Hey Virginia March 27 2018
Hey. Virginia is sponsored, in part by ever. Ins financial, is grateful, to serve this community as a faith, rooted financial, services, organization. We are dedicated. To helping members grow more confident, futures, with their values in mind a community, that's doing, better together. Hey. Virginia Kate, Martin here with you once again as March rolls us right into spring across, the Shenandoah, Valley surely. There is no better place to be than right here in Virginia for the annual changing, of the seasons, in, this month's episode we, celebrate, the great outdoors, as we take a breathtaking. Tour of the James River Park the, number one rated urban park in Virginia, and we explore the majestic, Shenandoah, caverns, one of Virginia's most popular, subterranean. Adventures, and, we, speak to a local artist, and sculptor whose, eclectic, creations, are anything, but ordinary all, this, and more straight, ahead on hey Virginia. Please. Virginia, artist mark Klein is one of the region's most off feet and original artists inspired, by science fiction and, monster, films from the 1960s. He, produces, foam and fiberglass figures. And fantasy, characters for attractions, and cities all over the world, Mark's, creations, feature everything from dinosaurs. And leprechauns to, Abraham Lincoln, described. As the wizard of fiberglass, mark Klein is equal parts pop-culture, hero and 21st. Century philosopher, we, had the pleasure to sit down with mark at his enchanted castle, studio in Natural Bridge to, discuss his career and his unique, creations. When. I got out of high school I mean nobody wanted to hire an entertainer nobody, wanted to hire sculptor, I mean it was like you go to work in the factory, I went to the employment office and. Said do. You have anything and the. Lady there said no we have nothing and so I was on my way out the door and, my hand was literally on the doorknob and the lady in another room said we have something I said I'll take it I was, at a place called red mill manufacturing, where, they make these little figurines. And, after, working, there for about a week, the, boss, said mark can you stay after I think oh my gosh I'm getting fired after my first week and he. Showed me how. To make a mold, of my hand. As. If this resin and. After. I made this mold and I, poured it an exact duplicate of my hand I said I can make all kinds of stuff out of this he said you sure can mark here's a five-gallon, bucket to home with clay which I had, to start painting signs people understood, that raw started painting signs from, and. Well. If you came going through the front door you use the back door this was my back door and, once I started painting signs for folks I said hey you know by the way I do, these little sculptures, that can go with my sign it's like a little leprechaun leaning, on your side would. You do that - I sure. Can so, what happened is the signs got smaller in the sculptures got bigger. I used. To get my phone out, of. A place up in Winchester, and at the time it was called insulated, building systems I walked in, and. Saw these big huge blocks, and, they were 16. Feet tall and, I, immediately was, like. That. Would make a good replica of Stonehenge, when I became partners with Natural, Bridge on, some, of their attractions, I chatted. With the owners and said you know if we you. Got a beautiful spot up on the hill and I've been visualizing. A. Replica, of Stonehenge, and. He. Said mark he says you know if you can pull this off this, is I'm you know let's do it so, I got I talked, a lot of people into. Making, this happen so it was sort of a group effort and they all wanted to be a part of something that was bigger than. Their everyday lives. These, things make people happy and. It's. Always been about that for me it's been about the healing and creating. Happiness in the world and these little characters well they do that for me they do it for other people right now, just.
The Fact that you're watching this this, program. Hopefully. That it's it's inspiring, you in some way and it's and it's bringing, some happiness to your life but I've got so many pieces so many thousands of pieces are out there all across the world right now that 24. Hours a day, someone. Is smiling. And when you smile. There's. A good chance that you might laugh and if you laugh that's always that's been proven to heal people. The. Shenandoah, caverns have been thrilling visitors, of all ages for, nearly a century it's. The only virginia cavern with elevator, service making, it one of the easiest caverns, to navigate a guided. Tour takes, you on a 1 mile trek on crushed, gravel pathways, through, 17, rooms each, one more spectacular. Than the next. The. Caverns, itself these, formations that you see behind me such as the beautiful flow stone gets. Its appearance because it looks like it is flowing down over the wall all. Of this is formed by the dripping water that you can see falling from the ceiling, the. Water as it seeps through the ground when it rains outside or, when the snow melts, it seeps down through the surface and. It collects different types of minerals mainly, calcium, in this particular caverns, when, the water reaches. The cave the. Water evaporates the, minerals are left behind to build up the beautiful formations, that's that you're looking at right now one. Of the interesting things about the caverns, it does take about a hundred and twenty years to form a cubic inch of these, beautiful, formations, so. When. You're coming into the caverns, you almost have to look at it as the aspect of being in a museum the, caverns. Environment. Is a very fragile environment. So we ask that visitors, to the caverns make sure that you don't touch your hand in the face. One. Of the things about the cabbage that we do stress, is. Protecting. Our environment and making sure that we keep pollution, under control, here. In the Shenandoah Valley alone, we know of over 2,000. Caverns, now, not necessarily as large as the Shenandoah, here but anything, that goes onto the surface whether, it be pollutants, than anything of that nature can. Get into our groundwater if they end up in the groundwater they, end up damaging the cabins very important, to make sure that you don't contaminate the drinking, water which, is also the same water that forms these beautiful cavities. The. James River Park system is a unique, urban, park located, along the foothills of, the Blue Ridge Mountains and right, in the middle of Richmond Virginia offering. A little bit of wilderness in the heart of the city. Your. James River Park a little, bit of wilderness in the heart of the city, the. Six hundred acre James, River Park system extends, from Huguenots flat water to an Karos landing, and encompasses. The scenic Falls of the James River featuring. The best whitewater rapids in any capital city. James, River Park is the crown jewel of central, Virginia because, of the wide variety of outdoor activities, wildlife. And history. All preserved, within Richmond. The. Park attracts tourism business. And thriving, communities, the, park attracts more people every year, 1.7. Million visitors, in 2017. A study. Conducted by VCU, in 2017. Credited. The park with over 30 3.5. Million, economic, impact each, year. By. Over, 1,800, different volunteers, and have done really everything, from helping to redevelop, boardwalks. To building, bridges and stairs it brings together people, of, all ethnicities all, age, groups all, colors, all creeds around, one central, theme being. Out in nature and enjoying, the environment, the. James River Park System has been widely recognized. As a unique urban oasis, of natural, wonder best. Urban park by Blue Ridge Outdoor Magazine in 2016. Voted. One of top six river parks, in the nation by REI.
