ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, June 21, 1996 TAG: 9606210069
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: PULASKI
Tomie dePaola, Elizabeth Catlett, Georgia O'Keeffe, Otto Piene - the work of some of the world's most highly regarded artists will visit the New River Valley this weekend when the Artrain chugs to a stop.
One of the major attractions at this year's Depot Days Festival will be the five-car Artrain with its traveling Smithsonian Institution exhibit.
Pulaski and Manassas are the two places the Artrain will stop in Virginia this year. The Chrysler Corp. is sponsoring the Artrain's 1996-1998 national tour, "Art in Celebration!" The 34 contemporary works in the exhibit represent a wide range of artistic styles, including realism, surrealism, abstraction and expressionism.
Local artists also will be demonstrating their work on the train, which includes a 1946 baggage car, three former passenger cars dating from 1924, 1930 and 1950, and a caboose that serves as an office for the Artrain's on-board staff.
The so-called "museum in motion" started in 1971 and has visited more than 500 communities.
Michael Dowell, executive director of the Fine Arts Center for the New River Valley and a subscriber to Smithsonian magazine, contacted the institution to suggest a mention of the Artrain's stop in Pulaski on its wraparound subscriber address mailer. The plug to visit the Artrain in historic Pulaski was on the mailing wraparound for the current issue.
The Artrain will be open today for group tours and on Saturday and Sunday for general viewing. Admission is free.
Other festival attractions include an antiques and collectibles display in both indoor and outdoor locations. Exhibitors will have one-of-a-kind items in the Pulaski Central Gym at 143 Third St. and in the town's Historic District on West Main Street.
The show and sale run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
Another feature of Depot Days will be the annual rubber duck race at 4 p.m. Saturday. Ducks purchased for $1 each from local businesses will be placed in Peak Creek at the Jefferson Avenue Bridge, and the first three to float across the finish line at the Washington Avenue Bridge will bring $150, $75 and $50 prizes to their purchasers.
Saturday is the festival's big day with an arts and crafts show, a classic car show, a boat expo, a volleyball tournament, a children's "Kid Zone" and lots of live musical entertainment. Featured bands include country group Fancy Free, Eagles' tribute band the Long Run and Key West, a Jimmy Buffet tribute band.
Depot Day festivities started in June 1994, with a single day of activities centering around the dedication of the town's restored rail depot building donated to Pulaski by Norfolk Southern Corp. The town spent several years restoring it. It now houses a museum and chamber of commerce offices.
The annual festival is made possible with the help of a number of sponsoring agencies and businesses in Pulaski. It's organized by the town's department of economic development. For more information, call 980-6673.
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