AUGUST 13, 2009 ISSUE
Horn Closing Weekend August 13 to 15
Ticket Discounts Available to Local Residents
Satterfield Phaup returned to Horn in the West after a six-year hiatus to take on his former role as the famous Fire Dancer. Pictured to the left is Ben Porch and on the right is Andrea Graves. The scene captures the climax of Act 1, during which the natives are on the verge of going to war against the white man. Photo by Mike and Amy Snider
The 2009 season of Horn in the West comes to a close this weekend, with discounts available to residents of Watauga and nearby counties from Thursday to Saturday, August 13 to 15.
The outdoor Revolutionary War drama begins at 8:00 p.m. each night. Tickets for residents of Watauga County are $6, and tickets for residents of all the counties touching Watauga are $8.
“This has been a very fortunate year where we have had a lot of support,” said Virginia Roseman, Horn in the West’s director of public relations.
“We’ve had a strong positive upward flow [and] if it continues, we hope to close at 14 percent above [last year’s revenues],” she added.
Horn in the West will collect donations for the Watauga Education Foundation after each show this weekend. In this year’s budget shortfall, it is more imperative than ever for teachers to receive funding, Roseman said. “We know it won’t be much, but we hope every penny counts.”
“At the end of each night, we collect for an organization,” Roseman said, adding that collecting for nonprofits gives audience members a chance to impact the community and is a way to “share our success.”
Horn in the West collected donations this season for Hickory Ridge Homestead because some buildings were dilapidated and two roofs needed to be redone, she said. The money collected will also be put toward reintroducing the educational program, Roseman said, adding that Hickory Ridge Homestead used to work closely with local schools, but the program had fallen by the wayside in years past.
This season, Horn in the West also collected donations for Relay for Life, the Hunger and Health Coalition, the Watauga Humane Society and the Watauga Chapter of the N.C. Council of the Blind, Roseman said.
Horn in the West received many appreciative emails over the course of the season from audience members, Roseman said.
“Kay is getting positive emails…stating how Horn in the West has been the best part of their trip to the Appalachian Mountains…and they can’t wait to come again next year,” she said. The “positive response from the audience makes all the work worthwhile.”
Horn in the West is a nonprofit organization that depends on donations and memberships to survive season to season, and every penny from ticket sales goes toward paying the actors, who receive bare minimum for professional actors, Roseman said. “We do this because we love it,” she added.
Horn in the West actors’ salaries are mostly spent within the area and as many of the show’s necessities as possible are purchased locally, Roseman said. “We see ourselves as a lifeline to Boone,” she said. “We hope the community sees us as a positive impact through tourism [and] economically.”
Tickets purchased for Horn in the West are good for life. If the weather any particular day doesn’t suit the ticket bearer, he or she can come back to see the drama any other night.
“We have been here for 58 years and we hope to be here for another 58,” Roseman said.
This year’s revised script and community support have made 2009 a solid season.
“One thing we’ve had that we haven’t had in the past is locals coming in off the street and donating items,” she said. “We’re very thankful to the community.”
Items included old dulcimers, costumes, supplies, tents and pots, among other objects.
“Julie Richardson and Ed Pilkington did a wonderful job of taking pieces of Kermit Hunter’s script…it’s new, it’s fresh, it’s something people hadn’t seen before,” Roseman said.
Last week, a number of members of the N.C. Joint Regional Forum—comprised of elected officials and regional directors from across the state—attended a Horn in the West show the night prior to their meeting.
“At the meeting the next morning, there were many wonderful comments from those who had attended about how impressed they were with the professionalism and the message of the show,” said William Winkler III, the High Country Council of Governments representative at the forum and a Horn in the West volunteer. “I was really pleased they came.”
Horn in the West was the only outdoor drama that increased its budget during 2009. “We really believed in our success and know where we’re going,” Roseman said, adding that revenues must increase for the new budget to not hurt the organization in the end.
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