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Good morning, Blacksburg.
Friday hands you a high of 81 with afternoon showers: the last warm day in the forecast, so soak it up. A cold front crashes the Homecoming party overnight, and Saturday's game-day forecast is a high of 52 with a low of 32.
Make sure to check out the events list closely as we are loaded with events this weekend. Some highlights include: tonight's Homecoming parade, Saturday's sold-out Georgia Tech game, two haunted houses, Sinkland Farms' Pumpkin Festival, a kids' trout rodeo, a 9-band metal festival at the Milk Parlor, and a Gilmore Girls autumn festival at The Chandlerie.
See y’all Monday!
In today's Blacksburg Connect:
🏈 Homecoming weekend local events
🥔 Baked & Loaded: Christiansburg's loaded-potato spot
🎁 Weird freebies this week: a phone safe for pancakes and 5,000 free Footlongs
Let’s get to it.
Friday, October 16
🎺 Homecoming Parade
6:45pm, downtown Blacksburg, ending on Alumni Mall. The Homecoming parade marches down Main Street. Road closures: Alumni Mall closed from 8am; Main Street and Alumni Mall closed 5:30-9pm. Blacksburg Transit runs parade detours.
⚽ Virginia Tech women's soccer vs Virginia
7pm EDT, Thompson Field, Blacksburg. Kick Cancer Night.
🏐 Virginia Tech volleyball vs Virginia
6pm EDT, Cassell Coliseum, Blacksburg. The home leg of the Smithfield Commonwealth Clash.
🏊🎈 Family Fun Swim Night
5:30-8:30pm, Christiansburg Aquatic Center, 595 N Franklin St. Half-off admission ($5 per person); no registration needed, pay at the door.
🕯️ Grave Matters: Folklore. Horror. One Unforgettable Night.
6:30-8:30pm, The Pavilion at Historic Smithfield, 1000 Merry Oak Way, Blacksburg. Appalachian folklore, fireside storytelling, and a chilling literary reading; the ticket includes hot beverages and heavy appetizers. Bundle up and bring a blanket.
👻 Library Night Out: Spooky Speakeasy
6-8pm, Christiansburg Library, 125 Sheltman St. An after-hours Halloween evening: mocktails, moody music, and scary stories by candlelight. Ages 18+.
🤠 Line Dancing at Sinkland Farms
7-11pm (instruction at 8pm), 3060 Riner Rd, Christiansburg. All levels welcome; $15 cover, food trucks and adult beverages on site; ages 16 and under with an adult. (dance)
🤸🎈 Friday Nite HYPE!
7-9pm, Virginia Techniques, 1550 Roanoke St Suite C, Christiansburg. A kids' open gym night with an inflatable slide, games, and prizes; pre-registration recommended.
🏍️ The Frosty Fender Adventure Rally: FREEZE FOR ALL!
Starts 10am Friday, runs through Sunday 1pm, 6647 Virginia Avenue, Pembroke. An adventure motorcycle rally exploring Southwest Virginia backroads, mountain roads, and gravel.
🔥 Bonfire Friday Night: Jeff Levy
Friday evening, Beliveau Farm Winery, 3899 Eakin Farm Rd, Blacksburg. Bonfire Friday nights continue with live music from Jeff Levy. Kitchen open 3-8pm.
🕸️ House of Shadows at St. Albans Sanatorium
7-11:30pm, 6248 University Park Drive, Radford. A haunted house inside the historic sanatorium. $20 general admission, $30 Line Jumper; also open Saturday.
🎸 Good Dropouts, Unmarked Pavement & White Reverie
9pm, The Milk Parlor, 211 Draper Rd NW, Blacksburg. Three loud alt-rock bands, with Blacksburg's Good Dropouts headlining. (rock)
🎹 Sharon Edwards Music
6-9pm, Long Way Brewing, 501 2nd St, Radford. Vocals with keyboards and guitar. (singer-songwriter)
🎭 Dr. Zenobia L. Hikes Homecoming Yard Show
8pm (doors 7:15pm), Squires Student Center Commonwealth Ballroom, Virginia Tech. A stepping and strolling showcase.
⚙️ Engineering the Future Homecoming Social
5-6:30pm, Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech. A College of Engineering alumni reception. $10 ages 13 and up, $5 ages 7-12, free for 6 and under.
Saturday, October 17
🏈 Virginia Tech vs Georgia Tech
3:30pm, Lane Stadium, Blacksburg. The Homecoming game is sold out, the fourth straight sellout, and airs on ACC Network. The Hokies (4-2) look to snap a two-game skid.
🎉 Hokie Village Fan Festival
12-2:45pm, Moseley Turf Field, across from Beamer Way beside Lane Stadium. Free. The pregame fan fest: live music from Richmond singer-songwriter Carrie Brockwell, food trucks, and Virginia Tech baseball autographs.
🎪🎈 Homecoming Tailgate
11:30am, Virginia Tech Drillfield. Lawn games, music, family-friendly activities, and inflatables before kickoff.
