On Friday, Sept. 13 at 6:30 p.m., join Piedmont Arts and their team of local chefs for, “Fortune + Flavor: Friday the 13!” This superstitious fundraiser features themed small-bites, craft cocktails, games and raffles, live music, and fun tarot readings. Show us if you're feeling lucky or unlucky by wearing all black or all white. Tickets are $50 and all-inclusive.
Fortunes:
Flavors:
Local chefs are gearing up to concoct small bites and craft cocktails, and we cannot wait to see the creativity that each of them will bring to their menus and tables. The event starts at 6:30 p.m. in the Frith Performance Hall and the Pavilion.
This year, our chefs are:
Put on your dancing shoes and join Piedmont Arts for a Swing Dance Party!
This event will feature live jazz music from The Bob Peckman Jazz Band out of Roanoke, Virginia. Bob and his band are ready to get you moving with their unique and upbeat sound.
With surprise appearances from the amazing choreographers and coaches for Dancing for the Arts, this is a party you won’t want to miss. Event will feature a cash bar, dance floor, and live music.
Join Piedmont Arts for a day trip to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts on Thursday, October 24 for their Fine Arts & Flowers 2024 exhibit. This will be a spectacular museum-wide exhibition of floral designs created by local garden and ikebana clubs, inspired by works of art in VMFA’s permanent collection. This event includes:
Tickets are $105 per person. Seating for this trip is limited, so act today! Call 276-632-3221 or e-mail Programs Coordinator Lauren Ellis at lellis@piedmontarts.org for more information.
Join Piedmont Arts for an opening reception in honor of the museum's new exhibit, Art of the Quilt. Free and open to the public. Complimentary wine and light refreshments. Live music.
RSVP attendance here by November 7, 2024
Many scholars consider Leonardo Da Vinci to be the greatest artistic genius in the history of Western Civilization. On Thursday, November 14, Dr. Elliot Engel will probe the breadth and depth of Leonardo’s extraordinary mind while revealing the fascinating causes for his many unfinished masterpieces. He even tackles the universal mystery of Mona Lisa’s smile. Join Piedmont Arts for dinner and a lecture from the incomparable humorist and scholar.
Dr. Engel lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he has taught at the University of North Carolina, North Carolina State University and Duke University. He has written ten books published in England, Japan, Turkey and the United States. His mini-lecture series on Charles Dickens ran on PBS television stations around the country. His articles have appeared in numerous newspapers and national magazines including Newsweek. Dr. Engel has lectured throughout the United States and on all the continents, including Antarctica. In 2009, he was inducted into the Royal Society of Arts in England for his academic work and service in promoting Charles Dickens.
Catered dinner at 6 PM, lecture begins at 7 PM.
Sponsored by King's Grant.
Preschool in the Galleries is a series of programs for pre-K students designed to foster a love of the performing and visual arts at a young age. Performances are free of charge to students and schools and feature performers from various arts organizations and schools in Martinsville-Henry County.
Performances take place at 9:30 am and 10:30 am on each date. Contact Jennifer Gravely at jgravely@piedmontarts.org to reserve a spot for your child or class.
Schedule: Coming Soon
Sponsored by Chip Wyatt - State Farm, Press Glass
Piedmont Arts will kick off the holiday season with the annual lighting of the Art Garden Christmas tree. Enjoy holiday music by the Martinsville High School Jazz Band and the First Baptist Church Choir, Gale Buck: Storytelling Santa, snacks and crafts.
Just like the sculptures in the Art Garden, the Christmas tree will be a work of art. Created by Ian Hogg using more than 3,000 lights, the tree will be lit at sunset and brighten the Art Garden through New Year’s Day.
This event is free and open to the public.
This performance is partially supported by funding from the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Online ticket sales end Saturday, Dec. 7 at 5 pm. Tickets available at the door.
The most highly anticipated holiday event of the season returns with a matinee performance. There’s no better way to lift your spirits than with the music of the season delivered in full sound and spectacle by the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra. This year, David Stewart Wiley conducts the Holiday Pops with all the magical elements you have come to expect — high energy, familiar carols and lots of holiday warmth.
