Community Calendar

Celebrate the beauty of fall at the 35th Annual Sinkland Farms Pumpkin Festival, returning September 19 through November 1, 2026 in Christiansburg, Virginia. Set against the breathtaking backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Virginia's Favorite Fall Festival welcomes families from across the region for seven weekends at an award-winning pumpkin patch and corn maze with unforgettable farm fun.
This year's festival introduces America's Harvest Celebration, honoring 250 years of America's agricultural heritage, family traditions, and the spirit of the harvest. Throughout the festival, guests will experience America's Harvest Celebration through the traditions of farm life, live music, seasonal activities, local artisans, delicious food, and the simple joys of gathering with family and friends to celebrate the harvest season.
Recognized by USA TODAY's 10Best Readers' Choice Awards as the 4th Best Pumpkin Patch and 4th Best Corn Maze in the Nation in 2025, Sinkland Farms has become one of Southwest Virginia's premier fall destinations.
Wine Festival admission includes Pumpkin Festival admission.
Festival favorites include:
• Hayrides to the pumpkin patch
• Pick-your-own pumpkins and sunflowers
• A nationally recognized corn maze
• Farm animals
• Kid's Zone with giant slide, jump pad, barrel train, zip line, and games
• Live music (Sat/Sun)
• Special performances by university a cappella groups
• The Virginia Tech Highty-Tighties during Hokie Spirit Weekend
• Radford University dance performances during Highlander Weekend
• Arts & Crafts vendors (Sat/Sun)
• Art in the Barn (Oct) featuring talented local artists and handcrafted goods
• Food trucks
• Face painters
• Pig races (Sat/Sun)
• Blacksmith demonstrations (Sat/Sun)
• Chainsaw carving (Sat/Sun)
• PumpkinTron, Scarecrow, and Juggling Geoff
• Pony rides and horseback trail rides (Sat/Sun, extra cost)
• Blue Ridge Extreme Mobile Laser Tag* (Fri/Sat/Sun, extra cost)
• Beer & wine on the Terrace
Opening weekend also features the 4th Annual Sinkland Farms Wine Festival on September 19-20, where guests can sample wines from Virginia wineries and spirits from local distilleries while enjoying live music and beautiful mountain views. Wine Festival admission includes Pumpkin Festival admission.
Punkin' Chunkin' returns to the farm on October 3rd and 4th with Team Carbo's trebouchet, an innovative new catapult design that uses large rubber bands to power it. This catapult won't be using any motors - it's manually cocked and operated.
Special musical guests include:
Saturday, Oct 10 - Makenzie Phipps of NBC's The Voice
Sunday, Oct 11 - Lily Comer a country favorite
Saturday, Oct 24 - Noah Spencer of NBC's The Voice
Come celebrate autumn where family traditions, agriculture, and Appalachian hospitality come together at one of Virginia's favorite fall festivals. Photographers are encouraged to get photography passes for their clients with the beautiful backdrop of sunflowers, pumpkins, and the Blue Ridge Mountains.
When: Sept 19-Nov 1, 2026
Thursdays (October) & Fridays: 4:00–8:00 PM (limited activities)
Saturdays & Sundays: 10:00 AM–5:00 PM (full festival)
Where: Sinkland Farms
3060 Riner Rd
Christiansburg, VA 24073
Admission:
Thursdays(Oct)/Fridays - $15 per person, $14 seniors, military & first responders, free for children 3 and under
Saturdays/Sundays - $20 per person, $19 seniors, military & first responders, free for children 3 and under
Details: https://sinklandfarms.com/pumpkin-festival-about
Tickets: https://sinklandfarms.ticketspice.com/sinkland-farms-pumpkin-festival-2026

This family-fun agricultural showcase and cherished community tradition features exciting midway rides for all ages, Cowboy Andy Rotz and his action-packed Wild West stunt show, the always "edu-taining" Agri-Puppets, a petting zoo, livestock exhibits & shows, pro wrestling (8 pm Saturday), fair pageants (6:30 pm Wednesday - Thursday), community exhibits and favorite fair food.

