Norfolk Funds The Arts
Twenty-eight local arts organizations received funding support from the City of Norfolk Arts Commission. The Commission increased its support for the new fiscal year. “We are thankful that Norfolk Arts was awarded $300,000, up from $220,000, for the first time in...
ESSAY: Bites of the Big Apple
Words & Photo by Tom Robotham One can’t paint New York as it is, but rather as it is felt. - Georgia O’Keeffe Last month in this space, I wrote about what I call the resonance of place: the vibrations in your very soul that you feel at the mere mention of a...
ESSAY: The Forgotten Borough
By Tom Robotham There are places I remember / All my life, though some have changed. – John Lennon Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about places that hold deep meaning for me: Manhattan; Paris; Leicester, England, birthplace of my paternal grandfather; parts of...
The Virginia Arts Festival Honors a Norfolk Jewel: Elbert Watson
Elbert Watson (center) in a photo by Jack Mitchell. “Three Black Kings”: Dudley Williams as Martin Luther King, Jr., Elbert Watson as Balthazar and Clive Thompson as King Solomon dance in Alvin Ailey’s paean to the three historic figures. The work was set to the last...
ESSAY: Distorting History
By Tom Robotham Last month, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill banning public-college courses that “distort” historical events. When I read this news, I couldn’t help noting the irony. The American South, after all, has a very long track record of distorting...
GRC and TWBW Offer Lessons in How Non-Profits Can Help Each Other
By Joel Rubin A canoe and a Bevin’s Skiff look remarkably alike, but you row a skiff, you paddle a canoe. So says Tom Brandl, US Naval Academy grad, retired Marine Colonel, eight consecutive year summer student at a renowned boatbuilding school in Brooklin, Maine and...
A-List Jazz Vocal Summit at The Z
(Jane Monheit will teach and perform over 3-day event focused on jazz vocalists) By Jerome Langston It is quite early in my highly enjoyable, recent phone chat with Jane Monheit, when the acclaimed jazz singer pays me a particularly flattering compliment. “You have a...
The Story of The Dome Is a Must-See
By Jeff Maisey With “That Was Our Room: The Life & Times of the Dome,” Norfolk-based documentarian Paul Unger hones-in his skills as a storyteller. Unger, whose credits include “Hardcore Norfolk: The Movie,” is keen to set the stage with archival television...
Festevents to Commemorate The Boathouse During Harborfest
By Jeff Maisey “We were backstage and there was a buffet spread out with chicken, roast beef and all kinds of good stuff,” recalled singer David Middleton, whose local band, the Waxing Poetics, opened for numerous nationally touring acts, including the Ramones, at the...
Ghent Pride & More
On Tuesday, June 20, Ghent Pride will return in style thanks to the perseverance of event organizer Robert Roman. Together with his husband, Claus Ihlemann, Roman has been one of the most active people in Hampton Roads lobbying politicians, businesses, and ordinary...
MUSIC: Winter Winds
(Vocalist Amanda Batcher coming home to sing with the Tidewater Winds) By Jim Roberts John Brewington got his Christmas wish back in August—when Amanda Batcher agreed to sing at the Tidewater Winds’ upcoming holiday concert. Brewington is the musical director for the...
STAGE: A Larger Christmas Carol
(Beatty Barnes Jr. portraying Ebenezer Scrooge in Virginia Stage Company's “A Merry Christmas Carol.” Photo by Sam Flint. By Jerome Langston "We’ve been able to build this – for the last 3 years,” says Tom Quaintance, Virginia Stage Company’s producing Artistic...
ART NEWS: Remembering Anne Iott
(Anne Iott’s “Fallen Tree II,” Watercolor, 1998) By Betsy DiJulio On October 8, this community lost someone who has been called a “lodestar of my better self,” “a force of nature” and “a pit bull for her faculty.” As five people who worked with Anne Iott for decades...
A Symphony Concert of Profound and Positive Hope
(Thomas Wilkins, conductor) By Montague Gammon III Virginia Symphony Orchestra’s Brahms and Dvořák with Thomas Wilkins November concert features “music that is going to make you feel better about yourself at the end of the evening,” says the VSO’s Principal Guest...
All Things Equal is Unequalled Theatre
(Michelle Azar stars as Ruth Bader Ginsburg Photo courtesy of Bay Street Theater.) By Montague Gammon III The most important play that anyone in Hampton Roads will see this year, and probably for many years to come, crops up for just one single early November night...