Featuring guest soloist Michael Lynche. Lynche is a new breed of soul singer with completely classic influences. Traces of Donny Hathaway, Al Green, Luther Vandross, Sam Cooke and James Brown all seem to flash in this uniquely talented performer. Undeniable charisma, well-crafted song arrangements and a voice soaked in soul give the big man class all his own. “Big Mike”—as he was known while winning over the hearts of a nation during his stint on American Idol—has talent so versatile, he’s played intimate jazz & blues clubs, 20,000 seat arenas and opera halls with 100 piece orchestras backing him. Through it all “Big Mike” has always had one singular goal: to spread a message of love wherever he goes.
Altrusa will collect non-perishable food items for Grace Network in the lobby during the symphony's performance.
Event Schedule
1:30 pm- Lobby and Box Office open
2 pm - Auditorium opens
3 pm - Concert begins
If you need assistance with your online transaction or have questions, please call 276.632.3221.
Join us for an Art Talk in the galleries on Thursday, February 6 with poet and scholar TJ Anderson III. Anderson will be discussing his journey as a writer, sharing readings of his award-winning poetry, and illustrating connections between poetry and jazz.
A poet, author, and literary critic, Anderson is professor of English at Hollins whose research interests include jazz poetry, African American literature, and the work of Aimé Césare. A former Fulbright Scholar, he lived in Cairo, Egypt, where he taught at Cairo University and conducted research on the influence of jazz on contemporary Egyptian music. He is the author of Devonte Travels the Sorry Route, At Last Round Up, River to Cross, and Notes to Make the Sound Come Right: Four Innovators of Jazz Poetry. In addition, Anderson has produced two poetry and music collaborations: The Mask (with William Bolcom) and Songs of Illumination (with T.J. Anderson Jr.), and the highly acclaimed spoken word CD, Blood Octave.
Professor Anderson describes his life’s “artistic journey, a journey that is rooted in African-American culture and American culture” in Devonte Travels the Sorry Route.
This event is free and open to the public. Donations are encouraged. RSVP attendance here.
Sponsored by Carter Bank & Trust
The African American Read-In and Family Day will feature storytelling, crafts, music, food, and face painting. Admission to the event and to the Artmobile will be free for all participants.
Piedmont Arts' African American Read-In and Family Day is held in conjunction with the National African American Read-In established in 1990 by the Black Caucus of the National Council of Teachers of English to make literacy a significant part of Black History Month. This initiative has reached more than 6 million participants around the world. The National African American Read-In is a groundbreaking effort to encourage communities to read together, centering African American books and authors.
Musical entertainment will be provided by Dionte Hall, or “Taye the Truth.” Hall is a lyricist native to Roanoke, Virginia. His music is hailed as uplifting, relatable and accessible to a variety of audiences, paving the way for building an established brand in Southwest Virginia. Taye the Truth ceaselessly continues to use his music as inspiration for his community to both believe in and express themselves. He was featured in The Roanoker’s 40 Under 40 list for 2023 and his contributions to the community are vast.
Storytelling will be provided by Fred Motley, a Danville-based storyteller. He will perform classic folktales, songs and stories from around the world. A modern-day griot, Motley has traveled to festivals and other venues to teach African-American history, music and dance for over 30 years.
In addition to these major elements of the day’s programming, families can expect face painting and crafts hosted by the Teen Arts Council.
More information coming soon.
Grab the mic and express yourself through music, poetry, comedy or spoken word. Performers should sign up for a five-minute (max) spot upon arrival. Free to performers and audience. Cash bar.
Upcoming Events
| August 15 | Natalie Hodge | 7 pm |
| October 10 | Jake Earles | 7 pm |
| January | Taye the Truth | 7 pm |
| April 10 | Anna Wheeler | 7 pm |
Admission Free
Join us for our second annual Piedmont Arts' Arts Festival! This event is designed to showcase and celebrate local artists, artisans, performing artists, and creators of all kinds. This event will feature food trucks, artists, performers, crafts, and face painting.
