High Praises for WVEC’s Janet Roach
(WVEC’s Janet Roach is a multi award-winning newscaster. Photo courtesy of WVEC.) By Larry Bonko Janet Roach, co-anchor of the WVEC Monday through Friday "13 News Now" at 4, 5 and 6 p.m. has won another award. Yep. Another award. She has a house full of them. ...
One Man’s Story About Overcoming Racism
By John L. Horton Now that Black History Month is once again upon us and race relations are being put forth as a serious topic of discussion, and as the “Village Griot” and “Family Patriarch,” I have a story to tell and experiences to share. Please lend me...
Prologues to What is Possible
By Tom Robotham I dwell in Possibility / A fairer House than Prose – Emily Dickinson On January 20, I turned on CNN first thing in the morning to watch the long hoped for departure of Donald Trump. As he flew away I was overwhelmed by a sense of relief. The...
VIEWPOINT: Love and Encouragement Are What We Need
(In his book “A Promised Land,” former President Barack Obama shares many lessons learn in how to treat other people.) By Dr. Jerry Gaines & Sue Rowdon It has been said: “We come into this world crying while all those around us are smiling. We should live our...
Virginia African American Cultural Center Appoints Executive Director
(A rendering of the planned Virginia African American Cultural Center in Virginia Beach.) BY JEFF MAISEY Joan Rhodes-Copeland has been appointed as the Executive Director of the Virginia African American Cultural Center (VAACC) in Virginia Beach. Rhodes-Copeland...
The Road Not Taken
By Tom Robotham Thirty years ago this month, I moved from New York City to Norfolk. When I told my friends and co-workers of my plans, they thought I was nuts. One senior executive at Hearst Magazines, where I was working at the time, went so far as to call me a...
Best Performing Arts Education of 2020: Christine Foust of Virginia Arts Festival
(Catalyst Quartet’s virtual matinee recording session at Virginia Arts Festival headquarters) By Montague Gammon III Even the worst plague the world has seen in a hundred years cannot keep the Virginia Arts Festival from bringing world class arts events to students...
Practicing
(Tom Robotham -- on the left -- has been perfecting his French with Duolingo so he can better converse in the future with local Parisians like this street vendor selling books and art along the River Seine) By Tom Robotham J’apprends Français. Well, a little bit each...
Marine Corps Veteran Recalls V-J Day
(NOW & THEN: 95-year-old Gary Crane with his 1943 Marine Corps portrait) By Jeff Maisey September 2 of this year commemorated the 75th Anniversary of V-J Day — Victory over Japan — marking the end to the Pacific theater of war and effectively bringing the horrors...
Producing A Christmas Carol in COVID Times
(The Virginia Stage Company set begins to take shape.) By Jeff Maisey Sorry, Mr. Scrooge, but humbuggery won’t entirely dampen Christmas this year if the Virginia Stage Company has a say in the matter. And it seems they do. From December 16-24, the professional...
ART: Rosenbaum’s Folkloric Journey on Display
(Art Rosenbaum, Howard Finster with Couple and Fire) By Betsy DiJulio Art and Margo Rosenbaum have spent their careers and marriage traveling across different media and modes through various states of space and time. Trained and active in painting, they have, for over...
ART: Orchid Fascination
(Jennifer Angus, Floriography) By Jeff Maisey Flower lovers will no doubt rejoice when experiencing Orchids: Attraction & Deception, the second temporary exhibition presented by the Barry Art Museum at Old Dominion University. “The work included in this...
Art and Food Pair to Nourish at MOCA
(Richard Nickel, “Pea Pod Family,” 2020, Ceramic and low fire glaze, 46 x19 x15 inches, Courtesy of the artist) By Jeff Maisey Since the beginning of the pandemic, visual art museums and galleries as well as the food and beverage cultures of Hampton Roads have...
Light Brings Black Art in Focus
(Artwork by Chesapeake-born Julian Haskins) By Betsy DiJulio “How about not me?” quipped Clayton Singleton in a recent Zoom interview. “I wanted to put some brothers and sisters up on the wall…to have that feeling of being in the background,” explained the VEER...
Best Visual Art Exhibition of 2020: Shifting Gaze at Virginia MOCA
By Staff & Betsy DiJulio They didn’t see it coming. But it is almost as though they did. Not Covid-19 and the global pandemic, but the global protests for racial justice that have roiled in the wake of George Floyd’s death. No, MOCA had slotted Shifting...
Mural Artist of the Year: Clayton Singleton
(MURAL, MURAL ON THE WALL: Artist Clayton Singleton stands with the Black Lives More Than Matter mural he collaborated on with Nicole Harp. Photo by Jeff Maisey) By Betsy DiJulio Since the pandemic began in earnest, evenings and weekends have found Clayton Singleton,...
