ESSAY: This Old Man
By Tom Robotham Well, it’s official: I’m an old man. I could have claimed that status last year, when I turned 65—the age at which one traditionally earns the title of senior citizen. But this year, I passed a more significant milestone: a week before my...
ESSAY: Angell on My Shoulder
By Tom Robotham On the evening of May 21, I was watching the Mets play the Colorado Rockies. It turned out to be a disappointing game: an 11-3 rout that decisively deprived the Mets of a double-header sweep. But as I headed for bed, it wasn’t the loss that was...
Reflections on Pride
(Claus Ihlemann and Robert Roman, pictured recently at Decorum Furniture, are pillars of the community. ) By Jeff Maisey As Pride Month approaches during a time of continued social fluidity, it seemed this might be a good opportunity to reach out to Claus Ihlemann and...
PRIDE MONTH EVENTS
(John Childers of MJ’s Tavern prepares for his 10th Pride Month Kick Off on June 4.) Staff Report On June 4, MJ’s Tavern in Norfolk marks its 10th year producing its Pride Month Kick Off, an all-day celebration of unity and diversity. Much of the parking lot...
ESSAY: Bourdain’s Enduring Resonance
By Tom Robotham When CNN announced the launch of its new streaming service, I immediately subscribed—primarily because, at $2.99 a month, it offered an inexpensive way of bingeing on Parts Unknown, Anthony Bourdain’s enormously popular travel show. I was disappointed,...
2022 Spring & Summer Festival Guide
(The Parade of Nations is part of Norfolk NATO Festival on Saturday, April 30 at 10 AM in Downtown Norfolk) Compiled by Staff After two years enduring pandemic restrictions, things are back to normal and everyone’s ready to get back to enjoying life. Perhaps the best...
What You Should Know About NATO
(NATO Allied Command Transformation Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Guy Robinson of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy is stationed in Norfolk, Virginia. Photo courtesy of NATO ACT) By Jeff Maisey With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the horrific images of its murdered...
Big Honor for Dave McDonald
(Dave McDonald’s favorite racing distance is the 10K.) By Jeff Maisey Dave McDonald of Norfolk will be inducted into the Pittsburgh Running Hall of Fame on April 30 in conjunction with the Pittsburgh Marathon weekend. “It will be cool to return to Pittsburgh for this...
Scott Jackson Talks Tattoo
(Bagpipers are a fan-favorite during the Virginia International Tattoo. Pictured in the foreground is Pipe Major Peter Grant for the Royal Regiment of Scotland - 4 Scots. Photo courtesy of Virginia Arts Festival.) By Jeff Maisey An essential ingredient each year of...
Downtowner Jack Was One of a Kind
(Jack Armistead couldn't resist a photo with this historic marker in Flagstaff, Arizona) By Jeff Maisey News of the passing of John “Jack” Armistead was announced on Facebook. Reaction from friends and acquaintances in the comments space was of shock and sadness. ...
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...
THEATER: Escape to Margaritaville
(The cast from Little Theatre of Virginia Beach’s “Margaritaville.” Photo by Joshua Stubbs. By Jim Roberts Jimmy Buffett’s not touring this summer, but Hampton Roads’ “Parrotheads” can experience the next best thing when the Little Theater of Virginia Beach presents...
ART: A Curatorial Gem
(Matt Lively, “Orbit”) By Betsy DiJulio I go to art museums to be inspired, transported, challenged, and even provoked, but not perplexed. Feeling baffled in an art exhibition is deeply unsatisfying and, frankly, irks me because it generally means someone hasn’t...
Norfolk Day Brewing for 2019
By Jeff Maisey Ring, ring. Hello, this is Norfolk calling. Wait a minute, this is Norfolk — Norfolk, Virginia. At the beginning of August, Smartmouth Brewing Company president Porter Hardy IV was contacted by David Holliday, founding brewer and owner of Norfolk...
Chesapeake’s Big Ugly Wins at Great American Beer Festival
BY JEFF MAISEY Nine breweries from Virginia, including Chesapeake's Big Ugly Brewing Company, won medals at the 2018 Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colorado. Here are Virginia’s 2018 award winners. GOLD MEDAL Lost Rhino Brewing Co., Shooter McMunn’s,...
Oktoberfest Celebrations Abound
By Jeff Maisey If beer has a national — make that multi-national — holiday then surely it is Oktoberfest. Celebrations abound, including right here in Hampton Roads. So how did it all begin? Way back on October 12, 1810, King Ludwig I married Princess Terese of...
UPDATED: Commonwealth Coastal Classic
By Jeff Maisey (IMPORTANT NOTE: This event has been rescheduled for October 20, Noon to 5 PM, in conjunction with Town Point Virginia Wine Festival.) What do you get when you pair more than 35 chefs and oyster-harvesting watermen from across the Commonwealth with 50...
Farm to Table Dinner for 450
By Jeff Maisey A single, 450-foot long table cloaked in pristine white linen stretches down the center of America’s most famous road — Duke of Gloucester Street — in the heart of the pedestrian-friendly Merchants Square in historic Colonial Williamsburg. Strung...
A Vegan Goes to Cogans Pizza and Orders a Philly Sub
By Betsy DiJulio If you went looking for a tasty vegan Philly Cheesesteak in a punk rock-leaning pizza and beer joint—with a custom 33 tap bar—you’d be wasting your time. That is, unless you went looking at Cogans Pizza in Ghent (where its known as a Philly Sub)....
Jikoni Café is Vegan Delight in Park Place
Words & Photo by Betsy DiJulio Until the 1960s, Norfolk’s West 35th street was a thriving commercial destination located within the solidly middle class neighborhood of Park Place. But then the strip of storefronts fell victim to urban decay and small business...
Hunting For A Local Getaway? Duck Into Decoys And Stay Awhile
By Marisa Marsey An osprey languidly beats its wings against a pristine blue sky above a fringe of wetland grass silent with serenity. Gazing at nature through wall-high windows here at four-month old Decoys Seafood in Suffolk, it’s tough to tell where outdoors ends...
Game Changer for Smartmouth
By Jeff Maisey It’s summertime. Most of Team Smartmouth’s starting lineup is batting like champs. There’s Alter Ego Saison, the team’s home run leader. Murphy’s Law Amber is good for an on-base hit every time at bat. Notch 9 Double IPA always scores with RBIs (and...
Sly Clyde’s: Coastal Virginia’s First Cidery
By Michael Curry Joining the ever growing number of craft breweries in the region, Sly Clyde's Ciderworks in Phoebus is totally unique, becoming the first brewery making only cider — not the juice to be found on the shelves of the grocery store but the delicious...
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