Around Town Archive

New Beach club offers good times and all that jazz

VIRGINIA BEACH For years, the Oceanfront club scene has been much more Lil Wayne than John Coltrane. More Lady Gaga than Ella Fitzgerald. More Bruce Springsteen than Miles Davis. That's starting to change, beginning with the new jazz club dejaBlu. The bar opened its doors on the July Fourth weekend, bringing a piece of the New York jazz scene to Atlantic Avenue.

Chesapeake abounds in Easter Egg hunts

With Easter Sunday fast approaching, the Chesapeake Parks and Recreation Department has a basket full of fun activities this week for all the little bunnies in the family. And they don’t cost a long ear and a whisker. In fact, all but one of the programs are free.

Dave Barry prepares - or doesn't, that is - to make it up as he goes along

Dave Barry is on the phone. And, as Barry often writes, "I'm not making this up." "I used that phrase a lot because I lied a lot," Barry said.

Suffolk's Main Street Jazz won’t reopen

SUFFOLK Horace Balmer said he's received more than 900 e-mails over the past two months from people wondering the same thing: "Are you opening back up?" The answer is no.

George Carlin: Evolution of a very funny man

By John Rogers LONG BEFORE he went on stage and began to say "The Seven Words You Can Never Say On TV," got arrested for doing just that in Milwaukee and saw the battle over freedom of expression that it ignited rage all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, George Carlin had a different dream.

Ever wonder how an indoor arena becomes a dirt track?

ON FRIDAY AND Saturday, monster trucks will roar inside Hampton Coliseum - racing, jumping and crushing to the crowds' delight. Exhaust fumes and noise will fill the air, along with one other key ingredient - dirt. Those big trucks need a big pile of dirt to play in, but how do you turn an indoor coliseum into a dirt track?

Whales would be nice, but not vital to a good boat trip

VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON Virginia Aquarium educator Robert Eggleston was sure that participants on the aquarium's whale-watching trip last Saturday would see the humpbacks that feed off Virginia Beach in winter.

Not just any old token

NORFOLK After Dave Chappelle performed at Chrysler Hall in the summer of 2006, staff from the venue presented the comedian with a token - a skateboard personalized by the Sole Brother skate shop in Norfolk. It read, "Dave Chappelle - Sold Out." Chappelle, a bit of a hermit offstage, was thrilled.

Basketball trick-shot wizard leaves onlookers in awe
Comic from Chappelle show this weekend