2017 Samoa Soiree
Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast presented the 9th Annual Samoa Soiree on March 25 at Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center in Norfolk. Guests sampled recipes created by top local chefs who were tasked with creating scrumptious appetizers and desserts using Girl Scout Cookies as a key ingredient. Participating restaurants included The Bee & [...]
The Cavalier Hotel Reopens
Photos by David Uhrin On Valentine’s Day, 2018, a new chapter in Coastal Virginia’s love story with Virginia Beach’s famed, historic hotel-on-the-hill officially began. To mark the grand unveiling of this 90-year-old grande dame, 75 couples with a love connection to The Cavalier Hotel—a wedding or a honeymoon—were treated to a romantic night of dining, [...]
Virginia Arts Festival Honors Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein and JoAnn Falletta, mid '80s This year’s Virginia Arts Festival will once again bring into town a wide variety of world-class artists. But one of the biggest highlights will be our own Virginia Symphony’s tribute to Leonard Bernstein, who would have turned 100 this year. The Symphony’s music director, JoAnn Falletta, studied under [...]
Highlights of the Virginia Arts Festival’s Upcoming Season
This spring the Virginia Arts Festival will enter its 22nd season with an astonishing array of performances you won’t want to miss. “We’re really excited about this year’s lineup,” says Rob Cross, the Festival’s executive director. “Every year when we sit down to plan the next one we say, ‘Let’s have a more manageable season [...]
Exploring the African Influence on Virginia and American Cuisine
Food is an important part of family, memory and tradition. We center our lives and love of family around food. The sight, sounds, smells and tastes of food evoke our most passionate emotions, foster a sense of family and connect us to our history and culture. As families move and grow, cultural connections are maintained [...]
Old Donation School’s Innovative Environment in Virginia Beach
Tim Cole walks across the main lobby of the Old Donation School in Virginia Beach with a revelation of what’s beneath his feet: "Here the mouth of the bay. Here's Fort Story right here." This new school’s foyer floor features a detailed map of the Chesapeake Bay watershed plus the Outer Banks of North Carolina, [...]
3 Local Teachers Go Above and Beyond for Their Students
Sarah Kleinman On a bright January afternoon, students noisily file into a warm classroom at historic Crittenden Middle School in Newport News. Their backpacks and faux fur-trimmed hoodies may be those of typical American middle schoolers, but the noise they make is a distinctive chorus of multilingual chatter. Once they’ve settled in, teacher Sarah Kleinman [...]
United For Children Addresses Community Needs to Improve Education
How do you improve education in a community? That is a vast, nuanced question, the answers to which are not always obvious. Throughout various communities in Coastal Virginia, children face a variety of barriers to learning. For some, it is a lack of a safe learning environment. For others, it might be the absence of [...]
Northampton County’s Migrant Education Program Inspires Kids
Photos by Daniel White Net in hand, Jennifer Davis stalks toward a tall clump of flowering milkweed. “Hang on,” she says. “I might be able to catch this one.” The net drops, and Davis steps back onto the trail amid a chorus of eager young voices. “Did you get it?” “You still have it?” Immediately [...]
Mastering Your Own Mom Cave or She Shed
As three Virginia Beach women prove, with a little female ingenuity, you can have your own “Mom cave” or “she shed” regardless of your budget, space and style. Though “man cave” entered the lexicon c. 1993, courtesy of Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, it wasn’t until about 2012 that the term “mom [...]
Battle of the Burgers: 11 Burgers Paired with Craft Beers
There are several key components that make up a luscious burger. First, there’s the bun: two pillows of tender or toasted bread (waffles work too), substantial enough to hold the juicy contents layered between but not so bready as to steal the glory of those contents. Then the star of the show: the meat—or, in [...]
Experience the Eats, Drinks and Natural Beauty of the Eastern Shore
Nestled between the Atlantic Ocean and the Chesapeake Bay lies the Eastern Shore of Virginia, first explored by Captain John Smith in 1608. Known for its lush, natural beauty, the area is also home to some of the most succulent oysters. Stretching along seven regions, oysters take on the flavors of the bay. From salty [...]
Eastern Shore Family Has Served Radio Listeners for 60 Years
The old lament, “When I was your age, I had to walk 5 miles to school in the snow,” gets a roll of the eyes nowadays. But consider the middle-aged owners of a small-town radio station having to abandon their vehicle in a blizzard to trudge through unplowed country roads and blinding snow—all to get [...]
Searching for God in the 7 Cities: Buddhism
Photos by Tom Robotham Just as the great ocean has one taste, the taste of salt, so also this teaching and discipline has one taste, the taste of liberation. ~ The Buddha I’ve been drawn to Buddhism for most of my life—so much so that I sometimes call myself a Budeo-Christian, a term I’ve [...]
Virginia Women’s Monument Coming to Richmond
March is Women’s History Month, and with each new year comes new milestones and movements. This March we can look forward to a new Virginia Women’s Monument coming to Richmond in 2019, while looking back at some of Virginia’s most influential females. The monument, titled Voices from the Garden, will be built in Richmond’s Capitol [...]
