Virginia Horse Center
This is a massive facility on 600 acres with eight barns that house 750 horses, 19 show rings, a combined carriage driving & five mile cross country course and campgrounds. There’s also coliseum that seats 4000 people. It’s about an hour north of Roanoke, in Lexington, Virginia, right off 81….
Roanoke’s Blue Ridge Parkway
You haven’t seen Roanoke right until you’ve spent some time on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Although it extends 469 miles, starting in the south at the Great Smokey Mountains National Park in North Carolina (go there too – it’s a spiritual place, particularly if you land in winter when roads…
Parks & Arts in Roanoke offers free family fun
This weekend, I headed out for the first of five events planned for the summer as part of Parks & Arts. It wasn’t what I expected. Parks & Arts is a series of free events held at parks throughout the Roanoke created as a “collaboration with the City of Roanoke…
Roanoke Visitors’ Association
I finally scheduled the time to find and travel to the Roanoke Visitors’ Association. Technically, that’s not what it’s called. Virginia’s Blue Ridge, Roanoke Valley is the website moniker. I suppose that’s a search term that might make sense for someone who knows the area, but as one who’s only…
Fantastic cheese find
One challenge in coming to Roanoke I didn’t anticipate was locating cheese. When you live in an area for a long time, you start to assume your reality is universal, forgetting other places have different lifestyle choices. Over the past 20 years or so, I witnessed a cottage industry of…
Local artists create while you watch
The Monster Art Rally is a brilliant idea. Held at the Taubman Museum of Art in Roanoke, VA, it’s an interactive event that invites the public to witness the creative process. Dozens of artists converge in the atrium of the building during two one-hour sessions. All work done during this…
The Roanoke Star
Also known as the Mill Mountain Star, this is a big deal in Roanoke. I figured it for a huge tourism stop with paid admission required, amenities on site and some fanfare surrounding the location. I was wrong. Granted, I decided to go find this landmark in February when snow…
The Big Lick Cocktail Classic at the Patrick Henry
The Big Lick Cocktail Classic is an annual fundraiser for LEAP for local food, which was held this year on February 20th at The Patrick Henry (a historically significant former hotel that’s been repurposed). What a fun and festive crowd it drew. Many came costumed, clearly intent on celebrating the…
Roanoke People & Places Monday
Come here every Monday for the scoop on attractions & events as well as the individuals who make Roanoke great. You’ll also enjoy some hidden treasure finds for tight budgets as well as short reviews (I’ll only feature the ones I like) on privately-operated restaurants (sorry, franchise chain fans, you’ll…
