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Jimmy Buffett band member to perform in Marion

By DAN KEGLEY/Staff

Parrotheads will recognize Peter Mayer’s name from his nearly 20 years with Jimmy Buffett on lead guitar. Others may know he has stepped out to form his own band, The Peter Mayer Group.
Both audiences and anyone who appreciates virtuoso musicianship will want to know Mayer will be in Marion tomorrow, performing at The Lincoln Theater on Sunday, May 18, at 3 p.m.
Mayer offers something for a wide range of musical tastes, from the folk, rock and jazz influences heard on his new CD, Still in One Peace, produced on his private Little Flock Music label.
Tickets are $20 and available at The Lincoln Theater Box Office, 783-6093.
Mayer’s concert is a fund raiser for Hungry Mother Lutheran Retreat Center, a Christian, non-denominational facility affiliated with the Virginia Synod of the Lutheran Church.
“As the demands of life become greater, we all need times and places to slow down and be renewed; we need a place that is set apart from the fast paced lives that we are living,” the center’s Web site, http://www.hungrymother.org, said. “HMLRC’s retreat setting is one of those places where it is possible to get out of your everyday routine to take some time to study, worship, pray and play.”
If you’ve ever driven through Hungry Mother State Park and past the houses and cabins, you’ve seen part of the retreat center as it sits at the foot of Walker Mountain. A wide meadow lying along Hungry Mother Creek is the most visible part visible from the road and complements the mountainous environment, creating a variety of settings for programs and activities.
Cabins, a dining hall, a pavilion, a dormitory and other buildings are nestled out of sight among the trees. The center has been used for about a half-century by local Lutheran congregations and Girl Scout groups for summer camp programs. Now, according to Angie Mucha, a center co-director with husband Mike Mucha, the center is working to “jump start” center programs and generate “exposure to the wider community” as part of a new outreach emphasis.
Sunday’s concert proceeds will support those programs, Mucha said.
“This year marks our first efforts to fulfill our desire to provide opportunities through outdoor ministry for learning, recreation, worship and rest, directly to the community,” she said.
Upcoming programs include Summer Youth Camp for youth in grades 4 through 12 that open to all regardless of religious affiliation or denomination. The camp, staffed by trained college-age counselors, runs July 13-18 at $200 per camper.
An Adult Arts Day Camp themed God’s Emerging Gifts, is open to ages 15 and up, regardless of religious affiliation or denomination. This camp, running Aug. 11-15 with costs beginning at $125, offers the option to stay overnight in cabins, the bunkhouse or in personal tents or trailers. Local artists will provide instruction in acrylic and watercolor paining, wood turning, metal work, rug hooking and needle felting and other crafts. 
Mucha welcomes calls for information about the programs and Sunday’s concert at 783-6521.