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. ...
40 Years of Festevents in Norfolk
(Crawfish and corn are a popular menu item during Festevent’s Bayou Bon Vivant) By Jeff Maisey Forty years ago, Downtown Norfolk was a very different place that it is today. The waterfront property was either vacant or in derelict condition. The crime rate was high....
NEWS: Showtime at The Pavilion in Portsmouth
(Hip-hop group Three 6 Mafia opens the 2022 season at Atlantic Union Bank Pavilion) By Jeff Maisey Concerts are back — finally — in Portsmouth, and the 2022 season will be one to remember. After a couple years of dashed hopes due to a tear in the tent top roof...
Good Sense and Good Magic
By Tom Robotham And I go on believing in the possibility of love. – Pablo Neruda Twenty years ago, during my stint as editor of Port Folio Weekly, my friend Mike Pearson suggested that I get together with one of his colleagues at Old Dominion University—poet...
ESSAY: American Studies
By Tom Robotham Thirty-five years ago—10 years after I graduated from college—I decided to go back to school to pursue a master’s degree in American Studies. At the time I had no plans to become a teacher. My decision was motivated purely by a desire to gain a deeper...
From Fuzz to Drag: Introducing Vivian Deveraux Valentine
(K’Bana Blaq performs in drag. Photo by Charles Long.) By Jeff Maisey For some 20 years, many in Hampton Roads have experience K’Bana Blaq as one of the charismatic, upfront singers in The Fuzz Band. His fashion sense, dance moves, and vocal talent keep crowds...
Allison Russell Leads Musical Renaissance
By Jim Morrison Allison Russell was 40 before she was able to mine her past to tell her story. The catalyst for the rush of songs she wrote in 2019 was her tour with Our Native Daughters, the supergroup of Black female banjo players including Grammy winner...
NEW OPERAS: Diverse, Relevant and Underrepresented
(Soprano Maren Weinberger as Leslie Sinclair in Rachel J. Peters' opera 'Companionship,' Nine Photography) By Jim Roberts The mission of the Virginia Arts Festival’s John Duffy Institute for New Opera is “to add diverse, relevant and underrepresented creative work to...
Art & Heart of the ViBe
Poetry Jackson, Blooming (Inner Garden Series), 2022. Acrylic on canvas. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Fresh Look Photography. By Betsy DiJulio For a quick, upbeat video preview of The Art of the ViBe 3, I encourage you to follow this link:...
Joyous Sounds of The War & Treaty
By Jim Morrison Death gave birth to Michael Trotter's songwriting. Trotter, one half of the husband and wife duo The War and Treaty, was serving in the U.S. Army in Iraq after the U.S. invasion in 2003. An IED killed his captain, a man he describes as the best of us. ...
In the Round with Every Brilliant Thing
(Kathryn Hunter-Williams) By Jerome Langston “Coming out of this pandemic, where it has been such an anxious, grinding two seasons, seemed like—that’s the piece I want to visit, as we are coming back together,” says Tom Quaintance, the Producing Artistic Director of...
Resilient Zydeco
(Terrance Simien will be a Bayou Bon Vivant highlight) By Jeff Maisey Earlier this year, Zydeco music great Terrance Simien and his band were in Henderson, Nevada for an educational engagement with his Creole4Kidz program that brings the sounds and instruments...
That Latin Jazz Groove Lives On
By Jerome Langston “Besides being influenced by his artistry, the thing I inherited from my father, and what I think my sons have inherited from me, is dissatisfaction,” says Arturo O’Farrill, acclaimed leader of the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, about his father, the...
From Ballads to Rockers, Chicago Brings a Buffet of Styles
By Jeff Maisey Talk to anyone about the music of Chicago and you’ll hear reeled-off the song title of hit after hit — “Does Anybody Really Know What Time it Is?,” “Saturday in the Park,” “”Call on Me,” “If You Leave Me Now,” “Wishing You were Here,” “Baby, What a Big...
An Album of Covers from Cowboys Junkies
By Jeff Maisey Cowboy Junkies have long been appreciated by fans for their version of cover songs they bring to the live concert stage. This spring, the alt-country band delivered a studio album of some of their and fans’ favorites. The record is titled “Songs of the...
Twin Restaurant Weeks
(Restaurant Week is a great way to explore creative culinary creations at Mermaid Winery on Shore Drive. Photo courtesy of Mermaid Winery.) By Jeff Maisey Restaurant Weeks serve as a promotion for dining establishments during what would otherwise be a slow period and...
Benchtop Brewing Wins 2021 Golden Tap Award
(Benchtop Brewing celebrates its 3rd Golden Tap Award) Staff Report Norfolk’s Benchtop Brewing Company took home 10 medals and earned the most cumulative points to make it Veer Magazine’s 2021 Golden Tap Awards overall winner. Gold, silver and bronze medals were...
TRAVEL & DRINK: Sixteen Days in Belgium
(Wife and husband beer writers Diane Catanzaro and Chris Jones at Cafe Den Obelix in Hall, Belgium. Photo by Kate Keese.) By Diane Catanzaro and Chris Jones When you’re sitting there in your silk upholstered chair and thinking about your next beer-focused “Vayca,”...
Get a Taste of Smithfield at Red Point Taphouse
A welcoming sign in Smithfield: (L-R) Nick Hess, Julie Hess and Tim Ryan. Photo by Diane Catanzaro By Chris Jones and Diane Catanzaro Farm-to-table dining AND craft beer brewed on premises in a small-town historic building? Yes, please! If this sounds good to...
Prepare for 757 Battle of the Beers
The Garage Brewery won the last Battle of the Beers event. Photo by Eye of the Storm Photography courtesy of Beach Ambassadors. By Jeremy Bender More than 30 regional breweries will vie for this year’s 757 Battle of the Beers crown. The event is held on the grounds...
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...
