A Theater Rooted in Place

By: Charlotte Farley / Photos Courtesy: Enstation Theatre Company

By the time I finally clicked on Endstation Theatre Company’s website, I felt that particular brand of guilt reserved for English majors like myself. After all, I’ve lived in this area for over twenty years. I’ve taught literature, worked with local arts agencies, and waxed poetic about “place.” And yet somehow I had missed that Lynchburg has had its own professional theater company for nearly two decades.

Sitting across from Producing Artistic Director Patrick Earl, though, my guilt turned into curiosity. Endstation isn’t trying to compete with touring blockbusters or turn out jukebox musicals. Instead, it’s doing something more rooted in this region and the people who call it home.

A Lynchburg Original

Endstation was incorporated in 2006, starting life as a small company at Sweet Briar College mounting original works, intimate Shakespeare, and adapted classics. From the beginning, its focus was to “advance the cultural history and landscape of this region,” language Earl calls “very poetic and awesome,” but also quite practical.

Underneath the lofty phrasing is a simple guiding principle he repeats to his company: serve the audience you actually have. For Endstation, that means the neighborhoods, histories, and unresolved stories of the greater Lynchburg area. “We are telling a people’s story,” he says, and he means “people” in the most local sense: the families who’ve walked Pierce Street for generations, the students bused in from area high schools, the patrons who might not see themselves on stage anywhere else.

Over the years, the company has produced more than a dozen original plays, many commissioned or developed through its playwright pipeline. Whirlwind, for instance, explored the life of Dr. Robert Walter “Whirlwind” Johnson, the first Black physician permitted to practice at Lynchburg General Hospital and a tennis coach who mentored Arthur Ashe and Althea Gibson on a court in his side yard on Pierce Street.

That attention to place isn’t metaphorical: Endstation has staged performances inside historic homes, at Point of Honor, and even in the basin of a long-closed public pool while tracing the buried history of segregated swimming in Riverside Park. There’s something sacred about telling a story in the very space where it unfolded, as if proximity itself deepens the act of remembering.

Twenty Years of Evolution

Of course, no arts organization moves through twenty years unchanged. After its early seasons at Sweet Briar, Endstation experimented with larger productions and more commercially recognizable shows, the sort many regional companies rely on to stay solvent.

On July 1, 2024, Endstation officially came under the umbrella of Randolph College while retaining its own distinct nonprofit identity. As the college’s professional theater, it enjoys a stable home base, a campus full of students, and local connections.

Fringe, Fields, and Memories

The Central Virginia Fringe Festival—launched just last year—is another extension of that impulse. “We have so many talented folks, so many talented companies,” Earl says. “We need something to celebrate that. So we said, ‘You know what, let’s start a Fringe Festival.’”

The premise is simple but generous: Endstation provides a venue and modest tech support, and invites theater companies, community groups, and individual performers to show what they’ve been making. In its inaugural year, 14 companies (including Endstation) presented nearly 20 performances over the course of the week, spread across spaces at Randolph like Smith Hall Theater and another campus performance hall.

This summer’s festival will again run Saturday to Saturday in mid-June, opening with a concert and “Fringe Feast” and closing with the world premiere of Earl’s new play, Good Birth, alongside the launch of the summer Shakespeare production.

Beginning in fall 2026, Endstation will also take over the Old City Cemetery’s candlelit tour, partnering with staff to create a theatrical experience that weaves history, performance, and memory in one of Lynchburg’s most significant landmarks. If theater at its best is an act of collective remembering, there may be few settings more suited to that than a location where names are literally carved into stone.

Shakespeare on the Hill, Free for All

If you’ve never made it to Shakespeare at the Point, you’re not alone. But the series, now heading into its third summer, may be the clearest expression of Endstation’s commitment to accessibility.

What began as a small-scale experiment at Point of Honor has grown into a cornerstone of the season. Tickets for Endstation productions top out at $35 for special events (galas excluded), with many offerings around $15 (and less for students).Through the “Serving the Audience Initiative,” Endstation has made a portion of its outdoor Shakespeare performances free to the public in recent years, with a long-term goal of making the entire run free.

“We are working to make professional theater accessible to everyone,” Earl says. That includes scholarships for their Embark Youth Theatre Conservatory, where at least 15 of 40–50 spots each year are full or partial tuition scholarships, and Theater Day at Randolph, when high school students come to campus for workshops in technical theater, stage combat, and Shakespeare.

This summer’s production, The Merry Wives of Lynchburg, adapts The Merry Wives of Windsor, keeping the language largely intact while setting it here at home. It’s a playful nod to place that still takes the text seriously, much like the company itself.

What’s Next

“If I could choose, I’d want our legacy to be that we created essentially a staged history of our community, a dramatic, historical canon for the area,” he adds. “After being around 20 years and doing 14 original shows—that’s a lot for any theater company—and that doesn’t even account for the dozens of original plays from our Playwrights Initiative.

For Earl, the heart of Endstation’s work is empathy. “Theater is uniquely suited to helping audiences experience how someone else sees the world. That is, in its essence, what theater really is,” he says.

“I want Endstation to be the end station for theater. Every community deserves somewhere they can go and hear their story, and hear their story done well, and see live performance at the best possible level without having to drive to New York or to their nearest large city—at a high level, at a professional level, and a dependable level.”

