Qualla: Blacksburg https://qualla.com/blacksburg en-us © 2026 Bendyline Wed, 08 Jul 2026 02:40:06 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/d/n/w/g/blacksburg-wk/hero-small.webp Qualla: Blacksburg https://qualla.com/blacksburg Blacksburg: Introduction https://qualla.com/blacksburg/ Photo credit Eric T Gunther, CC BY 3.0. Most college towns wear their school colors lightly. Blacksburg wears them everywhere. Orange and maroon banners run down Main Street. Hokie Stone, the local limestone that gives Virginia Tech its distinctive look, shows up in walls and walkways across town. And in the fall, when the Hokies play at home, the place reorganizes itself around the football schedule - traffic patterns, hotel rates, restaurant reservations, the works. Even people who do not follow football here learn to read the signs.

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Image: Eric T Gunther | CC BY 3.0

]]> Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/n/w/g/blacksburg-wk/dnwg-blacksburg-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Blacksburg: The Town and the Tech https://qualla.com/blacksburg/ Photo credit Eric T Gunther, CC BY 3.0. Blacksburg sits in southwestern Virginia about 30 miles west of Roanoke, just off US 460 and ten miles north of I-81 at exit 118B. Most visitors arrive by road, since the Virginia Tech Montgomery Executive Airport (KBCB) handles only general aviation. The closest commercial fligh...

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Image: Eric T Gunther | CC BY 3.0

]]> Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/n/w/g/blacksburg-wk/dnwg-blacksburg-the-town-and-the-tech.mp3 0:06 2 full Blacksburg: The Drillfield, the Pylons, and Hokie Stone https://qualla.com/blacksburg/ Photo credit User:B, CC BY-SA 4.0. It is hard to miss the Virginia Tech campus when you arrive. Most of its buildings are clad in Hokie Stone, the locally quarried limestone that gives the school its distinctive grey-with-warmth appearance. Burruss Hall presides over the upper edge of the Drillfield, the broad cen...

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]]> Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/n/w/g/blacksburg-wk/dnwg-blacksburg-the-drillfield-the-pylons-and-hokie-stone.mp3 0:06 3 full Blacksburg: Tubing the New River, Walking the Huckleberry https://qualla.com/blacksburg/ Photo credit Eric T Gunther, CC BY 3.0. Outside the campus, southwest Virginia opens up. The Blue Ridge Parkway is an easy drive south, with overlooks every few miles and Chateau Morrisette - the winery and restaurant just off the parkway near Floyd - waiting at the end of one of the prettier routes. The Appalachian Tr...

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Image: Eric T Gunther | CC BY 3.0

]]> Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/n/w/g/blacksburg-wk/dnwg-blacksburg-tubing-the-new-river-walking-the-huckleberry.mp3 0:06 4 full Blacksburg: Bollo's, Gillie's, TOTS, and the Cellar https://qualla.com/blacksburg/ Photo credit Kim Peterson, CC BY-SA 3.0. The downtown food and drink scene is what you would expect from a college town wedged into the Appalachian foothills - more pizza and burgers per square foot than the population justifies, plus a few standouts that locals defend with quiet ferocity. Gillie's serves vegetarian and...

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Image: Kim Peterson | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/n/w/g/blacksburg-wk/dnwg-blacksburg-bollos-gillies-tots-and-the-cellar.mp3 0:06 5 full Blacksburg: Steppin' Out in August https://qualla.com/blacksburg/ Photo credit Alexblack1798, CC BY-SA 4.0. Every first weekend in August, downtown Blacksburg closes its streets and turns itself over to Steppin' Out - an arts festival with food vendors, live music, handcrafts from the surrounding counties, and a one-mile road race called the Draper Mile that has run annually since 1982...

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]]> Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/n/w/g/blacksburg-wk/dnwg-blacksburg-steppin-out-in-august.mp3 0:06 6 full