Community Calendar

When New York City pianist Scott Bradlee created Postmodern Jukebox out of a basement in Queens in 2011, his goal was simple: to remake the pop hits of today into the classic sounds of the legends of yesterday. Miley Cyrus became The Platters. Bruno Mars became Frank Sinatra. The Spice Girls became The Andrews Sisters. Guns ’n’ Roses became Bessie Smith.

Now, nearly a decade later, Postmodern Jukebox has grown to become a pop culture mainstay in its own right, having played over a thousand shows on six continents worldwide — including acclaimed venues like Radio City Music Hall, Sydney Opera House, and Red Rocks Amphitheater. In the process, PMJ has introduced audience to many of the world’s greatest singers, dancers, and instrumentalist — many of whom have gone on to become stars in their own right.

One part celebration of vintage music and culture, one part “’Saturday Night Live’ for singers”, a Postmodern Jukebox show is an unforgettable trip back in time that makes Pop Music History — in your own hometown.

Don’t miss Grace & Glorie, Oct. 9-Nov. 8. The poignant, heartwarming comedy by acclaimed Virginia playwright Tom Ziegler explores love, loss, and the universal search for meaning in all our lives. Grace, a fiercely independent 90-year-old with terminal cancer, checks herself out of the hospital to spend her final days at her rustic cabin home nestled deep in the breathtaking Blue Ridge Mountains. Glorie, a Harvard MBA, is searching for a new purpose in her life and hoping to find peace in Appalachia, far from the demands of New York City. She volunteers for her local hospice program. Her first client is Grace. What begins as the hilarious collision of two opposite cultures and generations turns into a rich and abiding friendship, in which each woman finds her home. Filled with humor, heart and hope, Grace and Glorie is a celebration of the transformative power of human connection, and a tribute to the strength and resilience of women and their friendships at any age. Starring Richmond favorites Catherine Shaffner* and Amber Marie Martinez. (*Member, Actors' Equity Association)

Medicare Advantage or Part D plans change every year. Medication coverage and costs, premiums, deductibles, and provider networks may all be different next year - even if you make no changes. Stay in control by reviewing options during Open Enrollment.

JABA offers FREE, unbiased counseling from certified volunteers. Choose a plan that will best cover your medications and save you money. Understand your options. Make an informed decision. Request an Appointment: (434) 817-5248 or jabacares.org/medicare-counseling

What if prayer didn’t require us to have the right words—but instead gave us permission to bring our whole selves to God?

Praying the Psalms: Learning the Language of the Soul is a retreat inviting us to rediscover the Psalms as a deeply honest and accessible prayer book for every season of life. Come for a time or rest, renewal, honest reflection, and connection while discovering the connections of ancient prayers to our modern lives.

The event is October 17, from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Continental breakfast and lunch are included. The cost is $25. Lacey Wondree is our speaker for this retreat.

Sign up by October 11 at rfbc.link/PsalmsPrayer

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.

Jake McCord, a self-taught artist from Georgia, frequently said that making art was something he did “just for fun.” He lived and worked alone and considered his art to be “company” – Once a painting was complete, McCord would install it on his front porch to share the work with the community, engaging passersby and sparking conversation.

McCord’s works are products of his imagination and his unique vision of the world. Looking at his paintings is an invitation to enter McCord’s lively and colorful world and a reminder that anyone can express themselves through creating art. "Jake McCord: Jolly Company" is on view at the Eleanor D. Wilson Museum August 13 – November 14, 2026, and is on loan from Chris Ross and Traveling Art Exhibitions. Please go to Hollins.edu/Museum to find our open hours!

Please also join the Eleanor D. Wilson Museum for a community workshop inspired by McCord's paintings on Friday, October 23rd from 2-4 PM on the front plaza outside the museum.

Image Credits: Jake McCord, "Untitled (Purple Dog with Ball)," 1998. House paint on found wood, 20 x 15 inches. © Private Collection.

"No Excellent Beauty: Disability Aesthetics" is a two-person show that features the work of photographers Kristen Olinger and Michael Van Huffel. Both Olinger and Van Huffel work in the medium of digital photography to engage in self-portraiture as a means to process living with late onset chronic illness and disability. Neither artist carries visible signs of their illness, which can make describing their challenges and experiences more difficult, but through their photographs they are able to make the unseen visible.

The Eleanor D. Wilson Museum has partnered with Clovernook Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired to provide braille printings of all text included in this exhibition, as well as Swell Touch prints of a selection of pieces for all to feel and enjoy.

Image Credits: Kristen Olinger, "Opulent Dolls," digital photograph, 2025. Image courtesy of the artist.

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

Marks of Memory examines time, data, ancestry, and personal experience through the work of three contemporary artists—Veronica Jackson, Annette Lawrence, and LaRissa Rogers—who question what stories get told, who gets remembered, and what data gets counted and recorded. Highlighting printmaking and patterning as physical processes and systems of communication, this exhibition explores how personal and collective histories are remembered, preserved, and disseminated.