As Endstation enters its third decade, it faces the same challenge every arts organization does: persuading people to show up in person. Earl is realistic about the competition. “Every platform, screen, and phone is rival for attention, but it’s something more than that,” he says. “People go into their phones trying to find happiness and humanity. But you know where it is: humanity is going to watch humans.”

That humanity lives here: on a hillside at Point of Honor as the sun goes down, in a darkened hall at Randolph, inside a reclaimed pool basin at Riverside Park.

It’s in the moment when a familiar street name, a long‑ignored plaque, or an old family story suddenly stands up, steps into the light, and, for a moment, seems to be speaking directly to you.

Exploring Real, Tangible Art in an Age of Algorithms

By: Charlotte Farley | Photos By: Ashlee Glen

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been craving a return to a more analog kind of life, gravitating toward something that I can touch and hear without needing screens and Internet service. For my birthday, my husband gave me a stereo system complete with a turntable and CD player. When I finally listened to music through those killer speakers after years of streaming on Pandora or Spotify, the sound startled me in the best way possible. It was rich. It was bold. It was beautiful. That small shift back to analog made me feel what I’d been missing, which is exactly the energy behind the Maier Museum’s new exhibition Audacity: The 114th Annual Exhibition of Contemporary American Painting.

For more than a century, this annual exhibition has showcased contemporary American art in all its shifts and reinventions, and this year’s focus on painting feels both timely and strikingly fresh. This show is indeed a vivid display of what it means to have the audacity to create something purely from one’s own hands, with one’s own imagination and heart. In other words, how dare we be human.

The History of Maier Museum’s Annual Art Exhibition

The Maier’s annual exhibition series began in 1911, when Randolph-Macon Woman’s College committed to bringing the strongest contemporary American art to its students each year. For decades, that meant painting. The show functioned as a cultural gateway that introduced both the college community and Lynchburg at large to the best work emerging in the medium.

For the first half-century, the annual exhibition centered almost entirely on painting, but in the decades since, it has expanded to reflect the growing range of media explored by contemporary American artists. This year marks the first time in nearly thirty years that the exhibit returns to painting alone, echoing its earliest roots.

“It felt like time to revisit painting,” said Martha Johnson, director of the Maier Museum.

The Spirit Behind the Art Exhibition

Johnson explained that the spirit behind Audacity grows out of the moment we’re living in. Conversations about AI—its speed, its opacity, its uncanny output—have become impossible to ignore, and so much of the imagery we encounter now is generated instantly by software. In that landscape, returning to painting feels purposeful.

“We’re all feeling some uncertainty about where AI is going—or has already gone,” she said. “It isn’t something that’s ‘coming’; it’s blown past us, and that can feel very untethering.”

For Johnson, this exhibition is “a kind of answer to what’s happening. It’s a reaffirmation, a fearless reaffirmation, of the medium of painting.” And even as the show responds to all that technological drift, she hopes its effect is simple and human. “I want visitors to be delighted.”

Meet the Artists Behind Audacity: The 114th Annual Exhibition of Contemporary American Painting

The exhibition brings together four large-scale painters (Sally Egbert, Julia Jo, Sue McNally, and Walter Price) whose canvases radiate gesture and presence, inviting visitors into the physical presence of work shaped directly by human hands. Each selection embraces that physicality. One navigates gigantic, state-by-state landscapes after time spent outdoors. Another literally tosses paint onto canvas.

“Whether you’re using a brush, tossing paint like softballs, or pouring it the way Sally [Egbert] does,” Martha said, “there’s such physical pleasure in the act itself. What painting is, for all of these artists, is the pure joy of painting—the tactility, the sensuousness, the sheer joy of a pure color.”

The Experience of Maier Museum

The Maier Museum is intentionally welcoming. Admission is always free and there are various community programs, talks, and even camps for kids and other programs for high school students. Johnson wants a visit to the Maier to feel as normal as a stop at the library or a walk in the park.

“The default for a lot of people is thinking they don’t know enough to come here, or that it’s going to be expensive,” she said. “There’s no test at the end. We’re not trying to stump anyone. We just want people to come in and spend time with the art.”

Staff members aim to offer visitors a “hook”—just enough context about process or history to spark curiosity—without flattening a painting into a lecture.
For many regulars, the museum’s permanent collection has become something of a community of familiar faces. Visitors return to particular works like old friends within the richly colored galleries.

Maier Museum’s Hours and Exhibition Details

Above all, this exhibition extends an invitation: slow down, step close, and let color work on you. As Johnson puts it, “I would love for people to have had a joyful experience—to feel that painting is still a vital force—and to have set their anxieties aside for a moment and get lost in the art.”

Audacity reminds us that standing in front of paintings can be as surprising and alive as hearing music on real speakers again. It turns up the volume on what it means to be human. And painting, it turns out, still has plenty left to say.

ON VIEW:
October 19, 2025 – March 8, 2026
More Information: maiermuseum.org
Hours: Wed–Sun, 1–5 p.m.

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The Cold War History of the Maier Museum

Inside the Lynchburg Art Club and Gallery

250 Years of Lynchburg’s Story

By: Megan Loranger

Next year, the United States will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Across the nation, localities are marking this milestone through the America 250 initiative, which invites communities to reflect on their own histories and the people who shaped them. In Virginia, the effort is known as VA250, and here in Lynchburg, it takes the form of LYH250—a yearlong commemoration highlighting the individuals and stories that define Central Virginia’s past and present.

