Arts, Leisure and Sports
Roanoke County’s Explore Park and the Twin Creeks Brew pub on site are coming together to host The Tavern Stage Summer Series. A new stage being constructed will feature live music on the second Friday of each month starting in May until September. Admission to the Tavern Stage Summer Music Series is free; bring your own lawn chair or blanket. The music acts will be on stage from 7 to 9pm on those second Friday dates that begin next month. Alex North is with Roanoke County Parks, Recreation and Tourism:
- May 12 – Shoobies
- June 9 – Empty Bottles
- July 14 – Eric Wayne Band
- August 11 – Solacoustix
- September 8 – Christian Q & The Groove
For the first time in program history, the Virginia Tech women’s basketball program had two athletes selected in the WNBA Draft Monday night with Kayana Traylor and Taylor Soule each hearing their names called.
Traylor was selected with the 23rd overall pick by the Chicago Sky in the 2023 WNBA Draft.
After spending three years at Purdue, Traylor has suited up for the Hokies in each of the last two seasons, starting 40 of 68 games and averaging 10.7 points per game. This past season she started 29 times, recording a season-high of 25 points at UVA and she tallied her first career double-double against Longwood with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Traylor scored 12.2 points per game in NCAA Tournament helping the Hokies reach the Final Four for the first time in program history. In Dallas, she scored 17 vs. LSU.
Virginia Tech forward Taylor Soule was selected with the 28th overall pick by the Minnesota Lynx.
Soule spent her undergraduate career at Boston College, prior to transferring to Virginia Tech as a graduate student. During her time at Boston College, she received All-ACC honors three times, most notably Second Team her Senior year. Throughout her four seasons with the program, she accumulated over 1,500 points.
The West Lebanon, New Hampshire native made an immediate impact at Tech on and off the floor. She was named to the Cheryl Miller Award Watch List, Preseason All-ACC and Wooden Award Watch List prior to the season.
She started all 36 games and scored in double figures 20 times, including topping 20 on three occasions. Soule recorded three double-doubles on the season and earned ACC Second Team, and 2023 ACC All-tournament Second Team honors.
The duo become the seventh and eighth Hokies to be selected in the WNBA Draft and the third and fourth since 2019.
Letters of endearment that a couple who lived in Botetourt County more than 150 years ago first became a book published by the Botetourt County Historical Society – and this weekend it debuts as a stage play at Attic Productions in Fincastle. More from WFIR’s Gene Marrano:
An historic event has inspired an award-winning Richmond novelist, to pen a book. Denise Allen Membreno has more on the author’s visit to Roanoke.
ROANOKE, Va. – The Rail Yard Dawgs announced their 20-man President’s Cup Playoffs roster on Sunday afternoon. Roanoke has signed forward Jordan Xavier to a standard player contract (SPC), placed forward Spencer Kennedy on the season-ending injured reserve list, and defenseman Roshen Jaswal will be activated from the personal leave/bereavement list. Forward Jason Lavallée will be serving the last game of a four-game suspension during Roanoke’s Game One matchup at Evansville this Thursday, but is eligible to return for Game Two on Saturday.
The Rail Yard Dawgs will visit the Evansville Thunderbolts for Game One of the opening round of the 2023 President’s Cup Playoffs on Thursday night at 8:00 p.m. EST. Roanoke will host Evansville at Berglund Center for Game Two on Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. EST, and again on Sunday afternoon at 3:05 p.m. EST for Game Three if necessary.
You can watch the games on HockeyTV or listen for free on Mixlr. Single-game playoff tickets are available online now by visiting the ‘Tickets’ page on our website, and will go on sale at the Berglund Center box office on Monday morning at 10:00 a.m. EST
ROANOKE, VA. – The Rail Yard Dawgs (32-19-5) overcame a two-goal deficit to take down the Knoxville Ice Bears (32-22-3) 3-2 on Saturday night, clinching home-ice advantage for the first round of the President’s Cup Playoffs for the first time in team history. Austyn Roudebush PIctured) made 40 saves on 42 shots faced, while Matt O’Dea, Gehrett Sargis, and Josh Nenadal scored for the Dawgs.
The first period saw Roanoke come out with intensity, but the Dawgs were sloppy in transitioning defense to offense as Knoxville hammered 20 shots on the Roanoke net in the period to seven by the Dawgs. Roudebush made several highlight reel saves, but Knoxville opened the scoring on its second power play chance of the stanza. Bailey Conger tipped a Justin MacDonald into the net at 15:49 to make it 1-0, and the Ice Bears led by that score at the break.
