Nearly in the center of our region is a gem of culture and history; Barter Theatre. Celebrating it’s 75th year of operation, not only does it present top-caliber plays and performances, it’s history is rich, it’s physical plant is simply lovely and quant. . .what’s there not to love?

Located in the center of the town of Abingdon, Barter Theatre is a prime example of a cultural arts institution embedding itself in its community in a meaningful way, and has served in this capacity since it began in 1933.

Robert Porterfield (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Porterfield) returned from New York to his native Virginia a trained, seasoned, and experienced actor to give back the fruits of his experience to his community—a great Return to Roots example. Because it was the height of the Great Depression, Porterfield knew that although people didn’t have the money (tickets were 40 cents in those days) to pay for entertainment and art, that they desperately needed it, especially in those hard times. He also knew the reality of starving artists in New York, many that were his friends. Yes, the people of Southwest Virginia didn’t have much money, but they had a lot of food. So he instituted the barter system, and the rest is history. Theatre goers would arrive with vegetables, fruits, and livestock still clucking. The slogan was “ham for Hamlet”. The tradition is honored today as special performances are tagged “pay what you can”, or on Barter Nites, audiences can donate non-perishable food items for admission. All food collected will be donated to the Second Harvest Food Bank, Appalachian Branch. They do request you not bring live animals. . . . . . .

I can’t say enough good things about the Barter. My experience was as a winner of their Appalachian Playwright’s Festival (http://www.bartertheatre.com/festival/)
in 2004 with my play Feeding On Mulberry Leaves (http://www.playscripts.com/play.php3?playid=778) which premiered in Barter’s 2005 season. The Festival promotes regional playwrights or plays that involve the region. It was a grand experience. I was so pleased with the direction, acting, design and overall production quality. The festival is just one way Barter engages with the region. Other examples within their own community include partnering with organizations such as Boy Scouts of America, the American Cancer Society and the Muscular Dystrophy Association. In addition they offer youth classes in all aspects of theatre.

If this theatre can survive and thrive for 75 years, surely they are doing something right. I have heard the whine “the arts aren’t sustainable”. Barter proves them wrong. But they have also had something many arts orgs don’t: in their 75 years they have had only 3 Artistic Directors that understood theatre, and the community they live in. Current Artistic Director Richard Rose knows how to make his patrons feel valued. He maintains tradition while keeping abreast of cutting edge material and innovations in theatre arts. I would like to bet he also has one heck of a board of directors that trust him to do his job.

The Barter continues to live because it works with the community, and the community recognizes the importance of its presence in the community esthetically, fiscally, and morally. When put like that, one wonders why every community doesn’t have the equivalent of its own Barter Theatre, huh? For more info on Barter Theatre, http://www.bartertheatre.com/.

-Lucinda McDermott Piro

I love thrift stores. It’s not so much about finding something cheap that you can use, it’s the hunt, and that thrill of finding that item you never knew you always wanted. Growing up in Lexington, Virginia, I had two favorite stores which really set the bar in terms of finding treasure; the Stonewall Jackson Hospital Auxiliary Thrift Store and Freddy Goodheart’s Second Hand Shop. As a teen-ager, I didn’t have particular items I collected, just stuff that caught my eye: bone plates, a fuchsia wool coat made in Scotland by the Queen’s weaver, antique buttons, hats. Over the years I’ve refined my eye and have developed collections like unusual juice glasses, fondue pots, and funky items for my garden. They all fall under the heading, “They make me smile”.

“Reduce, re-use, recycle, repurpose” the adage goes. We’re a disposable society. We’re in too much of a hurry, too many things to do, too busy to consider we’re leaving over filled landfills for our children and children’s children to deal with. Clearly, we don’t care. Some do, but not nearly enough. Bill Kovarik has written a detailed comment on how the City of Radford has addressed its recycling issues. Not much more than a cursory nod.

