It is hard to believe that it has been 11 years since I graduated from Radford University, in Radford, Va. The school is located some 20 miles away from Virginia Tech, and RU was instrumental in assisting the Hokies in the aftermath of the April 16 tragedy on the Blacksburg campus.
On Oct. 13, my alma mate host its 12th annual Radford Highlanders Festival. The musical entertainment will feature celtic bands like Beggars' Circus, The Celtebillies and Warpipe.
There is also a pancake breakfast from 8-10 a.m. in Norwood Square, downtown. According to the RU web site, the king's breakfast will fature helpings of pancakes, sausage and juice for all of $6, which is about the cost of a meal at Biscuitville!
The festival will also include Scottish heavy athletics on Moffett Field as well as a gathering of Scottish clans and more than 25 arts, craft and food vendors.
My fondest memories of Radford University included following the now defunct women's gymnastics team lead by the versatile Dawn Turpin, who got married, moved to New York state and is now a gymnastics teachers. The team also featured a very talented Holly Saunders, who at last report was an assistant gymnastics coach for the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Col.
I also enjoyed taking an essay-writing class by the recently-deceased Rita Riddle, whom we all miss. One of my other favorite instructors, Roland Lazenby is alive and well though. Lazenby, who now teaches at Virginia Tech, has put together a collection of student stories about the horrific shootings and is the co-founder of the popular web site, Planet Blacksburg.
Any mention of my days at Radford would have to include my good friend Greg Wood, who acted in a play with Live Arts Theatre in Charlottesville this spring (see last entry). I also had the pleasure of meeting my friend and fellow Turkish-American Erol Atakkan, who now lives nearby in Greensboro, NC, during those years. I saw Erol for the first time in 12 years during a Turkish gathering in town a few weeks ago.
Perhaps, those of us who are RU alum will be able to meet up with people we have not seen in a while, that is indeed if we can attend the event! Truthfully, it has been a few years since I've been to the festival, though I did visit Radford many times when I was living in southwest Virginia. But, the festival is indeed a fun fare and it is amazing to watch those Highland Games athletes in action.
More for info, contact Bonnie Roberts Erickson, broberts@radford.edu or call (540) 831-5182
Useful links:
http://www.radford.edu/festival
http://www.planetblacksburg.com
Correction from earlier edition: For many years, the Highlanders Festival was associated with Radford University's homecoming. This year, those two entities have separated, and RU will celebrate homecoming in Feb.
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