Summer Fridays on the Drillfield

Wednesday, July, 8, 2009; 8:04 PM | 0 | | Print

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TOPICS: friday night out summer arts festival drillfield

Free concerts are held every Friday night by the Summer Arts Festival on the Drillfield during the months of June and July.

The concerts start at 6 p.m. and usually last an hour-and-a-half.

Virginia Tech School of Performing Arts and Cinema has coordinated Friday Night Out for the last 18 years.

Jane Harrison, producer of the Summer Arts Festival, is in charge of Friday Night Out.

Harrison said that on a nice, beautiful evening, about 800 to 1,200 people attend the concerts.

During inclement weather the Old Dominion Ballroom, in Squires Student Center, is the alternate site for all concerts.

The concerts were moved to the Drillfield this summer due to the construction on the new experimental theater near Henderson Lawn and renovations of the Henderson Hall building.

The construction prevented the Summer Arts Festival from using Henderson Lawn for the past two summers. Last summer, the concerts were moved to the Shultz Hall lawn.

This year, construction is being done near Shultz Hall, so Friday Night Out has moved to the Drillfield, with the hope of going back to Henderson Lawn next summer.

"We hope to get back to the Henderson Lawn next year because it is really the gateway from the university to the town of Blacksburg and vice versa," said Harrison. "The goal of the Summer Arts Festival is to encourage involvement between the university and the town of Blacksburg."

There is no charge for Friday Night Out or any other events for the Summer Arts Festival.

Harrison said in order to continue the concerts, Virginia Tech School of Performing Arts and Cinema must send in a proposal and apply for a grant annually.

Despite these financial issues it plans to continue entertaining the community with free concerts.

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