BBQ Sammies and 80s Jams

I love traditions, which is part of why I love spring and summer in our region so much. I just love knowing it's time for wine fest, beer festivals, beach days and one of our longest-standing traditions, the Portsmouth Beer, Band & BBQ. We've been going for at least five years, and the event has only existed for 7!

Here are a few pictures from our fun night:

Erica got a Fujifilm Instax camera, which prints the cutest little Polaroid-style pics. This seems like just the kind of thing I need/don't need at all!

Wine Club represents...minus a couple folks, of course.

Me and my best gal pal.

We danced our butts off to the '80s tunes of The Deloreans, ALWAYS a good show. Next up: O'Connoroo, a beer fest at O'Connor Brewing (although I think I might have to miss for a work event), and the Newport News Greek Fest. Our May festival season is winding down!

A Taste of India in Norfolk

When I was about 7, my family took me to an Indian cultural festival in New Jersey. I sipped sugarcane juice, bought bracelets and loved seeing the sculptures of Vishnu and Ganesh. I've always loved the Indian culture ever since, and when I saw that Norfolk is host to a festival called Taste of India every year, I told my husband, "Why do we make it a point to go to the Greek festival every year, but not to the Indian festival?"

The festival was held in the Ted Constant Convocation Center on the campus of Old Dominion University and it was so fun! There were plenty of Indian foods to try, an entire room of saris and tunics called kurtis and sparkly jewelry, and my favorite part: Bollywood-style dancing!!!!!!

Sugarcane juice was exactly as I remembered...throwback to childhood!

I tried Nawab's Chicken Makhani (butter chicken), which was a pretty safe choice on my part, but it was delicious just the same.

And Sean and I shared two scoops of pistachio (not my fave) and rose (delicious) Indian ice cream while we watched the Bhangra dance competition. I'm looking forward to possibly making it an annual tradition, just like going to the Greek festival. Since May is around the corner, it's definitely the festival season. If you're local, don't miss:

• May 2-3: Wine Fest in Norfolk.
• May 3: Mariners Museum Craft Beer Festival in Newport News
• May 14-17: Greek Festival in Norfolk
• May 16: Stockley Gardens Art Festival in Norfolk
• May 16: Beer, Band & BBQ in Portsmouth
• May 16: LAVA Music Festival in Suffolk
• May 28-31: Newport News Greek Festival
• May 30: O'Connoroo 2015 in Norfolk

About Town: Boardwalk Art Show,

Oh y'all....I completely lied about getting myself together this week! Work exploded and today, I'm driving to visit my bestie Bret for a weekend in Savannah. I am READY to go on a nice weekend trip, for sure.

But while I'm enjoying life down South, I don't want to leave you with no suggestions of how to spend your Hampton Roads weekend!

For more than 50 years, the Virginia Beach Boardwalk has been transformed into miles and miles of gallery space for the Boardwalk Art Show. Give yourself a lot of time to hit this one up this weekend...it's worth it, but it's definitely not something to breeze through! It's free to attend.

Catch some of the region's best local up-and-coming musical acts at the Out of the Box festival in Norfolk on Saturday, featuring food trucks and music from some of my absolute favorite local musicians and singers.

Eat your way through Europe at Busch Gardens Food & Wine Festival, which continues on weekends until June 29. Admission to the festival is included in park admission, and individual tastings cost between $3 and $7.

About Town: Harborfest, The Princess Bride & Avett Brothers

I've been a bad blogger this week! I have a minor head cold that's making me act like a big baby, BUT there's some super great stuff going on in Hampton Roads this weekend that I couldn't ignore! 

Harborfest is the kind of event that makes me so happy to live here. Tall ships sail into the harbor at Norfolk AND there's a spectacular fireworks show on Saturday night. There are also all kinds of concerts and other free entertainment. It's pretty great and gets under way today with the Parade of Sail starting at noon.

 Relive your childhood by going to see The Princess Bride on the big screen at the Naro in Norfolk, presented by AltDaily at 9:15 p.m. tonight.

 Also tonight, The Head and the Heart will perform a FREE show for Harborfest at 8:30 p.m. I love their music, so we're going to try to make it to this one assuming I can keep my stuffy nose at bay.

And if you love The Head and the Heart, odds are you worship The Avett Brothers, who are playing in Portsmouth at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday.

