On Stage with The Lincoln Theatre

How the Historic Lincoln Theatre Fuels Marion's Growth and Tourism

• Bob Watkins • Episode 13

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What Impact Does The Lincoln Theatre Have On Economic Development In Marion, VA?

The Lincoln Theatre doesn't merely preserve history—it actively shapes the economic future of Marion, Virginia. With nearly 18,000 visitors annually traveling specifically for performances, this majestic Mayan revival venue has transformed from a cultural landmark into a powerful economic catalyst.

Executive Director Bob Watkins reveals the fascinating dynamics behind the theatre's impact. "We do a significant amount of work to recruit people from outside the area," Watkins explains, describing how visitors from multiple states often extend their trips, creating weekend experiences that benefit local restaurants, shops, and accommodations. This influx of tourism dollars provides critical support for small businesses facing substantial operating costs in a rural economy.

What draws these visitors? The theatre's diverse programming creates broad appeal. From sellout cultural events like their Celtic Christmas (attracting 60% out-of-town attendance) to tribute performances like Seven Bridges, an Eagles tribute band that brought fans from as far as New Jersey, the Lincoln strategically develops shows with regional drawing power. The venue also coordinates programming with local events like cruise-ins and the popular Back of the Dragon driving route, creating comprehensive visitor experiences through partnerships with town government, county tourism, and downtown development initiatives.

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 Theatre, where history and entertainment steal the show Dive into the rich legacy of this iconic Mayan revival theatre, 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:

The Lincoln Theater isn't just a stage. It's an economic powerhouse for Marion Virginia. From bringing in tourism dollars to supporting local businesses, this historic venue plays a major role in the community's growth. Executive director Bob Watkins explains how the theater's revival is helping Marion shine. Welcome back everyone. Skip Mauney, co-host slash producer, back in the studio with Executive Director Bob Watkins. Bob, how's it going today? It's going good, skip. How are you doing today? Doing just fine, doing just fine and excited to be back in the studio with you, with the Lincoln Theater and fantastic Executive Director Bob Watkins, so super excited let's not go too far.

Speaker 2:

So, Bob, what impact does the Lincoln Theater have on economic development there in Marion, Virginia and the surrounding area?

Speaker 3:

Well, Skip, we do a significant amount of work to try to recruit people to come to our performances from outside the area, as well as recruit local individuals to come see our shows and performances. But usually what happens is we'll go ahead and submit our marketing material out all across like three or four different states around our area and usually what happens is people will come in and they make a weekend out of their events. So they'll either come in a day early or stay a day later just to take a look around the sites, visit Hungry Mother, visit a lot of the downtown restaurants and shops and things like that. So we work very closely with the town and county on just trying to market to people outside of the area to help support some of our local businesses, because you know Marion is a small community but at the same time our community residents do a lot to help support our town and the different shops.

Speaker 3:

With the extreme costs of expenses for some of our local businesses that's not necessarily enough all the time. So we generally do recruit a lot of people from outside the area and always looking at our numbers to see what we're pulling in, and year after year we tend to increase the number of people that we bring into the area and this past year we were just a little bit shy of 18,000 visitors here to Smith County that came specifically for a performance here at the theater. So we definitely do a lot of work, teaming up with the town and county to generate those numbers to bring in some good visitors to share some of their funds and finances here with our community too.

Speaker 2:

So it's a great partnership, absolutely Well have you noticed in the different types of I know you do live performances, you're doing the films, concerts any particular performance bring more people in than that you've noticed.

Speaker 3:

You know it's very odd because sometimes we see a huge increase of people coming from outside the area. Sometimes we see a lot more of our local community members that say you know what? I'm going to go down to the theater and take a look at this performance. We did have a Celtic Christmas performance that brought in a large number of people. That was a sellout crowd, so we had about 500 people here. It broke down to about 60% of those were from outside of the area.

Speaker 3:

A lot of cultural programs like that tend to get a large number of people traveling into the area. And then also, if we have large performance tribute performances, that large performance tribute performances that are really strong tribute performances that tend to bring in a lot of people from outside the area. We had a New Year's Eve Party with a Eagles tribute band to Seven Bridges and it brought people from all over. We had people travel in here and they told us that it was their second time coming to the Lincoln Theatre Just to see Seven Bridges and they traveled all the way from New Jersey. So we're definitely bringing people from outside the area with a lot of the different performances and there's not one Specific that we see more people coming from, but it all works together Wow.

Speaker 2:

New Jersey. That's a cruise man, that's a cruise yeah. So do you have any partnerships or collaborations in Marion or in Smith County that help strengthen the theater's role in community development?

Speaker 3:

Well, the town, definitely downtown with Ken Heath has a very strong program to try to increase the economic development here in our community. So we work very closely with their programs and events. They do a cruise in, they do the people with the back of the dragon here that feeds right into Hungry Mother and Marion. We kind of work with them. So when they're having those cruise-ins and Back of the Dragon drives then we try to also have another event that's going to just be another program for them to go ahead and do while they're here in the area.

Speaker 3:

But, yeah, the town, the county, Amanda Livingston at Smith County Tourism she does a lot to try to get our name out to people all over Virginia and outside of the area. So yeah, there's a very strong cohesive group here in Marion and Smith County that's working to definitely bring people here to the area and visit it and see everything that we have to offer.

Speaker 2:

Awesome. So can we officially call it the Lincoln Theater, the heartbeat of downtown Marion, or do we need a town hall there?

Speaker 3:

I think we can go ahead and call it as it is. Yeah, I think this town goes as we do for sure, because we're kind of like a glue system with all the other businesses and everybody here all working together to really help improve our town and get people here to see what we have to enjoy here every day.

Speaker 2:

Very good, Love it. Bob. Appreciate your time today and Kate's time with us as well, and in our previous episode. We'll catch you in the next episode. We'll catch you in the next episode.

Speaker 3:

Sounds good, skip, thanks a lot. Have a great day.

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.