Out & About: entertainment and cultural events in the region from Wednesday August 31 | Lifestyles

The Martinsville Speedway will hold a 75th anniversary celebration from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 7 at the highway. Participants will be able to do a few laps in their own vehicle. Martinsville Speedway’s famous hot dogs, cakes and Pepsi drinks will be free. Take photos in a simulation of Victory Lane or with the 75th anniversary logo. All 9 members of Night Years from Raleigh, NC will perform; bring your own chairs to sit on.

Actors from the TheatreWorks community will present “12 Angry Jurors” at 7 p.m. from September 8-10 and 15-17 and at 2 p.m. on September 11 at the Black Box Theatre.

Arts of Piedmont “Tasty September: The Art of Tailgating” will take place from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on September 9. Jake Earles will play music. Cooking for the event will be Connie and Elliot Stone of Stonehaus Farms; Beth Marshall and Brian Stanley; Meritha and George Alderman; Lucy Coleman and Donna McGarry; Chief D. Wilson; Clifton Barrow of Roosky’s; Larry Luck of Manny’s Restaurant; Susan Critz and Will Gravely; Keisha Rivalte; and Chef Luke Pollom of King’s Grant. Tickets are $50 on PiedmontArts.org. Raffle tickets will be sold for prizes including tickets to the Virginia Tech vs. Wofford football game, the NC State vs. Texas Tech game (with hotel accommodations), 4-day admission to Rooster Walk 13, the free rental of the TAD space, lounge chair and cushions from Bassett Furniture, bookcase from Bassett Furniture and prize package.

The class “Canned soups and others” will take place at 9 a.m. on September 10 and/or September 24 at the Spencer-Penn Center. This is for people who have some canning experience. All supplies will be provided. The September 10 course is almost complete. The cost is $20; call 276-957-5757 to register.

Martinsville-Henry County Relay For Life will take place from 3-7 p.m. on Saturday, September 17 at the Smith River Sports Complex in the festival area. Food will be available. Jus’ Cauz will play music and the students of Teresa’s dance school will dance. For more information, visit www.relayforlife.org/mhcva.

The Bassett Heritage Festival will take place from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on September 10.

The Dyer’s Store Volunteer Fire Department will be holding a 50th Anniversary/Community Day 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17 Meet the firefighters; see trucks and equipment. There will be free inflatables for the kids and free hot dogs.

The Spencer-Penn Center will host MHC is for book lovers Friday 16 and Saturday 17 September. The first day will be devoted to a dinner with authors. On the second day, vendors, food trucks, authors and entertainment will be there from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free entry.

The CMH Veterans Services Organization will host a Veterans Appreciation Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on October 8 at Jack Dalton Park. Veterans and their families are invited to enjoy hot dogs and potato chips. Games like cornhole and badminton will be set up, and there will be music. The main purpose of the event is to introduce veterans to the various VSO organizations such as the DAV, VFW, American Legion, and Marine Corps League.

The Spencer-Penn Center will hold Fall Festival 2022 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, October 15. It will feature games, children’s activities, vendors and more. For vendor inquiries, contact [email protected] or 276-957-5757.

Chix with Stix are knitters who meet from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. every other Tuesday at Piedmont Arts. Bring your own supplies for company knitting. Cost is $5 for non-Piedmont Arts members.

Lisa Garrett will be teaching a Sunflower Painting Workshop from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 10 at Imagination Lavender Farm, 3590 Greenhill Drive. The $45 cost includes all supplies and lunch; call 276-734-2828 to register.

A barn quilt class will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, September 25 at the Spencer-Penn Center. Pricing is based on project size: 12 by 36 inches, $75; 25 square inches, $65; and 36 square inches, $85. Register at 276-957-5757 before September 16.

Angela Wright, a retired English teacher, will teach “Write Your Life”, a memoir writing workshop, from 9 a.m. to noon on September 24 and October 1 at Imagination Lavender Farm, 3590 Greenhill Drive. The cost is $75, which includes all supplies and lunch. Call or text 276-734-2828 to reserve a spot.

Virginia Foothills Quilt Guild meets monthly at 9:30 a.m. on the first Tuesday (September 2) and 6:30 a.m. on the second Tuesday at Piedmont Arts.

