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...
Holiday Happenings in the 757
(Get out and enjoy the spectacular Million Bulb Walk at Norfolk Botanical Garden through January 2. ) HOLIDAY LIGHTS & PARADES Million Bulb Walk Norfolk Botanical Garden November 12 through January 2 5-9:30 PM Nightly NBGlights.org Get out and enjoy the...
The Beauty of Baseball
(THREE GENERATIONS OF FANS: My father's boyhood baseball glove from the 1930s, holding a ball signed by my son's Little League team, which I coached. Photo by Tom Robotham) By Tom Robotham The one constant through all the years has been baseball. ~ Terence Mann,...
VIEWPOINT: AFGHANISTAN: Lessons We Should Have Learned
By John L. Horton Come September 20, I shall celebrate my 81st birthday. As such, I am a 30-year (October 15, 1958 – November 1, 1988), retired, Marine sergeant major, 100 percent disabled, Vietnam combat veteran. Come September 11, 2021, America...
Legacies of 9/11
By Tom Robotham On the evening of September 10, 2001, I was watching Band of Brothers with my then-8-year-old son. At one point, he asked me if I’d ever been to war. “No,” I told him. “I was lucky. I missed the Vietnam-War draft by just a couple of years. I...
Small Charities Benefit from Millers Bikes & Brews
(Jeff Miller of Millers Energy tests his bike out at Benchtop Brewing Company) By Jeff Maisey What better way to reacquaint yourself with the scenic Elizabeth River Trail than by participating in Millers Bike & Brews 2021? The bicycle ride begins at 2 PM on...
Jesus Christ Superstar Ascends Once Again
(Omar Lopez-Cepero, Aaron LaVigne and the company of the North American Tour of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR. Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade.) By Jerome Langston “This is a role that I’ve been hoping and praying for—for years and years,” says actor Elvie Ellis, who...
The Game’s Afoot for the Norfolk Chamber Consort
(TWO-GETHER: Andrey Kasparov and Oksana Lutsyshyn) By Montague Gammon III The Norfolk Chamber Consort closes its 54th Season with a concert titled “The Game of Pairs.” Husband and wife performers, father and son composers, deux French composers, sibling string...
ChaWa Embodies Mardi Gras Indian Culture
By Jeff Maisey This year’s Bayou Bon Vivant Festival featuring Cajun cuisine like crawfish and jambalaya, folk art from souther Louisiana, and live music equal in caliber to the famous New Orleans Jazz Festival will be one to remember. Entertainers such as...
THEATER: The Embodiment of Nina Simone
(Actress/singer Yolanda Rabun portrays Nina Simone) By Jerome Langston “She truly embodies Nina Simone,” says actress/director Kathryn Hunter-Williams, during a recent phone chat, in anticipation of the play with music that she’s directing for the Virginia Stage...
Gaining Glass Art Perspectives
By Betsy DiJulio In 2022, Eddie and Brad Waitzer, directors of the Leah and Richard Waitzer Foundation, together with their brother Scott, generously bestowed upon the Barry Museum of Art their late parents’ collection of works in glass. Not only does the gift pay...
Olga Kern Leads Rachmaninoff 150 Year Celebration
By Jeff Maisey This year, the Virginia Arts Festival will pay homage to Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff’s 150th birthday as part of its Chamber Music Series of concerts. Front and center for most of these performances is the phenomenal, often animated pianist...
Loss and Pandemic Reveal Another Side of Josh Ritter
By Jim Morrison For Josh Ritter, the journey to his new album began with a family road trip from Brooklyn to his boyhood hometown in Idaho, where his mother was in the final steep decline of ovarian cancer. It was death in the time of COVID. There was no vaccine. His...
All That Chicago Jazz
(Bianca Marroquin and Lewis Cleale) By Jeff Maisey Fresh on the heels of last year’s “The Sound of Music” in concert, the Virginia Arts Festival presents “Chicago The Musical” in concert May 6 at Chrysler Hall. For audiences, experiencing Broadway musicals in a...