The Dawgs still struggled to channel their high energy to start the middle frame, as the Ice Bears tipped a puck out of their zone for a Rex Moe breakaway chance down the left wing. Moe scored to make it 2-0 at the 8:34 mark in the frame. From there, Roanoke finally relaxed, and it showed in a span of three minutes in 13 seconds as its offense finally rolled to life. O’Dea smashed a rebound home from a Nick DeVito missed shot off the back wall to make it 2-1 at 15:12. Sargis had two or three consecutive scoring chances on the next shift and hit the crossbar even, before finally redirecting a Stephen Alvo shot at 17:02 to tie the game at 2-2. Nenadal took a pass at the right side of the Knoxville blue line, crossed back to the left wing, and uncorked one of the prettier shots in his Roanoke career to give the Dawgs the lead at 18:25. Heading into the final period, the Dawgs led 3-2.
Roanoke locked down on defense in the third period, holding a trailing Knoxville squad to just six shots in the 20-minute stanza. The game got chippier as the period wound down, and a few Dawgs chances were turned away by the Ice Bears. Finally, in the game’s closing seconds, a couple of big saves by Roudebush coupled with a low-slot clearance by Alvo sealed the deal for the Dawgs, who beat Knoxville for the eighth time in the 14 rivalry matchups this season.
Knoxville’s Kristian Stead saved 36-of-39 shots in the game. The Dawgs went 0-for-1 on the power play, while the Ice Bears were 1-for-3.
Roanoke will have home-ice advantage for its first round matchup of the 2023 President’s Cup Playoffs against the Evansville Thunderbolts next week. Game times, dates, and location will be released shortly.. Single-game playoff tickets go on sale online tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. EST and at 10:00 a.m. EST Monday morning at the Berglund Center box office.
The Rail Yard Dawgs (31-19-5) struggled defensively for the third straight game, falling 7-5 to the Knoxville Ice Bears (32-21-3) on Friday night. Gehrett Sargis and CJ Stubbs each scored twice, while Jordan Xavier added a goal for the Dawgs.
Nazareth Tigers G Marrano photo
When the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs hit the ice for their final regular season home contest tomorrow night against Knoxville, the ceremonial puck drop at the beginning of the game will feature a unique group of youth hockey players. WFIR’s Gene Marrano has more on the “Nazareth Tigers”:
The lack of a stormwater permit and the need for more preparation at its new home off US 221 has led to the cancellation of FloydFest 2023. Tickets purchased for this year’s festival can be rolled over to next year or they will be refunded, with that decision needed by May 5. Sam Calhoun, Chief Operating Officer for Across the Way Productions, says the music and outdoors festival vows to return in July 2024 to what it calls “Festival Park.”
Floydfest has been canceled after issues were brought to light back in late March. See the full information in the image below.
Posted on 3/29/23 — Permitting and logistical factors” at the new FloydFest site on US 221 – FestivalPark – is not currently viable for a 2023 festival. Across the Way Productions says it is exploring other options for that same weekend in July and will have more information to make public on April 6th. Sam Calhoun is with ATW; he says the permitting issue is with “one state agency” – not with Floyd County or VDOT on site improvements that might be needed.
(FF release) Due to final permitting and logistical factors beyond our control, the new FloydFest site, FestivalPark, is not currently viable for a 2023 festival, and we are currently exploring all options. We will be back with more information on April 6.
Make zero mistake — FloydFest and its future are strong, and this we do know: We will see each of you, our FloydFest Family, in July 2024, as we christen your new home, FestivalPark. More information will be announced next week.
Very few ‘independent’ music festivals exist these days. Our patrons, our memories, this ‘music, magic and mountains,’ this community, our collective anticipation for future FloydFests, are what keep each of us going, and we don’t take that lightly.
We are risk-takers by nature and trade. We don’t settle for status quo, because each of us deserves this annual gathering filled with love, magic, surprise, release and recharge. So, we balance pushing the boundaries of imagination and creativity with sustaining this annual gift we all give to each other: FloydFest.
Looking outward and inward, “FloydFest” is exactly what we all need this year. To boot, we have embarked on a paramount project: to make good on building all of us a forever home where we will celebrate life, love and living for decades to come. This dual mission hits deep for each of us. And thus, the news we received this week hits even deeper: