On Stage with The Lincoln Theatre

Unveiling Marion's Gems: The Lincoln Theatre's Legacy and Appalachian Adventures

• Bob Watkins • Episode 5

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What Else Is There To Do While Visiting The Lincoln Theatre in Marion, Virginia?

Executive Director Bob Watkins takes us on a captivating journey through the history and ongoing legacy of The Lincoln Theatre, a cultural gem in Marion, Virginia. Uncover the secrets of this Mayan revival masterpiece, which opened its doors in 1929, as Bob highlights its enduring role in the regional entertainment scene. From its grand performances to its community-centric mission, The Lincoln Theatre remains a beacon of arts and history. Bob not only shares anecdotes from the theatre's storied past but also offers insights into what makes it a must-visit destination for culture enthusiasts in Southwest Virginia, East Tennessee, and Western North Carolina.

But the adventure doesn't stop at the theatre's threshold. Marion and its surroundings boast a treasure trove of experiences waiting to be explored. Let Bob be your guide as he introduces you to local highlights such as Hungry Mother State Park and the artistic pursuits at the Wayne Henderson School of Appalachian Arts. Discover the charm of Marion through its local breweries, distilleries, and the historic General Francis Marion Hotel, each adding a unique flavor to this Appalachian haven. Whether you're planning a quick visit or a leisurely weekend escape, Bob's recommendations promise to enrich your stay with history, culture, and a touch of nostalgia.

To learn more about The Lincoln Theatre go to:
https://www.thelincoln.org/

The Lincoln Theatre
117 E. Main Street
Marion, Virginia  24354
276-783-6092

To learn more about The Lincoln Theatre visit:
https://www.TheLincoln.org/
The Lincoln Theatre
117 E. Main Street
Marion, Virginia 24354
276-783-6092

Speaker 1:

Welcome to On Stage with the Lincoln Theater, where history and entertainment steal the show Dive into the rich legacy of this iconic Mayan revival theater, from its 1929 debut to its starring role in Marion, Virginia's entertainment scene. Guiding us through this journey is the man in the spotlight, our executive director, Bob Watkins.

Speaker 2:

Planning a trip to the Lincoln Theater? Let's explore the fun and quirky activities waiting for you in Marion Virginia, beyond the spotlight. Welcome back everyone. Skip Monty, co-host slash producer, back in the studio with Executive Director Bob Watkins. Bob, how's it going? It's going great. Skip, it's going great. How are you doing? I'm doing just fine. I'm doing just fine. Glad to be back in the studio. So, bob, we've got listeners all across the region, southwest Virginia, east Tennessee and Western North Carolina and beyond. So for those of us who might want to make a day trip or even a weekend visit to the theater, what else is there to do while visiting the Lincoln and Marion Virginia?

Speaker 3:

Nestled away here in our Appalachian Hills. We have quite a few activities that you can do, depending on what you wanted to travel around to do around here Locally in Marion, there's a lot of different activities that you can do. We have Hungry Mother State Park, which I believe is the second highest visited state park in the state of Virginia. It has an enormous amount of trails, biking trails, hiking trails that go through there, camping, fishing the lake, as well as some of their different events. Hunger Mother Festival is going on out there and there's the arts festival that goes on out there every year as well. In downtown we have the Wayne Henderson School of Appalachian Arts. It's a historical schoolhouse from 1908, and it houses all kinds of different events. A luthier program that is actually led by Wayne Henderson, so you build a guitar with Wayne Henderson in the shop there. They do some stained glass programs and barn quilt painting and all kinds of Appalachian arts to get people back in the history there. A lot of artistic work around here with the Ford Studio, the Appalachian Spirit Gallery, to go ahead and see some art that is displayed, as well as participate in some pottery work and do some things of your own. Then, of course if you want to enjoy the taste of the Appalachian Hills you can go to some of the local breweries and distilleries. We have the 3650 Brewery downtown here in Marion as well as the Highland Distillery Company outside of Marion just a little trek up 16. And Davis Valley Winery and Distillery is located just past Atkins, there towards rural retreat. So real quick trips to go and do some stuff there.

Speaker 3:

And if you want to extend out into Smith County with about a 15 to 30 minute road trip you can go into Chill Howie with some of their local festivals and events that they do.

Speaker 3:

It's a nice little small point town there that you can go ahead and see some of the stuff going on there. And up the road to Saltville you can see the history of that company town there. So you can go through and see the history through the Museum of Middle Appalachia. It's a fantastic museum. You can spend quite a bit of time in there just diving into the history of our area here. So a lot of fun things to do around the Smith County and Marion and Chilhowee and Saltville there with some really nice places to stay. Just right beside us we have the General Francis Marion Hotel which was actually built originally by Charles Lincoln, the founder and the person responsible for building the Lincoln Theater. So it's a nice tie-in to your stay here to come to the Lincoln Theater and see the hotel that Mr Lincoln built as well back in the 1920s so lots of fun stuff to do around here.

Speaker 2:

Now can you stay at the hotel?

Speaker 3:

Oh yeah, I think they reopened in 2006, I believe Renovated and fully renovated with the same old style key entry. We don't have the plastic cards that people use to get into their room. This is the good old fashioned key entry for the door, so it just takes you back into a different time for sure.

Speaker 2:

Oh wow, so you could make a weekend trip out of within a block. You could just go to Edwood Show and stay at the hotel. That's great. I'm sure there's restaurants right there.

Speaker 3:

Restaurants up and down Main Street. Here We've got a couple of really nice ones Wooden, pickle, moondog, mcadoo's just within walking distance. So a majority of all this stuff. You can park your car at the hotel and you can walk the weekend and not even have to get back into it, with a lot of entertainment too.

Speaker 2:

Wow, it sounds like there's an awful lot to do there. You mentioned Wayne Henderson For musicians. He is a legendary guitar builder, so he built a guitar for Eric Clapton, so that would be something that would be on my list for sure.

Speaker 3:

On the book.

Speaker 2:

Mary in Virginia. So is there a local legend? Speaking of Wayne Henderson, is there a local legend that we should know about like a ghost that prefers musicals?

Speaker 3:

Well, we don't know of any ghosts that we have walking around the theater or anything like that. There is quite a few local legend stories that you'll hear around here. I know Nolan Ryan. He pitched here at a minor league baseball team before the Marion Mets back in the day. Nolan Ryan was here in the area and stayed in Marion for quite some time with that as far as the local legends.

Speaker 2:

I don't know of any local legends that we have roaming the streets in their ghost garb, but we have a lot of history for sure. Very good, well, I love it, bob. It sounds like there's just an unlimited amount of things to do, while in Marion, of course, the center of it all has to be the Lincoln Theater, right?

Speaker 3:

Absolutely. We bring them in and everybody else goes ahead and fills the rest of their time.

Speaker 2:

That's right. That's exactly right. I love it, bob. All right, we'll catch you in the next episode. Hope you have a great day. Thanks, skip, you too.

Speaker 1:

Thanks for tuning in to On Stage with the Lincoln Theater. Want more of Mary and Virginia's entertainment scene? Visit us online at thelincolnorg yes, that's thelincolnorg or drop by our theater at 117 East Main Street. Let's keep the arts alive and kicking together.