Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 27, 1992 TAG: 9203260024
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Donna Alvis-Banks
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Others resemble wee little bears with long, pointed teeth.
A few kinds have long snouts or growths on their noses shaped like horseshoes, leaves or flowers.
But the bats in our area mostly look like flying mice.
And - believe it or not - bats are our buddies.
These bug-busters feast on harmful insects.
The Virginia Museum of Natural History at Virginia Tech is sponsoring "Bat Day" Saturday.
Beginning at 10 a.m. in Derring Hall, biology professor Jack Cranford will come to bat for bats.
Cranford, who's also the curator of mammals for the museum, will discuss bats of the world and lead activities which include games and crafts. Those attending may build bat homes out of bat box kits.
There is a fee for the kits. To register for the program, call 231-6522.
\ IN THE FOLK TRADITION: There are some fine folks performing at Gabriel's Psaltery tonight.
Jon Benfield, The Blue Sky Band and Trillium will perform an eclectic program in this concert to benefit the Montgomery County Community Shelter.
The entertainment runs from 7:30 to 10 p.m. at the coffeehouse in Blacksburg's Christ Episcopal Church.
Benfield, who recently opened for the Peter Ostroushko concert at the Hokie House in Blacksburg, also plays regularly at local nightspots.
The acoustic guitarist blends elements of bluegrass, ragtime, country, blues, Celtic and contemporary music, including folk and British progressive rock styles.
Trillium and The Blue Sky Band are both groups rooted in traditional and folk music.
The cover charge is $3.50 with proceeds going to the community shelter, a project providing housing for local families in need.
The church is at Church and Jackson streets.
For further information, call 552-2411.
\ HAVE A BALL - A SOCCER BALL: The New River Soccer Club is putting on a dance tonight at Custom Catering Center on Patrick Henry Drive in Blacksburg.
The group is trying to raise money for the Montgomery County Athletic Complex, a facility that will have fields for soccer and football and a cross country course.
Admission is $25 per couple or $15 for single tickets. A cash bar will be available, too.
Those dynamic doobies, Don and the Deltones, will be playing tunes from the '50s and '60s.
Dress is casual, and you're encouraged to dig out those miniskirts or bell-bottomed jeans and twist backward in time.
For more information or to make reservations for the Soccer Ball, call Carol Fox at 552-8677 or Barbara Pack at 951-8512.
\ A MOVING EXPERIENCE: Radford University Dance Theatre's spring concert continues through Saturday with performances at 8 both nights in Preston Auditorium.
"Yellow River," the story of a young Chinese girl growing up in America, is the featured piece.
Written by Hollins College professor Li Chiao-Ping, the dance is done as a solo.
But that's not all. . . .
Other works on the program are Pegeen Albig's "A Clear Place" and Mary Pat Balkus's "Echoes of Brazil." Both choreographers are Radford University dance professors.
"Eternal Winds," a combined effort by Albig, music professor Bruce Mahin and art professor Jennifer Spoon depicts dancers blown about by the wind.
The ensemble also will perform "Les Petits Danses," a piece inspired by the music of Frederic Chopin with a live performance by music professor David Brandon Phillips.
Admission is free for RU students and staff; $3 for the public.
\ CHICKEN IN FLOYD: They make the best chicken in Floyd!
The Floyd County Jaycees will have a chicken dinner Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. at the Floyd Elementary School cafeteria.
Big folks eat for $4 and little ones eat for $3.
Proceeds from sales will help the Jaycees with their community projects, including sponsorship of children at Camp Virginia Jaycee.
Tickets for the dinner will be available at the door or you may pick them up ahead of time from any member of the organization.
\ JAZZ AND SNAZZ: The Radford University Faculty Jazz Quartet will have you cutting the rug Monday at 8 p.m. in Preston Auditorium.
The foursome will play a little Dixieland, a little swing, a little bop, even a little cool and fusion in this recital.
The program includes pieces by Woody Herman, Duke Ellington, Stan Kenton and Benny Goodman.
Members of the quartet are Al Wojtera on drums, Joe Scartelli on bass, Flip Shoemaker on guitar and Norm Todenhoft on woodwinds.
Todenhoft's son, Walt, will join his father in a duet for saxophone and clarinet. The younger musician is a member of the Army Blues Jazz Band based in Washington.
Admission to Monday's performance is $3 for adults, $1 for children and free with Radford University identification.
\ WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS: "Don't Grieve After Me," the photographic exhibit on display in the Black Cultural Center at Virginia Tech, speaks volumes.
The exhibit has more than 70 pictures exploring four themes in the history of black Virginians.
"Moving, Staying, Creating" is a series which examines migration patterns and the emergence of the black culture in the state. "Working, Surviving, Succeeding" examines the range of skills and professions, as well as the contributions, of a working people.
Family, community and religion are featured in the third series, "Loving, Playing, Praying."
And the final series, "Leading, Learning, Joining Together," surveys struggles within the community along with accomplishments and educational achievements of black Virginians.
The traveling exhibit will remain on display through Monday at the center in room 126 of Squires Student Center. Admission is free.
Today's hours are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturday's hours are 1 to 5 p.m.
The Hampton University Museum and the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation organized the exhibit with some funding from the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and Public Policy.
\ MEET YOU AT HIGH NOON: Virginia Tech's University Percussion and Marimba Ensembles will give a performance Wednesday at noon in room 243 of Squires Student Center.
The opening work is "Overture for Percussion Ensemble" by John Beck, chairman of the percussion department at the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester. Written in 1977, it is scored for eight musicians and 17 percussion instruments.
The Percussion Ensemble also will perform "Laura Soave," a 1590 composition by Fabrizio Caroso for lute, and "Suite for Sideman and Handclappers," one of the most popular works for bass handclappers.
The University Marimba Ensemble will play "Rajah" (or "Oriental Fox Trot").
Composed in 1919 by George Hamilton Green, one of the best known ragtime and jazz xylophone soloists of all time, this arrangement is by Bob Becker.
Admission to the concert is free.
Donna Alvis-Banks is an editorial assistant in the Roanoke Times & World-News' New River Valley bureau.
by CNB