ANDREW SHANNON GOSPEL MUSIC CELEBRATION HONORING DR. MLK JR.   The 10th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Conference and Banquet will be held on Saturday, January 28, 2012 at the Marriott Hotel, located at City Center in Newport News, Virginia. Rev. Robin Scott King, niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. will serve as the Keynote Speaker during the Banquet.

Join Bacchus, the God of nature, vine and wine for a “Feast of the Elements” Feb. 3. Taste fine wines from around the world and fabulous food selections prepared by area restaurants, enjoy a variety of live entertainment and a huge silent auction, all in one night, for a great cause. It’s all at the Eighth Annual Bacchus Wine and Food Festival Friday, Feb. 3 from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Virginia Living Museum, Newport News. “Bacchus has invited his elemental friends this year: Air, Earth, Fire and Water Gods and Goddesses will help our guests seek their destiny and find their own ‘elemental’ sign. This event appeals to all ages – over 21 of course!” says Rebecca Kleinhample, assistant director of development.

Hampton, VA – The Virginia Air & Space Center’s 9th Annual Egg Drop Contest features students from Hampton Roads’ schools competing in a test of engineering prowess. Students are challenged to design the lightest possible container to hold a fresh egg that when dropped from the 2nd floor of the Virginia Air & Space Center will prevent the egg from cracking or breaking. Prizes will be awarded for 1st, 2nd & 3rd place winners.

Hampton, VA – Attention football fans, see the Super Bowl for FREE on the giant IMAX screen, February 5, 2012! The Virginia Air & Space Center is hosting Super Bowl Sunday, with all of your favorite football pastimes. Food will be available for purchase from the Cosmic Café and a cash bar will be available. Guests can purchase a special Tailgate Pass for $20 that includes: complimentary draft beer and fountain soda, cornhole, one complimentary nacho with cheese and 10% off purchases in the Cosmic Café. Seating is limited and it is first come, first serve.

In celebration of the bicentennial of the War of 1812, George Daughan will join us at The Mariners’ Museum to discuss his latest book: 1812: The Navy’s War. America was at odds against the great British Royal Navy, seeming that they would easily be defeated the United States Navy’s twenty ships, bravely faced their sure defeat.  However, though genius navigational and tactical skills, America turned the tides.  Recounting this story of a heroic captain and his brave crew, Daughan’s book is the most well rounded, accurate description of the war in more than a century.

The U.S. Air Force’s Tops In Blue World Tour is making a stop in Hampton! The group, composed of the “best of the best” of military talent, will be presenting “Rhythm Nation,” an action-packed performance that brings the music of America to life.   The free concert will be held on Thursday, Jan. 26 at the Hampton Roads Convention Center, 1610 Coliseum Drive. Doors open at 5:45 p.m. with the concert beginning at 6:30 p.m.

WILLIAMSBURG, Va., January 20, 2012 – “From Africa to Virginia” is the theme of interpretive programs throughout February at Jamestown Settlement history museum.  Lectures at 2 p.m. Sundays, February 12 and 19, complement a monthlong focus on the culture of the first known Africans in Virginia and the experience of Africans in colonial America.

Throughout the ages, men and women have used stories to explain the world around them, to teach lessons to their offspring, and to entertain themselves and others.  Join nationally recognized storytellers in this fun and educational day of music and stories.  In honor of Black History Month, emphasis will be on the stories that came over to the Americas with enslaved Africans.   The event is free with museum admission.

ANDREW SHANNON GOSPEL MUSIC CELEBRATION HONORING DR. MLK JR. Date: Saturday, January 28, 2012   Time: 3:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.   3:00 p.m.   Community Forum 4:30 p.m.   Gospel Music Celebration 6:00 p.m.   Social 7:00 p.m.   Banquet     Location: Newport News Marriott at City Center, 740 Town Center Drive, Newport News   Join State Senator Henry Marsh, State Delegate David Yancey, Newport News City Council Members Tina L. Vick and Dr. Patricia Woodbury, Kim Allen, Executive Director of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Public Policy and Education Center of Virginia, Hampton City Council Members, students, and parents are among the elected officials and community leaders, who are participating in efforts [ ... ]

Peninsula Fine Arts Center  Celebrating 50 Years in 2012 February 2012 Exhibitions, Classes and Events Art and the Animal Continues through March 25, 2012 This exhibition includes 65 works: paintings, watercolors, drawings and sculpture as well as selected historical works by John James Audubon, Mark Catesby and Alexander Wilson. While realism dominates the style of many of the contemporary artists, their diverse approaches to the animals and their environs and habits give the exhibition a remarkable breadth. Artists of both national and international renown in Pfac’s portion of this exhibition, including artists from England, Australia, Canada, France and Sweden.

Press release. Hampton, Virginia- Beginning this month, Hampton University Museum (the oldest African American museum in the United States) welcomes two very special free exhibitions in commemoration of the Civil War Sesquicentennial.   Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman Series by Jacob Lawrence, beginning January 27, is a free exhibition highlighting the dramatic biographies of two American abolitionists who lived around the time of the Civil War.  Together, the paintings have an extraordinary conceptual unity and visual eloquence. In the Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman series, Lawrence pursues mythic subjects who both share the will and determination, in the face of all odds, to free their minds and spirits as well as their bodies from bondage.