It seems like every August someone asks me “Hey, do you want to go fiddling next week?” And no, I don’t play the fiddle, but it’s always fun to get a group of friends together and head to this annual event which is celebrating it’s 75th year.

If you have never been then you may wonder what to expect.

First of all, this is an actual week long competition. Starting on Monday with the youth fiddler’s competition and culminating Saturday night with Blue Grass Band and Old Time Band competitions, you will see some of the best amateur musicians in the nation.

But the music is not just relegated to the grandstand stage. With thousands in attendance it would be impossible to everyone to have a seat for the competitions. But that’s alright, because some of the best music can be heard out in the fairgrounds. Many musicians and bands will wander around the campsites playing here and there with crowds gathering all around. This will last into the wee hours of the morning.

I might not listen to bluegrass and old time music all the time, but every time I hear it, it warms my heart and soul. The Old Fiddler’s Convention showcases the culture and musical history of this area in the best way.

For more information and a complete schedule, visit the Old Fiddler’s Convention’s website.

Who wants to go Fiddling?

For the 30th year, Blacksburg VA will be closing downtown Main Street for the Steppin’ Out street festival. Here are the basics you need to know about festival.

Who – Residents of Blacksburg and surrounding areas

What – 30th annual Steppin’ Out festival

When – August 6 & 7 10 Am – 10 PM

Where – Downtown Blacksburg

Why – There are many reasons to come to Blacksburg for Steppin’ Out. There will be live music, arts and crafts, food, sales from downtown vendors, and of course all of the friendly faces of the community.

This is one of the best times to find shopping deals in Blacksburg. For example, 310 Rosemont, a fashion boutique on Main Street, rented the store next door just to bring in merchandise for this weekend and is offering clothing at as much to 60% off, and new children’s clothing (which they are only selling this weekend) starting at $3.

The local restaurants will also be out on the streets, providing food for festival-goers.

Besides the great deals from local merchants, you will also be able to see the work of many local artists and craftsmen selling their wares. With all of the talented artists in the area there will be many wonderful works of art to see.

And finally, the music. There seems like few things more enjoyable than to listen to live music outside with friends and family on a sunny weekend like this one.

Hope you enjoy it, and click here for more detailed information

Most people who know of Floyd Virginia know that it a wonderfully unique place. One of the reasons is because of events like Floyd Fandango. Brought to you by the same group that organizes the nationally renowned FloydFest , Floyd Fandango promises to be a Fourth of July weekend to remember.

In addition to beer and wine tastings, there is a bevy of wonderful musicians including Grammy award winner Sam Bush, Goose Creek Symphony, and Missy Raines & the New Hip. Click here for the complete list of Floyd Fandango performers.

Tickets for Floyd Fandango are available online through July 2nd. If you plan on camping but are only going to the festival for one day, then you will need to get an overnight camping pass in addition to your ticket. If you are attending the whole weekend then overnight camping is free.

Also included with your tickets is a choice of either a wine glass with free tastings or a beer glass with four beer tasting pogs. There will be a wide variety of micro-breweries and wineries for you to sample from.

Hope everyone has an enjoyable Fourth of July weekend, and can experience one of the events that makes Floyd such a great place to live.

Approximate Floyd Fandango location-

View FloydFest Location in a larger map

Until just a couple of days ago, Google Voice numbers were given out on an invite only basis to make sure that the kinks were worked out of the system before the general public could use it. Now it is available to everyone.

I will describe some of the features that Google Voice has, and then go through the set-up step by step.

Why would you want a Google Voice number? I mean, you have a perfectly fine phone number the way it is. Really, Im not trying to sell you on this Google stuff, but I think some of these features are just really awesome…some of my favorite features include:

• It is free

• You can have multiple phones ring with the one Google Voice number. You can set it up (if you want) so that a call to this number will go to your home phone, your cell phone, and your work phone all at the same time. I currently have it set up so that 3 different numbers will ring my cell phone. Eventually the number I have for business will ring to my cell, the office phone, and another person’s cell so reduce the possibility of missing any calls.

• You can also make it so that if someone calls your Google Voice number, it can ring to a different phone depending on what time it is, or even depending on who is calling you. So I could set it up so that if a family member called this number, it would ring to every phone, but if a business associate called, it would not ring at my home phone.

• Speaking of having different settings depending on who is calling you, you can actually have different voicemail greetings for different individuals or groups in your contacts, and you can set it to block certain numbers, or have certain numbers go straight to voicemail.

• One of the best voicemail features is that messages are transcribed to text that you can read on your phone (say if you are in a meeting or at the movies and cant listen to your messages), and they are also saved to your Google account, so you can save your message forever, and even be able to use a search engine to find the message you are looking for months later.

• Need someone else to hear a voice message? You can email it to them from your Google account.

• You can now screen calls. I am sure some of you remember answering machines, when you could listen to someone leaving a message and then decide whether you want to answer it or not. With your Google Voice number you can do this again.

