Iceland: An Ultimate Roadtrip
(A horse riding tour stops for a photo-op at Skogafoss in southern Iceland) By Jeff Maisey PBS travel guru Rick Steves was motoring around Iceland the past July. Steves posted daily blogs from the road, proclaiming the country’s scenic highway to be the “ultimate...
ESSAY: The Killing Fields
By Tom Robotham Last month, after Hamas fighters bulldozed their way into Israel and slaughtered some 1,400 people—including children and the elderly—I struggled to come to terms with the horrific news. Over the next few weeks, I watched CNN coverage for hours on end...
2023 HOLIDAY CHILDREN/FAMILY EVENTS
“A Christmas Carol” December 2 The American Theatre hamptonarts.org Perhaps the best loved holiday story of all time, this adaptation of Dickens’ classic is particularly suited to children. Watch Mr. Scrooge have a change of heart from stone to gold as he is visited...
2023 HOLIDAY CONCERTS
(Good Shot Judy bring their swingin' Noel show to Kimball Theatre in Williamsburg December 14-17) Mannheim Steamroller November 28 Ferguson Center for the Arts fergusoncenter.org Mannheim Steamroller Christmas has been America’s favorite holiday tradition for...
2023 HOLIDAY THEATER
“A Drag Queen Christmas” November 24 Sandler Center for the Performing Arts sandlercenter.org For the 9th consecutive year, Murray & Peter present, “A Drag Queen Christmas," the longest running drag tour in America. Get ready for Host Miz Cracker plus your...
2023 HOLIDAY DANCE
(The Hip Hop Nutcracker returns to Chrysler Hall) “Nutcracker: Magical Christmas Ballet” November 26 Sandler Center for the Performing Arts sandlercenter.org Gather your loved ones for the warm-glow-nostalgia of America’s favorite Christmas celebration....
Black Friday Record Store Day
By Jeff Maisey Black Friday — the day after Thanksgiving — was once the busiest sales day of the year for retailers across the spectrum. While that’s not necessarily the case any longer as brick-and-mortar retail has declined over the last decade, record stores are...
Virginia Arts Festival Announces Season
(Adrienne Warren is a highlight of the upcoming season) By Jeff Maisey The Virginia Arts Festival has unveiled its 2024 season, a mix of audience favorites and newcomers sure to please. One of the upcoming season highlights will be an evening with musical theater...
2023 Holiday Markets
Holiday Boutique November 17 through December 24 Virginia Beach Art Center artcentervb.org Impress loved ones with unique, hand-crafted gifts of fine art and artisan crafts. Give a gift like no other. Mistletoe Market November 18 Wells Theatre vastage.org...
2023 Holiday Lights & Parades
HOLIDAY LIGHTS & PARADES Garden of Lights Norfolk Botanical Garden Through December 31 5-9:30 PM Nightly NBGlights.org Get out and enjoy the spectacular 1.5 million lights at Norfolk Botanical Garden through New Year’s Eve. Barks & Bulbs Norfolk...
The Local Nutcrackers
(Ballet Virginia’s “Nutcracker” performance by professional dancers.) By Jeff Maisey In retail, many programs exist to “Buy Local” or “Shop Local During the Holidays.” These promotional efforts advocate for supporting locally owned and operated business competing...
King’s Singers: A Christmas Wish Granted
By Jeff Maisey Since the late 1960s, The King’s Singers — hailing from King’s College, Cambridge in England — have made Christmastime special by performing ancient carols from the Renaissance period and then later incorporating a diverse array of modern holiday season...
A Zip, Roaring Christmas Show with Squirrel Nut Zippers
By Jim Morrison When Jimbo Mathus decided to relaunch Squirrel Nut Zippers in 2016 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their breakthrough, "Hot," he moved forward, not back, sending out the call among his New Orleans friends to build a new band playing the old songs....
Virginia Chorale Honors NATO For Holiday Concert
(The members of Virginia Chorale. Photo by Steve Budman) By Jeff Maisey If choral music has a high season, surely it’s the holidays. Over the past thousand years, the most ancient of all music forms — vocal — has been composed for religious ceremonies as well as...
McCartney’s Gift of Photography
(Self-portrait. London, 1963 © 1963 - 1964 Paul McCartney under exclusive license to MPL Archive LLP) By Jeff Maisey Paul McCartney has provided longtime fans a gift this holiday season. First there was the brilliant roll out of “Now and Then” — mini-documentary,...