CONCERT PREVIEW: World of Music Speaks Universal Language
By Jeff Maisey Banjo legend Béla Fleck has been keen to expand the boundaries of his instrument, composing, performing, and exploring the realms of acoustic music in jazz, Western classical, bluegrass, and within the complex world of classical Indian. Together with...
PREVIEW: All Things Equal
(Michelle Azar stars as Ruth Bader Ginsburg Photo courtesy of Bay Street Theater.) By Jim Roberts The playwright Rupert Holmes and actress Michelle Azar are sharing universal acclaim for “All Things Equal—The Life & Trials of Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” a one-woman show...
Smartmouth’s Pilot House Takes Flight
By Jeff Maisey What better way for Smartmouth Brewing Company to complete 2017 – a year that marked its 5th anniversary and a year in which it won Best of Show at the Virginia Craft Brewers Guild annual Virginia Beer Cup competition – than with the highly anticipated...
Alewerks Wins Veer’s 2017 Golden Tap Award
By Jeff Maisey Williamsburg-based Alewerks won Veer Magazine’s 2017 Golden Tap Award, unseating 3-time champ O’Connor Brewing Company. The competition this year was extremely close among the top four points-earning local breweries. While Alewerks took top honor with a...
Alkaline: From Pop-Up to Permanent
By Marisa Marsey “Take less than you need. Lean in close,” Kevin Ordonez hunches over a steaming bowl to demonstrate proper ramen etiquette, plunging chopsticks into the insanely aromatic Japanese broth with noodles. “SLURP LOUDLY. Let it splatter all over your face.”...
O’Connor Invades Raleigh/Durham Market
By Jeff Maisey We at Veer Magazine have enjoyed covering O’Connor Brewing Company’s many stages of growth since its humble beginnings in 2010 producing Green Can, Norfolk Canyon and Red Nun from a small warehouse to its position today as one of the most successful...
Deadline Brewing Project: Read All About It
By Diane Catanzaro & Chris Jones Deadline Brewing Project is a brand new “nanobrewery” in Virginia Beach near the intersection of West Great Neck Road and Shore Drive. Anchored by two television news reporters and one former print journalist, Deadline’s grand...
Distiller Andrew Shand reflects on his time in Virginia
By Jim Roberts The last time Veer Magazine spoke with Andrew Shand, it was April 2015, when he was helping Virginia Distillery Co. start producing its own single malt whiskey in Lovingston, about 35 miles south of Charlottesville. Later that year, Virginia Distillery...
Bier Garden Marks 20th Anniversary with Oktoberfest
By Jeff Maisey I arrived at Olde Towne Portsmouth’s Bier Garden around 10 AM one morning, and sitting at a dining room table was Dad (Anton) Osfolk, as he often is, peeling potatoes by hand for the day’s freshly made German Potato Salad. In the kitchen, son Kevin is...
Not Your Father’s Orapax
By Marisa Marsey When I called Orapax’s owner Nick Seretis to schedule an interview for the scoop on the treasured neighborhood Greek restaurant’s makeover – its refreshing new Santorini-styled look, a liquor license to unleash creative cocktails (I’ll have a...
Beer Battle for a Good Cause
By Jeff Maisey Shawn Fischer is the official “Ambassador of Beer” for Beach Ambassadors, a dedicated group of community-minded people in Virginia Beach who donate time and effort it raise money and awareness for those in need. Like these goodwill ambassadors, local...
Néktar For The Gods (And Those Who Aspire To Such Heights)
By Marisa Marsey Gucci, Ferrari, Lamborghini. To such sigh-inducing, lavish lifestyle names, Robert Dozier Jr., aims to add Néktar. And why not? While his business is based here in Hampton Roads, his ultra-premium, 100% natural liqueur comes from Italy, too. “Italy...
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