Little Town Players Continues to Shine a Spotlight on Bedford with Topnotch Productions

Beloved community theatre nonprofit Little Town Players has been making a big impact in Bedford—and beyond—for nearly 50 years, and it will undoubtedly continue to do so in the future. With its rich and decorated history, generous and talented volunteers, and commitment to presenting dynamic and high-quality productions, LTP is a triumphant testament to the power of close-knit communities.

“Bedford is thought of as a tight-knit community, and Little Town Players is very much a tight-knit community as well,” says LTP Board President Lisa Butler.

Little Town Players’ story began in 1975 with a group of enthusiastic thespians, many of whom were members of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Bedford.

“At that time, there had not been any local theatre in Bedford for at least two decades,” Butler notes. “Roy and Karen Thorpe led a production of Our Town at St. John’s. Karen directed the play, and the majority of the cast was comprised of the church congregation. The show was a great success, so LTP officially began in 1976 with its first season of shows.”

Shortly thereafter, Little Town Players gained 501(c)(3) status and brought on its first Board of Directors. The Board originally had seven members, and now it has nine. The organization also found its permanent home at a former movie house.

“Somebody at the church found out that there was an old movie house that was not being utilized on the campus of the Elks National Home,” Butler recalls. “LTP has had a home in that space, which is called the Fred Harper Theatre, ever since. We have a great working relationship with The Elks: A Noble Senior Living Community.”

In 1983, a historic honor solidified Little Town Players’ status as a top-tier theatre organization: then-President Ronald Reagan awarded LTP a Volunteer Action Award for the Arts and Humanities. The Volunteer Action Awards were designed to honor outstanding volunteer achievements. In 1982, more than 2,000 groups were nominated nationally for 20 awards in 10 categories.

“In addition to having fantastic volunteers, I think that LTP was chosen for the award because of our ability to make the most of our fairly limited resources,” Butler says. “For instance, if we needed a stove for a production, we would get a cardboard box that a stove came in from a local electric company and paint it to look like the real thing. We’ve certainly come a long way!”

The Fred Harper Theatre specifically has come a long way thanks to many improvements over the years.

“We took the booth area from the former movie house and turned it into a booth for our sound and light controls,” notes Butler. “We’re working on getting all of our lights switched over to LED lighting, we’ve recovered our seats, and we’ve added lights above the stage. We’ve also built dressing rooms, installed heating and air conditioning, added bathrooms downstairs for the cast, and enclosed the lobby. We are able to use the space rent-free, so we do whatever we can to help the Elks continue to remain vibrant. It’s an ideal partnership.”

Since it was founded, Little Town Players has presented a wide variety of productions including Driving Miss Daisy, The Sound of Music, Fiddler on the Roof, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, A Christmas Story: The Musical, Steel Magnolias, A Streetcar Named Desire, My Fair Lady, The Secret Garden: A Musical, and many more. Butler’s personal favorites are The Wizard of Oz, in which she portrayed Dorothy, and Always… Patsy Cline, in which she portrayed the titular character. See the sidebar for LTP’s upcoming lineup of productions.

Although LTP presents shows with apparent ease, a great deal of behind-the-scenes work goes into each production.

“We have a play-reading committee that consists of six to 10 people,” Butler says. “Each person brings suggestions of productions within three different categories: musicals, comedies, and dramas. We typically start out with 60 to 70 possibilities. The committee starts discussing pros and cons of each of the shows: the feasibility of building certain sets, whether or not patrons are likely to enjoy the production, how difficult the production would be to cast, etc. Once the committee limits the choices and votes on a slate, they present it to the Board for approval. The whole process generally takes five to six months.”

The members of that committee, Board members, actors, and a myriad of others involved in each production are volunteers. Directors, music directors, and choreographers receive small stipends.

“Without volunteers, LTP simply would not exist,” Butler remarks. “We are very lucky to have so many wonderful volunteers. Anyone can get involved by checking out our website and filling out our volunteer form. We can always use stage managers, light and sound workers, costumers, set designers, builders, painters, ushers, box office assistants, play-reading committee members, and more.”

According to Butler, LTP has a dual primary mission.

“Our mission is to both entertain and educate our audiences through theatre,” she says. “You may not think you’ll be entertained by a production that is laden with facts or educated by a comedy, but we aim to make those things happen. My mission as Board President is to ensure that all that is done within our theatre is done to uphold and support LTP’s mission and to ensure that LTP is around for generations to come.”

Little Town Players offers an annual scholarship to encourage involvement among young people in its and other organizations’ theatre programs.

