Who’s going this year? Who has gone in years past?
We’ve never been to VT or Blacksburg. We’re staying overnight at the new Hyatt. Does anyone have any “must do” recommendations while visiting? Eateries, scenery, strolls, landmarks, etc. We need to get the full experience in during our short 24 hour stay.
Also, if you April 8th participants could give us April 9th participants a little color on the best parts of your day, it would be really helpful.
Thanks! Have fun!
@STEM2017 we are registered for the 8th. Flying in on Friday. I will post about our day early evening on the 8th! Best of luck and have a great time!
We are there the 7th through 9th. Doing Hokie Focus on the 8th. Will try to remember to post. Staying in Christiansburg as Blacksburg was full. Except for the motel 8…
The Big Event will be happening Saturday morning the 8th. It’s a VT community service project where the students volunteer to do work/jobs for community members that day…their way of giving back to Blacksburg. Last year they had 9000+ participate on a snowy cool day. So yeah, It’s a BIG EVENT! They will start at the Drillfield, not sure of the time. But wander over if you want to see a bustle of activity
We are driving down from NYC the afternoon of the 8th. Hopefully we’ll catch the tail end of the event on Saturday. Then we’ll be exploring the campus and surrounding area Saturday evening.
Wow. The Big Event on the same day as Hokie Focus.
Coincidental or by design?
Sounds fun.
Big Event date has been known for close to a year
Prob a coincidence, the volunteers will be out to their job sites by mid to late morning. But first thing all volunteers start at the Drillfield and there’s a lot of tents, activities, etc. It’s a pretty big deal and a really cool event imho. The town and school get along well, and this is just one of the reasons.
@STEM2017 good that you are staying in Blacksburg. It will be easier for you. A favorite spot of ours is Macadoo’s to eat. Fun and lively. Also you may want to take your child to TOTS (Top of the Stairs) just for a visit. I am sure by the time he/she graduates they will know it well:) VT is amazing. I went there and now fingers crossed my DD will make the same decision. We cannot attend Hokie Focus but I strongly recommend it. She has a Varsity Lacrosse tournament over Spring Break so we will be visiting on 4/13. Enjoy every minute of it (and eat in the dining hall - #1 college food in the country). GO HOKIES!!!
If you’re looking for something to take up a bit of time that weekend, consider checking out exhibits that show condolence items sent to VT from other schools/students right after the April 16 shooting in 2007.
http://vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2017/03/unirel-expressions-remembrance.html
The weekend of Hokie Focus starts the week leading up to the 10 year anniversary and remembrance, and there are several things planned for the week, especially the following weekend.
I hesitated a bit about bringing this up, out of concern that some would think of this event as something that should be put in the “con” column for attending the school. OTOH, it could also be viewed as a big “plus” as you come to understand how the students pretty much revere the anniversary every year and gather to honor those who lost their lives. This is true even though very few students on campus now actually knew those involved. It’s definitely something that brings the students together in a way that’s difficult to describe. Another example of the Community that is VT.
April 16 is something I think about often. But as a long time community member of downtown Manhattan, I know that terrible events can bring people closer together and often make communities stronger.
Thank you for the information @JustGraduate
I’m piggybacking on this thread–My husband and daughter will be attending Sunday Hokie Focus while I hang out with my other kids. Aside from the campus (which we plan to explore on our own) are there any parks with trails/ good pizza places/ comic book stores/ anything else ( 11-16 are my kids ages, can you tell?) that deserve a look? We’ll be doing some spring break driving as soon as the last session is done, so nothing too exhausting. Thanks!
There’s a skate park in Blacksburg, there’s a Game Store that also sells comics in University City Blvd Mall. There’s the Huckleberry trail, PK’s Pizza is popular as is Mellow Mushroom and Benny’s.
We have visited VA tech. We loved the campus. April 8-9 does not work for us as the son leaves for marching band trip and I am heading to Cali for a work related seminar. We were there first of March for Robotics so we are pretty familiar with the area.
Go to Boudreaus for Cajun food. Its Yummy. You will thank me…
We were able to get into Hyatt University in Blacksburg, thank goodness. Wasn’t there a Hokie Focus this past weekend? Anyone go?
I’m pretty sure that Hokie Focus is either April 8 or 9 and that’s it.
And by the way, the event is completely booked.
Sister/niece says check out food at Turner Place (if you’re there on Friday) on campus, and Goodwin Hall.
Too much food to choose from!
We were told to eat at Mellow Mushroom Pizza. Even NYer’s appreciate their pizza.
I think I would chew off my pinkie finger for a Mellow here in Gainesville. 
This visit should be interesting for us. My son really liked RIT last weekend but will not make any decision until he has seen Virginia Tech. Its an hour further and a little higher to our bottom line due to not having a scholarship so we’ll see how he likes it. I’m really looking forward to it and my soon to be 9th grade daughter is coming as well. Her first college tour.