Barbara McClellan

Special to the News-Journal

Barbara McClellan, a leading figure in Longview’s theatre, music, and culinary arts community, has been named the 2025 recipient of the Arts!Longview Lifetime Achievement Award for Artistic Excellence.

McClellan will be recognized on Saturday, Jan. 25 during the third annual Arts!Longview Honors celebration. Arts!Longview Honors is a one-night, Broadway-style event celebrating the Arts!Longview Cultural District, its eight arts and culture organizations, and recognizing the Lifetime Achievement honoree.

Past honorees are Pat George Mitchell, founder of Longview Ballet Theatre, and James Snowden, founder of Longview Symphony Orchestra and East Texas Symphonic Band.

“Barbara McClellan has played an instrumental role in multiple facets of our arts community for five decades,” Arts!Longview Executive Director Christina Cavazos said. “As a music educator, she taught countless students. As a food columnist, she encourages a love of the culinary arts in our community. As an actor, musical director, and avid theatre supporter, she has played an integral role in our theatre community since 1975, and she was a key figure in the establishment of Theatre Longview in 2012.”

Arts!Longview announced McClellan as its 2025 honoree on Friday evening during opening night of Theatre Longview’s “Little Shop of Horrors,” which runs through Aug. 11 at the Longview Community Center. McClellan said she is “humbled” and “overwhelmed” to receive the recognition.

“Being off stage and waiting to go on — there’s no experience like it,” McClellan said. “I wanted theatre performers in our community to have that experience. I just wanted to pass that on to other people. It just started with a phone call I made. … ‘There’s no business like show business,’ as Irving Berlin wrote. I wanted lots of people in Longview to have that experience for years to come.”

McClellan, 85, grew up in Tyler and cultivated a love of cooking from her mother. She attended Baylor University, from which she graduated in 1961 with a music educator degree. Throughout the years, she taught countless students and inspired in them a love of singing. In 1970, she published her first food column in the Longview newspaper. Now, 54 years later, McClellan continues to publish a weekly food column in the Longview News-Journal and in the Tyler Morning Telegraph. She is also a published author of three cookbooks and previously operated a restaurant in Downtown Longview.

A supporter of the performing arts, McClellan became active in the former Longview Community Theatre in 1975. Between 1975 and 1996, she starred in countless productions with Longview Community Theatre and was a key component of many of the organization’s musicals throughout the years. She proclaims “Fiddler on the Roof” to be among her favorite musicals and has starred in the production more times than she can recall.

McClellan moved in 1996. When she returned to Longview in 2011, she was saddened to learn Longview Community Theatre had disbanded in the early 2000s and there was not a community theatre for adult performers anymore.

“Barbara McClellan, who many of us at Theatre Longview lovingly refer to as ‘Bubbe,’ was the catalyst for the founding of Theatre Longview. Barbara got the first small group of potential board members together for a meeting, which later grew into what is now Theatre Longview,” said Denise Knutson, executive director for Theatre Longview. “Barbara has continued to be an avid supporter and has offered invaluable guidance over the years. We are forever grateful for her impact on the theatre community in Longview and are thrilled she is receiving this well-deserved honor.”

In addition to Theatre Longview and the former Longview Community Theatre, McClellan has also been an avid supporter of other theatrical organizations in the community. She is a longtime supporter of ArtsView Children’s Theatre and has served as a musical director for some of the children’s theatre’s musical revues. She also is a longtime supporter and volunteer with the Texas Shakespeare Festival in Kilgore. She has also been a supporter of Arts!Longview since the establishment of the organization in 2019 and performed with Theatre Longview during the 2024 Arts!Longview Honors celebration.

Arts!Longview Honors is the signature fundraiser for Arts!Longview, a nonprofit organization that manages the state-designated Cultural District. The Honors celebration features a stunning Broadway style program with performances by Longview’s performing arts groups as well as the presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Award for Artistic Excellence. Tickets also include valet parking, a reception with hors d’oeuvres and drinks, live music throughout the evening, and more. The 2025 Honors celebration will feature performances by ArtsView Children’s Theatre, East Texas Symphonic Band, Theatre Longview, and a variety of special guest performances.

Tickets, which are on sale now, are $100. An early bird 10% discount is available through Aug. 17. For tickets, visit bit.ly/4c1rDk5 or artslongview.org. To learn more about Arts!Longview, visit artslongview.org. To learn more about Theatre Longview, visit theatrelongview.com.