2020 Coastal Virginia Magazine Healthcare Heroes
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed life for everyone, but—aside from coronavirus patients and their families—no one more so than healthcare professionals. These brave men and women are not only putting their own lives at risk, but they are also providing comfort and care to those affected by this virus that has thrown the world into [...]
Coastal Virginia Biking Guide
Eight Great Local Spots to Ride Your Way to Better Health and Take in Some Stunning Scenery Along the Way It’s no great secret that bicycling is one of the best and most enjoyable ways to catch a workout. Pedal-power lets you get outside, feel the air, cover a lot of ground and, hopefully, catch [...]
5 Local Hot Sauces to Spice Up Your Summer
Mayo, mustard, ketchup and relish—all popular condiments, but none kick up a dish quite like hot sauce does. Over the last few years, hot sauce has undergone a revolution, and companies in Coastal Virginia are developing their own flavorful take on the spicy condiment. These small-batch producers are creating sauces that range from tongue-tingling mild [...]
2020 Marks the 20th Anniversary of The Norva
If the walls of The NorVa could talk, they’d probably ask how much time you have. The former Vaudeville theater in downtown Norfolk, originally opened in 1922, celebrated its 20th anniversary as a now-legendary local pop music venue on April 28. Since welcoming the Godfather of Soul to its stage on that date in 2000, [...]
Bucket List Boat Trip
When you think of bucket list adventures, your mind might gravitate to experiences like summiting Mount Everest, or maybe hiking the Appalachian Trail. But there’s a rarer quest, completed by only about 150 people per year—and for Coastal Virginians, you don’t even need to get on a plane to do it. It’s called The Great [...]
Summer in a Mason Jar Tomato Jam Recipe
Photos by Kathy Keeney | Recipe by Jacqui Renager As backyard gardens begin overflowing with sun-ripened beefsteaks and Coastal Virginia farm stands are boasting a rainbow crop of heirlooms and old favorites, tomatoes rightfully take center stage on summer plates. But what to do with that big basket of gorgeous—and sometimes delightfully ugly—fruits when you’ve [...]
Back to the Beaches We Love
When you settle down in your hometown, you often take for granted its allure—its infinite sites, attractions and natural beauty that illicit jealousy in out-of-towners and spark marvel in new residents. We Coastal Virginians know this better than anyone. What we lack in the Commonwealth’s characteristic mountain terrain we make up for in pristine sandy shores. Our seven municipalities boast [...]
Uncomfortable Conversations
Our country is at a turning point. I never thought I’d see, in my lifetime, a civil rights movement for racial equality. Images of people marching down city streets and protesting outside city halls and police stations harken back to a seemingly bygone time. But it wasn’t that long ago, was it? My parents were [...]
Norfolk’s Grandiflora Wine Garden Prepares to Open
Besides a newborn baby, nothing expresses faith in the future like a garden. That’s why the plantings and progress at Grandiflora Wine Garden, a nascent three-room inn and wine bar in Norfolk’s Chelsea, delivered a pop of optimism during our cloistered spring. Owners Erin and Jason Edelman and Kenny Gerry had been frantically building out [...]
Virginia Cheese Co. Opens Following COVID-19 Delay
Ashtyn Greene was close to unveiling her Virginia Cheese Company in Norfolk’s Freemason District when COVID-19 nixed that. But she’s resilient (her mom chose her name because a complicated pregnancy meant she would have to be strong, like an ash tree, to survive) and recognizes hidden blessings in the postponement. “Cheesemakers and distributors, like everyone, [...]
Summer Reading Suggestions from Norfolk’s Prince Books
Among the silver linings of the coronavirus pandemic was the opportunity to set aside many of the high-paced distractions of modern life in favor of the simpler things we love. High on the list of many people’s stay-at-home activities: cracking that book they’d been meaning to get to. For me, it was former Virginian-Pilot journalist [...]
Equinox Coffee Co. Creates Weekly Nox Box Amid COVID-19
Equinox Coffee Co. remained open for takeout throughout stay-at-home. “We could be one point of normalcy,” says Heidi Joy Delacruz who manages the cozy coffee shop in Norfolk’s Park Place. To reach those who weren’t venturing out, she and owner Ty Harrell hastened the launch of an online marketplace they’d been brewing for Equinox’s organic, [...]
Norfolk Botanical Garden Plants the Seed for Lifelong Grown, Learning and Innovation
We all have specific cities, venues and events we use to chronicle our lives. For some, their adolescence is archived by summer vacations along the Sandbridge shores or recorded by screams on the corkscrew turns of Busch Garden’s Alpengeist. For most Southside residents, however, their personal histories are tightly intertwined with Norfolk Botanical Garden. As a toddler, you reveled in the WOW Splash Fountains and bounded uphill to Discovery [...]
History Happens at Coastal Virginia Outdoor Attractions
Virginia is, quite literally, at the forefront of American history. The Commonwealth is the birthplace of our nation’s most significant settlements and most influential leaders. For centuries, our local soil produced bountiful harvests and bore the brunt of shipwrecks and heavy artillery during merciless battles by land and sea. Despite the cyclical construction and destruction [...]
Young George Washington Comes to Life at Colonial Williamsburg
When we think about the life and legacy of George Washington, our mind envisions the statesman, military general, Founding Father and first president of the United States. Before he became an exemplary figure in American history, George Washington was a young man unaware of his forthcoming success. A trip to Colonial Williamsburg will introduce you [...]
Virginia is for Park Lovers
A narrow path ascends the banks of the nearby Broad Bay—the deep blue waters reflecting colored ripples from the rustling leaves of towering trees. The trail is heavily trodden, riddled with foliage and sand, and it is quiet, save the occasional crescendo of songbirds or quick staccato of a woodpecker's beak. When traversing the grounds of First Landing State Park, its serenity captures you, offering momentary reprieve from the industrious world that lies just beyond [...]
2020 CoVa Idea House: Serious Fun
If you could have a 16-foot wide “kitchen window” framing a view of boats bobbing in their berths in the sparkling waters near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, you would want that, yes? Of course you would. And that’s just one of the many inspiring ideas taking shape at Coastal Virginia Magazine’s Idea House [...]
