Connect Savannah February 13, 2019 by Connect Savannah

FEB 13-19, 2019 NEWS, ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

CONNECTSAVANNAH.COM

PHOTO BY BOBBY BATES

AURA FEST Fit For An Autopsy headlines rock/metal lineup at Ships of the Sea

ALSO INSIDE:

IRISH FEST

VALENTINEâ€™S

IDEAS

POLITICS OF PERIODS

BOOK

FEST

2019

CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 13-19, 2019

VOTING BEGINS MARCH 6TH! 2

#BOS2019

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ST. PATRICKâ€™S CELEBRATION

SHUTTLES

Shuttles run Friday, March 15th, 10:30AM - midnight. Saturday, March 16th (parade day), Shuttles leave every 1/2 hour on the hour beginning at 7AM until (last return) 12 midnight. Pre Pay by calling The Pooler Chamber at (912) 748-0110. The Pooler pick up point is at Molly MacPhersonâ€™s.

$20 $10 $15 per person 11 & older per day roundtrip

per child 10 & under per day roundtrip

per person per day roundtrip for military with active duty verification

*no charge for infant in arms

2 DAY VIP PASS

Ride all 2 days and save - Ride back and forth as often as you like

$35

per person 11 & older 2 days roundtrip

$15

per child 10 & under 2 days roundtrip

$25

per person 2 days roundtrip for military with active duty verification

PROVIDED BY: WJCL 22 WRHQ 105.3 Savannah Morning news

CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 13-19, 2019

Call Kelly Tours at 912-964-2010 to reserve bleacher seats.

WEEK AT A H

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Glance

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COMPILED BY RACHAEL FLORA TO HAVE AN EVENT LISTED IN WEEK AT A GLANCE EMAIL WAG@CONNECTSAVANNAH.COM. INCLUDE DATES, TIME, LOCATIONS WITH ADDRESSES, COST AND A CONTACT NUMBER. DEADLINE FOR INCLUSION IS 5PM FRIDAY, TO APPEAR IN NEXT WEDNESDAY’S EDITION.

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Anti-Valentine’s Taxidermy Class

Savannah Black Heritage Festival: Sons of Mystro

Learn how to create a full-sized rat mount start to finish, no prior experience needed. To guarantee a spot, call 912-335-8018 or stop by the store to sign up. 6 p.m. Graveface Records/Curiosities, 5 W. 40th St $75

FRI 2.15

Sons of Mystro are classically trained violinists who use their instruments to interpret reggae, classics, American pop songs, and their own creations accompanied by beats, a DJ and a guitarist. 7:30 p.m. Armstrong Campus, Georgia Southern University, 11935 Abercorn St. Free savannahblackheritagefestival.com

East + Up Galentine’s Day Bingo

Bring your gals, pals, mom, grandma, the whole crew. Let’s see if luck is on your side and kick it with some good ol’ Bingo. 5 p.m. East + Up, 6 E. Liberty St.

Film: Golden Needles

Savannah Tweed Ride SAT 2.16

Grab your bike, don your tweed or other cold weather clothing, and get ready for the Sixth Annual Savannah Tweed Ride. The ride will leave from Grayson Stadium at 2 p.m. to go on a beautiful, leisurely ride around the picturesque Daffin ParkParkside Historic District. Dress up in your dandiest cycling gear and enjoy post-ride refreshments in Daffin Park. The ride and refreshments are free. This year’s Tweed Ride is cosponsored by the Parkside Neighborhood Association. 2 p.m. Daffin Park, 1198 Washington Ave. Free

CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 13-19, 2019

Collin’s Barefoot Comedy Club w/Zach Martina

FRI 2.15

Collin’s headliner this month is the very funny guy, Zach Martina, who performs at clubs across the country and at events such as the Oddball Comedy & Curiosity Festival, The World Series of Comedy and the Laugh Your Asheville Off Festival, Zach has had the good fortune to share the stage with the likes of Dave Chappelle, Flight of the Conchords, Hannibal Buress & Rory Scovel. 8 p.m. Tybee Post Theater, 10 Van Horne. Tickets $15 912-472-4790. info@tybeeposttheater.org

WEDNESDAY 2.13

This high-concept action flop concerns a mysterious statue filled with nine golden needles, which, according to legend, can deliver ultimate sexual power. Presented by the Psychotronic Film Society in celebration of Joe Don Baker’s 83rd birthday. 8 p.m. The Sentient Bean, 13 E. Park Ave. $8

Hungry for History?: Dreadful Pestilence: Telling the Story of Savannah’s Yellow Fever

This presentation by Jamie Credle, director of the Davenport House, will examine Savannah’s dreadful 1820 epidemic. 3:30 p.m. Savannah City Hall, 2 East Bay Street. Free, but registration required lspracher@savannahga.gov

THURSDAY 2.14 Savannah Book Fest Opening Address: George & Paula Saunders

George Saunders, winner of the 2017 Man Booker prize for Lincoln in the Bardo, will present the 2019 Savannah Book Festival Opening Address with his debut novelist wife, Paula Saunders. 6 p.m. Lucas Theatre for the Arts, 32 Abercorn St. $20 savannahbookfestival.org

Valentine’s Day Dinner & Entertainment Cruise

4-course plated gourmet dinner, a bottle of house wine or champagne, rose bouquet, live entertainment & 2 hour cruise. Boarding at 6pm, cruising 7-9pm. Feb. 14-16, 6 p.m. Savannah Riverboat Cruises, 9 E River St $199.90 per couple 912-232-6404

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Valentine’s Day Weddings in the Garden

Get married in the Museum’s beautiful courtyard garden and make it a Valentine’s Day to remember. Confirmed reservations are highly recommended. 5-7 p.m. t Davenport House, 324 East State St. . $100

FRIDAY 2.15 Collin’s Barefoot Comedy Club w/ Zach Martina

Collin’s headliner this month is the very funny guy, Zach Martina, who performs at clubs across the country. 8 p.m. Tybee Post Theater, 10 Van Horne. Tickets $15 912-472-4790. info@tybeeposttheater.org

Potable Gold: Savannah’s Madeira Tradition

Experience the historic atmosphere of the Davenport House while learning about and tasting a unique and flavorful wine. Fri. & Sat., 5:30 p.m. . Davenport House, 324 East State St. $20, must be 21 years of age info@davenporthousemuseum.org

Savannah Black Heritage Festival: Sons of Mystro

Classically trained violinists who use their instruments to interpret reggae, classics, American pop songs, and their own creations accompanied by beats, a DJ and a guitarist. 7:30 p.m. Armstrong Campus, Georgia Southern Free savannahblackheritagefestival.com

Savannah Book Festival Keynote Address: Daniel Krauthammer

Daniel Krauthammer will present the Keynote Address, to discuss the last work of his father, Charles Krauthammer, The Point of it All: A Lifetime of Great Loves and Endeavors. 6 p.m. Lucas Theatre for the Arts, 32 Abercorn St. $20 savannahbookfestival.org

Theatre: Almost, Maine

SATURDAY 2.16 An Afternoon with Kwame & Randy

Kwame Alexander and Randy Preston present moving stories and amazing photography from Ghana. 2:30 p.m. Bull Street Library, 2002 Bull St. Free and open to the public

AURA Fest 2019

All Underground Rock All Day plus food trucks, games, vendors and more. All ages. Tickets are $28 in advance, $45 VIP. 12:30-11 p.m. Ships of The Sea Museum, 41 MLK Blvd. $28 aurafestsavannah.com

Bonaventure Cemetery After Hours: My Skully Valentine

Stories of couples who made it for decades and those who made the front page for the wrong reasons. 5 p.m. Bonaventure Cemetery, 330 Bonaventure Rd. $45 912-319-5600

MUSIC AT SOUTHERN

Upcoming events at the Armstrong Campus February 19 February 24 March 3 March 5

Chamber Concert Piano in the Arts: Music of the Americas Piano in the Arts: Crossroads, Jazz Meets Classical Savannah Winds: Spring Concert

All performances are in the Fine Arts Auditorium on the Armstrong Campus at 7:30 p.m. For more information about upcoming performances visit GeorgiaSouthern.edu/ArmstrongTickets or give us a call 912-344-2801

Forsyth Farmers Market

Local and regional produce, honey, meat, dairy, pasta, baked goods. 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Forsyth Park

Front Porch Improv: Sorry Not Sorry

Front Porch Improv will use audience suggestions involving favorite pop culture figures as inspiration to make you laugh. 8 p.m. St. Matthew’s Episcopal, 1401 MLK Blvd. $10, $5 with a student ID

Lowcountry Heartbreakers

Singer/songwriters Payne Bridges, Josephine Johnson, and Jenna Lyn. 8 p.m. Tybee Post Theater, 10 Van Horne. Tickets $15 912-472-4790. info@tybeeposttheater.org.