2018 Outer Banks Taste of the Beach
The annual Outer Banks Taste of the Beach 4-day culinary event is a beloved favorite by us here at Coastal Virginia Magazine and many folks that call Coastal Virginia home. Well familiar with the beautiful beaches of the Outer Banks in the summertime, many Coastal Virginia residents make the journey each March to be a [...]
Team Up 2 Clean Up Boosts Community Effort to Pick Up Litter
Litter awareness is top of mind each spring, thanks to a bevy of beautification and cleanup events that take place across Coastal Virginia. To make it easier for individual residents and groups to lead their own efforts, askHRgreen.org has launched Team Up 2 Clean Up. “With 51 billion pieces of litter tossed into the environment [...]
Preventing Skin Cancer
Skin cancer is something we hear about frequently but unfortunately is something we may not be fully aware of when it comes to our own bodies. Here is a quick lesson on what to look for, when to seek professional help and what steps you can take to avoid getting it in the first place. [...]
Gigantic Jr., the Official Easter Bunny of Virginia Beach
Honored by Mayor Will Sessoms with the title of the official Easter Bunny of Virginia Beach, Lord Roland Watson Beldon Maxwell VIII, or Jr. for short, is as enormous in size as his name. With his storybook proportions and deemed the largest rabbit in America, at the age of 3, the gargantuan Jr. stands at [...]
Audible Egg Hunt Helps Vision-Impaired Children Cherish Easter
On a warm Saturday afternoon in April, children search for large, plastic eggs in the grass beside the pavilion of the Holiday Trav-L-Park campgrounds in Virginia Beach. But instead of searching for the eggs with their eyes, these children use their ears. The eggs emit a constant chirping sound, making it easier for children with [...]
Photographer Adds Artful Vision to Symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis
Brazil-born photographer Andrezza Haddaway has always used her photography to express emotions, whether shooting seascapes, portraits, still life or nature. Photography has played a major role in her life, leading her to meet her husband, Matt Haddaway, and moving from Brazil to Virginia Beach with him in 2011. As a photographer, Andrezza seeks to find [...]
Home Decoration and Landscaping Tips for Spring
From landscaping to home entertainment, paint colors and kitchen upgrades, here are our tips for improving your home and yard this spring. Lovely Landscapes Ideas for Creating A Tranquil Outdoor Space By Chelsea Sherman This is the time of year when you want to spend as much time outdoors as possible. Whether you regularly entertain [...]
Right Side: The GOP Tax Plan
There is a scene in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off in which the teacher, played by Ben Stein, drones on about the Smoot-Hawley Tariff. Bludgeoned with boredom, saliva spills from students’ mouths and heart rhythms slow to a trickle. It is my goal, granted a lofty one, to not replicate that scene, for this is an [...]
Left Side: The GOP Tax Plan
President Trump told a lot of whoppers during his first year in office, but the biggest lie of all was his claim, in mid-December, that the GOP tax plan was “one of the greatest Christmas gifts to the middle class.” In private he was more honest. Shortly after signing the legislation, he celebrated with some [...]
Hampton Roads vs. Coastal Virginia: The Debate Over Regional Identity
“Los Angeles give me Norfolk, Virginia Tidewater four ten o nine Tell the folks back home this is the promised land callin' And the poor boy's on the line” --Chuck Berry, “Promised Land” The next time you're on a return road trip from destinations beyond the Chesapeake Bay watershed, try rolling down your car window [...]
Habitat for Humanity Seeks Military Family for New Home
Habitat for Humanity of South Hampton Roads is searching for one local military family to claim a new home on behalf of the organization’s Habitat for Heroes initiative. This year’s Habitat for Heroes program features a new construction home located in the Western Branch neighborhood of Chesapeake. Wanting to extend its mission beyond the construction [...]
5 Best Bike Paths in Coastal Virginia
Elizabeth River Trail, Norfolk As spring arrives with blooming bouquets of flowers and bright rays of sunshine, clean and convenient, stylish and swift bikes make for a nice way to get outdoors and get around. Many Coastal Virginia cities are paving the way for cyclists to discover more with paths in their community and parks [...]
What It’s Like to Discover Your Child Isn’t Your Biological Child
Photo by Monica Myers "It was a Tuesday after a holiday weekend. When I pulled the envelope from the mailbox, I felt in my gut that the news would not be good. I sat at my kitchen table and stared at the envelope in my palms. I took a deep breath and then I prayed. [...]
Resolute Weekend in Harrisonburg Pairs Enticing Eats with Exclusive Brews
On a Friday evening in Harrisonburg, I hit the street at the center of the city, looking up toward the grand clock tower of Rockingham County Courthouse as its white stones deflect off hues of twilight orange from the sunset. The historic landmark built in the 1890s at Court Square serves as a navigation point [...]
Popular and Unique Summer Camp Options for Your Child
The word “camp” has evolved over the years. And because of that, there are so many fantastic options available to pique just about any child’s interest. As a starting place, most cities in the area offer a variety of camp options through their Parks & Recreation divisions. For more specific options, here is a brief [...]