One of the signature projects of LYH250 is a forthcoming book titled A Good and Pleasant Company, set to be published in 2026. The book will feature biographies of 250 Lynchburg residents who lived and worked in the city between 1776 and 2026, capturing the breadth of lives that have contributed to the region’s story.
Ashleigh Meyer, a member of the LYH250 committee and one of more than 70 contributing writers, helped research and write several of the biographies. “We decided to create a very accessible collection of bios appropriate for students and adults alike,” Meyer said. “We also wanted something tangible to commemorate the 250th anniversary that could contribute to the ongoing conversation about regional history.”

Many of the featured names will be familiar—such as John Lynch and Anne Spencer—while others may be new to readers. Together, they represent a sweeping tapestry of Central Virginia’s history, from educators and community leaders to inventors, athletes, and advocates for freedom.

For Meyer, the project was both educational and deeply meaningful. “I came across people I hadn’t heard of before, and getting to know their stories was incredibly impactful,” she said. “It reminded me that we can all have an impact on our community and our time.”

The collaborative nature of the book reflects the spirit of the celebration itself. With contributions from more than 70 local authors, researchers, and historians, A Good and Pleasant Company stands as a true community effort—one that honors those who came before us while inspiring future generations to recognize their own role in the region’s ongoing story.

“I think there’s a lot more history under our feet than a lot of people realize, and I hope this book helps to bring more awareness,” Meyer said. “I also hope readers will remember the lives of the people who came before us and respect the work that they did—no matter how big or small—to contribute to the world we live in today.”

At its core, A Good and Pleasant Company reminds us that revolution isn’t a single moment in time but something continually renewed with each generation.
Pre-orders for the book are now open through Old City Cemetery for $15. Copies will also be distributed to public spaces and schools throughout the region. To reserve yours, visit oldcitycemetery.ticketspice.com/a-good-and-pleasant-company-pre-order.

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A Q&A on the VA250 Celebrations

Lynchburg artist captures nature through ancient painting technique

By: Christian Shields | Photos By: Ashlee Glen

Going back as far as she can remember, local artist Christine Rooney has always had a passion for art. At just four years old, she broke her collarbone after playing and being pushed off a bed by her younger brother. While at the hospital, she was offered a roll of medical table paper by the doctors.

This simple act of kindness sparked a love for art that has continued to blossom ever since. She earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from the Ohio State University in 1970 and continued studies through intensive workshops in the country.

Although throughout her career she has experimented with numerous artistic pursuits, she now primarily focuses on oil, pastel, and encaustic painting.

Tracing back over two millennia, encaustic painting requires melting beeswax, resin, and pigments together and then quickly painting the mixture on wood, canvas, or another surface of choice. To keep the wax molten, she uses heating equipment which includes heat guns, blowtorches, and hot plates.

Prior to its adoption by artists, this beeswax and resin combination was used to caulk ships in ancient Greece. Encaustic work is as stable as oil paintings and has the luminosity of enamels. It is not a fragile medium and can withstand temperatures up to 200 degrees.

One benefit of this technique is it requires very little time to dry. Through encaustic painting, which Christine often combines with her oil and pastel painting for a single artwork, she seeks to capture the inner beauty of the natural world.

She and four other professional encaustic artists recently presented about 50 of their encaustic works at the Academy Center of the Arts.

Christine also fosters a strong appreciation for the history of her craft and seeks to learn everything she can about it. Along with studying an artist’s life, she researches the supplies that the individual used and their technique.

“I like to be part of the ancestry and movement of art,” she said. “I want to know about the supplies that I use. I want to make sure they are archival and will not deteriorate. It fascinates me where the pigments and other materials were found and how they were applied.”

Although she previously did commissioned portraits, Christine now prefers the nature of landscapes, where she can freely apply her signature ethereal look. Her work is in several galleries and private collections.

“I see so many different colors in the landscape no matter the season, weather, or time of day,” she said. “The natural world excites me.”

With her passion for art comes a desire to share that appreciation with those around her. Christine currently teaches classes on mixed-medium, pastel, and encaustic painting and classical drawing at the Art Box on 12th St in Lynchburg. Through this work, she encourages students to find their own artistic expertise instead of simply imitating the works of other artists.

“I love exploring the way others handle their work,” she said. “I want them to explore and find their own signature style. It excites me to know that I can teach them how to use the materials I give them to come up with their own passion.”

Those interested in viewing or purchasing Rooney’s masterpieces can visit her website at christinerooneyartist.com, follow her on Instagram @cdrooney48,
or visit her studio at the Art Box.

The Magic Behind Creatures & Cocktails

By: Charlotte Farley | Photos By: Ashlee Glen

Once a week, it’s as if someone chanted a few magic words to transform The Music Hall at 722 Commerce Street into an alternate world where dice determine destiny and strangers become heroes.

In a way, someone did.

The Creatures & Cocktails event is the brainchild of David Gallaher, a Harvey Award-winning writer best known for his work with Marvel Comic titles like The Hulk, The X-Men, and DC’s Green Lantern alongside projects for Ubisoft, MTV, and Taliespin. But for one night each week, he trades his writer’s desk for the role of Game Master, guiding groups of adventurers—many of whom have never played—through immersive events.

