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

Hot diggedy dog! It’s time for the Farmer’s Markets of SWVA to open!!!

I’m disgusted at the produce to be found lately in the supermarkets, aren’t you? Lettuce I wouldn’t feed to an evil Monty Python rabbit. Tomatoes that can’t really be called red (what is that color?). And cucumbers that feel like they’re made out of flubber. I can’t wait to be able to purchase locally grown vegetables, plants, and other goodies like multiple items made with goats’ milk; soap, cheese. . . who knows what. Not to mention hear some local music.

Blacksburg has it lucky. The Blacksburg Farmer’s Market stays open pretty much year round, though their hours change. The Radford Farmers Market will open May 3.

Other regional Farmer’s Markets include:

• Southwest Virginia Farmer’s Market
• Pulaski Farmers Market
• Tazewell Farmers Market
  
  Farm Bureau parking lot
  
  Rte.3, Box 133-B
  
  June-October
  
  Saturday, 8:00 AM- 12:00
  
  E-mail: tmeade@bsc.bluefieldstate.edu
• Wytheville Farmers’ Market
• Abingdon’s Farmers’ Market
• Galax Farmers’ Market

And just in case we missed someone: here is The Big List of Farmers’ Markets in Virginia!

See ya there!

–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

Southwest Virginian prisons are welcoming imported prisoners from out-of-state and I say this is great. The article talks about how Virginians will need to increase their crime level in order to keep criminals from out of state out of our prisons. My question is, why keep the imported people out? Having these prisoners come into our prisons will not affect us in anyway, except for the better. It will be better to have imported criminals in our prisons because people in the area are not committing enough crimes themselves. We are filling our prisons with out-of state criminals because we are not keeping up with the amount of criminals needed to fill our prisons, great right? Sounds like it to me, not to mention the money coming to the state from Wyoming who will pay close to $19 million to have 300 prisoners imported. The $19 million coming in will save taxpayers money because they are being charged for the newest prison in Tazewell, which opened in September. So a message to Virginians is to keep doing what you’re doing and we will save money and our streets will continue to be safe.

-Jerrid Morelen

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 adviser for Merrill Lynch and maybe someday open up my own firm.

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

People process grief in very individual ways. People heal in individual ways, and on their own schedule that they may not even be aware of.

It’s April 16, 2008. One year ago I sat nearly all day at my television. I called friends that are students, faculty and staff at VA Tech during the nightmare. It started with checking the weather in the morning, then “News Break”. Little by little information trickled in, augmented by video shot on a student’s cell phone. Then the press conference where they admitted at least 20 were shot. Audible gasp from the bystanders. What?! 20!? And then the unbelievable final tally: 32.

I had to travel a few days after the incident. I flew to L.A. I wore my orange and gold ribbon. As I navigated through airports and security people either looked with curiosity at my ribbon, or smiled sadly. As I flew over and across the country, various people from all over the world expressed their sorrow. It was weird to be from such a small place that people knew about. They would ask, “What’s it like there?” I answered, “We’re all heartbroken.”

Today my daughter danced with her studio, The Center of Dance at the Haymarket Theatre in a celebration for all of the victims, and notably Reema Samaha who was a dancer with the Contemporary Dance Ensemble at Virginia Tech. CED had orchestrated the event. On the Friday before the shootings, CDE’s recital performed their spring concert. They had invited my daughter’s class to dance with them. It was my daughter’s first performance on Pointe, and Reema’s last dance of her life. Over the past year, The Center of Dance has performed in three memorials for the Virginia Tech victims. Each time has been heavily emotional for my daughter and the other young girls whose ages range from 12 to 18. My daughter spoke for them all though when she said to me each time; “This is such an honor.” For me, as I watch Reema’s fellow dancers carry on without her, leaving a space in the choreography where she would have been, I am filled with the certainty that she is there. There is an aura of love and yes, peace. Again, my daughter put it best; “It was like she was hugging the whole building.”

I have been moved by this company’s need to share the process of their grief and healing in a very public way. I am impressed by their generosity of spirit to involve all area dance companies. I am touched to my core by their need to continue to dance. As we all must.

Bad things can happen in small communities. But small communities know how to come together to prevail.

-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.