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Local News
Out-of-towners expected for third Theater By Laura Keeter | Daily Times Staff Writer Don't expect to see the same old crowd during the next three weekends for the Theater of the American South's third run in Wilson, which starts today. Word is leaking out that this is one ticket that you don't want to miss, and people from around eastern and central North Carolina seem to be listening. The festival's third year was the charm for Betty Poulton, who is the special programs coordinator for the Encore program at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. Poulton has set up two busloads of active seniors to visit Wilson for festival events, which celebrates Southern culture through the theater, cooking demonstrations and lectures. "I just found out about it last year," Poulton said. "I have to work six months in advance to have the information for our catalogs." The Encore group studies North Carolina literature and have traveled all over the South pursuing authors in places such as Asheville, Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama. But the group won't have to travel far this weekend for some "prime stuff," she said, including a lecture by Lee Smith, author and former instructor at N.C. State. The first bus trip will leave Raleigh at 8:30 a.m. Saturday with 37 people in a luxury coach tour bus. They'll arrive at Barton College at 10 a.m. for the Lee Smith lecture, attend a cooking demonstration at noon, and then watch the 2 p.m. matinee performance of "Fair and Tender Ladies," which is a based on the novel by Smith. Theater of the American South founder Gary Cole sees this as a significant sign of progress for this year's festival. "These folks will tell their friends, and that's a very important demographic -- active seniors," he said. "These are folks who come out to cultural events. They'll tell their friends in the Triangle, and they'll come back." Word is spreading about The Theater of the American South through advertising and publicity. Return patrons and artists are also expected to attend. This year, the Wilson County Tourism Development Authority placed about $6,000 in ads for the festival in various magazines, including Southern Living, Metro and Our State, said Sandra Homes, executive director of the Wilson Visitors Bureau. Ticket sales are also showing support from out-of-towners. At the Wilson Arts Council, where tickets are being sold, groups or couples have called in for tickets from Rocky Mount, Goldsboro, Raleigh, Cary, Chapel Hill and Hillsborough, said Barry Page, director. About 60 out-of-towners so far have bought tickets, he said. Those patrons will include a book club group from Greenville and a theater group of about 12 people from Virginia who want to see everything Saturday including the dinner theater on Saturday night featuring Act 1 of "The Dixie Swim Club." Because the Boykin Theater seats 625, it rarely sells out, Page said, but some of the other events such as the first weekend's cooking demonstrations have sold out. Page said he's expecting "a very healthy crowd" for the weekend with the big draws being the play "Steel Magnolias" and the presence of Lee Smith. keeter@wilsontimes.com | 265-7817
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