🏪 The Local Grand Opening
11am-6pm, 414 N Main St, Blacksburg. Last day of the grand-opening festivities for downtown's new retail incubator, community space, and visitors center, with a Moon Hollow Coffee cafe inside.
🥬 Blacksburg Farmers Market
8am-2pm, Market Square Park, 100 Draper Rd, Blacksburg. The Saturday market: seasonal produce, baked goods, crafts, flowers, and more.
🎨🎈 Craft and Vendor Event at Uptown C'burg
10am-5pm, inside Uptown Christiansburg (formerly the NRV Mall). Dozens of craft and gift vendors, from baked goods to permanent jewelry.
🍂 Gilmore Girls Autumn Festival
10am-4pm, The Chandlerie, 127 N Franklin St, Christiansburg. Visit Stars Hollow: an autumn festival at the candle and workshop studio.
🎃🎈 Sinkland Farms 35th Annual Pumpkin Festival
Saturday at the festival, 3060 Riner Rd, Christiansburg, with the Jerry Wimmer Duo playing 1-4pm. High-energy acoustic music with a touch of comedic improvisation. (acoustic)
🐱 Caturday
12-12:45pm, Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library, 125 Sheltman St, Christiansburg. Sign up for a 15-minute slot to read to a shelter cat from the Montgomery County Animal Care and Adoption Center. Not for kids under 3.
🎭🎈 Mill Mountain Theater Presents Curious George: The Golden Meatball
11am-12pm, Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library, 125 Sheltman St, Christiansburg. A touring children's theatre production.
🎬🎈 Movie Matinee: Toy Story 5
3-5pm, Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library, 125 Sheltman St, Christiansburg. A library movie matinee.
🏷️ Fall In Love With Missions Yardsale/Craft Show
8am-3pm, 1861 Mud Pike Rd, Christiansburg (Christiansburg Assembly of God). Yardsale and craft vendors; vendor spots $35.
🤘 Terrafesta at The Milk Parlor
Doors 5pm, music 6pm, The Milk Parlor, 211 Draper Rd NW, Blacksburg. A 9-band metal, hardcore, and rock festival: The Ziggurat, Brainsludge, Sun Against Artemis, Followship, Terra Firma, Split Earth, Glass Lung, Sage, and Desolation's Edge. Tickets via Terrafesta. (metal/rock)
🎻 Ball & Chain at White Dog Winery
4pm, 1911 Walnut Spring Rd, Blacksburg. A spousal acoustic and folk duo in the tasting room. (folk)
🧟 Hexed Haunted Attraction
7-10:30pm, 2059 Burkette Rd, Elliston. Six immersive horror experiences; open every Friday and Saturday in October. $30 general admission, $40 VIP, $25 for groups of 10 or more; $10 cash-only parking.
🕸️ House of Shadows at St. Albans Sanatorium
7-11:30pm, 6248 University Park Drive, Radford. A haunted house inside the historic sanatorium. $20 general admission, $30 Line Jumper; runs every Friday and Saturday through October 31.
🔪 Knife sharpening at the Radford Farmers Market
Saturday, Radford Farmers Market. Bill's Knife and Tool Sharpening sets up shop: bring kitchen knives, pocket knives, fabric shears, and garden tools.
Sunday, October 18
💪 The Toughest Hokie
10am-2:30pm, Upper Quad, Virginia Tech. A VT Rec Sports endurance obstacle-course race across campus, with 4-plus to 6-plus mile course options, fitness stations, and the Lane Stadium stairs.
🎣🎈 Tony Huddleston Trout Rodeo
Noon-5pm (check-in noon-2pm, tournament 2-4pm), Izaak Walton Park, Christiansburg. A kids' fishing tournament, ages 4-15, with 300-plus stocked trout; lunch provided and same-day registration at check-in.
🎃🎈 Sinkland Farms Pumpkin Festival (Sunday)
10am-5pm, 3060 Riner Rd, Christiansburg. The Sunday festival day, with Solacoustix Live: JoJo Stockton playing 1-4pm, and Playa Bowls Blacksburg among the food trucks. $20 adult, $19 seniors, military, and first responders, free for 3 and under. (folk/acoustic)
💃 Blacksburg Contra Dance
2:30-6pm, Emily Stuart Room, YMCA Thrift Store, 1000 N Main St, Blacksburg. A public contra dance: beginner lesson at 2:30, dancing 3-6. No partner needed; under 15 free. Live band Foot Traffic, caller Thea Nettleton. (folk/dance)
🎼 Megan McBride (soprano) / Richard Masters (piano)
2-3pm, Creativity and Innovation District Living-Learning Program, Virginia Tech. A soprano recital with piano accompaniment. (classical)
🎸 Andrew Woodard & The Wayward Travelers Music and Food Drive
2-6pm, Long Way Brewing, 501 2nd St, Radford. A canned food drive benefiting the Old Brick Presbyterian Church Food Pantry. (americana/folk)
⚽ Radford men's soccer vs UNC Asheville
4pm, Patrick D. Cupp Memorial Stadium, Radford. A Big South match, streaming on ESPN+.