Oldskool will perform Friday night at Cascade School Community Center Music and Dance, from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., at 3561 Huntington Trail. Admission is $8. Upcoming bands will be: Woody Powers & Midnite Express, September 9; Oldskool, September 16; Evergreen, September 23; and Oldskool, September 30.

A jam open takes place every Friday at 7 p.m. at the Willis Gap Community Center, 144 The Hollow Road.

Musical evening at Spencer-Penn on Friday, September 11, will feature Gap Civil. Doors will open at 5 p.m. and the group will start at 6:15 p.m. Admission is $5. Concessions including hot dogs and barbecue will be sold.

Moving to Martinsville and Music in the Box will perform music featuring Blake Christiana of Yarn at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, September 14 at Hamlet Vineyards, rain or shine. Tickets are sold out. Pickle & Ash will have a food truck there from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The 8th Annual Riverside Wine Festival will take place from 2-7 p.m. on Saturday, October 22 at the Smith River Sports Complex, hosted by the Matthew Wayne Wade Foundation. Tickets cost between $10 and $15. It will feature food, artisan vendors, various wineries and several beer distributors. For more information, visit www.winebyriver.com.BOOK TALK

William Guerrant of Pittsylvania County will speak about his first novel, “Jim Wren”, at 10 a.m. Sept. 27 at the Bassett Historical Center. The book, based on a true story, spans nine decades, from the mountains of western Virginia to a riverside mill town to a Piedmont farm. Motivated by a troubled teenager, an old man faces one last challenge to end a secret past. Free entry.

The Martinsville Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity and the Kappa Delta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority present the Diamonds & Pearls Scholarship Gala at 6 p.m. Saturday, September 17 at the Virginia Museum of Natural History. Dress is semi-formal. Tickets are $50; call 276-299-0813 for purchase information.

Martinsville Uptown Partnership will host the final “Third Thursdays in Uptownof the season from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. on September 15, in the Franklin/Depot Street parking lot under the Black Box Theater.

Piedmont Arts Blues, Beers and Stews will take place at 6 p.m. on Friday, October 14 at Piedmont Arts. It will include a fire pit, Brunswick stew, cash bar with craft beer and wine, and live music by Griffin Haley Band. A meal of Brunswick stew, cornbread, banana pudding and tea from Hylton’s Wood-Cooking Grill will be included in the ticket price. Bring a lawn chair or blanket to sit on. If it’s raining, the event will take place inside Piedmont Arts.SOCIAL

“Tour, music and more”, every Friday from 10 a.m. to noon at the Bassett Ruritan Club on Philpott Dam Road, is a fun and relaxing time for people to come together to play games, solve puzzles, do crafts and play tower. Feel free to bring something to do or share.

porch party will take place from Thursday to Sunday at Spirithaven Farm in Stuart. Bands include The Vagabonds, Larry Keel Experience, Consider the Source, Little Bird, Big Daddy Love, Erin & The Wildfire, Into the Fog, Tim Sawyer, The Judy Chops, Striking Copper, The Get Right Band, The Freeway Jubilee, Free Union, Slick Jr. & The Reactors, The Jakob’s Ferry Stragglers, Annabelle’s Curse, Oh Christoperh, Dirk Quinn Band, GOTE, Isaac Hadden Project, Fluidity Performance Troupe and The Brown Mountain Lightning Bugs. Ticket options include 4-day general admission for $130.

The “Who They Were” exhibition, on the Martisville Seven, is presented at Museum of the Historical Initiative of the Pays de la Fayette, 211 Fayette Street, Martinsville. A reception will follow.

Arts of Piedmont current exhibits are: “Private Estate,” large-scale oil paintings on canvas by Virginia Derryberry exploring contemporary aspects of alchemy; “Continuity (Color & Texture),” pattern pieces by Davis Choun of Raleigh, NC; and “Seasons and Colors of the Appalachian Trail,” photographs by Bill Booz, who hiked the entire 2,160-mile trail.

The Virginia Museum of Natural HistoryThe latest exhibition of “The Science of Flight” will be open until December 22.