Recycling, or re-purposing has proven to be good business for some, as well as making Mother Earth smile. A win-win situation. I’m loving the YToss at Va Tech during the week the students are moving out. They YMCA Thrift Store in Blacksburg realized that when push comes to shove and “Daddy can’t fit my futon in the back of his Nissan truck”, that students were dumping perfectly good albeit used items in dumpsters when they moved out of dorms, just because they couldn’t transport them. The Y realized that they could take those dumped items and sell them, the proceeds going to help others. So they made it easy for the students by setting up bins on campus. They even offered tax write-off receipts. In 2006 the Y reported they made $2000 off the campus discards. Last year they cleared $4000.

Southwest Virginia is crawling with the most wonderful thrift stores. Someone else’s trash just might be your treasure. Do a little googling and you’ll find them. Find that one thing you’ve wanted all your life, but never knew you did, and pat yourself on the back for thinking globally but acting locally.

- Lucinda McDermott Piro

Doesn’t it stink when you find yourself saying the things to your children you swore as a child you would never say to your children? Last night my husband said to my son, “I walked to school 12 city blocks when I was your age!” I’m no better. When they’ve complained about having to get up early and do chores I chime in with, “When I was your age I was out the door at 6a.m. feeding the horses and mucking stalls!”

Ahhhh. . . .

. . . and I loved it. My husband and I represent two different worlds. I grew up two miles from Natural Bridge, and he grew up a few miles from Yankee Stadium. Coming back to Virginia has given me a chance to share a bit of my childhood with my husband and my children. Horses however, remain elusive for us, but maybe not for long. I have friends that ride, and supplement their habit by boarding horses for others. One of my friends rescues horses just because she likes to look at them—she doesn’t ride anymore. Another friend does dressage and trains horses and riders professionally.

If you’re a horse person missing the smell of sweaty tack, the wind in your hair and a soft muzzle eating an apple out of your hand, come on down to SWVA. You’ll be in good company. Travel down I-81 and you’ll see for yourself the horse farms already here, but why not start your own? Throughout SWVA there are farms and acreage to be built on just waiting for you and your four legged friends. Virginia has favorable horse laws, affordable land, and experienced large animal vets. Want to come down and have a horsey vacation just to whet your appetite? Try Hungry Horse East, an Equestrian Campground near Galax. If you’re looking to do dressage, check out the Southwest Virginia Dressage Association.

Come on down!

- Lucinda McDermott Piro

Last week I received a call from a former student to come bring the family to see Disney’s Beauty and the Beast at Wohlfahrt Haus Dinner Theatre in Wytheville. She is currently in the cast, and so—okay. I admit Disney musicals aren’t my theatrical cup of tea, but we love her, so we went. I also admit I can be a bit critical when it comes to theater because that’s my background—oh alright, I can be ruthlessly critical. Dinner theater in SWVA? I wasn’t expecting much.

The worse part about going to see a friend in a show is that afterwards you have to see them and say something. What if you didn’t like it? What if the show was just horrific or worse yet—their performance? “That was interesting”, only goes so far.

My worries were unfounded. Man, was I pleasantly surprised! The quality of Wohlfahrt’s production was above anything I’d seen in a dinner theater production. But the performances were extraordinary. Fabulous voices across the board, engaging choreography and well trained dancers. These actors aren’t second rate because they’re not in New York—they are top tier, building their resumes while sharing their talents. The set was well done considering this is a large scale Disney/Broadway musical scaled down to a smaller stage. I was impressed all the way around. Disney’s Beauty and the Beast plays through June 15th, Smokey Joe’s Café opens next.

This production was a grand example of what I often tell people; art happens in the mountains.

I didn’t have dinner so I can’t report on the food, but if it’s theatrical art you want—get thee to Wohlfahrt Haus Dinner Theatre.

- Lucinda McDermott Piro

Every small town has its hub; the place where you get the dirt. The scoop. The whole enchilada. In Radford, it’s the Vintage Cellar. On Friday’s they have beer and a few wines to sample; “beer education” they call it. . . and on Saturdays, they have a nice line-up of approximately 5 to 8 wines. My husband, dog, and I have a standing date on Saturday afternoons to walk downtown for a little wine tasting and to catch up on the news you won’t find in the local paper. Okay—some might call it gossip. But it’s all with good intentions! And no, my dog is not a wine connoisseur. Chuck, the manager of the Radford Vintage Cellar always has his pup Abby with him. We bring our pooch Decaf down, and the two have a play date. I’m pretty sure this can only happen in a small town and maybe, well, Paris. Decaf looks forward to this weekly event, and when we’re a block from the store, he suddenly loses his ability to “heel”. We basically fly into the store. We dare not go in without Decaf. A couple of weeks ago we went in sans canine and Abby gave us murderous looks the entire time. Kind of took the joy out of the Les Agapes.

