Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, May 14, 1993 TAG: 9305130194
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Long hair. Short hair.
Flashy clothes. Modest clothes.
Brawny lads. Scrawny lads.
The Imperials do, however, have one thing in common:
They've all heard the calling and responded with a joyful noise.
In January, the group began its 29th year in gospel music.
While their names and faces have changed over the years, The Imperials have continued to build their reputation on four-part harmony.
The current band features Armond Morales, bass; David Will, baritone; Peter Pankratz and Brian Como, tenors; and Mark Adcock, first tenor.
All of the musicians come from different ethnic backgrounds and have taken their musical ministry around the world.
Morales, who is Filipino, is the only active original member of The Imperials.
Since 1971, the group has received 12 Grammy nominations (and four awards), as well as four gospel music Dove Awards for "Album of the Year."
The Imperials performed background vocals with artists such as Elvis Presley and Jimmy Dean in the '60s.
Today, the group is one of the top-sellers in gospel with its upbeat, contemporary style. The Imperials are purposefully designing their shows for youthful audiences.
Morales doesn't see the band's success ending any time soon.
"In secular music, you have your hit and it runs, then it's over with," he once told a reporter.
"Gospel music has an eternal process involved - it deals with the life hereafter. I think The Imperials will last forever. . . ."
The Imperials are in concert tonight at Christiansburg High School. The music starts at 7 with opening act, Holy Wind.
Straight Street Teen Center in Christiansburg is sponsoring the event.
Admission is free but a $5 donation is suggested.
\ LOOKING BACK: You would have dined on venison, johnnycake and roasting ears.
You would have played prisoners' base, blindman's buff and hopscotch.
Your social life would have included spelling bees, singing groups and revival meetings.
Life in Colonial Virginia involved hard work and close ties with family and neighbors.
Newbern, the little Pulaski County community dating back to 1810, will celebrate the good ole days with homecoming festivities Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Residents will put on their Colonial costumes and show you what a working day was like nearly 200 years ago.
Crafts demonstrations, country foods, live music and tours of the village are part of the fun.
Also, there's a dramatic presentation at 1 p.m., followed by a ceremony recognizing relatives of Newbern's pioneer families.
All events will be held on the grounds of the Wilderness Road Regional Museum. There are 19 original buildings, including the 1842 jail and a church built before the Civil War, within walking distance.
Flagstone sidewalks, historic homes and rose gardens are among the sights.
To get to Newbern, follow the brown signs at Exit 98 off I-81.
\ DANCIN' SHOES: The Blacksburg Old-Time Music and Dance Group will have its monthly square dance Saturday at Gilbert Linkous Elementary School.
The beginner's workshop starts at 7:45 p.m. and the dance is set for 8 p.m.
The Bow Shakers, an old-time string band from Blacksburg, will perform. The foursome features Bill Richardson on guitar, Becky Barlow on bass, fiddler Bill Blevins and Tina Liza Jones on banjo.
Jim Morrison of Charlottesville is the caller.
Admission is $4 and child care is available for $1 per hour for each child.
Gilbert Linkous Elementary School is on Toms Creek Road in Blacksburg. The next dance will be held at Montgomery County Park on June 12.
\ B-4: Bingo!
Warm Hearth Village, the retirement center in Blacksburg, will have its annual spring festival and flea market Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The day offers bake sales, crafts, plants and jewelry sales and good bargains on many used items.
Best of all, you can play bingo all day for prizes.
Cake walks are scheduled at 11 a.m., 1 and 3 p.m. The cost is only 50 cents for each walk.
Events will be held in and around the Karr Activity Center at Warm Hearth Village.
The Trolinger-New River Resident Council is the sponsor.
\ WE'RE SO EXCITED! The Tour DuPont has hit Blacksburg - finally.
We've been counting down the days to see some of the best cyclists in the world race through our corner of the world.
Stage nine of the race starts at 11:30 a.m. today in front of Virginia Tech's Squires Student Center.
The cyclists will ride a 2-mile course through Blacksburg and around the Tech campus before continuing on to South Main Street. They'll enter Christiansburg from South Franklin Street en route to Beech Mountain, N.C.
Lots of activities are planned to celebrate the event, including the "Tour De Tech," an educational exposition and community walk sponsored by Tech's Center for Intelligent Materials Systems and Structures. It gets under way at 9 a.m. near the starting point for the bike race.
The Downtown Merchants Association of Blacksburg will have a street festival today, too. It runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on College Avenue and Draper Road with live entertainment, concessions and sales by local artists and merchants.
If you're looking for your official Tour DuPont souvenir, you're in luck. Authorized dealers will sell souvenirs on the Henderson Hall lawn before the race.
The Tour DuPont race is the second longest at 1,085 miles. The leg from Blacksburg to North Carolina is 151 (mountainous) miles!
No wonder they call it the "make it or break it" stage.
by CNB