Tag Archive for: #mcgregorhall

McGregor Hall

Dance Competitions Economic Boon for McGregor Hall, Vance County

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Mark Hopper, chair of the Embassy Cultural Center Foundation, was on Wednesday’s edition of WIZS’ Town Talk program to discuss the local economic impact of hosting dance competitions at McGregor Hall Performing Arts Center in downtown Henderson.

With nine weekends of national dance competitions scheduled this year, crowds of 1,800 to 2,700 per event are expected to converge on McGregor Hall and Vance County, according to Hopper.

“These are Friday afternoon through Sunday evening stays that involve a traveling team and their family members in much the same way as traveling athletic teams,” said Hopper.

Ultimately, this weekend of travel means the dancers, their family members and friends support the local economy by purchasing hotel accommodations, meals, gas, entertainment and more.

“We had one of the dance competitions a couple of weeks ago and two hotels in town were completely full because of the competition,” Hopper said. “We’ve heard anecdotal stories of downtown restaurants that literally ran out of food on that Saturday night because they had so much business.”

Such an economic impact is just what McGregor Hall’s forefathers hoped for when planning the venue.

“The primary mission of McGregor Hall is one of economic redevelopment. Part of Sam Watkins’ dream was to improve life in the community by bringing people in to spend money in Vance County, particularly in downtown Henderson,” Hopper explained.

The second part of that mission, to provide an outlet for young people to practice their art on stage while also providing entertainment for the community is the “vehicle that drives the economic redevelopment vision.”

Hopper said the affordable rental fees coupled with the personal service provided by McGregor Hall staff, and the Henderson business community as a whole, are a major part of the reason the venue has gone from booking two dance competitions last year to nine this year.

“Matt Nowell, the technical director and point person for rental events at McGregor Hall, knows how to make people feel welcome. He’s a hometown boy and he’s exactly what we want as far as encouraging our best and brightest to stay here to contribute to make Vance County a better place.

When people come in and they get treated well and pay less, then naturally we’re going to get a lot of business.”

Hopper also had high praise for the work Pam Hester, director for the Vance County Tourism Development Authority, has done and continues to do to support the community and McGregor Hall.

“Pam has been a fantastic friend to us and has worked diligently as a partner in everything we’re doing.”

Phil Lakernick, a former director of downtown development, and dance studio Ballet Arts were also mentioned as being “instrumental” in making McGregor Hall a contender in the dance competition game.

“Phil has been an indispensable partner to us since the day we opened and was very influential in helping us get the nine companies lined up for these events.”

Community partners working together to network and make economic opportunities like this a reality demonstrate that Vance County is committed to revitalization, according to Hopper.

“We truly are all in this together: from businesses, to tourism, to government, to volunteers; we are committed to this dream.”

To hear the Town Talk interview with Mark Hopper in its entirety, click here.

‘Charlotte’s Web’ to Delight School Children, Families Alike

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Part of the Educational Series

The heartwarming literary classic “Charlotte’s Web” by E.B. White comes to life on stage! Enjoy this beautifully staged production that will be presented by children for children.

Two performances will be available for schools at 8:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on Friday, April 5, 2019. 

*Approximate length: 2 hrs, 15 mins, suggested grades: 2nd – 5th. $10 per student or parent. Add popcorn and bottled water for $3 more. Two free teacher/teacher assistant admissions with each class. For more information, contact info@mcgregorhall.org or call (252) 598-0662.

FAMILIES – make it a family night/afternoon at the theater by attending the shows on Saturday, April 6 at 8 p.m. or Sunday, April 7 at 2 p.m. Tickets are now available!

Tickets may be purchased by:

DROP IN: 201 Breckenridge Street, Henderson, N.C. Monday – Friday 1:30 – 5:30 p.m

CALL: (252) 598-0662 (M-F 1:30 – 5:30 p.m.)

CLICK HERE: www.McGregorHall.org  (Use the eTix official site, online fees apply)

(This is not a paid advertisement)

Johnny Peers & The Muttville Comix to Offer a Doggone Good Time at McGregor Hall

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-Information and photo courtesy McGregor Hall Performing Arts Center

Johnny Peers and the Muttville Comix will be performing at the McGregor Hall Performing Arts Center in downtown Henderson on Sunday, March 24, 2019, at 2 p.m.

Johnny Peers and his personality-plus canines are coming to tickle your funny bone! A Ringling Brothers Clown College graduate, Johnny Peers has been working with dogs since he got his first puppy, Freckles, a Beagle mix, from the Humane Society. Since their 1980 debut, the Muttville Comix have appeared on David Letterman, Primetime Live and Circus of the Stars, and at Disneyland, Busch Gardens, the Big Apple Circus, the Royal Hanneford Circus – even The White House!

