Come mix, bid and raise funds for seven area nonprofits during this unique CVBA Mixer! Social mixing begins at 5 p.m. with food provided by Ledo Pizza, followed at 5:30 p.m. by a LIVE in-house and online auction of items donated by local nonprofits.
All proceeds benefit the following: Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter, Franklin County Library System, Totem Pole Playhouse, Boys & Girls Club of Chambersburg & Shippensburg, Leg Up Farm Franklin County, the Rotary Foundation and Chamber Foundation.
Franklin County Visitors Bureau thanks supporters for making the 3rd Annual Festival of Trees a success. Hosted at the Franklin County 11/30 Visitors Center in downtown Chambersburg, Festival of Trees raised $2700 for the Cumberland Valley Breast Care Alliance. It attracted more than 2500 visitors during the two-week period. Visitors from Michigan, New York, Florida, DC, and the tri-state area of Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania enjoyed 33 beautifully decorated trees and wreaths.
The beauty and success of Festival of Trees would not be possible without the decorators of the 2021 event. FCVB extends special appreciation to these decorators: the shop, Cumberland Valley School of Music, Mr. Phab Photos, Renfrew Museum & Park, Yoga with Melissa, Martin’s Potato Rolls, Conococheague Institute, Chambersburg Frontier Girls #576, Penn State Mont Alto Student Government Association, Coyle Free Library, Council for the Arts, Rotary Club of Chambersburg, OSI, Totem Pole Playhouse, Middletown Valley Bank, Carly Patla – Iron Valley Real Estate, ReMax Prestige Shippensburg and Carlisle, Franklin County Certified Tourism Ambassadors, Chambersburg Hearing, Shafer Equipment Co., Chambersburg Quilt Guild, Greater Waynesboro Chamber of Commerce, Boys and Girls Club of Chambersburg and Shippensburg, Cumberland Valley Breast Care Alliance, Greencastle-Antrim Chamber of Commerce, Willian F. Sellers Funeral Home, The Pet Store, YMCA of Chambersburg, Conococheague Audubon, F&M Trust, Dile Family, Marco, and Twin Bridge Campground.
The 4th Annual Festival of Trees is set to open on Saturday, November 19, 2022, and run through the First Friday of December—December 2, 2022. The event will be hosted in the lobby and Great Room of the 11/30 Visitors Center, formerly a bank from 1865 to 2015. FCVB hopes to increase the display to 50 trees and wreaths and again raise funds to support the Cumberland Valley Breast Care Alliance.
Amidst the thick forest of Caledonia State Park in Michaux State Forest, children and teens will be found singing, dancing and acting. Enrollment is now open for Totem Pole Playhouse’s Theatrical Summer Camps and with our current, amended Covid 19 Health Policies and Procedures in place, we can promise a safe environment for all involved. Shippensburg resident and Drama Teacher, Luke Reed has been appointed Director of Children’s Theatre & Educational Outreach and will take the lead on this summer’s camps. Since graduating from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, he has been working steadily in the field of theatrical arts. Most notably he was a longtime member of the internationally acclaimed and awarded Department of Education at Lenox’s Shakespeare & Company. Luke has also been a tremendous asset to Totem Pole and has Stage Managed, Directed and Choreographed several different productions.
SHAKESPEARE INTENSIVE – Campers will access and explore Shakespeare’s timeless language, characters, and stories. Instruction will focus on bringing the text alive, creative play, and dynamic scene work, culminating in a performance of the Bard’s work performed in one of our scenic outdoor spaces.
Two Week Intensive for those going into the 5th Grade through the 8th Grade
Two Week Intensive for those going into the 9th Grade through the 12th Grade
CREATIVE DRAMATICS INTENSIVE – Creative Dramatics is an improvisational, non-scripted, form of dramatic play that helps children explore their imaginations to their fullest potential. This work is authentic, brave and confidence building, helping campers develop a profound sense of awareness and self-esteem, while bringing out the magic in every child. A short performance highlighting their work will be preformed in one of our scenic outdoor spaces.
One week Intensive for those going into the 2nd Grade through the 5th Grade
MUSICAL THEATRE INTENSIVE – Campers will become a company of young actors, experiencing all aspects of producing a show. Instruction will focus on character creation, self-discovery, and becoming a valued part of a working theatre company. The intensive will culminate in a fully realized stage musical, performed in one of our scenic outdoor spaces.
Three week Intensive for those going into the 5th Grade through the 10th Grade
“This summer is going to be fabulous. We have an amazing group of counselors and staff that are poised and ready to share their talents with children thirsty for the dramatics,” stated Sue McMurtray, Director of Marketing & Communications. “Partial and Full scholarships are also being awarded thanks to generous sponsors like the Rotary Club of Chambersburg.” said James Nadeau, Interim Executive Director.
Where: Totem Pole Playhouse, 9555 Golf Course Rd, Fayetteville, PA 17222
When: SHAKESPEARE INTENSIVE – June 21 through July 2
CREATIVE DRAMATICS – July 12 through July 16
MUSICAL THEATRE INTENSIVE – July 19 through August 6
Camp Schedule: Monday through Friday 9:00am to 3:00pm
Cost: SHAKESPEARE INTENSIVE – $200.00 per week for 2 weeks – Total $400.00
CREATIVE DRAMATICS – $250.00 per week for 1 weeks – Total $250.00
MUSICAL THEATRE INTENSIVE – $200.00 per week for 3 weeks – Total $600.00
Totem Pole Playhouse, America’s summer theatre, located in Caledonia State Park between Gettysburg and Chambersburg, PA will offer the largest production ever staged at the historic 69 yr. old Playhouse, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, which is being produced by Theatre A Go-Go, Inc. as the fourth offering in the Playhouse’s new summer subscription series.
