2012 Events and Festivals in Giles...

April

• April - Annual Vidalia Onion Sale
  Place orders with Wolf Creek Ruritan members or call 540-726-2638 for information.
• April 14 | Annual Wolf Creek Heritage Music Festival (The Crooked Road)
  Saturday, 4pm - $3.00; 10/under Free - Civil War & Heritage Music played by banjo, fiddle, and other strings. Includes bluegrass, oldtime, gospel, etc. Sponsored by Wolf Creek Ruritan in cooperation with The Crooked Road. Food available. Ruritan Community building, Penvir Rd. Info: 726.2638
• April 15-July 15 | "On the Eve of War: Artists' Views of Giles County in the mid-19th Century
  A talk by Doug Martin and George A. McLean Jr. on the works of Lewis Miller and Edward Beyer. Thursday, April 19 at 7:00 PM at the Giles County Historical Museum. An exhibit of their works will be on view at the Historical Society from April 15-July 15. 540-921-1050 or www.gilescountyhistorical.org.
• April 18 | Astronomy Workshop & "Mid-night" Cookout at Glen Alton 
  Beginning at 8:30pm. Open to families and friends! Contact the Extension Office for more information and to register. Pre-registration recommended. (540) 921-3455
• April 22 | Mystery at Mountain Lake
  An exhibit describing the recovery and investigation of human remains found at the bottom of the dried lakebed in 2008. Includes artifacts recovered from the site. Giles County Historical Museum, through April 22. 540-921-1050 or www.gilescountyhistorical.org.
• April 28 | Garlic Mustard Challenge
  Enjoy a fun day helping to improve the Cascades ecosystem. A great service project for your group!
  10-3 at the Cascades Day Use Area, Pembroke. Free parking - please carpool. For mor information please call the Eastern Divide Ranger Station at 552-4641.
• April 28 | The Spring UP Wolf Creek Bicycle Ride
  Starting at 12 noon. Proceeds from the ride will go to support sight conservation, provide glasses for the needy, and help for the blind.This is a fun ride for the entire family and is an excellent way to start the spring. The ride will start and finish in Narrows, VA. For more information, email bobcathy3@verizon.net or call 540-726-7088.

May

• May 5 | Brew Ridge Festival on Mountain Lake 12-5pm on the lawn in front of the Mountain Lake Hotel Featuring...Exclusive Virginia Microbreweries combined with Old-Time & Bluegrass Music at 4,000 feet in the beautiful Appalachian mountains! An outdoor event fostering a family-friendly atmosphere on top of the Mountain. BrewRidge is a fundraiser event for the MLC celebrating local musicians and Virginia microbreweries. Concessions available for duration of festival. Ticket information on website.
• May 19 | The 7th Annual Narrows Kids Fishing Day is scheduled for Saturday, May 19th at the Narrows Town Park! Stocking will be the morning of the event and will start at 8:30 a.m.  Fishing will begin at 10:00 a.m., and children ages 5 to 8 years old ONLY will be allowed to fish during the first hour.  All children, ages 5 to 15 years old, will be allowed to fish from 11:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.
  This event is only made possible by the generous donations of our sponsors.  If you are interested in making a donation, or if you are interested in volunteering on the day of the event, please call Jessie at the Narrrows Town Office at 540-726-2423 or send an email to jparsell@suddenlinkmail.com.
• May 12 | Sheep & Goat Care Clinic at the Newport Fairgrounds
  From 10AM until 3PM. Open to public interested in learning more about sheep and goats. Targeted for youth but parents are invited to attend as well. Contact the Extension Office for more information and to register.  Pre-registration recommended. (540) 921-3455
• May 18-19 | Giles Fiddler's Convention
  Join us for a weekend of music, camping, and canoeing on the majestic New River! A positive weekend focused of family entertainment with music, canoeing, and primitive camping. The beautiful 30 acre Whitt-Riverbend Park on the New River will be transformed into a community event with bluegrass and old time competitions, activities for kids, and fun on the river for all ages.
• May 19 | Learn Traditional Country Dancing!  Prepare for the Giles County Civil War Weekend, which will include traditional dance and music, by learning the basic steps of the Virginia Reel and other favorites!  Taught by "Wild Bill" Anderson for beginners or those who need a brush-up.   Saturday, May 19, 3:00-5:00 pm at the Giles County Historical Society.  $5.00.  540-921-1050 or www.gilescountyhistorial.org.
• May 27 | Mountains of Misery Bike Race
  Mountains of Misery will test your endurance over some of the biggest mountains in Southwest Virginia..not to mention the finale grueling climb up to Mountain Lake! Bring the family and stay the weekend at Mountain Lake! Imagine soaking in the hot tub followed by a hearty Southern meal in our dining room. Your family can enjoy our 2,600 acres of mountaintop activities and cheer you on as you cross the finish line. We have a special racer's lodging package just for Mountains of Misery participants! Special lodging rate for registered racers!

