HR397: Commending The Virginia Opry.
WHEREAS, The Virginia Opry in Clifton Forge is celebrating 25 years as the longest running country music show in the Alleghany Highlands; and
WHEREAS, The Virginia Opry, a country music troupe patterned after the Grand Ole Opry, was established in 1992, as an outreach program for the Appalfolks of America Association (AAA); and
WHEREAS, AAA recruited local musicians, vocalists, and a comedian to form The Virginia Opry, which debuted at the Clifton Forge Fall Foliage Festival in October 1991; and
WHEREAS, H. Ray Tucker served as the first director of The Virginia Opry, and he also sang as a vocalist and played rhythm guitar with the troupe in addition to his role as director; and
WHEREAS, over the past 25 years The Virginia Opry has held many successful events, including productions with guest performers and special guests like Dan Seals, Lonesome River Band, and the Farm Hands; and
WHEREAS, The Virginia Opry is housed at the Historic Masonic Theatre in Clifton Forge, previously known as the Stonewall Theatre, which underwent a $6.5 million restoration that was completed in July 2016; and
WHEREAS, hundreds of country music aficionados from West Virginia, the Roanoke area, and the Shenandoah Valley, as well as locals from the Alleghany Highlands, have come to hear The Virginia Opry perform over the past quarter century; and
WHEREAS, the owner of a tour bus company in Fort Payne, Alabama, booked 35 seats for one show and The Virginia Opry brought all 35 patrons to their feet when they performed “Sweet Home Alabama”; and
WHEREAS, The Virginia Opry opened its 26th performance season at the Historic Masonic Theatre on February 11, 2017, when the band and vocalists shared the stage with bluegrass band Freight Train and acoustic performer Charlotte Ivy from Dallas, Texas; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That The Virginia Opry hereby be commended on providing 25 years of outstanding musical performances in the Alleghany Highlands; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Bill Allen, president and founder of Appalfolks of America Association and director of The Virginia Opry, as an expression of the House of Delegates’ admiration for the troupe’s important cultural contributions to the Town of Clifton Forge.
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 397
WHEREAS, The Virginia Opry in Clifton Forge is celebrating 25 years as the longest running country music show in the Alleghany Highlands; and
WHEREAS, The Virginia Opry, a country music troupe patterned after the Grand Ole Opry, was established in 1992, as an outreach program for the Appalfolks of America Association (AAA); and
WHEREAS, AAA recruited local musicians, vocalists, and a comedian to form The Virginia Opry, which debuted at the Clifton Forge Fall Foliage Festival in October 1991; and
WHEREAS, H. Ray Tucker served as the first director of The Virginia Opry, and he also sang as a vocalist and played rhythm guitar with the troupe in addition to his role as director; and
WHEREAS, over the past 25 years The Virginia Opry has held many successful events, including productions with guest performers and special guests like Dan Seals, Lonesome River Band, and the Farm Hands; and
WHEREAS, The Virginia Opry is housed at the Historic Masonic Theatre in Clifton Forge, previously known as the Stonewall Theatre, which underwent a $6.5 million restoration that was completed in July 2016; and
WHEREAS, hundreds of country music aficionados from West Virginia, the Roanoke area, and the Shenandoah Valley, as well as locals from the Alleghany Highlands, have come to hear The Virginia Opry perform over the past quarter century; and
WHEREAS, the owner of a tour bus company in Fort Payne, Alabama, booked 35 seats for one show and The Virginia Opry brought all 35 patrons to their feet when they performed “Sweet Home Alabama”; and
WHEREAS, The Virginia Opry opened its 26th performance season at the Historic Masonic Theatre on February 11, 2017, when the band and vocalists shared the stage with bluegrass band Freight Train and acoustic performer Charlotte Ivy from Dallas, Texas; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That The Virginia Opry hereby be commended on providing 25 years of outstanding musical performances in the Alleghany Highlands; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Bill Allen, president and founder of Appalfolks of America Association and director of The Virginia Opry, as an expression of the House of Delegates’ admiration for the troupe’s important cultural contributions to the Town of Clifton Forge.