“Lots of happenings around the Town of Fincastle this Fall,”  said David Tickner, Town Manager! Here are the ones listed so far Oct. 20 through Dec. 31.

Fall typically is the busiest time for visitors and residents of the Town of Fincastle. In addition to the traditional activities there are also some new and unique opportunities to enjoy the Town and all it has to offer. Below is a list of the events happening in Fincastle the next several months:

Saturday, October 20th : Fincastle 5k/10k run

The 26th annual run is scheduled to start at Central Academy Middle School and traverse throughout the Town of Fincastle.  The run features several steep inclines and declines.  Streets will be closed along the run route from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. for the Fincastle run.

http://www.bankoffincastle.com/community/race/index.html

Saturday, October 27 and Sunday October 28th- Open Artists Studio Tours:

This is a unique opportunity for people to visit some of the region’s most renown artists in their studios and homes. See where they work, and view existing works of art and maybe some works in process. This self guided tour allows folks to visit up to 15 artists in Botetourt at their studios. Seven of the artists are either right in town or within just a couple miles of the Town Limits. Last year’s inaugural event was a tremendous success. Times for the event are as follows:

10am-5pm Saturday and 11am-5pm Sunday

For more information and a map of the artists’ studios, please follow the link below:

http://openstudiosbotetourt.com/

Wednesday, October 31st – Halloween Trick or Treating, Main Street and throughout Town 6 to 8 p.m.

Take part in the long-time tradition of trick-or-treating in Fincastle. Each year the Town welcomes hundreds of ghosts, ghouls, princesses and other characters, from outlying rural areas of the County into the streets of Fincastle for trick-or-treating. Families and friends take the opportunity to enjoy a slice of small-town Americana, when you could walk down the streets of a quaint small town, spend time with your neighbors and maybe meet some new friends. Many of the churches in town have special activities that evening as well. Parents are invited to bring large bags of candy as a contribution, and in exchange their children get a “special treat stop” where they will think they have hit the mother lode!

Saturday, November 3rd Lewis and Clark Disk Commemoration Ceremony, 3 p.m.

Did you know that famous explorers Lewis and Clark visited Botetourt County, and Fincastle, quite often during their adventures? The County, and especially the Town of Fincastle, is rich with the history of Lewis and Clark. Their travels through this area are well documented. In an effort to become an official stop on the Lewis and Clark Eastern Legacy Trail, Botetourt County, the Town of Fincastle, Historic Fincastle, Inc. and the Botetourt Historical Society have been working together to validate this history. As a part of that, there will be a special ceremony dedicating the placement of an official NOAA disk on the County Courthouse steps. Representatives from the State Legislature, the National Park Service, the Lewis and Clark Eastern Legacy Trail Foundation, the Board of Supervisors, and Town Council will be on hand to celebrate the placement of the disk, as well as a Cadet Band from the Virginia Military Institute playing period music, and local Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops.

More information on the Trail can be found here:

http://parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHome.cfm?projectId=32773

November 11th – Veteran’s Day ceremony, Godwin Cemetery, 9:50 a.m.

Volunteers in Fincastle are planning an American flag display the weekend of November 10th and 11th in honor of all American Veterans. Flags will be placed along Main Street to honor our veterans. A ceremony will be held at Godwin Cemetery on Sunday, November 11, at 9:50 a.m. Flag donations can be mailed to:

The Bank of Fincastle: Fincastle Flags

P. O. Box 107

Fincastle, VA 24090

December 1st – Christmas Parade 2p.m. until 3:30 p.m.

Parade entries line up at CAMS at 1:00 p.m. for the parade that snakes through the Town of Fincastle at around 2:00 p.m. Be sure to see scout troops, bands, civic groups, fire and rescue squads and even Santa Clause in this time honored tradition! Call 540-473-2200 for more information.

Early December – Christmas Lights

By early December, the Town comes alive with the holiday spirit, as Christmas lights line the streets of Fincastle. A group of volunteers known as the Society to Keep Fincastle Lit, has worked tirelessly over the years maintaining and putting up (and subsequently taking down) hundreds of strands of lights throughout town, giving Fincastle another face to its unique small town charm. People interested in helping string the lights or make a contributing to the maintenance fund can do so by contacting the Town offices at (540)473-2200 or sending contributions to the Town offices at (540)473-2200 or sending contributions to the Society to Keep Fincastle Lit, PO Box 250, Fincastle, VA 24090

December 8th – Fincastle Historic Home Tour 9:30 a.m. until 4 p.m.

The HFI Holiday Home Tour is fast approaching. Put the date, December 8th, on your calendars. Tickets for the house tour will be for sale only on the day of the event at the Fincastle Baptist Church beginning at 9:30 am. The houses on the tour will be open from 10 am – 4 pm. Homes will be on the tour this year (circa 1796-1888). The Marketplace is free and will be held at the Fincastle Baptist Church from 9:30-3pm. This venue will feature more than 30 local and regional artists selling wonderful items for that last minute gift or home decoration. Admission Fee: $15 per person or ($12.00 per person for HFI members) Tickets will be sold at Fincastle Baptist Church beginning at 9:30am on the morning of the event.

December 31st Fincastle New Years Eve celebrations and “ringing of the Bells” 11:00 p.m. until?

This New Year’s Eve ceremony has been popular for well over 150 years. Revelers gather throughout the Town for the celebration. At fifteen minutes until midnight the tolling begins. The bell in the Courthouse is struck, and afterwards, at twelve second intervals, bells of the churches ring in a clockwise order about the town: Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist and Episcopal. This continues until the bell at the Courthouse strikes twelve. Taps are played to signify respect for the dying year. The bell-ringers in the Courthouse then strike the digits of the New Year, for example one-nine-nine-eight. Then three shotgun blasts indicate that it is time for the bells to joyously welcome the New Year by ringing for an additional ten minutes.