Back to the hub. Two years ago I ran a multi-arts summer workshop called ArtsXtreme on the campus of Radford University. I was having a heck of a time finding a music teacher, and happened to mention that as I was tasting wine one Saturday at the Cellar. Within 8 minutes Chuck had a friend of his on the phone with me, a music graduate student who was perfect for the job. I’ve seen real estate transactions, business partnerships initiate, and the courtship of Chuck and his beautiful wife Stephanie transpire in our little wine shop. Last year Chuck and Steph actually got married in the store.

Every town needs a hub. Does yours?

- Lucinda McDermott Piro

The Museum of the Middle Appalachians has opened its museum expansion this past month. The expansion was fueled by the interest in the regions geological presence in salt. The new exhibit, like many others at the museum, talks about the history of the area. The museum offers many educational opportunities for students here in the region. This is due to the wide range of topics about Southwest Virginia that the museum touches on. They range from geology to the ice age, all with timelines and/or pictures that show some history of the area at those times. The museum is great for a school planned field trip or just a short weekend trip. You will get to learn more about how things used to be and how this area has evolved into what it is today.

My Name is Jerrid Morelen I am currently a junior at Radford University. I am majoring in economics as well as finance. My hometown Is Chesapeake Virginia, I graduated from Great Bridge High School in 2005. I am aspiring to be a financial advisor for Merrill Lynch and maybe someday open up my own firm.

-Jerrid Morelen

My mother, sisters, and brother live at the Outer Banks. But I bet none of them stepped foot on a beach more than half a dozen times in the past year. One of my sisters probably hasn’t stuck toe in sand in several years.

Pathetic.

But when was the last time I took a hike in the mountains? Been a while. Although I’ve been tubing, and canoing, I have yet to raft the New River. My son and daughter have never been fishing. I think that’s criminal.

Now is a great time to hit the city and National Parks. There are ten state parks in SWVA alone.
You can also try (http://www.poremsky.net/swvapark.html) as a resource for parks to visit. The song birds are out, and the plant life is incredible. I was walking down by the New River in Bisset Park yesterday and spied some gold finches, a blue bird, geese, and other water fowl that were moving too darn fast and evidently didn’t want to be recognized. Wildwood Park is a great place for identifying area wildflowers. A couple books I like to use are Wildflowers in Color by Arthur Stupka, and Wildflowers of the Shenandoah Valley and Blue Ridge Mountains by Oscar W. Gupton and Fred C. Swope. For bird watching try Birds of North America, with the Golden Field Guide series.

I recently flew to Michigan on a business trip. Michigan is a beautiful state, but boy, is it flat. As we landed in the bowl of the Roanoke Valley, I was reminded of the rich visual landscape we live in. And it’s right here in my own back yard.

-Lucinda McDermott Piro

One of my favorite scenes from Elf with Will Farrell is when he takes his love interest to Chock Full-a Nuts in New York City to have what is advertised as The World’s Best Coffee—and she does a spit take. I use to live in NYC and admit that I too have been a victim of this false advertising.

However! Right here in Southwest Virginia we’ve got a secret. Are you listening? We’ve got the world’s best coffee. Dark Hollow Micro Roasters in Sugar Grove, VA is owned and operated by a husband and wife team who, after much research and traveling to globe, settled in Southwest Virginia to roast delicious fresh, organic, and fair trade java. I heard John speak at an Entrepreneur Express Workshop in Marion, VA not too long ago, and found his story to be quite compelling. So compelling that I had to try this coffee. I scolded him for not bringing samples after speaking so convincingly about his product! Didn’t catch his last name and their website is still under construction. But I did stop at a store on the way home and bought a pound of the blend Cowboy Up! ($8.65) which I highly recommend. You can purchase the coffee from the website.

