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Good morning, Blacksburg.
Fun fact for deer season: Virginia drivers have a 1-in-81 chance of an animal collision claim this year, the eighth-highest odds in the country, according to State Farm. November is the worst month for it nationwide. Our neighbors in West Virginia have it roughest at 1 in 46, so if a deer stares you down on Prices Fork this month, it’s not personal. It’s November. State Farm
Election Day starts with patchy fog before 9am, then turns sunny with a high near 71 and a light southeast wind. Tonight is partly cloudy with a low around 49, and Wednesday is partly sunny with a high near 69. National Weather Service
In today’s Blacksburg Connect
Let’s get to it.
Tuesday, November 3
🗳️ Election Day
Polls are open 6am-7pm, and anyone in line at 7pm can still vote. Same-day registration with a provisional ballot is available at your precinct. Students living on campus vote in the Squires Student Center Commonwealth Ballroom. Montgomery-Floyd libraries are closed for the day; the Blacksburg and Meadowbrook branches are open for voting only. Same-day registration tips below.
🏀 Virginia Tech Men's Basketball vs. Coppin State
7pm, Cassell Coliseum. The men’s season opener.
Wednesday, November 4
⚽ Virginia Tech Men's Soccer vs. NC State, ACC Tournament First Round
6pm, Thompson Field. The No. 6 seed Hokies host No. 11 seed NC State after closing the regular season with a 2-1 win over Syracuse Friday. The teams tied 1-1 in Raleigh in September, and it’s Tech’s first home conference tournament match since 2021.
🏀 Virginia Tech Women's Basketball vs. Delaware
6pm, Cassell Coliseum. The women’s second home game, and the first meeting between the teams since Dec 20, 1985.
⛪ Mission Barbecue Meet and Greet
6:30pm, Calvary Chapel-NRV, 1580 N Franklin St, Christiansburg.
🎤 An Evening with David Sedaris
7:30pm, Moss Arts Center, Street and Davis Performance Hall, Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre. About 90 minutes with no intermission, including an audience Q&A. $95, or $10 for students with ID and youth 18 and under.
🎵 Sur Taal South Asian Classical Music
7:30-8:30pm, Squires Recital Salon, 290 College Ave. Pakistani and Hindustani classical music from vocalist Dr. Sana Illahe, accompanied by Peter Rhynard on cello. Free.
Thursday, November 5
🚶 16 Squares Walking Tour
Noon-1pm, starting at the Alexander Black House, 204 Draper Rd SW. The Blacksburg Museum and Cultural Foundation walks the original 16 squares of downtown. Tours are limited to 4 people, so RSVP by email to [email protected].
🥁 Virginia Tech Percussion Ensemble Concert
7:30-9:30pm, Creativity and Innovation District, Room 150, 185 Kent St. Directed by Annie Stevens, with classical transcriptions, chamber works and traditional West African drumming. Free.
Friday, November 6
🎨 The Y Artisan Fair
10am-6:30pm, Blacksburg Community Center, 725 Patrick Henry Dr. The 57th annual juried craft fair continues Saturday from 9am to 5pm, with a pancake breakfast Saturday from 9 to 11am.
🏐 Virginia Tech Volleyball vs. Notre Dame
6pm, Cassell Coliseum, on ACC Network Extra. The Hokies’ annual Spike Out Cancer match.
🏈 Virginia Tech Football at SMU
7pm, ESPN. The 6-2, bowl-eligible Hokies come off their bye week in Dallas.
Saturday, November 7
🥕 Blacksburg Farmers Market Holiday Market
8am-2pm, Market Square Park. Extra craft vendors join the regular market on Saturdays in November and December.
🎨 The Y Artisan Fair, Day 2
9am-5pm, Blacksburg Community Center, 725 Patrick Henry Dr. Pancake breakfast 9-11am.
🛍️ 2026 Elliston Craft and Vendor Fair
9am-3pm, Eastern Montgomery Elementary School, 4580 Eastern Montgomery Ln, Elliston. Craft and artisan vendors with holiday gifts.
🔬 Virginia Tech Science Festival
10am-3pm, Moss Arts Center and Newman Library. More than 50 free hands-on exhibits for all ages, with the researchers behind them.
🍔 NRV Fall Food Fest
11am-5pm, Uptown Christiansburg, 782 New River Rd. Food vendors, local shopping, sweet treats and specialty drinks.
🧘 “The Seasonal Return” Qigong Workshop
12:30-2pm, Sweetgrass Yoga, Christiansburg. Gentle movement, breathwork and meditation with Mintaka Qi. No experience needed, and registration is recommended.
🎓 2026 Nutshell Games
4pm, Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre, Moss Arts Center. Thirty Virginia Tech graduate students get 90 seconds each to explain their research. Family-friendly and free.
😂 Comedy Show Benefiting the Arc of the NRV
7-9pm, McClain’s at First and Main, 1614 S Main St, Blacksburg. Comedians from across the country raise money for Arc NRV.
Sunday, November 8
📣 Virginia Tech Competition Cheer Clinic
9am-noon, Valley Elite Allstars, 71 Staples St, Radford. For grades K-12: $55 for K-5 and $60 for 6-12. Register through the VT Rec Sports link in the post, or email [email protected].