🎵 Blue Ridge Choir Festival
4pm open rehearsal, 5pm concert, Grove United Methodist Church, 1020 Tyler Ave, Radford. A multi-choir festival with more than 100 singers; potluck after. (choral)
🎨 Paint for a Cure at the VFW
2pm, VFW. A $35-per-person paint and sip fundraiser; click GOING on the event to save a seat.
🥔 Baked & Loaded: Christiansburg's loaded-potato HQ
Big potatoes. Bigger toppings. Baked & Loaded in Uptown Christiansburg (782 New River Road) is slinging fully loaded baked potatoes piled high with melty cheese, bacon, chili, and all the fixings, loaded your way, plus homemade desserts for the sweet finish. The shop celebrated its grand opening September 26 and is open now. Follow along at @bakedandloadedva.
🎁 Pancake safes and Footlong confessions
Two national brands are giving stuff away this week, and both are wonderfully strange. Krusteaz just launched the Pancake Pause Box: a phone safe you load your phones into, then lock it, putting notifications on pause while the pancakes pile up. Each limited-edition box comes with a year's worth of Buttermilk Complete pancake mix (eight 32-ounce boxes), first-come first-served starting today at noon ET. PR Newswire
And Subway wants your lunch horror stories. Through Friday, confess your worst lunch decision at LunchtimeHorrors.com and you could win one of 5,000 $15 eGift cards good toward a free Footlong. A thousand cards go out each day across five entry periods, no purchase necessary, 18 and up. Parade
🏈 Homecoming weekend: parade Friday, sold-out game Saturday
Saturday is the main event. Virginia Tech hosts Georgia Tech at 3:30pm in a sold-out Lane Stadium, the fourth straight sellout, on ACC Network. The Hokies (4-2) are looking to snap a two-game skid.
Get there early: Hokie Village opens at noon on the Moseley turf across from Beamer Way with live music from Carrie Brockwell, food trucks, and Virginia Tech baseball autographs. The Marching Virginians perform at halftime, when Homecoming Royalty will be recognized.
On the injury front, three Hokies are out (linebacker George Ballance, offensive lineman Justin Terry, defensive lineman Emmett Laws) and six are questionable, while Georgia Tech running back Justice Haynes is doubtful.
And watch the kicking game: after John Love missed three straight, head coach James Franklin opened the competition to Love, his brother Will, and Cole Byrd, and wants a winner named before kickoff. Forecast: a high of 52 and a low of 32. Game details | availability report | kicker competition
📰 News Around the NRV
🏛️ Linton's VT start date set. Incoming Virginia Tech president Richard Linton will finish the fall semester at Kansas State before taking the helm in Blacksburg at the start of the spring semester. The three-time Hokie (biology bachelor's, food science master's and doctorate) leaves K-State after launching a strategic plan, two straight years of enrollment growth, and $1.2 billion in philanthropic support. Kansas Reflector
🔨 Auction watch. Linkous Auctioneers' Fall Firearms Auction (200-plus firearms) ends Sunday at 2pm, and their Vinton "Classic Charm" home auction (3,086 square feet, 3BR/2.5BA at 418 Cedar Ave) ends today at noon. Matthews Auctioneers runs a Galax sale today and an October Equipment and Vehicle Auction (virtual live) on Oct 28 at noon. Blue Ridge Land and Auction listed a brick ranch at 102 Foundry Place in Radford; online bidding ends Nov 17, with previews Oct 24 and Nov 7. Linkous | Matthews | Blue Ridge
📌 Community Board
🗳️ Early voting is open. In-person early voting runs weekdays 9am-5pm at the Montgomery County Office of Elections, 1546 N Franklin St, Christiansburg, through Oct 31. Sunday hours are Oct 18 and 25, 11am-4pm, and Saturday hours are Oct 24 and 31, 9am-5pm. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov 3. Office of Elections
📋 Council watch. Christiansburg's Oct 27 regular meeting packet is still not posted (it usually appears the Friday before). Montgomery County added two public hearings to its Oct 26 Board of Supervisors meeting: a tax exemption request on leased property from Hacksburg, and a personal property tax exemption for the Humane Society. The Fotheringay rezoning decision is also on the Oct 26 docket. town archive | county calendar
🎁 Volunteer Montgomery gift basket raffle. Volunteer Montgomery's first-ever gift basket raffle is on: tickets are $10 each or 3 for $25, on sale through Nov 23. Twenty baskets, with a Facebook Live drawing on Nov 24. Proceeds benefit the Supplies for Seniors project. FB post
🍽️ The Village Table weekend dinners. The Village Table serves dinner Friday through Sunday, 4-8pm, at 3054 Greenbriar Rd in Draper (via Draper Mercantile). Reservations on Toast. FB post
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