August 6 & 7, 2021
Downtown Blacksburg, VA
Steppin' Out features over 200 artists and crafts people from around the United States selling unique handcrafted items – jewelry, pottery, textiles, metal work, basketry, stained & fused glass, yard art, fine art, furniture, toys, artisan foods and so much more!
Downtown Blacksburg merchants also hold their much-awaited final clearance sidewalk sales during Steppin' Out. The festival foods you love are provided by downtown restaurants.
Continuous Live Music
Listen to over 25 excellent musical acts all afternoon and well into the evening, both Friday and Saturday. Steppin' Out is Southwest Virginia's premier street celebration!
Free Admission and Free Parking Shuttle
Admission is free! Town of Blacksburg metered parking is all free and Blacksburg Transit provides free shuttles to get you there without the hassles. Bring your friends! Bring your family!
Downtown Blacksburg, Inc. is sponsoring a design competition for the 40th Steppin' Out 2020 T-Shirt. Details here.
Festival Maps
Download our Steppin Out map, with the locations of stages, bathrooms, parking and more. Our Community Connections map shows the booth locations of participating organizations.
3 Stages of Live Music
The Main Stage provides continuous live music on College Avenue and Main Street. The Acoustic Stage brings folk, contemporary, and utterly unique sounds to the festival area of Main and Lee Streets. The Community Stage showcases local and regional performers from cloggers to belly dancers. The Community Stage is located in the National Bank of Blacksburg Parking lot on Roanoke Street.
Over 300 Vendors
Steppin' Out presents an amazingly varied shopping experience with hundreds of vendors, all open from 10AM until 10PM both days.
Here are just a few - you'll find them all in the Vendors menu.
Bathrooms
Public bathrooms are located next to the Children's Area on Lee Street, inside the Kent Square building, in the Armory Parking lot on the west side of Draper Road across from Bollo's, and behind the Public Safety Zone on the east side of Main Street next to the Post Office.
PETS are NOT Allowed
Sorry, no pets are allowed at Steppin' Out, for safety reasons.
Lodging in Downtown Blacksburg
Get the most out of Steppin' Out - stay over! The Clay Corner Inn is a beautiful, friendly B&B next to Virginia Tech. The Main Street Inn is a boutique hotel located in the heart of downtown Blacksburg.
37th annual Steppin' Out t-shirt
The Steppin' Out t-shirt has become an annual collector's item and is part of the great Steppin' Out tradition! We are excited to reveal the design for this year's t-shirt and to introduce you to the designer, Andrew Hill. Andrew entered and won the annual t-shirt design contest held by Downtown Blacksburg, Inc. this year! The Steppin' Out t-shirt will be printed by downtown merchant, High Peak Sportswear, and is available to purchase from Mish Mish, Fringe Benefit and Blacksburg Hardware and t.r collection.
Andrew's design for this year's Steppin' Out shirt draws heavily on Blacksburg's architecture and surrounding landscape, and is a heartfelt tribute to a town, its people, and an ecologically rich landscape he has grown to know and love. In his spare time, Andrew enjoys playing with his two new kittens, Essie and Oscar, and can frequently be found out for a leisurely bike ride through the rolling hillsides surrounding his country home.
