M Experience the Sights and Sounds of African Dancers and Drummers in Commemoration of the Arrival of the First Enslaved Africans in English North America
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Media Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 13, 2017 Contact: Elizabeth Severs, 757/728-5326 [email protected] Ryan Downey, 757/728-5328 [email protected] UPDATED 2017 SUMMER CALENDAR!! Warm Up To Hampton, Virginia Events This Summer! Hampton, Virginia- Whether it’s plundering and pillaging at the 18th annual Blackbeard Pirate Festival, listening to great live music at the Chesapeake Bay Reggae Festival, or painting the night away to the sounds of 80s tunes at Bob Ross Paint Night, Hampton has it all this summer. On Sunday, April 30, Paradise Ocean Club at Fort Monroe will host a free Preview Party with 80s favorites The Deloreans. The club officially re-opens for the 2017 season on Friday, May 5 with SlapNation. Located on the Chesapeake Bay, the club stays hopping during the late spring and summer with live music by national recording artists, special events, private cabana rentals an Olympic size pool, private beach, and more. -More- Warm Up To Hampton, Virginia Events This Summer!- Page 2 Admission to the club is $10 per day and guests receive access to the pool, beach, and more. For operating times and additional info, visit www.paradiseoceanclub.com. On May 6, the Downtown Hampton Block Party returns to Queens Way, complete with musical entertainment, cold refreshments, and family fun. The Downtown Hampton Block Party is scheduled Saturday evenings, May 6- August 26 (some Saturdays no Block Party due to special events). Beginning May 26, the Hampton Roads Convention Center welcomes back over 1,500 canine friends to the Virginia Memorial Day Cluster All-Breed Dog Show. Hosted by Langley and Gloucester Kennel Clubs, the event is expected to draw over 4,000 spectators. Highlights include obedience trials, a Junior Showmanship clinic, AKC Rally®, and over 30 vendors offering pet merchandise unique to the Hampton Roads region. The show runs through May 29. June 2-4, Hampton plays host to the 18th annual Blackbeard Pirate Festival, a weekend full of swashbuckling excitement on the downtown Hampton waterfront. Immerse yourself in early 1700s Hampton while enjoying live entertainment, sea battles, fireworks, children’s activities, and more. Experience the fantastical craftsmanship, conveyances and contraptions from an alternative Victorian era and Wild West frontier in Steampunk: Visions of Futures Past during Blackbeard Festival Weekend. Enjoy live music at Visions of Futures Past Opening Celebration on Friday, June 2. Throughout the weekend marvel at the imagination and workmanship of artisans whose vehicles, weaponry, communication devices, musical reproduction gear and fashion, conjure up time when airships were commonplace and steam power ruled the world! Saturday and Sunday entry into the Hampton History Museum galleries and Steampunk exposition are free. -More- Warm Up To Hampton, Virginia Events This Summer!- Page 3 Also, June 2-4, don’t miss the Bodacious Bazaar Spring Festival, an amazing three-day shopping experience happening at the Hampton Roads Convention Center. Enjoy items by over 250 quality crafters, vendors, artists, and more. Other highlights include wine tastings and live music by The Deloreans and Buckshot. On June 10, Buckroe Beach hosts the Fifth annual Life’s A Beach Triathlon. The Life’s A Beach swim is 200 yards of “Almost Anything Goes,” with racers allowed to use boogie boards, swim fins, mask and snorkels, water wings, and almost anything else to help them feel comfortable and have fun. The bike portion of the race is only five miles and is for fat tire bikes ONLY—beach cruisers and mountain bikes—as some courses may actually involve stretches of beach riding. The two-mile beach run is laid back and includes some of the Life’s A Beach challenges—obstacles to break up the run in a fun way. This unique triathlon is expected to draw over 500 participants from across the eastern seaboard. Celebrate Hampton Roads Pride Week at the Third annual Pride Party on the Peninsula, taking place Wednesday, June 14, 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. at Oyster Alley in Crowne Plaza Hampton Marina Hotel in downtown Hampton. The free event, presented by the Hampton Convention & Visitor Bureau and Downtown Hampton Development Partnership, will include live music and food. June 24, the Venture Kitchen & Bar presents the annual Pride Week Drag Races returns for its third year. Teams representing five different charities will compete in drag race style heats while dressed in, you guessed it, drag!! Donations will be awarded to the first, second, and third place teams. Come out and cheer on your favorite! The weekend of June 23-25, one of Hampton’s most celebrated and cherished events -More- Warm Up To Hampton, Virginia Events This Summer!