The Blue Ridge Summer Theatre Festival

Food, wine, live music, and theatre. A perfect combination.

bestkeptsecrets.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/1.jpg”>Summer is approaching in Virginia, and with it comes the return of a unique annual event that until now has remained a secret to some, but a favorite to many. Located amidst the picturesque Sweet Briar College campus, Endstation Theatre Company’s Blue Ridge Summer Theatre Festival offers a summer-long schedule of innovative dramatic productions and outdoor theatrical fun. Whether you are a musical theatre junkie, a parent with kids to enrich and entertain, or a lover of food and wine, the festival offers events to please your palate.

This seasons’s events will be kicked-off with the benefit concert Broadway in the Blue Ridge on May 22 featuring Broadway’s Phantom of the Opera star Sean MacLaughlin. Virginia native and now Raoul in Phantom at the Majestic Theater, Sean comes to Sweet Briar to perform songs from Broadway classics alongside members of the Endstation cast of Assassins, as well as EC Glass High School’s own Phantom production. It is sure to be an exciting night filled with talent and surprises. Read more about Sean in his latest Playbill Article.

The first Blue Ridge Summer Theatre Festival production is one for the kids and the young at heart. In Good Good Trouble on Bad Bad Island, a bad, bad Idol challenges good, good Rosa with a series of impossible tasks — but what happens when she starts doing the impossible? This wildly inventive adventure finds that sometimes family and good goodness can be found in the most unlikely of places. This original play, written by Endstation’s resident playwright Joshua Mikel, premièred at the New York International Fringe Festival in 2010 and was met with sold-out crowds. June 1-4 @7pm, June 5 @ 2pm.

The second festival production, Whole Theatre’s Cry of the Mountain, is an original piece that tackles the issue of mountaintop coal removal in Appalachian coal country. Accompanied by live music, creator Adelind Horan performs pieces constructed from interviews with individuals whose lives are affected in some way by coal removal. June 9 – 11 @7pm, June 12 @ 2pm

And then, for a little music…Endstation brings Sondheim to Sweet Briar with the historical musical thriller, Assassins. This most American of musicals lays bare the lives of nine infamous historical figures, who forged their way into our history books for their assassinations (or attempted assassinations) of some of our American presidents. Assassins explores the American experience in profound and startling ways, with a musical score by one of the most accomplished musical theatre composers, Stephen Sondheim. June 23, 24, 25, 29, 30, July 1, 2 @7pm, June 26, July 3 @ 2pm.

Rounding out the festival is the classic Shakespeare comedy, Twelfth Night. The Blue Ridge Summer Theatre Festival tradition of outdoor theatre has become the company’s most popular and beloved event, and for good reason. Each year, Endstation chooses a unique location on the Sweet Briar campus, and builds a theatrical space around it. Past adventures have included Hamlet set in Civil War Virginia at an old campus dairy barn, and Romeo & Juliet on the balcony of the picturesque Benedict Hall. This summer, the characters of Twelfth Night will play by the old Sweet Briar train station, while the audience watches the tale unfold against the backdrop of the mountain sunset. To enhance this outdoor experience, Endstation will bring in local vineyards for nightly wine tastings, and audience members are encouraged to bring blankets and picnics. An evening of food, wine, and theatre under the stars is a magical experience. July 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 @7pm.

This summer Endstation will also be joining forces with Sweet Briar dining services to enhance the Blue Ridge Summer Theatre Festival experience. For this summer’s production of Assassins, Sweet Briar College will be offering a series of BBQ dinners at the Florence Elston Inn. These dinners will take place prior to the June 25th and July 2nd performances and lunches will take place before the June 26th and July 3rd matinees. To check out these mouth watering menus visit the Endstation website.

On the way to the indoor and outdoor shows, travel through Virginia wine country, hike a portion of the Appalachian Trail, visit Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, or take a drive through the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The Blue Ridge Summer Theatre Festival offers a little something for everyone, and provides a truly unique experience. Find out more by visiting www.endstationtheatre.org or calling (434) 381-6537.

The Omniterrum

By Zoe Eisenberg

In search of a truly global experience? Want to travel without actually leaving your lovely hill city? The Omniterrum, a unique globe shop located on Main st., lets you travel with the tips of your fingers.  The store holds current and antique globes, from the 18^th to the 21^st century.

