By Taylor Boyd
A new community-focused foundation in Patrick County is working to encourage growth through the arts, education, tourism and stronger local connections.
The Growing Patrick County Foundation, a program of the nonprofit Peace Production, was created to promote what organizers describe as healthy, natural growth through arts, culture, services, education and community engagement.
Mayana Kingery, president of Peace Production, said the effort began with a simple question about what Patrick County lacked.
When the program first started, Kingery said she was distributing monthly newsletters to cafes and other public spaces in the county.
To develop the foundation, Kingery said she asked a former county administrator what the county really needed.
“Every county has a foundation that’s just really focused on that county, except Patrick County,” Kingery said she was told. “So we started focusing on that, started building the program and looked at really what we could do that’s not doubling services or overlapping, and just really evaluated what’s going on and what’s needed.”
Kingery said the organization’s broader goal is to build relationships among residents and encourage people to work together rather than remain divided.
“When we get to know each other, we’re not resistant to each other. We’re not afraid of each other,” she said. “Once we get to know each other we find our commonalities.”
To help foster those relationships, the organization hosted a free community meal about two years ago that drew about 50 attendees for games and conversation.
More recently, the foundation has focused on engaging younger residents through a new youth-led arts initiative.
Peace Production and the Growing Patrick County Foundation recently announced that Rising Talent, a youth open mic series held at Stagecoach Uptown Café in Stuart, and received a $1,500 Visit Patrick County Marketing Grant to help expand the program.
Created by local teen Madison Scott, Rising Talent gives youth ages 12-18 an opportunity to perform music, poetry, storytelling and other creative works in front of a live audience.
The monthly event is held on the first Monday of each month from 5-8 p.m. at Stagecoach Uptown Café on Main Street in Stuart. The series will culminate in a Nov. 7 showcase featuring selected “People’s Choice” performers.
Kingery said Scott originally proposed the idea as a way to better connect with the county’s younger residents.
“Now we get to say, ‘Oh, what do the youth want to do? How can we support them,’” Kingery said.
She said the goal is not only to showcase performers, but also to help participants become more comfortable speaking and presenting in public.
“Somebody might not be in music or sing, but they do spoken word, or they might just have something they want to say,” Kingery said. “They could even bring their art and talk about their visual art, they could make a movie and show it.”
Organizers hope the series will eventually grow into larger events. Kingery said she would like to see enough interest develop for the group to hold a concert at the Star Theatre later this year as a scholarship fundraiser for youth pursuing arts education or training.
According to organizers, Rising Talent is designed to attract participants from across Southwest Virginia and Northwest North Carolina, bringing additional visitors into Patrick County.
“This program invites families to discover Patrick County through the eyes of their children,” Kingery said in a release announcing the tourism grant. “When young people are seen, valued, and celebrated, it builds relationships that bring people back again and again.”
Grant funds will support social media campaigns, youth-created promotional videos, school partnerships, flyers, press outreach and radio announcements aimed at increasing participation and attendance.
Organizers estimate each event could feature 10-20 youth performers and attract 30-75 attendees, with attendance expected to grow as awareness spreads.
In addition to the youth initiative, the foundation plans to participate in several upcoming community events.
The group plans to sell strawberry vinaigrette as a fundraiser during the upcoming Strawberry Festival and host three “circle conversations” focused on the past, present and future during Patrick County’s July 4 celebration marking the nation’s 250th anniversary at DeHart Park.
Kingery said the discussions are intended to encourage reflection and dialogue about the nation’s history and future.
For more information about the Growing Patrick County Foundation or Rising Talent, visit www.peaceproduction.org/GPC, Facebook.com/growingpatrickcounty, or call 276-692-9101.