From Brooklyn to Lynchburg

A self-professed rapscallion, raconteur, and roustabout, Gallaher’s path to Lynchburg was as winding as any Dungeons & Dragons campaign. Originally from Hawaii, he grew up as a military kid, living everywhere from California to Washington to Maryland. After two decades in Brooklyn and a short stint in Paris, he relocated to Lynchburg to be closer to his parents, who relocated to the Hill City in recent years.

It didn’t take long for him to discover the Academy Center of the Arts. He began working part-time as house manager, a position that came with a perk he couldn’t pass up: two free tickets to every show. “I gave them to my mom,” Gallaher said. “And she loved it.”

But while he was there, he noticed that the Academy’s versatile Music Hall was only being used for weekend concerts, and he saw its potential as more than just a performance venue. From that spark came the idea for something approachable, creative, and unlike anything else downtown.

From Panic to Play

For those unfamiliar, Dungeons & Dragons is a collaborative role-playing game where participants take on characters, make choices, and let the roll of the dice determine what happens next. It’s focused on creativity, teamwork, and shared storytelling. And let’s be clear: there’s nothing diabolical or scary about rolling dice and playing pretend.

The spirit is whimsical, collaborative, and sociable.

“It’s all about exploring stories and experiencing fantasy together,” said Gallaher. He laughs when he recalls growing up in the 1980s, during the so-called “satanic panic” that stigmatized Dungeons & Dragons. “I wasn’t allowed to play,” he said. Ironically, he discovered the game at Scout camp and ultimately fell in love with this style of telling stories. “But even before that, one of my first role-playing experiences was a Star Trek RPG where,
for some reason, we all had to play as Muppet Babies. So Kermit ended up being a paladin.

It was ridiculous—and perfect. That kind of silly, lighthearted energy is what I try to bring into Creatures & Cocktails today.”

Elevated for Everyone

“We wanted to make an elevated experience and create an opportunity that’s only five dollars—and free for members of the Academy,” Gallaher explains. What begins as a modern music hall becomes an enchanting space complete with atmospheric lighting, thematic decorations, and carefully curated details that transport guests into another realm entirely.

Though it’s called Creatures & Cocktails, “it could have been Monsters and Mocktails,” he noted with a grin, since the event is designed for ages “8 to 80. Anyone who comes to this gets to play.”

A Night of Adventure

The doors open at 6:30, and guests can sign up for a journey, grab coloring sheets, and select a character that best represents them for the evening. These characters might include tongue-in-cheek, lighthearted versions of bards, paladins, rogues, wizards, or fighters. (Picture a bard who can’t carry a tune or curmudgeonly wizard, for example). Participants can also draw their own pieces, which the Game Master weaves into each night’s tale. “Nothing is rote,” Gallaher explained. “It’s unique to each party or group.”

What about someone whose only knowledge of D&D comes from overhearing their teenage son’s gaming sessions? “We’ll show you how to play, and you cannot fail,” he emphasized. Every adventure is designed to be welcoming, stress-free, and fun. There’s no requirement to know any rules up front.

Fantastical Friendships

Ask Gallaher why tabletop games, and his answer is simple: “I love D&D and I love people.”

That love shows in the details. Volunteers arrive an hour early to help set up, and friendships are forming organically. Gallaher loves kicking off the festivities, of course, but he most enjoys seeing the camaraderie and how people pull together to help pack up at the end of the night. “In a time when we’re all divided,” he reflected, “we can share dice, have a game, laugh, have a couple of drinks, and be present. We can forget about the outside world for a little while and enter this high-fantasy imaginary world.”

That sense of belonging clearly resonates: attendance averages 60 to 80 participants each week, and the 120-seat venue often fills to capacity.

The Team

Gallaher isn’t a one-man show here.

He’s quick to credit Allistar Barrett, who co-produces the weekly magic by inventing many of the themed cocktails and menu items, designing set pieces and decor, and more. He acknowledges the support of the Academy, as well. “They’ve been awesome,” he said. “It’s all about storytelling and creating a unique experience.”

Looking Ahead

Since debuting in July, the event has been met with such enthusiasm that Gallaher and Barrett recently secured an educational license from Hasbro to use official Dungeons & Dragons materials for the next five years.

Gallaher’s goal is to create opportunities to engage in D&D in a way that everyone feels welcome, whether that’s at the Academy Center of the Arts, in Lynchburg, or across the country. He’s already fielded inquiries about taking Creatures & Cocktails on tour, a testament to how this blend of speakeasy-meets-storytelling has resonated in Lynchburg.

From writing for The Hulk and The X-Men to guiding a table of first-time players, the medium may change, but the mission is the same: Gallaher invites people to escape and delight in a world of imagination. “Shared stories make us co-creators,” he said. “At the end of the day, people love stories. And that’s what this is all about.”

Creatures & Cocktails

When: Wednesday nights, doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the game runs from 7:30 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
Where: The Music Hall at 722 Commerce Street
Cost: $5 to enter and play (free for Academy members)
More info: www.creaturesandcocktails.com

Preserving a Hidden Language of Freedom

By: Shannon Kelly | Photos By: Ashlee Glen

At 99 years old, Edith Younger Edmunds is still stitching—and with every thread, she’s weaving a deeper connection to her heritage. What began as a childhood pastime has evolved into a late-in-life mission: bringing the story of the Underground Railroad to life, one quilt pattern at a time.

Edmunds has been quilting since she was seven, but it wasn’t until her 80s that she discovered a powerful intersection between her lifelong craft and the coded patterns once believed to guide enslaved people to freedom.

