Good news: The weekend looks looks mostly dry with highs in the 70s, according to Kevin Myatt.

How will you make the most of your holiday?

We have a bunch of links spotlighting various Memorial Day events and entertainment happening over the long weekend, so we thought we’d round them up here.

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Aaron Cooper (left) and Ray Perez help plant flags among the graves of veterans at Evergreen Burial Park on Wednesday morning in preparation of Memorial Day. Photo by Stephanie Klein-Davis | The Roanoke Times

FOR THEIR SACRIFICE

First up, let’s remember why we’re able to enjoy a three-day weekend to begin with: To honor the men and women who have lost their lives serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. Find our list of events here.

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Beatles impersonators 1964 the Tribute returns to Festival in the Park for the first time in a couple of years and will close the event with a Memorial Day set. Photo courtesy of Pat Donovan

FESTIVAL 2013

The biggest event will be the return of Roanoke Festival in the Park, which features live music and lots of family entertainment Friday through Monday. But as Tad Dickens tells us, there are some big changes this year, the most obvious being its location. Due to Elmwood Park construction, Festival 2013 will be happening at River’s Edge Sports Complex, by the old Victory Stadium site. Find the entertainment lineup  (and a map) here.

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Watch a free, outdoor showing of “Brave” in Salem’s Longwood Park on Sunday. Courtesy photo by Disney/Pixar

MORE STANDOUTS

More weekend Standouts include the 22nd Annual Roanoke Valley Spring Gem, Mineral & Jewelry Show; a P. Buckley Moss Collectors’ Convention at the Hotel Roanoke; a free showing of “Brave” in Salem’s Longwood Park on Sunday; and a bunch of music festivals across the region, including blues, bluegrass, jazz and Cajun. Find details here.

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The beach at Smith Mountain Lake Community Park in Moneta opens this weekend. File photo

WANT TO SWIM?

>> Splash Valley Water Park opens for a fourth season Friday. It’s located next to Roanoke County’s Green Ridge Recreation Center.

>> The beach at Smith Mountain Lake Community Park in Moneta will open 10 a.m. Friday. The park includes a playground, picnic facilities, a 1.5-mile hiking/walking trail and a fully accessible fishing pier. Cost is $2. It is one of two public-access beaches at Smith Mountain Lake. The other, at Smith Mountain State Park, is in Bedford County.

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Leftover Salmon | Courtesy Alicia J. Rose

LIVE MUSIC

If you’re looking specifically for music, check out the Rooster Walk Music & Arts Festival in Martinsville, which will feature heavy hitters Leftover Salmon and Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk.

Tad Dickens rounds up even more highlights closer to home in his weekly edition of Top Tickets.

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“The Hangover Part III” is among the weekend’s new movies. Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures

MOVIES

What’s in theaters this weekend? Get the scoop in our online movie guide, which includes local show times.

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IF YOU’RE STILL UNSATISFIED …

Search calendar.roanoke.com, which lets you filter by date, keyword or type of entertainment. It will spit out free and kid-friendly events, too.

Have a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend!

Last week, we announced that The Roanoke Times iPad app has a new look and a few new features.

This week, we wanted to call attention to another way to access our eTimes (the digital reproduction of the newspaper): By Kindle.

The video above will walk you through the process.

Remember, if you’re a print subscriber, any of our digital products are included at no cost.

You can also order a digital-only subscription to get eTimes access without receiving the print newspaper.

To get your login and password to access the eTimes, call 540-981-3211 or email digitalaccess@roanoke.com.

If you have further questions, check out our FAQs.

When we launched the new roanoke.com in February, we hung a tiny orange label on the mast that read, “Beta.”  We did so because we recognized this was a first release, a project that could benefit from community input.

And, in fact, your real-world testing has improved the site and spurred ideas for where we’re headed. Many thanks to those who took the time to offer feedback. (Yes, we read every comment posted on the feedback tool, even those that stung.)

Though we have plans for further improvements to the site, we are now ready to take the “Beta” label off of it.

Doing so doesn’t mean we’re done with hearing feedback from readers; we want you to keep telling us if something is not working properly or if you have an idea for how something can be better. But we’re ready to say that this is officially the new roanoke.com.

The feedback tool is the still the best place to share your thoughts as development on the website continues. To better address your individual concerns, we will now require you to sign in to post feedback. (You can sign in via various social network accounts, including Facebook or Twitter, or by entering an email address and choosing a screen name; only the screen name will be viewable to the public.)

We are requiring sign-in because we have received many comments – including ones involving customer service issues — that we feel could’ve been better handled if we had an email address or specific person to contact. This sign-in format is also consistent with requirements for posting comments on our blogs or stories.