Savannah Book Festival

Renowned authors visit Telfair Square to share the love of reading. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Telfair Square Free and open to the public savannahbookfestival.org

The Repertory Theatre class of Savannah Arts Academy presents, Almost, Maine. Savannah Book Fest Closing 7 p.m. Savannah Arts Academy, 500 Washington Ave Address: Lynn Vincent & Sara Vladic New York Times bestselling author Lynn What Is This Thing Called Love? Vincent and documentary filmmaker Sara Join Roger Moss and Kim Steiner as they Vladic will present the Closing Address to perform songs of love from the American discuss their book, Indianapolis. Songbook. 2 p.m. 7 p.m. Lucas Theatre for the Arts, 32 Abercorn St. East End Provisions, 420 E. Broughton St. $20 CONTINUES ON P. 6 $15-$20

Presented by the College of Arts and Humanities

GeorgiaSouthern.edu/moveablefeast

CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 13-19, 2019

WEEK AT A GLANCE

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Savannah for Morons: The Trolley Tour

Hospice Savannah Oyster Roast

Savannah Irish Festival

Lecture: Sustainability, Ecology, Awareness

Comedy show on wheels will roast nearly 300 years of Savannah in a 90-minute ride. 11 a.m. & 1:30 p.m. Visitor’s Center, 301 MLK Jr. Blvd. $33 savannahformorons.com Celebration of Irish culture featuring traditional Irish music, Irish dancing, and plenty of laughter. Sat. & Sun. Civic Center, 301 West Oglethorpe Ave. $9 single day, $13 both days savannahirish.org

Savannah Tweed Ride

The Local Love Marketplace

SCAD Talent Show

Theatre: Almost, Maine

MONDAY 2.18

The Repertory Theatre class of Savannah Arts Academy presents, Almost, Maine. 2:30 p.m. Savannah Arts Academy, 500 Washington

SUNDAY 2.17 2019 Oscar Nominated Shorts

CinemaSavannah presents their second annual review of 2019 Oscar-nominated short films. 4 p.m. Jewish Educational Alliance, 5111 Abercorn $10, cash only

Artist Talk w/ Shea Slemmer

Join artist Shea Slemmer for an informal artist talk regarding ‘Cooling Effect.’ 1 p.m. Laney Contemporary, 1810 Mills B. Lane Blvd

Ben Rosenblum Trio

CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 13-19, 2019

Guest speaker Randy Tate with the Longleaf Alliance will discuss the habitat and history of the longleaf pine tree. 4:30 p.m. Tybee Marine Science Center, 1510 Strand Free, but reserve space online tybeemarinescience.org

Grab your bike, don your tweed or other cold weather clothing, and pedal! 2 p.m. Daffin Park, 1198 Washington Ave. Free Drumline will open the annual SCAD Talent Show. 6 p.m. Trustees Theater, 216 East Broughton St.

Enjoy locally harvested oysters, chili, beer, beverages, desserts, silent auction, and live music by the Midtown Pickers. All proceeds support Hospice Savannah. 2 p.m. Isle of Hope Marina, 50 West Bluff Dr. $40, increases to $50 in Feb.

Award-winning jazz pianist, composer and accordionist, Ben Rosenblum is based primarily in New York City. Presented by the Coastal Jazz Association. 5 p.m. Mansion on Forsyth Park, 700 Drayton St. Free for CJA members, $20 for guests

Film: To Kill a Mockingbird

Gregory Peck won an Oscar for his portrayal of Atticus Finch, a courageous lawyer defending a black man in a small southern town in the 1930s. 1 p.m. GTC Pooler Stadium 12, 425 Pooler Pky.

A hub that encourages the circulation of the dollar in our community. third Sunday of every month, 1 p.m. Bull Street Labs, 2222 Bull St. The Repertory Theatre class of Savannah Arts Academy presents, Almost, Maine. 7 p.m. Savannah Arts Academy, 500 Washington Ave

Odd Lot Improv: Monday Night Madness

Show relies on audience suggestions to put the players into hilarious scenes. 7:30 p.m. The Loft on Liberty, 215 W. Liberty St. $5

Savannah Black Heritage Festival: In Tune: The Ben Tucker Story

The story of the life of legendary jazz icon and community leader Ben Tucker and the history of jazz in Savannah. 6:30 p.m. Beach Institute, 502 E. Harris St. Free savannahblackheritagefestival.com

TUESDAY 2.19 Lecture: Noise Pollution and its Effects on Humans and Wildlife

In this program Russ Wigh will give us an introduction to noise pollution, and its harmful impact on humans and wildlife. Human quality of life has diminished and we have been subconsciously conditioned to tolerate noise as a part of everyday life without realizing its impacts on our health and hearing. Presented by the Ogeechee Audubon Society. 7 p.m. First Presbyterian Church, 520 Washington Ave. Free and open to the public

NEWS & OPINION EDITOR’S NOTE

BY JIM MOREKIS

jim@connectsavannah.com

ALMOST NO ONE I know thinks Savannah’s current zoning law should remain intact. By virtually all accounts and all interests, it is ancient, obsolete, redundant, counterproductive, and conducive to all kinds of shenanigans, whether a developer seeking a variance or a politician with an ax to grind. This is why the Metropolitan Planning Commission (MPC), along with the City of Savannah — the latter’s role has increased tremendously of late — quite rightly embarked on a complete overhaul. Now known as “NewZO,” the new unified zoning ordinance springs from a fledg-

In a few weeks it will then make its way in front of Savannah City Council. I am by no means a zoning policy wonk, but I’d like to call your attention to a few potential red flags in NewZO that I urge members of the public to keep their eyes on for future reference. I have included section numbers of the NewZO draft where applicable, so you can go to www.newzo.org and see for yourself. Planned Development Districts (6.1): A version of the currently allowed Planned Unit Development, in a Planned Development District (PD) developers of parcels under two acres can get “greater flexibility in site design requirements” in exchange for greater efficiency in planning and for a mix of uses called for by the Mayor and Aldermen (specifically excluding singlefamily subdivisions). In and of itself this isn’t a call for alarm, but the devil is in the details.

Where’s the Historic Property Overlay District? (7.7) NewZO mentions this as an Overlay District which would focus on “preservation of individual historic resources” and would “ensure that new construction, alterations and additions are visually compatible with existing resources on the property.” Sounds spot-on and sorely needed, right? However, the description abruptly ends there with no further ado. There is no other description or process for what would seem like an enormously important thing in a city which just had its Landmark District status changed to “Threatened” by the National Park Service. Illegal Historic Preservation Commission? (2.5) By state law, such a body must have all members residing within their applicable historic preservation jurisdiction, and a majority should have

One is tempted to say NewZO might be too little, too late, but the truth is there will be plenty of opportunities for a more sane and equitable zoning protocol to affect positive change here — if it is allowed to. ling attempt over a decade ago to upgrade local zoning. A lot has happened since then: A huge recession, turnover of high-dollar areas (Broughton Street, Savannah River Landing), and an extraordinary, almost out-ofcontrol rebound from recession that has included the largest amount of commercial development Savannah has ever seen. There has also been a lot of attrition and outright brain drain in the MPC itself over recent years, as key employees, some vital to NewZO itself, have either been downsized, forced out, or resigned. These staff and funding changes have also had an impact on what NewZO now is — and maybe isn’t. In some respects, NewZO can’t come soon enough, as neighborhoods suddenly find themselves coping with new development which in many cases will bring a whole paradigm shift, architecturally, stylistically, functionally, and in sheer volume, mass and height. One is tempted to say NewZO is too little, too late, but there will be plenty of opportunities for a more sane and equitable zoning protocol to affect positive change here — if it is allowed to. By the time you read this, the sixth and supposedly final draft of NewZO will have appeared before the MPC voting members.

Currently in NewZO, a PD district would be disallowed in the Savannah Downtown Historic District Overlay District, i.e. downtown proper. However, it looks like they would be allowed in other areas, potentially including the Victorian District and other historic neighborhoods outside of the core downtown, even those currently within Conservation Overlay Districts. In short, if a developer can get a PD District for themselves, they might not need to secure variances per se. The PD District will allow a developer, within the approved General Development Plan, to do nearly whatever they envision. Keep in mind this is for anything under two acres. So an out-sized apartment complex, for example, could apply for a PD and get all the advantages that implies. Form-Based Development Districts (6.3): This is a late addition to the NewZO draft and worries some observers. Basically a Planned Development District for developments two acres or larger, a FormBased District is also essentially whatever Mayor and City Council want, outside of the Historic District proper. Think Canal District — which makes the final NewZO draft’s empty space in the next section where the Canal District Overlay District (7.4) perhaps concerning.