Though the historicity of the quilt code is disputed, it is nonetheless a fascinating story, and the distinct patterns are a rich part of art history.

As children, Edmunds and her twin sister—two out of the family’s twelve children—used scraps from their mother’s sewing projects to create patterns, which they sewed onto magazine pages. The result was a quilt, which the girls’ father proudly showed off any chance he got.

“He called it a spread. ‘Go get that spread so I can show it to my friend.’ He said, ‘This is what my girls did, my twins did, seven years old.’ He was so proud of us doing that,” Edmunds said.

When she got older, Edmunds got paid to do alterations and saved some money to buy her first sewing machine, which had a treadle. Later, she bought a motor to modify it.

“I put that motor on myself, and that made me be able to sew a little faster, and I could get things done quicker,” she remembered.

Edmunds was a stay-at-home mom after she started her family, but once her daughter, Amy, started school at Sinai Elementary, Edmunds got a job as a teacher’s aid there—but she never stopped sewing. She went on to work in the fabrics department for Belk’s, where she spent 18 years of her career.

“I crocheted, I did needlework, I did embroidery. All of this was a part of my…I call it my career of sewing,” she said.

Edmunds passion for sewing and, in particular quilting, pivoted and grew when she learned about how textiles were said to be used in the Underground Railroad.

“I guess it probably was about 15 years ago, may not have been that long. I was reading a little magazine called Guidepost, and in that little book, it had a picture of the Underground Railroad in it… I ordered the pattern of the Underground Railroad, and I made the first hanger, and it turned out so pretty,” she said.

From there, Edmunds tackled more patterns and learned about their symbolism as she went. She read books on the history of the Underground Railroad, and when the movie Harriet came out, she and her daughter both loved it; Harriet Tubman’s story spurred Edmunds’ interest in the Underground Railroad.

In 1860, around the time of the Civil War, Virginia had the largest enslaved population of all the Confederate states. Four generations of the Edmunds family have come from Halifax County. According to the 1860 census, enslaved people made up the majority of the county’s population. Nelson Edmunds, Amy’s great-great-grandfather, was born on the Red Field plantation there.

He would have been five or six years old at the time of emancipation, Amy—who researches her family’s genealogy—said.

While none of her ancestors ever escaped —at least not to the Edmunds’ knowledge—Edmunds was nevertheless fascinated by the inventive ways abolitionists, allies, and escapees operated the famous covert network. The story of the quilt code is one where messages were hidden in plain sight, under the guise of commonplace household items that would seem totally innocuous to individuals who weren’t in the know.

These quilt patterns were fascinating and also challenging for Edmunds to undertake.

The Crooked Path, for example, is tricky to achieve due to the cut of the pattern.

“That means that… you can’t walk straight,” Edmunds said. “They walk zigzag, so if somebody is trying to catch up with them, they can’t follow their crooked road.”
Whether taking a crooked path or a straight one, passengers on the Underground Railroad could identify allies by a “shoofly” pattern, made with four triangles around a center square.

“The shoofly is a person who would secretly help the enslaved. By that, I mean…this secret person would hide the enslaved in caves, or a church, or graveyard. He would do that, risking his own life,” Edmunds explained. “He would give them clothes to clean themselves up so they could go downtown and pass as free. They would be dressed in clean clothes, because when you’ve been walking to escape, your clothes get dirty.

So, this shoofly, he would help them.”

The bear paw pattern is characterized by four squares in the center, with outer edges that look like a bear’s paw.

“That bear paw, it tells the enslaved to follow the bear. It would go to where food and water were,” Edmunds said.

The flying geese; the bow tie, or hourglass; Jacob’s Ladder; nine-patch; the North Star; all these patterns are associated with the tradition of a quilt code.

Pattern recognition was the key to reading these symbols, Amy said: any colors could be used, but the colors themselves did not hold meaning.

“To look at the bear claw, somebody may have made it using blue and red. Somebody else may have made it using all black, but they would have had to have been able to focus on that design, to recognize it, no matter what the color or how incremental the seamstress had made the different parts, but to still be able to see that overall design,” she said.

These patterns could theoretically be combined to form messages, as well.

“That’s part of the intrigue in creating these images. It’s like, how many messages can I combine? Or, what if I wanted to try to create a message that has multiple meanings? And you can do that. You can imagine that, but I also have such an appreciation for the eye that the guide must have had, to be able to see the design so clearly, in spite of it being different every time,” Amy said.

Quilting takes a lot of time, and a lot of materials. Enslaved women who endeavored to make any of these patterns likely had extremely limited resources. Amy added: “There was no JoAnn’s Fabric.”

“From our perspective, it was difficult for us to imagine them making a full-sized quilt with a repeating pattern of the same square. It occurred to us that it is possible that they may have made something similar to a string quilt, and then just attached almost like an applique, one of these patterns,” she said. “If you knew what you were looking for, you would recognize it.”

Perhaps due to limited textile resources, the patterns were sometimes etched in dirt or marked elsewhere in another fashion.

Travelling the Underground Railroad was treacherous for anyone involved.

Out of the numbers of enslaved people who fled, relatively few made it all the way to freedom, Amy said.

Edmunds has been on a mission to educate others about the Underground Railroad, and the story of the quilt code, sharing her interest in the general history of the system, but also her perspective as a seamstress.

