Curious minds want to know.

I have half a mind to drive down and watch, myself.

I'm assuming the campaign has a videocamera to record the debate in case something gaffe-worthy happens.  

I would not expect any gaffe at this event.  The Senior Statesmen of Virginia 'Forum' (not debate) will last 90min; each candidate will speak for 15min, followed by 50min of questions submitted by the audience on 3x5 cards with 2min answers, ending with 5min closing statements by the candidates.  This formal style is intended to be dignified and informative, definitely not a 'gotcha' event.

The SSV Forum in Charlottesville is one of the two Q&A events held in VA-05 every biennial national election cycle; it is held on the second Wednesday of August.  The other traditional VA-05 Q&A event is at Hampton-Sydney College in Farmville, generally one to two weeks before the election.  The audience asks the questions at the SSV Forum, while VA-05 journalists ask them at Hampden-Sydney.

It is my understanding that the Periello campaign will videotape this SSV Forum.  The Charlottesville television stations will probably be there also, but maybe not for the whole 90min.

For the record:  I am an officer (immediate past-President) of the Senior Statesmen of Virginia.  SSV is absolutely non-partisan, although individual members of the SSV Board are strongly partisan, both Republicans and Democrats.

It may not be a 'gotcha' event, but it will be interesting to see Virgil Goode have to defend his record in his first competitive election in a while. I don't expect a 'Macaca' moment, but, with a record that is very difficult to defend after the past 6 to 8 years, I think a response from Virgil that allows Tom's campaign to draw clear a distinction between their vision of what a Representative of the 5th District ought to be advocating for versus what Virgil has spent his time doing is entirely possible. By gaffe, I almost mean seeing if a politician under pressure will actually say what he means versus engaging in the usual politician doubletalk.

Anyway, it's good that we have organizations like SSV that seek to engage and inform the electorate. Thanks for your efforts.  

is the most informative of all, while the so-called dignified events that basically allow candidates to rehash their talking points are the least informative, so I don't know that it is fair to put "gotcha" and "informative" at opposite ends of the spectrum.

Gaffes, put in their proper context, tell us more about candidates than their ability to recite poll-tested positions designed either to not offend or to enthuse some specified demographic.

Personally, I think it is good for citizens to put candidates to the test and ask and expect answers to difficult questions.  If anything, we need more of this. Unfortunately, submitting written questions, and these formal forums, tend to blunt the impact of this citizen/candidate exchange, IMHO, because they eliminate any back and forth.

That all said, I do appreciate the work of organizations like yours in getting these things organized.

Lowell, where did you get the "perp pic" of Virgil Goode?  That has got to be the most miserable-looking photo I've ever seen.
:)

my husband's family are right wingers from Rocky Mount. and I would love to see this.
they call obama a "muslim". They wouldn't know one if they saw one.
Fox news on all the time.