OPINION: ONE MAN’S EXPERIENCE WITH CRITICAL RACE THEORY
By John L. Horton As the saying goes: “You learn something ‘new’ everyday…” Just imagine all that. In just the past several days, I have watched the SHOWTIME documentary series: “everything’s gonna be all white…” Basically, this is a provocative new three-part...
VA Arts Fest Readies 25th Anniversary
(American Ballet Theatre opens the 25th anniversary season of the Virginia Arts Festival) By Jeff Maisey For its silver anniversary season, the Virginia Arts Festival (VAF) has unveiled some returning fan favorites, first-time performers, and an impressive roster of...
ESSAY: My Life in Nine Songs
By Tom Robotham Music…is not simply a distraction or a pastime, but a core element of our identity. – Daniel Levitin, The World in Six Songs The other day, I pulled from one of my bookshelves a volume that I’ve revisited often over the last few years: Daniel...
ESSAY: Achieving the Dream
By John L. Horton The most dangerous person in the world is a person who is sincerely ignorant and conscientiously stupid. You have a moral obligation to be intelligent. — Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr. If Dr. King were alive, he would have been 93 years old on...
Why is a Norfolk community development entity investing everywhere but Norfolk?
Hampton Roads Ventures, created by the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority, is headquartered in this office building in Norfolk. (Jim Morrison/ For the Virginia Mercury) BY JIM MORRISON, Correspondent, Virginia Mercury NORFOLK — When they posed for a picture...
ESSAY: A Christmas Meditation
By Tom Robotham So this is Christmas, and what have you done? – John Lennon When I was a kid, the Christmas season was the most exciting time of the year. Ushering it in, shortly after Thanksgiving, was the arrival of the Sears Christmas catalogue—or “Wish...
Norfolk’s Ronald McDonald House Marks 40 Years
(Ronald McDonald House provides families relief in challenging moments. Courtesy photo.) By Jeff Maisey To mark its 40th Anniversary, Ronald McDonald House Norfolk has set a goal to raise $40,000 in 40 hours. The campaign starts at 8:00 am December 8 and ends at...
BREAKING: NRHA Settles St. Paul’s Lawsuit
(A copy of the agreement) BY JIM MORRISON, Correspondent The Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority and the city have settled a lawsuit brought by residents of three public housing projects in the St. Paul's area near downtown who said demolishing their homes...
757 Rugby Academy Inspires Youths
(Francois du Cluzel instills encouraging value of rugby into young player. Photo by Stephanie Davenport.) By Jim Roberts The 757 has turned into an incubator for world-class athletes, producing famous personalities in football, basketball, baseball, boxing and a...
OPINION: Rushing to Judgment
By Tom Robotham As the holidays approach, I find myself thinking about my all-time favorite movie for the season—Holiday Inn (1942), starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, which I’ve loved for nearly 50 years. The movie’s biggest claim to fame is that it...
ART REVIEW: Four Friends Shine Soul Finger Project
(“Sade,” Anthony Burks, Sr) By Betsy DiJulio Delayed for two years due to the global pandemic, Soul Finger Project was worth the wait. Conceived by Ramel Jasir, (FL) the show brings together for the first time his work and that of three friends: Anthony Burks, Sr....
A Different Type Of Richmond Ballet
By Jim Roberts Jennifer Chapman lives in Virginia Beach but works for Richmond Ballet. Her job—even before the rest of the world embraced telecommuting—is to help the dance company build an audience beyond Richmond and specifically in Hampton Roads. In the...
Jack White Supplies the Rock
By Jim Morrison Jack White recently released one album, "Fear of the Dawn," with another, "Entering Heaven Alive," arriving July 22. He's also rehearsing about 100 songs for his Supply Chain Issues Tour that stops in Portsmouth on April 23. What's the secret to the...
Three Dog Night Brings the Hits of the 1970s
(Three Dog Night’s current lineup continue to perform to sold-out crowds) By Jeff Maisey If you can remember the days of handheld AM transistor radios chances are you know the music of Three Dog Night. From 1969 to 1974, no other recording artist achieved more top 10...
Dreamgirls Brings Glitz and Glamor
(The Dreamettes. Photo by Sam Flint.) By Jerome Langston “I was holding on to this,” says Anthony Stockard, the producing Artistic Director of Norfolk State University Theatre Company, regarding his theatre company’s latest collaboration with Virginia Stage Company,...
James McMurtry Brings Storytelling and Songs
(James McMurtry is back on the road in support of “The Horses and the Hounds.” Photo by Mary Keating Bruton.) By Jim Morrison It's the details that make James McMurtry's songs compelling character studies. That and the melodies, of course. There are the parents...
