Calendar items can be sent to [email protected], brought to the newsroom at 19 E. Church St., Martinsville, or mailed to PO Box 3711, Martinsville, Va., 24115. Photos are welcome. Dates and times must be included.
Martinsville Speedway will hold one 75th anniversary celebration from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, September 7, on the highway. Attendees will be able to take a few laps around the speedway in their vehicles. Martinsville Speedway’s famous hot dogs, cake and Pepsi drinks will be free. Take pictures in a fictional Victory Lane or with the 75th anniversary logo. 9-member Night Years of Raleigh, NC, will perform; bring your own chairs to sit on.
TheatreWorks Community Players will present “12 Angry Jurors” at 7:00 p.m. September 8-10 and 15-17 and at 2:00 p.m. September 11 at the Black Box Theatre.
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Piedmont Arts’ “Pleasant September: The Art of Tailgating” will be held from 18:30-21:30 on September 9. Jake Earles will perform music. People cooking for the event will be Connie and Elliot Stone of Stonehaus Farms; Beth Marshall and Brian Stanley; Meritha and George Alderman; Lucy Coleman and Donna McGarry; Chief D. Wilson; Clifton Barrow of Roosky’s; Larry Luck of Manny’s Restaurant; Susan Critz and Will Gravely; Keisha Rivalte; and Chef Luke Pollom of King’s Grant. Tickets are $50 at PiedmontArts.org. Raffle tickets will be sold for prizes including tickets to the Virginia Tech vs. Wofford football game, NC State vs. Texas Tech game (with hotel accommodations), 4-day admission to Rooster Walk 13, free TAD Space rental, chairs for receptions and cushions from Bassett Furniture, a bookshelf from Bassett Furniture and a prize pack.
Class “Canned soups and such” will be held at 9 a.m. on September 10 and/or September 24 at the Spencer-Penn Center. It is for people who have experience with canning. All supplies will be provided. The September 10th class is almost full. Cost is $20; call 276-957-5757 to register.
Martinsville-Henry County Relay for Life will be held from 3-7pm on Saturday, September 17, at the Smith River Sports Complex in the festival grounds. Food will be available. Jus’ Cauz will perform music and students from Teresa’s School of Dance will dance. For more information, visit www.relayforlife.org/mhcva.
of Bassett Heritage Festival will be held from 7 am to 4:30 pm on September 10.
Dyer’s Store Volunteer Fire Department will hold one 50th Anniversary/Community Day from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm on Saturday, September 17. Meet the firefighters; view trucks and equipment. There will be free bounce houses for the kids and free hot dogs.
The Spencer-Penn Center will host MHC is the Book Festival for Book Lovers Friday, September 16 and Saturday, September 17. The first day there will be a dinner with authors. On the second day, vendors, food trucks, authors and activities will be there from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm Admission is free.
The MHC Veterans Service Organization will host one Veterans Appreciation Day from 10am to 2pm on October 8 at Jack Dalton Park. Veterans and their families are invited for hot dogs and fries. Games including cornhole and badminton will be organized and there will be music. The main purpose of the event is to introduce veterans to various VSO organizations such as DAV, VFW, American Legion and Marine Corps League.
The Spencer-Penn Center will hold Fall Festival 2022 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Saturday, October 15. It will feature games, children’s activities, vendors and more. For vendor inquiries, contact [email protected] or 276-957-5757.
Chix with Stix are knitting meets from 10:30am to 12:30pm every other Tuesday at Piedmont Arts. Bring your own supplies to knit in the fellowship. The cost is $5 for people who are not members of Piedmont Arts.
Lisa Garrett will teach a sunflower painting workshop from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10, at Imagination Lavender Farm, 3590 Greenhill Drive. Cost of $45 includes all supplies and lunch; call 276-734-2828 to register.
A quilting class will be held from 1-5 pm on Sunday, September 25, at the Spencer-Penn Center. Pricing is based on project size: 12 by 36 inches, $75; 25 square inches, $65; and 36 square inches, $85. Register at 276-957-5757 by September 16th.
Retired English professor Angela Wright will teach “Write Your Life,” a memoir writing workshop, 9 a.m. to noon Sept. 24 and Oct. 1 at Imagination Lavender Farm, 3590 Greenhill Drive. Cost is $75, which includes all supplies and lunch. Call or text 276-734-2828 to reserve a seat.
