Time with family. See page A4.
9-11. See pages A4, A6-8.
Business spotlight. See page A11.
50¢ | Vol. 144, No. 37
Hometown Newspaper of Beth Hall — Est. 1879 | Wednesday, September 11, 2024
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BTCPA holds auditions for “Crazy Quilt Club”
By Staff Reports Auditions for “Crazy Quilt Club,” by Pat Cook and directed by Brittany Faris, will be held Sept. 16-17 at 7 p.m. each day at the Weatherford Centre in Red Bay. The cast consists of eight females and one male, with younger females being able to cast for older roles. Auditions will consist of cold readings from the script. Contact Scotty Kennedy by phone at 256356-8758 or by email at scottydk@att.net for any questions. Rehearsals will begin Sept. 23 for six weeks leading up to the production. Attendance is only required for characters included in a particular rehearsal. The performance dates of the play will be Nov. 7-10, 2024, at the Weatherford Centre in Red Bay. Tickets go on sale Oct. 31. For group sales, lease contact Beth Hammock at 256-668-0045. About “Crazy Quilt Club” Veronica Blather is a sweet little old lady who spends most of her time knitting and solving murders, most of which occur whenever she shows up. Understandably, she has a problem finding a place to live. When her niece invites her to stay at a retirement home for old knitters, it seems ideal - until one of its members dies from drinking poisoned punch. Who did it? Was it Matilda, the president of the Crazy Quilt Club, or Lydia, who likes to die on Tuesdays? Could it be Clara, who’s a compulsive liar or the wisecracking Sarafina who doesn’t trust anybody and carries a rifle just to be sure? Clues drop as fast as corpses, and dialogue races along at breakneck speed to keep the audience in stitches until the last minute. Coming up this season The rest of the BTCPA season will include “Moon Over Buffalo,” by Ken Ludwig and directed by Mark Richarson, Feb. 13-16, 2025, and will include dinner with every performance. The final production of the season will be “Honky Tonk Hissy Fit,” by Jones, Hope and Wooten, April 24-27, 2025, which will be directed by Scotty Kennedy. The membership drive
See BTCPA, Page A2
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The Historic Roxy Theatre turns 75 this Sept. 15.
FC Arts and Humanities Council announces plans to celebrate Roxy’s 75th anniversary By Susie Hovater Malone Lifestyles Columnist The Historic Roxy Theatre turns 75 years old Sept. 15, and it’s now shining brighter thanks to a grant from the Franklin County Community D e v e l o p m e n t Commission (FCCDC) awarded to the Franklin County Arts and Humanities Council, Inc. The FCAHC manages the Roxy. The $5,000 grant was used toward the repair of the Roxy Theatre marquee lights. Following a TVA Energy Audit of the Roxy, it was recommended that the marquee lighting should be replaced with LED bulbs. The FCAHC submitted a grant application to the FCCDC requesting assistance with this project. The FCAHC received notification that a $5,000
grant had been approved June 21, 2024. The Arts Council moved quickly to get this project completed by the Aug. 31 deadline. For the past 75 years, this historic icon has been running on incandescent bulbs. This grant has made it possible to replace the incandescent bulbs with LEDs. The benefits of the marquee project are cheaper energy costs and brighter lighting for the Roxy and downtown. Events for the Roxy’s 75 th Diamond Jubilee will begin Sept. 14 from 4-8 p.m. in downtown Russellville with the 2nd
Annual Cruise-In at the Historic Roxy Theatre. There will be music, concessions, door prizes, cash giveaways, beautiful antique cars and the Roxy’s first movie, “My Dear Secretary,” released in 1948. It will
be shown inside the Roxy at 5 p.m. This classic film features Laraine Day, Stephanie ‘Steve’ Gaylord, Kirk Douglas, Owen Waterbury, Keenan Wynn, Ronnie Hastings, Helen Walker and Rudy Vallee. Entry fee per car is $20. The closing feature after 8 p.m. is “Cruise the Strip,” like they did back in the “ole days.” October 6: Joe M. Turner, magician, mentalist and motivational speaker, will be making his debut at the Historic Roxy Theatre for a Sunday matinee. This show will feature some of his favorite magical experiences. While it’s designed for teens, adults and senior,s it will be appropriate for all families to attend together. Tickets are $20, and children under six get in for $15. A native of Mississippi
and a Mississippi State graduate, Turner is recognized within the magic industry as a columnist for Genii magazine and is based in both Memphis, Tenn., and Atlanta, Ga. Because of his work as a magic consultant, writer and director for theatre, film and cause-related promotional projects on the national scale, Joe is sometimes called “America’s Corporate Conjuror.” He has entertained prominent elected officials, sports figures, corporate leaders and other celebrities. He has been featured in numerous television, radio and print appearances, including Good Morning America, Nightline, a professional corporate magician for the CocaCola Company and many more. Turner served as the 2015-2016 inter-
national president of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, the largest magic industry association with approximately 10,000 members in 88 countries. He is a Life Member, as well as a member of the National Speakers Association, the Academy of Magical Arts at The Magic Castle in Hollywood, the Society of American Magicians (Life Member), The Magic Circle in London and the Fellowship of Christian Magicians. He is also a popular speaker, onscreen and onstage talent, a professional pianist, an accomplished vocalist, composer and playwright. He and his wife have two adult children, a daughter and a son. Susie Hovater Malone is the president of the Franklin County Arts and Humanities Council.
2024 Watermelon Festival contest announces winners By Staff Reports 2024 Watermelon Contests Winners MOST UNUSUAL First Place: Greg Dalrymple (Tuscumbia) BEST DRESSED First Place: Aymar Bonilla (Russellville) Second Place: Yoboni Miguel (Russellville) Third Place: Damani Bonilla (Russellville) BEST TASTING First Place: Josh Viglietta (Hodges)
Second Place: Lorena Bonilla (Russellville) Third Place : Anastasia Viglietta (Hodges) LARGEST MELON FROM FRANLIN COUNTY First Place: Braxton Wilson (77lbs – Blue Springs) Second Place: Blaize Wilson (48lbs – Blue Springs) (No third place entry.) LARGEST MELON OUTSIDE FRANKLIN COUNTY First Place: Hal Vaughn (215lbs
See WATERMELON, Page A2
The new Franklin Living magazine is available now!
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