Hopefully, John will flesh out the “About Us” section of his website because it’s a great tale of following one’s passion. Virginia’s Great Southwest is fertile ground for entrepreneurships, and there are so many avenues of support in SWVA for small business owners either through the Entrepreneur Express Workshops offered through Virginia Start Up or through the Virginia Department of Business Assistance. The workshops impressed me with how much useful information is offered for free to new business or potential business owners. Southwest Virginia opens its arms to the small business owner and is willing to give a leg up in many ways. Come on down!

-Lucinda McDermott Piro

Okay—I know we’ve all complained about the rising cost of gas. . . but COME ON! This morning I could not believe my dependable, “cheap” gas station listed regular at $3.39! What!? Two days ago it was $3.27. 12 cents in two days? Incredible. I called my husband. “Go to the Citgo between Long John Silvers and Burger King! It’s still $3.27! Got it. I pulled a U-ee and slid into the Citgo. Okay. . . they didn’t take credit cards at the pump, but no matter. I felt like I had found the Holy Grail. I prepared the “thank you” I was going to give the cashier, applauding them on their wherewithal and courage to stand up against the evil OPEC. In my head I was composing the e-mail I would forward to my friends; GO TO CITGO ON ROUTE 11 BY THE BURGER KING! Oh wait till I tell the owner how I will express my gratitude via the power of word of mouth! I’ll be a valued customer!

I entered the store, passing the Skoal display (it was on sale too). I handed over my credit card and began my speech. “Thank you so much for daring to keep your prices down. I so appreciate—”

“You’re lucky. We’re right in the middle of raising them.”

“But. . . . ” Any normal person would have just stopped. But no… For some reason, I thought that I would make a difference by lauding their efforts with three syllable words and yes, I did mention that e-mail.

They could have cared less.

Heartbroken, I had yet another revelation.

I spoke with a friend of mine who lives in Tidewater. Price of regular there today? $3.11. WHAT!? Our gas is more expensive!? Now what kind of sense does that make? Okay, everything else is cheaper here. And I guess in the end it is all relative. I was doing a cost of living comparison with Boston and nearly everything was doubled in price there except beer and pizza. Beer and pizza are cheaper in Boston than in Southwest Virginia. And there you have it: three of life’s necessities: gas, beer, pizza.

-Lucinda McDermott Piro

Like some might think, Southwest Virginia is nothing but a bunch of farms, land, and nothing to do. I will admit that I was ONCE one of those people. I am originally from Chesapeake, VA. where there are things and events going on all the time. I am close to the beach, am surrounded by numerous restaurants, and have an array of options when it comes to finding “something to do.” I am now a senior at Radford University, and people still ask me “Why did you decide to go there? There’s nothing to do in that area!” I’m not going to lie, coming to SWVA from the coast was a big change; but not necessarily a bad one.

As I said before I am a senior at RU and have been playing soccer all four of my years here. Playing soccer and participating in extracurricular activities has given me the opportunity to travel to different states as well as to the many different areas of the SWVA region. Blacksburg has a great main street that is filled with a variety of shops and restaurants. Even though some of the restaurants look small and pretty much like “a hole in the wall,” you would be surprised on how amazing their food really is. The stores and shops are great and you can find things that you wouldn’t normally find in a larger suburban area. One word can describe Christiansburg, “unlimited.” Talk about restaurants; I can name 10 right off the top of my head. There is a mall, a Wal-mart, Target!, I mean what else do you need? Harrisonburg is also “blowing up” per se. For outdoorsy people, there are countless amounts of parks, hiking trails, and beautiful sites to see that you certainly couldn’t get or endure being in a city where you are surrounded by nothing but buildings. With an abundance of things to do, why do people still hold this everlasting thought that Southwest Virginia is a bunch of “nothing”? And trust me, I haven’t even come close to naming everything that this region has to offer. Seriously, not even close.

Being a young adult and living life to the fullest, I can see myself reaching my goals and enjoy doing so in Southwest Virginia.

My name is Chelsea Archer and I am currently a senior at Radford University. I have played soccer all four years for my school and I love to just hang out with my friends. I’ll be graduating in May with a degree in Communication and will be returning to Radford next year to finish my Master’s degree in Corporate and Professional Communication.