free, registration encouraged.
💃 Workshop: Urban Movement
6-7:30pm, Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech, 190 Alumni Mall. A free hip hop and contemporary dance workshop with artists of Compagnie Herve Koubi; ages 16 and up, all skill levels, registration required; come barefoot in comfortable clothes. (dance)
🎸 Folk Night
9pm, The Milk Parlor, 211 Draper Rd NW, Blacksburg. Acoustic guitars, harmonies, and storytelling from local and regional players. (folk)
❓ Trivia Night @ 540 Social
7:30pm, 540 Social, 125 N Main St, Blacksburg. The weekly Tuesday trivia: free to play, prizes and bragging rights, with free game cards for each round's winning team.
🌲 50th Anniversary Fall Forestry and Wildlife Field Tours
8am-4:30pm, Meadowbrook Community Center, Shawsville. Montgomery County's 50th anniversary forestry and wildlife field tours.
☕ Cousins Coffee Co. at NRV Peds
Today, NRV Peds, Radford. Cousins Coffee Co. sets up at the pediatric office for the day.
Wednesday, October 21
🎸 Shelby Kemp, Live at The Lyric
7:30pm, The Lyric, 135 College Ave, Blacksburg. An internationally touring blues and roots artist from South Mississippi; Delta blues slide and fingerstyle, and a 2024 Telluride Blues Challenge winner. (blues)
🎤 The Lovely Dark in concert
7:30pm, Studio Theatre (Black Box), Artis Center, Radford University, 801 E Main St, Radford. Goth, industrial, and synth-pop with live video art from two Radford music department alumni touring between New York and Detroit; spooky-season dress encouraged. $15 general admission, free with RU ID. (goth/industrial)
⚽ Virginia Tech men's soccer vs Winthrop
6pm, Thompson Field, Blacksburg. The Hokies (7-5-1) host Winthrop.
🥬 Blacksburg Farmers Market Wednesday Market
Afternoon, Market Square Park, 108 W Roanoke St, Blacksburg. The midweek market: seasonal produce, baked goods, and more.
💕 Star City Singles Speed Dating at Sugar Magnolia
6pm, Sugar Magnolia, Blacksburg. A singles speed-dating night aimed at VT undergrads and grad students; free scoop of ice cream with the event.
👻 Haunted History Tour
Two tours, 7:30pm and 9pm, downtown Blacksburg (starts on the lawn between the Thomas-Conner House and Alexander Black House, 204 Draper Rd). A 60-90 minute haunted history walk; ages 8 and up, groups limited to 15, tickets must be purchased at least 3 hours ahead.
🌿 Wellness Wednesday plus Adult Day Camp
9am-12pm, Big Cedars Farm. A midweek wellness morning with an adult day camp.
Thursday, October 22
🐕 Science on Tap: What the Nose Knows
5:30-7pm, Rising Silo Brewery, 2351 Glade Rd, Blacksburg. What detection work demands of search-and-rescue dogs, with VT animal-behavior researcher and veteran handler Dr. Sally Dickinson, plus an interactive scent-tracking challenge. Free and open to the public.
💃 Compagnie Herve Koubi, "Sol Invictus"
7:30pm, Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre, Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech. Contemporary dance fusing hip-hop, capoeira, and martial arts from the French/Algerian company, with a post-show Q&A. (dance)
⚽ Virginia Tech women's soccer vs Wake Forest
7pm, Thompson Field, Blacksburg. Free admission.
🚶 16 Squares Walking Tour
12-1:30pm, 204 Draper Rd SW, Blacksburg. A lunchtime walking tour of downtown.
🎓 Radford University Alumni Homecoming
Thu Oct 22 - Sat Oct 24, Radford University. Alumni Homecoming weekend: Golden Reunion, Alumni Awards, Coffee with the Coaches, the Women of Radford luncheon on Saturday, and live music Saturday at Alumni Village.
🏈 Blacksburg High is in the Region 4D playoff hunt
The Bruins sit 7th in the VHSL Region 4D power ratings at 5-3 with a 20.71 rating — inside the line, with the top eight of the region's 15 teams qualifying for the playoffs. Blacksburg has won three straight: Cave Spring 34-27, a 51-20 rout of Hidden Valley (their largest margin of the season), and Pulaski County 35-14 on Friday.