This year, Piedmont Arts is thrilled to announce they will be hosting Paperhand Puppet Intervention at the Arts Festival. They are a puppet theater company based out of Saxapahaw, North Carolina who creates unique, giant, papier-mache puppet extravaganzas complete with live music and so much more. Since 1998, they have been using papier-mâché, cardboard, bamboo, your old house paints, cloth, and other assorted junk (treasure to them) to create incredible giant puppets, masks, shadow plays and spectacle performances for all ages. They continue to tell stories, beat drums, sew cloth, get sweaty, push boundaries and carry heavy things to help make the world a better place. Paperhand’s parades, pageants, and award winning performances aim to be an inspiration, a call to action, and a celebration for everyone to enjoy! They will be participating in the festival and performing a giant puppet parade.
More information for vendor sign-up, musician sign-up, and a schedule of events are coming soon. This event is free and open to the public. Please reach out to Programs Coordinator Lauren Ellis at lellis@piedmontarts.org if you have questions about this event.
Join Piedmont Arts on a bus to Broadway! We will be taking patrons to the Durham Performing Arts Center for a matinee production of “Kimberly Akimbo,” a part of their Broadway at DPAC series.
“THE BEST NEW MUSICAL OF THE YEAR — BY FAR. A wondrous new musical, breathtakingly lovely and riotously funny — as full-hearted as any musical to be seen in recent years.”
-The Wall Street Journal
A new musical about growing up and growing old (in no particular order), “Kimberly Akimbo” is the winner of 5 Tony Awards including Best Musical. Kimberly is about to turn 16 and recently moved with her family to a new town in suburban New Jersey. In this “howlingly funny heartbreaker of a show” (The New Yorker), Kim is forced to navigate family dysfunction, a rare genetic condition, her first crush … and possible felony charges. Ever the optimist, she is determined to find happiness against all odds and embark on a great adventure.
The van will depart from Piedmont Arts at 11:30 a.m. for a 2 p.m. performance. The van will return to Piedmont Arts immediately following the performance. A boxed lunch option will be available.
Tickets will go on sale soon, please reach out to Piedmont Arts at 276-632-3221 or Programs Coordinator Lauren Ellis at lellis@piedmontarts.org for more details.
This performance is partially supported by funding from Mid-Atlantic Arts.
From her ancestral lineage to her arrival at a metaphorical crossroad, Debra Ann Byrd presents a tour-de-force journey of living memoir in Becoming Othello, A Black Girl’s Journey. This autobiographical solo show chronicles the trials and triumphs of Byrd’s life: her joy-filled and tumultuous youth growing up in Harlem, her experiences in foster care, her growth as a pregnant teen and single parent, her fateful encounter with a troupe of Shakespearean actors, navigating race and the classics, and ultimately her gender-flipped journey to playing Othello.
Interspersed with verses from Othello and dynamic multimedia elements, Byrd bares her soul in this vulnerable, personal, and resonant story of perseverance, discovery, and unconditional love. Directed by Shakespeare & Company founder Tina Packer and written by and starring the Founding Artistic Director of the Harlem Shakespeare Festival and Artistic Director at Southwest Shakespeare Company Debra Ann Byrd, Becoming Othello “is gripping, realistic, theatrical, and dynamic” (The Berkshire Edge) and an integral addition to our season.
Run Time: The run time for this show is 1 hour and 45 minutes with no intermission.
Content Warning: This show is based on Byrd’s real-life experiences, and includes content that may be distressing. Please reach out to Lauren Ellis at lellis@piedmontarts.org for specific content related questions.
Co-hosted with Starling Avenue Cards and Comics. In partnership with the VMFA Statewide Programs.
Join Piedmont Arts for an Art Talk with Virginia Museum of Fine Arts educator Christopher Irving. Christopher Irving is a Richmond-based comic book and popular culture historian. He received a BFA in Arts Education from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Masters in Literary Criticism from Brooklyn College. He currently serves as Consulting Editor of Comic Book Creator magazine.
Irving performs a reading of his book with Seth Kushner, accompanied with a slideshow of comic book creator portraits that starts with Captain America co-creator Joe Simon and ending with emerging comics talent. Irving conveys verbal snippets of the history of the American comic book, straight from the mouths of the creators themselves. Subjects include Stan Lee (Marvel Comics, Spider-Man), Frank Miller (Batman: The Dark Knight Returns), Art Spiegelman (Maus), Chris Ware (Building Stories), Harvey Pekar (American Splendor), and Dennis O’Neil (Batman).
Event is free and open to the public. Donations are encouraged. RSVP attendance here.
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