“For over 20 years, we’ve offered a $1,000 scholarship each year to a Bedford County graduating high school senior,” notes Butler. “Preference is given to graduating seniors who have been involved with Little Town Players, but it is not a requirement. The student needs to be very involved with theatre, but they do not need to be pursuing a theatre degree.”

There is no doubt that community is the cornerstone of Little Town Players. Butler, who met her husband through the organization and was involved in LTP’s production of Little Women: The Musical with her husband and two of her children, believes that anyone who gets involved with LTP will find a home away from home.

“Little Town Players is truly like a family,” she says.

“For us, community theatre is all about getting together and having fun while making beautiful art that is representative of our community.”

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UPCOMING LITTLE TOWN PLAYERS SEASON
Shows are presented on Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2:00 p.m.

The Mousetrap
Sept. 9-18, 2022

Blithe Spirit
Nov. 4-13, 2022

12 Angry Men
Feb. 24-March 5, 2023

Little Shop of Horrors
May 12-21, 2023

For a lot of people, their dogs are their children and when they leave for work for the day or have a laundry list of errands to run, they want their fur babies to have the best quality of life while they’re away.

That’s where K-9 Cloud 9 comes in.

Theresa Bryan was working in corporate sales and had two dogs that she wanted day care for. When she found nothing available in the city, she decided to take matters into her own hands and open her own facility.

“I was successful in my corporate career and thought I could be successful for myself instead of a corporate company,” she said.

She opened the business in March 2019 in The Plaza Shopping Center on Memorial Avenue. She wanted it to be a place where there would be exceptional customer service, care, and straightforward pricing.

The business provides boarding services, dog day care, nail trims, and WebCam viewing so owners can watch their dogs having fun playing with their furry friends.

Bryan believes there’s no place like home, but should you need to leave your dog overnight, the K-9 Cloud 9 team is trained to pamper your dog so time away from home is as comfortable as possible.

Bryan said she is also working on hiring a groomer in the future.

K-9 Cloud 9 is an indoor center, which Bryan said is great for dogs because it’s safer and cleaner.

“Our format is a little different than most daycares because the dogs do play out most of the day, versus being caged most of the day with short potty breaks,” she said. “That’s what most centers do and our dogs are just out the whole day and they really get the chance to make friends and be very rambunctious and get all their energy out.”

She said it’s ideal for owners who want their dogs to be more social with other dogs and can learn proper manners.

“Dogs have a lot of energy and unless you’re going to take your dog on a 45-minute run every day, you’re never going to exhaust your dog,” she said. “So dogs that have an opportunity to socialize and be in a structure-free environment are generally happier dogs.”

The business also offers early drop off and late pick up for those who are working 12 hour shifts like nurses and doctors, Bryan said.

“Their dogs can have just as much fun and they don’t have to worry about not being able to take their dog anywhere because their shift work doesn’t allow that,” she said.

Jordan Miller, a Lynchburg resident, has been taking his lively lab-mix, Ruby, to K-9’s daycare for four days a week since it opened.
Every morning, he says “You want to go play with friends?” and Ruby’s ears perk up because she knows that she’s about to go play all day with other doggos.

Miller said 5-year-old Ruby has a phenomenal personality and is the best dog he’s ever had, so just like most other owners who have full-time jobs, he wanted to make sure she was in a trusted and safe environment while he’s away from her.

“We wanted a safe, happy, and convenient place that we could take Ruby because you want to make sure they’re going to a very, very nice place,” he said.

“We wanted a safe, happy, and convenient place that we could take Ruby because you want to make sure they’re going to a very, very nice place,” he said.

As soon as Miller walked into K-9 Cloud 9 in 2019, Bryan offered a tour and informed Miller about the company’s practices.

“She made us feel extremely comfortable with leaving Ruby,” he said. “I trust them completely. They have a great team and when I drop off Ruby I know she’s going to be in a good place and I can just have that completely off my mind while I go to work.”

By Friday, Ruby sleeps all day because she’s gotten all of her energy out between Monday and Thursday, Miller said.

“If dogs don’t use up their energy at doggy daycare, they will use it in a disruptive way,” he said.

Miller has been so pleased with the services at the daycare, he has referred multiple people there because it’s been such an ideal place to drop his fur baby off each week.

“It’s been very integral to my family’s lifestyle,” he said.

Just like daycare for children, K-9 Cloud 9 does activities like nose prints for Mother’s Day and photo magnets for Christmas. In August, the dogs will pose for back-to-school photos.

Owning a business has taught Bryan to stay flexible, be willing to make changes, go with the flow, and listen to employees.

“We have such a fabulous team and being the owner of a business is so much easier when I have great employees and I have such a great team working there,” she said. “I’ve been really lucky in the fact that I’ve been able to hire people who have a lot of experience in veterinary and shelter work.”

