ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, November 8, 1996 TAG: 9611080045
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
COLUMN: out & about
SOURCE: DONNA ALVIS-BANKS
When you go marchin' in, be ready for some hand-clapping, foot-tapping, head-bobbing, knee-slapping fun!
We'll be marching into Radford University's Preston Auditorium on Monday for an 8 p.m. concert by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, the group that's as deeply rooted in New Orleans as crawdads are in Cajun cookin'.
Named after the famous French Quarter concert hall, the Preservation Hall sound comes from turn-of-the-century street parades, riverboats and saloons. The music has a slightly slower tempo than two-beat Dixieland jazz and a prominent melody.
Of course, improvisation is at the heart of this jazz. The music isn't written and the musicians never plan a strict program for their concerts. Playing music for these jazzmen is second nature - they do it by gut reaction.
Preservation Hall has several groups of musicians who've been touring the country for the past 25 years. Recent concerts include stops at Boston's Symphony Hall, New York's Carnegie Hall and the Red Sea Jazz Festival in Israel.
Monday's performance at Radford University is $12 for adults and $6 for children.
Saints - and RU students - go marchin' in for free.
AH, AFRICA: English professor Fred Carlisle is listening for the voice of Africa.
"In recent years," he says, "there has been a growing interest, among both popular and academic audiences, in African cinema - in feature and documentary film made by Africans and set in Africa."
"Many directors are trying to develop a distinct African voice ... that draws on contemporary cinematic art and the technology of film but expresses an African perspective and identity."
To better appreciate this effort, you'll want to make plans to attend Virginia Tech's first African Film Festival. It starts Thursday and continues through Nov. 16 at the Lyric Theatre on Blacksburg's College Avenue.
The festival will offer four feature films and three documentaries. Check the "Campus Films" listing in today's Current for descriptions of the features.
On Nov. 15, you can see the three documentaries in 110 Randolph Hall on the Virginia Tech campus. Directed by women, the three films provide keen and honest insight into the minds of African women. Admission is free to the 3:15 p.m. showing.
The festival gets off the ground with a 4 p.m. panel discussion Thursday at the Lyric. Each presentation will be followed by a short discussion.
Tickets for the feature films are $3 each or you may buy admission to all four for $10.
NEW KID IN TOWN: Books-a-Million, the New River Valley's newest book nook, is the site of lots of grand opening activities this weekend. Head for the Marketplace shopping center in Christiansburg.
The ribbon cutting ceremony is at noon today. It sets off a weekend of entertainment, visits with local authors and treats such as balloons, refreshments and door prizes.
Charles West will sign copies of his new thriller, "The Tenant," from 1 to 3 p.m. today. On Saturday, LuAnn Keener will autograph her book, "Color Documentary," from 9 to 11 a.m., and Ed Falco will sign copies of "Acid" from 10 a.m. to noon. Also on Saturday, Katherine Soniat will sign "A Shared Life" and Simone Poirier-Bures will autograph copies of "Candyman" and "That Shining Place." Both writers will be available from 3 to 5 p.m.
For more information on the grand opening events, call Julia Bower or Debbie Salsbury at 381-6246.
IT'S AMERICAN MUSIC MONTH: That's why the music department at Virginia Tech has named the next two concerts in the chamber music series "American Music." Performances are Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. in Squires Recital Salon.
These concerts will honor American composers who have won the Pulitzer Prize. The program includes Sonata in Three Movements for Violin and Piano by Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (the 1983 winner) and Vox Balaenae by George Crumb (the 1968 winner).
Admission is $10 for adults or $7 for students and senior citizens.
CALLING ALL KIDS: It doesn't matter whether you're 1 or 101 - if you're young at heart, you're invited to "Family Night" at the Christiansburg library Tuesday. It starts at 7 p.m.
The event is an intergenerational program to help celebrate Children's Book Week. Bluegrass music, storytelling, clogging and tasty things to fill your stomach are among the offerings.
The library is at 125 Sheltman St. across from Christiansburg Middle School. Call 382-6965 for more information.
FLY THE FLAG! Veterans Day is Monday. Pause and remember.
To honor local black Americans, the Black Cultural Center at Virginia Tech is having a reception at 3:30 p.m. Monday. A display board with depictions and citations citing contributions made by blacks in the military is on loan from the Army Recruiting Station in Christiansburg.
Chandra Cain, coordinator of the Black Cultural Center, said she's glad to have the exhibit because she believes it's important to highlight these contributions in the military.
"It's especially important since we are at Virginia Tech and we have a Corps of Cadets," Cain noted. "Blacks in the military have been ignored in many ways."
Following Monday's reception, films about black Americans in the military will be shown at 5 and 9 p.m. Both the exhibit and the reception are free and open to the public.
LENGTH: Long : 106 linesby CNB