The cushion is thin, though. Charlottesville (18.50) is only 2 points behind in the final playoff spot, with Liberty-Bealeton (17.67) and Amherst County (17.50) right behind them.
What's left: the rivalry game at Christiansburg this Friday, Oct. 23, a bye week, then the regular-season finale at Patrick Henry-Roanoke on Friday, Nov. 6.
Region 4D power ratings (top 10):
Sherando (7-0) — 29.71
Jefferson Forest (6-0) — 27.67
George Washington (6-0) — 27.67
James Wood (6-1) — 25.71
Salem (6-1) — 25.43
John Handley (5-1) — 24.17
Blacksburg (5-3) — 20.71
Charlottesville (2-4) — 18.50
————— playoff cutline ——————-Liberty-Bealeton (2-4) — 17.67
Amherst County (1-5) — 17.50
How the ratings work: teams earn game points based on the higher classification in each matchup (e.g. 22 for a Class 4 win, 10 for a Class 4 loss), plus bonus points for every win their opponents collect — the rating is the per-game average. Shout-out to HarpCrate for the clearest explainer of the system.
🏛️ Town Council recap: homestay fines go civil, meals tax updated, solar easement for the Transit facility
Last Tuesday's council meeting was a big ordinance night. On the consent agenda: the town joined the Virginia Main Street Program's "Exploring Main Street" tier (staff will start the application, opening up downtown-revitalization funding and technical help), and council re-referred marijuana, tobacco, and hemp retail zoning rules to the Planning Commission — now that Virginia's cannabis retail market is law and local zoning authority is preserved under state code. Resolution 10-B-26 | Resolution 10-C-26
Council held public hearings on three ordinances:
Homestay (Ordinance 2073): short-term rental rules updated to match state law, and violations made civil instead of criminal — a $1,000 fine per occurrence, or a $500 civil penalty for unregistered rentals, appealable to general district court. This is the change Cardinal News reported over the weekend. ordinance text
Meals tax (Ordinance 2117): A new late-payment penalty: 10% the first month past due, 5% each month after, capped at 25%. ordinance text
Appalachian Power easement (Ordinance 2121): a utility easement over town property at the Blacksburg Transit facility to make way for rooftop solar panels. ordinance text
Also: council scheduled an Oct. 27 public hearing on a charter amendment covering the town's corporate boundaries, introduced an ordinance to lease space on the Alleghany Street water tank to Virginia Tech (public hearing Nov. 10), and appointed five members to the Police Towing Advisory Board. meeting agenda and video
What's next: a council work session today at 11am (Blacksburg Motor Company conference room), then the regular meeting Tue Oct 27 at 6:30pm — carrying the charter-boundary hearing, with anti-surveillance organizers expected to address council. The Nov. 3 work session is canceled.
🗳️ Election countdown: register by Friday, candidate forum Thursday
Two deadlines are closing in. Voter registration for the Nov 3 election closes Friday, Oct 23 at 11:59pm; same-day registration after that requires a provisional ballot. Before that, on Thursday, Cardinal News hosts a free Radford City Council candidate forum at the Radford Public Library, with 4 of the 5 council candidates confirmed, as the city navigates its fiscal-distress designation. In-person early voting continues weekdays 9am-5pm at the Montgomery County Office of Elections in Christiansburg through Oct 31, with Saturday hours Oct 24 and 31 (9am-5pm) and Sunday hours Oct 25 (11am-4pm). Election Day is Tuesday, Nov 3. registration info | candidate forum | Office of Elections
Who's on the ballot:
U.S. Senate — Mark Warner (D) vs. Bert Mizusawa (R);
U.S. House VA-9 — Morgan Griffith (R) vs. Joy Powers (D).
In Montgomery County, three special elections:
Commonwealth's Attorney (Patrick Jensen, R, unopposed), Sheriff (Tim Andrew Brown, D, vs. Robert Page, R)
Blacksburg Town Council (Leslie Harwood vs. Joel Goodhart).
Radford, two council seats with five candidates and no incumbents: Doug Kanipe, Bill Kovarik, Chad McClanahan, Charlie Meeks, and Jonathan Stewart.
