1.06–1.12

Southwest Virginia probably isn't the first place that comes to mind when you think of multicultural dance, but after regularly adding 💃 salsa events 💃 and seeing the many classes offered this month, I'm beginning to think the dance scene here might, in fact, be something to write home about. Styles mentioned recently include Mambo, Bachata, Cumbia, Timba, Merengue, Rueda, Kizomba, Salsa, Tango, Cha-Cha, Zouk, Waltz, Ballet, Foxtrot, Swing, Quickstep, Bolera, Lindy, Hustle, Charleston, Clogging, Flatfoot, Contemporary, Pole, Belly, Hip Hop, Jazz, Liturgical, Tap, and even Cotillion! (See "Ongoing Events" below for more on that.)

So if you're already struggling to get your steps in, might I suggest you do as I say and not as I do—and give an exotic-sounding dance a try instead? 🕺 A great place to start is the BLUU (Big Lick Latin Underground) Website Launch Dance Party this Friday, where beginners of all types will be welcomed and encouraged. Stay cozy! ☃️

Mon 1/6
✮ 6–7pm: Frame Drum Class // The Beat Goes On - Salem // $10 ↝
🏆🧸 6–7pm: Youth Beginner Movement Class (rock climbing) // River Rock Climbing // $10; ages 8–13, registration req. ↝
✮ 6–7:15pm: The Inner Pathway to Peace (meditation class) // Dharmapala Kadampa Buddhist Center // $10 ↝
✮ 6:30pm: Monday Meetup - Crystals for Abundance (in-person & online) // One Community Now // free, donations welcome ↝

Tue 1/7
🎨 5:30–7pm: Living With Grief meetup: Soul Collage // Star City School of Ballet // free, registration req. ↝
✮ 6–8pm: Trivia with War on Books // Golden Cactus // free ↝
♫ 6–8pm: Hoppie Vaughan - solo (soul) // Wasena City Taproom // free ↝
✮ 6:30pm: Star City Garden Club presents Hunter's Gourmet Shroomery (lecture, class) // Roanoke Council of Garden Clubs - Cave Spring // free ↝
✮ 7–8pm: Open House FREE Class (dancing) // Guia Studio in Star City School of Ballet // free ↝
♫ 9:30pm: Christian Q & Co (funk, jazz, blues, pop) // Martin's Downtown // free ↝

Wed 1/8
🎨 4–5:30pm: New Year's Intention Candles with Get Lit Candle Bar (candlemaking class) // Toebean Cat Cafe // $40 ↝
♫ 5:30–8:30pm: Ella Folk (country) // Parkway Brewing - Salem // free ↝
✮ 6–7pm: Recycle Right: A Star City Sustainability Series program and post-holiday recycling event // CVC HQ inside Heights Community Church // free ↝
🎨 6–8pm: Rainy Reflections (paint nite) // Frank's Pizza - Salem // $45, registration req. ↝
✮ 6–8pm: An Evening with Author Heath Hardage Lee (book tour) // North Cross School // free ↝
🎨 6:30pm: Connect to Create: Hair Arts Masterclass (hairstyling) // The Collective // free, registration req. ↝
🐾 6:30pm (doors 6): Wild World of Animals Live! // Shaftman Performance Hall @ Jefferson Center // $10–30 (+6 fee) ↝
♫ 8–9pm: Buddy & the Blackjacks (bluegrass) // Coffee Pot Roadhouse // free ↝
♫ 9:30pm: Adam Hill Trio (piano, easy listening) // Martin's Downtown // free ↝

Thu 1/9
🎨 1–2pm: Art and Architecture in Roanoke’s Central Business District (talk & presentation) // Taubman Museum // $10, registration req. ↝
✮ 2–3pm: Genealogy Research Using City Directories (class) // Buchanan Library // free ↝
🎭🧸 5–6pm: Youth Auditions Unpacked (auditioning workshop) // Mill Mountain Theatre // free ↝
♫ 5–8pm: Minor Strings (folk, acoustic) // Parkway Brewing - Salem // free ↝
✮ 6:30pm: Community Care & Open Mic: Potluck & Vision Boarding // Blindhouse Beer Co. - Salem // free ↝
✮ 6:30–8pm: Wild Ones presents: How to Grow Native Plants from Seed (demo & workshop // Christ Lutheran Church // free ↝
✮ 6–7pm: Angels of Assisi Volunteer Meetup & Info Session // Angels of Assisi // free ↝
♫ 9:30pm: Off the Beaten Path (reggae, rock) // Martin's Downtown // free ↝

