#Blacksburg #CashMob- The business to mo

#Blacksburg #CashMob- The business to mob is……Mad Dog! After Mob at Cabo Fish Taco- come and join the fun!

So you want to own a restaurant……

Being the owner/manager of a small  restaurant business can be a fun and  rewarding experience– OR it can be a  difficult and demanding job! And, the  current economic environment makes  everything more challenging. Find out how to set the stage to make your business an exciting one– for you and your customers. This FREE workshop will expose you to the steps to launching and managing a  successful restaurant business.

Entrepreneur Express:
The Business of Restaurants
A Workshop on Starting and Managing a Successful Restaurant
November 21, 2011   8:00 am-  12:00 pm
Holiday Inn Christiansburg–  NRV Mall
99 Bradley Dr. Christiansburg, VA 24073

Register for FREE at www.vastartup.org
Advanced Registration Required
Questions? Contact:
Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce: 540-552-2636
Virginia Department of Business Assistance: 276-676-3768

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AGENDA

8:00am  Registration & Breakfast

8:30am  Sponsor ~ NRVapp.com     Phillip Vaught

8:40am  Introductions – Catherine Sutton/MCCC

8:55am   Reasons Why Restaurants Fail- Kitty Barker/VTC

9:15am   Steps & Resources for Starting/Operating  a Successful Business in Virginia- Sandy Ratliff/VDBA

9:35am   Business Plans- David Shanks/Radford University College of  Business

9:50am  Financially Sustaining a Restaurant-Joe Rollison/Wells Fargo, People Source Inc.

10:00am  Tax Requirements-Alice Jones/Montgomery County   Commissioner of Revenue

10:15am  Liability Insurance-Tripp Godsey/Farmers Insurance

10:35am  Testimonial- Kevin Shaw/Domino’s Pizza

10:45am  Break & Networking

10:55am  Marketing, Promotion, Customer Service- Randy Rose/VTS

11:15am  Testimonial- Patrick Dobbins/Sal’s Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria

11:25am  Building Codes– Blacksburg/Christiansburg, Health Department guidelines,  Q&A- Cathy Cook,(Town of Blacksburg Building Official),  Jerry Heinline, (Town of Christiansburg, Building Official)

12:15am  Evaluations & Adjournment

Featured Vendors: US Food Group, Hethwood Market, PME Comp

Restaurant Seminar brought to you by: Downtown Blacksburg, Inc., The Blacksburg Partnership, Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce,  Montgomery County Economic Development,Virginia Department of Business Assistance, and the  Virginia Tourism Corporation. With sponsorship from NRVapp.com and Wells Fargo.

Summer Fun…here it comes!

Downtown Blacksburg, Inc. presents:
4th Annual Summer Solstice Fest

Saturday June 18, 2-11pm in Downtown Blacksburg, Main Street & Lee Street

Featuring:
Alberti Flea Circus
Alexander Black House Activities
Beer Garden- sponsored by Modea
Bike Rodeo- East Coasters, Blacksburg Police Dept. &; Blacksburg Rescue Squad
Blacksburg Recycling & Sustainable Blacksburg- Recycling Activities
Blacksburg Contra Dance Group
Blacksburg Fire Dept
Carriage Rides- MacArthur Inn
Chef Demos- sponsored by Gourmet Pantry
Concessions
Dog Contests and activities- sponsored by NRV Varmints Pet Sitting
Downtown Sundown 5K race- to benefit BHS Field & Track Club
Fire Performers
Hula Hooping with Wild Earth Hoops
Midway Games and activities
Oyster Eating Contest- sponsored by Awful Arthur’s
Plant Sale- Hahn Horticulture Garden
South West Virginia Social Dance Group
Smithfield Plantation
Spa & Relaxation Tent- Beauti Control, Tuck Chiropractic and In Balance Yoga Studio offering yoga and massage therapy
Street performers including poi spinning, juggling, unicycles and more
VT Surf Club- Tarp Surfing
Sand Beach Activities- sponsored by Cabo Fish Taco
Sidewalk/Graffiti Art- interactive
Zumba- sponsored by New Tech Fitness

