ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, December 1, 1995 TAG: 9512010007
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
COLUMN: Out & About
SOURCE: DONNA ALVIS BANKS
Please send in your votes for the worst of slogans.
This writer's nominee: "Shop 'til you drop."
If you're set on wandering aimlessly down the aisles of the never-ending mart until the perfect gift falls into your shopping cart, don't forget your Dr. Scholl's inserts.
You'll need 'em.
If a worldwide shopping spree sounds more to your liking, there's just one place to be this weekend.
Head for the Y.
The YMCA at Virginia Tech is having its annual International Bazaar today and Saturday. You'll find exotic gifts from 35 developing countries participating in SELFHELP Crafts of the World, a service of the Mennonite Central Committee.
Nativities and Christmas decorations from Peru, the West Bank, Laos and Thailand are among the handicrafts. Carved animals from Kenya, musical instruments from the Cameroon and Bolivia, wood and brass items from India and jewelry from countries such as Kenya, Indonesia and Mexico will be for sale at the bazaar.
You'll also find toys, baskets, bags, stationery, folk art and lots of other handmade gifts.
Internation women involved in the YMCA's "Mornings" program will serve as hostesses at the bazaar. All proceeds from sales benefit the SELFHELP service, as well as sewing projects at the YMCA in Sao Tome and Principe, West Africa.
The event runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today and Saturday at the YMCA, 703 Washington St., Blacksburg. Admission is free.
PLANT YOURSELF: Plant yourself in your car or your running shoes and make tracks for the greenhouses on Washington Street in Blacksburg.
Pi Alpha Xi, Virginia Tech's horticulture honor society, is having its annual poinsettia sale. The students have plants in a rainbow of colors for your holiday decorating.
The sale begins at 9 a.m. today and continues until the flowering plants are gone. You'll pay just $6 for each 61/2-inch potted plant. The money helps provide scholarships for students in the horticulture department.
LET'S DO LUNCH! Extra large helpings of holiday cheer are what they're serving in Virginia Tech's Memorial Chapel at noontime.
"Holiday Cheer" is a series of concerts guaranteed to put you in the spirit of the season. The series starts today with a sing-along around the piano.
The concerts resume Monday and continue through Dec. 8. Ruth Young will perform holiday and classical music on piano Tuesday. On Wednesday, Catherine Breske and David and Michael Breske will present a program called "Christmas is for Children." Eunice Kim will accompany on piano.
Thursday's concert features the Virginia Tech Meistersingers directed by Kevin Fenton and the Blacksburg High School Madrigals directed by Jan Blumenthal.
On Dec. 8, the series wraps up with another sing-along. This is your chance to request favorite carols.
All the concerts are free. Everyone's encouraged to bring a lunch for the fellowship. The programs run from noon to 1 p.m.
LET'S DO DINNER! Radford University's Muse Hall banquet room is the setting for the food and fun of Renaissance England. The music department's annual "Madrigal Dinner" continues today and Saturday. The events start at 5 p.m.
The Madrigal Singers, a 20-member ensemble, will transport you back in time to a holiday feast served by singing waiters and waitresses.
The show begins with a prelude by the Baroque Chamber Orchestra conducted by Eugene Fellin. Each course of the meal is then served in a processional. The main course includes roast beef, potatoes and green beans. It's followed by a dessert of flaming pudding.
The after-dinner treat is a performance by His Majesty's Half-Act Players, a student acting troupe. The jesters will present "Myrtleshire: Lady of Misrule - That's Ms. Rule to You." The skit, a satire on government downsizing and the arts, was written by music professor David Castonguay and his colleague, Paul Brandvik of Bemidji State University in Minnesota.
The Madrigal Singers will close the evening with a concert of traditional and modern Christmas music.
Tickets for the dinners are $18 for the public or $13 with Radford University identification. For information on reservations (a must), call Judy Wade at 831-5265.
LET'S DO TEA! A Victorian Christmas tea makes for an elegant afternoon this Sunday. The event, a benefit to raise money for furniture at the new Blacksburg library, runs from 2 to 4 p.m. at L'Arche Bed and Breakfast, 301 Wall St., Blacksburg.
This is your chance to celebrate Christmas as it might have been in Blacksburg around the turn of the century. Built by the Vawter family, L'Arche is a federal revival style home with gardens and a gazebo that calls up visions of Monticello.
At Sunday's tea, you'll also have the opportunity to bid on handmade Christmas ornaments at a silent auction. The ornaments were donated by local artisans, including members of the New River Valley American Needlepoint Guild and Draper's Meadow Embroidery Guild of America.
As an added treat, you'll be entertained by musicians from the Renaissance Music Academy of Virginia.
The tea is sponsored by the Montgomery County Friends of the Library. A $10 donation is suggested.
For reservations, call Susan Edwards at 552-5476 or Jennifer Loveday at 552-9046.
SPEAKING OF TEA... Susanna's Tea Shoppe is open through Sunday for "Holidays at Smithfield," the annual open house at Smithfield Plantation.
Sweets, spiced nuts and raspberry tea are part of the refection served by costumed ladies in the winter kitchen and museum area of the historic plantation house.
Hours for the open house are from 1 to 5 p.m. each day. In addition to the afternoon tea, events include candlelit tours of the 18th century landmark and live music on Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday's musical lineup features the Church Street Consort at 1, violinists David Salness and Carol Stone at 2, Christmas Themes (music on recorders) at 3 and Celtic music by Meridian at 4.
Sunday afternoon's entertainment starts with flautist Suzanne Gerus at 1, followed by the Blacksburg High School Madrigal Singers at 2. Simple Gifts, a folk trio, performs at 3 and Judi Schneck's students play music for strings at 4.
Tickets for the tour and tea are $8 for adults and $4.50 for students. Poinsettias, holiday greenery and lots of gift items will be on sale during the open house. To make arrangements for groups of 10 or more, call 231-3947.
Smithfield Plantation is on the edge of the Virginia Tech campus off Duck Pond Road.
B&B&B: Bach, Beach and Beethoven, of course!
Virginia Tech's music department will bring the music of the great composers to Squires Recital Salon this weekend. The Audubon Quartet will team up with members of the university's music faculty for concerts Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m.
Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 features guest artist Lisa Liske-Doorandish, a cello teacher at the Renaissance Music Academy. Cellist Patrick Simpson, a Virginia Tech professor, also performs in this rendition of Bach's work.
The Audubon Quartet and David Jacobsen, flute, will perform Amy Beach's Theme and Variations for Flute and Strings. Considered the "dean of American women composers," Beach wrote the work in the 1920s.
Beethoven's Septet for Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn and String Quartet features performances by David Widder on clarinet, John Husser on bassoon and Wallace Easter on horn. All are members of Tech's music faculty. Domenick Fiore is the guest bassist.
Tickets, available at the box office before the concerts, are $7 for adults or $5 for students and senior citizens.
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