Again, we’d like to thank all our readers who’ve helped make roanoke.com a better site. It’s nice to know we have such invested and caring readers.

Radio station K92 collected cases of bottled water Tuesday. Photo by Matt Chittum | The Roanoke Times

Local efforts were getting started today to gather relief supplies for the Oklahoma communities devastated by a massive tornado Monday.

Radio station K92 on Virginia 419 in southwest Roanoke County has been collecting cases of bottled water today with the intention of sending it west.

Another radio station, Spirit FM, TV station WSLS and relief organization God’s Pit Crew will collect bottled water, packaged food and personal hygiene items at the Bonsack Walmart from noon to 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday.

You can text REDCROSS to 90999 and give $10 to American Red Cross Disaster Relief, donate online, or donate by phone at 1-800-RED CROSS.

The Salvation Army is also accepting donations. Donate online or text STORM to 80888 to contribute $10 to the Salvation Army’s relief efforts or make a donation by phone at 1-800-SAL-ARMY.

We’ll be adding more to this story as we learn of local relief efforts. Are we missing any? Please tell us in the comments below.

You can also find a more complete list of national efforts at USA Today.

While former senator Jim Webb was the official University of Virginia commencement speaker, comedian Stephen Colbert (“The Colbert Report”) delivered a Saturday speech during the school’s valedictorian exercises.

This Washington Post story offers a good summary of the speech, but we’ve pulled out a couple of gems to get the conversation started:

(At 13:50 on the video): “While traditional paths may seem harder to find, that also means that you may learn sooner than most generations the hard lesson that you must always make the path for yourself. There is no secret society out there that will tap you on the shoulder one night and show you the way. Because the true secret is your life will not be defined by the society that we have left you.”
…

“If you must find your own path, and we have left you no easy path, then decide now to choose the hard the path that leads to the life and the world that you want.”

What do you think?

Please share more links to inspiring/hilarious commencement addresses in the comments.

And don’t forget, you can catch up on our stories and galleries from graduations across Southwest Virginia on our Grads 2013 page.

Delaney Crowder (left) and Jaden Baker (right) died in a wreck in Lexington on May 10. Facebook photo.

Top 5 stories on roanoke.com (May 11-17)

1. Two children killed in Friday night crash in Lexington

2. Storefront blog: It’s finally here! Roanoke’s Steak ‘n Shake opens Thursday

3. Parents upset over Roanoke students’ drinking during Europe trip

4. Woman found dead at Alleghany County cemetery ID’d as missing mother  

5. Franklin County School Board chairman resigns after budget vote

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BLOGS
This week’s top 5 blogs (May 11-17)

1. Andy Bitter’s VT football

2. Amanda Codispoti’s Storefront

3. Columnist Dan Casey

4. Kevin Myatt’s Weather Journal

5. Lindsey Nair’s Fridge Magnet

Find all of our blogs here.

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COMMUNITY BLOGS
This week’s (May 11-17) top community blog stories.

TheBurgs.com: The Best of the New River Valley 2013

SWoCo.com: Benefit for Cave Spring sophomore Hannah Bryant

BotetourtView.com: Carr Boyd resigns as Botetourt Emergency Services Director

SoSalem.com: Paparazzi photos from Salem prom

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Photo by Amanda Codispoti | The Roanoke Times

FACEBOOK
This week’s (May 11-17) most talked-about posts on the Roanoke Times Facebook wall.

1. It’s finally here! Roanoke’s Steak ‘n Shake opens Thursday

2. Legendary bulldozer driver ‘Hamp’ still running strong at 91 years old

3. Parents upset over Roanoke students’ drinking during Europe trip

We celebrated journalism — and The Roanoke Times’ journalists who produce it — Thursday when we had handed out our annual in-house Landmark Awards (named after our parent company). As I’ve written in past years on this blog, it’s one of my favorite days of the year. First place winners earn $1,000 and second place winners get $250. These awards are based on a body of work from 2012, not just a single story or photo. In the writing categories, for instance, reporters had to submit 10 stories from last year. I’m also thankful for the judges — editors and professors from around the country noted with each category — who gave their time to pick our winners. Their comments are included here along with the list of winners. Click here to read about Ellen Moseley, the winner of our Rugaber Prize, which was also presented Thursday.

Judge — Pam Luecke, professor and head of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communications at Washington and Lee University

First place: Laurence Hammack | His reporting is deep and impressive, and the entry included several instances of dogged pursuit of material through the use of Freedom of Information requests. Several of his pieces were advances of court cases but he consistently identified and developed thoroughly a fascinating angle.  He also displays a knack for telling a story in a way that holds the reader’s interest and doesn’t get bogged down by his considerable interviews and documents.

