More than half of Salem's dated public events between Nov. 7 and Dec. 19 are listed on the Salem Museum's events page. Three are at the Salem Civic Center. Main Street gets one evening, the Dec. 4 parade. The season opens and closes with wreaths laid for veterans, and most of the weeks in between run through the museum, Longwood Park and East Hill North Cemetery next door.
Two Wreaths Bracket the Season
The season opens on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 10 a.m. with a wreath laying at the Audie Murphy Appalachian Trail Memorial Monument on Brush Mountain. The Salem Museum presents it, and it's free and open to the public. Murphy was the most decorated enlisted soldier of the Second World War, and later an actor and businessman. He died in 1971 when a plane crashed in Roanoke County, killing all six people on board. The monument sits near the crash site.
The season closes on Saturday, Dec. 19, at noon with Wreaths Across America. The Fort Lewis Chapter NSDAR holds a ceremony, then invites the community to help lay wreaths on graves in East Hill and East Hill North cemeteries.
Both ceremonies honor veterans, and everything else on the calendar falls between them. The museum built a group of partners for the November events: the Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club, Roanoke College and its ROTC program, the Fort Lewis Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the Virginia Department of Forestry, and the Civil Air Patrol's Roanoke Composite Squadron.
Getting to Brush Mountain on Nov. 7
The ceremony takes some driving before it starts. Everyone meets at the parking area closest to the monument, then the group walks nine-tenths of a mile to the site. These are the museum's directions:
- Take VA-311 North, also called Thompson Memorial Drive, or use Interstate 81 Exit 141 or Exit 140.
- At the Hanging Rock/Orange Market traffic circle, stay on VA-311. Turn left if you're coming from Salem or Exit 141, and right if you're coming from Exit 140.
- Continue 9 miles, then turn left onto VA-624.
- After 6.8 miles, turn right onto Brush Mountain Road. It's gravel and is also marked Forest Service Road 188.1.
- Go 1.7 miles, then turn right and stay on the gravel road.
- Continue 1.6 miles and park at or near the gate.
The museum strongly encourages carpooling and says low-clearance vehicles aren't advisable. The last few miles are gravel, so if your car sits low, ride with someone whose doesn't.
The Story Moves Indoors, Then Next Door
Five days later, the Murphy events move back into town. On Thursday, Nov. 12, the museum holds its Membership Reception at 5 p.m. and its Annual Meeting at 6:30 p.m. Only members can vote for officers and directors. At 7 p.m. comes the "Remembering Audie Murphy" panel, which is free and open to everyone. It covers Murphy's life and career and honors the first responders who reached the crash site 55 years ago. Two of the panelists are Capt. Lee Anthony, U.S. Navy, retired, and Col. Charles Glass, U.S. Air Force, retired. They'll share what they remember about the crash and the recovery work by the Civil Air Patrol and others. The panel is this month's entry in the museum's monthly speaker series, which meets at 7 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month.
Two days after that, on Saturday, Nov. 14, the focus moves next door. At 2 p.m., a new Civil War Trails marker will be unveiled in East Hill North Cemetery, the historic African American cemetery right beside the Salem Museum. It honors the Black Civil War veterans buried there who fought for the Union. Some of them escaped slavery here in the area to enlist. A special lecture follows at 2:30 p.m., and the museum says more details are coming.
East Hill North comes up again five weeks later, when Wreaths Across America volunteers return to lay wreaths there on Dec. 19.
The Museum Corner Hosts the Quieter Saturdays
After Thanksgiving, the museum's calendar turns lighter while staying in the same spot.
On Saturday, Nov. 28, from 1 to 3 p.m., the annual Persiflage/Writers Holiday Book Sale features nearly 20 regional authors working in a range of genres. The group's anthology, "Appalachian Holiday," will be on sale, and many of its contributors plan to be there to sign their stories. Part of the proceeds goes to the Salem Museum. If you're shopping for someone who reads, you can buy a signed local book and support the museum in one trip.
On Saturday, Dec. 5, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Salem-Roanoke County Chamber of Commerce brings its Gingerbread Festival back to Longwood Park. The annual Gingerbread House Competition entries are displayed inside the museum. The festival ends at 2 p.m., so the Visit Virginia's Blue Ridge holiday guide suggests arriving in the morning or early afternoon. Crafty Christmas runs the same Saturday at the Salem Farmers Market. The 2026 announcement doesn't list its hours.