She has visited schools where she showed children how mathematics and art collide when it comes to quilting, hoping to inspire them, and demonstrate how the subjects they learn in the classroom apply to real life. The wagon wheel pattern is a prime example.

“The wagon wheels have a lot of different angles to be cut, and put together,” Edmunds said. “I told them, I said, ‘Now, all these pieces are not the same. You’ve got a rectangle, you’ve got a triangle, you’ve got a square.’ I said, ‘You’ve got to know how to measure to get those angles just right. If you don’t, your pattern’s not going to come out right.’”

Edmunds has done a variety of other engagements where she educates communities about the Underground Railroad and the quilt code. She brings samples of her work along, displaying them for audiences to examine as she delivers an informational presentation. She has participated in television interviews, a segment with NPR, and worked with various news outlets.

At 99 years old, quilting and educating remain Edmunds’ passions. She has no plans to slow down. She brings textile projects with her even on car rides. Looping is one of her more recent practices, in addition to embroidery, crochet, and quilting.

“I just like staying busy,” she said.

Emily Flint reflects on personal life through art

By: Christian Shields | Photos By: Ashlee Glen

With a passion for painting and a heart for her family, local artist Emily Flint tackles tough, personal mental health struggles through her craft.

Growing up in a family of artists and art enthusiasts, Flint found a deep appreciation for beauty at a young age. She attended Savannah College of Art and Design and Virginia Commonwealth University to pursue degrees in photography and art education, respectively. In 2009, she discovered a specific affection for painting and has continued that pursuit ever since.

The mother of three girls, who she affectionately refers to as her “little muses,” Flint draws heavily from the themes of family and emotion to cultivate her masterpieces. In doing so, she not only hopes to develop a stronger relationship with her children but also provide herself an outlet to release any pent-up tension.

“It’s vital for me right now, because, for one, I find parenting to be pretty stressful,” she said. “This is a way for me to process that stress in a positive way. It’s also a way for me to refocus on my kids and see them in a different light. … My hope is that it is making me a better mom, so I can show up better for them.”

Flint also draws heavily from her past and current mental health struggles, illustrating them on the canvas through the symbolism of stinging insects.

“[Mental health has] come such a long way since I was a child as far as awareness and stigma, but there is still a stigma attached to certain mental illnesses,” she said, noting she has battled major depression since the age of 12 and has a long history of anxiety and ADHD. “I am pretty passionate about being honest and being vocal about mental illness and how it can show up.”

While she often begins her pieces with a surreal idea of what the finished result will be, she is also not afraid to just get messy with the paints and find catharsis in the process.

Flint joined the Lynchburg Art Club three years ago but has become much more involved in the past year, now serving as the group’s head of marketing. Through everything she does, she hopes to be a light in the lives of others and help them find a sense of belonging.

“To feel like you’ve impacted someone [to change their lives] is really special,” she said. “Often, artists have a lot of guilt or a feeling that their art isn’t important enough to pursue. Sometimes I have wondered whether this is a worthwhile venture. To feel like you’ve actually connected with somebody and actually helped somebody through something would be the ultimate goal.”

Flint has exhibited her work in Lynchburg and nationally. This year she has participated in the Lynchburg Art Club’s Georgia Morgan Show, Portrayed: A Juried National Exhibition of Portraiture at Norfolk’s d’Art Center, The Academy Center of the Arts National Juried Art Exhibition, and Steven Francis Fine Art’s A Show of Portraits: Phillip Geiger and 23 Artists. She is currently showing at the Axis Gallery in Sacramento, California, and participating in the 52nd Annual Lynchburg Art Festival.

Readers interested in learning more about Emily Flint and her craft can connect with her through her website, emilyflint.com, and Instagram account, @emilyflintart.

The Audacity to Try Elizabeth Gray’s Colorful Path to Creative Joy

Photos By: Ashlee Glen

Elizabeth Gray never set out to be an artist. In fact, her first creative pursuit was edible—wedding cakes, to be exact. “I was living in a small apartment while attending culinary school and found myself saying ‘yes!’ to make wedding cakes for friends,” she recalled. “It made sense—I’d always loved creating with food, especially sweets, plus I was achieving a personal goal to work for myself.”

But then, according to Gray, things just snowballed into more than she could handle for her small, in-home operation. With no space for expanding her business and health concerns mounting, Gray knew she had to pivot.

What she found was a new medium, one that began as a therapeutic outlet: hand lettering.

“What started as a hobby for stress relief has turned into so much more,” she said. “All creative things are connected in a way.”

Today, Gray is a self-taught lettering artist, illustrator, and muralist whose work blends crisp lines, vibrant colors, and a whimsical spirit that refuses to be boxed in. From black-and-white compositions to playful gel nail designs and large-scale public art, she’s continuously evolving. Her style?

“Crisp, colorful, and adventurous,” she said. “When I feel stuck, I shift.”

Gray’s creative journey hasn’t been without hurdles—chief among them, the internal doubt of not having a formal art education. “I’ve often felt less than because I didn’t go to art school,” she admitted. “But I also don’t think, had I done that, I could have specialized in lettering in the same way I have now.” Instead, she’s built her skillset through experimentation, books, online classes, and a healthy dose of “delusional confidence.”

That openness to learning, she says, allows her to trust her instincts and follow ideas—even when they seem strange. “Food keeps showing up in my work—it feels personal, and right, and it’s something I have a deep connection with.”

