MEDIA RELEASE Newport News Tourism Development Office • 700 Town Center Drive • Suite 320 Newport News • VA • 757-926-1400 • Toll Free • 888-493-7389 • Fax 757-926-1441 • www.newport-news.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date: March 30, 2009 Media Contact: Suzanne Pearson Media Relations Manager 757-926-1429 or 888-493-7386 [email protected] What’s Happening this Spring and Summer in Newport News, Virginia Newport News, Va. – Now is a great time to explore Newport News! Intriguing exhibits, touring Broadway shows, outdoor concerts, fun festivals and a full calendar of performing and visual arts events means there is something for everyone in the family. Discover the world of inventions with The Gift of Black Inventors at The Newsome House Museum & Cultural Center through June 1 and take a “tour” along an amazing river at the Virginia Living Museum’s Amazon Voyage: Vicious Fishes and Other Riches (May 23 to September 7). You can also explore the art and science of shipbuilding with interactive activities and videos in Building Better Ship s at The Mariners’ Museum (through December 31). Spring and summer is also festival time in Newport News, starting with the 12th Annual Ella Fitzgerald Music Festival . This year’s performers include Herb Alpert & Lani Hall (April 16) at the Ferguson Center for the Arts and Freda Payne (April 18 and 19) in the new Ella Fitzgerald Theater at the Downing-Gross Cultural Arts Center. Other events at the Ferguson Center this spring include Garrison Keillor (April 21); The Smothers Brothers (April 30) and Ain’t Misbehavin’ starring Ruben Studdard (May 1 to 3). May brings the 43rd Annual Newport News Greek Festival (May 28 to 31), plus two Virginia Arts Festival events: the Richmond Ballet (May 29 to 30) and Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Shawn Colvin and Buddy Harris (May 30), both at the Ferguson Center. There will also be plenty of outdoor concerts and events, including Fridays @ The Fountain (May 1 to September 11); the Colonial Craftsman’s Faire at Endview Plantation (May 16 and 17); Summer Sounds at Port Warwick (June 3 to September 23) and Thursdays by the Lake at The Mariners’ Museum (June 4 to July 30). The Summer Celebration Wine Festival returns to Lee Hall (June 13), followed by the 8th Annual Classics at Lee Hall Car Show (August 8). Among the many events that are perfect for the whole family are the 20th Annual Children’s Festival of Friends in Newport News Park (May 2); the Armed Forces Day Toy Soldier Show at the Virginia War Museum (May 16); the 6th Annual Juneteenth Celebration hosted by the James A. Fields House and The Newsome House (June 20) and Family Films by the Fountain at City Center at Oyster Point (August 1 to 22). And we haven’t forgotten the visual arts! Three great summer exhibits include Sea Glass, Pieces from the Collection at The Mariners’ Museum (April 4 to June 4, 2010); A Poet Speaks to Art at The Newsome House (June 13 to July 27) and In the Line of Duty: The Art of America’s Armed Forces at the Peninsula Fine Arts Center (July 18-November 1). For more information on these and other events in Newport News this spring and summer, call the Newport News Visitor Center at 888-493-7386 ext. 90, or go online at www.newport-news.org . Hotel packages begin at $109.00 per room, per night, based on double occupancy. Request your 2009 Newport News Visitor Guide and experience the ocean, the ships, the history and the great outdoors, all in one Tidewater vacation, just minutes from Williamsburg and a short drive to Virginia Beach. # # # Event Descriptions Sea Glass, Pieces from the Collection The Mariners’ Museum April 4 – June 4, 2010; Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, Noon to 5 p.m. The exhibition features a range of glass artifacts from the museum’s historical maritime collection. Included are decorative panels from the famous steamship United States ; a 19th century cobalt-blue rolling pin; a 19th century captain’s liquor chest and glassware recovered from the ironclad USS Monitor . Part of Art of Glass 2 , a regional collaborative effort among Hampton Roads museums to celebrate the very best in contemporary art glass. Included in regular admission. Adults, $14; AAA members, military, students, $13; seniors, $12; children (6-12), $8. The Mariners’ Museum, 100 Museum Drive, 757-596-2222, www.MarinersMuseum.org. Herb Alpert & Lani Hall – An Ella Fitzgerald Music Festival Event Ferguson Center for the Arts Music & Theatre Hall April 16; 7:30 p.m. An extraordinary musician, Herb Alpert’s trumpet playing has earned him five number-one hits, eight Grammy Awards, fifteen Gold albums and fourteen Platinum albums. Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass propelled Latino music into the pop music limelight. Grammy-winning vocalist Lani Hall first rose to international fame as lead singer for Sergio Mendes and Brazil 66. All of Hall’s musical endeavors have highlighted her expertise as a powerful jazz/pop song stylist as well as a masterful interpreter. $22 to $47. Ferguson Center for the Arts, 1 University Place; Ticket Office, 757-594 8752, www.fergusoncenter.org. Freda Payne in A Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald – An Ella Fitzgerald Music Festival Event Downing-Gross Cultural Arts April 17 – 18; Friday, 6 p.m.; Saturday, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Freda Payne, the celebrated R&B and jazz vocalist who shot to fame with her number-one hit “Band of Gold,” invokes the soulful spirit of Ella with her renditions of “A-Tisket, a-Tasket,” “Sweet Georgia Brown,” “It Don’t Mean a Thing,” and “Mack the Knife.” Payne has also starred in such Broadway shows as Jelly’s Last Jam , Sophisticated Ladies and Blues in the Night . General admission, $15; students, $10. Ella Fitzgerald Theater, Downing-Gross Cultural Arts Center, 2410 Wickham Avenue, 757-247-8950; Ferguson Center Ticket Office, 757-594 8752, www.fergusoncenter.org. An Evening with Garrison Keillor Ferguson Center for the Arts April 21; 7:30 p.m. For nearly 30 years, Keillor has transported millions of devoted fans to his mythical hometown, Lake Wobegon, Minnesota, through his immensely popular weekly radio program A Prairie Home Companion® and through his best-selling books. Lauded as one of today’s great storytellers, Keillor will share with you the latest news from that special place, where the women are strong, the men are good looking, and all the children are above average®. $37 to $53. Ferguson Center for the Arts, 1 University Place; Ticket Office, 757-594 8752, www.fergusoncenter.org. The Smothers Brothers Ferguson Center for the Arts April 30; 7:30 p.m. With their singular blend of comedic and musical talents, the irrepressible Dick and Tom Smothers have made a sweeping impact on diverse generations of fans. Such lasting power is a testimonial to their intuitive humor, natural warmth, superlative showmanship and the unadulterated joy they bring to audiences. The brothers have often been described as one of the most successful teams in history, comic geniuses, rare and peerless. Justifiably, time has provided another term, “An American Classic.” $37 to $47. Ferguson Center for the Arts, 1 University Place; Ticket Office, 757-594 8752, www.fergusoncenter.org. Ain’t Misbehavin’ starring Ruben Studdard Ferguson Center for the Arts May 1 – 3; Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m. This 30th Anniversary Tour of the Tony Award-winning Best Musical Ain’t Misbehavin’ stars 2003 American Idol winner Ruben Studdard and Frenchie Davis, 2003 American Idol contestant and star of Rent on Broadway. The outrageously prodigious comic and musical soul of 1930’s Harlem is showcased in this rollicking and swinging revue set to the music of the legendary Fats Waller. $42 to $52. Ferguson Center for the Arts, 1 University Place; Ticket Office, 757-594 8752, www.fergusoncenter.org. Fridays @ The Fountain Concert Series City Center at Oyster Point May 1 to September 11; 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Begin your weekend here! Join us for free concerts by some of our region’s best bands. Bring your friends, lawn chairs, blankets and dancing shoes. Call or go online for specific performance dates and bands. Free admission; food and beverages for sale. Fountain Plaza. City Center at Oyster Point, Town Center Drive, 757-282-2822 or 757-873-2020, www.citycenteratoysterpoint.com. 20th Annual Newport News Children’s Festival of Friends Newport News Park May 2; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Children ages 2 to 12 will enjoy over 100 hands-on activities, games, costumed characters and rides. All activities are free. $3 parking fee per vehicle; food and beverages for sale. Newport News Park, 13560 Jefferson Avenue, 757-926-1400, www.nnparks.com. Armed Forces Day Toy Soldier Show Virginia War Museum May 16; 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Vendors will be selling antique and contemporary toy soldiers and miniatures. Historical miniature kits and models in metal and plastic are also for sale. Join us for this salute to Armed Forces Day. Included in regular admission. Adults, $6; seniors (62+) and active duty military, $5; students (7-18), $4; children under 7 free. Virginia War Museum, 9285 Warwick Boulevard, 757-247-8523, www.warmuseum.org. Colonial Craftsman’s Faire Endview Plantation May 16 – 17; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nationally recognized, traditional artisans will demonstrate and sell their wares. Artisans include a furniture maker, blacksmith, pewtersmith, chair maker and more.