*** Published Friday, Oct. 22 in the Bristol Herald Courier. ***
ABINGDON, VA --Thousands of people have come through the doors of the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia this year. Barter officials said on Tuesday they could break a record for attendance by the end of the year.
"Our group sales are through the roof, school groups are coming in for educational programming and getting a lot out of it and we are really excited," said Danielle Goodrich, Barter Marketing Director.
When the season ends in December more than 160,000 people are expected to have seen a play at the Barter. This could be the second year in a row that an attendance record has been broken.
More people are coming to this historic theatre than ever before, but why? Goodrich said one reason could be the fact that people usually stay close to home to save on entertainment dollars during a down economy.
"I think that does play a role in it, this is one of the better options for them to seek entertainment and a little bit of a vacation close to home," Goodrich said.
Marketing Director Danielle Goodrich also says they're trying different ways to attract more people by posted video clips on YouTube and Facebook.
