CLYDE — Two and a half years after its last event, Communities for the Arts (CFTA) will host a show featuring ventriloquist David Crone. Crone and his cast of cloth characters will perform in the Clyde High School auditorium on Oct. 1 at 7:30 p.m. The show is free but tickets are required.

“This is our welcome back show,” said CFTA volunteer Alan Binger.

After Crystal Bowersox performed in March, 2020, the remainder of the 2020 season was canceled due to pandemic shutdowns. Because it was concerned about hosting a public event inside of a school, CFTA chose not to host any programs in 2021 as well.

“We decided to do a pause last year. We never even put a schedule together,” Binger said.

Crone was one of the 2020 performances that was canceled. As CFTA put Crone on this year’s schedule, it chose to offer the tickets for free.

“We decided to bring this back as a free show to get people back in the swing of coming,” Binger said.

Crone is a former corporate executive who left the business world to focus fulltime on ventriloquism. His Clyde comedy show will appeal to all audiences, and he also offers “highly customized serious messages on leadership, service, and living life on purpose” for corporate audiences.

His Clyde performance will be all about the laughs.

“What can the audience expect? Fun!” Crone said in an email interview. “This show will be for all ages, with a wide variety of material and something for everyone. Kids should definitely bring their parents and grandparents.”

Crone said his 90-minute show has no political agenda but is simply a time for “good clean humor, music, and lots of silliness.”

“I bring a number of characters, blend in a bit of comedy magic, use lots of audience interaction, and generally allow everyone to set aside their cares for a while and remember what it's like to laugh and have fun — live and in person,” Crone said.

After the show, Crone will host a meet-and-greet. He encourages guests to bring cameras for selfies.

Binger said the Crone show is a way to broaden the variety of CFTA performances.

“We have a lot of singers, and we try to think of someone who isn’t a singer or band. We want to have a variety of acts,” Binger said.

Free tickets for the David Crone show can be picked up at Clyde Public Library, Green Springs Branch of Birchard Public Library, the Clyde-Green Springs Board of Education office, Copper Top Bakery in Bellevue or from any CFTA board member.

On Dec. 3, CFTA will host Siberian Solstice, a Trans-Siberian Orchestra tribute band.

“They try to recreate that style with music and lights. They do a good job,” Binger said.

Tickets for the Siberian Solstice performance cost $15 and will first become available at the David Crone show.

CFTA is working to schedule more performances for next year.

“We founded the group when they built the auditorium and usually have five to seven shows a year,” Binger said. “We’ve been going for a while and had to have a pause like everyone else.”

For more information, visit communitiesfortheartsclyde.org.

Contact correspondent Sheri Trusty at sheritrusty4@gmail.com.