“special interest, experience, or education in history or architecture.” As currently written, NewZO doesn’t strictly comply with this. STVR Overlay District (7.5): By some accounts, NewZO’s Short Term Vacation Overlay District could, if used in some places, allow people to supercede existing City STVR regulations. Complicated, dense stuff, but worth looking into more closely. Ex Officio Members: Last week I wrote about how the “ex officio” members of the MPC — the City Manager and the County Manager — have in my opinion exerted their power on the MPC to unreasonably influence the body’s voting results and fair deliberation. NewZO does nothing to stop or alter this problematic process, which to my understanding was ushered in during the tenure of former City Manager Rochelle SmallToney and has no sound policy basis and is not a best practice. All that said, none of the above is intended to cause undue alarm. There is much to like and support about NewZO. But to paraphrase a friend: “We waited ten years for this. We can take a little more time to get it right.” CS

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Connect Savannah is published every Wednesday by Morris Multimedia, Inc 1464 East Victory Drive Savannah, GA, 31404 Phone: (912) 238-2040 Fax: (912) 238-2041 www.connectsavannah.com twitter: @ConnectSavannah Facebook.com/connectsav ADMINISTRATIVE Chris Griffin, General Manager chris@connectsavannah.com (912) 721-4378 EDITORIAL Jim Morekis, Editor-in-Chief jim@connectsavannah.com Sean Kelly, A&E Editor sean@connectsavannah.com Rachael Flora, Events Editor rachael@connectsavannah.com CONTRIBUTORS John Bennett, Matt Brunson, Jason Combs, Jessica Farthing, Geoff L. Johnson, Lindy Moody, Orlando Montoya ADVERTISING Information: (912) 721-4378 sales@connectsavannah.com Bucky Bryant, Senior Account Executive bucky@connectsavannah.com (912) 721-4381 DESIGN & PRODUCTION Brandon Blatcher, Art Director artdirector@connectsavannah.com (912) 721-4379 Loretta Calhoun, Graphic Designer ads@connectsavannah.com (912) 721-4380 DISTRIBUTION Wayne Franklin, Distribution Manager (912) 721-4376 CLASSIFIEDS Call (912) 231-0250

CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 13-19, 2019

NewZO: Things to watch

NEWS & OPINION POLITICS

Georgia HB 8: The Politics of Periods BY KRISTY EDENFIELD

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“VISIT from Aunt Flo.” “That time of the month.” “Mother Nature’s gift.” Those are just a few of the terms used to “politely” describe bleeding from the vagina that happens about once a month, as a normal part of the menstrual cycle. It is also known as having a period. 52% of Georgia’s population will experience this female function starting at around age 12, and it will last through menopause. The average woman will have their period for over 3,000 days of their life. The cost of pads, tampons, and menstrual cups alone will run a woman about $6,000 over the years she menstruates — and right now Georgia applies a luxury tax to those items. But there is a bill sponsored by Representative Debbie Buckner (D-137) in the Georgia state legislature that aims to reduce the tax on these necessary medical devices. “These items are FDA Class I and Class II medical devices, and the tax code needs to be adjusted to reflect that fact”, said Buckner. A similar bill was proposed by Buckner last session, but it never got to the House floor for a vote. So what has changed this year? There are more women than ever before serving in the Georgia state legislature - 15 Senators and 57 Representatives, for a total of 30% females. In addition, the full support and resources of the Junior League of Georgia has also propelled the momentum of this bill. Many other groups have also backed this bill, such as Georgia Women, and Project Period Savannah. However, anyone who has watched “I’m Just A Bill” by Schoolhouse Rock! knows that there is a long way to go before this bill becomes a law. Some lawmakers have told Buckner that they wished that they didn’t have to talk about periods at the State Capitol because it’s undignified. But that hasn’t stopped Savannah Rep. Ron Stephens from giving his full and early support to Georgia HB

8. Stephens was the second House member to cosponsor the bill. “To tell you the truth, it just never crossed our minds. It was one of those things that nobody ever placed in front of us,” said Stephens (R-164), the first Republican to sign on as a cosponsor. Buckner said, “Ron Stephens is a good friend and he understands completely that this was an oversight that needs to be corrected. When the tax code was originally addressed, the people in the room were all men and they never thought about these medical devices.” Jessica Thomas, Junior League of Savannah President, emphasizes the importance of Georgia HB 8: “The Junior League of Savannah, along with our counterparts throughout the state of Georgia, support HB8. The Junior League’s role since its inception in 1908, has been to advocate for women and our local communities,” she says. “We recognize that women around our state, and locally, are carrying an extra tax burden simply for being born girls and women. We also know that classroom success is a high priority in Savannah, including K-12 education performance for students in the communities we serve. Menstrual hygiene products are basic necessities, and the inability to access them can often affect a student’s ability to attend school and participate in society with dignity. By supporting this bill, we hope to help lessen this barrier for young girls in Georgia.” Stephens believes the state needs to go even further. “We need to make this a total exception. It doesn’t need to be a thing where the state takes it’s 4% off and then the locals continue to tax this stuff. If it is still going to have a 3% tax, it helps a little (to exempt the state 4%), but not as much.” Stephens plans to push for a total tax exemption when the bill gets to the Ways and Means Committee, where he serves as the subcommittee chair. “I want to see some of these cities, counties, and school boards get up and try to defend why this is not the right thing to do [eliminate the local 3% tax]. It’s one of those things that we might have to shame people into supporting it,” he says. “If we are going to exempt the tax on

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food, which is supposed to make it easier on those families, then the same logic especially goes for those families who can’t afford these products to give them some sort of relief,” continued Stephens. “Other states have done it and we are just lagging behind.” According to the group Period Equity, currently there are 14 states that don’t tax menstrual products. So where do our other members of the Chatham delegation stand on HB 8? “I don’t see anything wrong with it,” affirmed Rep. Bill Hitchens (R-161). “I can’t imagine why I wouldn’t vote for it.” “Men sometimes don’t realize that there are extra expenses that women incur every month,” stated Rep. Craig Gordon (D-163). “So why should women be taxed for that?” “I will vote for it if it comes to the floor,” committed Rep. Jesse Petrea (R-166). “I am a tax cutter to the core, you are never going to find me opposed to tax cuts.” Rep. Carl Gilliard (D-162), Rep. Mickey Stephens (D-165), and Sen. Lester Jackson (D-2) also fully support HB 8. Before the session started, Sen. Ben Watson (R-1) was noncommittal, but said, “If we [the state] are going to give up ours [4% tax], then the locals should give up theirs [3% tax]”. Some legislators have hedged their support of HB 8, wondering what would be next and specifically citing baby and adult diapers. Buckner address their concerns. “This bill is very narrowly written, these are classified by the FDA as Class I and Class II medical devices, diapers are not classified by the FDA as a medical device.” Period poverty is a real issue in Georgia. Buckner proclaimed, “Month-aftermonth people should not have to scrounge for what they need. Girls should not have to miss school because they don’t have proper equipment or supplies, not in this day and age.” Ron Stephens concurs, “It’s the right thing to do, it’s time. So many things shouldn’t be partisan, and this is one of those things.” So what needs to happen next to pass HB 8 into law? The bill needs to get out of the House Ways and Means Committee and pass the Rules Committee - then go to the House floor for a vote before Crossover Day on March 7. After that, the Senate needs to pass it out of their Finance Committee and take a floor vote. If there is any disagreement in the language, a Conference Committee made up of three House members and three Senate members will have to settle and differences and determine the final language. Then it will have to pass both chambers again before midnight on Sine Die day which is scheduled for Tuesday, April 2

— otherwise it dies for this year. To help locally provide pads and tampons to homeless women and public school girls, go to Project Period Savannah on Facebook. Michelle Pompei with Project Period Savannah explains: “Project Period is continuing to provide pads and tampons to all middle and high schools in Chatham County. We have a Facebook page that folks can reach us with a link to an Amazon Wishlist. Folks can also message us there for a drop off location,” she says. “We recently were awarded $800 from Joined In Giving, a local group of folks that collectively decide on how to give their money. They’ve never unanimously agreed until they decided to donate to Project Period. We’re really proud to be the recipient. 100% of this money will go to menstrual products,” says Pompei. “We’re open to working with other existing organizations that might need period products — we’ve donated to organizations that work with homeless folks and Food Not Bombs.” CS To find out more about how you can support HB 8, go to Georgia STOMP (Stop Tax On Menstrual Products) on Facebook or to their website at GeorgiaSTOMP.com

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POLITICS

FESTIVAL SATURDAY • FEB 16

NEWS & OPINION FESTIVAL FEATURE

The Savannah Ceili Band PHOTO BY ORLANDO MONTOYA

Irish Fest isn’t just fiddling around

Top shelf Celtic music and entertainment highlights cultural event BY JIM MOREKIS

jim@connectsavannah.com

CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 13-19, 2019

FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

43 Authors • 7 Venues Telfair, Wright, & Chippewa Squares

PRESENTING SPONSORS

Phillip E. and Nancy B. Beekman Foundation David & Nancy Cintron The Sheehan Family Foundation Mark & Patt Suwyn

SIGNATURE MEDIA SPONSOR

For complete schedule, visit

www.SavannahBookFestival.org

THE SAVANNAH Irish Festival returns this weekend, featuring one of its most beloved and long-running acts. “We started the Savannah Ceili Band about 10 or 11 years ago,” recalls fiddler Colleen Settle. “It began from a little session group at Kevin Barry’s on River Street. It was a very informal setting, where local and visiting musicians would play traditional tunes together. Our band arose from that.” Members of the Ceili Band have participated in the local Irish Fest since the event’s inception. The Savannah Irish Fest has always sought to provide a showplace for more authentic Irish and Celtic cultural celebration, as the local St. Patrick’s Day celebration a month later has become ever more commercialized. Other members of the Ceili Band include Michael Corbett (guitar, banjo, vocals), Jerry Stenger (bouzouki, mandolin, guitar, vocals), Jim Quigley (bodhran, mandolin, vocals), and Dan O’Connell (accordion, flute, whistles, vocals). Many will also recognize Settle and Corbett from their duo, Seldom Sober.