She said her team loves the dogs like they are their own and she knows she can rely on them to know the best interest and safety of the animals.

“Our team is so dedicated to the dogs coming there, being safe, and having a great time, and I think the owners can really tell that when they pick up their dogs that their dogs love it.”

Patriotic Patisserie That is Sure to Impress
Photos by Ashlee Glen

Celebrations are often synonymous with some type of food. Consider the Thanksgiving Turkey, the Christmas Ham—or the spicy chicken wings folks like to eat on Superbowl Sunday.

But there are some special days that are often lacking in the food department. Some of our most beloved celebrations have yet to properly be associated with a special food. Yes, I am looking at you, Independence Day. The 4th of July was meant for so much more than watermelon and hot dogs!

I would like to see this fantastic Flag Cake recipe get a permanent place on America’s birthday table. It’s delicious, surprisingly easy to make, and its dramatic appearance will make your guests gasp when you bring it out. Also, if you don’t have time to decorate, let your guests help out. It’s fun!

I like to serve this cake with a sweet strawberry drink called Saft. Saft is a homemade, fruit flavored syrup with Swedish origins. Mix some of the syrup with water to make a refreshingly sweet, all-natural alternative to Kool-Aid.

AMERICAN FLAG CAKE
Serves: 18-20 People

Cake
2 1/4 sticks (255 grams) of unsalted butter, softened
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups (385 grams)
all-purpose flour
1/3 cup corn starch
1 1/4 tsp kosher salt (reduce to
1 tsp if using table salt)
1 tsp baking soda

Icing
4 cups heavy cream
1 tbsp sugar

Decoration
1 pint blueberries (for the number of rows you see in the photo,
you need 72 berries)
1 1/2 pint raspberries (for two long and two short double lines
you need 128 berries)

Directions
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour an 18 x 12 x 1 1/2 inch sheet pan.

In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until it looks light and fluffy. Reduce the speed and mix in the eggs, one at a time. Add the sour cream and the vanilla and beat another minute until smooth.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, corn starch, salt and baking soda. You can sift the dry ingredients if you have the patience, but lightly beating with a hand whisk works, too.

Now, slowly mix the dry ingredients into your stand mixer bowl until just combined.

If you will be serving the cake directly in the pan, just pour the batter into the buttered pan. However, if you are planning to turn out the cake and serve on a board or tray, use a sheet of parchment paper in addition to greasing and flouring the pan.

The batter will be fairly thick, so spread it evenly into the pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake in the middle of the oven until a toothpick comes out clean, or about 25 minutes.

When the cake has cooled completely, whip the cold heavy cream along with the sugar on high speed until thick and spread over the cake.

Decorating with berries can be as simple or complicated as you make it. If you go for perfection you may want to set aside around 30 minutes and use a ruler to space the rows of blueberries and raspberries. If you prefer a quicker, more rustic approach, strawberries cut in half make a good alternative to raspberries and you will be done in
10 minutes.

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SWEDISH SAFT
Makes: About 1 Pint

Ingredients
1 lb. fresh strawberries, hulled and halved
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 lemon, juiced
1 1/2 cup water

Directions
Add strawberries, sugar, and water to a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook until the sugar has dissolved then turn off the heat. Add lemon juice. Let the mixture cool before straining it through cheesecloth to remove the strawberry solids. Store in a snap-top bottle in the refrigerator. Will keep for one month or longer.

To enjoy a glass of saft, mix 1/4 cup of the syrup with 1 cup water. Ice is optional!

Centra Looks to Rebuild Pet Therapy Program

Joyce Bailey wandered into the world of pet therapy quite by accident close to 20 years ago, when she took her young Bichon Frise, Amie, to a trainer.

“The trainer said, ‘You know, she would make a good therapy dog’ and told me the tester was coming into town in the next couple of weeks,” Joyce recalls. “Well, she passed with flying colors!”

Before long, Amie was a familiar face (or should we say, snout) in hospital rooms, nursing homes, and classrooms in the Lynchburg area. Bailey later added another Bichon Frise, Cece, to the family about seven years later, who quickly followed in the footsteps of her big sister.

Bailey rotated her therapy visits between the two dogs until Amy passed away four years ago. Now, Cece remains as one of the “old school” therapy dogs you’ll find roaming the halls of Centra Health’s two hospitals.

“It just pleases me so much to bring Cece in and see somebody smile and have a nurse say, ‘That’s the first time we’ve seen a smile from that patient.’ That warms my heart,” Bailey said.

According to Therapy Dogs International, therapy dogs are simply defined as dogs with outstanding temperaments. They tolerate other animals well, love children, and enjoy meeting new people.

