Upcoming September events

Lots of events are coming up that are on my radar.

Carroll County (Va.) Fair

First off, this weekend is the Carroll County (Va.) Fair. I think Chris has to work some this weekend to cover it, so we might actually go.

(Please do not use any photos without permission.)

A girl pets a pig at the Carroll County Fair/Photo by Christopher Brooke

I've never been to the fair although it's been held for a few years now. It's really small, so there's not much to it. But maybe it's supposed to be small. I've never been to a county fair, only a state one. And state fairs are huge.

The county fair is held at the Southwest Virginia Farmers Market, right off I-77 at exit 14.

Hillsville's Labor Day Flea Market and Gun Show

Next weekend is Hillsville's Labor Day Flea Market and Gun Show. I know many, many people probably already have this on their calendars.

I wonder if this will be the largest flea market yet. I swear tents started popping up along U.S. 58 a week ago.

I'm looking forward to seeing if the market expands this year and seeing if the sidewalks and streets will be hard to move through because of the thousands of people wandering around booths.

Blue Ridge Parkway's 75th

One of the biggest events I'm looking forward to is the Blue Ridge Parkway's 75th Anniversary Festival, Sept. 10-12.

I know there have been several events throughout the year, but this will be the official celebration.

I want to go to the Blue Ridge Music Center in Galax, Va., and Cumberland Knob for the activities. I'm really looking forward to seeing Dr. Ralph Stanley at the music center that Saturday. I gotta see that man perform before he dies! (I'm not a big old time or bluegrass music fan, but I do enjoy some of it.)

If you go to the music center, check out the trail that winds up and down the peak behind the stage. It's a nice, short hike.

You can check out the schedules and more information of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation's 75th Anniversary website here.

Hillsville's Downtown Celebrations

Don't forget about Hillsville's downtown celebrations, featuring arts and crafts, classic car cruise-in and beach music.

I wrote about that here. The next concert is Sept. 11.

Chateau Morrisette's Black Dog Wine and Beach Music Festival

Chateau Morrisette, 287 Winery Road SW, Floyd, Va., will continue its music festivals Oct. 9 with the Black Dog Wine and Beach Music Festival. The winery is located at Milepost 171.5 off the Blue Ridge Parkway.

We visited the winery Aug. 14 for the Black Dog Wine and Jazz Festival. The day's music featured salsa, jazz and Caribbean music, courtesy of Beleza Brazil and Los Gatos. It was so much fun!

The price of a ticket gets you admission, free wine tasting and a free wine glass. It's a pretty good deal.

The glasses of wine we got this year at one of the Chateau's wine and jazz festival./Photo by E.A. Seagraves

We also enjoyed lunch in the winery's restaurant. I had a delicious lamb chop, couscous and asparagus. The dessert was a heavenly chocolate cake with espresso ice cream. We enjoyed the meal with a bottle of Chateau's Blackberry Wine, probably one of our favorites.

The next events are Oct. 9 music festival will feature The Embers and Key West Band.