Virginia’s natural beauty also plays a role in her artistic perspective. Whether she’s painting state birds and blooms in a mural or simply noticing how the sunlight hits her kitchen floor, Gray finds meaning in the ordinary. “Didn’t someone call it ‘the art of noticing?’” she said. “There are SO many mediums and so many ways to express yourself—but no matter what you make, it will always be your style.”

She’s brought that personal style to partnerships with brands like OPI, Sharpie, and TikTok, always on her own terms. “They hired me for me,” Gray said. “Instead of feeling pressure to reinvent myself…I remind myself that I don’t have anything to prove.” The key, she believes, is blending strategy with authenticity.

Her murals—bold and community-minded—have taught her to problem-solve in ways that go far beyond color palettes and typefaces. “Public art always has specific goals…. Murals can make or break the vibe of a space,” she explained. “I’ve painted through intense heat, freezing temps, and utter exhaustion… but the feeling of completing a huge project like that is nothing short of euphoric.”

Equally impactful is her coloring book, a passion project born out of a desire to offer others a no-pressure space to create. “Sometimes, you don’t want to have to have the idea but you still feel the urge to create,” she said.

“I hope it encourages people to take time for themselves.”

Gray’s candor extends to her online presence, where she’s cultivated a community of fans and fellow creatives. She attributes that growth to one thing: showing up as herself. “If you’re not enjoying what you’re making, odds are, others won’t either,” she said. “Lean into what you like.”

Whether she’s filming a voiceover with wired headphones or sketching mural ideas on her apartment walls, Gray isn’t waiting around for permission. “If I had waited until I felt ready to share my work, I’d probably still be waiting,” she said. “Choose yourself… and just try something.”

That spirit—bold, introspective, and joyfully curious—is the thread running through all of Gray’s work. “Create, fail, learn, repeat,” she said. “Oh, and don’t read all the comments.”

Academy Center of the Arts expands its reach with a space designed for connection and community

Photos Courtesy of the ACADEMY CENTER OF THE ARTS

Tucked just below the growing campus of the Academy Center of the Arts, The Music Hall is fast becoming one of the most unique and accessible performance venues in the region. Though small in size—its capacity hovers around 100—the venue offers something big: opportunity.

“It’s a small, intimate venue that puts the artist with the audience,” said Joel Williams, Director of Marketing for the Academy Center of the Arts. “We wanted to create a space that could house upcoming local and regional artists who don’t have to worry about filling 300 or 400 seats—or doing a lot of legwork to get their name out there.”

That accessibility isn’t just for performers. One of the core values of the Academy is being community-focused, and affordability played a major role in the creation of The Music Hall.

“Part of the reason we were able to reopen the Academy’s doors [in 2018] was because the community got behind us,” Williams said. “But the cost of operating an event at one of our larger venues can price some artists or performers out. This provides the same Academy quality on a smaller scale and at a lesser price point.”

The Music Hall comes fully equipped with sound equipment and a full bar, creating a professional performance experience without the pressure or expense of a large venue.

And while it lives up to its name with a focus on live music, the space is intentionally versatile—from R&B to rap to hardcore to theatrical improv.

“You won’t see the same genre over and over,” Williams noted. “A lot of venues in town are often tied to a bar, brewery, or a restaurant, where the music can be more about background atmosphere. Here, people come for the performance itself. It’s a true entertainment venture.”

Photos COURTESY of the ACADEMY CENTER OF THE ARTS

The setup shifts based on the show. For a jazz performance or cabaret-style event, tables with small lights create a cozy, club-like ambiance. For a high-energy night, the tables are cleared to open the floor for standing room. It’s this adaptability—along with the Academy’s broader programming vision—that allows The Music Hall to bring something fresh to the table each week.

With a goal to host live shows every Friday night, the space is also a launchpad for emerging talent.

“If a show sells out and gains traction, there’s opportunity for them to come back and perform at The Warehouse [the Academy’s 600-capacity space],” said Williams.

“That gives artists a pathway to grow their audience while still staying connected to their roots here in Lynchburg.”

In addition to its performance lineup, The Music Hall is available for rent at an affordable rate. With a built-in PA system, full bar, tables, and flexible layout, it’s an ideal spot for everything from small wedding receptions to retirement parties.

Looking ahead, the team at the Academy hopes to continue using the venue as a platform for growth and inclusion.

“We’ve already had two bands ‘graduate’ from The Music Hall to The Warehouse.

That’s the goal—our venues scale with the artist’s audience. And because we’re community-driven, we want the space to continue being a resource, whether for celebration, creation, or connection.”

The Music Hall is actively seeking local and regional performers to perform in the space! If you are an artist or performer, visit academycenter.org/
music-hall-artist-submissions.

Upcoming Music Hall Shows

July 9, 16, 23: 7 PM
Creatures & Cocktails (ongoing series)

July 11: 8 PM
DAT Gold in aJe (feat. Even Back, Doe, Lil Joe)

July 18: 8 PM
The Second Wind Band

July 19: 7 PM
Downtown Comedy Crew

August 1: 7 PM
Broke Theatre Kids:
Live on Stage

August 15: 8 PM
Travis Reigh LIVE
August 22: 8 PM
Jairus Mullen & Taylor Win
“Us and Them”

August 29: 8 PM
An Evening with TJ Lawson

29 Drive-in Theater’s Old-Fashioned Charm

By: Anna Eileen White / Photos By: Ashlee Glen

Picnic tables, old patchwork quilts, and bug spray alone might be enough to evoke glowing memories of summer evenings. But, if there’s any doubt, the 29 Drive-in theater has a few more ingredients. There are sizzling smash burgers and fries, soft-serve ice cream in sugar cones, popcorn, a playground, a projector screen cozy against the wood line, and warm-hearted folks—everywhere.

