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

DATE: FRIDAY, March 31, 1995                   TAG: 9503310034
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-4   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: BECKY HEPLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                                LENGTH: Medium

THEY'LL BE DRESSED FOR SPEED AT SYMPHONY FUND-RAISER

What's well-dressed, goes 130 mph and helps a piccolo to play? It's "Racing With Style," the latest fund-raising event sponsored by the New River Valley Friends of the Roanoke Symphony.

Call it a nattily attired car show. Call it a fashion show with that new car smell. Mostly, call it a good time.

Race fans and clothes horses will come together Sunday at Holiday Ford Mazda in Blacksburg for food and fun in the name of a worthy cause.

The top drivers from the New River Valley Speedway will be there with their machines to talk racing and escort the fashion models. Local merchants are lending fashions and accessories and Gerald Duncan is opening his new body shop, while it's still nice and clean, just for the festivities.

The party starts at 4 p.m. and guests can mingle with the drivers and see their cars up close before the fashion show. During the evening, there will be two drawings for free round-trip plane tickets from USAir and a raffle for a trip to London from Omni Travel and Tour.

The drivers appearing in the show include Jeff Agnew, Rodney Cundiff, Chad Harris and Bo Howell. Also helping are Tim and Tony McGuire, Randy Ratcliff, Tink Reedy, Michael Ritch and Ronnie Thomas.

Accessorizing, as a character in the movie "Steel Magnolias" said, is what separates us from animals, so expect to find the latest line of Ford cars in new decorator colors on display at the show. In a bow to technology, the solar car and Mini Baha, Virginia Tech engineering projects, will be there as well.

There is a method to the madness of bringing these seemingly disparate elements together for the show. "We wanted something that the men would enjoy," said Connie Giesen, one of the Friends involved in the planning for the show. The Friends are also hoping the speedway connection will provide a wider market for ticket sales.

Tickets are $20 per person and are on sale at numerous area stores, including Bonomos, Chantilly Lace, Davidson's and E. I. Randle. Other ticket vendors include Sole Mates, Kay's, Garretts, P. R. Sturgill, BT's and Terrifics.

The money goes to support the Friends' educational programs, which bring symphony musicians into the local public schools for classes and workshops with second-grade students. The Artists-In-Residence program went to Falling Branch Elementary School last year and is going to McHarg Elementary this year.

The workshops take a multidisciplinary approach, looking at the science and history of music as well as the theory. The students get hands-on experience in music composition and instrument-making and are part of the final concert at the school. The Friends also sponsor symphony performances for students in the region at Radford University.

"We figure an adult has a choice on whether to listen to fine music or not, but children don't always have that chance," Giesen said. "We want them to have that treat. This fashion show helps us bring the music to them."

"Racing With Style" For more information or for tickets, call 639-5298 or 552-7920. Tickets are available from sponsors and at the door. The show is Sunday, 4 p.m. at Holiday Ford Mazda, U.S. 460 East, Blacksburg. Cash bar and hors d'oeuvres.

by CNB