ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, November 29, 1996 TAG: 9611290007
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
COLUMN: Out & About
SOURCE: DONNA ALVIS-BANKS
It's time to make your list and check it twice.
1. Checkbook
2. Credit card
3. Dr. Scholl's insoles
OK, you're ready for the busiest shopping day of the year.
Start your excursion at the Gallery of Local Artists in Christiansburg's New River Valley Mall. It opens today and remains through Jan. 5 in the spot between Champ's and Leggett.
The cooperative gallery involves lots of local artists with a wide variety of works for sale - paintings, sculpture, jewelry, wearable art, books, photography, you name it! The artists take turns staffing the gallery, which is open during regular mall hours.
Sponsored by the New River Arts Council and New River Valley Mall, the gallery is also the place for some special holiday events. Fashion shows, live music and other presentations are in the planning.
Mondays are "read me to sleep nights" with storytellers (in pajamas, of course!) sharing bedtime tales. The Monday readings start at 7.
One important note: this is a juried art show, so all of the pieces you'll find in the gallery are original and of good quality. The price range should fit everyone's budget, too.
On second thought, you might not need those Dr. Scholl's insoles after all.
COLORS: Snowy white, ruby red, creamy peach
You'll find an array of beautiful colors at the annual poinsettia sale Tuesday in Virginia Tech's greenhouses.
Pi Alpha Xi, a national honor society for students in floriculture and ornamental horticulture, are selling the Christmas plants to raise money for scholarships and other projects. Students in the organization grew the poinsettias at Tech.
Tuesday's sale starts at 7 a.m. and goes on until all the plants are sold. The greenhouses are on Washington Street near Cassell Coliseum.
OLD-TIME HOSPITALITY: That's what Bill and Barbara Aldridge are offering you Saturday.
The Aldridges, owners of the Virginia Inn Antiques Mall on the square in downtown Christiansburg, are inviting everyone for refreshments and tours at their holiday open house. The shop is in the historic Virginia Inn Hotel, a charming turn-of-the-century building.
For more than 30 years, Bill Aldridge operated a furniture store next to the hotel. That building, also built early in the century, was originally an automobile dealership and later a farm equipment company. Recently, Aldridge opened Willoughby's New Reproductions, a store specializing in fine reproduction furniture, in the site.
Saturday's open house runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The buildings are on West Main Street across from Montgomery County Courthouse.
IF I HAD A HAMMER: I'd play the hammer dulcimer.
Well, I can't play the instrument but Marya Katz certainly can.
Katz, a member of the local folk group Simple Gifts of the Blue Ridge, will demonstrate her talent in a free concert Saturday.
The group also features Charles Bostian, Jack Webster and Rob Edmunds. The foursome plays traditional and contemporary folk tunes.
Simple Gifts of the Blue Ridge frequently performs at festivals and other community gatherings. The group has a home page on BEV.NET and recently released a new CD, "Mountain Mists."
Saturday's concert starts at 7:30 p.m. at Kipps Elementary School on Prices Fork Road in Blacksburg.
WHAT'S IN A NAME? People have been trying for years to figure out what prompted the band's name - Better than Ezra.
One guess found on the band's web page is from page 78 of Hemingway's memoir, "A Moveable Feast": "Anything was better than Ezra learning to play the bassoon "
Better than Ezra is the up-and-coming alternative rock band that recently recorded its Elektra debut album, "friction, baby." The group's members are guitarist Kevin Griffin, bassist Tom Drummond and drummer Travis McNabb. Griffin started the band in 1980.
The trio's next gig is Wednesday, 8 p.m., in Virginia Tech's Commonwealth Ballroom. The Virginia Tech Union's Concerts Committee is sponsoring the show.
Tickets are $15 for the public or $7 with a Tech student ID. They're on sale at the box office in Squires Student Center.
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