Fifteen Best. Outdoor adventure, by Virginia, Living magazine 2015. Best. River city by outside, magazine, in 2012, best. In dirt southeast, region, by trail runner magazine, 2010, generally, see how a part can can change a society we, provide, the, adventure. Recreation but. Not just the adventure recreation, we. Provide an escape from the humdrum of the. Urban, life it's, changed, the culture, here in the city of Richmond because we're, an active City we, have everything from, class. 1, to class 5, Rapids we. Have not one we, have two nesting pairs of bald eagles we, have three outdoor rock-climbing sites, we, have 40 plus miles of mountain biking hiking trails here in the middle of our capital city. We. Want the James River Park system to be wild. To. Be beautiful. To. Be appreciated. For generations. To come go. To James River Park org, to find out how you can support your, Park. More. Information on the James River Park system can be found at James River Park org, with. The recent box-office success of, Marvel, Comics Black Panther the popularity, of comic, books continues, to soar its, impact, can be found in everything from movies, and videogames to, toys and collectibles the. Fascinating. Stories, and incredible artwork fuel our imaginations and. Inspire, people of all ages right. Now let's, pay a visit to Harrisonburg, secret, lair comics to learn more about this ongoing, pop-culture. Phenomenon. Boy. What, up please it's stupendous. It's, colossal. It's. Comic. I've. Always been big comic book fan since I was a kid and. A. Big part of it was when. I used to teach in Washington DC and, a lot of my students who were struggling readers really benefited from having comics. So. When I got back here, we, kind of decided, to kind of take it up on our own to. Like. Open up our own spot because we feel like it kind, of sucks living in a town without a comic book store. One. Of the reasons I really love the store is the fact that there's, such a sense of community here that's. Kind of always surrounded, comic books and that's one of the things that I love about this store. One. Thing that I think is really kind, of interesting, is we have a lot of kind. Of like second-generation, readers, so like people who, are, you know my age who have kids and are bringing kids and in introducing them so we have a lot of like families, who share comics. And I, think that's awesome and then, you, have the people who are, again who have been reading comics for 15-20, years and are, now professionals. With you know salary, jobs and are coming in and are still buying like the same comics, that they've been reading for decades, I. Grew. Up in a military family and one, of the things my dad would do when, he would go overseas is he, would bring me back like, spider-man. Or. You. Know Batman or whatever in different, languages, like I there's one issue of spider-man that's in Spanish that, I would, read. Over, obsessively. Like a lot of people read for escapism, and, and, just to kind of connect with heroes, and fantasy, whether it's science, fiction or, something like Tolkien or something like that. You. Know decades ago it, was disposable, you paid a few cents for it and when you're done you'd pass it off to your friends or maybe you throw it in the trash once you're finished with it but. Over the years I think. People, started, recognizing. Like. You know this is not something you can just toss because, as the history of the issues began to build people. Wanted to go back and read the older stuff it's a visual thing it's, it's bright it's colorful it's action-packed, and. It. Also has a great story to it and characters, that you know people can recognize and, relate to. Comic. Books, Paris, good is gold. You. You have readers and yeah you can have collectors you have people who go. And are, still trying to you know collect that next rare issue and then you have people who come in and they don't care, the condition of a book and they don't care you, know what it's worth they just want to read the story because they enjoy it. Stop. Reading those comic books and go to sleep. With. Two locations, in Harrisonburg and Winchester secret, lair comics is open Wednesday through Saturday more, information at secret, lair comics, comm choc. Fest was held in Charlottesville, this month and it encouraged, the community to share stories, and forge, connections, through, chalk drawings, all along the downtown mall the, day was filled with delicious food, free, family fun and plenty of artistic, expression let's.
