Looking ahead to the weekend...

[Donna the Buffalo at FloydFest '06]

If you like snake charmers, great bands, microbrews, Ferris wheels, fire eaters, belly dancers and good food all in one place, then Floyd Fandango is the place for you this weekend. From its pastoral setting high atop the Blue Ridge Parkway near the Rock Castle Gorge at milepost 170.5 in Floyd County, Virginia, the festival site hosts thirteen musical acts, highlighted by Junior Brown on Saturday night, and fifteen microbreweries for some seasonal samplings. The two-day event, on October 21 & 22, intends to take on a carnival atmosphere with renaissance crafts, Ferris wheel and vaudeville style entertainment; sword swallowers, stilt walkers, jugglers, clowns, music, and camping. The $18 ticket gets you in the door and four microbrew tastings. For three dollars more, you can get a souvenir mug and one more beer. If you really want to have a good time, it will be $4 more per beer. If you just want to hear the music, watch the acts and be a D.D., you only need to pay $15. It would be tough for me to be that responsible around the breweries that will be in attendance. My favorites include New River Brewing, Three Floyds, New Knoxville, Troegs and Sierra Nevada. For the wine connoisseurs, Chateau Morrissette and Villa Appalaccia, both Floyd County wineries, will be pouring by the glass. Cheers!