For the fifth year, a musical theater group from North Carolina will take to the Suffolk stage for the benefit of the local Meals on Wheels program.

The Rocky Hock Opry will perform at King’s Fork Middle School this Friday, March 13, beginning at 7 p.m.

According to Roseland Worrell, executive director of Suffolk Meals on Wheels, the group has a strong following in Western Tidewater.

“I just had a woman come in here wanting 10 tickets,” Worrell said Friday, from her office at Obici Sentara Hospital. “She said, ‘I’m from Wakefield, and we come to see them every year.’”

According to reports, the group was born when its chairman, emcee and singer visited the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. The thought occurred to him that Rocky Hock, an unincorporated community in Chowan County, had enough local talent to start something similar.

Its roots are in the Rocky Hock Ruritan Club, according to Worrell. Raising money for the American Cancer Society has been the group’s main focus over the past decade, she added.

The show combined music — old time rock and roll, a little bit of country and a little bit of gospel — and comedy. “They are very relaxed,” Worrell said.

Suffolk Meals on Wheels pays the group a percentage and uses the rest to help fund its vital role in the community, Worrell said, adding, “It will help our continued growth.”

The organization subsidizes all the meals its many volunteers deliver across the community. “We do not pass along any extra charge,” Worrell said.

Importantly, Worrell said, the show also raises awareness about the organization. Many folks believe it only delivers meals to the elderly, she said, but many younger folks also benefit.

Suffolk Meals on Wheels, which also serves Isle of Wight County, also provides meals on a short-term basis: for example, a person recovering at home after surgery for a broken hip.

Last year, the organization delivered more than 48,000 meals to 240 recipients, enabling them to maintain greater independence by helping them stay in their homes.

Worrell pointed out that Suffolk Meals on Wheels receives no government funding, “nor are we a United Way-funded agency.”

Tickets to next week’s show are a $15 donation (or $20 at the door), available at all Farmers Bank, Nationwide Insurance and Virginia Commonwealth Bank branches; Mike Duman Auto Sales, 2300 Godwin Blvd. in Suffolk and 1201 Armory Drive in Franklin; Bradshaw Dentistry, 5501 Bennetts Pasture Road; and Windsor Pharmacy, 12 E. Windsor Road.

Folks can also phone Billy Smith at 925-4541 and Suffolk Meals on Wheels at 934-4911.