How Virginians Power Rural Bath County’s Cultural Ecosystem episode artwork

EPISODE · Aug 5, 2025 · 1H 9M

How Virginians Power Rural Bath County’s Cultural Ecosystem

from Small Town Big Arts · host Media Squatch

In this episode of Small Town Big Arts, we travel to Bath County, Virginia—one of America’s most arts-vibrant rural communities—to explore how Virginia funding, local and statewide, fuels creative life in a small town. Host Geoffrey Kershner sits down with leaders from the Garth Newel Music Center and the Bath County Arts Association to discuss the powerful role of the arts in education, economic development, tourism, and community connection. You’ll hear how modest investments from the Virginia Commission for the Arts help sustain year-round programming, nurture local talent, and turn small grants into big impact. From chamber music in the mountains to new community art spaces in Hot Springs, this episode highlights why rural arts matter—and why public funding is essential to their future. 🔗 Learn more at vaforarts.org

In this episode of Small Town Big Arts, we travel to Bath County, Virginia—one of America’s most arts-vibrant rural communities—to explore how Virginia funding, local and statewide, fuels creative life in a small town. Host Geoffrey Kershner sits down with leaders from the Garth Newel Music Center and the Bath County Arts Association to discuss the powerful role of the arts in education, economic development, tourism, and community connection. You’ll hear how modest investments from the Virginia Commission for the Arts help sustain year-round programming, nurture local talent, and turn small grants into big impact. From chamber music in the mountains to new community art spaces in Hot Springs, this episode highlights why rural arts matter—and why public funding is essential to their future. 🔗 Learn more at vaforarts.org

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How Virginians Power Rural Bath County’s Cultural Ecosystem

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Big Old Life: Heather Blackbird interviews people on planet earth. Heather Blackbird loves asking questions. This podcast is a learning experience. Join me, Heather Blackbird, as I talk to people about their lives. Frequency of new episodes is a little all over the place and I'm learning as I go. Big Old Life is a small way of talking about the vastness of life, one person at a time. If you are reading this or found this podcast it's probably because someone you know gave you a link to it. :) Explicit Dawg Town Jeff Farris Just a couple of bros riffing the bits with no direction but to entertain after a long day of working the grocery store. Enjoy. Explicit Chinook Realm Religion and crime collide when a gruesome murder rocks the isolated community of Chinook, Montana. Local Deputy Ruth Vogel thought she was answering a routine animal control call, only to find a mangled corpse on the frozen embankment. Her small town is whipped into a frenzy and everyone is quick to point their fingers at a drug-addicted teenager, but Ruth suspects connections to a powerful religious group. Enter Agent Loro, an enigmatic FBI investigator tracking an evangelical cult that may have roots right here in Chinook. Loro and Ruth form a cautious partnership to find the killer—but as the mystery winds through Ruth’s life, her family, and her church, she’ll discover something more sinister than murder is afoot.Binge all episodes of Chinook exclusively and ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by wondery.com/links/chinook v Explicit Southern Senpais Nicholas Killian and Derek Johnson II Far from the far East, two American Southerners explore Japanese culture in Southern Senpais! Hosted by Derek Johnson (@derek.johnsonii) and Nicholas Killian (@nicholaskilliann), they discuss popular Japanese anime, manga, and video games from a Southern eye. Tune in as they navigate the culture from the perspective of two guys that grew up in small rural towns! Explicit

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This episode is 1 hour and 9 minutes long.

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This episode was published on August 5, 2025.

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In this episode of Small Town Big Arts, we travel to Bath County, Virginia—one of America’s most arts-vibrant rural communities—to explore how Virginia funding, local and statewide, fuels creative life in a small town. Host Geoffrey Kershner sits...

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