Radical Reels Film Festival & Get Outside Expo.

Faster, steeper, higher, deeper! The most outrageous mountain sport films from the 35th annual Banff Mountain Film Festival will thrill and inspire you with big-screen adventures when RADICAL REELS comes to Roanoke on September 14 at the Jefferson Center. 

Bike tough trails, paddle wild waters, and ski steep slopes. The Radical Reels Tour runs every spring & winter and spans North America bringing a variety of mountain sport films to a wide range of viewers from hard-core outdoor adventurers to weekend warriors. So hang on to your seats as we present the world's best action films on skiing, boarding, climbing, biking, kayaking and more - all brought to life on the big screen.

WHERE - Jefferson Center

WHEN - September 14

GET OUTSIDE EXPO - From 5:00-6:30pm local outfitters, stores, non-profits, and volunteer groups will have tables set up showcasing what it is they do. Come meet the people who keep our outdoors moving! Email pete[at]roanoke.org if you are interested in exhibiting.

RADICAL REELS FILM FESTIVAL - At 6:45pm kick back and enjoy the most outrageous mountain sports films that will thrill and inspire you with big-screen adventures.

And the best part, the event is FREE this year with a canned food donation to Feeding America.   

Special thanks to the Jefferson Center, RoanokeOutside.com, Roanoke Regional Partnership, Star Light Bicycles, Just The Right Gear, Roanoke Parks & Recreation, Ride Solutions, and Alleghany Highlands of Virginia for making this happen.

Watch a trailer and RSVP here>>>  

Congratulations to the Virginia Museum of Transportation!  Way to go.

The Virginia Museum of Transportation announces it is installing  an Eaton Level 2 Pow-R-Station electric vehicle charging station at the museum in downtown Roanoke. The charging station is part of the museum's efforts to highlight emerging transportation technologies and their impact on community development throughout the Commonwealth. The Level 2 Pow-R-Station will easily fill a depleted all-electric vehicle battery in four to six hours.

Plug-in electric vehicles offer improved fuel economy, lower emissions, and strong acceleration with quiet operation - all from a domestic energy source. Some industry forecasts predict an annual volume of 400,000 battery-operated electric vehicles in North America by 2020.

"We're thrilled to have the first charging station in downtown Roanoke," says Beverly T. Fitzpatrick, Jr., executive director of the Museum. "Our hope is that it doesn't end here. We'd like to see more power stations throughout the Roanoke Valley."

The Eaton Level 2 Pow-R-Station is NEMA 3R-rated for outdoor use. The charging station supplies the connection to the grid where vehicles are parked and provides the electric car's onboard charger with the electricity it needs to refill the battery. A depleted all-electric vehicle battery can be recharged in 4-6 hours.

The charging station is mounted in front of the museum and accepts credit cards for payment.

The project was made possible by the Eaton Corporation, City Electric Supply, the Davis H. Elliot Company, and Advance Auto Parts. 

Tight-fitting, electric blue, and fortified with a phase-change compound embedded in its fibers, the Omni-Freeze Ice Baselayer from Columbia Sportswear is the most interesting T-shirt I've worn in years. The shirt, which comes out in 2012, is made for sport activities in hot weather, where its fibers react to sweat and promote an endothermic reaction that issues a cooling effect.

As the company explains it, there are "tiny crystals" in the fabric that undergo a state change from a solid to a gel when wet. Your sweat triggers this reaction on a hot day. The state change causes the aforementioned endothermic reaction, which "sucks heat from the surrounding environment," Columbia cites, to create a cooling effect on the skin.