June

• June 10-11 | Henry Reed Fiddler's Convention Glen Lyn Park. Concerts on Friday and Competitions on Saturday. June 10 at 5 PM, The Reed Family Band will kick off the show, The Giles Mountain String Band, Katie and the Bubbatones, and Stanley Asbury and the Monroe-Floyd Connection. Saturday from 10 till 12 continues Alan Jabbours fiddle workshops. June 11, Individual Competition starts at 1 pm. The evening ends with Bluegrass and Old Time Band Competitions.
• June 2 | Come Outside and Play at Glen Alton
• 10-3 - Unplug your child and get them OUTSIDE! Mud pie kitchen, critters in the water, naturalist hikes, roam the grounds, eat a hot dog, walk to the wetlands and more.  Kids only fishing in the upper pond (no license needed). For more information contact Eastern Divide Ranger Station 540-552-4641
• June 9-10 | A  Grand Reenactment of the 1862 Battle of Pearisburg
  with an evening encampment followed the next day by a full-scale skirmish with infantry and artillery troops, and a fully-staffed field hospital.
• June 1-3, September 21-23, and October 12-14 | A.T. Hiking Weekends
  Guided hikes along the A.T. free and open to the public! Promoting stewardship and enjoyment of the Appalachian Trail by all walks of life. The June 2nd hike to McAfee Knob coordinates with National Trails Day. Local naturalists will join on hikes to highlight ecology topics such as wildflowers and birding. Participants must register with the MLC prior to the hikes.
• June 23rd Eastern Divide Ultra 50K Trail Run
  Presented by TriAdventure in Blacksburg, an extreme trail run from the Falls to the Lake. Mountain Lake will host the finish area for the race, a pre-race dinner and post-race entertainment, and more. Runners and spectators welcome! Special lodging rate for registered racers!

July

• July | New Riverfest Fishing Contest
• July 4th | Narrows Forth of July Festival
• July 21 | Dirty Dawg at Mountain Lake
  High elevation, technical single-track, fern-lined trails and plenty of boulders to test your skills! Mountain Lake is one of Southwest Virgina's best kept mountain biking getaways. Race is in coordination with East Coasters Bike Shop and Virginia Off-Road Series, a portion of the proceeds will benefit the Mountain Lake Conservancy. Special lodging rate for registered racers!

August

• August - Fall into the New - River Clean-up
• August 10 - Women's Wellness Weekends at Mountain Lake
• August 11 | Dirty Dancing Festival with town of Pearisburg
  Have the time of your life celebrating 25 years since Dirty Dancing was filmed in Giles County. As part of the celebration, Pearisburg will block off part of downtown and hold an all day celebration with dancing in the streets, tours of the movie locations, talents show, dance lessons, live bands, childrens activities and car show. Don't miss this exciting celebration of one of the best loved movies of all time known around the world.

September

• September 15 - Art on the Lawn
  On the Giles County Courthouse lawn. We will have an alternate location in case of inclement weather so we're on rain or shine.
• September 24 - Tour De Wolf Creek Cycling Event
  12:00 noon. This is a fun ride for the entire family and is an awesone autumn adventure along Wolf Creek starting and finishing in Narrows, VA.Take your pick of approximately a 20 mile, 30 mile or a 53 mile round trip ride, or you can ride as much of the course that you want. Enjoy the fall foilage and the serene ride along Wolf Creek nestled in the Alleghany Mountains.

Giles County Pages...

• About Giles
• Glen Alton Farm
• Businesses
• Amish Community

Trails in Giles...

Bike, Hike and Blueway Trails
Proposed - pdf and Existing - pdf

Information...

Giles County Administration
315 N. Main Street
Pearisburg, VA 24134
phone: (540) 921-2525
fax: (540) 921-1329
website: www.gilescounty.org

Giles County Chamber of Commerce
website: www.gileschamber.net