It had been a snowy weekend. I had barely been out of the house. All the K-12 public schools in the area had already announced they would be closed on Monday, so I had assumed the Will Kimbrough show at Roanoke’s Kirk Avenue Music Hall Sunday, Jan. 31, had been canceled due to weather.

At almost 6 p.m., my wife (and New River Voice Managing Editor) Taryn Chase checked out the Facebook page for Kirk Ave. and saw that the show was still on. It was a long trip on a cold, Sunday night in which road conditions were less than ideal, but I had a Subaru and thought, “Why not?” (more…)

Those familiar with the culinary talents of Michael Gucciardo have waited five years for him to come back home to Floyd. A native New Yorker, Michael learned how to cook authentic Italian food from his father and other family members born in Italy. Although he has cooked in Virginia restaurants throughout the region, his Floyd following of fans was formed during his many years as chef (and sometime co-owner) of The Pine Tavern Restaurant.

Gucciardo’s new place, called Mickey G’s Italian Bistro and Pizzeria, was packed on Saturday night, just two nights after the restaurant’s opening. One table of twelve was there to celebrate Gucciardo’s return. A Frank Sinatra recording played in the background. Neighbors greeted each other, as waiters (mostly Gucciardo family members) hustled by carrying dishes that showed off Gucciardo’s knack with capers, sun dried tomatoes, artichokes, olive oil, garlic, and roasted red peppers.

Some diners couldn’t resist craning their necks to see menu offerings at other tables. There were mussels, fried squid, swordfish, antipasto salad, meatballs, pizza, focaccia bread, and dishes with names that were hard to pronounce, such as rapini salsiccia (pasta with broccoli raab and Italian sausage).

The portions were hearty and affordable, and the ambience in the bistro was lively. At one point Gucciardo came into the dining room area and customers toasted and applauded him. It was obvious by the turnout and the warm reception he received that Floyd is glad to have Gucciardo back in town.

Post Notes: Mickey G’s is located next to the Floyd Fitness Center on Parkview Road. Menu listing and other information can be found at the Mickey G’s website. A short video clip of Gucciardo interacting with diners on Saturday night can be found HERE.

~ Colleen Redman blogs daily at looseleafnotes.com.

A Museletter Mascot, a 30 year anniversary party, and a monthly crossword puzzle of Floyd County trivia were some of the ideas given at the Consensus Workshop at the library on Saturday.

The workshop was facilitated by Andy Morikawa of the Community Foundation of the New River Valley to discuss the future of the Museletter, the homespun community forum created for the purpose of sharing literary/artistic entertainment and ideas on self-reliance, growing and preserving food, holistic health, and home schooling by some of Floyd’s back-to-the-land-settlers more than 25 years ago.

A mix of 15 longtime and newer Museletter supporters attended the three hour workshop, which not only assisted the group in arriving at a common place of clarity, but modeled the structure of the consensus building process that Andy is so skilled at guiding. After laying out some guidelines, such as “speak for yourself, one person at time, share the air,” Andy prompted us to individually share when we first saw the Museletter, what it means to us, and how we see it evolving.

The stories shared were rich and varied. Museletter collating coordinator, Virginia Neukirch, talked about the positive community interaction of the monthly stapling and labeling get-togethers that she does with individuals with disabilities and others in the community.

Jayn talked about the Museletter as a writer’s training ground and how she didn’t start out thinking of herself as a writer, but having her writing published in the Museletter was instrumental in building her confidence to become one. Elisha, who will be sharing layout coordination and who grew up reading her parent’s copies, said “It’s the roots of Floyd. It brings the community together.” Pat Woodruff picked up her first copy in a downtown café and thought it looked cool. She said she appreciates that the Museletter features stuff that the local newspaper misses.

A turning point for me was when Andy asked us to brainstorm a list of all forms of local media (print and online) and then asked “Which one is closest to what the Museletter provides?” None really were.