MUSIC: Winter Winds
(Vocalist Amanda Batcher coming home to sing with the Tidewater Winds) By Jim Roberts John Brewington got his Christmas wish back in August—when Amanda Batcher agreed to sing at the Tidewater Winds’ upcoming holiday concert. Brewington is the musical director for the...
STAGE: A Larger Christmas Carol
(Beatty Barnes Jr. portraying Ebenezer Scrooge in Virginia Stage Company's “A Merry Christmas Carol.” Photo by Sam Flint. By Jerome Langston "We’ve been able to build this – for the last 3 years,” says Tom Quaintance, Virginia Stage Company’s producing Artistic...
ART NEWS: Remembering Anne Iott
(Anne Iott’s “Fallen Tree II,” Watercolor, 1998) By Betsy DiJulio On October 8, this community lost someone who has been called a “lodestar of my better self,” “a force of nature” and “a pit bull for her faculty.” As five people who worked with Anne Iott for decades...
A Symphony Concert of Profound and Positive Hope
(Thomas Wilkins, conductor) By Montague Gammon III Virginia Symphony Orchestra’s Brahms and Dvořák with Thomas Wilkins November concert features “music that is going to make you feel better about yourself at the end of the evening,” says the VSO’s Principal Guest...
All Things Equal is Unequalled Theatre
(Michelle Azar stars as Ruth Bader Ginsburg Photo courtesy of Bay Street Theater.) By Montague Gammon III The most important play that anyone in Hampton Roads will see this year, and probably for many years to come, crops up for just one single early November night...
VEER’s Golden Tap Awards & The Key to Lager Town
By Jeremy Bender Who is the best brewery in Hampton Roads this year? What are the finest IPAs, stouts, lagers, sours and pilsners? On Tuesday, December 5, VEER Magazine will present its 2023 Golden Tap Awards at Elation Brewing in Norfolk beginning at 6 PM. The...
Stuff Their Stockings…And Yourself
(FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Brian Brinson’s popular Lizard Café is the perfect lunch combo with Prince Books in downtown Norfolk.) By Marisa Marsey Time for the holidays. Yay! Time for holiday shopping. Ugh! I love pretty much any festive tradition (more mistletoe, please)...
WINE REVIEWS: Reds To Splurge On
By Jeff Maisey I’m normally a $25-$50/bottle wine guy at home, but during the festive fall and holiday season this year I’ve splurged a bit, and the upgrades have been noticeable. Moone Tsai Howell Mountain 2018 Red Blend Napa Valley Lynn and I recently hosted a...
Restaurant Reverie
(Daily menu additions like this Roasted Red Pepper Bisque w/fried basil and smoked peppercorn have business booming for chef/owner Kevin Sharkey at 1608 Crafthouse in Virginia Beach.) By Marisa Marsey Heading west on I-64 for a business meeting in Richmond last...
A Wine Education at Crystal Palate
(Crystal Cameron-Schaad enjoys sharing an education in wine culture with patrons.) By Jeff Maisey For the more sophisticated traveler, experiencing a destination through its culinary and winemaking culture is an essential ingredient in understanding the uniqueness...
Craft on Colley: Semi-Fine Dining at its Finest
By Marisa Marsey A cynic might sneer, “What are those guys trying to do, corner NoCo?” The thought’s not ungrounded. Dave Filipowski and Rich Katz own neighboring hangouts Cogans North and Hank’s Filling Station on the north side of Colley Avenue. So it’s reasonable...
Top Shelf Service
(Annie Rostov) By Jeff Maisey Few industries seem to be as impacted coming out of the pandemic as the restaurant business. While customers have returned to near pre-Covid numbers, restauranteurs in Hampton Roads and across the nation have seen their food costs and...
Neptune Festival preparing for back-to-back beer and wine festivals
By Jim Roberts The small staff at the Virginia Beach Neptune Festival is gearing up for a number of large events the last weekend in September: the Neptune Festival Art & Craft Show, the 49th Annual Boardwalk Weekend, and the Neptune Festival Grand Parade, among...
Filibuster bourbon
By Marisa Marsey Heading to Derby Day, my fancy races to mint juleps and the bourbon that braces them. (Of course, my fancy races to bourbon many a day, anyway). A good bet for those juleps – if you want to stay true to Virginia while toasting Kentucky – is...
Return of The Belvedere
By Marisa Marsey Were you as ecstatic as I when you heard that the beloved Belvedere Coffee Shop & Diner was being resurrected in the spanking new Moxy Hotel at the Oceanfront? If you possess any VaBeachVa history, I’m guessing that’s a resounding, fist-pumping...
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