Events and Activities
Pickleball Social
October 17 from 4:00-7:00pm
Calling all pickleball players!
Join the Salem Museum for a unique Fall Pickleball Social.
Socialize and learn new tips and tricks from fellow pickleballers! Bring your ID for our cash bar, snack on light hors d’oeuvres, and more!
The price of entry will be $10 per person. All proceeds from the event will benefit Salem Museum.
"Discovery Rising: Celebrating Science and Technology at Roanoke College" Book Launch
Tuesday October 20, from 5:30-7:00pm
From a church parsonage in 1842 to the 2026 opening of the Shaun McConnon Discovery Center, “Discovery Rising” tells the remarkable story of science, technology, and innovation at Roanoke College.
Join Glatha “Maggie” Madden, a 1969 graduate of Roanoke College, for a talk on her new book exploring how the small liberal arts college in Salem became a powerful force in scientific education and achievement.
Featuring more than 200 images and illustrations, the book will guide readers through Roanoke’s scientific and technological evolution alongside the advances of the modern world.
Madden will read an excerpt from the hardcover book and sign copies, which will be for sale at the event. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Salem Museum.
Late Woodland Tool Making: Bone, Stone, and Wood
Saturday October 24, 10am-2pm
Stone tool production has been a crucial Indigenous technology used in Virginia for thousands of years. You are invited to join these talented technologists and the Headwaters Chapter for this public event.
Chris French will be demonstrating the art of producing projectile points using a variety of stone and bone tools which were necessary components used to produce arrowheads, scrapers, knives, and spearpoints.
Dean Ferguson will be exhibiting green stone celt/axe production methods and the importance of these tools.
Salem Museum Hosting Audie Murphy Wreath Laying, Panel Talk
November 7, 10:00am; November 12, 7:00pm
The Salem Museum will present two special events November 7 and November 12 in memory of veteran, actor, and businessman Audie Murphy, the most decorated enlisted soldier of the Second World War, who lost his life in a Roanoke County plane crash in 1971. Both events will be free and open to the public.
On Saturday, November 7, 2026 at 10 a.m. the Museum will present a wreath laying ceremony at the site of Murphy’s Appalachian Trail Memorial Monument. Positioned atop Brush Mountain, it marks near the site of a fatal plane crash that took six lives, including Murphy’s, in 1971. Meeting at the nearest parking lot to the monument’s location at 10 a. m., a brief ceremony and wreath laying will take place at the monument’s site once the assembled group treks the nine-tenths of a mile to the monument.
Attendees may reach the Audie Murphy Monument from VA-311 North/Thompson Memorial Drive or from Interstate 81 Exits 141 or 140. At the Hanging Rock/Orange Market traffic circle, remain on VA-311, turning left from Salem or Exit 141 and right from Exit 140. Continue 9 miles, then turn left onto VA-624. After 6.8 miles, turn right onto Brush Mountain Road, a gravel route also identified as Forest Service Road 188.1. Travel 1.7 miles, then turn right while remaining on the gravel road. Continue 1.6 miles and park at or near the gate; the monument is a nine-tenths-mile walk from that point. Carpooling is strongly encouraged, and low-clearance vehicles are not advisable.
On Thursday, November 12, 2026 at 7 p.m. following the Salem Museum’s Annual Member Reception, the Museum will host a “Remembering Audie Murphy” panel discussion of Murphy’s life and career, as well as honor those first responders to the crash site 55 years ago this year. Among the panelists are Captain Lee Anthony, US Navy (retired), and Colonel Charles Glass, US Air Force (retired), who will share their recollections about the crash and the recovery efforts made by the Civil Air Patrol and others on those dark days in Roanoke Valley history.
To make possible these events, the Salem Museum is partnering with the Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club, Roanoke College and the College’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), the Fort Lewis Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC), the Virginia Department of Forestry, and the Roanoke Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol.
Mark Your Calendar
Monthly Speaker Series
Second Thursday of each month, 7pm. January and February on Zoom. November= The Life of Audie Murphey with Panel Discussion / January= Law and Order for Hire in Virginia with author Phillip Gibbs / March= Splintered Shadows: Recovering a French Resistante with Marilyn Moriarty
Headwaters Chapter of the Archeological Society of Virginia Monthly Meetings
Second Tuesday of July, September, and November; 7pm. Free and open to the public. Enjoy monthly speakers on topics of local archeology.
Pickleball Social
October 17, 4-7pm. Calling all pickleball players! Visit the Salem Museum that evening for refreshments and a chance to meet fellow competitors. Explore the Museum with your friends and meet new team members.
"Discovery Rising: Celebrating Science and Technology at Roanoke College" Book Launch
October 20, 5:30-7pm. From a church parsonage in 1842 to the 2026 opening of the Shaun McConnon Discovery Center, “Discovery Rising” tells the remarkable story of science, technology, and innovation at Roanoke College. Curated by Glatha “Maggie” Madden, a 1969 graduate of Roanoke College, “Discovery Rising” features engaging narratives and more than 200 images and illustrations that guide readers through Roanoke’s evolution alongside the advances of the modern world.
Late Woodland Tool Making Symposium
October 24, 10am-2pm. Join the Headwaters Chapter of the Archeological Society of Virginia for a day of Native American history and tool demonstrations.
Ask an Archeologist
Beginning in October. Visitors to the Salem Museum will be able to see archeologists at work on the Museum's collection. Stop by their workspace to see what they are working on and ask them questions about what they do!
Audie Murphey Commemorative Hike
November 7, 10am. Join us for a hike to the Audie Murphey memorial.
Annual Member Reception
November 12, 5pm; Membership Meeting 6:30pm. All members are welcome to join us for refreshments and socializing prior to our November speaker. At 6:30, hear the annual report and vote on new Board members.
Persiflage Book Sale
November 28, 1-3pm. The annual Persiflage/Writers Holiday Book Sale returns. The signing/sale will feature nearly 20 of the region’s best authors in a variety of genres. The book group’s anthology, “Appalachian Holiday,” will be on sale and many of the contributors will be on hand to sign their stories in the book. A portion of all proceeds will benefit the Salem Museum.
Gingerbread Festival 2026
December 5, 10am-2pm. The Salem-Roanoke County Chamber of Commerce Festival returns to Longwood Park with the annual Gingerbread House Competition on display inside the Museum.
Wreaths Across America
December 19, 12pm. Join the Fort Lewis Chapter NSDAR to honor local veterans. A ceremony will take place, then community members are invited to help lay wreaths on graves in East Hill and East Hill North cemeteries.
Peggy Shifflett Book Talk
Coming Soon. Local author Peggy Shifflett will discuss her upcoming book and have a book signing.
Workshops with artist Matilda Wentzel
Returns in late 2026/early 2027. Join us for arts workshops. RSVP Required. More information HERE
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Sun - Mon: Closed
Tue - Sat: 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
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Sun - Mon: Closed
Tue - Sat: 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
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