Virginia Foothills Quilter Guild meets monthly at 9:30 a.m. on the first Tuesday (September 2) and 6:30 a.m. on the second Tuesday at Piedmont Arts.
Oldskool will perform Friday night at Kaskade School Community Center Music and Dance, from 7-9:30 p.m., at 3561 Huntington Trail. Admission is $8. Upcoming bands will be: Woody Powers & the Midnight Express, Sept. 9; Oldskool, September 16; Evergreen, September 23; and Oldskool, September 30.
A Open the lock held every Friday at 7pm at the Willis Gap Community Centre, 144 The Hollow Road.
Music night at Spencer-Penn on Friday, September 11, will feature Gap Civil. Doors will open at 5pm, and the band will start at 6:15. Admission is $5. Concessions will be sold, including hot dogs and barbecue.
Move to Martinsville and Music in the Box will present music with Blake Christiana of Yarn at 8pm on Wednesday, September 14, at Hamlet Vineyards, rain or shine. Tickets are sold out. Pickle & Ash will have a food truck there from 6-8 p.m
of 8th Annual Summer by the River Festival will be held from 2-7pm on Saturday, October 22, at the Smith River Sports Complex, hosted by the Matthew Wayne Wade Foundation. Tickets cost $10-$15. It will feature food, artisan vendors, various wineries and numerous beer distributors. For more information, visit www.winebyriver.com.CONVERSATION BOOK
William Guerrant of Pittsylvania County will speak about his first novel, “Jim Wren,” at 10 a.m. Sept. 27 at the Bassett History Center. The book, inspired by a true story, spans nine decades, from the mountains of West Virginia to a riverside mill town to a farm in the Piedmont. Motivated by a struggling teenage son, an old man faces one last challenge to uncover a hidden past. Entry is free.
Martinsville Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity and Kappa Delta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority present the Diamonds & Pearls Scholarship Gala at 6:00 pm on Saturday, September 17, at the Virginia Museum of Natural History. Dress is semi-formal. Tickets are $50; call 276-299-0813 for purchase information.
Martinsville Uptown Partnership will host the final “Third Thursdays in Uptown“ of the season from 3-9 p.m., Sept. 15, in the Franklin/Depot Street parking lot below the Black Box Theatre.
Piedmont Arts’ Blues, Brews & Stews will be held at 6:00 pm on Friday, October 14, at Piedmont Arts. It will feature a fire pit, Brunswick stew, a cash bar with craft beer and wine, and live music by the Griffin Haley Band. A meal of Brunswick stew, cornbread, banana pudding and tea from Hylton’s Wood-Cooking Grill will be included in the ticket price. Bring a lawn chair or blanket to sit on. If it rains, the event will be held inside Piedmont Arts.public
“Rook, Music and More”, every Friday from 10 a.m. to noon at the Bassett Ruritan Club on Philpott Dam Road, it’s a fun and relaxing time for people to get together to play games, do puzzles, make crafts and play rook Feel free to bring something to do or food to share.
FESTIVAL OF VANTAS PARAME
Front Porch Fest will be held Thursday through Sunday at Spirithaven Farm in Stuart. Bands include The Vagabonds, Larry Keel Experience, Consider the Source, Little Bird, Big Daddy Love, Erin & The Wildfire, Into the Fog, Tim Sawyer, The Judy Chops, Striking Copper, The Get Right Band, The Freeway Jubilee, Free Union , Slick Jr. & The Reactors, The Jakob’s Ferry Stragglers, Annabelle’s Curse, Oh Christoperh, Dirk Quinn Band, GOTE, Isaac Hadden Project, Fluidity Performance Troupe and The Brown Mountain Lightning Bugs. Ticket options include 4-day general admission for $130.
The “Who Were They” exhibit, about the Martisville Seven, is on display at Fayette Area Historical Initiative Museum, 211 Fayette St., Martinsville. A reception will follow.
Piedmont Arts’ Current exhibits are: “Private Domain,” large-scale oil-on-canvas paintings by Virginia Derryberry that explore contemporary aspects of alchemy; “Continuity (Color and Texture),” model piece by Davis Choun of Raleigh, NC; and “Seasons and Colors of the Appalachian Trail,” photographs by Bill Booz, who has hiked the entire 2,160-mile trail.
of Virginia Museum of Natural HistoryThe latest “Science of Flight” exhibit will be open until December 22.