- Page 4 celebrates its 50th anniversary when the Hampton Jazz Festival returns to the Hampton Coliseum. Groove to the sounds of the nation’s top blues, soul, pop, and jazz performers. On June 24, Aberdeen Gardens Historic & Civic Association celebrates its unique heritage with Aberdeen Gardens Heritage Day, a free celebration with entertainment, food, and more. Celebrate July 4th at historic Fort Monroe with Fourth at the Fort! Enjoy a full day of activities and entertainment for the entire family. This year the event will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the NASA Langley Research Center. Organizations will provide hands on activities and exhibits from 6 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. A grand fireworks show will take place at sun down. On July 8, skate into downtown Hampton for Rolling of the Bulls 2017. Inspired by the Running of the Bulls, an event that takes place in Spain, Portugal, and some parts of Mexico where festival goers…what else… run with the bulls, the Rolling of the Bulls in Hampton will feature participants running from Dominion Derby Girls on skates with whiffle ball bats. The event begins with the Blessing of the Bulls and then the .5 mile run starts. Each runner MUST wear white with a red scarf and sash (so the girls know exactly who to hit!) and creativity is highly suggested. On Saturday, July 15, head to Mill Point Park in downtown Hampton for the Eighth annual Freaky Kon-Tiki! The river raft race, presented by the Bay Days Foundation, allows a team of five people to build a raft on-site and race other contestants around a course in the Hampton River. Each participant must be at least 14 years-old to compete. The Hampton Convention & Visitor Bureau and EVP Tour, an industry leader in creating “fan friendly” beach volleyball events, will host the 2017 EVP World Championships -More- Warm Up To Hampton, Virginia Events This Summer!- Page 5 at Paradise Ocean Club, August 11-12. The EVP is the largest beach volleyball tour in the United States with over 18 events and 5,000 athletes competing each summer. The EVP® Tour has established the largest national pro-am volleyball attraction in America. The tour travels to 18 key markets across the country from March to September. The EVP® TV Network has established a national clearance with Comcast Sports Network and will produce eight, 30-minute TV shows, reaching over 60 million viewers in over 40 states per airing. Other notable summer happenings include weekly racing at Langley Speedway; Peninsula Pilots baseball; and AAU Basketball Championships at the Boo Williams Sportsplex throughout July, among others. May 2017 (May 6- August 26, Saturdays, Some Saturdays no Block Party due to special events) Downtown Hampton Block Party Hampton takes to the streets every Saturday night for a fun-filled street fair including live musical entertainment, cold refreshments and plenty of activities for the young and old. Downtown Hampton. 6 p.m. -11 p.m. Free Admission. 757/727-1271. www.hamptonblockparty.com (Queens Way, Downtown Hampton, 23669) 6 Pete Seeger: The Storm King Pete Seeger: The Storm King brings audiences a multi-media presentation of Pete Seeger's spoken words—in his own recorded voice—set to live music and video. The American Theatre. 8 p.m. $45/$40. 757/722-2787. www.hamptonarts.net 12 Freedom Concert Weather Permitting. Continental Park (location subject change). 7 p.m. Free. 757/637-7778. www.fmauthority.com 12-14 2017 Showstopper Dance Competition If you’re looking for the largest, most glamorously fun dance competition in the world, you’ve come to the right place! Hampton Roads Convention Center. www.goshowstopper.com -More- Warm Up To Hampton, Virginia Events This Summer!- Page 6 13 4th Annual We Are One Mother’s Day Celebration We Are One Mother's Day Celebration is back and this year it promises to be even bigger! The star studded line-up for the celebration features Shirley Caesar, Tim Rogers & The Fellas, William Murphy, Tim Bowman, Jr., Ricky Dillard, and Casey J. Come out and enjoy a spiritual uplifting and celebration of mothers! Hampton Coliseum. 7 p.m. Tix $30-$59. 757/838-4203. www.hamptoncoliseum.org 19-21 Hoop Group Southern Jamfest 2017 In what has been dubbed by some the “Battle of the Brands” tournament, the Southern Jam Fest brings together some of the best AAU programs in the country. Boo Williams Sportsplex. Admission Fee. www.hoopgroup.com 19-21 Virginia Gymnastics Xcel State Championship Championship offered as an alternative program for competitive gymnasts. Gymnasts vary in age, from 5 years-old to 19 years-old. Hampton Roads Convention Center. www.vausag.com 20 Contraband Living History Tour Tours starting every 30 minutes. Tours will interpret the landmark “Contraband Decision” of 1861 and the beginning of the end of slavery in the United States. Weather Permitting. Continental Park (location subject change). 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Free. 757/637-7778. www.fmauthority.com 20-21 Chesapeake Bay Reggae Festival More than 12 reggae performers take the stage for a weekend of music, food, vendors, and more.