Learn More about this unique event. Chalk. Vistas and national. Activity. That the. Three knotch Brewing. Company is hosting, here in Charlottesville it's, all about community, it's about. Expressing, yourself in, the. Form of H Hawk Keith, the, theme this, year is, about, community. Especially. The events in Charlottesville, have brought. Up a lot of feelings about community. And, love. And bringing everyone together. It. Was a tough year and I'm. Not saying you have to have something bad to bring you together but it certainly, brought, everybody, back, together again, and say hey we're, all here we're a community we're supposed to be together and. You. Know this gives everybody a chance to gather the, music in town gives you a chance to gather so, it's it's just another way for all of us to be one. Chuck, Fest is such a wonderful idea we've just loved coming out on this beautiful day and, working. With our neighbors. So it's been a great chance to connect with everyone on a fun, in a fun way and make art. We, suffered, a lot of trauma over, the past year and there's. Been so many things that have divided, us, and so. For this, chance to for, all of us to come together as a community and, have art being the language that finds us I think it's a wonderful idea. Well, it's like everything else in in, Charlottesville it's what drew me here is just that. The. Energy, of the people and everybody that, has. The ability, to express, who they are and, what they love and. What. This place is all about. Now. Let's check in with Leslie in Candace, for another edition, of to girl review as they, do some gift shopping and Harrisonburg, artisans, hope, welcome. Back to another episode of to girl review I'm Candace and Leslie's behind the camera and today we are at at artisans hope in Harrisonburg, Virginia Leslie. Are you ready oh yeah let's, go. Leslie. And I just came from artisans, - Harrisonburg, and it's the cutest, little trinket, shop ever let. Me show it. And. Said I looked at keychain, and it's like handmade, and it was 25% off so I'm all about a deal but, this store is so cute you guys they have stuff from all over the world they have coffee samples that you can try you can get your own coffee from all around the world they. Have things you can hang up give. As gifts they have instruments. Which I love baby, things the, cutest, little shop ever so if you're looking for something to give as a gift are just something neat for around your house definitely, go to RTC to the. WVPT. Auction, is Saturday, April 7th, at massonetti, Springs Resort this. Year we are featuring a huge array of items including, gift certificates, from businesses, like Klein's Dairy Bar Debbie's hunting and fishing Olive, Garden and Lakeview. Golf Course plus, experiences. Like a wine and food pairing with WVPT. Unwind, host Tassie peppers this. Year's auction also, features a large selection, of antiques used. On the set of PBS's, Mercy Street let's. Check in with our resident, auction expert for more on this year's one-of-a-kind. Fundraiser, people. Have asked me why. Do. You volunteer so. Much of your time for. WVPT. Well. Let me tell you, the. Reward that. I get. From. Donating. My time. Meeting. The staff members, and, watching. The, television, programs. That this station, provides, makes. Me want to do even more, this. Year we're featuring a, Victorian. Doll house it. Makes you think that, you're, definitely, in, Virginia. When you see the doll house my, husband, and I put the hot dog house together and I will give him the credit for, making all of the furniture, inside of. That doll house but, we have so many wonderful things, that are being, donated. By. Mrs. my local people and it's. Just going, to be so exciting, to watch these, things be, bought by people that are. Supporting, our television, station we. Have a Sesame, Street quilt, that, was handmade. We. Have beautiful, dolls. We. Have Thomas the Train, we. Have gift certificates. For many places and, this, year for the first time we. Have flower, arrangements. Made, by those, members. In the Garden Club who have donated beautiful. Flower arrangements. For us oh it. Is April the 7th, from. 6 to 9 p.m. at, mass another Springs. Conference, Center please, call the station, let. Us know that, you support, public. Television. The WVPT. Auction, is Saturday, April 7th, at massonetti Springs live and silent auctions, featuring, fantastic.
Items And enjoy. Hors d'oeuvres wine and live music so get your tickets today at. WVPT. Net, / auction. WVPT. Auction, it's the event of this season. Tickets. Are available now at WVPT. Net forward, slash auction. This, is one of our biggest fundraisers, of the year so, don't miss out on this exciting one-day, event well. That brings us to the close of another episode of hey Virginia, if you, like what you see check out our Facebook page and hit that like button also, feel, free to subscribe to WVPT. Public Media's youtube channel for a multitude, of content, designed to educate entertain, and, inspire the, community around us hey. Virginia was brought to you by the fine people at WVPT. Which, is now proudly part, of the idea stations, networks if you, are a believer in what we do please, visit WB. PT, net, and let your voice be heard by, contributing, to your community public. Media station we, are your community your, story your, station, WVPT. We, will see you next time right here on hey Virginia thanks. For tuning in. Hey. Virginia was sponsored, in part by ever. Ins financial, is grateful, to serve this community as, a faith rooted financial, services, organization. We're dedicated, to helping members grow more confident, futures, with their values in mind a community, that's doing, better together. You.
2018-04-05 06:21
