Desplaines Departs Norfolk Botanical Garden
By Kelly Welsh Norfolk Botanical Garden (NBG) announces President & CEO Michael P. Desplaines will step down in late June to accept the CEO position at The Los Angeles County Arboretum in Arcadia, California this July. Mr. Desplaines has been with the Garden since...
Blues Dancing in Norfolk
(Mentor artist Joshua Purnell, center, and Noah Stovall, left, dance with partners. Tidewater Blues meets every Monday at the Fred Huette Center in Norfolk for blues dance instruction and a social dance.) Words & Photo By Pat Jarrett Nationally, the Tidewater...
In Search of Excellence
By Tom Robotham One of my favorite moments in the history of television is the opening scene of Newsroom, a short-lived HBO series about a jaded TV anchor, Will McAvoy, played by Jeff Daniels. In the scene, McAvoy is asked at a college forum why America is the...
Darrell Redmond is a Motivated Man on a Mission
By Joel Rubin Languishing in both juvenile and adult Virginia lockups for 25 years, felon Darrell Redmond could not have imagined that this past April 16, he would be the star attraction at a Hampton fund raiser, attended by local mayors, business leaders, social...
A Beloved Teacher and a Norfolk Native: Eva May Morris Gregory
(ODU student Alayna Vilardi. Photo by Lyn LeFevre.) By Kathryn Finney Inside a large Victorian house on Lafayette Boulevard in Norfolk, thousands of students studied the art of dance with their teacher, Eva May Morris. Her legacy lives on through a merit-based...
NEWS: Chrysler Museum Names Director of Curatorial Affairs
By Jordan Fontenot Following a national search, Castro was selected to oversee the Museum’s Curatorial, Conservation, and Collections & Exhibitions divisions, as well as serve on the Senior Leadership Team. In this role, which begins April 17, he will help to...
Game Changing Move for Brothers
(Kimberly and Tony Brothers at Brothers former location on Plume Street. Photo courtesy of Tony Brothers.) By Jeff Maisey Tony Brothers has called a brief timeout for his namesake fine dining restaurant and entertainment space on Plume Street in downtown Norfolk, and...
City of Light—and Warmth
By Tom Robotham Paris is so very beautiful that it satisfies something in you that is always hungry in America. – Ernest Hemingway In May of 2016, VEER publisher Jeff Maisey and I flew to London and spent the next 10 days touring Great Britain. It was my first trip...
Commemorating NATO ACT’s 20th Anniversary, 70 Years of Norfolk NATO Festival
WELCOMING FINLAND INTO NATO: (L-R) French Air & Space Force General Phillip Lavigne (NATO Supreme Allied Commander Transformation), Admiral Rob Bauer of The Netherlands (Chair of the NATO Military Committee), Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, and NATO...
New Grant Funding Model Aims to Help Hampton Residents Fight Shoreline Erosion
By Charlie Paullin A new Hampton program aims to help residents address shoreline erosion by allowing some funds to be provided upfront rather than solely requiring them to pay for improvements themselves and then seek reimbursement. The funds are available through...
Jesus Christ Superstar Ascends Once Again
(Omar Lopez-Cepero, Aaron LaVigne and the company of the North American Tour of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR. Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade.) By Jerome Langston “This is a role that I’ve been hoping and praying for—for years and years,” says actor Elvie Ellis, who...
The Game’s Afoot for the Norfolk Chamber Consort
(TWO-GETHER: Andrey Kasparov and Oksana Lutsyshyn) By Montague Gammon III The Norfolk Chamber Consort closes its 54th Season with a concert titled “The Game of Pairs.” Husband and wife performers, father and son composers, deux French composers, sibling string...
ChaWa Embodies Mardi Gras Indian Culture
By Jeff Maisey This year’s Bayou Bon Vivant Festival featuring Cajun cuisine like crawfish and jambalaya, folk art from souther Louisiana, and live music equal in caliber to the famous New Orleans Jazz Festival will be one to remember. Entertainers such as...
THEATER: The Embodiment of Nina Simone
(Actress/singer Yolanda Rabun portrays Nina Simone) By Jerome Langston “She truly embodies Nina Simone,” says actress/director Kathryn Hunter-Williams, during a recent phone chat, in anticipation of the play with music that she’s directing for the Virginia Stage...
Gaining Glass Art Perspectives
By Betsy DiJulio In 2022, Eddie and Brad Waitzer, directors of the Leah and Richard Waitzer Foundation, together with their brother Scott, generously bestowed upon the Barry Museum of Art their late parents’ collection of works in glass. Not only does the gift pay...
