Town of Abingdon, Virginia : September 2019

Monday, September 30, 2019

Temporary Street Closure- Holston Street, Abingdon

Request for Proposals- Russell Road Crosswalk Design:

Historic Preservation Review Board Agenda for October 2, 2019

October 1, 2019 Town Council Meeting Agenda

Abingdon Solar Tour 10-5-19

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

EDA Meeting Notice for 10-17-19

Monday, September 23, 2019

Road Closure for this Saturday, September 28, 2019

Road Closure:

This Saturday, September 28, 2019, West Main Street in Abingdon from Cummings Street to Russell Road will be CLOSED for “Dude! It's a 90s Block Party.” The street closure will begin at 2:00 PM and last until 11:00 PM. Please choose an alternate route for the duration of this event.

The “Dude! It's a 90s Block Party” will be from 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM on Main Street. For more information about the event, visit the facebook event page- https://www.facebook.com/events/2237921239851732/

Mosby & Hassinger Street Sewer Line Replacement

The Town of Abingdon Collections department will be replacing approximately 600’ feet of 8” inch wastewater line at the intersection of Hassinger Street and Mosby Street, starting on October 7, 2019. The intersection of Hassinger & Mosby will be closed at the start of the project to install the sanitary manhole, detours will be set up with traffic diverted from Hughes Street and Mosby Street to Fulkerson Street. Hassinger Street will be open from Colonial Road for residents and homeowners. Thank you for your patience during this construction project.

The Crooked Road On Tour Featured at the State Fair of Virginia

The Crooked Road On Tour Featured at the State Fair of Virginia

Abingdon, Virginia – The Crooked Road On Tour will be featured in performances at the State Fair of Virginia in Doswell, Virginia on Friday, September 27 through Sunday, October 6. The 31 Crooked Road performances throughout the 10-day Fair include a Main Stage concert by Blue Highway and Wolfe Bros. String Band on Saturday, September 28 at 7:00 p.m., and three performances daily (at 12:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m., and 6:00 p.m.) on the Heritage Village stage. Heritage Village performers include the Sandy Shortridge Band (Sept. 27 & 28), Jim Lloyd (Sept. 29 & 30), Martha Spencer & Kelley Breiding / Spencer Branch (Oct. 1 & 2), Mac Traynham (Oct. 3 & 4), and Hunter Holmes & Corbin Hayslett (Oct. 5 & 6).

The Crooked Road: Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail performances celebrate the traditional music that has been kept by families and communities of Southwest Virginia since colonial times. Settlers of this mountainous region since the 1700’s have brought various ingredients – a cappella gospel music from German tradition that lives in the Old Regular Baptist churches today; spirituals, emotive singing and a musical gourd we now call a banjo from African tradition; and ballads and fiddles brought by the Scots-Irish and English. Mixed together, these ingredients have produced one of the richest musical traditions on earth.

Highly esteemed bluegrass band Blue Highway has earned a collective 28 IBMA Awards, 6 SPBGMA Awards, one Dove Award, and three Grammy nominations as a band. Blue Highway's 2016 album "Original Traditional" was nominated for a 2017 GRAMMY Award for Best Bluegrass Album, and the group was voted the Favorite Bluegrass Artist of All Time by the readers of Bluegrass Today in April 2016. Wolfe Bros. String Band is an old time group from the Elk Creek Valley of Grayson County, Virginia. While the band cherishes the rich tradition of tunes and songs that have been handed down by musicians, they also believe in adding their own songs and arrangements to this living old time tradition.

Sandy Shortridge is a singer, songwriter, guitarist, and storyteller from the coalfields of Buchanan County, Virginia. A master storyteller through song, Sandy conveys the emotions and pride that many mountain people share for their home and culture. Originally from the Virginia coalfields, Jim Lloyd now lives in Rural Retreat, where he operates Lloyd’s Barber Shop and plays solo and with others. He was the longtime guitarist for the old time string band, the Konnarock Critters. Spencer Branch is the collaboration of Martha Spencer from Whitetop Mountain and North Carolina native Kelley Breiding. They play music drawn from their mountain heritage in addition to traditional country, bluegrass, and original songs. Willis, Virginia resident Mac Traynham, a builder of cabinets and banjos, plays several instruments, and is a teacher of mountain music at music workshops nationwide. Hunter Holmes and Corbin Hayslett represent a minority of young southern musicians mining the veins of rural American music. Both interpreters and students of traditional rural music from a young age, Holmes and Hayslett transport their listeners back to the 1920s and 1930s with breakdowns and blues captured on shellac.

