VMI Evening Cannon Blast

Virginia Military Institute resumed firing a cannon on the Parade Grounds this week after pausing it over the summer. The boom on Wednesday night resonated all over town. School officials issued a noise warning earlier this week. The cannon will be fired on Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings at 6:30 p.m. for the remainder of this month and then at 5:30 p.m. starting on Nov. 2. Marianne Hause, VMI’s media relations specialist, said the school put a pause on firing the cannon while they waited to restock ammunition. The firing of the evening gun, a 105 mm howitzer, is a long-standing tradition fired by the Cadet Battery to signal the end of duty day. Parents and kids playing a RARO soccer game at Lylburn Downing Wednesday night were briefly startled by the blast but then realized it was the nightly cannon.