Best Local Music of 2020
(Bennett Wales & The Relief's dynamic sophomore album, "II." By Jeff Maisey Way back in 1980 — 40 years ago — MTV debuted with The Buggles’ “Video Killed The Radio Star,” and thus entered a new threat to a medium in which recording artists made a career for...
Best Visual Arts Educator of 2020: Virginia MOCA’s Alison Byrne
By Jeff Maisey Virginia MOCA Deputy Director of Exhibitions & Education Alison Byrne was recently named Museum Art Educator of the Year by the Virginia Art Education Association. The honor is well deserved, and we wholeheartedly second it. Under Byrne’s...
SURREAL: Pfac Goes Out on Top
(Peninsula Fine Arts Center Executive Director Courtney Gardner) By Jeff Maisey When the Peninsula Fine Arts Center (Pfac) presents Masters of Surrealism: Picasso, Dalí and Miró November 21 through December 20 it astonishingly marks the visual arts center’s...
MUSIC REVIEWS: Sinnett, Lucky 757 & More
Jae Sinnett & Brittany Burrell “All the Lights We See” (Single) (J-Nette Music) How do you cap off a year when your “Just When You Thought…” album continues to reel-in great reviews and remains high on jazz recording charts? When you’re Jae Sinnett, you drop an...
The Baker’s Wife Bistro + Bar: A Cinderella Story
(Phillip and Dana Epstein opened The Baker's Wife, a casually-upscale, French-inspired bistro and bar in Phoebus, in January. Photo courtesy of The Baker's Wife) By Marisa Marsey Once upon a time there were two chefs... Ugh! Sorry for that saccharine start. But in my...
Reaver Beach Brewing Opens Norfolk Location
(Reaver Beach Brewing Co. taps will flow in Norfolk) By Jeff Maisey Get ready for some award-winning hoppy and sour beers on North Colley Avenue in Norfolk. Reaver Beach Brewing Company is set to open its second location on Friday, February 19. Operating as Reaver...
DINING REVIEW: NOLA in Ghent
(Chicken & Andouille Sausage Gumbo) By Jeff Maisey In 1960, Norfolk-born singer Gary US Bonds had a hit single titled “New Orleans,” on which he sang the lyrics: “Well come on ev’rybody/Take a trip with me/Well, down the Mississippi/Down to New Orleans.” It’s fair...
New Ghanaian & Turkish Dining in Norfolk
(One of the most requested Ghanaian meals at Yendidi Restaurant is Beans Stew and fried sweet plantains AKA “Red Red or Gob3.” Photo courtesy of Yendidi.) By Marisa Marsey Opening a restaurant is tough. Harder still in a pandemic. Near impossible when your menu might...
1865 Brewing Company – Freedom Starts Here!
HISTORIC BREW: (L-R) Whitteney Guyton, Randy Jones and William “Billy” Comer. Photo credit Diane Catanzaro. By Diane Catanzaro and Chris Jones The Phoebus section of Hampton oozes charm. Cruise down Mellen Street at the intersection with Mallory and you get the feel...
Downtown Norfolk Restaurant Week Begins
(Brick Anchor Brew-House offers a variety of pub fare and healthy options) By Jeff Maisey From January 17-24, Downtown Norfolk will be presenting its winter Restaurant Week. This year, in the midst of the ongoing pandemic, it is a welcomed promotion for restauranteurs...
Smartmouth and O’Connor Among Best in Nation
By Jeff Maisey Norfolk-based O’Connor Brewing Company and Smartmouth Brewing Company each scored gold medals earlier this fall when the Brewers Association held a virtual version of the 34th annual Great American Beer Festival in Denver. In total, 1,720...
HOLIDAY DINING: Feast Out (Or Get Gobbles To Go)
(Thanksgiving to-go includes delicious Edwards’ ham biscuits from Chef Kevin Sharkey at 1608 Craft House in Virginia Beach.) By Marisa Marsey I can’t blame infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci for squashing big family gatherings at home this Thanksgiving. Even...
The Rebranding of St. George Beer
By Jeff Maisey Knights, castles, dragons — oh my. I’ve always been drawn to the imagery, symbolism and concept of St. George Brewing Company in Hampton. From the prominent red cross on white background crest of St George and the weaponry of Medieval British...
Pandemic Brings Pizzeria to Norfolk Tap Room
(Vincent Ranhorn, Todd Craig, and Todd Leutner) By Jeff Maisey Back in the 1980s and ‘90s, I used to make my way up to New York City for concerts, shopping in SoHo and the Village, and an authentic slice of the Big Apple — pizza. When some old school music friends...