Admission: $8 ages 12+; $3 ages 6-11; free for kids 5 & younger; free for students Wednesday - Thursday till 7 pm. Parking is free.

Unlimited ride wristbands (for riders 36" & taller) are $30 on site or online before 5pm Sept. 22 for $21.25 each or 4 for $76.25. Ride tickets are also available on the midway and discounted online pre-sale.

Fair hours: 4-10 pm Tuesday - Thursday, 4-11 pm Friday, 3-11 pm Saturday. The midway opens at 5 pm Tuesday - Friday and 4 pm on Saturday.

More information: 434-392-7002 or FiveCountyFair.com

Fountain Favorite Margot Douaihy is coming! She'll be talking with John Copenhaver at the store about her newest Sister Holiday mystery.

About the Book:

It’s a steamy, restless end of the school year in New Orleans. Sister Holiday is finishing her music classes and preparing for her permanent vow ceremony, a pivotal moment in her journey of faith. But when one of her favorite students is found dead of a fentanyl overdose, Sister Holiday and her partner-in-PI, Magnolia Riveaux, are determined to track down the drug dealers. As students continue to fall prey to this sinister drug, Sister Holiday becomes more desperate to stop the epidemic—while facing her own past with addiction, a demon that is never too far.

With Douaihy’s signature mix of grit, heart, and faith, Divine Ruin tests the limits of Sister Holiday’s devotion in her darkest and most shocking case yet.

About the Author:

Margot Douaihy, PhD, is a poet, crime writer, and assistant professor at Emerson College. She is the author of the lyrical hardboiled mysteries Scorched Grace and Blessed Water, both published with Gillian Flynn Books (a Zando imprint) and both named a "Best Crime Novel of the Year" by The New York Times (2023 and 2024). The third mystery in her series, Divine Ruin, published in January 2026 and was an American Booksellers Association Indie Next Pick, a Publishers Weekly Pick, and named a Best Debut of the Month by CrimeReads. Margot is an active member of the Radius of Arab-American Writers, the Queer Crime Writers, the Sisters in Crime, and the Mystery Writers of America.

John Copenhaver is an award-winning author whose latest novel, Hall of Mirrors, was named a New York Times Crime Novel of the Year and won the Left Coast Crime Award for Best Historical Mystery. His earlier books include Dodging and Burning and The Savage Kind, which won the Lambda Literary Award for Best LGBTQ Mystery. He co-edited Crime Ink: Iconic and serves on the board of International Thriller Writers. A founding member of Queer Crime Writers, he teaches at VCU and mentors in the University of Nebraska Omaha’s MFA program. He lives in Richmond, Virginia. www.johncopenhaver.com

Come learn the sport of rugby while getting fit and making great friends. All are welcome. No experience necessary.

Jazz in the Park is an annual summer concert series featuring a different top quality professional jazz group on Thursdays 7-9 pm at the Bandstand in Gypsy Hill Park in Staunton Va. This 2026 summer season runs July 9 - Sept. 3. Concerts are Free & open to the public, held rain or shine. Concessions are available. Some bench seating available in front of the bandstand; lawn chairs/ blankets recommended to stretch out comfortably in this lovely park seating under the trees. Family friendly. Come out & enjoy all the great music this summer! 🎶
For more info call or TEXT : 540-280-4321

Rajasthani Caravan is a traditional folk music ensemble dedicated to the living musical heritage of Rajasthan, India. Rooted in the centuries-old Manganiyar tradition, the ensemble presents devotional and celebratory music passed down through generations of hereditary musicians from the Thar Desert region of western Rajasthan.

The ensemble brings together master musicians and cultural educators to share this rich tradition with audiences across the United States. Vocalist Dare Khan brings the soulful melodic heart of Manganiyar singing to the stage, while Kode Khan's kamayacha - a bowed string instrument central to Rajasthani folk music - adds deep, resonant texture. Jasu Khan anchors the group with traditional dholak and percussion, and Artistic Director Katrina Ji weaves dance and cultural storytelling into each performance.