STAGE: Witness The Great Gatsby Anew
(Aamira Challenger, Katie Housley, Palymyra Mattner, Joshua Liburd, and Conner Keef. Photo by Darryl Estrine. Aquila Theatre’s The Great Gatsby.) By Montague Gammon III The Aquila Theatre’s casting of The Great Gatsby, coming to the Norfolk’s Attucks Theatre...
Down In the Weeds with Bright Eyes
By Jim Morrison It was nine years since Bright Eyes, the trio featuring frontman Conor Oberst, had released an album when "Down In the Weeds Where The World Once Was" hit the streets in 2020. You're forgiven if Oberst came across as something of a dystopian mystic....
Beethoven’s Ninth is Sauced with Joy and Hope
(Virginia Symphony Orchestra Music Director Eric Jacobsen) By Montague Gammon III The Virginia Symphony opens the month of April with that most exuberantly glorious piece of symphonic and choral music, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and its particularly timely message of...
Bela Fleck Returns to Bluegrass Roots
(Banjo great Bela Fleck. Photo by William Matthews) By Jim Morrison Bela Fleck is on the phone ruminating about why he dips in and out of so many genres from bluegrass to newgrass to jazz to classical, from his mind-blowing creations with The Flecktones to his work...
Suffolk Surprises with Superb Suds at Nansemond Brewing Station
(Sample a variety of beer styles in scenic downtown Suffolk at Nansemond Brewing Station. Photo courtesy of the brewery.) By Diane Catanzaro and Chris Jones Locals may know the Nansemond River, that the Nansemond Native American tribe lived along the river, or that...
Still Tasty After All These Years
TASTE OF SUCCESS: (L-R) Peter and Jon Pruden have enhanced and expanded the specialty gourmet food brand known for its delicious sandwiches, prepared food items, and spot-on wine selection By Marisa Marsey As nightmarish as the past year and a half was, Hampton Roads...
RESTAURANT NEWS: 1608 Crafthouse Rebounds
(1608 Crafthouse’s Bacon Cheeseburger is a popular menu item.) By Jeff Maisey Kevin Sharkey was prepping for the fifth anniversary of his 1608 Crafthouse on Pleasure House Road in Virginia Beach when the pandemic struck in March 2020. He’s been battling ever since...
Fountain Flows into 757
By Jeff Maisey There’s a new hard seltzer in town — Fountain. Made in New York City, this new, upstart brand is fun — from the well-carbonated bubbles, zesty citrus and berry flavors to the eye-catching packaging — screams fun. After enjoying a few cans over a recent...
Driving You to Drink: Beer Touring in Hampton and Newport News
(Members of the Hampton Roads Brewing & Tasting Society gather for a pre-beer photo. Photo courtesy of Diane Catanzaro.) By Diane Catanzaro and Chris Jones Who is ready to get out of the house and visit a bunch of breweries? We’ve put together a little beer tour...
RESTAURANTS: Local Brands Expand
(Owner Bob Roberts has Redwood Smoke Shack expanding with a new Virginia Beach location. Photo courtesy of Redwood Smoke Shack.) By Marisa Marsey Some of our favorite homegrown eateries are expanding – opening a new location, introducing a new concept – making us...
A Coterie of Charcuterie
(Katie Huger, owner of Long Board Charcuterie, curates exquisite, customized boards to celebrate special events as well as every day.) By Marisa Marsey There’s a joke circulating at fromageries: “How do you irritate a cheesemonger? Ask for a charcuterie board with no...
NATO Festival Beer Brings People Together
(Brew Day at The Bold Mariner Brewing Company in Norfolk) By Jeff Maisey In what has now become a Norfolk NATO Festival tradition — born five years ago — a collaboration beer pairing The Bold Mariner Brewing Company and NATO Headquarters will be featured at the...
Fox Tail Wine Bar Adds Flavor to New Phoebus
(Interior view of Fox Tail Wine Bar. Photo by Michael Fernando.) By Jeff Maisey “I felt like the type of experience we’re offering did not exist in this neighborhood and there was an opportunity to bring something new, fresh and exciting to a community that was...
COASTAL FERMENTORY: New Brews in the ‘News
(L-R) Coastal Fermentory’s Mike Reppert and Brandon Samuels. Photo by Diane Catanzaro. By Diane Catanzaro and Chris Jones “I’m goin’ to Newport News, mama, gonna catch a battleship across the doggone sea.” The Memphis Jug Band immortalized the ‘News in their...