Main Stage Schedule
2:00- 3:00pm PanJammers
3:00- 3:30pm South West Virginia Social Dance Society
3:30- 5:00pm Badunkafunk
5:00-5:30pm Oyster slurping contest
5:45-7:15pm Alliens
7:15- 7:45pm Blacksburg Contra Dance Group
7:45-10:00pm Key West Band
10:00pm Awesomesauce in the beer garden
10:30pm Fire Show in the beer garden

Bike Rodeo Registration form: Bike_Rodeo_flyer

Downtown Sundown 5K Race registration form: 5Kreg form 2011

Participating Non-Profit Groups:
Downtown Blacksburg, Inc., Alexander Black House, Auburn UMC Women’s Group, Blacksburg Fire Dept, Blacksburg Live Music, Blacksburg Rescue Squad, Children’s Museum for Blacksburg, Hahn Horticulture Garden, MC Friends of Animal Care & Control, Mental Health Association, MOMS Club, New Life Christian Fellowship, New River Bicycle Association,New River Valley Apartment Council, NRV Macaroni Kids, NRV Roller Girls, Planned Parenthood, Rita’s- Alex’s Leomonade Charity, SEEDS, Smithfield Plantation, Special Olympics- Area 9, Sustainable Blacksburg, Virginia Interfaith Child Care Center

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A Virginia Green Event

Main Stage Sponsor: Freedom First Credit Union
Beer Garden Sponsor: Modea

Media Partners:
Comcast Spotlight
WDBJ7
Mix 100.7
The Bear 105.3

For specific information on Downtown Blacksburg Events please contact:
Laureen Blakemore, Director of Special Events
Tel: 540-951-0454
Email: events@downtownblacksburg.com
For regular updates please visit our website: www.downtownblacksburg.com

Wedding Fever!

Friday April 1st

In Kent Square Lobby

Royal Wedding- craft stations
Condo Tours- Pointe West Management offering tours of the Kent Square Condos
Next Door Bake Shop- Wedding Cupcakes and more
Hahn Horticulture Garden – Information about a delightful & desirable wedding venue
Calligraphy with Elizabeth Foster
Beauti Control- Spa hand treatments on the spot!
Body Harmony Massage- Chair Massages
Smithfield Plantation- destination wedding!
Mobile Town Hall with 4:30-6:00pm Don Langrehr & Krisha Chachra
The War Memorial Chapel at Virginia Tech- “Experience the Tradition.”

Round Town

Town Criers- announcing a special invitation to you!
FREE Wine & Cheese Tasting at Gourmet Pantry 5-7pm
Clay Corner Inn- free cookie bar 2-8 p.m.
Main street Inn- free refreshments 4-7pm
16 Squares Historical walking tour -starting 4 pm at the Old Town Hall, located at the intersection of Church and Jackson Streets. Call 540-558-0746 or email museum@blacksburg.gov to reserve a space. The tour is free and open to the public, but spaces are limited.
In Balance Yoga Studio 20% off class packages and 25% off retail
Look out for Retail Specials all arround the downtown area
Collect a coupon card for downtown dining discounts!
Bike and Build in front of The Lyric 4-7pm

ART CRAWL with Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger Hunt forms to be collected at any of the participating galleries on April 1st from 4-7pm. All forms must be turned in by 7pm in the Kent Square Lobby. The winner will be the person with the most correct answers. Scavenger Hunt clues will be found in ALL participating galleries.

