
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, July 29, 1994                   TAG: 9407290054
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Joe Kennedy
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

THE TIPOFF

IN DUBLIN TOWN: Bill Monroe, the bluegrass legend, leads the list of performers at the New River Valley Fair in Dublin. It begins Saturday morning with an antique tractor pull and continues Saturday night with a demolition derby. Sunday is a holiday, but things resume Monday through Aug. 6. Bill Monroe will appear Aug. 6 at 8 p.m., following the gospel groups, the Greenes and the Nippers, at 7.

Other performers will include Tracy Byrd on Monday, Neal McCoy on Tuesday, McBride and the Ride on Wednesday and Michelle Wright on Aug. 5.

Traditional exhibits and attractions also will be featured. Call 674-1548.

SPEAKING OF BLUEGRASS: Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys and the Lost and Found will be among the bands playing at the annual July bluegrass festival of the Fairview Ruritan Club. It will be today and tomorrow near Galax. Admission is $10 today and $15 on Saturday with children under 12 admitted free.

Take lawn chairs and listen to the music of the George Shuffler Band, Hoyt Herbert and the Strings of Five, Roby Huffman and the Bluegrass Cutups, Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers, the Shiloh Mountain Boys and the James King Band. For information, call 236-6316.

TAKE TWO: If, as recommended here, you went to see the Showtimers' version of ``The Sound of Music'' last weekend, it probably didn't meet your expectations. That's because it hadn't opened yet (bet you got great seats!).

Forgive us for that and believe us when we say it has opened and is underway at the studio on McVitty Road. Tickets are $9. Shows are at 8 Thursdays through Saturdays and Sunday afternoons at 3 till Aug. 14. Reservations are at 774-2660.

HERITAGE FEST: The Chihamba African Drum and Dance Company, the AKA Steppers, storytelling and other attractions will highlight the African-American Cultural Arts Festival on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Washington Park in Charlottesville. There will be many other activities, as well, including sports and music. The theme is ``The History of Our Local African-American Communities.''

BIG LICKS: Five steam locomotive stamps go on sale today and a special cancellation will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at a temporary philatelic station in the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke.

It will be called Roanoke's Historic Freight Station, and it will be accompanied by costumed interpreters and special activities. Regular admission rates will apply. For details, call 342-5670.

CHARGE: The Battle of South Salem and the Summer of 1864 will be featured Saturday and Sunday at the Civil War Re-Enactment in Green Hill Park in western Roanoke County. Admission is $3 for adults and $2 for children per day. Children under 5 get in free. Call 387-6086.

OH, CAROL: Reggae music from Sister Carol will fill the stage at Lime Kiln Arts near Lexington on Sunday night. The good sister, also known as Mother Culture, blends driving rhythms with political messages, and she's been in movies, too - Jonathan Demme's ``Something Wild'' and ``Married to the Mob.'' Tickets are $12. Call 463-3074.

THE KING: Mildred Heimlich performs organ music in a free recital Sunday afternoon at 3 at College Lutheran Church in Salem. Jeffrey Hummel will do the same at First Christian Church in Roanoke on Aug. 7, and Robert Chapman will perform Aug. 14 at First Presbyterian Church. The concerts are free.

by CNB