About Town: Greeks, Pirates and Beer

Another weekend in Hampton Roads, another line-up of festivals! What can I say? It's just that time of year!

Newport News Greek Festival

One of my favorite traditions is grabbing a meal at the Newport News Greek Festival and watching the adorable teenagers perform traditional dances. I love imagining the teenage angst that goes into every rehearsal as I munch on the most delicious Greek fries and sweet honey loukimades. 

The festival starts tonight and is going from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday and 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday at 60 Traverse Road (right beside the Greek Orthodox Church).

O'Connoroo

O'Connor Brewing will be opening in its new location with O'Connoroo, a one-day festival of music, food and fun starting at 2 p.m. Saturday that seemingly all of the people I know are planning to attend. The bands are some of my favorites in the area and I can't wait to try some of the food!

Blackbeard Festival

Get your pirate on at the 15th Annual Blackbeard Festival in Hampton, a celebration of the feared pirate and his final battle in the Hampton harbor. Here's a full schedule of the festival's events.

Anything else awesome going on in the 757? Leave it in the comments!

Introducing AT: About Town

Friends, remember when I said I was going to write weekend previews for the benefit of locals looking for what's good in the 757? And then I didn't do it? Yeah, my bad. BUT my bestie Ashleigh agreed to write the column, so with a few suggestions added in from me, here's what we came up with:

Amber: Tonight is the last concert in the 2013-2014 Art After 5 concert series at the Peninsula Fine Arts Center and we'll be hosting the lovely and talented Skye Zentz will be performing. We'll also have the STUFT food truck and a cash bar and a chance to see our new exhibit. Shameless plug!! Event is from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Ashleigh: First off, I'd like to put it out there that I travel all over Hampton Roads for happenings and favor no one city over the next. I live in Norfolk so by default I usually know more about Norfolk events. That being said, this weekend's preview has an abundance of events. I love the warmer months!

Friday, make sure you drive-thru or park and enjoy Norfolk's best Greek Festival! Family-friendly atmosphere, music and GREAT FOOD! Try the Loukoumades and Spanakopita! Friday and Saturday they are open 11a-10p. The event runs May 15-18.

Where: Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 7220 Granby Street, Norfolk
Website: http://norfolkgreekfestival.com/

Amber: This weekend is the perfect art weekend, with the spring Stockley Gardens Art Festival set up on Saturday and Sunday in the Ghent area of Norfolk AND....drumroll, please ....

Amber: On Saturday, this giant rubber duck art installation will be the focus of everyone's attention in the Hague area of Norfolk, right in front of the Chrysler Museum (which reopened last week after a $24 million renovation).

Ashleigh: Saturday is the highlight of my weekend because it's the 6th Annual Portsmouth Service League Beer, Band and Barbecue! I'm involved in this organization and it's honestly our best event of the year! Catering is by Beach Bully and beer trucks will be on location for ALL YOU CAN DRINK! The tickets are $35 and the event runs from 4-10 p.m. Fun fact: This is where Wine Club was concocted! I recommend getting there as soon as it starts so you can get a great table for you and the 10 friends you bring, plus get a head start on the beer drinking! Also, you can take the Elizabeth River ferry from Waterside straight to the park in Portsmouth!

Where: North Landing Park, Portsmouth
Website: http://www.portsmouthserviceleague.org/event/beer-band-bbq/

Ashleigh: On Sunday, you can be cooler than me and go see The Philadelphia Story (the play that inspired Amber's favorite movie, shown above) at the Little Theatre of Norfolk, before I do. Synopsis: Tracy Lord, of the Philadelphia Lords, is a headstrong and spoiled daughter of the privileged. Divorced from C.K. Dexter Haven, she is engaged to a successful young snob. A society weekly sends a reporter and female photographer to cover the wedding arrangements. Tracy finds herself growing interested in the reporter Mike Connor, and following the pre-wedding bash, they take a moonlight swim and are surprised by Dexter and the fiancee.

Sounds like a soap-opera, right!?  They have a 2:30 p.m. showing Sunday and it's a great way to cool off if you get tired of being outside. I have plans with Amber to go later this month so no spoilers! 

Tickets are $17. The show runs May 9 to June 1. Friday and Saturday shows are at 8 p.m. and Sunday matinees are at 2:30 p.m.

Where: Little Theatre of Norfolk, 801 Claremont Avenue
Website: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?ticketing=ltn