ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, December 14, 1995 TAG: 9512140007
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 5 EDITION: METRO
Bowser and Santa
Pet owners can bring their animals for snapshots with Santa on Monday through Dec. 23 from noon-5 p.m. at the Roanoke Valley Chapter of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
A donation of $10 per snapshot is requested. Proceeds will benefit the SPCA's Injured Animal and Spay and Neuter Fund.
No appointment is necessary. For more information, call 344-4840.
Bedford ornament
This year's commemorative historic Bedford ornament, the fifth in a series, features the Bedford Centertown clock and corner. This collector's item can be purchased at area banks and businesses.
Ornaments are $5.25. Proceeds will benefit Bedford Main Street, a nonprofit organization.
For more information, call 586-2148.
1st Night Roanoke
The fifth annual First Night Roanoke will be held New Year's Eve from 6 p.m. to midnight at more than 12 downtown Roanoke sites.
The event will include more than 60 performances and many hands-on activities.
The evening will end with a Chinese dragon candlelight procession and fireworks.
An admission button is required. The cost for a button is $7 for adults, $3 for children (ages 2-12) in advance. Buttons are $2 additional at the gate.
For more information, call 342-2640.
Writing contests
The deadline for entering the 1995 National Writing Contests sponsored by Appalfolks of America has been extended to Dec. 31.
Cash awards will be given to winners of contests in poetry, free verse, historical essay, music songwriting and playwriting.
For a set of rules, call (540) 862-1234 or (540) 862-7407.
Insiders' guide
Local author Lin Chaff will sign copies of her book, ``The Insiders' Guide to Virginia's Blue Ridge,'' on Dec. 16 from 5-7 p.m. at Books-A-Million, Crossroads Mall, Roanoke.
This is the fourth year Chaff has coauthored the guide, updated annually.
For more information, call (800) 765-2665, ext. 234.
Carriages sought
The Virginia Museum of Transportation is seeking the loan of carriages, sleighs, buggies and other horse-drawn vehicles for display in its exhibit, ``Harness, Hoofbeats and Silver Bells,'' at the museum Jan. 6 through March 1.
The museum needs vehicles from the 1850s to the 1930s, as well as publications, artifacts or equipment relating to American carriage manufacture, craftsmanship or travel.
Of particular interest is information on the following local carriage companies, located in Roanoke in the late 1880s: R.D. Cardwell, Noell Wertz & Co., William H. Startzman, E.W. Sykes, John W. Witt and Karman & Huff.
The exhibit is a study of the ``Great American Carriage Era'' as a product of and a contributor to the height of America's industrialization and the coming of the ``Gilded Age.''
For more information, call 342-5670.
Take a hike
Author/adventurer Leonard M. Adkins will sign his new release, ``The Caribbean: A Walking and Hiking Guide,'' at B. Dalton Booksellers' Tanglewood Mall store Saturday from 1-4 p.m.,Sunday, 2-4 p.m., and Dec. 23-24, 1-4 p.m., at Waldenbooks in Valley View Mall.
The Roanoke County resident has also written ``50 Hikes in Northern Virginia,'' ``Seashore State Park'' and ``Walking the Blue Ridge.''
For more information, call (800) 255-0343.
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