Gene Marrano

From the WFIR News room this is your Culture Calendar – With a look at some of the local events coming up this weekend and in the near future. Sponsored by the Roanoke Cultural Endowment. See more at Roanoke Cultural Endowment.org. One last concert for the 2025-26 season from David Stewart Wiley and

A unique way to celebrate Father’s Day – this Saturday, the day before the actual holiday – the Fatherhood Foundation of Virginia non-profit based in Richmond is offering a free day of play at Center in the Square for Dad and the kids, at Kids Square, Roanoke Pinball Museum and the Starcade Museum, from 10 to 5. This is also Virginia Fatherhood Week. Registration is required for the free day at Center in the Square this Saturday, signup at VA.org/events or see link below. Chris Beach is the founder and CEO for the Fatherhood Foundation, which offers classes and events statewide. Beach, who grew up without his own dad around, launched the Fatherhood Foundation after COVID; he’s looking to bring more events to the Roanoke area soon.

(RCPS new release) Dr. Verletta White, Superintendent of Roanoke City Schools, has announced her retirement from service after next school year. Education Committee Chairman, Delegate Sam Rasoul (HB-38), thanks Dr. White for her years of service to Roanoke’s students and educators.

Data center tax breaks or not, a coalition that advocates for “American Technology Leadership,” says data centers have been around for years, AI is not going away – and in Virginia and elsewhere, localities need to get on board. As Botetourt County gets ready for the construction of three planned Google data centers on the Greenfield industrial park campus – despite some local opposition – Doug Kelly CEO of the American Edge Project, says data centers and Artificial Intelligence – relied on by more and more Americans – go hand in hand, Botetourt county says Google’s investment at the Greenfield Center is worth at least 18 million dollars over the first five years, which includes funding for capital projects. Kelly says local government leadership is key to future growth.

In the third installment of our VA 250 series … not everyone in the Roanoke Valley and southwest Virginia jumped on the American Patriot bandwagon early during the Revolution – there were plenty of loyalists, and sometimes it was hard to figure out who was on the side of the rebellion – and who remained a “Tory.” Jeff Briggs is a long time historical interpreter who has taken part in enacting battles from the American Revolution; he’s also appeared in character at the Salem Museum for special events. Here is WFIR’s Gene Marrano with the third in a series of VA250 stories with a local twist, “In Depth.”

With arts funding from federal grants dwindling these days its more important now perhaps for local arts and cultural organizations to make sure they are on the radar screen anyway they can – and the 41st annual Perry F. Kendig Arts and Culture Awards are one way to do. Named after a former president at Roanoke College who was a big supporter of local arts and culture, this is the 41st year for the Kendig awards, now a joint venture between R-C and Hollins University, where the ceremony will take place this tear on October 20th. Individuals artist from all disciplines are eligible to be nominated, as are arts or cultural organizations, and individuals or businesses that support the arts, with separate awards in each category. Susan Jennings, a member of the Kendig Awards promotion committee, says even just being nominated and making it to the awards ceremony raises awareness for a local cultural organization. The nomination process is now open through September 13th, as WFIR’s Gene Marrano reports:

Jane Morgan Harris was a nurse almost a century ago, who realized the need for more healthcare services in the valley that served women and those of limited means. Her base of operations was a farmhouse that was located on what is now the Friendship Richfield Living Salem campus. Today they will dedicate the Jane Morgan Harris Daylily Garden in her honor at Richfield says Kim Bratic, the executor director of advancement. Jane Morgan Harris was inspired to help create a better healthcare safety net after helping a mother give birth in an abandoned gas station. The garden dedicated in her name at Friendship Richfield Salem includes hundreds of varieties of blooming plants.

Feeding Southwest Virginia President and CEO Pamela Irvine will retire at the end of the year after 45 years with the Food Bank that also celebrated its 45th anniversary last month. Today more than 20 million pounds of food is distributed annually by the Salem-based food bank. Irvine says plenty of challenges remain when it comes to aiding the food insecure. Food price inflation, spiking fuel costs for delivery trucks and recent cuts to programs like SNAP and Medicaid have only made acquiring food stocks and distributing them to 400 agency partners and pantries more of a challenge says Irvine, who is preparing to retire in December. Feeding Southwest Virginia became a non-profit in 1999, it started as a TAP program before spinning off and was called the Second Harvest Food Bank before partnering with the Feeding America organization. WFIR’s Gene Marrano reports:

From the WFIR News room this is your Culture Calendar – With a look at some of the local events coming up this weekend and in the near future. Sponsored by the Roanoke Cultural Endowment. See more at Roanoke Cultural Endowment.org. Its the second and last weekend for Shakespeare’s tragic love story Romeo and Juliet at the Bear Theatre in downtown Roanoke in the Community High School Auditorium. Two feuding families, two star-crossed young lovers, all sorts of characters weaving in and out of one of the Bard’s most popular plays. Two new exhibits opening at the Eleanor D Wilson Museum on the Hollins University campus in the next few weeks – including Writing with Pictures – the narrative art of David Wiesner, a Caldecott Award winner for his illustrated Children’s books. It opens this Thursday and concludes with an artist talk and reception on JULY 24 at the Wilson Museum.

A grant secured by United Way of Virginia’s Blue Ridge has helped fund upgrades at the Rocky Mount Community Park, with more than 30 nature-themed interpretive signs now added to a paved nature trail there. Rocky Mount town leaders celebrated the new trail signage with United Way at an event today. Kianna Price Marshall is the Vice President of Advancement for the Roanoke-based United Way chapter: