2023 HOLIDAY CHILDREN/FAMILY EVENTS
“A Christmas Carol” December 2 The American Theatre hamptonarts.org Perhaps the best loved holiday story of all time, this adaptation of Dickens’ classic is particularly suited to children. Watch Mr. Scrooge have a change of heart from stone to gold as he is visited...
2023 HOLIDAY CONCERTS
(Good Shot Judy bring their swingin' Noel show to Kimball Theatre in Williamsburg December 14-17) Mannheim Steamroller November 28 Ferguson Center for the Arts fergusoncenter.org Mannheim Steamroller Christmas has been America’s favorite holiday tradition for...
2023 HOLIDAY THEATER
“A Drag Queen Christmas” November 24 Sandler Center for the Performing Arts sandlercenter.org For the 9th consecutive year, Murray & Peter present, “A Drag Queen Christmas," the longest running drag tour in America. Get ready for Host Miz Cracker plus your...
2023 HOLIDAY DANCE
(The Hip Hop Nutcracker returns to Chrysler Hall) “Nutcracker: Magical Christmas Ballet” November 26 Sandler Center for the Performing Arts sandlercenter.org Gather your loved ones for the warm-glow-nostalgia of America’s favorite Christmas celebration....
Black Friday Record Store Day
By Jeff Maisey Black Friday — the day after Thanksgiving — was once the busiest sales day of the year for retailers across the spectrum. While that’s not necessarily the case any longer as brick-and-mortar retail has declined over the last decade, record stores are...
Virginia Arts Festival Announces Season
(Adrienne Warren is a highlight of the upcoming season) By Jeff Maisey The Virginia Arts Festival has unveiled its 2024 season, a mix of audience favorites and newcomers sure to please. One of the upcoming season highlights will be an evening with musical theater...
2023 Holiday Markets
Holiday Boutique November 17 through December 24 Virginia Beach Art Center artcentervb.org Impress loved ones with unique, hand-crafted gifts of fine art and artisan crafts. Give a gift like no other. Mistletoe Market November 18 Wells Theatre vastage.org...
2023 Holiday Lights & Parades
HOLIDAY LIGHTS & PARADES Garden of Lights Norfolk Botanical Garden Through December 31 5-9:30 PM Nightly NBGlights.org Get out and enjoy the spectacular 1.5 million lights at Norfolk Botanical Garden through New Year’s Eve. Barks & Bulbs Norfolk...
NEON Shines Bright with The Arts
(Kyle Confehr’s The Kindness of Strangers mural. Photo by Jon Abrahams of Jpixx) By Jerome Langston When urbanist and scholar, Richard Florida, first introduced the “creative class” into our popular lexicon back in the early aughts, his ideas were heralded as being...
Hoggard. Remembering Joe
By Jim Raper On a fall night sometime in the late 1980s I dined with a professional group of about 20 at Joe Hoggard’s Ships Cabin restaurant in Norfolk’s East Ocean View. Our main course this evening would be cioppino. “It’ll be the best fish soup you’ve ever had,”...
Hornsby + yMusic = BrhyM
By Jeff Maisey Grammy-winning piano man Bruce Hornsby, known for his pop hits “The Way It Is” and “Mandolin Rain,” has a new collaboration project where he teamed with experimental chamber ensemble yMusic for a refreshing new album — “Deep Sea Vents.” Pop artists such...
ODU Students Shine in 2024 Exhibition
(Avery Keys’ Static ) By Betsy DiJulio “Is it my imagination or is ODU student work considerably stronger than in the past?” I asked John Roth, professor and chair of the ODU art department, via messenger, pressing further, “If the latter, to what do you attribute...
Threshold Rides Symbolism
By Betsy DiJulio Janus, the two-faced Roman god, is featured on the discreet, but rather baroque, medallion mounted above the entrance to the American Academy in Rome’s main building (c. 1914) with its austere, symmetrical, and orderly Renaissance architectural...
Collage Dance Collective Brings Diverse Repertoire to Norfolk
By Jerome Langston No, I’m not in Memphis, but the dancers are working with our rehearsal director, getting ready for our upcoming tour,” says Kevin Thomas, the founding Artistic Director of Collage Dance Collective, in reply to my inquiry about his whereabouts....
World Premiere, Mozart and a Monumental Work
(Composer Juhi Bansal was commissioned by Virginia Symphony Orchestra to create a new classical music work — To Call the Rain.) By Montague Gammon III The Virginia Symphony Orchestra again gives Hampton Roads audiences the honor of being the planet’s first to hear a...
Overnite Lows High on Original Songwriting
(Larry Berwald and Scott McMahan) By Jeff Maisey Musicians Larry Berwald and Scott McMahan, in collaboration with The Roads Bistro in Virginia Beach, have started a new series they call Songs & Stories: An Evening of Original Music. Presented on the fourth...
Virginia Opera’s Madama Butterfly is the Real Deal
By Montague Gammon III Authenticity is a hallmark of Virginia Opera’s early March, Season 49 closing production of Madama Butterfly, Giacomo Puccini’s tragedy of Japanese-American romance. From the Asian-born director's fundamental ideas about staging it, to...
Three Musketeers Brings Rankin Back to Norfolk
By Jerome Langston It was early in my recent phone chat with Tom Quaintance, the Producing Artistic Director of Virginia Stage Company, and award-winning fight director Steve Rankin (pictured above), that I realized how far back their friendship goes. Tom is about to...
As Goode as it Gets
(The exterior is aglow with European charm. Photo by CPix Aperture.) By Betsy DiJulio Gone are the pungent aromas of hay, manure, and gasoline. But in their place, as of January 13, are faint whiffs of damp clay, oil paint, and linseed oil. Nestled into the...
Roberta Lea Poised For Greatness
By Jim Morrison While the COVID pandemic forced many artists into secluded hibernation, it provided Roberta Lea with the opportunity to venture down the path of a new career. Lea, who dabbled in songwriting and played open mics since she was a teen two decades ago,...
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...
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...
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