Stockard’s 10-Year Transformation of Norfolk State Theatre Company
By Jeff Maisey Over the past decade, Anthony Mark Stockard’s passionate vision for theatrical arts has been transformational for Norfolk State University. In what was more or less an afterthought on the curriculum offerings at Norfolk State, the establishment of...
BOOK REVIEW: Homeward Bound
(Author Michael Pearson on the road in Ireland. Courtesy photo) By Tom Robotham Over the last three decades, Michael Pearson—former professor of creative writing and literature at Old Dominion University—has written seven books of nonfiction focusing on his two great...
ESSAY: An Education
By Tom Robotham Recently, I received a notice from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh that my graduating class would be among those honored during this year’s homecoming weekend. Until then, it hadn’t dawned on me that 2023 marks 45 years since I donned...
Inaugural Homegrown Harvest Festival Plants Seed for National Attention
(Along with River Road Farm and Commune, Marshall Rabil -- pictured -- and his team at Hubs Peanuts are spearheading the not-to-be-missed Homegrown Harvest Festival to benefit the Foodbank and The CROP Foundation. Photo credit: Kyle LaFerriere Photography) By Marisa...
My Lunch with Will Bland..and Cliff Hayes and Alex Angelos
(SUNNY SIDE UP: Will Bland at Pancakes-N-Things. Photo by Joel Rubin. ) By Joel Rubin I just had to meet Will Bland. After reading Larry Rubama’s profile of the Princess Anne High (International Baccalaureate Academy) grad in the newspaper, I was anxious to learn how...
Hampton Roads Breweries Sweep Coveted Best in Show
(Benchtop Brewing Company wins 2023 Virginia Craft Beer Cup) By Jeff Maisey Independent craft breweries from Hampton Roads had an impressive showing at the 2023 Virginia Craft Beer Cup Awards ceremony by sweeping the Best in Show category reflecting the top three...
The $42,000 Barbie
(“Barbie” #1 Model in Original Dressed-Box With Early Costumes, Courtesy of Theriault’s By Jeff Maisey Barbie-mania has expanded beyond the movie theaters and inspired Barbie themed parties and other dress-in-pink events. But that’s not all. Taking things to a higher...
Norfolk Funds The Arts
Twenty-eight local arts organizations received funding support from the City of Norfolk Arts Commission. The Commission increased its support for the new fiscal year. “We are thankful that Norfolk Arts was awarded $300,000, up from $220,000, for the first time in...
ESSAY: Bites of the Big Apple
Words & Photo by Tom Robotham One can’t paint New York as it is, but rather as it is felt. - Georgia O’Keeffe Last month in this space, I wrote about what I call the resonance of place: the vibrations in your very soul that you feel at the mere mention of a...
ESSAY: The Forgotten Borough
By Tom Robotham There are places I remember / All my life, though some have changed. – John Lennon Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about places that hold deep meaning for me: Manhattan; Paris; Leicester, England, birthplace of my paternal grandfather; parts of...
Still Ga Ga Over the Goo Goos
By Jim Morrison For a decade after they formed in Buffalo and before they became radio stars, The Goo Goo Dolls toured in a van, a trio sometimes headlining and sometimes opening for bands like The Gun Club or Motorhead. Their first album, recorded on a $750 budget...
Symbolism Abounds in Chrysler Exhibition
Matt Eich (American, b. 1986), Fire hose baptism, Newport News, Virginia (from the series “The Invisible Yoke, Volume III: The Seven Cities”), 2013 Archival pigment print, The Do Good Fund, Inc., 2020–5 © Matt Eich By Jerome Langston “I like curating photography...
Details About Possibilities of Paper
Roberto Benavidez, Bosch Beast No. 4, 2017. Paper, paperboard, glue, crepe paper, and wire, 36 x 22 x 12”. (Photo by Echard Wheeler) By Betsy DiJulio In the minds and hands of 13 artists, lowly paper is elevated. Generally thought of as a support for other media or...
Feast Festively on Beethoven’s Bounty
(Piano soloist Orli Shaham) By Montague Gammon III The Virginia Symphony opens its 2023-24 Season with a Beethoven Festival whose bounties Music Director and concert conductor Eric Jacobsen twice likened to a “steak dinner with dessert,” a two course musical feast of...
Forward with Humble Pie’s Legacy
By Jeff Maisey Back in the early 1970s, Humble Pie was considered one of the best live rock n roll bands to experience as is evident on their “Rockin’ the Fillmore” double-album released in 1971. The English group was formed by Steve Marriott (vocals, Small Faces)...
Conceptual End of Massive Resistance installation is impressive
By Betsy DiJulio From the Berlin Wall to the US-Mexico Border Wall, the West Bank Wall and even the conceptual “fourth wall” in theatre, walls, often steeped in controversy, divide, barricade, contain, and, conversely, keep out. But in 1979, Maya Lin, then a...
A Rare Look at Collectors’ Artwork
(Swoon, Thalassa, 2012. Screenprint, coffee stain, hand painting on paper, 120 x 84 in. Collection of the Waldo Family. Photo by Echard Wheeler) By Betsy DiJulio With Collector’s Edition, MOCA set out to craft a colorful, summery, and celebratory exhibition. But what...
MUSIC: Champagne to Flow at Funk Fest
By Jeff Maisey “I’m going to make you a star one day.” A young teenaged Evelyn King was cleaning the offices of Philadelphia International Records headquarters. She came from a family of entertainers, joined her first local R&B group in Philly at age 14, and...
Koz Brings Summer Horns to Norfolk Jazz Festival
By Jeff Maisey Grammy-winning smooth jazz saxophonist Dave Koz is no stranger to Hampton Roads. For a decade and counting, Koz & Friends have performed their annual Christmas show at the Ferguson Center in Newport News. On Saturday, August 19, Koz returns to the...
Demons Respond to Current Moment in Time
By Jeff Maisey Norfolk hard-edge punk rock band Demons will unleash its new full-length album, “Under the Western Heel,” with a big stage performance August 12 at The NorVa. Previously, the quartet, comprised of Zach Gehring (vocals/guitar), Chris Matthews...
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...
Afterglow Brewing Shines in Norfolk’s Railyard District
(Josh Evans and Jeff Hartline. Photo by Diane Catanzaro.) By Diane Catanzaro and Chris Jones Here’s some exciting news for beer lovers! Norfolk’s newest brewery held their Grand Opening the weekend of July 8. Afterglow Brewing is now open for business at The Railyard...
Winning Big with Aloha State of Mind
(Matt Topping enjoys the taste of success — and Hawaii — at COVA Brewing Company.) By Jeff Maisey It’s a big deal to win an award — gold, silver or bronze — at the World Beer Cup competition. For a brewery to garner consecutive golds for the same entry is nothing...
Dogs Come First at Pups and Pints
(Wasserhund craft beers are to bark for at Pups & Pints in Virginia Beach.) By Marisa Marsey Woof, woof! Arf! Bark! Bark! That’s Sheepish Onyx, my seven-month-old Mini Sheepadoodle, tail wagging in prestissimo tempo because she’s at Pups and Pints. I’d better turn...
New Realm Expands Virginia Beach Capacity
By Jeff Maisey In 2018, New Realm Brewing Company acquired the gigantic, short-lived brewing facility of San Diego-based Green Flash Brewing Co. in Virginia Beach. The brewing capacity at that time was 40,000 barrels/year. New Realm had only recently opened its...
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...
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