A show for the whole family and the dog lover in all of us, the show stars mostly dogs rescued from shelters, like Daphne, the world’s only skateboarding Basset Hound; Squeaky, the ladder climbing Fox Terrier; Mr. Pepe, who only responds to commands in Spanish; and Sir Winston, the Pointer mix who only answers to “Sir.” The Animal Planet Pet Star Winners, the Providence Journal-Bulletin calls the show,“…a truly funny, slapstick dog act.”

Tickets may be purchased by:

DROP IN: 201 Breckenridge Street, Henderson, N.C. Monday – Friday 1:30 – 5:30 p.m

CALL: (252) 598-0662 (M-F 1:30 – 5:30 p.m.)

CLICK HERE: www.McGregorHall.org  (Use the eTix official site, online fees apply)

(This is not a paid advertisement)

Johnny Peers and the Muttville Comix will be performing at the McGregor Hall Performing Arts Center in downtown Henderson on Sunday, March 24, 2019, at 2 p.m. (Photo courtesy McGregor Hall)

McGregor Hall to Feature Ernie Haase + Signature Sound; Opening Act Frank Sossamon

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-Information courtesy McGregor Hall Performing Arts Center

Ernie Haase + Signature Sound

Part of the JOY! Series

SPECIAL OPENING ACT BY VANCE COUNTY’S PASTOR FRANK SOSSAMON

SATURDAY, January 19, 2019, @ 7 p.m. ~ Doors Open: 6 p.m.

From its formation in 2003, Ernie Haase has built Signature Sound into one of the most popular and beloved quartets in all of Southern Gospel music. The group has traveled all over the world, offering energy, excitement and encouragement through its powerful brand of gospel music. EHSS continues to gain fans all around the globe with its unique performances and unmistakable four-part harmonies. EHSS is one of the most celebrated quartets in Southern Gospel History mentioned with the same “trailblazing” reverence as groups like The Statesmen Quartet and The Cathedral Quartet.

EHSS has sung and sold to millions worldwide, a feat that has not been accomplished by any other Southern Gospel quartet. From concerts in Latvia and India to South Africa and New Zealand, events all around North America, TV appearances on ESPN with NASCAR, multiple NBA appearances singing our National Anthem, and even a specialty tour of historic American theaters in support of the EHSS Broadway project featuring Les Misérables legend J. Mark McVey, Signature Sound is a world-renowned quartet that spans a wide variety of genres and cultures.

As group founder, Haase is a creative, hard-working tenor whose early roots with the unforgettable and legendary Southern Gospel quartet, The Cathedrals, helped begin his dream to form a powerhouse group of his own. Along with many appearances through the years on the widely regarded Gaither Homecoming Tour, his goal was soon accomplished and then some…as EHSS quickly gained an international platform in gospel music.

Ernie Haase & Signature Sound is both GRAMMY(R)-nominated and GMA Dove Award-winning, a radio favorite in the United States and internationally, and a leader in CD sales and long-form music video sales–with several RIAA(R)-certified Gold(R) and Platinum(R) DVDs.

Tickets may be purchased by:

DROP IN: 201 Breckenridge Street, Henderson, N.C. Monday – Friday 1:30 – 5:30 p.m

CALL: (252) 598-0662 (M-F 1:30 – 5:30 p.m.)

CLICK HERE: www.McGregorHall.org  (Use the eTix official site, online fees apply)

(This is not a paid advertisement)

A TRIBUTE TO SAM WATKINS

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SUNDAY AFTERNOON AT TWO O’CLOCK, MCGREGOR HALL PAID TRIBUTE TO ITS PRIME VISIONARY, SAMUEL MERRIWEATHER WATKINS, JR.

THE LATE SAM WATKINS WAS A DRIVING FORCE BEHIND PERRY MEMORIAL LIBRARY BEING IN ITS PRESENT LOCATION ALONG WITH THE PERFORMANCE AREA AND CONNECTING SPACE KNOWN AS MCGREGOR HALL. THE HENDERSON POLICE STATION TOO FOR THAT MATTER.

IN ADDITION TO A FULL 13-MEMBER ORCHESTRA, UNDER THE DIRECTION OF MARK HOPPER, A LOCAL SOLOIST, JONATHAN O’GEARY, AND THE WORLD PREMIERE OF “REMEMBRANCE,” A SONG COMPOSED BY HENDERSON’S OWN DR. PHILIP M. YOUNG, REMARKS OF HONOR AND REMEMBRANCE WERE PROVIDED BY LONG-TIME FRIENDS DONALD SEIFERT AND THE HONORABLE JAMES W. (JIM) CRAWFORD, JR., BOTH OF WHOM ARE ALSO PILLARS OF THE COMMUNITY. ALSO OFFERING REMARKS OF GRATITUDE AND TRIBUTE WERE DR. YOUNG AND JOHN WESTER.

