On Saturday, November 28, the Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park welcomed New York Times Best-Selling author Adriana Trigiani for a book-signing event that also allowed park visitors to give back to the community. Two hundred and twenty-five people attended the event, each one getting a chance to spend a few minutes with Ms. Trigiani as well as tour the museum’s Festival of Trees. Attendees were also treated live music from local band “Tyler Hughes and the Generation Gap,” which played festive old-time and bluegrass tunes for the delighted guests.
Ticket holders for the event, billed as “A Season of Sharing” were asked to bring a canned food item for the local food bank. Through the generosity of the attendees, approximately fifty pounds of food was collected. Restaurateur Michael Trigiani, owner of Zackie’s Famous Hot Dogs of Nashville, TN and brother of Adriana, also helped contribute to the spirit of sharing by selling hot dog lunches on the lawn of the museum. All proceeds from the lunch were donated to the Friends of the Southwest Virginia Museum and The Gap Partnership Scholarship Fund, which assists graduating seniors from Powell Valley and Appalachia High Schools. Over one hundred and fifty lunches were sold.
Adriana Trigiani is the author of eleven books, each one a best-seller. She grew up in Big Stone Gap, VA, home of the Southwest Virginia Museum, and her debut novel, Big Stone Gap, and its three sequels are set in her former home town. In 2009, Ms. Trigiani released two books, Very Valentine, and Viola in Reel Life.