Bandit
Bandit
Chili Cookoff returns Oct. 17
Floyd County Fire Department cookoff station
Floyd County Rotarians behind the Rotary table at the cookoff
Floyd County EMS cookoff station
Floyd County Rotary’s annual Chili Cookoff returns Saturday, Oct. 17, bringing Floyd County’s first responders together for some friendly competition while raising funds to support the organizations that serve Floyd County.
The Chili Cookoff will be held from 6 to 7 p.m. at Citizens Telephone Cooperative, 220 Webbs Mill Road in Floyd, helping kick off Citizens’ free Boots & Broadband Bash, which continues until 9 p.m. with line dancing and an instructor, music, food trucks and other activities.
Teams representing Floyd County EMS, Floyd Volunteer Fire Department and Floyd County Sheriff’s Office will compete for bragging rights while raising funds for all three organizations.
The public is invited to sample chili prepared by each team at no charge and vote for their favorite. People’s Choice votes are $1 each, with attendees welcome to cast as many votes as they like. Proceeds from People’s Choice voting go to the winning organization. A panel of judges will also select a separate Judges’ Award winner.
While chili samples are free, donations are encouraged. One hundred percent of Chili Cookoff donations and sponsorships benefit Floyd County EMS, Floyd Volunteer Fire Department and Floyd County Sheriff’s Office.
The Chili Cookoff is one of Floyd County Rotary’s signature fundraising events, bringing the community together in support of the first responders who serve Floyd County throughout the year.
Sheriff won’t seek fourth term
Floyd County Sheriff Brian Craig, late in his third term, announced on Facebook over the weekend that he will not run for a fourth round.
“I plan to retire at the end of my current term on 12-31-27” Craig said in his announcement Sunday.
He added: “Serving as your Sheriff has been one of the greatest honors of my life. I am eternally grateful to the citizens of Floyd County for your trust and support. I am especially proud of the men and women of the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office. Their dedication to our community is truly commendable. I am honored to work with them each and every day.
“I remain fully committed to serving Floyd County and the men and women of the Sheriff’s Office through the end of my term. As always, I appreciated your love and support.
Craig has won strong support among Floyd County residents for transforming the sheriff’s department with young, professional officers. He added personnel, instituted a Senior Watch program where deputies called on older residents, many of them living alone, and provided help and assistance.
Although the Sheriff’s role was traditionally an administrative position, Craig was often out with his deputies, riding patrol. He was present at school events and helped staff support positions on volleyball and other sports.
“It has been challenging but satisfying” he told The Floyd Press after Circuit Court Tuesday. “It was time for me to retire from the position.”
Craig came from the ranks of deputies and announced his run after Shannon Zeman retired in 2015. He beat Christiansburg police officer Doug Weddle in a primary election and won the general election over former State Trooper and Floyd court bailiff Jimmy Howery. He became Sheriff on Jan. 1, 2016. He won the next two elections easily.
Craig upgraded the department’s patrol cars, replacing the discontinued Ford sedans with SUVs, developed a new salary schedule and promotion paths and won praise from the county Board of Supervisors. He upgraded the school resource officers’ programs and put one in each of the county’s elementary schools and the high school.
Arts center announces new exhibits
The Floyd Center for the Arts will open three new exhibitions on Saturday, Oct. 3, bringing together contemporary regional art, traditional and innovative fiber processes, and large-scale black-and-white photography. The exhibitions will remain on view through Nov. 21.
The public is invited to celebrate all three exhibitions during a free opening reception on Saturday, Oct. 3, from 4–6 p.m. Guests can meet participating artists, explore the galleries, enjoy complimentary light refreshments, and visit the cash bar.
The Floyd Center for the Arts’ annual New Works exhibition returns to the Hayloft Gallery, featuring 65 works by 49 artists from across the region and showcasing the latest work, fresh ideas, and evolving creative practices within our arts community.
Featuring artwork created within the past two years, New Works 2026 highlights the creative journeys artists are taking in their studios today. From experimentation with unfamiliar materials and innovative processes to fresh interpretations of traditional forms, the exhibition reflects the vitality of the regional arts community and the continued commitment of artists to explore, take risks, and expand their practices.
This year’s exhibition was juried by Theresa Rykaczewski, an artist, curator, educator and museum professional whose practice bridges studio art, art history, and community-centered exhibition making.
Rykaczewski has organized more than 100 exhibitions and public art installations featuring local, international, contemporary, and historical artists. Her own oil paintings have been exhibited in more than 50 juried exhibitions and are included in private and corporate collections. She currently serves as Art Museum Manager and Professor of Museum Studies at Radford University.
Rykaczewski holds an MFA in Painting from Jacksonville University, where she graduated as a member of Phi Kappa Phi, and a BFA with honors from the University of Missouri–St. Louis, with a minor in art history focused on French and American art from 1830–1910.
First, Second, and Third Place awards will be presented, and visitors will have the opportunity to select the People’s Choice Award.
The Falcon Gallery will feature Shared Threads: Fiber Processes Hand to Hand, a curated exhibition celebrating the artistry, innovation, and tradition of fiber arts.
Fiber is more than a material—it is a way of making, connecting, and preserving knowledge across generations. Shared Threads explores fiber as both process and practice, bringing together functional and decorative works that honor traditional techniques while embracing contemporary approaches.
The exhibition features artists working through processes including weaving, quilting, spinning, knitting, crochet, felting, braiding, stitching, basket weaving, soft sculpture, and experimental fiber practices.
Both finished pieces and works in progress are represented, offering visitors an opportunity to look beyond the finished object and consider the processes, skills, and knowledge behind how fiber work is made.
From techniques passed hand to hand across generations to new interpretations of fiber-based making, Shared Threads celebrates the makers who preserve tradition, embrace innovation, and strengthen connections between generations, cultures, and communities.
In the Breezeway Gallery, photographer Pat Lawson transports visitors to the haunting landscape of Caddo Lake, located along the border of East Texas and Louisiana.
Known for its shallow, dark waters, towering cypress trees, and draping Spanish moss, Caddo Lake has a distinctive landscape that can feel both mysterious and primeval. Lawson captures this environment through large-scale black-and-white photography, emphasizing the textures, contrasts, and atmosphere of a place shaped by water and time.
Lawson’s photographic practice primarily focuses on people and landscapes. Through his work, he seeks to render a subject’s character and circumstances so strongly that the image draws the viewer into the scene.
Currently living in Richmond, Virginia, Lawson became a professional photographer following a successful career in business and continues to be actively involved in nonprofit organizations and family businesses alongside his photography practice.
The Floyd Center for the Arts invites the community to experience all three exhibitions during the Opening Reception on Saturday, Oct. 3, from 4–6 p.m. The reception is free and open to the public and will include complimentary light refreshments and a cash bar.