The Crooked Road On Tour performances at the State Fair of Virginia are supported in part by the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. The Main Stage concerts are presented by Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance.

For more information, visit www.statefairva.org or call (804) 994-2800. For more information about The Crooked Road, please visit www.thecrookedroad.org, call (276) 492-2400 ext. 2409, or email: info@thecrookedroad.org.

- END-

Photos of Blue Highway (photo - Dean Groover) and Martha Spencer & Kelley Breiding (photo - Aaron Greenhood) are attached.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Tree Commission Vacancy

Abingdon's popular block party is back Saturday September 28th

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 17, 2019

“DUDE! IT’S A 90s BLOCK PARTY”

ABINGDON PRESENTS ITS POPULAR BLOCK PARTY SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 28TH

Abingdon, VA – Abingdon’s popular block party event is back, this time with a celebration of all things 90s. Dude! It’s a 90s Block Party takes place Saturday September 28, 2019, from 4:00pm to 9:00pm in downtown Abingdon. All activities are free.

Presented by Abingdon Music Experience, the block party features a costume contest, kids’ games, country line dance, and a concert by 90s tribute band Saved by the 90s. Visitors will be dancing in the streets – literally, as Main Street will be closed between Cummings and Wall Streets.

The event is a “sequel” to last year’s successful event, the Totally 80s Block Party. Like last year, attendees are encouraged to come in costume – think Seinfeld, The Power Rangers, Clueless, Forest Gump, or Ace Ventura. Prizes will be given for best costume in multiple categories, and there will be a photo booth to capture those rad costumes. Pikachu will even be on hand for photos. Main Street will be closed to vehicles between Cummings and Wall Streets, creating a true block party experience.

Abingdon’s own Wolf Hills Brewing and Bonefire Smoke House will be hosting beer gardens in the street, and visitors will find food on hand at Greeko’s, Bonefire, Mama Mia Italian, The Peppermill, Anthony’s Desserts, and 149 Sweets, plus food truck Toni’s Hawaiian Tacos.

Dude! It’s a 90s Block Party kicks off at 4:00pm with free activities for all ages. Visitors can browse the booths of the street fair, shop at Main Street stores open for extended hours, take a photo in the 90s Photo Booth, and participate in a special Magic: The Gathering Card Tournament led by G2K Games.

At 4:30pm, join the dancers of the Dandy Lines for some Boot Scootin’ Boogie – country line dancing had its heyday in the 90s. Remember the Achy Breaky Heart, or the Watermelon Crawl? It doesn’t matter, the Dandy Lines will teach the steps on the spot.

The Costume Contest takes place at 5:30pm, with prizes for best female, male, child and group costume, as well as a special category for best pet costume. Participants should arrive at 5:00pm to enter the contest. Winners will receive exclusive Virginia is for Lovers merchandise.

Greeko’s Grill & Café (217 W. Main St.), is hosting the kids activities, including a bouncy house and balloon twister making balloon animals.

At 6:00pm, Saved by the 90s takes the stage. Saved by the 90s is a national sensation that is bringing back the 90s with a huge interactive party, featuring a live 90s cover band that will blow your socks off!

For more information visit AbingdonMusicExperience.com

####

Monday, September 16, 2019

Town Manager Report for 9-13-19

Friday, September 13, 2019

Invitation to Bid- Tennis Court Resurfacing

Monday, September 9, 2019

Community Meeting on September 30, 2019

2019 Abingdon's Town Yard Sale Map

The Town of Abingdon is excited to announce that there will be over ninety (90) yard sales for the Town Wide Yard Sale on Saturday, September 14, 2019 from 7:00AM to 2:00PM. Many of the locations will have multi-participants at one location or on one street.

Be sure to check out the Abingdon’s Town Wide Yard Sale facebook page for the most up-to-date information and a map of all the locations. You may also pick up a copy of the map at Town Hall, 133 West Main Street; Abingdon Convention and Visitors Bureau, 335 Cummings Street; and at various locations the day of the event.

If you missed the deadline to be included on the map, you can still have a yard sale on September 14^th. Feel free to post on the Facebook event about your sale and include the address.

For questions about this event, you can contact Tonya Triplett at 276-492-2234 or Kim Kingsley at 276-492-2138.