Exhibit TBA
Armory Art Gallery

Custom Designed works of art
Capone’s Fine Jewelry

The work of Christy Mackie and Cedric Rudisill
Clay Corner Inn

Weddings by the Blacksburg Regional Arts Association
Community Arts Information Office

Exhibit TBA
Experiential Gallery for Creative Technologies

The paintings of Knic Umstead
Gillie’s Gallery

Artwork by Amity Dewey
Kent Square Lobby

“Three Painters and a Potter”, featuring four talented young artists in the MFA program at Radford University
Main-Lee Gallery

Bimbur Books & Wedding albums with Becca Imbur, Annie’s Photo Fun- photography by David Hilgendorff
Main Street Inn Gallery

Featuring the Artwork & Jewelry of Blacksburg Artist Greta Panciera
Matrix Gallery

Paintings by Gemma Clasing
Next Door Bake Shop

Photo display of houses in central Blacksburg that have historically been owned by black families, narrated by Beatrice Walker, and a small display of town-owned historic sites in the Office/Visitor Center.
St. Luke & Odd Fellows Hall

Simone Paterson – professor in the School of Visual Arts at Tech
The Gallery at Mish Mish

The fun doesn’t need to end when the curtain closes.
Main Street Inn is offering a
Wedding Frenzy Honeymoon Package.
A special gift for all Honeymooners waiting in their room.
Reservations suggested
Coupon required for special rate

Art Crawl with Poker Run

The Downtown Blacksburg Art Crawl will be a regular feature of our returning monthly celebration of First Fridays starting March 4th. In addition to a plethora of family friendly activities, you can discover the hidden artistic treasures in a variety of galleries located in the downtown area. Some of the gallery locations are obvious, others may surprise you, but all point to the fact that Downtown Blacksburg truly boasts a flourishing arts district.

So why an “ART CRAWL”?
Well if you like the idea of winning great prizes that may be enough incentive; in March the proud winner will take home two primo tickets to the Iris Dement concert to take place at The Lyric on March 25th.

Yet there is so much more than winning a prize to be gained from participating in our Art Crawl, so read on to discover where you can find delightful works of art. We are sure there will be something to appeal to everyone.

“Speaking while listening” -The work of Chris Wubbena
Armory Art Gallery

Custom designed works of wearable art
Capone’s Fine Jewelry

The work of Cedric Rudisill and Christy Mackie
Clay Corner Inn

The art of Jesi Pace- Berkeley
Community Arts Information Office

“Speaking while listening” -The work of Chris Wubbena
Experiential Gallery for Creative Technologies

“Woodblock prints” by Whitney Waller
Gillie’s Gallery

Work by Larry Bechtel, Jenny Pollard & Trev Smith
Main-Lee Gallery

The work of Elizabeth Foster & the photography of David Hilgendorff
Main Street Inn Gallery

Reception with local artists in residence
Matrix Gallery

“Flowers” an exhibition of paintings by Gemma Clasing
Next Door Bake Shop

Employee Show with reception
The Gallery at Mish Mish

Many of the galleries will host receptions with refreshments during the Art Crawl.

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Art Crawl with Poker Run- here’s how it works:

The Art Crawl and Poker Run will begin at 4pm- you choose which gallery is your starting place! Maps to the galleries and instructions for the Poker Run will be available from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm at ALL participating galleries.

1. Visit as many galleries as you can and get a playing card at each.

2. Take only one card per venue!

3. Use as many cards as you are able to collect and make the BEST FIVE CARD STUD POKER HAND YOU CAN! (NO WILD CARDS IN PLAY). A list of possible poker hands and their value will be available in the Community Arts Information Office (CAIO).

4. Return to Community Arts Information Office (CAIO), 149 College Ave., with your best poker hand by 7:30 pm at which time the winning hand will be announced and prizes awarded.

5. In the event that no standard poker hand is created, the five-card hand with the most points will be declared the winner. Numbered cards each score points equal to the number on the card face and the following cards will be scored as: Jack (11), Queen (12), King (13) and Ace (14).

6. All cards in the winning hand must be from different galleries!!! In the event of a tie, the winner will be the first recorded hand.

7. You do not need to be present to win but all poker hands must be recorded and player identified by 7:30 pm on the evening of the Gallery Crawl and Poker Run.