Omniterrum owner Kim Soerensen opened the doors of the shop in 2009 as a space to showcase her collection of vintage globes, with the hope of providing a place to inspire Lynchburg locals and teach a lesson in history with these three dimensional masterpieces. The shop was originally located on Church street, but swapped locations following Lynchburg’s first ever globe exhibit, held by Soerensen’s non-profit organization, the American Globe Preservation Society, in October 2010. Come visit the new location and browse through globes from different periods of time and mingle with the store mascot, a Boston terrier named Winston Churchill.

A destination location for globe enthusiasts, history buffs or curious shoppers, the Omniterrum is a unique piece of Lynchburg culture. Located at 1225 Main Street next to the community market, the store is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10-5. Give the shop a call at 434-847-4788, visit them online or find them on Facebook.

Inklings Bookshop and the White Hart Café

By Zoe Eisenberg

Inklings Bookshop and the White Hart Café, home to a selection of books, coffee and  food, opened its doors for the first time in 1995. Located on Main Street in downtown Lynchburg, the shop’s name was inspired by the informal literary group known as “the Inklings,” which consisted of C. S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and several other writers. Founded as merely a bookstore, the shop quickly expanded to include the adjoining White Hart Café.

The store’s vision is to promote “the good, the true, and the beautiful,” and the bookstore boasts a selection of hard to find, out of print, used, and rare books, which can be browsed online at www.inklingsbooks.com. While the shop’s book collection hangs heavy on topics like philosophy, literature, history and religion, they also offer a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction, as well as health, wellness, children’s books and classical education.

With free wi-fi, an outdoor patio and cozy couches perfect for lounging on rainy afternoons, the White Hart offers organically grown and fairly-traded coffee and house-made pastries. The café’s selection of coffee and espresso are roasted to order by Counter Culture Coffee in Durham, NC, and their vast selection of loose-lead teas hail from Teasource in St. Paul, MN. Arguably more exciting than excellent coffee and tea, the White Hart also carries beer, including imports and microbrews. Wine, both red and white, can be ordered by the glass or bottle.

Offering sandwiches with interesting names like the Fitzwilliam, the Mugwumper and the Pequod, the café also serves breakfast with choices ranging from free-range eggs and bacon to turkey sausage and grits. Options like Fish and Chips, Fried Mushrooms, Beignets and Cajun style red beans and rice spice up the menu.

Inklings Bookshop and the White Hart Café are open Monday through Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., and host a bi-monthly Celtic music open jam and a monthly old-time music session, with live music performances most Friday and Saturday nights, and a monthly open mic night. For a schedule of events, visit them online at www.inklingswhitehart.com. For more information call 434-455-1659 or stop by the shop, located at 1208 Main Street, downtown Lynchburg.

Comedy Zone Comes to Kirkley

Stop complaining about the lack of entertainment variety Lynchburg has to offer, and try the Kirkley’s Comedy Zone.

Most recent live, stand-up comedians the Comedy Zone had to offer were nationally known Tim Statum and Paul Strickland.

Every Friday & Saturday night, the club offers a two-act comedy show with an opener and a nationally known headliner. Tickets on average are $10-$15. In addition to the regular line-up of headliners, they plan to feature some of Comedy’s bigger names as well.

Checkout some of the live shots at Paul Strickland’s myspace page here >

Comedy Zone Website

Comedy Zone Facebook Page

Third Thursdays at Rebec Vineyards

Every year thousands of Central Virginians pile into vans and head out to Rebec Vineyard’s annual Garlic Festival. It is the largest, most well known wine event in Central VA.

But while the Garlic Festival is not such a secret in Lynchburg… Third Thursdays is!

Third Thursdays at Rebec Vineyards is a monthly music event put on during the Spring and Summer months that is not very well known.

Couples and families can bring their lawn chairs and a picnic out to Rebec every Third Thursday of the month and listen to free music while they drink some wine that is for purchase from Rebec.

So… next time you are thinking that the Garlic Festival can’t come soon enough… just head out to Third Thursdays for a relaxing time with delicious wine, friends & great music!