March 6, 2023
This year’s Spring Follies theme should feel like home to many of the audience members, according to director Russell Rinker. The variety show, being performed four times March 11 and 12 on the Middletown Campus, is “Goin’ Country.”
“We will celebrate the rural traditions that we all know so well,” said Rinker, noting most audience members likely will have grown up – or are still growing up – in the Northern Shenandoah Valley. “We’ll have great country music going all the way back to Hank Williams and Bill Monroe in the early days. Of course, we have a segment honoring Patsy Cline.”
There are about five dozen performers this year, including children and a dance troupe, Rinker said.
A Strasburg native who has gone on to have a successful theater career that includes stints as a member of Blue Man Group and performing with the Broadway National Tour of “Amazing Grace,” Rinker has been performing with the Follies since he was a young boy. His sister and his parents are also longtime performers with the show. Rinker’s mother, Judy Rinker, was the first Shenandoah County resident to enroll in the college in 1970, was the 1972 Outstanding Graduate and worked at the college for more than three decades.
This is the first time Laurel Ridge Community College library archivist John Owens has taken part in the Follies. He is in a couple of skits.
“I figured I would give it a try,” Owens said. “The show is light-hearted. I had never met Russell before, but as the college’s archivist, I’ve been indexing photos of him and his whole family for years. He’s a riot. He has so much experience with theater.”
This year, both the show and pre-show activities will be in the Corron Community Development Center. Pre-show fun will include food and popcorn for purchase, free ice cream, face painting and cornhole.
The show begins at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. both Saturday, March 11, and Sunday, March 12. The pre-show begins at 12:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. both days. Tickets are $5 at the door, with children 5 and under free. Proceeds will support the Andrea Ludwick Performing Arts Fund.
Founded in 1970, Laurel Ridge Community College is a multi-campus public institution of higher education. With three locations — Middletown, Warrenton, and Luray-Page County — the College serves eight localities in the Shenandoah Valley and northern Piedmont regions. The localities are the counties of Clarke, Fauquier, Frederick, Page, Rappahannock, Shenandoah and Warren and the city of Winchester. Laurel Ridge offers more than 75 associate degree and certificate programs in a wide variety of disciplines. Laurel Ridge also serves the business community by offering workforce preparation programs for employees and employers. Laurel Ridge serves more than 9,000 unduplicated credit students and more than 11,000 individuals in professional development and business and industry courses annually.
Laurel Ridge Community College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award associate degrees. Laurel Ridge Community College also may offer credentials such as certificates and diplomas at approved degree levels. Questions about the accreditation of Laurel Ridge Community College may be directed in writing to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA 30033-4097, by calling (404) 679-4500, or by using information available on SACSCOC’s website (www.sacscoc.org).
Laurel Ridge Community College is an equal opportunity institution providing educational and employment opportunities, programs, services, and activities. Laurel Ridge shall promote and maintain equal employment and educational opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity, marital status, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions including lactation, age (except when age is a bona fide occupational qualification), status as a veteran, national origin, or other non-merit factors. Laurel Ridge also prohibits sexual misconduct including sexual violence or harassment. Inquiries may be directed to the Associate Vice President, Human Resources, [email protected], 173 Skirmisher Lane, Middletown, VA 22645, 540-868-7226.
Laurel Ridge Community College was known as Lord Fairfax Community College until June 2022. For consistency purposes, the college will be referenced as Laurel Ridge going forward.