The show offers a happy-go-lucky view of small-town vice and statewide political side-stepping and recounts the demise of the Chicken Ranch, a brothel that has been operating outside of fictional Gilbert, Texas, for more than a century. It is under the proprietorship of Miss Mona Stangley, who is on good terms with the local sheriff, Ed Earl Dodd. Governors, senators, mayors, and even victorious college football teams frequent Miss Mona’s cozy bordello, that is until crusading television reporter, Melvin P. Thorpe, decides to make the illegal activity an issue causing political ramifications which force the place to be closed down. The 1982 film version starring Dolly Parton and Burt Reynolds was one of the highest-grossing live-action musical films of the 1980s.
Branson, Missouri veteran performer, Miranda Jane stars as ‘Miss Mona’, the proprietress of the legendary “Chicken Ranch.” Kristofer Holtz plays the Sheriff, ‘Ed Earl Dodd’ who watches over Miss Mona and her girls. J.R. Stuart, who played the larger than life Producer in Totem Pole’s 2017 production of The Drowsy Chaperone returns as ‘Melvin P. Thorpe’, the crusading televisionreporter. Shuga Henry plays, ‘Jewel,’ the housekeeper at the Chicken Ranch and Lee Merriman plays ‘the Governor’ who eventually orders the place shut down. Playing other supporting roles are Taylor Whidden as ‘Doatsy Mae,’ ‘Ed Riggs as Senator Wingwoah,’ Michael Krikorian as ‘Mayor Rufus Poindexter,’ Chris Cook as ‘C.J. Scruggs,’ and Michael Amoroso in the dual roles of ‘Edsel Mackey,’ the town’s newspaper editor and the guitar-playing ‘Bandleader’ who serves as the show’s narrator.
Playing the Aggie football players and various other ensemble roles are: Hank Von Kolnitz, Jeremy Weinstein, Connor McGarry, Taylor Wright, Jake Pedersen, Matthew Dant, Noah Ruebeck, Jack Leboeuf; playing Miss Mona’s girls and various other roles are: Lainee Hunter as ‘Angel,’ Katie Emery as ‘Shy,’ Jennifer Flohr as ‘Linda Lou,’ Caitlin Cremins as ‘Dawn,’ Mara Ranson as ‘Ginger,’ Annie Gagen as ‘Beatrice,’ Maria Albani-Cook as ‘Teddy Jo,’ Jenna Najjar as ‘Ruby Rae,’ Emma VanDeVelde ‘Eloise,’ and Haley Nachlas as ‘Durla.’
The remaining ensemble members who will also be playing a variety of parts are: Logan Cook, Rachel Kern, Bryton Zook, Kristine Neiman, and Andrew Zabetakis.
The production is directed by veteran Totem Pole director, David Caldwell, with choreography by Christine O’Grady, the pair who staged the Playhouse’s box-office record-breaking production of Mamma Mia! last season. Totem Pole’s Musical Director, Darren Server, leads the band and provides the show’s musical direction. Scenery is by Jonathan Dahn Robertson,
Lighting by Jeremy Mayo, Sound by Joseph Parisi and Luke Reed serves as the production’s Stage Manager.
As with each of its productions Totem Pole is offering half-price preview performances the first weekend of the show; Friday, August 2 at 8pm and Saturday, August 3 at 2pm and 8pm with all seats general admission and priced at $25.00. The production opens Sunday, August 4 at 2pm and continues through August 18th.
In addition to the three half-price previews, this summer, Totem Pole instituted a new “Date Night Special” with patrons offered 50% off a second pair of tickets when they purchase one pair at full-price.
Tickets and gift certificates are on sale now by calling the Totem Pole Playhouse Box Office Monday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at (717) 352-2164.
Totem Pole Playhouse, America’s summer theatre, located in Caledonia State Park between Gettysburg and Chambersburg, PA has announced the second installment of the Playhouse’s new Friday FUN Nights! series, a special “sing-along” screening of the Academy Award-nominated movie musical Annie starring Carol Burnett. Tickets for the screening are $10 for children (15 and under) and $15 for adults which will include a bag of popcorn, a soft drink and a box a candy with each admission. In addition, the Playhouse welcomes those attending to dress-up as a character from the classic musical and prizes will be awarded for the Best Child and Best Adult Costume.
The special screening is made possible by an arrangement with Swank Pictures in St. Louis, MO. The screening at Totem Pole will have the lyrics for all of the songs scrolling across the bottom of the screen for the audience to be able to sing-along if they chose to.
Annie released in 1982 is the film version of the Broadway Tony Award-winning Best Musical of the same name by Charles Strouse, Martin Charnin and Thomas Meehan, which in turn is based on the Little Orphan Annie comic strip created by Harold Gray. The movie stars Albert Finney, Carol Burnett, Tim Curry, Bernadette Peters, and Aileen Quinn as the title character.
Set during the Great Depression in 1933, the film tells the story of Annie, an orphan from New York City who is taken in by America’s richest billionaire Oliver Warbucks.
The next “Friday FUN Nights” will be on July 19th, a solo concert, Always Find a Song, by acclaimed cabaret artist Barbi McCulloch, who has appeared at concert venues around the world including the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York. Reserved seats for the special one-night only concert will be $20 in advance and $25 at the Door the night of the show. There will also be several local food trucks and vendors serving meals and dessert ahead of the 8pm show.
Closing out the series will be a special sing-along screening of the box office record-breaking musical Grease starring Olivia Newton John and John Travolta on Friday, July 26th.
The Totem Pole Playhouse Box Office is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sat & Sun. 11am to 5pm; opened until 9pm on performance nights.
