ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, April 4, 1997 TAG: 9704040027
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
COLUMN: out & about
SOURCE: DONNA ALVIS-BANKS
We need the woodcarvings, the pottery, the jewelry, the paintings, the leather belts.
We need the photographs, the wrought iron garden sculpture, the hand-painted T-shirts, the afghans.
We definitely need those rubber doormats made from recycled tires!
We'll fill all our needs this weekend at the annual Brush Mountain Arts & Crafts Fair in Virginia Tech's Rector Field House. The big event gets under way at 4 p.m. today and runs through Sunday.
Sponsored by the Voluntary Action Center of Montgomery County, the fair is in its 26th year. It has grown a little each year and now draws more than 100 craftsmen from the New River Valley and beyond.
In addition to arts and crafts displays and on-the-spot demonstrations, the fair features lots of live entertainment. You'll hear everything from traditional mountain music to jazz to "Big Band" sounds.
"We want our fair to be a real family affair," noted coordinator Julie Earthman. She said this year's event features attractions for children, including performances by the Virginia Children's Dance Festival. The young dancers will give shows at 6 tonight and at 2:30 Saturday.
On Saturday, kids can participate in hands-on arts activities in a special area set up by Virginia Tech's Association for Early Childhood Education.
And kids of all ages will enjoy a variety of tasty temptations at the fair - barbecue, pizza, funnel cakes and homemade strawberry shortcake are among the offerings.
The fair goes until 9 p.m. today and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday. Sunday's hours are noon to 5 p.m. Admission is $2 for adults and free for those under 16. Proceeds will be used to further the good work of the Voluntary Action Center.
IT'S A SMALL WORLD: The 38th annual International Week at Virginia Tech puts the world at your fingertips.
It starts with a talent show tonight in Squires Student Center's Haymarket Theatre. From 7 to 9, you'll be treated to a variety of performances by some of the university's international students.
On Saturday, you can enjoy colors and flavors from around the world at the International Street Fair in downtown Blacksburg. It runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. If it rains, the event will jump to April 12.
The fun continues throughout the week with a film festival, sporting events and special speakers.
Luncheons featuring a variety of foods will be held each day at the Cranwell International Center. Pakistani cuisine is Monday's fare, followed by African on Tuesday, Indonesian on Wednesday, Indian on Thursday and Turkish on April 11. The cost for each meal is $3.
The 38th International Week is sponsored by the Council of International Student Organizations. For more information on any event, call the CISO office at 231-6035.
UPLIFTING SONGS: A real picker-upper is what awaits at the Shawsville Congregational Holiness Church on Saturday when Marcia Henry & Latter Rain start to sing. The group from Augusta, Ga., will perform in concert at 7 p.m.
A popular songwriter in Christian music, Henry has written such favorites as "In This Beautiful Valley," "Last Thread of Hope, "Roses Will Bloom Again" and "I'd Rather Talk About Jesus."
Local groups performing Saturday include The Carpenter's Tools and Living Waters.
The church is on Alleghany Spring Road in Shawsville. For more information, call 268-1000.
WHERE IS ART? "I now tell people that you can run across marvelous things in the most improbable places," says John Bowles. "In my case, that encounter with art in a coffeehouse was the start of a 17-year adventure."
The art Bowles fell in love with was that of the Huichol (pronounced Wee-chol) Indians of Mexico's Sierra Madre. The Huichol make intricate narrative pictures by laying single strands of brightly colored yarn into beeswax. The yarn paintings evolved from devotional offerings in which gourds or pieces of hard wood were coated with the wax and then decorated with colored yarns.
The paintings tell stories handed down from generation to generation. One such story is of Our Mother Dark Maize, who was believed to have descended from the heavens and dispersed corn from her fingertips.
Bowles started collecting the art after he first saw it in the little coffeehouse. He was attending Harvard University at the time.
Recently, Bowles donated 60 pieces of his collection to Radford University and is serving as the guest curator for the newest exhibit in Flossie Martin Gallery, "Bright Fields of Corn and Culture." The exhibit is part of the university's yearlong symposium, "Corn and Culture."
The works go on display Wednesday and remain through June 8. You're invited to meet Bowles at Wednesday's exhibit opening. It starts at 5 p.m. in the gallery and will be followed by a 7 p.m. lecture by Huichol artist Juan Negrin in 203 McGuffey Hall.
Bowles compares the Huichol to the Appalachian people, saying they're traditional mountaineers with a strong sense of self-reliance.
"Besides being artists," he notes, "they're also farmers and shamans who live in harmony with nature."
SPRING DUDS: If you're looking to spruce up your wardrobe, you'll want to take in the spring fashion show at New River Valley Mall on Saturday. Students at Virginia Tech are staging the show at 1 p.m.
The clothes and accessories are provided by the mall merchants, and the students will model the fashions in a runway style show.
Admission Saturday is $2 with all proceeds going to Students Against Drunk Driving.
LENGTH: Long : 105 linesby CNB