As far as what to expect from their sets this weekend – traditional or new? — Settle says to listen for a little of both. “We play tunes people will recognize but also some newer things to keep it fresh, and to keep it interesting for us as well,” she says. “To those who aren’t familiar with traditional Irish music, it can tend to sound the same,” “Most people can’t tell the difference between a jig, a reel, or a hornpipe. We like to throw in some interesting arrangements to keep audiences engaged.” Fiddle playing, in particular, lends itself to various regional and local distinctions in Celtic music. “Fiddlers in Sligo and Galway each have their own distinctive fiddle style,” Settle says. “And there is some difference between north and south, too -- fiddlers in Clare and Donegal will sound very different from each other.” And there is another interesting relationship between Irish styles and Scottish styles of fiddling. “The two traditions have a lot in common but can be very different in some ways,” Settle says. “For example, the Scottish fiddling style typically has more snap in the bowing.” CS

FESTIVAL FEATURE

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CEILI PARTY @CIVIC CENTER

Fri. Feb. 15 6:30-9:30 p.m. Use service entrance on Liberty Street. $10 donation per person.

IRISH FESTIVAL @CIVIC CENTER

Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Sunday noon-6 p.m. Schedule:

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 16 MAIN STAGE

10:00-11:00: Opening Ceremony SVA Chorale 11:15-12:00: The Byrne Brothers 12:15-1:00: Irish Dancers of Savannah 1:15-2:00: Savannah Ceili Band 2:15-3:00: The BlarneyGirls 3:15-4:00: Kevin McKrell and Donnybrook Fair 4:15-5:00: Legacy Irish Dancers 5:15-6:15: SYR

KEVIN BARRY’S PUB STAGE

11:00-11:45: The BlarneyGirls 12:00-12:45: SYR 1:00-1:45: Kevin McKrell and Donnybrook Fair 2:00-2:45: Seamus Kennedy 3:00-3:45: The Byrne Brothers 4:00-4:45: Savannah Ceili Band

CULTURAL STAGE

12:15-1:00: Seamus Kennedy presents Comic Songs 1:15-2:00: Tom O’Carroll presents “The Irish Diaspora” 2:15-3:00: Howard Keeley presents “100 Years Ago: Ireland’s First Dáil Meets and Ireland’s War of Independence Starts” 3:15-4:00: Harry O’Donoghue hosts the Singer/ Songwriters 4:15-5:00: Tom Byrne presents “The 1916 Fiddle”

CHILDRENS AREA 11:00-11:45: Magician Debbie O’Carroll 12:00-12:45: Legacy Irish Dancers 1:00-1:45: Silly Dilly the Clown 2:00-2:45: Irish Dancers of Savannah 3:00-5:00: Silly Dilly the Clown and Crazy Chicken

FESTIVAL SATURDAY • FEB 16

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17 MAIN STAGE

12:00-12:45: The BlarneyGirls 1:00-1:45: Legacy Irish Dancers 2:00-2:45: The Byrne Brothers 3:00-3:45: SYR 4:00-4:45: Irish Dancers of Savannah 5:00-5:45: Savannah Ceili Band/All Performer Ensemble

KEVIN BARRY’S PUB STAGE

12:00-12:45: The Savannah Ceili Band 1:00-1:45: The Blarney Girls 2:00-2:45: Tom O’Carroll 3:00-3:45: Kevin McKrell and Donnybrook Fair 4:00-4:45: The Byrne Brothers

CULTURAL STAGE

1:00-1:45: Harry O’Donoghue hosts singer/ songwriters Kyle McCullen, Tom Byrne and others 2:00-2:45: Seamus Kennedy presents “Songs That Influenced Me Growing Up in the North of Ireland.” 3:00- 3:45: Songs and Stories of Dublin presented by Tom O’Carroll

CHILDRENS AREA

12:00-12:45 :Irish Dancers of Savannah 1:00-1:45: Magician Debbie O’Carroll 2:00-2:45: Silly Dilly the Clown 3:00-3:45: Angela Beasley’s Puppet People 4:00- 4:45: Legacy Irish Dancers

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Phillip E. and Nancy B. Beekman Foundation David & Nancy Cintron The Sheehan Family Foundation Mark & Patt Suwyn

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Carriage horse incident results in injuries

Savannah Police’s Traffic Investigation Unit is investigating an incident involving a horse drawn carriage that occurred Feb. 8 in Warren Square. “About 11:30 a.m. officers responded to Warren Square near Habersham and E. Congress streets and discovered seven people had been injured when a horse drawn carriage overturned. All seven occupants, including the driver of the carriage, were transported to area hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries,” police report. According to an initial investigation, “the occupied carriage was traveling on Habersham Street near Columbus Square when the horse got spooked and started to run. The driver maintained control briefly but lost control when the carriage was in Warren Square. The carriage went into the bushes and rolled onto its side. Savannah Police’s Mounted Unit assisted with the horse, which does not appear to have any serious injuries,” police report. The incident remains under investigation.

Police seek robbery suspects

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Savannah Police Robbery Unit detectives are seeking the public’s assistance identifying a suspects in a robbery in the Oglethorpe Mall. “About 5:20 p.m. Jan. 18, an unidentified black male snatched jewelry out of the hands of an employee at a jewelry kiosk inside the mall. The suspect was last seen by mall security fleeing from the area in a white Nissan Altima with tinted windows,” police say. The subject, who was wearing all black clothing, is described as a slim-built black male, who is approximately 6-feet-tall and in his late-30s to mid-40s. He has some facial hair and a short haircut. He was accompanied by a heavy-set black female and a mid-size black male who was wearing a black shirt, jeans and a ball cap.

Savannah Police host crisis/ hostage negotiation training

Last week, the Savannah Police Training Unit hosted a Crisis/Hostage Negotiation Level 1 training that the department says gave a group of officers the skills necessary to handle crisis situations in an empathetic manner. “The public expects de-escalation. You can’t just arrest your way through problems,” said Dennis Flynn, a Commander with the Commerce City Police

The horse recovering from incident PHOTO BY CHELSEA PHILLIPS

Department and CSM Instructor. “So we have to talk to people. We have to talk to them and say ‘how can we best serve you?’ ” This training was provided by Crisis Systems Management LLC whose instructors taught class participants how to handle a variety of crisis situations including hostage takers, barricaded subjects and potential suicide victims. The five-day training took students through the different phases of the negotiation process, from introduction to surrender, and strategies and techniques to be used along the way. “Police officers generally are problem solvers. They arrive on scene and try to solve the problem and get back in service as quickly as possible to handle the next call,” said Lt. Hiram Rivera of the Training Unit. “Crisis Negotiation is a different approach. We want them to not just get there and solve the problem immediately but to learn to work in a group to slow things down and hopefully gain cooperation with the person in crisis to keep everyone involved safe.” This afternoon was the final day of training and consisted of officers working through a scenario where a husband was contemplating suicide and whose wife would not leave the home, putting her in danger. “Working through this scenario was extremely eye-opening. We really had to use our training to listen and communicate effectively,” said Cpl. Sharif Lockett, a Neighborhood Resource Officer who was interested in the course. “It showed me that by using your words, being an active listener and thinking critically, you can help people realize that there is truly a light at the end of the tunnel.” CS ALL CASES FROM RECENT LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT INCIDENT REPORTS. GIVE ANONYMOUS CRIME TIPS TO CRIMESTOPPERS AT 912/234-2020 OR TEXT CRIMES (274637) USING KEYWORD CSTOP2020.

