REVIEW
Piece of Eden Reminds That (Almost) All Are Newcomers
Watching PIECE OF EDEN, it feels like the entire Eastern Shore is working out its culture and history and doing it with enthusiasm and integrity. The play runs through Sunday at Cape Charles’ Historic Palace Theatre. (Wave photo by Ted Warner)
By TED WARNER
Cape Charles Wave
November 16, 2012
Piece of Eden is a rare accomplishment. Theater can be entertaining, and it can be an escape. It can challenge us and move us. But rarely are we reminded that theater can be an artistic expression from the imagination of an entire community — or, in our case, an entire peninsula.
Watching Piece of Eden, it feels like the entire Eastern Shore is working out its culture and history and doing it with enthusiasm and integrity. One suspects that few communities could muster such relevant and enjoyable theater.
The play is a history of the Eastern Shore, beginning moments before the arrival of Europeans and ending at the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Jean Collins, the play’s author, avoids revisionism (the Native Americans are neither noble savages nor savages). Likewise, neither does the play depict the Europeans as greedy, genocidal conquerors, as was fashionable until recently. It is a balanced history. [Read more…]
Moonrise Jewelry to Toast Success at Grand Opening
Moonrise Jewelry founder Meredith Restein is holding a grand opening for her Strawberry Street shop Friday, September 28, from 5-9 p.m. in celebration of the national recognition she is receiving for her coastal designs.
By DONNA BOZZA
Special to the Cape Charles Wave
September 25, 2012
Two months ago, 7th generation Shore native Meredith Restein took a chance and expanded her wholesale jewelry business by opening a retail showroom and working studio in Cape Charles on Strawberry Street.
Since then, Restein says, her Moonrise Jewelry business has been phenomenal.
“It’s far exceeded my most optimistic expectations — it’s been so outstanding we’re expanding to the next building so we have more room for production,” she said.
Customers have been mostly tourists, folks with second homes here, and boaters — along with local people bringing in visiting family and friends.
But “it was my Shore customers who kept me going in a down economy,” said Restein. “They didn’t let me lose faith.”
Restein has heard many women express surprise to find a sophisticated shop like Moonrise Jewelry in the area.
The same can be said for her Strawberry Street neighbor, “Drizzles,” which markets upscale oils, coffee, and condiments. Drizzles opened only a few months before Moonrise Jewelry, and together, the two shops are transforming Strawberry Street.
Restein started her Shore-based business 10 years ago. But her big break came this spring, when her coastal-inspired jewelry was hand-picked by the “queen of women’s shapewear,” Spanx founder Sara Blakely, for the company’s Leg Up promotion. [Read more…]
Local Artisans Exhibiting Sea Glass at National Festival
Cape Charles Mayor Dora Sullivan puts the finishing touches on her original sea glass creation which she will show at the 2012 North American Sea Glass Festival September 15-16 in Virginia Beach. (Wave photo)
By DORIE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
Sea glass, or beach glass, is big business. If you live in Cape Charles you already know that. Several shops on Mason Avenue sell sea glass, including “Dora’s Beach Glass.”
That’s Town Mayor Dora Sullivan, who doesn’t just sell glass – she also crafts it.
This week Sullivan has been putting the finishing touches on some decorative fish with scales made from green and beige sea glass. She’s taking the artwork to exhibit at the North American Sea Glass Festival in Virginia Beach September 15-16.
The festival is a big deal: 10,000 people are expected to attend.
As a sea glass expert, Sullivan was selected to address the festival. She plans to tell about Cape Charles, and why it’s such a good source of sea glass.
But there’s one thing she won’t be telling: where she gets her sea glass. That’s her secret recipe. [Read more…]
Cape Charles Scenes: Plein Air Artists Compete Outdoors
Susan Check and Jenny Windsor of Virginia Beach set up easels in the shade at the harbor to paint the concrete plant. (Wave photos)
BY KAREN JOLLY DAVIS
Cape Charles Wave
September 5, 2012
Twenty painters scattered around Cape Charles over Labor Day weekend to create quick — and beautiful — works of art. Then they gathered at the Stage Door Gallery for their paintings to be judged and awarded prizes.
“On a day that’s not brutally hot, it’s just pleasant to be outside,” said Susan Check. She and Jenny Windsor, both from Virginia Beach, had set up their easels in the small gazebo on the town harbor. They wanted to paint in the shade, and were fascinated by the view that combined boats and a concrete plant.
“We do quite a few plein air events,” said Windsor. “It makes you make decisions fast. It pushes you.”
This weekend’s painting flurry was the fifth plein air happening organized by Arts Enter. The artists scattered all over town, and produced multiple canvases.
Sunday evening, the artists gathered with their paintings to display their work at the Stage Door Gallery and be judged by Irene Ritter, a stone sculptor, former deputy mayor of Nashville, Tennessee, and former editor of Nashville Magazine. Ritter has been friends with gallery manager Ellen Moore for 40 years, and stayed with her during the event.
Artists, art lovers and potential buyers milled around the gallery as Ritter scrutinized each piece. Then someone rang the big iron bell and the crowd hushed. [Read more…]
Creative Writing Soars with 10-Week Workshop
Authors Lenore Hart and David Poyer give writers wings at Eastern Shore’s Own.
By DONNA BOZZA
Special to the Wave
August 26, 2012
Creatively grounded? Why not get serious about starting — or finishing — that novel, short story, memoir, nonfiction article, nonfiction book, play, or screenplay?
Two much-published authors — Lenore Hart and David Poyer — are ready to coach both new and experienced writers in a weekly Creative Writing Workshop at the ESO Arts Center in Belle Haven. The class starts September 4, lasts 10 weeks, and is limited to eight writers on a first-come, first-served basis.
The popular workshop is in its 16th year. David Poyer’s 32 books have been reviewed in the New York Times and on USA Today’s bestseller lists. His work has been translated into Japanese, Dutch, and Italian, and rights have been sold for films and audiobooks. He teaches in the MA and MFA in Creative Writing programs at Wilkes University.
Novelist Lenore Hart will be the primary instructor this fall. Her books have been alternate selections of Book of the Month, Doubleday, and The Literary Guild, and have won the Barnes & Noble Discover Award. Her six critically acclaimed adult novels include Waterwoman, Ordinary Springs, Becky and, most recently, The Raven’s Bride. They have been translated into Norwegian, Swedish, and Portuguese, and two have been optioned for film. [Read more…]
ArtsSplash Summer Theater Camp Grows Self-Esteem
Forest Flynn, 11, plays Robin Hood in the theater camp’s production. (Wave photo)
By KAREN JOLLY DAVIS
Cape Charles Wave
July 25, 2012
The Palace Theater swirls with youthful energy. On stage, choreographer Amy Watkins directs a swordfight. Kids with sticks, plastic swords, bows, and quivers (also full of sticks) lunge at each other with cries of delight.
“So much of what you do in the fight scenes is shown by what you do with your body,” said Watkins, gently organizing the pandemonium. “You don’t really have to hit each other.”
Thirty campers in the ArtsSplash Summer Theater program have two weeks to memorize their lines, movements, songs, and put on two live performances. It’s a lot for a kid to learn, and many of these children are very young.
“The kids learn how to cooperate and take direction,” said Mary Ann Roehm, co-director of Arts Enter, the nonprofit that sponsors the theater camp. “It’s a big confidence booster for them to get on the stage.”
All of the camp staffers are volunteers, said Roehm. Three years ago, Emily Bates —- who runs a children’s theater group in Florida and spends part of the summer in Cape Charles -— walked through the Arts Enter doors. [Read more…]