Art Crawl will return during First Friday celebrations on April 1st, May 6th, June 3rd, and July 1st.

“What is Your Blueprint … How Will You Live Your Life?”

Each year as part of the Martin Luther King Jr. celebration at Virginia Tech, area kindergarten through 12th grade students are invited to participate in the annual Martin Luther King Jr. poster contest.

In partnership with Downtown Blacksburg, Inc. the 2011 winning posters will be displayed Jan. 3 through Jan. 31 in six downtown locations:

* Community Arts Information Office at 149 College Avenue
* The Center of Dance Academy at 460 Turner Street, NW # 101 Collegiate Square
* Kent Square Lobby at 106 East Washington Street
* Mish Mish at 125 North Main Street
* Main Lee Art at 201 South Main Street
* Next Door Bake Shop at 460 Turner Street, NW, #204 Collegiate Square.

According to Silvia Ramos-Cotton, associate director of Diversity Education and Training in the Office for Diversity and Inclusion, “This year 16 schools in the New River and Roanoke Valleys participated in the Martin Luther King Jr. poster contest. We have had a consistent increase in participation from year-to-year, which indicates our youth’s desire to reflect on the impact and relevance of the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.”

The purpose of the poster contest is to encourage students to think critically about the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. and develop goals that reflect how they will live out the principles of non-violent social change to address problems they witness in their communities.

Posters are judged on how effectively the artwork expresses individuality through unique ideas; how the artwork illustrates imaginative and meaningful ideas; and how well the artwork relates to the theme.

In 1967 Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a speech titled, “What is Your Life’s Blueprint,” where he challenged a group of students to reflect on how they lived their lives and recommended that they develop a blueprint, or action plan for their legacy. This year’s theme, “What is Your Blueprint … How Will You Live Your Life?” is derived from that speech.

The poster contest is sponsored by Virginia Tech, the Montgomery County-Radford City-Floyd County Branch of the NAACP, Alpha Phi Alpha Inc., Black Student Alliance, The Center of Dance Academy, and the Black Organizations Council.

Downtown Blacksburg, Inc. and the Office for Diversity and Inclusion have successfully partnered for the past two years to present the Annual Principles of Community Mixer.

A map of the downtown businesses in Blacksburg displaying winning posters can be seen here:
2011 MLK Art Crawl Map
A complete list of the 2011 poster contest winners is available right here:
2011 MLK Poster Winners

Congratulations to all of the young artists! Thank you to our participating downtown businesses for displaying the beautiful posters. Stop by and take a look!

Eat Fresh, Eat Local!

Looking for a Saturday morning adventure? Be sure to check out the lively Blacksburg Farmers Market at Market Square Park, at the corner of Draper Road and Roanoke Street.

Managed by the Friends of the Farmers Market, the local market is open, in season, on Saturdays from 8am-2pm and Wednesdays from 2pm-7pm. The market offers fresh seasonal produce, bakery items, cut flowers, and even stoneware!  Some of the things you can find include: McCabe Coolidge spinning his pottery wheel to create Wildfire Arts; Idyllwood Farms with its luscious red, green, and yellow tomatoes; a variety of Hokie bird eggs; and, yes, there is even Mexican chocolate. To grab a quick glance of what’s in season check out: http://www.bbfarmersmarket.org/fresh.php.

Upcoming event: Chef Roulette at the Market on September 22.

Welcome!

Hello fellow readers!

We, Downtown Blacksburg, Inc.,  just started our blogging venture (http://downtownblacksburg.wordpress.com/). Hope you enjoy our periodical posts on life in downtown Blacksburg, Virginia. Make sure to subscribe to our blog (subscription found on the right sidebar) to stay up to date on the happenings of  Downtown Blacksburg, Inc. and our members. Oh let’s not forget–we value your input so feel free to send any suggestions or comments to dbi@downtownblacksburg.com.