NEWS & OPINION NEWS OF THE WEIRD Hair of the Dog

In a whole new twist on stomach pumping, doctors in Quang Tri, Vietnam, saved 48-year-old Nguyen Van Nhat’s life in January by transfusing 15 cans of beer INTO his stomach. As Dr. Le Van Lam explained to the Daily Mail, alcohol contains both methanol and ethanol, and the liver breaks down ethanol first. But after a person stops drinking, the stomach and intestines continue to release alcohol into the bloodstream -- even if the drinker has lost consciousness -- and alcohol levels continue to rise. In Nhat’s case, upon arrival at the hospital, his blood methanol level was 1,119 times higher than the appropriate limit. Doctors administered one can of beer every hour to slow down his metabolizing of methanol, which gave them time to perform dialysis. Nhat spent three weeks in the hospital before returning home.

Names in the News

Your giggle for the week: During a Jan. 17 special program on ITV Westcountry in the United Kingdom about how police forces are suffering under budget cuts, a certain officer interviewed for the show got more attention for his name than for his opinions about the budget. PC Rob Banks has undoubtedly heard clever remarks about his name all his life, reported

Plymouth Live, but Twitter users from as far away as Australia found it newly hilarious.

Try the Decaf

Officers in Madison, Wisconsin, were called to a home on Jan. 20 by an unnamed 34-year-old male resident who went on a spree of destruction when he thought his wife had destroyed his prized collection of action figures. Madison Police Chief Mike Koval wrote in his blog that officers arrived to find an ax buried in the windshield of a car. The man explained to them he had overreacted and used the log-splitting ax to chop up a TV, TV stand, laptop computer and other items in the house before going outside to attack his car, chopping off both side mirrors and breaking out the windshield, reported WMTV. He admitted to officers that he had also been drinking too much, and he was charged with disorderly conduct and felony damage to property.

The Entrepreneurial Spirit

A 19-year-old man from Nice, France, has received a four-month (suspended) sentence for a clever plot he hatched in September. The man, known only as Adel, removed a PlayStation 4 from a supermarket shelf on Sept. 17 and took it to the produce aisle, where he weighed it and printed

out a price sticker for fruit. Then he used the self-checkout line to pay and left the store with a $389 piece of electronics for about $10. Adel sold the PlayStation for $114 to buy a train ticket. The next day, he tried the same scheme, but police caught him in the act. He will only have to serve his sentence if he re-offends, reported Kotaku.com.

Least Competent Criminals

• Oh, those pesky surveillance cameras. Alexander Goldinsky, 57, had a bright idea for collecting some cash, but it was just so 1990s. While working as an independent contractor at a Woodbridge, New Jersey, business, Goldinsky scattered some ice on the floor in the company’s kitchen area, then carefully arranged himself on the floor as if he had slipped and fallen, according to United Press International. Then, as the security cameras rolled, he waited to be discovered. He was arrested in January on charges of insurance fraud and theft by deception, after the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office said Goldinsky filed a false insurance claim for an ambulance ride and treatment at a local hospital. • For David Rodriguez, 28, it was his disguise of choice that tripped him up as he robbed a 7-Eleven store in Fort Myers, Florida, on Feb. 2, according to the Lee

County Sheriff’s Office. Rodriguez donned a gray hoodie and a wig before approaching the counter at the store, showing a gun and demanding cash, reported the Miami Herald. When officers arrived, they got a detailed description, including the wig, and “additional witness information” led them to a nearby apartment. Inside they found Rodriguez, and “in plain view, a gray hooded sweater, several wigs and a large amount of wadded up cash.” Bingo! Rodriguez was charged with robbery with a firearm.

Inexplicable

Sharisha Morrison of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and her neighbors have been the recipients since Jan. 1 of an odd gift: plastic grocery bags with slices of bread and bologna inside, delivered by an unknown man. At first, Morrison told KOB TV, she thought the food deliveries were acts of kindness, until she opened the bag and smelled the contents. “It smelled like urine,” she said. Morrison said she can watch the man on her surveillance camera. “He’ll just walk up and drop it on the little doorknob and walk away,” she said. “I just want it to stop.” Police have told her they can’t do anything unless they catch him in the act.

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BY SEAN KELLY | sean@connectsavannah.com FOR OVER a decade now, Fit For An Autopsy has garnered serious critical praise and built a devoted audience around the world. The band, led by prominent producer and engineer Will Putney, has released four full-length albums and two EPs since 2011 and continues to tour around the world - often on bills with some of the biggest bands in metal and rock. Now, they’re coming to AURA Fest on Feb. 16 as one of the festival’s headliners, and we spoke to guitarist Pat Sheridan ahead of the show to learn more about

their history and their signature sound.

for Since the Flood but they were coming to an end. So I jokingly said, “Join my How did this band get started, and band.” And he did. what was your background musically So we started again with a very notable prior to this all happening? singer, and started writing a more progressive style than what we’d done before. It Sheridan: We started in 2007, and wrote a just evolved - Nate left, we got a new singer, few songs. It was a little more leisurely, and the typical band thing. And here we are. at the time I was in a hardcore band that Will was in as well. Fast forward, and that It seems like the rise of this band, band falls apart. Then I was in this weird while it has progressed gradually, sort doom metal and rock and roll band, and of happened when after it hit at some [then-vocalist] Nate Johnson was singing point and then took off from there. Do

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

A lot of bigger bands have shown interest in touring with us, which is a blessing. You don’t really expect bands that you looked up to for so long to pay attention. you feel like you noticed that at some point? Was there a point where you realized this was your career? Sheridan: It grew organically in a way where you play a certain area enough and you start bringing more of a crowd, which is the natural progression. But then bands like Trivium and Hatebreed took us out. A lot of bigger bands have shown interest in touring with us, which is a blessing. You don’t really expect bands that you looked up to for so long to pay attention. There’s that, and then getting signed to a bigger label and making better music - it’s been a culmination of a million different things. As far as it being a career, it still doesn’t feel like one. I still feel like a 16-year-old kid disobeying his mother and going out to play shows instead of having a real job. Who were some musical heroes? Sheridan: It’s funny, because we’re going on tour with some of them - Obituary and the Cro-Mags. Of course, there are the staples like Metallica and Slayer. And then I started getting into different thrash metal bands. I like Converge, I like Human Remains, I like everything. It’s hard for me to pinpoint exactly what bands were the most influential, but I can say that there’s been a lot of changes for me musically over the years.

It seems like that’s the best way to be. The lines between a lot of these genres are very thin, which is why you end up seeing so many bands who sort of cross stylistic boundaries. Nowadays, when you guys go to make a record, do you have a formula? Or do you leave yourselves open to evolving things in the studio? Sherdian: Well, Will Putney is in my band and he’s a genius. He’s extremely good at writing music, so he’s the main contributor. He kind of took the early sound of Fit For An Autopsy, where we were working a little more closely together on things, and he evolved it to where it’s evolved to now. There’s always one guy in the band who’s sort of the main contributor to the sound, and that’d be Will. When we come in, we throw some riffs in a hat and talk about what direction we want to head in and what we want to do. Being on tour with these bigger bands, you see their early career being much more chaotic. As they grow, they start writing in a way that’s much better for the live show. So we’ve learned from that. CS

FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY @AURA FEST 2019 AT SHIPS OF THE SEA Sat., Feb. 16, $28 www.aurafestsavannah.com/

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AURA FEST

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Zao endures, 25 years later

Trailblazing metalcore band comes to town for AURA Fest

BY SEAN KELLY

sean@connectsavannah.com

ZAO IS one of metal’s longer-running bands, but also one of its most enduring acts. The band started in 1993 and has weathered numerous lineup changes since, with a number of people coming in and out. Some remain constant, however, including guitarist Scott Mellinger — who’s been part of Zao since 1998. Zao plays Saturday night at AURA Fest 2019. We spoke to Mellinger about the band’s history, evolving sound, and more.

CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 13-19, 2019

You’ve been in the band for a long time - how did you end up joining?

Mellinger: I was really good friends with Russ [Cogdell] and Dan [Weyandt] prior to joining Zao, so I’ve known those guys for a really long time - since, like, ninth grade. We were all in different bands in those early days, so I knew of Zao but the band I played in was a little different scene. My main thing was just that I love Dan and Russ. They had something going that was really cool, so I was happy to jump in. There’s always been something of an evolution musically as members come and go, even though there’s always been the Zao sound. When you came into the band, were you immediately contributing to the writing? How do you guys find your footing creatively as different people make their way in?

