Justin Cook | The Roanoke Times

Anne Downey of Evans, Ga., sent Virginia Tech this panel of drawings of the 32 people killed during the 2007 shootings. It is on display at Squires Student Center.

Virginia Tech's classes are canceled as the university pauses for today's 2009 Day of Remembrance to honor the victims of the April 16, 2007, shootings. A new event -- a 3.2-mile run ending at the April 16 Memorial on campus -- is drawing thousands of participants. The Run in Remembrance route will begin at 8 a.m. at Alumni Mall and take runners past the Duck Pond and Grove Lane before they finish with a lap around the Drillfield. Registration is free and walk-up registrants are welcome. About 3,000 people had registered for the race by Tuesday afternoon. Organizers are expecting a few hundred walk-up participants.

• Candle ceremony began at midnight. Members of the Corps of Cadets will guard the candle at the Virginia Tech memorial throughout the day.
  
• University commemoration and picnic (begins at noon): The events similar to last year’s begin at noon on the Drillfield.
  
• Images of Hope (1 to 5 p.m.): A digital photo exhibit in the Colonial Room of Squires Student Center. The photos on display will convey the theme of hope and recovery.
  
• Reflection and music (1 to 8 p.m.): Musicians will perform in War Memorial Chapel, where people can gather for reflection and light candles in memory of lost loved ones.
  
• Convocation video (1 to 5 p.m.): A video of the university convocation on April 17, 2007, will be shown in the Graduate Life Center auditorium.
  
• Norris Hall Open House
  (3 to 5 p.m.): The Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention and the Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics will give tours of the renovated space they will be occupying in Norris Hall.
  
• Dance and performance art (4 to 6 p.m.): This event is in memory of Reema Samaha and will be in Burruss Auditorium.
  
• Memorial exhibit and slide show (8 a.m. to 5 p.m.): The alumni association will display memorial items given to Tech after the shootings. The display and a memorial slide show will be shown at Holtzman Alumni Center.
  
• Display of archive items (8 a.m. to 8 p.m.): Items sent to Tech after the shootings will be on display in the Commonwealth Ballroom hallway and second floor atrium of Squires Student Center.
  
• Electronic portfolios of remembrance projects (8 a.m. to 8 p.m.): E-portfolios of service projects created by students, faculty, staff and alumni in memory of those who lost their lives on April 16, 2007, will be available for viewing in the Williamsburg Room of the Squires Student Center.
  
• Candlelight vigil (sundown): A candlelight vigil, organized by Tech students, will be held on the Drillfield. The Corps of Cadets will signal the beginning of the vigil with a silent drill, and candles will be collected after the ceremony for the April 16, 2010, vigil.