Do you know the legend of Statesboro’s walnut tree? Or what befell the Bulloch County Courthouse during the Civil War?
This weekend adults and children can learn the answers to these questions and more at “The Ole Scarecrow Statesboro Medicine Show,” an original puppet show about Statesboro’s rich history.
The puppet show will be presented at 7 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday in the Emma Kelly Theater.
The Friday show is in conjunction with First Friday, which kicks off at 5:30 p.m. Friday and features the Wells Fargo Advisors “Taste of Downtown.” For $5, people can sample fare from 25 restaurants.
The $5 ticket comes with a wristband and a map to merchants who have opened their shops for the evening.
“This First Friday is one of our most popular events of the year. The community and visitors can experience the unique taste of our downtown restaurants and the historical charm of our downtown shops,” said Allen Muldrew, the executive director of Main Street Statesboro/ Downtown Statesboro Development Authority.
Along with food, there will be live entertainment on the courthouse lawn. Statesboro’s emerging local talent “Gazzie” will sing on the steps of the courthouse. She is said to have a voice like Adele’s. Children can jump and play in the Party Harbor bouncy house as well as see farmers’ exhibits in the Ag South parking lot.
    “The Ole Scarecrow Statesboro Medicine Show” was written and produced exclusively for the Averitt Center for the Arts and the Bulloch County Historical Society. The play uses rod puppets, shadow puppets, giant puppets and more to sing and spin stories from Statesboro’s past.
    Statesboro artist Scott Foxx created the larger-than-life show, which follows Billy, a local farm boy, as wise ol’ Russell Scarecrow and his crow pal, Jim, use song to travel through time to learn about the people and events that shaped Statesboro.
    “I tried to focus on people and events which were historically significant both locally and nationally,” Foxx said. “I wanted students to know their hometown of Statesboro has played a part in the history of Georgia and our nation.”
    Characters include the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto and the musicians Blind Willie McTell and Emma Kelly.
    The show was funded by a grant from the historical society, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Historic Preservation Division and the Georgia Department of Economic Development’s Tourism Division.
 
“For years, the historical society has wanted to have a way to introduce our children in Bulloch County to their heritage,” said Virginia Anne Franklin Waters, the society’s project coordinator. “With the support of the Jack N. and Addie D. Averitt Foundation, we were able to produce a first-class puppet show.”
 
The puppet show is targeted to third-graders with accompanying educational materials created by local teachers Judy Ware and Jessica Waters. The historical society is also paying for any third-grade student to attend the school matinees on Friday morning. So far, seven schools with more than 470 students are scheduled to attend. Each student will also receive a 64-page coloring book on the history of Bulloch County and a pack of crayons.
    However, the show will be educational and entertaining for all audiences.
    "I'm sure there will be some third-grade parents learning Bulloch County history as well," Waters said. 
 
Tickets for the public shows are $8 and are available at the Averitt Center box office by calling (912) 212-2787 or at www.averittcenterforthearts.org.
For more information on First Friday, contact the Downtown Statesboro Development Authority at (912) 764-7227 or at mainstreet@statesborodowntown.com.