Therapy dogs can often be confused with service dogs or emotional support animals, but therapy dogs do not provide a specific service for people with special emotional or physical needs. As further explained by the American Kennel Club, the purpose of therapy dogs is to lend comfort and affection to people in a facility or setting such as a hospital.

“There are sensory benefits. When you touch a dog, it’s warm and soft. Also, I think there is something about a dog’s eyes. When they look you in the face with those eyes and they are so accepting,” said Bailey.

While you may be thinking “my sweet pooch could be a therapy dog,” many organizations, such as Centra, require that therapy dogs be certified by a reputable organization such as Therapy Dogs International, which is who Bailey used to gain her dogs’ certifications.

“It’s not so much about being a trick dog but they have to walk on a leash without pulling, they have to sit when you tell them to sit, and stay when you tell them to stay,” she explained. “What I thought would be the hardest for my dogs was to leave them with someone they don’t know then leave the room for three minutes and not have them panic.”

Sylvia Beamer, director of volunteer services at Centra, explained that proof of certification is just the first step in the vetting process for their therapy dog program, which was officially formed in 2015. Dogs also have to go through Canine Good Citizen training from the American Kennel Club.

“We interview the handler as well as the pet to make sure both are a good fit for the organization and patient population. We onboard them just like any other volunteer and have an orientation. Then we will shadow the pet and make sure the pet is doing well and truly fits the therapy mode that we need,” Beamer explained. “After they are shadowed by another experienced handler, they are able to go out on their own.”

Unfortunately, there hasn’t been much paperwork to sift through or shadowing to oversee recently. According to Beamer, there are only two or three therapy dogs on Centra’s list right now. Ideally, they would have 20 to work with in both hospitals.

“During COVID we had pets that aged out of the program or handlers who were in bad health,” she said, adding that the pandemic likely affected certification testing schedules. “Now we are truly looking for more therapy animals and are trying to build our program back up.”

It’s worth the effort because the benefits for patients are clear. Beamer notes that in a hospital setting, oftentimes patients have a furry friend at home that they miss.

“Or it could be someone who doesn’t have any visitors because their family lives elsewhere. Or simply just someone that the nurses have identified is going through some depression. The nurses are great about making sure the therapy dogs are offered to the right rooms,” she said.

In one case, Bailey and Cece weren’t exactly welcome—at least not at first.

“I stopped by an open door and this patient said, ‘oh no, don’t bring that dog in here.’ I stood at the door and said that’s fine, I hope you feel better. I walked on and pretty soon the patient yelled out to me…. ‘you can come in with the dog.’ So I came in,” Bailey recalls. “A little bit later she said to me, ‘I think I would like to pet that dog.’ She petted her. Then after I left, she got out of her chair, walked into the hallway and called after me… ‘tell me what kind of dog that is, I think I might want to get one of those!’”

Therapy dogs have a knack for turning skeptical individuals into “dog people.” Just ask Beamer.

“To be honest I have always had a fear of dogs, until we had pet therapy. I had a couple of bad circumstances in the past,” she explained. “Not only have I witnessed what pet therapy does to calm a patient, they also have such a calming effect on me.”

She says the visits from dogs like Cece are also great for hospital staff, who work long hours in a high stress environment. They also encourage handlers to take the therapy dogs through waiting rooms.

“For a family who is waiting for news, that’s a stressful time. There is no simple surgery. When those pets go through the waiting room, that just brings the family some relief,” said Beamer.

If you are considering seeing if your pooch has what it takes to be a therapy dog, here are a couple requirements for certification, as listed on the website for the Alliance of Therapy Dogs, another well-known and reputable therapy dog organization:
∙ Dogs must be at least one year old.
∙ All breeds are accepted.
∙ Dogs must be current on all vaccines required by local laws, have a negative fecal test every 12 months and be clean and well-groomed for each visit.

The testing process depends on which therapy dog organization you are working with. Each organization has its own set of standards and checklists. It’s recommended that you work with a program that is recognized by the American Kennel Club (see sidebar).

And if your dog does pass the certification test, just a warning—you may end up on the receiving end of the therapy, too.

“There were days when I would pull into the hospital parking lot and think… I don’t know if I have the energy to do this. But when I left I felt 100 times better than when I went in,” said Bailey. “The hospital is a great leveler. You walk into a room and you don’t know whether you are talking to a CEO of a company or someone who lives under a bridge. Everybody is the same. I just felt exhilarated after talking to everybody and seeing my dog make everyone so happy.”

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Looking for a Therapy Dog Program?
The American Kennel Club has a full list of organizations they recognize at this link: www.akc.org/sports/title-recognition-program/therapy-dog-program/therapy-dog-organizations/