ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Friday, August 23, 1996                TAG: 9608230034
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 1    EDITION: METRO 
COLUMN: The Tipoff 
SOURCE: ALMENA HUGHES

THE TIPOFF

SPRY SENIORS: For the fourth consecutive year, some of the commonwealth's most beautiful and talented senior women will display their talents and charm in the Ms. Virginia Senior Citizen Pageant. Erma Brickhouse, Shirley Vaughan and Ruth Williams, all of Roanoke, will be among the contestants doing dramatic interpretations, singing, playing piano and showcasing other skills. If you catch this lively group using rocking chairs and canes, it will probably be as props in a dance routine.

The talent competition begins at 8 tonight. The final pageant is Saturday at 8 p.m. Both contests are at Virginia Western Community College's Whitman Auditorium. Tickets cost $5 per night and will be available at the door. Call (540) 674-5534.

FIRST FIRSTS: The first Roanoke Blues & Jazz Festival will be the first city-sponsored event utilizing the newly named E. Laban Johnson Amphitheater in Elmwood Park, downtown Roanoke. Bands scheduled to perform at the free freewheeling concert between noon and 7 p.m. Saturday include jazz players Dave Figg Quartet, Chris Henson and the Lucky Helldrivers, and Just Friends featuring guest vocalist Renee Croan. Blues groups include The Equalizers and Bassy Blues. Call 981-2889.

DIRTY DIGGING: Kids are gonna get dirty anyway; might as well turn it into a learning experience. From 1 to 3 p.m. today, Ranger Qefiri Colbert will help 6-10-year-olds examine the different kinds of soil found in Smith Mountain Lake Park and see how those soils affect living creatures. Meet at the park's Visitor Center for this final Junior Rangers' session of the summer. To register or for more information, call 297-6066.

FIGHT NIGHT: Some of the best amateur boxers from clubs and teams in Roanoke, Blacksburg, Grundy, D.C., Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia will go 15 bouts, 45 rounds during tonight's Summer Slugfest at Valley Center, Roanoke. Music, food, ring-girl contests and more will help round out the knock-out evening.

Gates open at 4 p.m. Bell time is 8:15 p.m. For ticket prices and information, call 343-5669.

PREMIER DONNA: Soprano Marianne Sandborg will be the first performer participating in the Sundays in the Atrium series, presented by Opera Roanoke and the Jefferson Center. Sandborg, accompanied by duo-pianist Rebecca Wallenborn and clarinetist Roger Quigley, will sing selections by Mozart, Richard Strauss, Puccini and others in the center's intimate Fralin Atrium. Tickets cost $8 per concert. Reservations are recommended. Call 982-2742.

HIGH FLY: The Preston Harris Memorial Fly In and Community Aviation Day will offer airplane rides at $10 per, static displays and an aviators' olympics of piloting skills, including spot-landing contests and target drops. The event, sponsored by the Mountain Empire Pilots' Association, will be held at Mountain Empire Airport in Rural Retreat. It starts at 10 a.m. Sunday with a rain date of Aug. 31. Call (540) 686-4432.

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