Business News - October 15th

🚵 Go Fest Returns + Parking Survey Coming 🅿️

Author

Joya Garris
October 14, 2025

Happy Tuesday!

Today’s Top Three:

  • GO Fest is THIS WEEKEND, October 17 - 19!

  • The City of Roanoke’s parking survey goes live tomorrow, Wednesday, October 15th.

  • Get your costumes ready because the Downtown Employee Halloween Costume Contest is your chance to win cash prizes.

Keep reading to stay informed!  

- Joya Garris, Director of Marketing & Communications

Get Involved

City to Host a Public Meeting: Parking Study 🅿️ 

As part of a larger study, The City of Roanoke is hosting a public parking meeting on October 27th, 2025 at 5:30pm at the Berglund Center. 

Additionally, a survey will become available this Wednesday, October 15th on the City’s project website (click link below). If you were unable to attend the Retail & Restaurant Meeting and want to voice your opinions, we recommend participating in this session.

Submit Your Events to the DRI Calendar 🗓️ 

As we approach the busy holiday season, I ask that you please submit your events to the DRI calendar if you want to be included in newsletters and social media promotion. Unfortunately, I won't have much time to search for and add events to our website from now until the new year. I understand that it can be a lot for businesses to upload their events, but it would be really appreciated as I work to market Dickens of a Christmas, The Elf on the Shelf Adventure, Small Business Saturday, and two new events. I am also creating the Dickens insert and holiday gift guide to promote local shopping.

To ensure you have good event listings, please remember to:

  • Add all pertinent details (dates, times, what activities/events will occur, names of bands, ticket costs, etc.)

  • Add a photo (preferably horizontal, 3:2 ratio)

  • Include event link

  • Link to purchase tickets

*Please do NOT submit sales and special to the events calendar. They will be deleted. All sales should be submitted to our specials page.

Thank you for your cooperation and assistance!

-Joya Garris

Small Business Saturday Registration 🛍️ 

Don’t forget to register for Small Business Saturday on Saturday, November 29, in Downtown Roanoke! All participating locations will be listed on DRI’s event webpage, calendar event, Facebook event, and feature post. We have 12 registered businesses so far. Let’s promote downtown shopping!

Win CASH Prizes this Halloween 🤑 

Get your ghoulish costumes ready because DRI’s annual Downtown Roanoke Employee Costume Contest is back! On October 31st at 12pm, dress to impress and compete for cash prizes (and bragging rights).

  • 1st Place - $200

  • 2nd Place - $100

  • 3rd Place - $50

  • Best group - $100

This contest is open to all employees within the Downtown Service District.

Dickens of a Christmas 🎄 & The Elf on The Shelf 🧝 

Delta Dental Dickens of a Christmas, the Roanoke Valley's largest holiday celebration, returns for its 43rd year, taking place on the first three Friday nights in December (5, 12, & 19)! Festivities include the tree lighting, Christmas parade, pet costume contest, live performances, kids’ zone, and holiday cheer.

We’re asking businesses to stay open late to accommodate the increased foot traffic. All businesses that do will be included in our Roanoke Times insert (you can view last year’s here). Please submit any of your holiday events to our website so we can help promote those!

Vendor and parade applications can be found on this page.

The Elf on The Shelf Adventure in Downtown Roanoke is returning as well. Eligible businesses should have received an email and registration link.

Email [email protected] with questions about EOTS.

Stay Informed

GO Fest Returns This Weekend 🚵 

October 17-19 | Elmwood Park, Franklin Rd, Jefferson St, & more

The annual Go Outside Festival (aka GO Fest) is an annual three-day celebration of everything outdoors in Virginia’s Blue Ridge. For an entire weekend, visitors can wander through Roanoke to try endless outdoor activities, like test driving a bike, demoing a stand-up paddle board, learning to fly cast, and more.

This event attracts a huge number of visitors to the downtown area, so make sure you’re fully staffed and prepared. Last year, the event had over 44,000 attendees!

Please review the Waze map and street closures linked below.

Stormwater Projects & Information Sessions 📝 

The City of Roanoke Stormwater Utility will be constructing a storm drain project Downtown along 1st Street SW at the intersections of Luck Ave SW, Church Ave SW, and Kirk Ave SW starting in early 2026. The project includes the upsizing of five existing storm drainage inlets, with the goal to reduce flood risk in the area.

The City is hosting two information sessions on Monday, October 27th at 10 AM and 2 PM at the City’s Office of Economic Development at 117 Church Avenue SW.

