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...
Local Bagpiper Reflects on Virginia International Tattoo
By Jim Roberts I’ve played the bagpipes for more than 30 years. My piping has taken me all over the United States and to Canada and Scotland. My band, Tidewater Pipes & Drums, has opened for Rod Stewart—twice—and we’ve played on stage with the Chieftains,...
Violent Crime in Norfolk is up. The jury is still out on why — and what to do about it.
A portable security camera on Granby Street in downtown Norfolk being used by police as part of a hot spot policing strategy. (Photo by Jim Morrison) By Jim Morrison In March of 2021, a Norfolk prosecutor who had recently retired after 27 years wrote to City...
ESSAY: On Television
By Tom Robotham As an instructor of media studies, I spend a lot of time thinking about the ways in which various mass media affect our lives. I’m struck, especially, by the fact that today’s children can barely imagine what life was like before the advent of...
ESSAY: The Sound of Surprise
(Count Basie at his piano in 1955. Photo by James J. Kriegmann) By Tom Robotham Whenever someone asks me what kind of music I like, my go-to answer is, all of it. I’d be hard-pressed to pick a single favorite genre. That said, when I reflect on the richness of my...
2023 VEER Music Awards Results
By Jeff Maisey On February 5, the City of Hampton presented the 2023 Veer Music Awards at The Vanguard Brewpub & Distillery. The Honorable Mayor Donny Tuck of Hampton personally presented the first pair of awards — Best Smooth Jazz and Best Traditional Jazz —...
16 Ways to Celebrate Black History Month
Compiled by Staff February marks Black History Month and we’ve compiled a checklist to help you fully enjoy celebrating through speaker forums, education, visual art, performing arts, and culinary art. A Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Virginia Symphony...
Lessons from the Dojo
By Tom Robotham Recently, I finished watching the fifth season of Cobra Kai, the Netflix series that serves as a sequel to Karate Kid. Its charm lies in its campiness—especially during the fight scenes, which are absurdly over the top. And yet, while I enjoyed...
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...
Beloved Aladdin Brings Joy to Chrysler Hall
(Adi Royas as Aladdin. Photo by Deenvan Meer/Disney.) By Jerome Langston “To me, it kind of feels like destiny. It’s like a full circle moment for me,” says actor Adi Roy, who plays the title role of Aladdin, in the Broadway touring production of Disney’s “Aladdin,”...
Virginia Opera’s Edge of the Seat Comedy
Mezzo soprano Hilary Ginther By Montague Gammon III One of the most popular and well known of all operas, Gioachino Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville,” comes to the Harrison Opera House the first weekend of November in a brand new Virginia Opera production that...
ART: Climate and Culture Dominate Enos Exhibition
By Betsy DiJulio A quick look at the paintings and drawings of Solomon Enos would leave one with the impression that his work gives form to a dystopian, post-apocalyptic future. But that’s why a quick look at art is rarely adequate. While the work leans heavily into...
Violent Femmes Happy to Return to Norfolk
By Jeff Maisey This year marks the 40th anniversary of American folk/punk band Violent Femmes. The Milwaukee-based group made an impressive debut in 1983 with the self-titled album which spawned the longtime classic singles “Blister in the Sun” and “Gone Daddy...
The Gift of the Fiddler
By Jerome Langston “In all honesty, it’s kind of the gift that keeps on giving. If you have to be associated with one show repeatedly in your career, I couldn’t think of a better one to be associated with,” says Gary John La Rosa, the famed director/choreographer,...
Rocking Rachmaninoff
By Jeff Maisey Earlier this year, the Virginia Arts Festival celebrated in grand style the 150th birthday of Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff with a series of chamber music concerts featuring the internationally acclaimed Dali Quartet and violinist Tianwa Yang as...
BEER REVIEWS: Guinness, O’Connor, Cape Charles
Stock Ale Guinness Open Gate Brewery Baltimore, MD I’m a longtime fan of Guinness Extra Stout. It was one of the first European beers I tried back in the 1980s and remains a tried-and-true favorite. When in Ireland, it’s my go-to brew, along with Murphy’s. As...
Coelacanth to Close in Norfolk
STAFF REPORT Days before its fourth anniversary celebration (December 14), Norfolk independent craft brewery Coelacanth announced on Facebook it will close its doors at year's end. "It’s been an amazing, crazy, fun, hard, interesting, fulfilling and stressful 4 years....
VEGAN: The Bumbling Bee by Cast Iron Catering
By Betsy DiJulio There are no bumbles—or grumbles—here, just delicious scratch-made vegan “junk” food and burgers, served up with a side of style and genuinely friendly service. Oh, and lots of craft beers and ciders, milkshakes, and sweets. “Dealing weed...
Catch the Vibe at Vibrant Shore Brewing Company
(Exterior of Vibrant Shore Brewing Company in Virginia Beach) By Diane Catanzaro and Chris Jones Let’s go back, back into time, back to 1995. “Gangsta’s Paradise” by Coolio was number 1 on the Top 100 songs of the year, and somehow Van Halen was number 100 with, we...
Sly Clyde Hosts CoVA Cider Fest
(Cider will flow in many varieties during the Coastal VA CiderFest. Photo by Michael Williams) By Jeff Maisey How ‘bout them apples? In the last five year demand for what was once referred to as British pub cider, or hard cider, has dramatically increased across the...
Bold Mariner Anchors in Ocean View
(Behind the scenes in the brewhouse: Michael Stacks and John O’Reilly) By Jeff Maisey There’s a famous proverb that proclaims “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” It can be said this was true for Michael Stacks, founder and president of The Bold Mariner...
The Garage Brewery, Tradition & Big Ugly Win Gold
(Beach Ambassadors and the medalists in the People's Choice category. Photograph by Sean Chagnon/Eye of the Storm Photography) STAFF REPORT Beach Ambassadors presented its 7th Annual 757 Battle of the Beers competition in a festival setting on the grounds of Camp...
DINING: Say 350 Grace
(Michelle and Willie Moats offer the community a delicious gluten-free dining experience with 350 Grace in Ghent) By Marisa Marsey “When I made the commitment to go 100 percent gluten-free with this restaurant, everyone laughed,” recalls Willie Moats. “I felt like...
757 Battle of the Beers
(757 Brewers and Beach Ambassadors group photo by Sean Chagnon/Eye of the Storm Photography) STAFF REPORT Heard of a food fight? How about a beer fight instead? Well, sorta. On Saturday, October 12 — yes, mark your calendar and plan to attend — the Beach...
Virginia Wines Rising
(Significant investments in new equipment and vineyard expansion at leading wineries such as Early Mountain are helping put Virginia on the map of great wine regions. Photo courtesy of Early Mountain) By Marisa Marsey Have you seen the bumper sticker proclaiming:...
ADVERTISEMENTS