Main Street Gets One Big Friday
Downtown's big night is Friday, Dec. 4. The Christmas tree is lit at the Salem Public Library at 6 p.m., and the Christmas Parade starts down Main Street at 6:30. Both are free.
The Roanoke Symphony Orchestra's Holiday Pops Concert is at the Salem Civic Center at 7:30 p.m. the same night. David Stewart Wiley conducts, with guest soloist Adelaide Trombetta and the Roanoke Symphony Chorus, the Roanoke Valley Children's Choir and the Salem Choral Society. The tourism guide treats the parade and the concert as a choice for that Friday. The concert starts an hour after the parade steps off, so decide your plan before the week of the event.
The part of Main Street between Market and Broad streets has been torn up this fall to replace storm drains. On Oct. 23, the City of Salem said the work would run through at least Nov. 6. The city said digging that deep under Main Street meant reinforcing the infrastructure around it, and that supplier and equipment-delivery problems also put the project behind schedule. Crews still had to finish installing the drains and repave. The parade is about a month after that date. Check the city's news page for updates before you pick a spot to watch.
There's also a new place to eat downtown on parade night. Dom Vito's Brick Oven Pizza opened Oct. 13 at 10 W. Main St., on the ground floor of the Salem Motor Lofts building, Roanoke Growth reported. It serves 12-inch brick-oven pizzas, sandwiches, smoked wings, salads, beer, wine and specialty cocktails. One of the pies is the Pretty Fly for a White Pie, with mozzarella, provolone, ricotta, pistachios, mortadella and lemon zest. The building opened in 1924 as the New Central Motor Company dealership, later housed Goodwin Williams Chevrolet and West Salem Body Shop, and was rehabilitated in 2017 and 2018 into lofts over ground-floor commercial space.
The Full Calendar, Nov. 7 to Dec. 19
| Date | Event | Where | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Nov. 7 | Audie Murphy Memorial Wreath Laying | Brush Mountain monument | 10 a.m. |
| Thu., Nov. 12 | Member Reception, Annual Meeting, "Remembering Audie Murphy" panel | Salem Museum | 5, 6:30 and 7 p.m. |
| Sat., Nov. 14 | Civil War Trails Marker Unveiling and lecture | East Hill North Cemetery | 2 and 2:30 p.m. |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Persiflage/Writers Holiday Book Sale | Salem Museum calendar | 1 to 3 p.m. |
| Fri., Dec. 4 | Tree Lighting, then Christmas Parade | Salem Public Library, Main Street | 6 and 6:30 p.m. |
| Fri., Dec. 4 | RSO Holiday Pops | Salem Civic Center | 7:30 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Crafty Christmas | Salem Farmers Market | Hours not yet listed |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Gingerbread Festival | Longwood Park and Salem Museum | 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. |
| Thu., Dec. 10 | Cirque Musica Holiday Wonderland | Salem Civic Center | 7:30 p.m. |
| Sat.–Sun., Dec. 12–13 | Salem Holiday Market | Salem Civic Center | Hours not yet listed |
| Sat., Dec. 19 | Wreaths Across America | East Hill and East Hill North cemeteries | Noon |
The Civic Center Week Before the Last Wreath
The week after the parade belongs to the Salem Civic Center. On Thursday, Dec. 10, Cirque Musica Holiday Wonderland combines holiday music with aerialists and acrobats at 7:30 p.m. It's a new version of the show for 2026. That weekend, Dec. 12 and 13, the Salem Holiday Market fills the Civic Center with crafters and vendors. The tourism guide also says Main Street will have holiday lights and decorations, but it doesn't give dates for them.
The following Saturday at noon, the season closes where November's second ceremony took place. The Fort Lewis Chapter NSDAR will be at East Hill and East Hill North cemeteries, and anyone who comes can help lay a wreath.
As a veteran-led team, we'll be watching for the Brush Mountain wreath on Nov. 7 and the East Hill wreaths on Dec. 19. If you're settling into Salem, or thinking about what your next home in the Roanoke Valley should be close to, the team at Matysan Kestner is glad to talk it through. Schedule a Free Consultation.