The aura isn’t an accident. Jamie and Candice Ohler and son Jesse have nurtured this plot of land, located approximately five miles south of Lynchburg on Route 29, turning it into a community hub. It is currently home to two food trucks—I Scream You Scream and Gorilla Grill—the new 29 Drive-in, and a growing number of events.

Tonight, the grassy parcel is daubed in the technicolor of simpler times. Even first-time drive-in theatergoers will sense a familiarity, questioning whether they’ve been here before.

Is it the fire-kissed breezes drifting from the grill? The soft earth anchoring tired feet beneath the picnic table?

These simple motifs are summer classics, but for the Ohlers, cultivating the magic of summer evenings at 29 Drive-in has taken determination. Through challenges and obstacles, they’ve focused on serving the community and seen God’s provision in the unexpected.

The Ohlers have been in the food services industry intermittently for over two decades.

A deli, a hotdog stand, and a pizza parlor were all part of their story.

When they first bought I Scream You Scream, now in its 4th season under Ohler ownership, they were also operating Papa O’s Pizza in Forest. Initially, they operated the ice cream trailer out of a leased lot near the Route 29 Food Lion, an ideal location which they believed was unlikely to sell any time soon. It was a community staple. All was well until the lot did sell, and a major gas station began site work.

Though frustrated, they began scouting new locations. The search took them as far as Smith Mountain Lake and Bedford as they worked with multiple real estate agents and even began contacting property owners through information found in the regional GIS systems. The options were sparse.

Then, another blow hit. The walk-in cooler at Papa O’s Pizza went down. “It was just kind of one of those things where you throw your hands up and you’re like, ‘What the heck? What is going on here?’” Jamie (“Papa O” to the community) said.

Defying the discouragement, Candice made a suggestion, “Mama O, in her awesome wisdom of womanhood, basically said, ‘Let’s just get out of town. Let’s go to Rustburg and eat out at La Carreta,’” Papa O recounted.

The drive took them past an unexpected sight—a parcel of land with a newly placed “for lease” sign. They called the owner before reaching their destination and signed a lease the very next Monday. The owner later recounted the story of another interested lessee who would have gotten the space had the Ohlers called him even two hours later.

“It was a total God thing,” said Papa O.

Even with significantly higher overhead, the Ohlers were excited about the property’s potential. They moved the ice cream trailer and started dreaming. “As the season went on, our son came up with the ideas like, you know, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if we get a drive-in board meetings led to a successful trial-run in October 2024 and then the start of their first season on April 1, 2025.

Now, every Saturday at 7:15 p.m. cars roll in, ready for a show; shows that they’ve often helped pick through polls published by the Ohlers on social media.

Papa O bounces from vehicle to vehicle, finding each new batch of visitors a clear line of sight. Nothing is an inconvenience, not even the oversized pickup trucks that dominated the recent “Cars” showing and maxed out the parking space. “It’s not an issue,” Papa O explained. “That’s the fun that happens before the show!”

Everything is done with a smile and his “serve, care, inspire” ball cap is a fitting, if redundant, nod to what so clearly motivates the Ohlers. “If you focus on serving people, and those individuals can honestly feel that you truly care, it will inspire them to want to be around you and for them to do better in life as well. So that’s what we teach our staff,” shared Papa O.

Candice is focused on satisfying customers’ sweet tooths, and a queue snakes further and further away from the trailer. “We love ice cream in and of itself, but the experience with the customers and the kids having a good time, we weren’t expecting that at all. That’s just such a bonus,” said Papa O.

“All you hear is laughter and joy.

There’s something remarkable about that atmosphere.”

Feathered clouds overhead turn to pink as Jesse and team serve up a few more burgers from the window of the Gorilla Grill. The grill is his own creation and an increasingly popular lunch spot for those who work at businesses along Route 29. Diners are chatting over piles of crisp fries and sharing with friends what they can’t finish from the generous portion sizes.

Visitors fiddle with car radios and boomboxes and toss quilts over the soon-to-be dewy grass. Another douse of bug spray won’t do any harm.

Things are settling.

One couple who recently celebrated their 49th anniversary said they were regulars at their local drive-in theater while dating and newly married.

They remembered the way things were: larger than life screens and parking lots that accommodated hundreds of cars. Now, nearly 50 years later, they still have only one expectation for the evening: fun.

Papa O says he’s even seen grandparents bring their grandkids, “It’s so cool because they’re reminiscing about the days when they were young.” Motioning across the lawn he said, “I mean, look at this—seeing all these people, it just tickles you inside.”

Parents are braced for popcorn refill runs, and the best dog-sitter in the world settles in with two pups, ready to watch her late stepmom’s favorite movie.

A vintage movie bumper elicits chuckles from the crowd. It insists that young lovers refrain from public displays of affection.

Twinkling sky above, and friends all around, Papa O is right: “It’s not just a drive-in, it’s an experience and a community destination.”

For some, this is the new flavor of summer, for others, the old. For everyone, it’s a change of pace that makes room for all of the season’s best.