Courtesy of O. Winston Link Museum
The O. Winston Link Museum will honor its 20th anniversary Aug. 17 with Celebration at the Station festival, lectures and exhibits related to Link’s photography of the last steam train.
Celebration, a free event, will be at the historic Norfolk & Western passenger station on 101 Shenandoah Avenue NE, across from The Hotel Roanoke, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Shenandoah Avenue will be closed between Williamson Road and Jefferson Street for vendors’ booths. Also on site will be the restored 1948 Grottoes (Va.) fire truck. The truck was photographed by Link in February 1957 as part of his efforts to capture the landscapes along the route of Norfolk and Western’s steam train. Vendor spaces are available and interested persons can email Kelly Robertson, info@vahistorymuseum.org, for an application.
Special admission pricing is available for the day, and two new Link exhibits will be on view. The gift shop will have special pricing on preorders for the Steam and Steel 2025 calendar and for a limited reprint of Tony Reevy’s Life Along the Line.
Online Photo Competition
An online photo competition invites entrants to submit their works showcasing modern photographic recreations inspired by Link. The works will be displayed through the Link Museum’s Facebook page. Public voting will begin July 24, 2024, and end Aug. 7, 2024. The five most popular photographs through online voting will be printed and displayed in the lobby of Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge on Aug. 17, 2024, for in- person public voting, The photograph with the most public votes wins the Grand Prize.
Participants must submit one high resolution (at least 300 dpi) photograph digitally to info@vahistorymuseum.org. Submissions must include the artist’s name, title of the work and date created. There is no charge for a submission.
Lectures scheduled
In conjunction with the anniversary, lectures are planned on July 23 and Aug. 27.
On July 23, author Tony Reevy will showcase images from "O. Winston Link: Life Along the Line," and discuss Link and Link’s work. On Aug. 27, Tim Hensley will share stories of his work with the renowned photographer, including the "Steam, Steel, and Stars," book that introduced Link to a larger audience. Lectures will be in the museum theater at 7 p.m. Admission is $5/Free for HSWV members.
Celebration at the Station is sponsored in part by the Norfolk Southern Corp., the David Goode Family Foundation, and Gordon Hamilton, as well as through partnerships with the Grottoes Volunteer Fire Department, Center in the Square, and Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge. The museums are operated by the Historical Society of Western Virginia and are open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
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