Check out the video below for more information on these features.

Google Voice

To set up your new Google Voice number –

1. On the Google homepage, make sure that you are signed into your gmail account (and if you don’t have a gmail account, you def want one. It is also free and amazing).

2. Type “voice” into the search box, the first result will be for Google Voice

3. Make sure the gmail account you want this phone number associated with is the one that pops up. Type in your password for that account and press enter.

4. You will be asked to choose which new number you want. Know that it is highly unlikely that you will come across any extremely easy numbers like (111) 111-1111. But if you can get something that repeats numbers, or only has a few different numbers in it, then that’s pretty good.

I wanted to have a (540) area code to make sure people calling about real estate saw it was from the area, so the best number I could find was (540) 440-1141. Additionally, I got a number with a phrase that was easy to remember.

5. To search for what numbers are available, you can enter the area code, city, or zip code that you prefer. You can also type in a number you like (example 3700) or a word or phrase (example FLOYDVA) and see if anything is available.

Once you decide on your number, click continue.

6. Choose a 4 digit PIN for checking your voicemail. Re-enter it, check the box agreeing to the terms of service, and click continue.

7. Add a phone number to forward calls to. This should be your “normal” phone number, most likely your current cell phone number. You can add more numbers later. Click continue.

8. You will be asked to verify that the forwarding phone number is your actual number. To do this click the button that says “Call Me Now”. When you answer the phone, type in the 2 digit code that you see on your screen.

And you now have your very own Google Voice number. If there are any questions feel free to leave comments here.

Enjoy!

Check out this Beautiful 192 acre farm, just off of route 8 in Floyd VA.

Sweeny Farm

Overview Maps Photos Description

$1,250,000 Lots and Land For Sale Main Features Lot: 192.00 acre(s) Location Sweeny Farm Rt 735 Floyd, VA 24105 To get updates on open home dates and other property events, please click the “Like” button below:

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Dave Phillips Phillips Real Estate (540) 745-3700 PhillipsRealEstate@gmail.com http://www.PhillipsRealEstateVA.com

Our recent listings Duncan 28 ac Hollandsworth 25 b 48 ac. Sweeny Farm Shelton Farm Subscribe to our listing feed

See more Floyd, VA real estate for sale

The Indian Valley community will be holding a fundraiser for the Floyd County Rescue Squad, Station 4 in Indian Valley on Saturday June 26th 2010 at 2 pm. This is an annual event that has been done since the station was dedicated in 2007.

The event will feature Gospel singing and music along with free blood pressure and blood sugar testing.

Hot dogs and desserts will be sold, and there will be a cake auction that will feature some of Shirley Phillips’ coconut pound cakes.

Groups performing will include -

- Ricky Cox and friends
- Boyd Family
- Good Intentions
- Jay Offenberger and friends
- Myra and Phillip Cox
- Max Mountain Boys
- Statement
- Kathryn Gerald
- Mitchell and Laken Quesenberry

The singing will culminate in a Grand Finale

If you enjoy Gospel Singing and would like to help support your local rescue squad, then come on out, have a hot dog, and enjoy the music.

For more information on the event contact Doug or Shirley Phillips at either (540) 789-4497 or (540) 745-3700

View Indian Valley Rescue Squad in a larger map

360 degree views and springs

For more information on this or one of our other 200 rural properties available, call 540-745-3700

Owner/Broker

Phillips 175 ac.

Overview Maps Photos Description

Contact us for pricing Lots and Land For Sale Main Features Lot: 175.00 acre(s) Location Phillips 175 Rt. 619 Floyd, VA 24091 To get updates on open home dates and other property events, please click the “Like” button below:

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Dave Phillips Phillips Real Estate (540) 745-3700 PhillipsRealEstate@gmail.com http://www.PhillipsRealEstateVA.com

Our recent listings 48 ac. Sweeny Farm Shelton Farm Turpin Farm Wade-Phillips Subscribe to our listing feed

See more Floyd, VA real estate for sale

Floyd County Virginia is a wonderful and unique place to sell real estate. When I first thought about doing a buyer’s profile for people buying property in the county, I thought it would be a great way for people moving here to get better acquainted with their new community. I never thought my first profile would be someone I watched on ESPN just days before the closing.

Christiansburg native Matt Hagan had just set a national speed record in his Funny Car win in Chicago 2 days before meeting with him to close on a 103 acre farm here in Floyd VA.

In addition to racing, Matt spends most of the rest of his time working on his 500 acre Angus cattle farm. In fact, we did the closing on his farm where he was busy baling hay when we arrived with the contract. He joked how the ESPN crew that did a profile on him asked if he really did all of this farm work, or if was just a show. Anyone who has ever worked on a farm knows that its not just a show.

We would like to congratulate Matt on his national record, latest win, and on his purchase of his new farm. We wish him the best for the rest of the season, where he is currently in third place in the national standings.