🗳️ Registering at the polls today? Expect lines on campus
Missed the registration deadline? You can still register and vote today. Same-day registration means casting a provisional ballot, and you have to do it at the precinct for the address you’re registering. Students can find that precinct by entering their school-year address on the Virginia Department of Elections website.
Montgomery County registrar Connie Viar told Cardinal News she ordered enough provisional ballots to match 2024, when her office received 4,298. As of last Thursday morning, 25 people had already registered same-day. Extra election officers trained in same-day registration will staff the student precincts, and Virginia Tech worked with the county to redesign the polling setup with more stanchions for lines. Viar’s warning for on-campus students: “Trends show that students appear late in the day for any election, creating a bottleneck.”
In Radford, registrar Lindsey Williams said her office handled 545 same-day registrations on Election Day 2024. Her advice is to bring your current address, your college box number if you have one, your Social Security number and your date of birth, and to fill out the provisional envelope completely. A missing citizenship checkbox, Social Security number or birth date can keep a ballot from counting. The electoral board typically tallies provisional ballots about a week after Election Day.
🩺 Free medical, dental and vision care in Pearisburg this weekend
Remote Area Medical is bringing a free pop-up clinic to Giles High School, 1825 Wenonah Ave in Pearisburg, on Saturday and Sunday, Nov 7-8. It’s open to everyone, with no ID, insurance or income requirements. Services include dental cleanings, fillings and extractions, eye exams and glasses, and basic health exams and screenings. Dentures aren’t offered at this clinic.
Care is first come, first served. The parking lot opens no later than midnight Friday and stays open all night, and doors open at 6am. Service tickets go out by arrival time, and you have to stay in the lot to keep your place. There’s no indoor waiting area, so bring water, snacks, your medications, and warm layers or blankets. Dental and vision slots are limited and may fill early, and patients choose one or the other. Everyone can get medical care. Questions: 865-579-1530, weekdays 8:30am-5pm.
RAM was founded in Tennessee in 1985 and has held clinics in Virginia since around 1999. Last year it gave free care to more than 32,500 people in 27 states. This is its second pop-up in Pearisburg.
🎓 CFNRV scholarship applications are open
The Community Foundation of the New River Valley’s 2027 scholarship application is open until Friday, Jan 22, 2027, at 5pm. High school seniors, adults returning to school, and students already at 2- and 4-year colleges, universities, trade or technical schools can apply. ACCE students from New River Community College are welcome too, and one scholarship is set aside for doctoral students at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine.
The foundation manages more than 50 scholarship funds. Most students fill out the general application, and there are separate applications for trade-school and veterinary students. Every applicant submits a personal essay, which weighs heavily in the awards, plus two letters of recommendation (at least one from a teacher or professor), financial details and a transcript. Unofficial transcripts are fine, and CFNRV has an AI acceptable-use policy for the essay.
In May, the foundation awarded more than $212,000 to 106 students. Since its first scholarship in 2002, it has given more than $1.65 million to more than 1,200 students. Applicants hear back in early April.
📰 News around the NRV
🏐 Volleyball falls to Miami. The Hurricanes swept Virginia Tech 3-0 (27-25, 25-17, 25-18) Sunday at Cassell. Reese Hazelton led the Hokies with eight kills and eight digs. Tech is 7-14 overall and 4-8 in the ACC and hosts Notre Dame Friday at 6pm. Virginia Tech Athletics
🎆 Montgomery County turns 250 next week. The county celebrates its 250th anniversary and Veterans Day on Wednesday, Nov 11, from 2 to 7pm at Uptown Christiansburg near the Regal cinema, with food trucks, local vendors, live music and a WPSK 107.1 live broadcast. Fireworks by Grucci go up at 7pm from Huckleberry Park. Free. Montgomery County
📸 Unpaid speed camera tickets. About a third of drivers ticketed by I-81 work-zone speed cameras don’t pay, Cardinal News reports. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, one of the local agencies using photo enforcement, has a 65% pay rate so far this year on its $100 violations and doesn’t send unpaid ones to collections, Capt. Mark Hollandsworth said. Starting Jan 1, state law requires a second notice. Cardinal News
🏈 Stanford kickoff time still to come. Tech’s Nov 14 home game against Stanford will start at either 7pm on ESPN2 or 7:30pm on ACC Network. The ACC sets the time after this weekend’s games. ACC
📌 Community Board
🐱 Two missing rescue cats in Radford. Bun Bun, a bobtail, and Earl, a brown tabby with white markings, got out of their foster home Sunday morning. They were last seen behind the hotel near Radford University. Both are shy, so please don’t chase them. The rescue is setting humane traps. post
🐾 Living for Honey Rescue needs kennel help. The Radford-area rescue is looking for volunteers with handyman skills, supplies or donations to remodel its kennels. Message the rescue to help. post
🎄 Volunteer Montgomery ornament night, Mon Nov 17. All ages can help decorate ornaments for the annual Christmas tree. RSVP at 540-382-5775 or [email protected]. post
🌰 A lost acorn, and a kind offer. A vendor from this weekend’s NRV Renaissance Festival is offering a free replacement to the customer who lost one of the two acorns they bought. post
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