Second place: Chase Purdy | His ledes crackle. His entry included several court-based stories, and he too marshaled the facts of the cases into highly readable narratives.

Features reporting and writing

Judges Tom Popson and Denise Joyce. Popson and Joyce both retired after long careers working as editors in the Chicago Tribune features department.

First place: Dan Casey | He comes across as a champion of the little guy; he spins a good yarn while providing “who knew?” information.  What caught our attention with Dan, a columnist, was his willingness to pick up the phone rather than just commenting on the story at hand.

Second place: Ralph Berrier |Love letters hidden in a shotgun, a donkey with a prosthetic leg, a profusion of valedictorians, a collector of old phonographs — an eclectic assortment of topics indeed, and all handled adeptly by Ralph.

Sports reporting and writing

Judge: Kevin Winters Morriss, assistant sports editor for the Salt Lake Tribune.

First place: Mark Taylor | I liked his style and the rhythm he established in his columns and stories. He does a good job of painting a picture of what’s happening and makes the reader feel like he or she is part of the story. His outdoors columns invite the reader to share in the adventure instead of preaching about the outdoors. Some of his observations that he injects into stories help feed that feeling of being a part of the story.

Second place: Andy Bitter | I really enjoyed his storytelling on the Worsham story. It kept my attention by sharing a lot of minor details that make the story strong. It’s obvious a lot of time went into telling the story. I also liked that he showed he’s able to go beyond game coverage with the Exum story. It’s a neat little read.

Read more »

Ellen Moseley, an editor and project manager in the newsroom, is the winner of this year’s Rugaber Prize (named after former publisher Walter Rugaber), awarded annually to a staff member in our newsroom whose work in the previous year “displayed, day in and day out, an intense curiosity, a depth of understanding, and an enterprising drive to discover unique and significant stories.” (Click here for a full list of awards presented Thursday.)

For the past year, Moseley (pictured accepting the award from Publisher Debbie Meade and Editor Carole Tarrant) has dedicated her work life to helping us launch a new content management system and redesign roanoke.com. We rolled out the beta version of our new Web site several months ago and we continue to tweak and enhance it every day.

Moseley joined The Roanoke Times in 2001 as the newsroom office manager and quickly developed a passion for journalism. She’s worked as a designer, a copy editor, copy desk team leader, and now as the project manager for the Web site. In presenting the award to Moseley on Thursday, editor Carole Tarrant noted that Moseley’s varied career has prepared her for the challenges facing journalism as we continue to evolve in the digital age.

“Our awardee started out her professional life as a teacher, then took on the sorry task of trying to manage this newsroom. She’s adapted many more times since then, but I believe she’s now found her home, one where she can contribute fully to us building that audience and ensuring The Roanoke Times arrives on our doorsteps, on our iPads, on our phones or, who knows – Google glasses – next.”

We’ve awarded the Rugaber Prize since 2000. Previous winners are:

2000 Dwayne Yancey

2001 Josh Meltzer

2002 Mike Allen

2003 Kelly Hahn Johnson

2004 Wayne Deel

2005 Seth Gitner

2006 Rob Lunsford

2007 Laurence Hammack

2008 Tad Dickens

2009 Cathy Benson

2010 Stephanie Ogilvie

2011 Brian Kelley

Roanoke Times subscribers:  Want a chance to attend a fun-filled summer evening on us? More details and your chance to attend will go out in our upcoming weekly “subscriber-only” email.

To be on that list, make sure you’ve registered for the eTimes so we have your email address. All you have to do is go to roanoketimes.com and register as a new user.

Already receive our subscriber-only email? Just watch for your email on Friday, May 24.

Local officials hope to see more Virginia and North Carolina tourists visiting the Mill Mountain Star and other local sites. The Roanoke Times | File

Energized with a new brand and funding formula, the area’s tourism bureau plans to push the Roanoke Valley as a mini-vacation spot for people across Virginia and North Carolina.

That’s the first way to get the most people soonest, said Landon Howard, president of the Roanoke Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The pitch is what Howard calls “a metro mountains mix,” located nearer to many North Carolina residents and to all Virginians than the big draw at Asheville, N.C.

That’s why the area’s new brand is “Virginia’s Blue Ridge,” Howard said, noting that the Blue Ridge Parkway is a world-renowned attraction.

“When people ask where you’re from and you say ‘Roanoke,’ they don’t know where that is,” Howard said. “When you say it’s in the Western Virginia mountains, the Blue Ridge, they say, ‘Oh yeah, that’s a beautiful place.’ ”

READ THE REST OF THE STORY, which includes one idea to lure people who might otherwise zoom past on Interstate 81.

The comments below also show up in the story. More discussion is happening on our Facebook post.