THE PICTURE SHOWS THE MOMENT THE PERFORMANCE OF “REMEMBRANCE” BEGAN.

AND WHILE THE FOCUS OF THE MUSICAL PERFORMANCE AND THOUGHTS OFFERED WERE ZEROED IN ON THE VISION, LEADERSHIP AND DETERMINATION OF SAM WATKINS, THE WORDS, THE MUSIC AND THE ENTIRE GATHERING ALSO HONORED SAM’S TWIN BROTHER GEORGE WATKINS AND THE WATKINS FAMILY. FOR WHERE ONE WATKINS BROTHER WORKED AND SERVED, SO DID THE OTHER.

TO HEAR IT ALL, THE AFTERNOON WAS A CELEBRATION OF COMMUNITY AND GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY.

SO WHETHER IT WAS THE WORDS OF WESTER, SEIFERT, YOUNG OR CRAWFORD, OR THE INSPIRING COMPOSING, PERFORMING OR JUST BEING IN AWE OF THE SPACE, A NUMBER OF SPECIAL THOUGHTS, PHRASES AND NOTES REVERBERATED THROUGH MCGREGOR HALL ON A SUNNY SUNDAY AFTERNOON ABOUT THE MAN, THE BROTHERS AND THE CHORUS OF SUPPORTERS WHO GOT MCGREGOR HALL TO WHERE IT IS, NOT ONLY A PROVISION FOR LEARNING AND THE ARTS BUT ALSO A REVITALIZATION OF THE VIBRANT BLOCKS OF HENDERSON THAT WERE, THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN NO MORE IF NOT FOR THEIR HARD WORK.

AS THE ONES WHO SPOKE SUNDAY OF SAM WATKINS SAID IT: “THANK YOU.” “WELL DONE.” “HE WAS MY BUDDY.”

IT WAS AN AFTERNOON OF AMERICAN MUSIC, A TRIBUTE TO SAM WATKINS, AND IT WAS SO MUCH MORE.

Back by Popular Demand: Masters of Soul to Return to McGregor Hall

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-Information courtesy the McGregor Hall Performing Arts Center

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND – Friday, January 11, 2019, @ 8 p.m.

If you missed McGregor Hall’s great presentation of Masters of Soul last year, now’s your chance to see what everyone is talking about! Take the ultimate stroll down memory lane with Masters of Soul as they bring a celebration of the legendary songs that defined Motown and Soul music.

This 90-minute show highlights the best of the Motown era with stylishly costumed, fully choreographed performances with various groups backed by a live band.

Based in Virginia Beach, VA, the 10-person cast consists of three lead male vocalists and three lead female vocalists backed by a four-piece band of seasoned musicians who have been touring together for decades.

Masters of Soul has performed to numerous sold-out audiences and garnered rave reviews across the country.

See for yourself their performance of hits by Gladys Knight & The Pips, Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Diana Ross and The Supremes, Martha Reeves and The Vandellas, Barry White, Sam and Dave, James Brown and many more.

Tickets may be purchased by:

DROP IN: 201 Breckenridge Street, Henderson, N.C. Monday – Friday 1:30 – 5:30 p.m

CALL: (252) 598-0662 (M-F 1:30 – 5:30 p.m.)

CLICK HERE: www.McGregorHall.org  (Use the eTix official site, online fees apply)

(This is not a paid advertisement)

McGregor Hall

McGregor Hall to Present ‘Irish Christmas Dance Spectacular’ Dec. 20

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-Information courtesy the McGregor Hall Performing Arts Center website

McGregor Hall Performing Arts Center will present “Carol of the King: The Irish Christmas Dance Spectacular” on Thursday, December 20, 2018. The show starts at 8 p.m. – doors open at 7 p.m.

Enjoy this Riverdance-style Christmas extravaganza! The 20-member dance troupe performs lightning fast hard-shoe rhythms and graceful soft-shoe jigs.

Tickets may be purchased by:

DROP IN: 201 Breckenridge Street, Henderson, N.C. Monday – Friday 1:30 – 5:30 p.m

CALL: (252) 598-0662 (M-F 1:30 – 5:30 p.m.)

CLICK HERE: www.McGregorHall.org  (Use the eTix official site, online fees apply)

(This is not a paid advertisement)

 

Don’t Miss the One-Night-Only Performance of ‘A Waffle House Christmas Musical’

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-Press release courtesy Kaine Riggan

The iconic television star Joyce DeWitt, who played Janet Wood on ABC’s Three’s Company for seven seasons, is coming to Henderson, North Carolina for a special, one-night performance of a holiday musical comedy by North Carolina playwright Kaine Riggan.

