Arts, Leisure and Sports
Dr. Pepper Park will welcome the Indigo Girls to Roanoke on August 17. Their 1989 major label debut sold over two million units, with the singles “Closer to Fine” and “Kid Fears” and help turn the Indigo Girls into one of the most successful folk duos in history. The Grammy-winning duo has recorded sixteen studio albums and sold over 15 million records. General Admission tickets for the August 17th Indigo Girls concert at Dr. Pepper Park are $35 in advance and $40 at the gate. Tickets go on sale this Friday.
A Washington and Lee professor of comparative literature who knows all about fleeing from oppressive regimes – even if it means leaving her beloved home country – has written a no-holds-barred memoir about her journey from Eastern Europe almost 40 years ago. She spoke to WFIR’s Gene Marrano recently about her life … and here is a “Longer Listen”:
Cindy Petersen (left). submitted photo.
ROANOKE, Va. (March 11, Taubman release) – The Taubman Museum of Art was honored with the Virginia Association of Museums’ Innovation Award during VAM’s annual conference in Richmond Tuesday, March 8. The Innovation Award was created to recognize museums that demonstrate a commitment to use their platform as a trusted source of information to build relationships with and create meaningful impact within their community, and begin conversations around important topics affecting the museum field and the world at large.
The award can be given in one of three categories: Diversity and Inclusion, Expanding Audience, and Community Engagement. The Taubman Museum of Art won for Community Engagement. In this category, a museum must show that they are using their position of trust and knowledge within their community to engage with community groups and organizations on current issues and that the community has responded with that engagement in a substantive manner.
“We’re honored to receive this recognition from our statewide museum peers,” said Cindy Petersen, executive director of the Taubman Museum of Art. “Our focus is always on meeting the community where they are with our outreach programming, gauging and addressing issues that are important to those living in southwest Virginia, and providing art as a means for people to discover, learn and grow. We have worked to reinvent community engagement through several key projects that were noted in the nomination: Healing Ceilings; Brush Pals; Learning Lab for Leaders; ARtreach; Happy HeARTs; and new virtual programming with the nation’s Historic Black Colleges and Universities.”
Roanoke Outside – which stages the Foot Levelers Blue Ridge Marathon and associated races – expects upwards of 3000 runners on April 16th, or for the “Slow 5K” the next day. More from WFIR’s Gene Marrano:
The Cave Spring High School Boys basketball team defeated Petersburg 76-75 to claim the Class 3 State Championship. Owyn Dawyot, who led Cave Spring with 29 points, hit one of two free throws in the final seconds to put the game out of reach. This is Cave Spring’s fifth state title win.
The Virginia Tech men’s basketball team will probably have to make a deep run in the ACC tournament to make March Madness after a season-ending loss to Clemson on Saturday. Better luck for UVA, which beat Louisville in its season finale. Liberty and the Tech women also lost.