Mellinger: Zao had a lot of cool attributes prior to me joining that we didn’t want to get away from, but we all kind of liked the same stuff so it wasn’t a hard transition. We were open to each other’s ideas, and we were all working together as a team. The vision was very similar with everybody, so there wasn’t too much butting of heads early. There weren’t any preconceived ideas on who would wrote. Right before I joined, Zao was kind of a straight, riffy hardcore band. Then it moved to kind of a dissonant band, and then when I came in we moved to more of a metal, dissonant sound. There was an evolution there, and it definitely feels like everyone was open to it. Do you prefer to be on the road as opposed to being in a studio making records? Mellinger: I probably prefer the writing and recording process more than I like playing live. My personality is that I’m not a big outgoing guy. Being on stage is definitely a release for me, but to me the writing process and creating music is way way more exciting. But [playing live] is definitely a really awesome part of the whole

process, and not many things compare to being able to play in front of people who care about what you’re doing. I love the hangout stuff [laughs]. I love meeting people and talking to the people who come to see us, and we make a huge effort to talk to every single person who wants to talk to us. But playing live is a high that doesn’t really have an explanation. You guys have made a lot of records over the years. Is there one that you feel a particular attachment to? Mellinger: I think I feel the most attachment to The Fear Is What Keeps Us Here. That whole process was really awesome. Getting to actually record with a hero of ours, Steve Albini, was a huge milestone. That’s one of the things you put in the “holy shit” [category]. Was he doing his famous drum mic setup with y’all? He’s known for a very specific thing. How did he approach working on a Zao record? Mellinger: What’s cool about Steve is that he considers himself a capturer of an essence. He’s not there to change you or

help write anything unless you ask. Our vibe really isn’t much different than the vibe of bands that he grew up playing with and early bands he recorded. We went into the studio with him and were super rehearsed, and we knew what we wanted. We wanted the Albini drum sound - that’s what everyone tends to work with him for. The biggest bummer for me with that record is that because of the way we recorded it, when it got mastered it sort of changed what the record was. Which is the same problem he had with Nirvana. People want mastering to change different dynamics and make certain things louder. The whole loudness wars kind of thing. Mellinger: Yeah. It changed the dynamics of what we had originally. But other than that, we went in with him and he set up everything he’d normally set up. We did that record live, and didn’t really fix much. We kind of just went for it. It was an unbelievable experience. CS

ZAO @AURA FEST 2019 AT SHIPS OF THE SEA MARITIME MUSEUM Sat., Feb. 16, $28 www.aurafestsavannah.com

MUSIC AURA FEST

Archival shots of Mastodon’s appearance at a previous edition of AURA Fest.

Tim Walls: Reflections on AURA Fest

The man behind the long-running rock and metal festival looks back and looks ahead sean@connectsavannah.com

AURA Fest has become a staple in the Savannah scene since Tim Walls began organizing the series in 2000. 2019’s festival boasts a hugely impressive lineup of metal, hardcore, and rock bands that include ZAO, Fit For An Autopsy, Evergreen Terrace, and LIMBS, among others. Ahead of this year’s festival at Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum on Feb. 16, we spoke to Walls about the history of the festival, the importance of all-ages shows, and what he hopes AURA Fest continues to do for the music community in Savannah. What made you want to start putting on shows and getting involved in the live music world? WALLS: When I was in my teens I was playing in local bands, and the things I remember the most are that we didn’t really have anywhere to play and we couldn’t get into the venues because we weren’t old enough. And when I got older to get in to some of those places, they’d all closed down. I was so mad about that, and I still remember how I felt. I just got motivated to get into doing it, and I’ve always had a love of putting on

get-togethers. Even as a kid I’d have Halloween parties and stuff [laughs]. There were different promoters in town who mentored me a little bit and who I learned from, and I just got involved at a young age. So was it always going to be an allages thing in your mind? There is that aspect of it that I think appeals to a lot of people.

get watching YouTube. I’ve talked to kids even in college who’ve never been to a concert before. It’s one thing also to go to a house venue, but when you go to a show you can feel the PA and the drums and the bass. And there’s lighting that adds another element to the experience. I just think it’s important for kids of all ages, especially in college, to have something to look forward to.

“There’s definitely a need in the scene for house venues and bars, but I think the youth can really benefit from having a good experience going to concerts.”

WALLS: Yeah, it was. I’ve done some club shows that have been 21 and up, but it’s always been part of my mission. That was one of my things, was to provide all-ages shows. I also want to keep a standard of having an accessible venue to do shows at, and have the best production I can put on with what I have to work with. There’s definitely a need in the scene for house venues and bars, but I think the youth can really benefit from having a good experience going to concerts. I just really believe is an experience you’re not going to

In the past several years of you doing this, what’s been the most rewarding thing or a standout moment? And what has been or can be the most challenging part of doing this?

WALLS: The people that come out really get into the music, and the energy has been really awesome. I think overall, everyone who’s performed has said good things. It’s about the experience for me. On the other end of things, there’s a lot of challenges. It’s a large venue so it takes

a lot, and we only do it once a year. If it was something we did every month, it’d be a lot easier to get things down. Why do you think this is an important event for our community, and what do you hope comes out of this in the future in terms of impact? WALLS: I’d like, more than anything, to see the festival grow in attendance and to bring in bigger acts than we’ve been booking. Right now my focus is really doing this one big thing, but I would like to do more. And even if it’s not just me - there are other really good promoters in town. We all do what we can. If we get these new venues that have been talked about, I’m not really sure if we’re going to be seeing the bands that I’m promoting - hardcore, metal, etc. I don’t know if we’ll be getting a lot of the tours that come through, say, The Masquerade [in Atlanta]. That would be nice, and I’d like to see that in this town. It’s a shame that anyone has to drive four hours to see a show. CS

AURA FEST 2019

@Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum Sat., Feb. 16, 12:30 P.M., $28 www.aurafestsavannah.com

CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 13-19, 2019

BY SEAN KELLY

MUSIC SPOTLIGHT

Liz Cooper & the Stampede take the industry by storm With their debut full-length garnering acclaim, the Nashville trio comes to Savannah Liz Cooper & the Stampede bring their unique sound to Savannah.

BY SEAN KELLY

sean@connectsavannah.com

CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 13-19, 2019

THERE ISN’T a particularly definitive way to describe the music of Liz Cooper & the Stampede. The Nashville-based trio’s songs are often dreamy and spacious, with the production and arrangements evoking the folk rock and psychedelic pop of the ‘60s and ‘70s. It’s much more than that, however – there’s quite a lot of emphasis on groove and the vocals are unique in style and melodic approach. These elements all combine to create something that’s caught the attention of a national audience over the last few years, and deservedly so. Those ‘60s and ‘70s influences are certainly prominent, and it makes sense given Cooper’s musical background. The singer and songwriter, who’ll be with her band at The Jinx on Fri., Feb. 15, grew up immersed in a diverse collection of music that her parents exposed her to. “I definitely listened to a lot of ‘90s 18 music, because I’m a ‘90s baby. All the

pop stuff that my parents just absolutely loathed,” Cooper tells Connect. “They made me listen to Bob Dylan, which I absolutely loathed. But at some point I was like, ‘Wow, this stuff is actually incredible.’ I started to really dig into songwriting, with [Dylan] specifically. I’ve also always listened to The Beatles – that’s probably my number one favorite band in the universe.” Though Dylan, Joni Mitchell, The Beatles, and even The Doors were formative figures for Cooper early on, the kindred sonic and musical direction she went in for her first full-length Window Flowers wasn’t necessarily calculated. “There wasn’t anything specific I was going for with this record,” she says. “At this point, we’ve been playing [the songs] for almost three years. I wasn’t like, ‘I’m going to make this kind of record and tour on these songs.’” Playing the songs live for so long gave Cooper and her bandmates the opportunity to gauge audience reaction and truly woodshed them before going into the studio to work on what would become Window Flowers. When it came time to record, the songs naturally evolved and morphed

thanks to time spent on the road and collaborations with the album’s co-producer. “From then until now, especially, so much has changed with the songs,” she explains. “When we went into the studio, we had them the way that we liked them. But we also collaborated with [co-producer] TJ Elias, so it was nice to have that outer mind to come in and make us look at things differently. We worked so intensely when we were in the studio that we were rethinking how to play things live, and from there we played more and more and were getting better and better.” One thing that’s unmistakable about Cooper and the Stampede is that they tour a lot. Their current album release tour is impressively extensive, and they’ve committed themselves to the unique experience of being a touring unit. One standout experience on the road was a support slot with Bermuda Triangle, a project that features Alabama Shakes’ singer Brittany Howard and acclaimed artists Becca Mancari and Jesse Lafser. “I don’t usually get the opportunity to tour with many women. I thought that was a really cool thing,” she says. “I look up to

Brittany, and she’s also just a really down to earth human. All of them I really love and connected to.” Though Cooper admits that there are ups and downs on the road, she says she truly loves what she does. “I love being out on the road. There are so many amazing things that people don’t get to experience and we do get to experience,” she says. “It’s cool because we get to go to these different cities and do things on our own time in a way. We’re doing it ourselves, and people come to shows that you’d never expect to ever see,” she says. “Like, you went to middle school with someone who now lives in Phoenix, Arizona. And you probably think, ‘I’m never going to see them again.’ But then they randomly come to your show and you reconnect with them. That’s a really special thing about touring.” CS

SAVANNAH STOPOVER PRE-SHOW WITH LIZ COOPER & THE STAMPEDE @THE JINX

Fri., Feb. 15, 10 P.M., $12 advance / $15 day of

MUSIC ATC

26 years of American Traditions

The prestigious vocal competition celebrates a milestone season BY SEAN KELLY

sean@connectsavannah.com

FOR ALMOST three decades, the American Traditions Vocal Competition has been a leader in fostering and showcasing singers from around the globe right here in Savannah. The competition predates TV shows like American Idol, and has been a kickstarter for the careers of a number of professional singers. One of those singers is Mikki Sodergren, who won the competition in 2014 and went on to become the Artistic Director just a few years later. Sodergren has been busy getting the word out about the upcoming competition, which starts on Feb. 18 and promises to as exciting as always and more culturally diverse than ever before. We spoke to Sodergren ahead of the competition’s launch to find out more about what’s in store.

