Gene Marrano
FloydFest “Wild” 18 is in the books. The past weekend’s music and outdoor festival included complete sellouts on Friday and Saturday. John McBroom is the Chief Financial Officer for Across the Way Productions. The weather turned out to be a non-factor. McBroom also played on stage with his group “Blue Mule” – the 15th year they’ve performed at FloydFest.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Virginia is looking for more “Badges” in an attempt to build a better relationship between public safety officers and some young people in the community. More from WFIR’s Gene Marrano:
Star City Playhouse in Vinton is calling its new regular series of staged play readings “Munch-time” – and it debuts at the Vinton theater on South Pollard Street tomorrow at noon. Star City co-founder Karon Sue Semones Ferguson says Munchtime is patterned after the brown-bag Centerpieces series that Mill Mountain Theatre has staged at the lunch hour. Excerpts from her play Kin Folks, adapted from a series of short stories, will be read by actors at tomorrow’s free Munchtime. Ferguson hopes those that attend the half hour event will want to come back and see some of Star City’s regular productions – including “Cactus Flower” starting August 10th.
UVA head football coach Bronco Mendenhall drew some heat recently after it was revealed that he told the University’s Board of Visitors that only about a third of his roster was comprised of ACC-caliber players.
One of the major attractions for the 12-to-14 thousand people who attend FloydFest every summer is the wide variety of music stylings they get to hear. More from one of those performers set to appear this weekend from WFIR’s Gene Marrano:
Goodwill cut the ribbon yesterday on “Youth H-Q” at the Roanoke Jobs Campus on Melrose Avenue. WFIR’s Gene Marrano has more on that story:
(AP) The candidates in Virginia’s U.S. Senate made President Donald Trump a focal point as they sparred in their first debate. Republican Corey Stewart accused Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of hurting Virginia’s interests by reflexively opposing Trump’s agenda. Kaine said Stewart would blindly follow the president, particularly when it comes to the U.S.’s relationship with Russia. The pair debated Saturday at an event sponsored by the Virginia Bar Association held at the posh Homestead Resort in Bath County. The candidates clashed on a variety of issues like taxes, immigration and abortion. They also often traded personal jabs. Stewart said Kaine was “too weak” and “too liberal.” Kaine accused Stewart of repeatedly lying during the debate.