roanoke

8:15 p.m., Mill Mountain, Roanoke

About 100 people gathered at the Mill Mountain Star for Wednesday night’s "Light the Night" ceremony.

The crowd wanted to make a gesture of remembrance for the Virginia Tech victims by aiming lights at the Mill Mountain Star, which Roanoke City Council had voted to leave dark on April 16.

Most of the 100 carried candles or flashlights of different varieties: Mag Lites; Energizer lanterns; six-volt battery models and kitchen drawer styles; even a fishing lamp with a badge that boasted 15 million candela power.

WVTF, the Roanoke-based, Virginia Tech-affiliated public radio station, played seven hours of specially selected music between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Music director Seth Williamson read the names of the Virginia Tech dead before playing music that ranged in tone from sad and solemn to hopeful and triumphal.

Among the selections: Estonian composer Arvo Part's "Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten," Brooklyn-born Jennifer Higdon's "Blue Cathedral" and the third symphony of Aaron Copland, the American composer perhaps best known for "Appalachian Spring."

"It's a very cathartic piece," said Williamson of the symphony ‑ one that leaves the listener with a sense "that one way or another, we'll prevail."

12:01 p.m., Salem Marketplace, Salem

Photos and audio by Jeanna Duerscherl | The Roanoke Times
Lieutenant Eddie Hite of the Salem Fire & EMS Department polished the Salem city bell before a tribute to Virginia Tech.

"Each time I ring the bell, I know it signifies somebody's life," he said before the memorial. "When you hear it ring, you bring somebody to mind."

12 noon: Virginia Western Community College, Roanoke

A moment of silence followed a brief ceremony to remember the lives of the 32 Virginia Tech students who died on April 16, 2007. Afterward 32 individuals, including Virginia Western students, faculty and staff, will plant a bed of perennial flowers—one for each student who lost their lives.

10:30 a.m., Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center, Roanoke

The Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center staff planted 32 Virginia Tech flags in front of the Hotel's Hokie Bird at 10:30 a.m. to commemorate the victims of April 16th. We will always remember.

Submitted by Michael Quonce |
Hotel Roanoke