40 Days + 40 Nights of Arts and Culture is packed full of regional events/activities beginning October 1st - November 9th. As the Parkway celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2010, 40 Days + 40 Nights of Arts and Culture will have you traveling Along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Start your engines with a new kick-off event: Art Cars (And Other Modes of TranspARTation) on Saturday, October 2 at the Virginia Museum of Transportation and a special photography exhibit of Art Cars at the Downtown Public Library. Other kick-off events include the Harvest Festival (presented by Downtown Roanoke Inc.) and Big Lick Blues Festival (presented by Event Zone). Roanoke is THE PLACE TO BE the first weekend of October!

About The Arts Council

The Arts Council of the Blue Ridge was established in 1976 with a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to promote the arts in the Roanoke Valley and provide services to local cultural groups. Throughout the decades, The Arts Council of the Blue Ridge has provided proactive leadership in which to maintain and strengthen the cultural activities of southwest Virginia. Today, The Arts Council of the Blue Ridge provides programs and services to 100 member organizations and more than 270 individual artists of all artistic disciplines. Programs and services include Grants for Artists Program (GAP), Virginia GEMS (Give Experiences. Minimize Stuff.) www.myvirginiagems.com an arts-eco-friendly program that encourages the community to give experiential gifts (tickets, memberships, etc.) instead of “stuff”, the Perry F. Kendig Awards (our version of the Academy Awards for local artists and cultural organizations), Guide to the Lively Arts - an e-newsletter of arts happenings for weekend planning, arts management workshops and more. Feedback or Questions? Contact info@theartscouncil.org