Our Brainstorming sessions were broken up into three working tables and eventually revealed the “Focus Question: How Can We Make the Museletter a Better Community Forum? From there, ideas flew on how to increase subscriptions and submissions through more visibility and community interaction. A semblance of ideas congealed and before we knew it we not only had a plan, we had people willing to implement it.

The consensus was that the Museletter needed a Facebook page - perhaps a first step in the Museletter’s online presence, because who knows where more visibility and interaction will lead? In the first hour of being on Facebook (Saturday) 15 friends of the Museletter had signed on. As I type this today (Sunday) 157 have joined the Museletter fan club.

As someone who has been directly involved with the Museletter since I moved to Floyd in 1985 (in large part because of what I read in the Museletter after Bob Grubel sent me one), I left the meeting feeling proud of the cultural record that the Museletter has created and uplifted by its potential.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to our fans. Signed, A Muse.

Note:  Visit us on Facebook.   Read more about A Museletter HERE.

Colleen Redman blogs daily at looseleafnotes.com 

The babies were cute and the Country Store Christmas stage looked pretty. How could I resist documenting the event?

One photograph led to another and soon snapping pictures and videos took precedent over my urge to dance.

The turnout was good, the music top notch, the fellowship fun, and the reason we were there was heartwarming (in stark contrast to the bitter cold weather outside).

It was a fundraiser for Floyd ’s Young Actors Co-op actor and Spoken Word performer Wolf Cherrix (center), who has been managing Hodgkin’s lymphoma on and off since 2005.

The entertainment, the venue, the arts and crafts and other door prizes were all donated. Volunteers who organized the event said $1,600 was raised for Wolf’s holistic health treatments. Owwwwwooooo! Yip Yip!

Post note: Story and more photos will be in this week’s Floyd Press. Videos of musical performances are HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE. More about Wolf’s story HERE.

~ Colleen Redman blogs daily at looseleafnotes.com

Christmas tree collection is available to all Town of Blacksburg Refuse and Recycling customers. Collection will begin Jan. 4 and continue through the first two weeks of January. Trees that are collected will be chipped, and used as an alternate fuel source.

Christmas Tree Collection Guidelines
• Place your cut tree at the curb before 7 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 11, to ensure pickup.
• Trees and greenery must be free of all decorations and wire.

For more information please e-mail recycle@blacksburg.gov or call 540.961.1142.

~ The following was published in The Floyd Press on December 10, 2009.

Mankind is my business!” bellowed the Ghost of Jacob Marley, played by Emerson Perry during a Sunday evening performance of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol at the Sun Hall. This classic tale of redemption and Christmas spirit, the latest Young Actors Co-op (YAC) production, enlisted the talents of the largest cast yet, with many parts suited for young first time performers.

Top hats and bonnets, petticoat dresses, shawls, and eerie ghostly cloaks, along with inventive set designs literally set the stage for an engaging 90 minutes of holiday

entertainment, played to a full house. Period costumes from the nineteenth century were borrowed from Charlotte Atkins’ private vintage collection, sewn by YAC parents Dr. Sue Osborne and Heather Spangler, and found in thrift shops. The Ghost of Christmas Present (Coriander Woodruff) adorned in a wreath of holly loomed large on walking stilts.

The addition of drop microphones by YAC light and sound engineer Woody Woodruff allowed audience members in farthest reaches of the hall to hear first time YAC actor, 7 year old Bert Avellar deliver Tiny Tim’s resounding line “God bless us everyone.” Special tricks of lighting projected Jacob Marley’s haunting face on to Scrooge’s (Cameron

Woodruff) door.

“YAC strives to bring the highest standard of theater excellence to the stage, to provide a creative outlet for youths in the region, and to encourage a love and appreciation for the art of theater in young and old,” the event program reads. Under the direction of Rose McCutchan, the group has proven once again that they are fulfilling that mission. ~ Colleen Redman blogs daily at looseleafnotes.com.