Sodergren: Well, the American Traditions competition has been around for 26 years now. We actually began as part of Savannah On Stage. Over the years we’ve morphed in the structure of the competition. Now it stands as a competition for people ages 18 and up who have an interest and an ability to perform in different styles of music. We actually ask all of our competitors to perform in nine different styles of music they have a list of 16 to choose from and to represent in their programming. People apply from all over the world. This year we have people from Russia, Chile, Korea, Japan, Canada, Ireland, and France. It’s really cool that there are people from all over the world interested in performing American music. That’s not to say that there isn’t a huge spread from across the U.S. as well, but it’s a nice way to see the reach and appreciation of American music. That’s amazing. Sodergren: We do an online audio-only pre-screening with independently placed judges. They listen to these audio recordings, and based only on the singer’s sound, sense of style, and vocal flexibility, they widdle it down to 28 contestants who come to Savannah to compete in the weeklong competition. They duke it out for about $40,000 in prize money.

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You won the competition in 2014 - what came on board? was that process like, and how familiar Sodergren: There was sort of a tradition were you with it before you entered? that began of inviting back past gold medalists to serve as a resource for performers Sodergren: I was shortly out of college at that point, actually. I’d competed in 2013 as going through it. So I was back for that, and well and took second place that year. I had I was learning from the previous Artistic Director. I started taking over all of the done some singing engagements with the social media accounts, so it was a natural Savannah Voice Festival, and people who knew about the competition came up to me transition because I’d been doing it right next to the Artistic Director. and said, “You need to apply for this.” It was a really natural progression, and The first year I took second place, and I feel very grateful. It’s been fun to “sit that was an amazing feeling. I was so on the other side of the table.” What I try impressed by all these people that I was to bring to it as a sense of compassion for competing against, and it was really an what the performers are going through. honor. But of course, I wanted to win We also just try to continue raising the [laughs]. So I came back the next year and bar in terms of what we can offer in both I was actually extremely nervous, to the partnerships and performance opportunipoint where I started my first song on the ties. We started the Tybee Post Theater second verse and had to start over. The judges were very understanding, but I was concert series this year, so we had some singers back in Savannah performing. We really nervous! also have our relationship with the SavanThe most interesting thing about this competition from a performer’s standpoint nah Philharmonic and the Savannah Voice is that you don’t really feel super competi- Festival. We also really just want to get the word tive against the people you’re singing with because of all the different styles of music. out about ATC. I definitely want everyone in Savannah to have heard of the American People form lasting friendships, and this actually serves as sort of a melting pot that Traditions competition, whether or not brings people of different styles of music they come to attend. CS together. What has it been like so far to be the Artistic Director, and how did that come about? What did you want to bring to the role when you initially

AMERICAN TRADITIONS VOCAL COMPETITION 2019

Schedule and performance info available at americantraditionscompetition.com

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CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 13-19, 2019

For anyone who’s unfamiliar, explain ATC and how the process works?

Boozery &n r Music Cave

MUSIC THE BAND PAGE

BY SEAN KELLY

ARIZONA RANGER, LIANA GABEL + THE STAR SISTERS @THE SENTIENT BEAN

OF VIRTUE, DROWNING ABOVE WATER, DEPRESSOR @EL ROCKO LOUNGE

CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 13-19, 2019

Metalcore favorites Of Virtue come to El Rocko Lounge for a night of intense and inventive rock you won’t find anywhere else, especially on a Tuesday. The Michigan-based buzz band will be joined for the night by Drowning Above Water and Depressor. TUES., FEB. 19, 9 P.M., $5

TREEHOUSE! @BARRELHOUSE SOUTH

Myrtle Beach’s TreeHouse! expertly walks the line between rock and reggae music, with emotive vocals and a tight rhythm section that puts the emphasis on groove. They’ve garnered acclaim over the last several years and continue to bring their feel good music to audiences everywhere. FRI., FEB. 15, 9 P.M.

Locals Arizona Ranger are an acoustic trio who create a moving brand of melancholic folk and country all their own. The band has released original songs as well as a stellar version of Townes Van Zandt’s “Pancho and Lefty,” and their unique sound will be on full display at the Sentient Bean, alongside Liana Gabel & the Star Sisters. SUN., FEB. 17, 7 P.M.

DAMON AND THE SHITKICKERS @CONGRESS STREET SOCIAL CLUB

Damon and the Shitkickers continue to fly the flag of great country music in the Savannah scene, taking cues from Johnny Cash, Hank Williams and Merle Haggard along the way while putting their own unique spin on the genre. Don’t miss an opportunity to see their show and experience one of the best bands this town has to offer. FRI., FEB. 15, 10:30 P.M.

WEDNESDAY 2.13 LIVE MUSIC

Barrelhouse South Ben Lewis, 9:30 p.m. Bay Street Blues Hitman Blues Band Bayou Cafe Ray Tomasino, 9 p.m. Boomy’s Blues Night w/ Ben Keiser, 9:30 p.m. Fia Rua Irish Pub Brian Conley, 6:30 p.m. Fiddler’s Crab House (River St.) Michael McCormick, 5 p.m. Good Times Jazz Bar and Restaurant The Eric Jones Trio w/ Laiken Williams, 7 p.m. Jazz’d Tapas Bar Levi Moore, 7 p.m. Kevin Barry’s Irish Pub Live Music, 8 p.m. Rachael’s : Sports • Food • Fun Open Mic Night, 8 p.m. Rancho Alegre Cuban Restaurant Bill Smith Trio, 6:30 p.m. The Sandbar Open Mic, 9 p.m. Savannah Smiles Dueling Pianos, 7 p.m. SEED Eco Lounge Latin Music Night, 9 p.m. Southbound Brewing Company Boogaloo Bingo and DJ Miami, 7 p.m. Vic’s on The River Jimmy Frushon The Warehouse Jubal Kane, 8 p.m. The Wormhole Open Mic, 9 p.m.

TRIVIA & GAMES

The Chromatic Dragon Geeky Trivia Night, 8 p.m. Coach’s Corner Trivia Dub’s Pub Trivia, 7:30 p.m. The Jinx Rock n Roll Bingo, 10 p.m. Service Brewing Company Trivia Night with Daniel, 6:30 p.m. Tailgate Sports Bar and Grill Trivia, 9:30 p.m. Totally Awesome Bar Trivia, 9 p.m. Tubby’s Tank House (Thunderbolt) Bingo, 7 p.m. World of Beer Trivia, 7 p.m.

KARAOKE

Club One Karaoke, 10 p.m. McDonough’s Karaoke, 9 p.m. Wet Willie’s Karaoke, 9 p.m.

COMEDY

Stafford’s Public House Weird Wednesdays Open Mic Comedy, 9 p.m.

SEED Eco Lounge DJ Cesar, 10 p.m.

BAR & CLUB EVENTS

The Bar Bar Anti-Valentine’s Day, 9 p.m. Two Tides Brewing Company Bring Your Own Vinyl Night, 7 p.m.

THURSDAY 2.14 LIVE MUSIC

Artillery Andrew Sovine Bay Street Blues Hitman Blues Band Bayou Cafe Eric Culberson Band, 9 p.m. Billy’s Place at McDonough’s Nancy Witt, 6 p.m. Cohen’s Retreat Munchies and Music, 5-9 p.m. Congress Street Social Club DJ

Soundboard

Delilahs w/ Sex, Love, and Rock & Roll Peregrin Dueling Pianos Valentine’s Day, 8 p.m. SEED Eco Lounge Daas Unterground Thursdays, 10 p.m. Stafford’s Public House Open Mic, 9 p.m.