Thursday, September 5, 2019

2019 Abingdon’s Town Wide Yard Sale

For Immediate Release

Abingdon’s Town Wide Yard Sale

8.2 miles of trash to treasure for you to discover

The Town of Abingdon will host a 8.2 mile Town Wide Yard Sale on Saturday, September 14, 2019 from 7:00 am to 2:00 pm. Residents and property owners will hold yard sales from Exit 19 to Exit 14 within the town limits. There will be over ninety (90) locations, with many multi-participant yard sales. The following addresses have submitted permits to have yard sales on September 14th:

Arnold Street (2) Leonard Street

Barter Drive Locust Street

Beverly Drive (3) Lowry Drive (4)

Birdie Drive McBroom Street (2)

Bogey Drive Merion Circle

Bradley Street (2) Morningside Drive

Brookhill Drive (2) Mosby Street (2)

Colonial Road (2) Nicholas Street

Clubhouse Drive Oakland Street (2)

Country Club Drive Old Eleven Drive

Crestview Drive Old Eleven Court

Depot Square (2) Old Jonesboro Road

East Main Street (6) Palmer Street

Edmond Drive Par Place

Fairway Drive Roger Street

Falcon Drive (2) Russell Road

Fuller Street Senior Drive

Gillespie Drive Smartview Lane

Glenrochie Drive (2) Stonewall Heights (2)

Green Spring Road (2) Sutton Street

Hassinger Street Taylor Street (2)

Hayter Street Valley Street (8)

Heartwood Circle Valley View Drive (2)

Henry Street Wayne Avenue (2)

Hickman Street West Main Street (5)

Highland Street Whites Mill Road

Hillman Highway

Business & Organizations:

Sinking Spring Presbyterian Church 136 East Main Street

Abingdon Church of the Nazarene 398 Old Eleven Court

First Christian Church 185 Old Jonesboro Road

The Antique Barn 1080 West Main Street

Necessities 266 West Main Street

Check out the Abingdon’s Town Wide Yard Sale event on Facebook for the most up-to- date information and a map of locations.

If you missed the deadline to be included on the map, you can still have a yard sale on September 14^th. Feel free to post on the Facebook page about your sale and include the address.

We expect an increase in vehicle and pedestrian traffic for this event. Please plan accordingly, and be alert for pedestrians.

For questions about this event, you can contact Tonya Triplett at 276-492-2234 or Kim Kingsley at 276-492-2138.

Park Street/Tanner Street – Pedestrian, Road, Storm Drain Improvements Design Public Hearing

VML Annual Conference Notice

Capital Improvement Plan Retreat Notice

Comp Plan Public Forum Notice

Park - Tanner Street Public Hearing Notice

The Kempa Sisters Featured in Crooked Road Series

The Kempa Sisters Featured in Crooked Road Series

Abingdon, Virginia – The Crooked Road: Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail presents The Kempa Sisters in concert on Thursday, September 12^th from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at the Southwest Virginia Cultural Center & Marketplace (formerly Heartwood) in Abingdon, VA. This concert is part of The Crooked Road Music Series.

The Kempa Sisters from Galax, Virginia are Courtney (age 16) and Candace (age 14). Courtney started playing music at age 6 and plays guitar and fiddle. Candace started playing music at age 4, and plays guitar, fiddle, mandolin, cello, and piano. They both enjoy writing songs and singing. The Kempa Sisters have performed at venues and festivals throughout the region including Draper Mercantile and the Galax Old Fiddlers’ Convention.

The Crooked Road Music Series takes place each Thursday at the SWVA Cultural Center & Marketplace. Visit the SWVA Cultural Center & Marketplace and experience Southwest Virginia's creative and authentic culture. Located off I-81 at Exit 14 in Abingdon, VA, the Cultural Center features youth artists each 2^nd Thursday along with open jams on the 1^st, 3^rd, 4^th (and 5^th) Thursdays to showcase Southwest Virginia performers.

As part of The Crooked Road's Thursday night live music, the SWVA Cultural Center & Marketplace Cafe features SWVA soup beans, cornbread or patty melt. Admission to the concert is free and donations will be accepted for Crooked Road Traditional Music Education Program (TMEP).

More information can be found at The Crooked Road website,www.thecrookedroad.org, and at SWVAculturalcenter.com. For additional information, please call (276) 492-2400, ext. 2409 or email: admin@thecrookedroad.org.

- END-

Photo of The Kempa Sisters (credit – Cynthia Kempa Photography) is attached.