Steep Canyon Rangers at Blue Ridge Music Center; more ...

Here are some of the top events around Southwest and Southside for the coming week. Check out our new events calendar. Got an event? You can add it there for free. Want to keep up with what’s happening? We now have a free weekly events newsletter. You can sign up here.

The Fine Arts Center of the New River Valley kicks off a news season of First Friday Listening Room concerts this Friday with the duo Scuffletown and guest Matty Metcalf.

Additional First Friday performers for the fall include:

The music runs from 6-8 p.m., with light refreshments and a cash bar starting at 5 p.m.

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Concerts are held at the Fine Arts Center at 21 W. Main St. in Pulaski. Seating is limited, so concertgoers are encouraged to reserve a seat on Eventbrite.com. Information is also available on the center’s website. Remaining seats are available at the door. The suggested donation is $5, but everyone is welcome whether they donate or not.

The concert series runs through May 3.

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The Salem Museum will host a day of living history on Saturday.

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., costumed interpreters will share stories from the region’s past to bring history to life. The event is free.

Colonial living historians from the Fincastle Company will demonstrate the professions, trades and crafts that were essential in the era, and tell stories about the men and women who built a life on Virginia’s frontier.

The Fincastle Company portray both military and civilian roles during the time of the American War of Independence. They conduct extensive research into the clothing and equipment of the era in order to be as accurate to the period as possible. The group performs living history displays at various historical sites across the mid-Atlantic region. They specifically portray the Fincastle/Montgomery County Militia, which was an actual unit from Southwestern Virginia that served in the American Revolution.

The Salem Museum is the historic 1845 Williams-Brown House at 801 E. Main St. in Salem. Museum admission is free, but donations are appreciated.

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The Blue Ridge Music Center closes out its 2023 summer Saturday evening outdoor amphitheater concert series with “An Evening with the Steep Canyon Rangers.”

The Music Center is at milepost 213 on the Blue Ridge Parkway, just south of Galax.

Over the Steep Canyon Rangers’ career, the three-time Grammy nominees have released 13 studio albums and three collaborative albums with actor and banjoist Steve Martin, and have been inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. In 2013, “Nobody Knows You” won the Grammy award for Best Bluegrass Album, and 2012’s “Rare Bird” and 2020’s “North Carolina Songbook” garnered nominations in the same category.

Tickets are $40 for adults, $20 for children 12 and younger. Advance tickets are available online or can be purchased on the evening of the show at the admission gates.

Parking opens at 5:15 p.m. and is free. Admission to the amphitheater begins at 5:45 p.m.

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Roanoke County Parks, Recreation and Tourism has partnered with the Regional Center for Animal Care & Protection to host two dog-themed events to finish out the 2023 operating season at Splash Valley Water Park.

Dive-In Movie, 7-10 p.m. Saturday: Splash Valley will remain open until 10 p.m., and a screening of “DC League of Super-Pets” begins at 8 p.m. Admission is $7, or a donation to RCACP.

Pooches in the Pool, 11 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Sept. 9: Bring your pooch to Splash Valley. Admission is $7 per dog and one person, or bring donation items for RCACP. The pool will be open from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. for dogs less than 25 pounds, and from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. for dogs over 25 pounds. Events will include a costume contest and dog agility.

Visit SplashValleyWaterPark.com more information. All proceeds from Dive-In Movie and Pooches in the Pool will benefit RCACP.

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Roosevelt Montás, author of “Rescuing Socrates: How the Great Books Changed My Life and Why They Matter for a New Generation,” will speak at Hollins University’s Talmadge Recital Hall at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 7.

Admission is free.

Montás, senior lecturer in American Studies and English at Columbia University, is director of the Center for American Studies’ Freedom and Citizenship Program in collaboration with the Double Discovery Center at Columbia.

“Rescuing Socrates” blends memoir and literary reflection. Montás describes in his book how four authors — Plato, Augustine, Freud and Gandhi — had a profound effect on him, underscoring the power of a liberal education and its ability to impact lives.

Following the lecture, a book signing and reception will be held in the Wyndham Robertson Library’s Lewis Reading Room.

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