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ABINGDON, Va. — With vegetables you cannot sell, you can buy a good laugh at Barter Theatre on Saturday.
The State Theatre of Virginia on Abingdon’s Main Street is celebrating its 90th birthday on Saturday with an ode to its beginnings during the Great Depression.
When founded in 1933, admission to the theater was 40 cents or the equivalent in produce and livestock.
Patrons traded everything from eggs and beans to turtles and snakes.
In fact, four out of five theatergoers’ bartered goods from their farms, as actors and playwrights were paid for their work in food.
Now, Barter Theatre is joining forces with Food City and Feeding Southwest Virginia for a historic “Barter Day” on Saturday, inviting audiences to barter for admission with shelf-stable food donations to benefit the Feeding America/Feeding Southwest Virginia food pantry.
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“We celebrate 90 years of bringing world-class theater to Abingdon,” said Ross Egan, Barter Theatre’s chief operating officer at Monday’s Abingdon Town Council meeting. “For 90 years, we’ve been bringing people into this region.”
Food City, headquartered in Abingdon, will donate $1,800 worth of Food City gift cards to the cause as Barter’s 2023 premier sponsor, said Barter Communications Director Scott Little.
This is the equivalent of feeding 90 local families in Southwest Virginia, according to Little.
Theatergoers can barter for tickets to the 2 p.m. performance of “Footloose” at Barter’s Gilliam Stage and 10 a.m. performance of “Robin Hood” at Barter’s Smith Theatre, with The Barter Players.
“We’re harkening back to our roots on that,” Egan said.
Major turnout is expected on Saturday from town locals and longtime patrons, Barter officials estimate.
Today, Barter Theatre is an economic engine of Washington County and Abingdon. Barter officials estimate that for every $1 spent by Barter Theatre, $3.99 is injected into Abingdon’s economy.
“We can’t do this without the support of the community – the town, the county, the state,” Egan said. “It leaves me so excited to think we’re celebrating 90 years.”
Events on Saturday include:
● 10:00 a.m. – Barter Day Performance of Robin Hood (Smith Theatre)
● 11:00 a.m. – Youth Birthday Party / Robin Hood Meet & Greet (Smith Theatre)
● 12:30 p.m. – Feeding SWVA Truck outside of Gilliam
● 2:00 p.m. – Barter Day performance of Footloose (Gilliam Stage)
● 5:00 p.m. – Presentation of Food City gift card to Feeding SWVA
For more, visit www.bartertheatre.com.
