The Roanoke Times | File 2006

Steppin' Out traditionally has featured vendors offering items such as wind ornaments.

The Roanoke Times

Paparazzi was at Steppin' Out to take your pictures -- more than 250 of you.

BLACKSBURG -- Need a necklace made of coffee beans? Want to learn about belly dancing? Can't find that perfect lawn ornament?

Friday and Saturday, the streets of downtown Blacksburg will have that and more during the 28th Steppin' Out, the annual street festival featuring arts and crafts, food, live entertainment and more.

The biggest challenge in planning was working around construction downtown, said Laureen Blakemore, first-time coordinator of Steppin' Out and event planner for the Downtown Merchants of Blacksburg, which sponsors the event each year.

Construction is blocking off parts of College Avenue, where vendor booths and the main music stage are usually located. The food court and some booths will still be found there, but about seven had to be moved to Draper Road, Blakemore said.

About 30 vendors were also moved to Draper Road from Main Street because of new rules from the town of Blacksburg that stretches of Main Street must be open for emergency vehicles, Blakemore said.

All the moving has affected the music stages as well, said Dylan Locke of DLP Concerts, which has organized the music for Steppin' Out for the past 12 years. There are two music stages -- the Main Stage and the Acoustic Stage -- and the Community Stage, where local groups such as dance schools and children's organizations can perform.

Locke said of the Community Stage, "It's things in the community that maybe you don't know about. It's also a chance for a performance in a situation where kids don't usually get to perform. It's fun for parents to see the kids."

The Acoustic Stage, which features local music, has been moved to the intersection of Lee Street and Draper Road from the post office on Main Street to put it nearer to the booths that were moved. The Main Stage has moved from Henderson Lawn at College Avenue and Main Street into Main Street.

Organizers try to bring in all kinds of music to fit everyone's tastes, Locke said, including blues, jazz, bluegrass, Middle Eastern and old-time.

"You might walk over and hear pre-1940s country blues, and the next act is an all-women's ensemble playing an instrument like the oud [a Middle Eastern instrument similar to a lute]," Locke said.

But construction isn't the only change this year -- there are new amenities, including the Canine Corral, where, for a fee, owners can drop off their dogs to be watched during the festival.

Dogs aren't allowed at Steppin' Out, so Blacksburg police often have to ask people to take their four-legged friends home, said Sarah Finker, owner of NRV Varmints Pet Sitting. Finker and workers from NRV Varmints will oversee the corral, a fenced area on Draper Road for dogs.

Finker helped organize the dog parade during another Downtown Merchants event, June's Summer Solstice, which got her thinking about Steppin' Out.

"The Summer Solstice was a very dog-friendly event, but Steppin' Out is not," Finker said. "I think that makes things even more confusing to people who have pets."

Even with the additions and changes to this year's event, Blakemore said she is confident about the festival.

"The formula works," Blakemore said. "If it isn't broke, don't fix it. Everyone loves Steppin' Out."