ROANOKE TIMES

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, August 19, 1994                   TAG: 9408190064
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-3   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: Donna Alvis Banks
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Long


ALL ROADS LEAD TO PRICES FORK

Country roads, take me to Prices Fork this weekend.

The Prices Fork Fair is happening Saturday at the Community Center and Grange Hall. The annual event - now in its 62nd year - brings folks together from the Prices Fork community and other areas of Blacksburg.

Highlights of the fair are a pet show at 10 a.m., a baby contest at 3 p.m. and live entertainment, starting at 7 p.m. WKEX will provide live broadcasting from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Exhibits this year include farm and garden produce, candy and baked goods, canned foods, flowers, handicrafts and art. The exhibit halls will be open to the public from 1 to 9 p.m.

The traditional crowning of Little Miss and Mr. Prices Fork is Saturday night at 9. The contestants are students in kindergarten through 5th grade at Prices Fork Elementary School and each receives a prize for participating in the contest.

The Prices Fork Grange and Prices Fork United Methodist Church will have food for sale throughout the day, and Boy Scout Troop 702 will sell sodas.

Admission to the fair is free...and so is the fun!

IT RHYMES WITH ASPARAGUS: The name is Herriges.

Chris Herriges is the musician Billboard magazine calls one of "the most resilient and focused new singer-songwriters to hit the boards in the past year or two."

His vocal style is frequently compared to Phil Collins, Steve Winwood and Neil Young in their prime. His music is an unusual melding of acoustic and electric pop-rock. Locally, his single, "All Real Now," is in the top five phone requests at Rock 105, WVVV-FM.

Herriges and his Minneapolis-based band, The Chris Herriges Project, will perform Tuesday at South Main Cafe in Blacksburg. In addition to Herriges, the group features Chris Shaw on bass and Chris Weinberger on drums.

The trio will perform songs from Herriges' compact disc, "Long, Cold Road," released last year on Magnet Records in Twin Cities, Minn.

The music starts at 10 p.m. Admission is $3 if you're over 21 or $4 if you're under 21.

VIVA, LAS VEGAS! That's what they're calling the big blowout in Pulaski County this Saturday. The Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce is putting on an auction and buffet dinner to raise money for community development projects. It starts at 5 p.m. at New River Community College in Dublin.

Along with great food, you can enjoy great entertainment by Elvis - the Pulaski County Elvis, that is. Billy Worthington will do his impersonation of The King.

Several local businesses have donated items for the auction. You may bid on trips (Williamsburg, Nashville, Myrtle Beach, Hylton Head, the Great Smokies and, of course, Las Vegas), as well as a variety of other goods and services.

Golf packages, tickets to a Charlotte Hornets game, a grandfather clock, a pinball machine and Winston Cup race tickets are all up for grabs. You may even try for the handmade Elvis quilt to be auctioned during the evening.

Tickets for the dinner are on sale at the Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce. The cost is $15 for couples or $10 for singles, and reservations are required.

Call the chamber office at 980-1991 for more information.

SQUARE DEAL: The Blacksburg Old-Time Music and Dance Group is having its monthly mountain square dance Saturday night. It starts at 8 in shelter 3 at Montgomery County Park.

You don't have to be a practiced dancer to participate. Caller Beth Molaro from Hinton, W. Va., will teach all the steps.

Jimmy Costa, also of Hinton, will play the fiddle tunes.

Admission is $4. The park is on County Road across from Corning Glass Works on U.S. 460 between Christiansburg and Blacksburg. To get to shelter 3, turn right at the swimming pool.

The Blacksburg Old-Time Music and Dance Group is an informal gathering of local dancers and musicians interested in preserving and promoting the traditions of the Southern mountains. Along with the monthly dances, the group also sponsors a fiddlers' jam each Tuesday night at Roni's Restaurant in Blacksburg. It starts around 8:30, and admission is free.

CALLING ALL SINGERS: Rehearsals are starting up for several singing groups in the New River Valley.

The Blacksburg Master Chorale will begin weekly rehearsals for the upcoming concert season Tuesday. The singers will meet at 7:30 p.m. at the Blacksburg Presbyterian Church.

Jim Bryant, the chorale's interim music director, will lead the group as it prepares for an Oct. 29 performance of Handel's "Nisi Dominus" and Haydn's "Lord Nelson Mass." The next concert will be the annual holiday performance, featuring varied Christmas music, on Dec. 17.

If you're interested in auditioning for the Blacksburg Master Chorale, call Craig Fields at 231-8502 after Aug. 27.

Younger singers, ages 9 to 15, may want to try out for Voices in Harmony, Radford University's youth choir. Auditions will be held this Monday and Thursday at the university.

The group features kids from all over the New River Valley who perform in an annual holiday concert, as well as a spring concert. They perform everything from classical music to Broadway tunes.

Betty Turner, a voice instructor at Radford University, is the director.

Turner encourages singers who audition for the choir to bring a prepared song and a musical score or recorded accompaniment. To schedule a time, call 831-5177.



 by CNB