Archive for the ‘Go’ Category

May18

Buying Fresh and Local in Virginia Beach, Virginia

By: JoAnna

Buying Fresh and Local in Virginia Beach, VirginiaBuy fresh. Buy local.

This is the concept around which the farmers market in Virginia Beach is based.

Growing local food. Supporting local communities. Eating healthier, more centrally produced goods. In cities across the United States, farm-to-table community-centered dining has become increasingly popular. Virginia Beach has embraced this idea and not only offers a place for people to buy and sell produce (which tends to be the norm at many farmers markets), but it also offers a true space for the community to come together over good food, entrepreneurial ideas and healthy living.

This farmers market serves the tens of thousands of people who live in Virginia Beach, but it’s even more impressive when compared with the “average” farmers market. Whereas several places offer a space for people to sell goods a few hours a week to the roaming public, the Virginia Beach farmers market is open every day of the year except Christmas. Several farmers markets set up shop in a park under a pavilion or in an oversized parking lot. In Virginia Beach, several permanent structures have turned a standard market space into a center for small business owners to sell their wares out of established shops. On Saturdays, local farmers can set up spaces in the parking lot that surrounds these buildings.

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Posted in: Eat, Go1 comments

May7

Images: Authors Ridge, Sleepy Hollow Cemetery | Concord, Massachusetts

By: JoAnna

The town is fairly inconspicuous. It has an ice cream parlor and a public library on the street corner. There are a of couple coffee shops and parking is limited to the street curbs.

But once you start reading about Concord, Massachusetts, and all the wildly historic events that have occurred there, this quaint little towns turns into a living diorama. The oldest European-settlement beyond tidewater, Concord has a small park that marks where the first shots of the American Revolution were shot on April 19, 1775. The city is teeming with houses that have seen the footsteps of American icons, and throughout the city, visitors can find little reminders — a plaque here, a framed photo there — of what this quiet New England town has witnessed.

One of the highlights of the city is found about a mile northeast of Monument Square. This is the home of Sleepy Hollow Cemetery and Authors Ridge, a collection of crumbling graves in a well-manicured and circuitous graveyard. There are dozens of notable grave sites throughout the cemetery belonging to people who played a role in the Revolutionary War and the years that followed, but it’s on Authors Ridge that several notable writers and thinkers are buried including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Louisa May Alcott. Walking past the graves is like a ghostly stroll through a dusty library. Visitors tip their heads toward each other and whisper about books they’ve read by these figureheads. Some have left pencils and coins in remembrance.

The grave stones are weathered and imperfect. They’re also a beautiful reminder that even the most significant voices may physically be silenced but their words live on.

Click on a photo below to view it and begin a slideshow.

Images: Authors Ridge, Sleepy Hollow Cemetery | Concord, Massachusetts

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Posted in: Go, Photos4 comments

April27

I Love Las Vegas: St. Mark’s Square at The Venetian

By: JoAnna

I Love Las Vegas: St. Marks Square at The VenetianI’ll admit that the crowds on the Las Vegas Strip can be a bit trying on the nerves at times, and there are very specific times that I avoid Las Vegas Boulevard and the most popular attractions in the city. There are spaces I love regardless of how crowded it gets, however, and one of these places is St. Mark’s Square at The Venetian.

Tucked among the Grand Canal Shoppes in The Venetian is St. Mark’s Square, which can be reached by a bridge over a canal on one side, stairs coming up from the conference center on another and down a couple pedestrian walkways that lead right into this bustling corner of The Venetian. I’ve never actually been to Venice or the real St. Mark’s Square, so I don’t know how Las Vegas’ versions compare to the real ones, but there are lots of things I really love about our local take.

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Posted in: Go, I Love Las Vegas0 comments

March26

Images: Rock Art by Roy Purcell in Chloride, Arizona

By: JoAnna

Chloride, Arizona, is a living ghost town.

It’s an odd village with crumbling buildings, a bizarre collection of yard art and an impressive number of tractors. More than 72 mines used to operate in Chloride, and remnants of many of them can still be seen today. There are a few small corner shops where people sell gifts and cold sodas, and occasionally a ghost is spotted wandering around, but other than that, there’s not a whole lot going on in this high desert town.

Except one thing …

Located between Boulder City, Nevada, and Kingman, Arizona, off of US 93, Chloride is the home to a massive rock mural painted by Roy Purcell. The mural is painted across several rocks that are located on the far side of the town. The entire collection of paintings stands 30 feet tall and is known as “The Journey.” It depicts several symbols that have spiritual meanings such as the yin and yang, the serpent and the sun and moon. Purcell originally painted the rocks in 1966 and 1967, and  they have been restored since then, so the colors are bright and vibrant.

If you visit “The Journey,” keep a few things in mind.

> There aren’t a lot of facilities in this part of Arizona, so fill up with gas before visiting.
> Carry water with you. This is the high desert, so it is dry year round and it can be exceedingly hot in the summertime.
> Nothing protects this art, so please be respectful and avoid vandalizing it.

Click on the smaller images below to view the slideshow.

Images: Rock Art by Roy Purcell in Chloride, Arizona

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Posted in: Go, Photos10 comments

March23

A Chicken on the Run in Iowa, Louisiana

By: JoAnna

A Chicken on the Run in Iowa, LouisianaWhen most people think of Mardi Gras, they picture parties powered by booze, strings upon strings of beads and elaborate costumes decked out in sequins and feathers. It’s not an inaccurate picture of Mardi Gras by any stretch of the imagination, but what many people don’t realize is that the celebration has evolved over the years and isn’t the way it used to be.

In years past, many Mardi Gras celebrations used to involve something known as the chicken run, where chickens were tossed out into the wild and children chased and caught them. Upon catching the chickens, their necks were wrung and then they were used in the communal pot of gumbo. People wore simple clothing in the traditional Mardi Gras colors of green, gold and purple to frighten the chickens. Instead of fancy costumes, these were often made out of scraps and masks were simply eye coverings.

The traditional Mardi Gras chicken run has all but died out, but in Iowa, Louisiana, a small town of just under 3,000 people, the ritual lives on. Every year for more than 30 years, community members have gathered for an annual chicken run parade that includes the customary costumes, several chicken throws, zydeco music, dancing for gumbo ingredients and a block party vibe that brings the community together.

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Posted in: Do, Go8 comments

March16

I Love Las Vegas: Smith Center

By: JoAnna

I Love Las Vegas: Smith CenterYou might know Las Vegas for it’s glitz and glam, the highrise hotels and celebrity chefs, Cirque shows and all-night parties.

But now, my friends, Las Vegas is going to become a hotspot for the arts, and I am ridiculously excited!

The Smith Center, which is part of Las Vegas’ downtown revitalization project, sits on five acres and is 100% dedicated to arts and culture. The center includes:

  • A massive, multi-level hall with a full orchestra pit, a huge stage for big-name productions and great seats … even in the balconies.
  • A 258-seat cabaret performance space with full meal service. This space reminds me of cabaret clubs in New Orleans.
  • A small black box theatre that has many uses including rehearsal space, small-scale productions and lecture space.

Education and community outreach play a huge part in the Smith Center’s mission. Students and educators will have access to arts and culture materials and presentations, and a number of resident artists will work closely with the center to enhance creative education throughout the community.

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Posted in: Go, I Love Las Vegas8 comments

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