Bonus Dozen: One For Every Month of 2014
January 18, 6 p.m. at the Roanoke Civic Center: Guns and Hoses hockey game. $5 to watch the cops and the firefighters channel Wayne Gretzky.
February 14, 8 p.m. Haven’t been to a concert at the Jeff Center?! The inimitable blues man Taj Mahal will take the stage.
March. Before it gets warm hie on down to the O. Winston Link Museum and absorb the amazing imagery and history of when rail was king in these parts.
April. The 16th annual Blue Ridge Kite Festival in Green Hill Park features little kites and big kites, little kids and big kids,
May 7-11. The 58th annual Vinton Dogwood Festival features the best in small-town traditions, including parade, queen and court, and a flat 5K.
June. The Virginia Museum of Transportation is a good visit anytime, but especially for the 15th Annual African-American Railroad Celebration.
July. Virginia Amateur Sports celebrates its 25th anniversary with the Subway Commonwealth Games, with events for everyone in the family.
August. The 40th (!) annual Salem Distance Run tests runners not only for the distance but also the August weather.
September. And for a whole different kind of run, get really dirty, wet and sloppy at the 19th annual Marine 5K Mud Run at Green Hill Park.
October. Hotel Roanoke hosts Pajama Jam, a dinner, concert and silent auction to benefit the American Cancer Society and to increase breast cancer awareness.
November. The biggest run in Roanoke is now also its biggest family party, as the Drumstick Dash attracts some 15,000 Roanokers and their Thanksgiving-Day visitors to a run or stroll through downtown Roanoke.
December. Get your Thomas Jefferson on with a visit to the annual Holiday Open House at Jefferson’s Poplar Forest out in Forest.
