TOPS (Take off Pounds Sensibly): All ages are invited to participate in the non-judgmental program at the Salem Senior Center on Tuesdays from 5-6 p.m. There is a registration fee and a $3 per month fee. Call Charlene Lester at 540-293-7753 with questions.
2025 Juried Biennial Exhibition: February 1 – March 16. Olin Hall Galleries. The Juried Biennial Exhibition at Olin Hall Galleries showcases the work of regional artists within a 200-mile radius of Roanoke College. Paintings, sculpture, graphic design, ceramics, textile, mixed media, video and photography are among the mediums considered for exhibition. Submissions were judged by juror James Salomon, director of design projects at Achille Salvagni Atelier in New York. Salomon’s decades of experience began with Mary Boone, followed by his own galleries in East Hampton and New York. He has curated numerous gallery and institutional exhibitions, as well as facilitated adventurous art projects, like Norma the Art Car by Kenny Scharf, which rolls around the Roanoke campus on occasion. The biennial exhibition has been organized every two years since 1990. It is on display at Olin Hall Galleries from 1 to 4 p.m. daily (closed during school breaks and holidays).
International Film Series: February 11 – February 23. Various Locations. The 7th annual Roanoke College International Film Series is offering eight public film screenings held at locations across the Roanoke Valley. This year’s theme is Truth & Lies. Each film will be followed by a post-screening, panel-led discussion. For a full schedule of films, visit roanoke.edu/rcifs. The series is co-sponsored by Hollins University, Roanoke Valley Sister Cities, Grandin Theatre and Taubman Museum of Art.
The David L. Guy Lecture Series with Daniel Di Martino: Monday, March 10, 2025, 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. Colket Center, Wortmann Ballroom. Born in Venezuela during the same year Hugo Chavez became president, Daniel Di Martino shares his personal story of how socialist policies transformed the once prosperous nation. The David L. Guy Lecture Series is presented by the Center for Economic Freedom and the Young America’s Foundation.
Bishop Crumley Lecture Series with Dr. Brad Wilcox: Tuesday, March 18, 2023, 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. Colket Center, Wortmann Ballroom. When it comes to relationships, many young adults are confused, conflicted and unsure that they can forge a successful path toward the altar. This lecture by UVA Professor Brad Wilcox will help identify problems confronting young adults looking for lifelong love and then provide 10 steps that young men and women can take to increase their odds of finding lifelong love. The Bishop Crumley Lecture Series is organized by the Benne Center for Church & Society.
Emancipation Week Lecture: Wednesday, April 2, 2025, 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. Colket Center, Wortmann Ballroom. In a lecture entitled, “Male or Man?: American Slavery, Public Monuments, and the Containment of Black Manhood,” Dr. Charmaine A. Nelson will examine how Reconstruction Era sculptors marginalized and infantilized newly freed black men in their art. Nelson is the founding director of Slavery North, a research initiative focused on slavery in Canada and the U.S. North, and a provost professor of art history for the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Emancipation Week events are sponsored by the Center for Studying Structures of Race.
Brantley Gilbert: Brantley Gilbert is bringing The Tattoos Tour 2025 to the Salem Civic Center on Thursday night, March 20. Special guests that night will include Black Stone Cherry, Austin Snell, and Colt Ford. Tickets start at $25.
Aaron Lewis and The Stateliners: Aaron Lewis and The Stateliners will be performing at the Salem Civic Center on July 24. The Vermont native first found success and notoriety with the band Staind that was formed in 1995. The group is still alive and kicking, but Lewis’ creativity stretches beyond the rock and metal genres. By embracing his roots and love of country music he has achieved incredible success on Music Row. He has two No. 1 Billboard Country Albums in “Town Line” from 2011 and “Sinner” in 2016. And perhaps he is best known for his platinum collaboration “Country Boy” with two of his with heroes – George Jones and Charlie Daniels. His 2021 single, “Am I The Only One” also hit number on the charts and in 2022, he had the top-selling country album in America with “Frayed At Both Ends.”Tickets start at $35 and go up to $129. Tickets can be purchased at the Salem Civic Center Box Office Monday through Friday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. and online anytime at www.ticketmaster.com
Gavin Adcock: Fast-rising country music star Gavin Adcock is scheduled to make his first Salem Civic Center appearance on Friday, Aug. 29. Over the course of 12 months, Adcock’s album, “Actin’ Up Again,” was crowned the largest major-label country debut from a solo male artist released in 2024, and with more than 15 million on-demand U.S. streams week of release, Actin’ Up Again was also 2024’s top streaming major-label debut across the whole genre. Tickets start at $38.50 and go up to $79.50: https://www.ticketmaster.com/gavin-adcock-salem-virginia-08-29-2025/event/0100623E921043FA
Alice Cooper: Electric chairs, guillotines, fake blood, and boa constrictors are on their way back to the Salem Civic Center. Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Alice Cooper is bringing his Too Close for Comfort tour to Salem, Aug. 19. Cooper’s legendary shows draw equally from horror movies, vaudeville, and garage rock, and his performances are designed to heighten all of your senses. Cooper last played at the Salem Civic Center in 2017, but his first appearance at the historic venue dates all the way back to January 28, 1972, when the building was still named the Salem-Roanoke County Civic Center. Tickets are available at the Salem Civic Center Box Office Monday – Friday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. or online at Ticketmaster.com.
Alison Krauss: Bluegrass music icon Alison Krauss is coming to Salem on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025. The 27-time Grammy winner revealed this week that she and her band, Union Station, featuring Jerry Douglas, will embark on their first tour together in a decade next year. The tour will make a stop at the Salem Civic Center on Tuesday, September 23. The Arcadia 2025 Tour will see the acclaimed group play 73 dates across the United States and Canada. Tickets are available at the Salem Civic Center Box Office Monday – Friday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. or online at Ticketmaster.com.
Public meetings:
The Salem City Council will meet on Monday, Feb. 24 at 6:30 p.m.
The Salem City School Board will meet on Tuesday, March 11 at 7 p.m.
The Salem Planning Commission will meet on Wednesday, March 12 at 7 p.m.
The Salem City School Board will meet on Tuesday, April 8 at 7 p.m.
The Salem Planning Commission will meet on Wednesday, April 9 at 7 p.m.
The Salem City School Board will meet on Tuesday, May 13 at 7 p.m.
The Salem City School Board will meet on Tuesday, June 10 at 7 p.m.
The Salem City School Board will meet on Tuesday, July 8 at 7 p.m.