“A Waffle House Christmas Musical” follows an unlikely mix of characters who are getting snowed in at a Waffle House outside of Nashville on Christmas Eve. It features original Christmas music written by Randy Travis, T. Graham Brown and others and a comedic script by Riggan.

Kay Gobbell and television star Joyce DeWitt (Janet on Three’s Company) star in “A Waffle House Christmas Musical” December 1 at 8 p.m. at Henderson’s McGregor Hall. (Photo Credit: Hatcher and Fell)

Grammy-nominated country music star T. Graham Brown will also star in the show and sing the song he contributed to the work, which was originally commissioned by the Metro Nashville Arts Commission in 2007.

The show is the latest in a line of box-office successes at McGregor Hall, a newly-constructed 1000-seat performing arts center that has sparked a revitalization of Henderson’s historic downtown business district.

“This play is really my favorite kind of piece to do”, shared DeWitt in a recent radio interview on WIZS. “It has strong, real characters who deliver a message that is both hilarious and touching. It is the perfect show to put you in the Christmas spirit.”

DeWitt, a friend of the playwright who lives in Santa Fe, also played Waffle House waitress, Rita,  in a sold-out, two-month run of the musical on Nashville’s Printer’s Alley in 2010.

Riggan chose his hometown of Henderson for this final workshop production of his work before it is pitched for publishing. Many of the show’s songwriters will attend the event, including another native North Carolinian, Jennifer Prince, who wrote one of the show-stopping musical numbers, “Packed Up, Prayed Up and Ready To Go.”

“A Waffle House Christmas Musical” plays Saturday, December 1 at 8 p.m. in Henderson. For tickets and information, visit www.McGregorHall.org or call (252) 598-0662.

Vance County Arts Council Presents ‘Tidings of Comfort and Joy’ Christmas Music

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-Information courtesy the Vance County Arts Council Facebook page

The Vance County Arts Council presents “Tidings of Comfort and Joy” with Christmas music to soothe the soul on Saturday, November 24, 2018, at McGregor Hall Performing Arts Center. Music begins at 4 p.m. and admission is free.

Performers include “Brotherhood,” gospel recording artist Lynn Cooper, recording artist Ezekiel Taylor, Stella Jones, the Shiloh Baptist Liturgical Dancers, Marjorie Lewis, Tiffany Barnes, Alice Sallins, “Royalty” and “Small Wonder.”

Platinum sponsors are the North Carolina Art Council and Dr. Alice Clark Sallins. Bronze sponsors are Curtis Ellis and Michael Ellis.

McGregor Hall

McGregor Hall’s Popularity Continues to Grow, Study to Determine Economic Impact

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While the next step in the Embassy Cultural Center Foundation’s quest to conduct an economic impact study of the McGregor Hall Performing Arts Center on Henderson and the surrounding area is likely a formality, what is needed now is a contract with N.C. State University’s Department of Public Administration and its respective professors.

WIZS News conversations with Vance County Commission Chair Tommy Hester, who seems to have been the visible spearhead of this particular effort, reveal that the $17,500 to fund the study has been obtained by private, anonymous donation(s).

According to NC State representatives, the completion time for the study is estimated at four months, with the project to begin on January 7, 2019, and the final report to be submitted by May 6, 2019.  Dr. Bruce McDonald and Tom White from NC State came to Henderson October 8, 2018, to discuss McGregor Hall and its impact, to learn more about the facility and to spur still more progression in the team of people, volunteers and the community at large that is supporting the facility.

The recent local production of “Beauty and the Beast” has resulted in additional widespread publicity for McGregor Hall. (Photo: WIZS)

The recent local production of “Beauty and the Beast” has resulted in additional widespread publicity for McGregor Hall for a number of reasons.  The collective local and regional talent in the show and the sheer volume of people who attended the six public performances as well as additional school performances and side events exceeded 6,500 patrons.

Mark Hopper, Vice Chair of the Board for the Embassy Cultural Center Foundation and McGregor Hall, directed the play and directed the full orchestra as well.  In a recent conversation with WIZS’ John C. Rose, Hopper said, “We are a community and economic organization first and foremost, and it’s exciting that citizens are starting to share our vision for what we can accomplish.  Next spring, we have 11 weekends booked for regional and national dance competitions. That means that 700-900 people will arrive on Friday afternoon and stay through Sunday afternoon, with all of them eating in Vance County restaurants, lodging in Vance County motels, and putting Henderson on the map. It’s a very exciting time for McGregor Hall.”