ESSAY: The Flame of Faith
By Tom Robotham Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.’ On these two commandments hang all...
Big Ugly Wins 2023 Golden Tap Award
Big Ugly Brewing won the 2023 Golden Tap Award in a region-wide competition where the tally was picked by readers and our committee of judges — including Diane Catanzaro, Chris Jones, Brian Koski, and Jen McDonald — provided expert analysis. The 757 region craft...
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...
A Real Jazz Festival in Phoebus
(Saxophonist Steve Wilson) By Jerome Langston Chatting with Jae Sinnett earlier this week, following a dental procedure that he’d just endured — was unfortunate timing for the acclaimed jazz drummer, composer and bandleader, but he was nevertheless a pleasure to talk...
Feldman Season Opens with a Three Way Threesome
By Montague Gammon III The fast rising, internationally acclaimed Trio Zimbalist comes to Norfolk for the Feldman Chamber Music Society’s 2024-25 Season opening concert at the Chrysler Museum’s intimate Kaufman Theater September 23. This threesome of piano, violin and...
Broad Viewpoints Power Made in VA
(Hank the Aquarian, “Wash Me & Comb Me,” 2023. Acrylic paint & latex house paint on canvas. Courtesy of the artist. ) By Betsy DiJulio It could be argued that a juried show, even one mounted by a professional organization, is a capricious act of subjectivity. ...
Jacobsen Bros Tackle Beethoven
(Eric and Colin Jacobsen) By Montague Gammon III One week after the Virginia Symphony Orchestra’s mid-month Opening Weekend, their annual one composer Beethoven Celebration comes to Chrysler Hall for two Norfolk performances, one on Friday evening, Sept. 20, plus a...
The One and Only, Herbie Hancock
(Herbie Hancock is the greatest living jazz artist. Photo by Danny Clinch) By Jerome Langston "Hello, Jerome? “This is Herbie. “How you doing?” So starts my wonderful, fairly brief, but generous... phone chat with perhaps the greatest living jazz artist in the...
Fantastique Symphony Concert
(Composer/flutest Valerie Coleman. Photo by Kia Caldwell.) By Montague Gammon III Sandwiching a family-friendly, kid-thrilling, grownup-enthralling, brilliantly colorful new concerto for symphony and animation between a 21st Century fanfare and a 19th Century...
Wells Theatre a Perfect Setting for Arsenic and Old Lace
(DRINK, DRINK: A stage scene from “Arsenic and Old Lace.” Photo by Erica Johnson @majerlycreative) By Jerome Langston “Most of my summer is spent doing these plays in Virginia, which is lovely,” said New York City based theater director, Nicolas Minas, when I reached...
Lynyrd Skynyrd: One More for the Road
By Jeff Maisey “Sorry for the delay getting to the phone, I have a new, little beach house and was doing stuff around here. I’ve already been to the hardware store.” I called Lynyrd Skynyrd singer Johnny Van Zant at his home on a July morning to discuss the band’s...
Beyond Monet
By Jim Roberts More than 50,000 people attended the “Beyond Van Gogh” immersive art exhibit in Virginia Beach in 2023, so it’s little surprise that the Virginia Arts Festival and Canada’s Paquin Entertainment Group are back this year with “Beyond Monet,” a celebration...
ART: Jackie Merritt’s Deep-Hearted Honesty
(“Talking Heads”) By Betsy DiJulio Jackie Merritt puts color where it doesn't exist. But where it most surely lives. Recently, as I perused some 20 of her portraits (and one still life)--rendered in chalk pastel, charcoal, and watercolor—I smiled to myself as I...
Well-Aged Williamsburg Winery
(Winemaker Matthew Meyer stands proud of his gold medal winning 2017 Petit Verdot Reserve. Courtesy photo.) By Jim Roberts In spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 is turning out to be a vintage year for the Williamsburg Winery. In January the winery won 11 medals at...
Fall For Restaurant Wines
(At Voilà, delicious red wines from South Africa, Sonoma, and the Burgundy region of France pair perfectly with the ever-popular entree, Beef Wellington.) By Marisa Marsey When 2020 began, the biggest headaches in the wine world were tariffs and hard seltzer. Then...
757 Breweries Win Awards
(Elation Brewing Company of Norfolk scores a silver in the Fruit/Vegetable category) By Jeff Maisey Breweries from Hampton Roads scored medals in Richmond on Monday where the Virginia Craft Brewers Guild announced the 2020 winners in its ninth annual statewide...
Kings of Their New Realm
(New Realm’s canned beers are everywhere these days in the Hampton Roads region) By Jeff Maisey One year after opening its production brewery in Virginia Beach, New Realm Brewing Company conquered the Commonwealth by winning the 2019 Virginia Craft Beer Cup when...
Meet New Sly Clyde Cidermaker Edan Valkner
(Edan Valkner is the new head cider maker at Sly Clyde Ciderworks in Hampton) By Jeff Maisey There’s a new head cider-maker in town. By late August, Sly Clyde Ciderworks will introduce Edan Valkner as its new cider-maker, tasked with producing the award-winning...
Experience Voila During Restaurant Week
(John & Maggie Tsouris prepare for Downtown Norfolk Restaurant Week. Photo by Jeff Maisey) By Jeff Maisey Downtown Norfolk Restaurant Week, scheduled August 16-23, couldn’t have come at a better time. Restaurants have been on the frontline of businesses most...
REVIEW: Dine Local at Lokal Cafe
(As healthy as it gets salad bowl at Lokal Cafe in Williamsburg. Photo by Betsy DiJulio) By Betsy DiJulio It doesn’t get a whole lot more local or scratch-made than the casual eats at Lokal. Heck, they even make their own kombucha, complete with alcohol warning. ...
Cider Talk with Sly Clyde’s Doug Smith
(Sandbar provides layers of flavor enhanced by raspberry and lemon. Photo by Sly Clyde.) By Jeff Maisey Like craft breweries, Sly Clyde Ciderworks in Hampton has a rotating series of seasonal beverages to compliment its core brands and provide a level of quality...
Something’s Always Brewing at COVA
(COVA Brewing Co in the 757’s newest craft brewery. Photo by Diane Catanzaro) By Diane Catanzaro and Chris Jones To brew or not to brew? That is the question. For Scott and Susan Bateman, the answer was “two brew.” Blending the family’s love of craft beer and...
PREVIEW: Syd’s Fish Pig Cafe
BY JEFF MAISEY In June, Chef Sydney Meers is set to open his seventh restaurant in a storied culinary career spanning 46 years. In this video interview, with most of the twisted folk art paintings hung on the walls and kitchy, Americana-cool figurines strategically...
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