Olga Kern Leads Rachmaninoff 150 Year Celebration
By Jeff Maisey This year, the Virginia Arts Festival will pay homage to Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff’s 150th birthday as part of its Chamber Music Series of concerts. Front and center for most of these performances is the phenomenal, often animated pianist...
Loss and Pandemic Reveal Another Side of Josh Ritter
By Jim Morrison For Josh Ritter, the journey to his new album began with a family road trip from Brooklyn to his boyhood hometown in Idaho, where his mother was in the final steep decline of ovarian cancer. It was death in the time of COVID. There was no vaccine. His...
All That Chicago Jazz
(Bianca Marroquin and Lewis Cleale) By Jeff Maisey Fresh on the heels of last year’s “The Sound of Music” in concert, the Virginia Arts Festival presents “Chicago The Musical” in concert May 6 at Chrysler Hall. For audiences, experiencing Broadway musicals in a...
CONCERT PREVIEW: World of Music Speaks Universal Language
By Jeff Maisey Banjo legend Béla Fleck has been keen to expand the boundaries of his instrument, composing, performing, and exploring the realms of acoustic music in jazz, Western classical, bluegrass, and within the complex world of classical Indian. Together with...
PREVIEW: All Things Equal
(Michelle Azar stars as Ruth Bader Ginsburg Photo courtesy of Bay Street Theater.) By Jim Roberts The playwright Rupert Holmes and actress Michelle Azar are sharing universal acclaim for “All Things Equal—The Life & Trials of Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” a one-woman show...
La Patrona Taqueria is All About The Food
By Betsy DiJulio In a landscape dotted with mostly fungible Mexican restaurants, Taqueria La Patrona is a welcome respite for the hungry traveler, even if you just traveled from down the street, even if you crave far more than tacos, and even if you subscribe to an...
Veteran-Owned Chesapeake Bay Pedal Club is Back on the Water for 2023
(A fun day on the Inlet. Photo courtesy of Chesapeake Bay Pedal Club) By Dana Nichols It’s hard to miss the lively turquoise and lime green paddle boat cruising Rudee Inlet: the vibe is energetic, music is playing, passengers are smiling or dancing — sometimes in...
Run For The Roads
(Blackened yellowfin tuna over cauliflower rice risotto, spinach, citrus gremolata and orange hoisin served up at The Roads Bistro. Courtesy photo.) By Marisa Marsey Michael Baldwin, who recently opened The Roads Bistro, radiates joy. Even over the phone, you sense...
REVIEW: Vegan Planet Café Sent Me into Orbit
By Betsy DiJulio A few years back, I visited Vegan Planet Café with the intention of reviewing it, but the casual, eclectic storefront didn’t seem quite ready for its close-up, so I ordered some food, which was just fine, and went elsewhere for my review. But...
Studly Brewing Opens with Home Run
Blake Edmunds has Studly Brewing Company on an early season winning streak By Jeff Maisey Drinker up. If you’re a baseball fan, chances are as good as the Astros winning another World Series you’re gonna love Chesapeake’s newest craft beer maker, Studly...
VEGAN DINING: In Session
By Betsy DiJulio For vegans and those following a plant-based diet, breakfast out often means a couple of choices: avocado toast or an almond milk smoothie, as most mainstream establishments worth their salt at least offer a nut milk alternative. Venturing...
Alewerks Wins 2022 Golden Tap Award
By Jeff Maisey Alewerks Brewing Company was crowned the best brewery in the 757 this year when Veer Magazine presented its 2022 Golden Tap Awards at Elation Brewing in Norfolk. Alewerks, which was founded in 2006 by Chuck Haines, has a vast portfolio of...
“Why Would We Say No?” Newlyweds take over Starving Artist Café
By Jim Roberts Shanna Myers and Jamie Windemiller went on their first date at Starving Artist Café in November of 2021. Less than a year later, they were married … and running the Norfolk-based restaurant. What transpired in between has all the elements of a Lifetime...
These (Pink) Boots Are Made for Brewing (and more) – The Pink Boots Society
By Diane Catanzaro and Chris Jones Women have been involved with the craft beer movement from the beginning, although their contributions were frequently overlooked. In 1977 Suzy Stern co-founded and brewed at New Albion, America’s first craft brewery since...
757 Battle of the Beers Celebrates 10 Years in September
By Jeff Maisey Over the last decade, craft beer festivals have come and gone in the Hampton Roads. Today the 757 Battle of the Beers, celebrating its 10th anniversary on September 24, is the longest running beer event in the region. The 757 Battle concept was...