Beloved Aladdin Brings Joy to Chrysler Hall
(Adi Royas as Aladdin. Photo by Deenvan Meer/Disney.) By Jerome Langston “To me, it kind of feels like destiny. It’s like a full circle moment for me,” says actor Adi Roy, who plays the title role of Aladdin, in the Broadway touring production of Disney’s “Aladdin,”...
Virginia Opera’s Edge of the Seat Comedy
Mezzo soprano Hilary Ginther By Montague Gammon III One of the most popular and well known of all operas, Gioachino Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville,” comes to the Harrison Opera House the first weekend of November in a brand new Virginia Opera production that...
ART: Climate and Culture Dominate Enos Exhibition
By Betsy DiJulio A quick look at the paintings and drawings of Solomon Enos would leave one with the impression that his work gives form to a dystopian, post-apocalyptic future. But that’s why a quick look at art is rarely adequate. While the work leans heavily into...
Violent Femmes Happy to Return to Norfolk
By Jeff Maisey This year marks the 40th anniversary of American folk/punk band Violent Femmes. The Milwaukee-based group made an impressive debut in 1983 with the self-titled album which spawned the longtime classic singles “Blister in the Sun” and “Gone Daddy...
The Gift of the Fiddler
By Jerome Langston “In all honesty, it’s kind of the gift that keeps on giving. If you have to be associated with one show repeatedly in your career, I couldn’t think of a better one to be associated with,” says Gary John La Rosa, the famed director/choreographer,...
1865 Brewing Company – Freedom Starts Here!
HISTORIC BREW: (L-R) Whitteney Guyton, Randy Jones and William “Billy” Comer. Photo credit Diane Catanzaro. By Diane Catanzaro and Chris Jones The Phoebus section of Hampton oozes charm. Cruise down Mellen Street at the intersection with Mallory and you get the feel...
Downtown Norfolk Restaurant Week Begins
(Brick Anchor Brew-House offers a variety of pub fare and healthy options) By Jeff Maisey From January 17-24, Downtown Norfolk will be presenting its winter Restaurant Week. This year, in the midst of the ongoing pandemic, it is a welcomed promotion for restauranteurs...
Smartmouth and O’Connor Among Best in Nation
By Jeff Maisey Norfolk-based O’Connor Brewing Company and Smartmouth Brewing Company each scored gold medals earlier this fall when the Brewers Association held a virtual version of the 34th annual Great American Beer Festival in Denver. In total, 1,720...
HOLIDAY DINING: Feast Out (Or Get Gobbles To Go)
(Thanksgiving to-go includes delicious Edwards’ ham biscuits from Chef Kevin Sharkey at 1608 Craft House in Virginia Beach.) By Marisa Marsey I can’t blame infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci for squashing big family gatherings at home this Thanksgiving. Even...
The Rebranding of St. George Beer
By Jeff Maisey Knights, castles, dragons — oh my. I’ve always been drawn to the imagery, symbolism and concept of St. George Brewing Company in Hampton. From the prominent red cross on white background crest of St George and the weaponry of Medieval British...
Pandemic Brings Pizzeria to Norfolk Tap Room
(Vincent Ranhorn, Todd Craig, and Todd Leutner) By Jeff Maisey Back in the 1980s and ‘90s, I used to make my way up to New York City for concerts, shopping in SoHo and the Village, and an authentic slice of the Big Apple — pizza. When some old school music friends...
Saddle-up to the Coach House
(Dana & Kevin Kern bring delicious bistro fare to the north end of Colley.) By Jeff Maisey I pony my hungry self up to the Coach House, ask for a Soggy Dollar Painkiller to relax my mind a bit, and peruse the menu while I await the arrival of two amigos. It’s...
Well-Aged Williamsburg Winery
(Winemaker Matthew Meyer stands proud of his gold medal winning 2017 Petit Verdot Reserve. Courtesy photo.) By Jim Roberts In spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 is turning out to be a vintage year for the Williamsburg Winery. In January the winery won 11 medals at...
Fall For Restaurant Wines
(At Voilà, delicious red wines from South Africa, Sonoma, and the Burgundy region of France pair perfectly with the ever-popular entree, Beef Wellington.) By Marisa Marsey When 2020 began, the biggest headaches in the wine world were tariffs and hard seltzer. Then...
757 Breweries Win Awards
(Elation Brewing Company of Norfolk scores a silver in the Fruit/Vegetable category) By Jeff Maisey Breweries from Hampton Roads scored medals in Richmond on Monday where the Virginia Craft Brewers Guild announced the 2020 winners in its ninth annual statewide...
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