Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, October 6, 1995 TAG: 9510060037
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: DONNA ALVIS BANKS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
What if instead of awaiting the arrival of the Great Pumpkin, we were eagerly anticipating the Great Turnip?
What if, when Halloween is over, we were eating turnip bread instead of pumpkin bread?
What if we found ourselves at the annual Turnip Fest this weekend?
Not to worry.
The annual Pumpkin Fest at Laurel Creek Nursery Saturday features everything you've come to expect: live music, hayrides, the haunted house, pony rides and lots of pumpkins!
In olden days, however, you might have been carving a turnip in preparation for All Hallow's Eve.
In Scotland and England, people carved faces into hollowed-out turnips, placed candles in them and put them in windows to scare away spooks until the dreadful night was over.
Replacing the scrawny turnips with plump pumpkins was an American brainstorm.
Pumpkin hunts and pumpkin carving are just two of the events you'll enjoy at Saturday's festival. It runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the nursery on Peppers Ferry Road in Christiansburg.
The day starts off with a real treat. The Hall Twins, Clayton and Saford, perform from 10 to 11:30. Fifty years ago, the brothers from The Hollow in Patrick County played in Ryman Auditorium at the Grand Ole Opry. Last year, they returned to Nashville for the reopening of the historic Ryman. Old-timers remember Clayton and Saford Hall as radio stars. In 1938, the brothers did two radio broadcasts a day with the Blue Ridge Entertainers on WDBJ in Roanoke. They also cut two records and played the Grand Ole Opry twice with the band.
A few years ago, the brothers started a new band called The Hall Twins and the Westerners. They recorded a tape in 1992 and still perform their distinctive bluegrass sound.
Following the Hall Twins, you can catch the Virginia Technical Jugglers at noon. Magician Bobby Lilly performs from 12:30 to 2:30 and Crossties plays from 1 to 3.
Admission to the festival is free, and the Laurel Creek staff will even throw in the refreshments.
Wonder if they'll have turnip pie?
BLEARY EYES: If you're having trouble sleeping this weekend, you're in luck.
Head for Animefest 15, an event featuring 30 hours of awesome animated film.
Sponsored by the Animation Society at Virginia Tech, Animefest 15 gets underway Saturday at 10 a.m. and runs until 5 p.m. Sunday in 100 Hancock Hall. The film festival marks its 15th year with a variety of offerings for kids and adults.
Films geared toward younger audiences will be shown before noon both days. Afternoon and evening films are aimed at teen-age and older audiences because they contain some violence.
Admission to the festival is free. For more information, call Jennifer Kelley at 552-2499.
THE LORD'S ACRE: Churches in the Montgomery County area will have the annual Lord's Acre sale Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Radford Auto Auction building. That's at Virginia 177 and Mudpike Road in the Bethel community. To get there from Interstate 81, take the Radford University exit.
You can get a jump-start on your holiday shopping. Lots of crafts and gift items will be on display. You'll also find food aplenty.
In addition, the event features some of the best gospel music around. Local groups such as Greater Love (formerly Second Chance), The Scotts, River's Edge and others will perform.
The singing starts at 10. At 11, everyone is welcome to join in the worship service.
Proceeds from sales will go to the participating churches.
TOLLIVER, BLIZZARD AND FINSTER: Who are they?
They're artists. They're also just plain folk.
Folk art is Brian Sieveking's specialty. Sieveking, a 1987 Virginia Tech graduate, has spent much of the last 10 years traveling around the southeastern part of the country, meeting folk artists and documenting their work.
"By concentrating on the work of three artists: Mose Tolliver of Montgomery, Ala.; Georgia Blizzard of Chilhowie, Va.; and Howard Finster of Summerville, Ga., we can come to some kind of understanding or at least engage in some interesting debate about what has become a complicated and contentious area of study," Sieveking writes.
If you're set on debating Sieveking, be prepared. Folk art, he believes, is an important "historical presence in the grain of American culture."
Sieveking will speak on American folk art Sunday at 3 p.m. in the community room of the Blacksburg Police Department. His talk is presented as part of the fine arts series sponsored by the Blacksburg Regional Art Association.
The talk is free and open to everyone. For more information, call local artist Carole Davis at 951-1700.
SMILES IN GILES: That's what you'll see Saturday if you're in Narrows.
The Giles County community is having its annual fall festival on Main Street.
It offers everything you expect: arts, crafts, music, food, games for kids and demonstrations. Bring your bingo markers for the bingo games and be sure to check out the antique car show.
The festival runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It's put on by the Narrows Business and Professional Association.
PARLEZ VOUS FRANCAIS? Even if you don't speak French, you'll be able to communicate with Pierre Henri Xuereb. All you have to do is listen to him.
Xuereb, a violinist from France who teaches music at the Paris Conservatory, will visit Blacksburg this weekend for an appearance with the Audubon Quartet, Virginia Tech's quartet-in-residence.
The invitation to Xuereb is just the beginning of the quartet's effort to present a series of concerts this year featuring French artists or French musical selections. Later this month, the quartet will perform this program with Xuereb in Nice, France.
The Audubon Quartet features violinists David Ehrlich and David Salness, violist Doris Lederer and cellist Clyde Shaw. The musicians have been in residence at Virginia Tech since 1981. Even though they've performed at the White House and toured all over the world, they'll happily tell you that Blacksburg is home.
This weekend's concerts will be held in Squires Recital Salon Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. Tickets are $7 for adults or $5 for students and senior citizens and may be reserved through the Squires ticket office, 231-5615.
by CNB