By Randy Arrington
LURAY — For one, it was a humorous moment with the family over the Thanksgiving holiday — for the other, a mother encouraging her 18-month old to count higher.
Two local families will share those special moments with the entire nation Sunday night when they air on ABC’s “America’s Funniest Videos.”
More than a year ago, Bryan and Tasha Cave of Luray submitted a video of their son, Jack (who was 18 months old at the time), to the popular, long-running television show. In the video, Jack comes up with a creative response to his mother’s request for him to “count higher.”
About three months ago, the Caves received an email notification from AFV that their video of Jack’s counting could be used in an upcoming episode in either a montage, or a stand alone feature. They signed a waiver giving legal rights to use the family video on the show. (As Page County’s assistant commonwealth attorney, Bryan checked the waiver closely.)
On Tuesday night, the Cave family received a voicemail and an email from AFV stating that their video would in fact air — this Sunday at 7 p.m. on ABC.
This Sunday’s airing of “America’s Funniest Videos” will also offer a second reason to watch — it will feature a second family from the region, less than 20 miles or so from Luray.
Over the Thanksgiving holiday, Rappahannock County High School students Hailey and Maggie Taylor, along with older sister, Abby, happened to capture a hilarious moment on video, according to a press release from the school district.
Not only was their video chosen, but the three sisters — along with their parents Christy and Brian Taylor — were invited on an all-expenses-paid trip to California to participate in the filming of the show on Jan. 25.
“It was fun to watch the actual show, and to be part of the audience,” said Christy Taylor, who serves as the Rappahannock County Elementary School secretary and registrar. “Once it came time for the audience to vote for the videos, the makeup people came out to us, touched up our hair and makeup, and doused Bryan in a cloud of makeup powder.
“A that time, we all became very nervous,” Christy said. “I was shaking. Poor Hailey said she felt sick from nervousness.
“They then escorted all of us to the lower part of the stage to place us in our seat for the reveal,” she continued. “At that time, they had a spotlight on all of us. There were bright lights everywhere.”
The Amissville family had to sign a non-disclosure agreement and are not allowed to reveal the results of the audience voting for the $10,000 winner.
The Caves are not allowed to post or show their video of Jack until after this Sunday’s airing on national television. The Luray family is not a finalist for the big money, but they will receive a free T-shirt since their entry will actually be aired.
“They told us it is usually shipped within a week, but it may be a while since they are working from home,” Tasha said Thursday of the family’s prize.
The Caves are not too worried about the free T-shirt and say it’s a thrill just to have their 10-second video aired on ABC’s longest running show.
“I posted on Facebook that my son was going to do autographs for a modest fee… but no toilet paper will be accepted,” Tasha said with a laugh. “I know this virus is serious, and I don’t mean to make light of it… but in times like this, we all need to smile and laugh a little bit.”
The details and description of the show given by the Taylors of Amissville was taken directly from a press release issued by Rappahannock Public Schools’ Public Relations and Digital Communications Officer Holly Jenkins.
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