Upcoming Conference 🧑‍💼 

Oct. 26 - 29 | Hotel Roanoke

The Virginia Recreation and Park Society (VRPS) Annual Conference is coming to Hotel Roanoke! Make attendees feel welcome by printing and placing signs in your windows, posting on social media, and decorating your sandwich boards! We’re trying to make life simple, so we’ve linked a sign below that you can download.

DRI & 202 Social House Offering a FREE Movie 🎬️ 

Friday, October 24th | Activities begin at 6pm

DRI and 202 Social House are joining forces to bring a free movie to the market! Enjoy the original Ghostbusters (PG) movie, free popcorn, snow cones, and kids’ activities in Market Square. Activities begin at 6pm and the movie starts at dusk. Bring your friends and lawn chairs for a Halloween classic to perfectly kick-off the holiday festivities.

Holiday Market Coming Soon ❄️ 

Friday, November 14, 2025 | 5pm-8pm

After the Sidewalk Sale, we received several requests for another shopping day to help increase foot traffic. Join us for an enchanting evening Holiday Market, paired with a heartwarming Toys-for-Tots toy drive and a very special guest: The Roanoke Gri-NCH! Bring the whole family to meet the mischievous Grinch, enjoy his playful antics, and capture memorable photos. All we ask is that you bring a new, unwrapped toy to brighten a child’s holiday through Toys-for-Tots.

We highly recommend businesses stay open late to capture additional foot traffic.

Gift Guide Returns 🎁 

DRI’s holiday gift guide will return this holiday season to help small businesses promote their products. Start thinking about which items you want us to feature. Click here to check out last year’s gift guide.

The photoshoot will likely happen during the first week of November! Participating businesses will drop off their items to DRI, and we will have them professionally photographed. Then, we will return them. We will have your items for at least 2 days during the photoshoot.

Sections include:

  • Gifts for Her

  • Accessories

  • Gifts for Him

  • Gifts for the Home

  • Food & Beverage

  • Self Care

  • Gifts for Kids

  • Gifts for Pets

  • Gifts Under $20

  • Restaurants

  • Holiday Events

Are there other sections you’d like to see? Email Joya your suggestions.

Ambassador Update 💙 

Freedom First Credit Union believes in the power of community and recognizes the impact its actions can have on the lives of those around us. Yesterday, 136 FFCU staff members volunteered with our Downtown Roanoke Ambassadors for a Community Day. During this event, they provided assistance in various ways, including:

  • Picked up litter

  • Cleared planters for winter

  • Repainted the farmer's market structure

  • Removed fallen leaves

  • Mulched

  • Removed weeds

  • Wiped down surfaces

  • Swept curb lines

Thank you, Freedom First Credit Union, for your community service! 💙

Events, Street Closures, & Parking

Downtown Events and Street Closures 🚧

The following street closures and associated events may affect Downtown traffic and business for the week of October 13-19.

  • Straight Street Youth Night on Friday, 10/17 and Saturday, 10/18 on Luck Ave SW between 3rd St and 4th St

  • GO Fest on Friday, 10/17 - Sunday, 10/19.

Additional closures:

  • Drainage Project — Find updates and closures here.

Upcoming Festivals, Concerts, & Events 🎉 

We’ve officially entered festival season! Whether you want to get involved or need to staff your business, mark your calendars for the following festivals and events.

Find Downtown Parking 🅿️

With more than 1,300 on-street spaces and 7,000+ off-street spaces, plenty of free or paid parking options exist.

DRI - Your Downtown Partner

Put DRI to work for you! 💼

Our mission is to make Downtown Roanoke the preferred place to Work, Live, and Play. As a Downtown business, you have a valuable FREE resource at your fingertips. Let us help share your story!

Website Listings on DowntownRoanoke.org - Our business listings often come up among the first in Google searches. Help us enhance your listing by providing us with vital information, including website, phone number, description, hours, menus, and images.

Job Listings on DowntownRoanoke.org - Downtown Roanoke is the most vibrant workplace around and a destination for job seekers. Let us help get the word out when you’re hiring!

Event Listings on DowntownRoanoke.org - Our Event Calendar is THE place people go to find out what’s happening Downtown. Get your event in front of the audience you’re looking for.

Important Contacts 👤

Often, businesses need phone numbers for government services, such as solid waste, permitting, etc., and other services, such as private parking and transportation.

Check out our list of frequently requested information!