Here’s a roundup of news briefs from around Southwest and Southside. Send yours for possible inclusion to news@cardinalnews.org.
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Harvester adds Ben Folds, second night of Oak Ridge Boys
The Harvester Performance Center in Rocky Mount has added two shows to its calendar: Ben Folds on June 8 and a second night of the Oak Ridge Boys on Aug. 15.
Folds, who will perform as part of his Paper Airplane Request Tour, has created a body of music that includes pop albums with Ben Folds Five, multiple solo albums and numerous collaborative records.
Tickets start at $97 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday.
The Oak Ridge Boys, on their American Made: Farewell Tour, will have a two-night run in Rocky Mount. The first show was announced last year and is sold out.
Over the years, the band has achieved 17 No. 1 hits, including “Leaving Louisiana In The Broad Daylight,” “Bobbie Sue” and “Elvira.”
Tickets start at $127 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday.
Tickets for both shows are available at harvester-music.com.
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Griffith announces 2024 Congressional Art Competition
Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, has announced the kick-off of the annual Congressional Art Competition for high school students.
The theme for this year’s contest is “Landmarks of Virginia’s Ninth District.” The winner will have their work displayed in the U.S. Capitol for a year. The second- and third-place selections will be displayed in one of Griffith’s district offices.
Last year’s winner was Katelyn Wheatley of Carroll County High School.
Interested students must submit a photograph of their original artwork to either the Christiansburg or Abingdon district office by 5 p.m. April 15. Each entry must be accompanied by a student information release form, which is available by contacting a Ninth District office or visiting https://morgangriffith.house.gov.
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Disability advocate Alycia Anderson to speak at University of Lynchburg
Award-winning TEDx speaker Alycia Anderson will visit the University of Lynchburg at 7 p.m. March 20 as part of the school’s annual Rosel Schewel Lecture Series in Education and Human Diversity.
The lecture will be held in Hall Campus Center’s Memorial Ballroom and is open to the public.
Anderson is a motivational speaker, disability advocate, DEI and accessibility corporate inclusion facilitator, podcast host for “Pushing Forward with Alycia” and CEO of The Alycia Anderson Company LLC. She was born with sacral agenesis, an underdevelopment of the spinal cord at the sacrum.
Her lecture at Lynchburg will focus on ableism, a form of discrimination or societal prejudice against individuals with disabilities that stems from the notion that average abilities are superior.