Through concert, movement, and narrative, Rajasthani Caravan offers audiences not just a performance, but a genuine encounter with a remarkable and enduring musical culture.

Rural Idaho. Difficult Memories. An estranged father’s house to sell. From the acclaimed author of The Whale, Little Bear Ridge Road confronts issues as wide as galaxies and as intimate as family secrets.

After the death of his long-estranged father, Ethan returns to the tiny hometown he once escaped—only to find himself face to face with the only family he has left: his sharp-tongued, fiercely independent aunt. While cleaning up years of a failing family, the two are forced to confront old pain, unfinished conversations, and the orbit that keeps pulling them back to a place they want to leave.

At its core, Little Bear Ridge Road is a deeply human story about distance and return, silence and understanding, and the complicated ways families try—and sometimes struggle—to show up for each other, even when words fall short.

Performances on Wednesday (alternating 2PM and 7PM), Thursdays and Fridays (7PM), Saturdays (2PM and 7PM), and Sundays (3PM)

Ticket link: https://va-rep.org/events/little-bear-ridge-road/

Address: Virginia Repertory Theatre - 114 W. Broad St, Richmond VA
Phone: 804-282-2620

tickets@virginiarep.org

The Colonel William Preston Chapter NSDAR is presenting two showings of "The American Constitution" film in celebration of U.S. Constitution Week on Thursday, September 24, 2026, at the Grandin Theatre, Grandin Avenue, Roanoke. The educational matinee will begin at 3 pm. Doors will open at 2 pm. The evening screen will begin at 7 pm and will be followed by a panel discussion at 8 pm. Doors will open at 6 pm.
"The American Constitution" unveils the dramatic creation of the Constitution that played out over the summer of 1787. Many of the Constitution's leading historians and best-selling authors provide illuminating commentary throughout the movie. The film is free of charge. Tickets may be reserved by visiting https://www.grandintheatre.com/shows/constitutionmovie.

Persian/Iranian-American artist Maryam Safajoo works in oil on linen, creating intimate and vulnerable narrative paintings. Safajoo documents the stories of the Iranian Bahá’í community’s systematic persecution after the 1979 revolution—stories that are often erased, silenced, or preserved only in the memories of those who endured them.

Many of the incidents she depicts only exist in the memory of those who experienced them and have no pictorial evidence. Through conversations, interviews, and archival research, she reconstructs these histories with meticulous detail, incorporating the clothing, artifacts, and environments that were present at these events. 

Through her work, Safajoo reflects on a world free from prejudice—one where people are not judged by their beliefs, gender, identity, race, or social status.

Maryam Safajoo: The Dream of Freedom will be on view at the Eleanor D. Wilson Museum from August 6 - December 12, 2026. 

Please be sure to join the Eleanor D. Wilson Museum for Safajoo’s artist talk on Friday, September 18th at 6 PM in the Richard Wetherill Visual Arts Center, Room 119.

Image Credits: Maryam Safajoo, As Leaven to the World, 2024. Oil on linen, 24 x 20 inches. Courtesy of the Artist. 

Mallory Zondag, award-winning artist and educator living in New York, uses fiber arts and sculpture to explore the natural world and how it relates to the physical body and the human experience.

She explores deeply personal and connective universal stories through the meditative and hands-on practices of wet felting, weaving, sculpting, and stitching, seeking to bring the ephemeral into physical being. 

This exhibition of work includes a site-specific installation at the Eleanor D. Wilson Museum, which was created using hand felted wool, wax, fibers, fabrics and objects both found and recycled. 

Mallory Zondag: Transmissions from the Anthropocene, on view at the museum from July 30 - December 5, will be accompanied by an artist lecture and a series of community workshops in the Roanoke Valley.

Image Credits: Mallory Zondag, the VOID, 2026. Wood, Blackest Black in the Known Universe paint, tufted wool yarn, felted wool, wire, plastic waste, paper mache, sound. In collaboration with Peter Ossi, woodworker, and Lin Furio, sound designer.