Music of many genres filled the air on a late December night in Colonial Place as Porchella 2022 finally kicked off. After a reschedule—from a frigidly forecasted original date that would have impacted attendance and musicians’ vocal chords—the event got underway at 6:30 pm on December 30, 2022.
The brainchild of community organizer, artist, and former landscape designer, Cristina Fletcher, the event was a follow-on of the highly successful Ghent Porchella during COVID. She explains, “Richmond had one that I’d heard about, and I thought it would work in Norfolk. It was the end of 2020, as COVID was easing up, and things seemed safe for outdoor events. People were starting to do things again.” She thought her musician friends, and other area musicians, would appreciate the opportunity to play live music again after the lockdown. Cristina happened to live in a house with a great party porch, so she started spreading the word. That eventually evolved into Ghent Porchella, which included musicians Skye Zentz and Paper Aliens. The event spread throughout Ghent and met with tremendous success.
When Cristina’s parents moved to Colonial Place last summer, she knew it would be a perfect neighborhood for a second Porchella. She contacted the Civic League in November, and the board embraced the idea. The request went out for musicians, and host porches, and the neighborhood was soon on board. A schedule started to come together, and Porchella 2022 was born.
The music ranged from acoustic to rock, improvisational jazz, EDM, and more. Musicians included Allegra Duchaine, Rebecca Schultz, duo Nick Werner, and Tom Tompkins, and the band Times New Roman. Set against a backdrop of festive holiday lights and a variety of porches, attendees enjoyed 30-minute mini-concerts for over two hours.
On the CPRV FB page, Elise Ramos Krepcho wrote:
Check out pictures of the event collected from Facebook and attendees.
Photo credit: Nancy Rogan, Stephanie Clark, Andie Gabor, Erica Howell, Shannon Bowman, and Ellen Abbey Sacks.
It was “GAME ON” at the CPRV Community Meetup, at P I X E L S pints & bytes, Saturday, February 15th from 12pm to about 2pm. Neighbors enjoyed a variety of appetizers and refreshments & free game tokens, provided by the civic league’s social events committee and our hosts at Pixels. 👾🕹️
The CPRV Civic League’s Social Events Committee invites you to join them for an afternoon of games and nostalgia at @pixels.norfolk on Saturday, February 15th from 12:00pm to 1:30pm, in a reserved space on the 2nd floor. Neighbors of all ages are welcome! The Social Events Committee will provide light refreshments and game tokens will be provided, in part, by our gracious hosts at Pixels.
We were joined by Guest Speaker Amena Anderson, Bank On Coordinator with the City of Norfolk. Bank On Hampton Roads is a partnership of participating banks, credit unions, and community organizations across Hampton Roads designed to help you take control of your finances. LEARN MORE
Representatives from counsel to McDonald’s Corp. will also attend the Meeting to present their proposed site improvement plans, mainly including their drive-through, parking, and landscaping – see plan and renderings below.
Officer Brenton Blakeslee, our Community Resource Officer, who provided the latest crime report
We were also joined by a special surprise guest Councilwoman Courtney Doyle who shared updates about ATV issues, now being impounded and Sold or Disposed by Norfolk PD at their discretion, MetroNet internet is making progress with installation fulfilment and getting good feedback, reminded us about some new council members, and that the City Manager assured council members that our water treatment plants for Norfolk are partitioned and less prone to a situation such as the one Richmond recently experienced.
Find out about speakers for upcoming meetings, fall in love with February with Valentine’s day cards and local historical facts, events around town and much more!
Looking Back at Uneasy Times in Colonial Place & Riverview – A Tribute to Dr. Norman Pollock by Arlette Claflin and Pat Spriggs
The CPRV Civic League was contacted by counsel to McDonald’s Corp., which operates a restaurant at 4125 Granby Street, with a request to present plans for proposed work to their parking and drive-through.
Representatives from counsel to McDonald’s Corp. will attend the Feb 10th, 2025 CPRV Civic League General Members Meeting at 6:30 PM to present their proposed site improvement plans. The meeting will take place at Kingdom Embassy Ministries, 645 Mayflower Rd, Norfolk, VA 23508. All residents are welcome to attend.
Click on the logos below to learn more about our sponsors.
