The Spark

Fridays at Noon, Saturdays at 3pm

The Spark is WMRA's own creative look at --well-- creativity.    We dig into whatever people are passionate about in the WMRA region:  sculpture, model railroading, costume-making, poetry, whatever  --we might go there. 

We want to hear from those who are doing artsy or interesting or wonderful or obsessive things.  We also recognize that lots of creatives are a tad shy and might not ever speak up for themselves. 

You can put something on our radar about yourself or can tell us about someone you know of who might be interesting by sending an e-mail to the show host, Martha Woodroof:
WoodroMH@jmu.edu
(To launch an email to Martha automatically click here. )

Scroll down to hear past segments.

Consider this hour a community-wide celebration of the many people among us who invest time, energy and discipline into pushing against life's boundaries.

Listen to a typical 2012 version of the show's end credits (including Martha asking to hear from those who know about creative goings-on) : here (60 seconds).

2013 Spark intern Julia Skinner has been tasked with blogging about potentially Spark-worthy peers, and you can find the link to that blog on this page.

Genre: 
Composer ID: 
5187f51fe1c8951d21ce7787|5187f510e1c8951d21ce7773

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The Spark
11:12 am
Fri May 17, 2013

Flower Grower Mary Jo Swartzendruber

Eliza Doolittle is among the best-loved fictional flower-sellers.  Mary Jo Swartzendruber is a real flower seller --and she grows her own too.

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The Spark
11:11 am
Fri May 17, 2013

Tomato Guru

How does one pick a bushel of tomatoes without kneeling? It depends on how they're strung up. Though he'd humbly disagree, many Harrisonburg folks think that Singers Glen farmer, Marlin Burkholder, knows all there is to know about growing tomatoes. 

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The Spark
12:13 pm
Fri May 10, 2013

Champion Liar

Don't believe a word of this.

State two-time tall-tale-telling champ Mack Swift on storytelling. 

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The Spark
11:54 am
Fri May 10, 2013

"Baroque" Gem Near West Virginia?

The Handley Library looks more like something out of Vienna or Dresden than Winchester, Virginia. Architectural historian Richard Guy Wilson 

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The Spark
11:16 am
Fri May 10, 2013

News Photog's Artsy Side

Staunton photographer Pat Jarrett has moved on from spot news coverage for the Staunton News Leader to his own brand of “nonfiction visuals.” 

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Web Extra
3:03 pm
Thu May 9, 2013

A Tall Tale from Mack Swift

Image: WMRA News (tw)

Storyteller Mack Swift appeared on The Spark.  Here is his rendition of

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The Spark
11:21 am
Sun May 5, 2013

Keswick, Homestead Pastry Chef's Solo

Giancarlo is a true "European" pastry chef (born in Lombardy) whose career included  upscale venues like The Homestead and Keswick Hall.  He and wife, Jane, ran Cafe Giancarlo on the Charlottesville Downtown Mall --and now they run  Giancarlo Fine European Pastries in Staunton. He shares some thoughts about life and about luscious treats. 

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Web EXTRA
1:01 pm
Fri May 3, 2013

Web EXTRA Jessica Penner Uncut

Image: WMRA News (tw)

Of course, what you hear on the air during is edited-down because of time constraints. 

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The Spark
10:34 am
Fri May 3, 2013

Cow Moses, Butchered Housecat, Winter Tornado-Ride...

Photo: Stuart Jamieson via wikipedia Commons

And a 1903 Mennonite's "Tiger Scar" birthmark --are among the elements in Jessica Penner's novel, Shaken In The Water.  

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The Spark
10:02 am
Fri May 3, 2013

A Sylvia Plath Poem

Samantha Tkac

In honor of National Poetry Month, JMU sophomore Samantha Tkac reads her favorite poem, Daddy, by Sylvia Plath.

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