Fri 1/10
✮ 2–3pm: Middle Eastern Tambourine Workshop // Historic Fishburn Mansion // $55, registration req. ↝
♫ 5:30–8:30pm: Mad Iguanas (rock) // Parkway Brewing - Salem // free ↝
♫ 6:30–9:30pm: The Floorboards (Americana, country, rock) // Big Lick Brewing // free ↝
♫ 6:30–9:30pm: Starfire Live! (cover) // Twin Creeks Brewing - Vinton // free ↝
♫ 7pm: Tyler Jones - night 1 (country) // Sidewinders // free ↝
✮ 7–8:30pm: I.G.O.R. Introvert Gathering // Blue Ridge Indie Market // free ↝
🎨 7–9pm: Manifest that Sh!t! & Sip (painting & intention-setting social) // Golden Cactus // $35, registration req. ↝
♫ 7:30pm: The Honey Badgers (folk) // 3rd St. Coffeehouse // free ↝
♫ 7:30–10pm: Noah Spencer (Americana, country, singer songwriter) // Living Proof Beer Co. - Rocky Mount // free ↝
♫ 7:30–10:30pm: Jason Hostetter (cover) // Olde Salem Brewing - Salem // free ↝
♫ 7:30–10:30pm: Adam Hill Trio (piano, easy listening) // Olde Salem Brewing - Market St. // free ↝
🏳️‍🌈 8pm: Ru Paul Drag Race Viewing Party // The Park Dance Club ↝
♫ 8pm (doors 7:30): Blake Christiana (country) // The Spot on Kirk // $20 adv. $25 day of ↝
♫ 8pm: ON3 (cover) // Rosie's Gaming Emporium - Vinton // free, 21+ ↝
♫ 8pm: The Bellamy Brothers (country) // The Harvester Performance Center - Rocky Mount // $52+ ↝
♫ 8–11:30pm: Patchwork Band (rock, cover) // The Watering Hole // free ↝
💃 8pm–midnight (beginner lesson at 8): BLUU Website Launch Dance Party (Latin all-level dance social) // Roanoke City Market Building // $5 ↝
♫ 10pm: JCE & the End (alt indie southern grunge) // Martin's Downtown // $10 ↝

Sat 1/11
🎨 7–11am: Outdoor Photography: Wildlife (class) // Mill Mountain Discovery Center // $40 ↝
🏆 9am–5pm: Wild Caving (hands-on class) // location TBA // $55, 10+ w/ adult, registration req. ↝
✮♫ 11am–noon: All-Level Djembe Class // The Beat Goes On - Salem // $10 ↝
🏆 11am–noon: Genius Gaming Tournament: Fortnite // Fishburn Mansion // $10 ↝
🧸 11:30am–6pm: New Year's Wishes Workshop (collage bookmark making) // Dragon Bite Books & Crafts // free ↝
🎨 1:30–3:30am: Resin Pour Workshop (class) // Hammer & Stain // $37–75, depending on project selected; registration req. ↝
✮ 2–8pm: Taste of Virginia Expo (food vendors, crafts, cooking demos) // Hotel Roanoke // free ↝
✮ 4–5:30pm: Breath for a Better Life (SOMA breathwork & meditation class) // Motel Studios // $15, registration req. ↝
♫ 5–8pm: Baxter Briefly (alternative) // The Hangout // free, 21+ ↝
♫ 5:30–8:30pm: Seph Custer & the Flatbreaks (funk, rock) // Parkway Brewing - Salem // free ↝
♫ 6pm (doors 5): Divine Right, Companion of Fools, Hindsight, Expiration Date, Lose Sight, Reaction Time (hardcore, straightedge) // VFW Post 1264 - Grandin Ave. NW // $15; <18 $10(all ages show) ↝
♫ 6–9pm: Tin Can Locomotive (Americana) // Living Proof Beer Co. - Rocky Mount // free ↝
♫ 6:30–9:30pm: Kinnfolk (celtic, folk) // Twin Creeks Brewing - Vinton // free ↝
♫ 7pm: Tyler Jones - night 2 (country) // Sidewinders // free ↝
♫ 7:30pm (doors 6:30): Dave Matthews Tribute Band // 5 Points Music Sanctuary // $20 ↝
♫ 8pm: The Bogeys (classic rock covers) // Rosie's Gaming Emporium - Vinton // free, 21+ ↝
♫ 8pm: Scott Joshway & Randy Childress (guitarist) // Cast Plates & Pints // free ↝
🎭 8–9:30pm: Farming is Funny by Big Lick Conspiracy (improv comedy show) // Shenandoah B @ the Hotel Roanoke ↝
♫ 8–11pm (doors 7): Birchett/Jackson/Menestres/Wright Qtet feat. goat tube (electronic, noise) // Art Rat Studios // free, donations encouraged; BYOB ↝
💃 9pm–1am (group class 9): 2025 Resolution Dance (all-level Latin dance party) // Inka Grill // $10; 18+ ↝
♫ 10pm: Mojo Aces (rock) // Martin's Downtown // $8 ↝

