Alert (09/10/2026): Our Parkersburg TV transmitter is undergoing maintenance for a few days and will not be operational. We apologize for any inconvenience.
All our programming is available via our TV livestreams on our website and WVPB Passport. Thank you for your patience!
This week, in author Willie Carver, Jr.’s new book, he reconsiders a negative childhood experience with a neighborhood girl who might have just been looking for a friend. Also, a southwestern Virginia community rang the alarm after more and more of its children were diagnosed with cancer. A local journalist is trying to unravel the cause. And, the city of Asheville has a new crusading reporter. He’s a puppet.
Funding Secures Postsecondary Education And Entertainment For Downtown Bluefield
Share this Article
The Bluefield Arts and Revitalization Corporation has big plans for a portion of a Bluefield building that’s been vacant for decades. The space on Raleigh Street that previously housed a tire and auto center will soon be used for entertainment and education.
The Granada Theater was renovated and reopened in 2021. The new project will renovate a former auto center which is located on the lower level of the Granada and accessible in the rear of the historical theater. The level will be remodeled to host New River Community and Technical College teaching labs.
“New River welcomes the opportunity to make its affordable and high-quality workforce training programs accessible to people in the Bluefield area,” said Dr. Bonnie Copenhaven, President of New River Community and Technical College.
The project will also provide two more theaters, each with fifty seats and new amenities. The space will also be available for community events, film festivals, and more.
“The project’s creative use of underutilized space will create opportunities for entertainment, employment, and education in downtown Bluefield, benefiting residents throughout the city and across the region,” Executive Director of the Bluefield Arts and Revitalization Corporation Brian Tracey, said.
Courtesy
Raleigh Street space before construction.
The project comes with a $1.65 million price tag. The Bluefield Arts and Revitalization Corporation secured a portion of the funds through a program called New Markets tax credits and the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
“The use of New Markets tax credits to finance this project will act as a catalyst for economic development in Bluefield, contributing to the positive momentum already present downtown and demonstrating the value of tax credit programs for the revitalization of the city,” said Ron Martin, Mayor of Bluefield.
The Bluefield Economic Development Authority, Community Ventures, and Hugh I. Shott, Jr. Foundation, are also financial supporters of the project.
Add WVPB as a preferred source on Google to see more from our team
This week, in author Willie Carver, Jr.’s new book, he reconsiders a negative childhood experience with a neighborhood girl who might have just been looking for a friend. Also, a southwestern Virginia community rang the alarm after more and more of its children were diagnosed with cancer. A local journalist is trying to unravel the cause. And, the city of Asheville has a new crusading reporter. He’s a puppet.
Lydia Hamessley is a professor of music at Hamilton College in New York and the author of "Unlikely Angel, The Songs of Dolly Parton." She spent nearly a decade researching Dolly's music catalog. Inside Appalachia Associate Producer Abby Neff talked with Hamessley.
Dolly meant a lot to educator, author and poet Willie Edward Taylor Carver, Jr. from east Kentucky. Inside Appalachia Producer Bill Lynch spoke with Carver about the loss of Dolly Parton.
