ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, August 2, 1996 TAG: 9608020006
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: KATHY LU STAFF WRITER
It's that time of year again.
Time when children can smell the first day of school in the air, when the summer haze is beginning to lift and when hundreds of people crowd downtown Blacksburg for 48 hours to take advantage of the 20 bands and close to 300 booths that will invade the area.
It's called Steppin' Out.
The 16-year-old festival will begin Friday and continue through Saturday. Grounds will open at 10 a.m. each day, and the festivities last until 10 p.m. Live music will begin at noon, featuring artists such as Radar Rose, M R Ducks, and Tom Principato. A different band will be performing every hour after noon.
The booths will be operated by downtown merchants, craftspeople and nonprofit groups. There will be children's activities all day Saturday, including a Fun Run, a make-your-own visor and buttons booth and a cakewalk. The Lyric Theatre will be showing "Rocky" at 10:15 p.m. both nights.
The event is sponsored by the Blacksburg Downtown Merchants Association, and part of the proceeds will be used to fund scholarships, help build a permanent Farmer's Market shelter and help keep the Lyric Theatre open.
"This is the downtown merchants' way of saying thank you to everybody and also to let everyone else see what the downtown has to offer," said Linda Ruth Schwab, music coordinator. "It's not just about college kids."
LENGTH: Short : 36 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: color photo by ALAN KIM STAFFby CNB