Plus three statewide constitutional amendments: reproductive freedom, repealing the same-sex marriage ban, and restoring voting rights upon release from incarceration. Ballotpedia: Virginia 2026 ballot measures | Cardinal News 2026 Virginia Voter Guide | Montgomery-Floyd voter info
📰 News Around the NRV
🏥 Marketplace open enrollment starts Nov 1. Open enrollment for 2027 plans on Virginia's Insurance Marketplace starts Nov 1 (runs through Jan 29, 2027), and this year brings a new state-funded "Virginia Premium Savings" program on top of federal credits: Virginia allocated $150 million in state subsidies for shoppers roughly between 138 and 250% of the federal poverty level, with the exchange estimating about 200,000 Virginians eligible and average savings of $65-90 a month. Window-shopping opened Oct 1. ACASignups | healthinsurance.org
🏥 New state subsidies for marketplace plans. Open enrollment for 2027 plans starts Nov 1, and Virginia's new $150 million "Virginia Premium Savings" program adds state-funded subsidies on top of federal credits for shoppers roughly between 138 and 250% of the federal poverty level. ACASignups | healthinsurance.org
🏛️ Griffith signs anti-fraud pledge. Rep. Morgan Griffith signed VP Vance's "Pledge to Protect Americans from Fraud," a six-pillar anti-fraud pledge announced Oct 15. Griffith news list
🍎 Olaika Blacksburg opens. The new Blacksburg spot's owner celebrated a strong first weekend Oct 17-18. post
🏠 Blacksburg softens Airbnb penalties. Noncompliant short-term rentals are no longer a criminal offense in Blacksburg — the town lowered the fine and made violations a civil matter. Cardinal News
🌄 Buffalo Mountain grows. Another 2,211 acres next to Buffalo Mountain will become a state conservation area. Cardinal News
🏘️ Elliston housing vote delayed. Community pushback pushed Montgomery County to delay a decision on a large 349-unit housing development in Elliston. Cardinal News
🚁 VT leads flying-taxi rules push. Virginia Tech is leading a team working to standardize the rules that would put the "planes of the future" in the air. Cardinal News
⚡ Substation petition. A new petition is circulating against an electric substation "directly tied into feeding data centers," a fresh wrinkle on the data-center debate. post
📌 Community Board
🗳️ Voter registration deadline Friday. The registration deadline for the Nov 3 election is Fri Oct 23 at 11:59pm; same-day registration requires a provisional ballot. Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library
🏊 Christiansburg splashpad closes for the season. The town's splashpad closes for the winter starting Monday, Oct 26. CivicAlerts
🎃 NRV trunk-or-treat roundup. A resident-compiled list of trunk-or-treats across Blacksburg, Radford, and Christiansburg runs from Sat Oct 24 through Halloween week (Trinity Community Church, GraceLife, Slusser's Chapel, Main St Christiansburg, Calvary Baptist, Blacksburg Library, downtown Radford). post
⚡ Substation petition. A new petition is circulating against an electric substation "directly tied into feeding data centers," adding a fresh wrinkle to the data-center debate. post
🍎 Olaika Blacksburg is open. The owner celebrated a strong first weekend (Oct 17-18) at the new Blacksburg spot. post
💇 Wildflower Soul headspa intro. Wildflower Soul Hair Studio in Blacksburg has a new Wildflower Headspa Experience: $100 intro for a 1-hour headspa, nourishing treatment, haircut, and style. post
🎟️ Nutcracker basket raffle. The Blacksburg Ballet's basket raffle includes 2 tickets to the Dec 19 Nutcracker performance; tickets are available at the Volunteer Montgomery office or through their BetterWorld link, with the live drawing on Facebook Nov 24. post
🎤 New River Voices recruiting. The New River Voices Choral Society is recruiting singers; rehearsals are Monday nights 7:00-8:30pm, and you can reach them at [email protected]. post
🛒 Free store moves for the month. The FEC Pop-up Free Store is at the YMCA parking lot across from the gas station this month (a one-time move from N. Main Laundry); regular supplies plus bell peppers. post
🌳 First H.L. Price Park newsletter. The first edition of the H.L. Price Park newsletter is out, covering the Blacksburg park. post
⚡ Substation petition. A new petition is circulating against an electric substation "directly tied into feeding data centers," a fresh wrinkle on the data-center debate. post
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