“The Barter Theater is at the top of this list because it is what first drew me to Abingdon. The Barter Theater got its name from its humble beginnings in 1933. It was the depression and Broadway actors were not finding much work in New York City. Robert Porterfield and some of his fellow actors moved to Virginia and offered performances in exchange for food from the local farmers.
The building on Abingdon’s Main Street is the former home of Sinking Springs Presbyterian Church, which was built in 1829. My husband and I (Steve for those of you who don’t know us) were privileged to tour the theater and we will talk about that in a future article. Shows were discontinued at the theater because of COVID-19 and were still on hiatus when we visited. But the brilliant team at the Barter Theater started putting on shows at the Moonlite Drive-In, just a few miles from town. We saw Always … Patsy Cline. And yeah, it was great. ”
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