What Time is It?? It's Microfestivus Time!!!

Here we are again, dog days of summer. Some like it hot, but no one can stay in this heat for too long without some kind of relief. So what can you do about it??

The Square Society is hosting their annual mega-party Microfestivus and has you all hooked up this Saturday to take your mind off the high temps. Beer to the rescue!! Here's what it's about, as posted on their Facebook event page:

"The Square Society will host the 13th annual MicroFestivus, a micro and craft beer festival. There will be a selection of over 50 beers from 20 micro and craft breweries from the Mid-Atlantic region. MicroFestivus takes take place at Elmwood Park in downtown Roanoke on August 14 between 12pm and 6pm. Beer tastings are in 4 oz. and 8 oz. sizes. And of course you have to be at least 21 with a valid ID to have attended.

For our VIP patrons again this year Flanary's will be providing food including Reubens, Meatballs, Fish and Chips, among other tasty bites! BE SURE TO ORDER YOUR VIP TICKET ON LINE....VIP tickets are limited and will sell out. Order on line early to not miss out!

Jordan Harmon and Pop Rivets are the music for this year's Microfest!"

In other words, BEER, BEER, BEER, MUSIC, BEER, FOOD, BEER... (Did I mention, there's gonna be beer?)

So please come and join The Square Society for this day-long event. Get your tickets online at a discount, or at regular price on the day of the event at Elmwood Park. Find out more about joining The Square Society by visiting them on the web. This is Roanoke's ultimate Young (and Young-at-Heart) Professionals organization creating the cheeriest atmosphere at all their events, which to date has raised tens of thousands of dollars for The Center in the Square in Downtown Roanoke.

If you are interested in volunteering at this year's Microfestivus, sign up to be on the official beer-pouring crew for one shift. That gets you in FREE and you also can have four free beer tastings, plus a T-Shirt! Go to this link to sign up: VOLUNTEER SIGN-UP. (Other volunteer tasks are still available, too. Just sign up for a quick little shift, and be 21 or older.)

For more info on Microfestivus, check out the website. The complete schedule is posted there for brewers, bands, and food. And don't forget to buy your tickets while you're at it...

See you around Downtown (in Elmwood Park!!) CHEERS!!!

Wow, July is HOT!!! Tons of Music and Arts...

Don't know where to begin...

Star City FAME has been out on some fun shoots this month of July, so far. Coming off a couple great live shows last month, we've had the opportunity and pleasure to catch Roanoke Revolution's first-ever "Underground Melodies Music and Art Festival" on July 10th, right after a week up North in Woodstock, NY, where the temperatures were above 100 every day. We got to shoot some more footage of Denise Jordan Finley and Daniel Pagdon for an on-going musical documentary. We hurried back to catch the day and night-long festival in Boones Mill, VA.

That weekend, we caught the Star City Roller Girls' double-header, taping some really great action of their rookies in a game they called "Fresh Meat Bout."

On the 16th, Star City FAME headed over to WVTF to shoot the station's "Juried Art Show." There were musical guests, catering by Center Stage, and of course, ART!!!

And just the other day, we grabbed footage of Milan Tobacconists' cigar event featuring world-renowned master cigar maker and blender Don José 'Pepín' Garcia. Right after that, just a couple blocks away, was the Starbomb Bicycle Superheroes bike event, meeting at Sharebike, taking cyclers on one of the wildest rides two (or three) wheelers could ever hope to make!! These bikers were truly super-heroes (the event's theme for the bike race down Mill Mountain, and for its parade through Downtown).

Yes, we're working on the videos. A few are already uploaded. But we are currently upgrading our hardware, so this weekend's editing is delayed a little. Our new system will be a dedicated new editing machine. Now if only we could get a dedicated new editor who needs nothing but coffee to run on...

Don't forget, there are still plenty of groovy events going on out there in the old 'Noke. Tonight, catch the Roanoke Hard Rock Festival (going on til 11pm), and if you're already downtown, the Square Society is still crawling the pubs in their Summertime Cocktail Crawl today until 9pm.

See you around, Downtown!!

("Summer" graphic courtesy livingstonps.schoolwires.com)

Roanoke Local Colors Celebrates its 19th Year!!

This past May 16th, we once again witnessed the amazing Local Colors Festival at Elmwood Park in beautiful Downtown Roanoke, VA. Led by Founder and Executive Director of Local Colors, Pearl Fu, this annual festival is an internationally recognized cultural event. It is also one of the largest and most anticipated events held in Roanoke.

Pearl began Local Colors 19 years ago and it has grown from four participants in the parade to 89 countries this year. The opening ceremony, before the Parade of Nations, saw each country's members lining up all around the amphitheatre area and winding around the park in vibrant hues of their representative nations' customary and traditional garb, carrying the flags of their native or ancestral lands - a glorious sight to see and acknowledge that people the world over feel priviledged to make a new life here in the greatest land on earth and still can be proud of their heritage as well.

Ms Fu explains on its organization's website, "Local Colors highlights the ethnic and cultural diversity of the Roanoke Valley. It has opened the minds and hearts of many, enriching the quality of life for all who have been part of it."

The annual Local Colors has been documented as a Local Legacy and awarded an Outstanding Event in Southwest Virginia by the Library of Congress. It draws crowds of up to 30,000 - which is an amazing feat for a one day festival - and it is easy to see why. Under the directorship of Ms Fu, this event is spectacular! She personally "enlists" new entries continually throughout the year (and I feel obliged now to consider joining too as a representative of Hungary).

There were many world dancers, singers, and musicians on stage after the Parade of Nations. This year, Local Colors incorporated an International Fashion Show to the repertoire. Visitors were entertained for six hours as well as educated in facts of each nation's backgrounds while the weather cooperated as if out of respect for such an enormously important day to Roanokers and fans from all over.

Star City FAME ran footage of much of the day's celebration and thank Ms Fu for granting camera access to the Local Colors Festival. Below is a short video collage of the Parade of Nations and we will bring you more highlights of this beautiful event shortly, so stay tuned!!

See you around Roanoke!!