Shopping

Shopping is a national pastime, social outing and overall good-for-you activity. It doesn’t matter if you are away from home or a local resident with a little change in your pocket and time on your hands. There’s always new merchandise to discover, new people, new streets, new shop clerks, new stuff, new stores. Interesting things are found all over the New River Valley in shops you never knew were here and other ones you love to visit again and again.

Floyd County – All the shops in the one-traffic-light town of Floyd are intriguing. Many sport glass front windows, funky signs and clever names. From locally-made fine crafts and country products to antiques, vintage stuff and unusual gift items, there’s no shortage of shelves and display cases. Clothing includes country duds, sophisticated city slicker lines and everything in between. Floyd is worth the drive for a whole day or even longer.

Giles County -- The towns of Pearisburg, Pembroke, Rich Creek and Narrows are wonderful enclaves to explore for hiking gear and supplies, jewelry, fabric, flea market finds, candles, gifts

and Amish crafted home furnishings. It has been reported that some of the best produce, country crafts, jams and jellies, cheese, comfort foods and homemade foodie fare are found at the gas stations in Giles.

Montgomery County -- Shopkeepers are sprinkled throughout the county. The New River Valley Mall has been rebranded Uptown Christiansburg, and many strip malls are home to major retailers and indie businesses.

Blacksburg – The original 16 blocks include historical buildings and churches. Tucked into many of them are cute shops, cafes, sports bars and useful places like the U.S. Post Office, banks with ATMs, hair stylists and a popular farmer’s market. Fringe Benefit and Matrix Gallery measure their downtown presence in more than three decades, while newer shops offer gifts, eclectic merchandise, fine clothing and home and personal accessories. Art galleries and sidewalk dining.

Christiansburg – The brick sidewalks and church steeples evoke a community spirit embedded in its long history as a settlement on the Great Road to the western frontier. The downtown and Cambria antique shops draw shoppers from all over the East Coast. Dozens of dealers offer fine and country furniture, home decor, books, dishes, saddles sometimes, a little bit of everything. The farmers market is open Thursdays in season on Hickok Street, and downtown is host to truck rodeos, street fairs and festivals.

Pulaski County -- The Marketplace at the historic train station bustles all summer on Tuesdays with fresh produce and crafts. The Fine Arts Center of the New River Valley has found its home in downtown Pulaski for decades with local and regional arts and crafts. You might not want to miss The Shabby Rabbit, an Alice in Wonderland inspired thrift and gift shop or Draper Mercantile aka Thee Draper Village with its extensive gift shop, restaurant and tea room.

Radford City --ThefirststopherecanbeGlencoe Mansion, which offers a charming historical tour and houses the Radford Visitor’s Center and a gift shop with local arts, crafts and books. Downtown is a fun mix of college energy, flea market finds, clothing, jewelry and more, like Lamour’s Boutique. For more than 35 years, the hippie culture has thrived in this unique shop. If the tie-dyed look doesn’t work for you, check out Garrett’s & Meg’s for a more sophisticated look.

Shopping

Here’s a part list of places, some off-the-beatenpath, all on the do-not-miss-this-store roster for locals, visitors and the often-returning parents of local college students.

w Annie Kay’s Main Street Market, Blacksburg -- Health foods, fresh produce w Bonomo’s, Bonomo’s Plaza, Blacksburg -- fine women’s clothier, nice accessories, some shoes, jewelry w Crab Creek Country Store -- primitives and country home decor, wood and gas stoves w Crow’s Nest Greenhouses, Prices Fork -- plants, flowers, herbs, garden decor, seasonal stuff w Draper Mercantile, Draper -- garden shop, Christmas shop, gift, jewelry, home decor and kitchen shop, tea, restaurant w Eats Natural Foods, Blacksburg -- bulk everything, vitamins, gifts, fresh produce w Gourmet Pantry, Blacksburg w Harvest Moon Food Store, Floyd -- fresh meats, produce, fair trade coffee, bulk foods w Historic Smithfield Museum Store, Blacksburg –wonderful gift shop with excellent merchandise, oldfashioned games and toys, china, local artisan crafts and books, jewelry w Imaginations Toy & Furniture, Blacksburg -- toys and nice learning games and things, inside Annie Kay’s w Ms. Audre’s Fabric-n-Fellowship, Pearisburg - fabric galore, quilting supplies, stained glass quilt squares w New River Sports - fishing, boating, firearms, ammo w Old New River Books - Cambria w Pearis Mercantile, Pearisburg -- candles, gifts, garden accessories, hiking supplies w Schoolhouse Fabrics, Floyd - two floors and lots of former schoolrooms of fabric and sewing staples w Stafford Artglass – glassblower and glass artist extraordinaire on site, gift shop with stunning handcrafted glass objects and seasonal glass items w Walker Valley Market, Pearisburg -- oh, a few miles out of town, Amish furniture, cheese, meats, gifts w Western Store, Christiansburg -- all things horse, western and English wear, saddles, 100s of belts, boots, bridles w Wildwood Farms General Store, Willis -- daylily farm, general store, kitchen, live music sometimes