Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 14, 1994 TAG: 9401130039
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Donna Alvis-Banks
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Our fathers admired Johnny Vander Meer, Joe DiMaggio and Jackie Robinson.
We idolized Willie Mays, Sandy Koufax and Mickey Mantle.
Now our kids emulate the superstars of the day: Frank Thomas, Cal Ripken, Deion Sanders.
Some things - like baseball cards - never change.
Baseball-card collecting is still the hottest hobby going. Of course, you can't buy a pack for a nickle any more and the stony stick of bubble gum is obsolete, but the expectancy of opening a new pack of baseball cards is just as exciting as it was in Grandpa's time.
Collectors will find the excitement in Pembroke Saturday.
A baseball card and collectible show will be held at Eastern Elementary School from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Local celebrity Mike Williams, a National League pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, will be there between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Williams is a former Virginia Tech pitcher and Giles County native.
Psssst . . . ask him about his curve ball.
For more information about the card show, call Jeff Williams at 626-3541.
\ CALLING ALL SQUARES: The Blacksburg Old-Time Music and Dance Group will have its monthly square dance Saturday, starting at 8 p.m., at Gilbert Linkous Elementary School. The informal group brings together musicians and dancers who promote the traditions of the Southern mountains.
Fiddler Ron Cole and the Carolina Stompers will play the tunes. Nancy Mamlin, who hails from the Washington, will call the dances.
The dance is open to everyone, even those of us with two left feet. Mamlin will teach all the steps.
Admission is $4 and child care is available for $1 per hour per child.
Gilbert Linkous Elementary School is on Toms Creek Road in Blacksburg. The next dance there is Feb. 6.
In addition to the mountain square dances, the group also sponsors other activities such as the weekly fiddlers' jam sessions at Roni's Restaurant in Blacksburg. For more information, call Ginger Wagner at 951-2349.
\ GOOD TIME IN NARROWS: Beginning this Saturday, the Arts Management Committee for the Town of Narrows will put on a monthly fiddle and banjo festival at the Old Narrows High School. The festivals are set for the third Saturday of each month.
This first show features the music of two acoustic bluegrass bands, as well as a traditional old-time band. The New River Boys from Mount Hope, W.Va., and The West Virginia Bluegrass Connection from Ronceverte, will play classic and progressive bluegrass music. The Virginia Barn Dance String Band will play the traditional favorites. Wyley Mayo, a Presbyterian minister from Chilhowie, is the leader of the latter.
The festival also offers lots of down-home food and crafts provided by local citizens, the Giles County Crafts Guild and the Princeton Crafters Mall.
Admission is free but donations will be accepted to help pay traveling expenses for the bands.
The funs gets underway at 7 p.m. Saturday. The doors open at 6 so plan to come early.
\ MAIN MAN: Steady Rollin' Bob Margolin will bring the blues back to Blacksburg's South Main Cafe Saturday night. The great guitarist will perform his 1950s-style blues, beginning at 10 p.m.
Margolin's latest album, "Down in the Alley," features seven original songs, including "Baby Can't Be Found," "Brown Liquor" and "Boston Driving Blues." Margolin calls it his "best album yet."
From 1973 to 1980, Margolin played with The Muddy Waters Blues Band. He also has recorded with a slew of big guys - from B.B. King to Bob Dylan.
He now lives in Greensboro, N.C., but is a regular in Blacksburg, one of his old stomping grounds.
"Hard-driving" is the word most frequently applied to descriptions of Margolin's guitar style. He plays a combination of jump, swing and vintage Chicago blues. When you hear his version of Roy Brown's "Boogie at Midnight," you can't sit still.
The cover charge for Saturday's performance is $5 if you're over 21 or $6 if you're under 21. The cafe is at 117 S. Main St.
\ OPENING NIGHT: Thursday marks the opening of the newest production by Playmakers & Company, the New River Valley's community theater troupe. The show, "Some Enchanted Evening," is a tribute to the music of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein.
Sandy and Eric Wiedegreen are producing and directing this musical revue. It features songs from winning musicals such as "The Sound of Music," "South Pacific," "The King and I," "Oklahoma," "Flower Drum Song," "Carousel" and "Allegro."
The Wiedegreens will perform, along with Geoff Knobl, Connie Kratzer and Tracy Weaver.
The show runs through Jan. 30 at Blacksburg Presbyterian Church. The stage in the fellowship hall has just been renovated.
Curtain time is 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Jan. 21-23. Evening shows resume Jan. 27-29 and there's a 2:30 matinee on Jan. 30. Tickets, available at the door, are $7 for adults or $5 for students and senior citizens.
To reach Playmakers & Company's information line, call 382-0154.
by CNB