Sun 1/12
🏆 10–11am: Indoor SUP Skills (intro to stand-up paddleboarding–all materials provided) // LancerLot Sports Complex // $15, registration req. ↝
🐾 noon–3pm: 200th Cativersary Adoption Event (cat adoptions, kids' events, crafts) // Kitty City Cat Café // free, donations welcome ↝
♫ 1–4pm: Foster Burton (psych rock, blues) // Parkway Brewing - Salem // free ↝
✮ 2–3:30pm: Frame Drum Elemental Rhythm Meditation // GLOW Healing Arts // $20 ↝
🎨 2–4pm: Paint Your Pet (paint nite) // Big Lick Brewing // $45, registration req., 21+ ↝
✮ 3–5pm: FRIENDS Trivia // Starr Hill Brewing // free ↝
♫ 5pm: Rockfish Jazz Sessions (jazz) // Rockfish Food & Wine // dinner reservations req. ↝
♫ 5–8pm: Bradley Steele (rock) // Wasena City Taproom // free ↝
♫ 5:30–8:30pm: Mason Creek (bluegrass) // Parkway Brewing - Salem // free ↝
♫ 6pm (details TBD): Derrin Bradbury (folk, Americana, indie) // Blindhouse Beer Co. ↝
♫ 8pm: Charlie Starr feat. Benji Shanks (country - acoustic Blackberry Smoke performance) // The Harvester Performance Center - Rocky Mount // $47+ ↝

Ongoing/Multiple Dates

✮ through Jan 19: VOTE in the 39th Annual "Best of Roanoke" Awards! // Show some local love by casting votes for your favorite places and faces. (Some of the more obscure "best of" categories include: meteorologist, ladies' night out, homeschool co-op, periodontist, and "Attraction to Feel Like a Kid Again.") ↝

💃 Sundays, Jan 5–Feb 9: Dance Like It's 1799 (dance class series) // "Explore the world of Jane Austen through dance! Ages 8–14 will have a ballet style warm up and class based on cotillion style and ballroom dance. Ages 15–adult will learn social dance of Regency Era." // $15 per class or $72 for all six classes ↝

🏳️‍🌈💃 Tuesdays, Jan 7–Feb 11: QDR: The FUNdamentals of Dance Connection! (queer dance class series) // "Leave perfectionism at the door in this beginner friendly series where we will focus each week on different skills for the dance floor through the different rhythms of salsa, bachata, tango and more. No partner necessary!" // $60–90 sliding scale for all six classes, registration req. ↝

💃 Tuesdays, Jan 7–Feb 18: Urban Kiz 6 Week Series (dance class series) // "We will continue to learn intermediate moves and concepts, however we will also review the foundations and basics of kizomba and urban kiz weekly, so [new students] are also welcome. No partner necessary." // $80 for all six classes, registration req. ↝

🏆 Jan 12–Mar 9: Walkabout Outfitters Get Outside Challenge 2025 // Complete your tracker by going outside at least 60 times (for 20 mins), then turn it in to any Walkabout location for a chance to win a $250 shopping spree or other prizes! ↝

🏆 Jan 13–Apr 23: Roanoke 100 Miler // "...walk, run, hike, or bike your way to 100 miles, or substitute one mile for 30 minutes of human-powered activity! All participants will receive encouraging messages, check-ins, and fitness tips from PLAY Roanoke and will have opportunities to win gift cards and other prizes." // $10 ($20 w/ t-shirt), registration req. ↝

Calls for Art Submissions

🎨 (submissions due Jan 17): Wasena Rebar Redux // Roanoke Parks & Rec is seeking artist proposals for an installation using reclaimed rebar from the Wasena Bridge. "The piece should be spatial...[it] can hold or define space, use a specific space of the park intentionally, invite visitors to experience its space, or change the experience of a park space." ↝

🎨 (submissions due Jan 20): Love in Many Colors // Art on 1st invites "artists of all mediums to submit works...exploring the theme 'Love in Many Colors.' This exhibition seeks to celebrate the diverse expressions of love...through the lens of color, culture, and individuality. Selected works will be featured in our our show for the month of February." ↝

🎨 (submissions due Feb 3): Larger than Life Sculpture Installation // Submissions are now being accepted for outdoor sculptures that are “Larger than Life”—oversized reimaginings of everyday objects. Both proposed work and finished pieces will be considered. ↝