In Floyd

Floyd's having a busier than usual weekend. In addition to the usual Friday night activities, the Village Green cut its official ribbon Saturday.  Businesses in the building...including Nancy's Candy Company...welcomed the public to come have a look around.

Lots of people turned out for the event. My friend Colleen was there taking pictures.  I thought it might be fun to add a picture catching her in the act.  Here she is in a black coat carrying her recently blogged about bag:

While watching the ceremony, I spied these two tickets for the Virginia Tech v Miami game in a young man's pocket.

I jokingly went up to him and offered to take them off his hands.  Much to my surprise the tickets were actually available and he invited me to join he and his wife at the game.  It was tempting, but going would have meant missing Spoken Word night. I guess that tells you something about my priorities of late!  And besides, it would have been very cold sitting in the evening air. 

By the way, it just so happens that this couple are recent transplants from Ft. Lauderdale...where I'm from.  It seems he and his wife came up for leaf season a couple of years ago and fell in love with it.  They bought some land right then and there and are now living here. 

Its neighbor Hotel Floyd provided tours of all the themed rooms.  It was fun to see them first hand (vs on their internet site) and to be able to touch and feel the furniture. One thing that I didn't see on the site was their soon to be amphitheater.  The square slab is going to become a timber frame stage, and as you can see, it's surrounded by natural stadium seating.  Floyd's devotion to music keeps showing itself!

Also taking place this weekend: our new Mexican restaurant, Charros, is finally opening its doors. We won't make it there for its Sunday opening, but never fear, we'll definitely make a point of eating there before leaving for the winter.

It's all very  exciting.  Judy and I ran into a long time resident  at lunch and we were talking about all that's happening in Floyd.  I mused about how growth can be a double-edged sword, to which she responded: "Growth was bound to come...I'm just glad Floyd is doing it on its own terms". This, in fact, was the very reasoning that prompted the creation of Hotel Floyd and the Village Green. The Village Green building was once a local grocery store.  It went out of business a few years back and has stood vacant since. Sooner or later, it would have been occupied...but by who?  A group of citizens stepped up to take the matter into their own hands.

The final weekend activity to note is Spoken Word Night.  It takes place once a month at the Cafe del Sol and this month, the place was packed. I think  the cold weather must put people in the mood to be cozy at a coffee house. I'm glad, since it was my last Spoken Word Night for the year. I'm glad to have such a vibrant session to carry with me as a memory while in Florida.

 

Post Note

Here's one of the poems I read at Spoken Word Night:

I am...
I am not alone.
I feel so alone
amidst the crowd
silently crying.
Look into my eyes.
Can you see who I am?
Who am I?
A shadow in the midst of time.

 

Comments

[colleen]

The blogger has been blogged! That's blogger Fred First taking shots right behind me and Woody's wife Jackie on to my right.

What a jammed packed fun day. I'll be sorting it out for days!

[sandykessler]

love the poem, I live in Spring Lake more central South and 120 miles from you Ft. Lauderdale give or take the way the crow flies. it was a great game- Va Tech awesome team always has been against Wva.I remember some bowls agaist Va Tech maybe this year!!Floyd is an almost idyllic spot as far as I can see,but so was my Quiet Dell in Wva. Money wise Imust stay put but will visit up that way in Spring. Many relatves in Virginia.

[Beth]

I love your poem, June, and again, want to say how very much I admire your courage in reading it aloud at Spoken Word. Maybe your courage will inspire me to do something like that someday. :)

[CountryDew]

I am so thrilled by the activities in Floyd. I wonder if someone there can explain how to make it work in another location...

[June]

Thanks Beth, and FYI, my reading this go round was less than stellar. I rushed and the lighting was bad so had a hard time reading the words. I'm determined to get more practiced at it next year! I think part of it is having to follow the likes of Colleen and Mara.

[susan]

Is Floyd really as ideal as you all say it is? It sounds like a really great place. I know you will miss it when you go. Great pics of Colleen and Fred! The Floyd blogging community was well represented.

[Erik]

I'm just sorry that the parking lot in front of the "Green" didn't get made into an actual green, with trees and benches, maybe boothes for sidewalk vending. That would have been more hospitable to pedestrian traffic. We did NOT need the parking.