Here’s a roundup of events in the coming week. Send yours for possible inclusion to news@cardinalnews.org.
April 13-16: ‘Once Upon a Mattress’ at Virginia Tech
A collaboration between the theatre and music programs will result in a concert-style production of the family-friendly musical comedy “Once Upon A Mattress” April 13-16 at the Moss Arts Center, presented by the School of Performing Arts.
Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. April 13-15 and at 2 p.m. April 16 in the Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre, within Moss Arts Center’s Street and Davis Performance Hall at 190 Alumni Mall in Blacksburg.
More information about “Once Upon A Mattress” is available online.
Tickets and parking
Tickets are $15 general and $12 for seniors/students and may be purchased through the Moss Arts Center ticket office in person or may be purchased online. Tickets will also be available at the door beginning one hour prior to the performance.
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April 15: Kite festival in Roanoke County
The 22nd annual Blue Ridge Kite Festival will take place April 15 at Roanoke County’s Green Hill Park from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event is free.
Kite demonstrations will be provided by the Richmond Air Force Kite Club.
Free kites, compliments of Anthem HealthKeepers, will be given out while supplies last. Free kids’ T-shirts, compliments of Friends of the Blue Ridge, will also be given while supplies last. T-shirts and kites are limited to one per child.
Visit www.RoanokeCountyParks.com/Kite to get the full details, as well as an application form. Participants can also sign up on-site the day of Kite Festival.
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April 15: Electronics recycling in Roanoke
Do you have old computers, printers, tablets, phones, power cables or other unused electronics you need to get rid of? Drop them off at a drive-through recycling event for proper disposal.
Carilion Clinic is partnering with River Acceptance, a local electronics recycler, for its second electronics recycling event, which focuses on safe and secure recycling. The event will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. April 15 at 3 Riverside Circle in Roanoke. All funds generated through the revenue of recycled materials will go toward the Carilion Clinic Foundation’s campaign to transform cancer care in the region with a new cancer center. (Disclosure: Carilion is one of our donors, but donors have no say in news decisions; see our policy. You can become one of our donors, too.)
“Last year, we had 19 volunteers collect approximately 40,000 pounds of electronics from 750 cars that came through,” Marina Sotelo, efficiency and sustainability coordinator, said in a statement. “This amounted to $5,619 raised for the cancer center, and we’re excited to be fundraising again and giving our communities a safe way to dispose of their electronics.”
Go here for more information, including a list of what can and cannot be accepted.
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April 15: Book-signing in Floyd
Authors Debbie Seagle and Dan Smith are having a joint book signing at The Soup Shop in Floyd from 1 to 3 p.m. April 15.
Seagle’s debut book is “Coffee Cups and Wine Glasses” while Smith’s novels are “NEWS!” and “CLOG!”
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April 16: Big band orchestra at New River CC
The Old Pros Big Band Orchestra of New River Community College will present its 50th anniversary celebration from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. April 16 in Richardson Auditorium in Rooker Hall at the college in Dublin.
Admission is free, and donations will be accepted to the NRCC Educational Foundation to support the band.
Under the direction of Dean Chiapetto, the band plays music from the heyday of the big band era as well as today’s modern sounds.
For more information about the Old Pros and to view their concert schedule, visit www.nr.edu/oldpros/.
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April 16: UVA Wise to host free tribute concert to late Galax band director
The University of Virginia’s College at Wise Highland Winds Band will play the world premiere of a newly commissioned tribute concert to honor former long-time Galax High School band director Don Knox.
The spring concert, which is free and open to the public, will be held at 4 p.m. April 16 at the college’s David J. Prior Convocation Center.
Knox, who died in 2001, taught at Galax City Schools from 1967 to 1976. He began his career at Fort Chiswell High School and in 1976 went to work for the U.S. Department of Defense Dependents Overseas School System for two years in Turkey and six years in Italy. In 1986, Knox returned to the U.S. and taught music at Radford public schools. A year later he began serving as a guidance counselor there until he retired in 1996.
The concert will also include an additional original work composed by Jason Bailey, UVA Wise marching band instructor.
Knox’s wife and children are expected to attend and former Galax High School alumni have been invited to attend the event.
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April 18: Hugo Award winners to speak at Radford
Radford University will host 2021 Hugo Award winners John Jennings and Damian Duffy at 3:30 p.m. April 18 in the Bonnie Auditorium, to discuss their graphic novel adaptation of “Parable of the Sower.”
In her classic 1993 dystopian novel “Parable of the Sower,” African American science fiction author Octavia Butler envisioned a United States ravaged by environmental degradation, poverty and ignorance. Butler’s protagonist, Lauren Olamina, only 15 when “Parable of the Sower” starts, becomes a leader of “Earthseed,” a group that seeks to resettle to another planet.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the novel’s publication. In 2020, Jennings and Duffy’s graphic novel adaptation was published, building off the earlier success that the team had in adapting another of Butler’s work, “Kindred,” into a graphic novel, which now also adapted as a television series.
There will be free parking on campus on the day of the event beginning at 3 p.m. A reception and book signing will follow, hosted by the First-Gen Center at Radford University, across from the auditorium.
The event will be livestreamed but not recorded. To watch to the program, use this Zoom link: https://radford.zoom.us/s/96963605454 or call in to listen by dialing +1 408 638 0968 and enter meeting ID 96963605454.