Lowcountry Heartbreakers @Tybee Post Theater

Songwriters Josephine Johnson (pictured), Payne Bridges, and Jenna Lyn come together for a special night of music billed collectively as the Lowcountry Heartbreakers. The trio perform a diverse collection of music ranging from folk to soulful pop. A show not to be missed from three standout local artists. SAT., FEB. 16, 8 P.M., $15

FRIDAY 2.15 LIVE MUSIC

Basik Lee El-Rocko Lounge Church V, 10 p.m. Fiddler’s Crab House (River St.) Ben Keiser, 5 p.m. Good Times Jazz Bar and Restaurant Eric Jones, solo piano, 5 p.m. Jazz’d Tapas Bar Peter Hennes Duo, 7 p.m. Kevin Barry’s Irish Pub Live Music, 8 p.m. The Perch at Local 11 ten Josephine Johnson PS Tavern Live Music Rancho Alegre Cuban Restaurant Gypsy Jazz, 7 p.m. Saddle Bags Valentine’s Day Party, 8 p.m. Savannah Smiles Dueling Pianos, 7 p.m. The Shrimp Factory Ray Tomasino Tailgate Sports Bar and Grill Open Mic, 9 p.m. Top Deck James Lee Smith, 6:30 p.m. Vic’s on The River Jimmy Frushon The Warehouse Jon Lee’s Apparitions, 8 p.m. Wild Wing Cafe Bucky & Barry, 7 p.m. Wild Wing Cafe (Pooler) Brian Conley, 7:30 p.m. The Wormhole Open Mic, 6 p.m.

TRIVIA & GAMES

McDonough’s Trivia, 7 p.m. Pour Larry’s Explicit Trivia, 10 p.m. Southbound Brewing Company Geeks Who Drink Pub Trivia, 8 p.m. Tybee Island Social Club Trivia, 7:30 p.m.

KARAOKE

Club One Karaoke, 10 p.m. McDonough’s Karaoke, 9 p.m. Rusty Rudders Tap House Karaoke World of Beer Karaoke, 9 p.m.

The Jinx Live DJ, 10 p.m. Rusty Rudders Tap House DJ Tap SEED Eco Lounge DJ Cesar, 10 p.m. Totally Awesome Bar DJ Raine Raine, 9 p.m.

BAR & CLUB EVENTS

Club One The House of Savannah Sweet Gunt-Tease, 8 p.m. House of Mata Hari The Downtown

Josephine Johnson

Barrelhouse South TreeHouse, 9 p.m. Billy’s Place at McDonough’s Nancy Witt, 6 p.m. Congress Street Social Club Damon and the Shitkickers East End Provisions What is this thing called love?, 7 p.m. El-Rocko Lounge Cool Jay, 11:55 p.m. Good Times Jazz Bar and Restaurant Stutz Wimmer Quartet, 8 p.m. House of Strut Basically Nancy EP Release Party, 9 p.m. Jazz’d Tapas Bar Fellowship of Love, 9 p.m. The Jinx Liz Cooper and the Stampede Kevin Barry’s Irish Pub Live Music, 8 p.m. Lizzy’s Tequila Bar and Grill Ford Natirboff Molly MacPherson’s Scottish Pub The Mercers Molly McGuire’s Charlie Fog Band, 6 p.m. Pour Larry’s DJ & Live Music PS Tavern Jeremy J Riddle, 9:30 p.m. Rancho Alegre Cuban Restaurant Jody Jazz Trio, 6:30 p.m. River House Matt Eckstine Rusty Rudders Tap House Skyler Smith, 6 p.m. Ruth’s Chris Steak House David Duckworth, 8 p.m. Saddle Bags Late Valentine’s with Raleigh Keegan, 8 p.m. Savannah Smiles Dueling Pianos, 7 p.m. Service Brewing Company Bluegrass By The Pint w/ City Hotel, 5:30 p.m. The Shrimp Factory Georgia Kyle Taste of India Don Read, 6:30 p.m. The Wormhole Basshole XI, 9 p.m. Tijuana Flats Gary Strickland Vic’s on The River Claire Frazier and Norm Gagne, 7 p.m. The Warehouse Kyle Yardley Band Wild Wing Cafe Draucker, Bill Hodgson, DJ Bil-E, 5 p.m. Wild Wing Cafe (Pooler) Chuck Courtenay, 9:30 p.m.

TRIVIA & GAMES

PS Tavern Beer Pong Tournament, 10 p.m.

KARAOKE

Bay Street Blues Karaoke Blueberry Hill Karaoke, 9 p.m. McDonough’s Karaoke, 9 p.m. Sunny’s Lounge Karaoke, 9 p.m. Tailgate Sports Bar and Grill Karaoke/DJ, 10:30 p.m. Totally Awesome Bar Karaoke w/ Wrath Nasty, 9 p.m.

CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 13-19, 2019

MUSIC

SOUNDBOARD IS A FREE SERVICE - TO BE INCLUDED, PLEASE SEND YOUR LIVE MUSIC INFORMATION WEEKLY TO SOUNDBOARD@CONNECTSAVANNAH.COM. DEADLINE FOR INCLUSION IS NOON MONDAY, TO APPEAR IN WEDNESDAY’S EDITION. WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO EDIT OR CUT LISTINGS DUE TO SPACE LIMITATIONS.

CONTINUES ON P. 22 21

SOUNDBOARD t h e

warehouse Bar & Grille

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cOLDEST, CHEAPEST bEER IN TOWN 18 E. River Street • 234-6003

MON- Thurs 4PM -7PM 24 Beers on Tap

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Kitchen Open Late Nightly!

THURS. 2/14 JOhn Lee’s Apparition 8pm-12mid

FRI. 2/15 Kyle Yardley Blues Band 8pm-12mid

SAT. 2/16 At Sundown 8pm-12mid

SUN. 2/17 Thomas Claxton 8pm-12mid

18 E. RIVER STREET 912.234.6003

COMEDY

Foxy Loxy Cafe Comedy Night, 7:30 p.m. The Loft on Liberty Odd Lot Improv: Friday Funnies, 8 p.m. Tybee Post Theater Collin’s Barefoot Comedy Club w/Zach Martina, 8 p.m.

C Ta a l l k e fo Ou r t

HAPPY HOUR

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

Doubles Nightclub DJ Sam Diamond, 8 p.m. Rusty Rudders Tap House DJ Tap SEED Eco Lounge DJ C-Rok, 10 p.m.

BAR & CLUB EVENTS

Abe’s on Lincoln DJ Doc Ock House of Mata Hari The Downtown Delilahs w/ Sex, Love, and Rock & Roll

SATURDAY 2.16 LIVE MUSIC

Barrelhouse South Nickel Bag of Funk, 9 p.m. Billy’s Place at McDonough’s Nancy Witt, 6 p.m. Congress Street Social Club JD Music Group El-Rocko Lounge Pajahm, 11:55 p.m. Good Times Jazz Bar and Restaurant Stutz Wimmer Quartet, 8 p.m. Jazz’d Tapas Bar The Train Wrecks, 9 p.m. Kevin Barry’s Irish Pub Live Music, 8 p.m. Lizzy’s Tequila Bar and Grill Adam Nye Molly MacPherson’s Scottish Pub Wood and Steel Molly McGuire’s Island Boys, 6 p.m. The Olde Pink House David Duckworth & Alisha Duckworth Pour Larry’s DJ & Live Music Rancho Alegre Cuban Restaurant Jody Jazz Trio, 6:30 p.m. River House Ricky Standard Rusty Rudders Tap House Skyler Smith, 6 p.m. Saddle Bags Ray Fulcher, 8 p.m. Savannah Smiles Dueling Pianos, 7 p.m. The Shrimp Factory Justin Morris Stafford’s Public House DJ Rudy Lui, 9:30 p.m. Tybee Post Theater Lowcountry Heartbreakers, 8 p.m. Vic’s on The River Claire Frazier and Norm Gagne, 7 p.m. The Warehouse At Sundown Wild Wing Cafe Jason Courtenay Band, Mostly Goodspell, Bill Hodgson, DJ Race, 1 p.m. Wild Wing Cafe (Pooler) DJ Dance Party, 9:30 p.m.

CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 13-19, 2019

KARAOKE

Bay Street Blues Karaoke McDonough’s Karaoke, 9 p.m. Totally Awesome Bar Karaoke w/ Wrath Nasty, 9 p.m.

COMEDY

The Loft on Liberty Odd Lot Improv: Saturday Shenanigans, 8 p.m. St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church Front Porch Improv: Sorry Not Sorry, 8 p.m. Visitor’s Information Center Savannah for Morons: The Trolley Tour, 11 a.m. & 1:30 p.m.

The Black Rabbit DJ Square One, 9 p.m.

Doubles Nightclub DJ Sam Diamond, 8 p.m. Rusty Rudders Tap House DJ Tap SEED Eco Lounge DJ Pieces, 10 p.m.

BAR & CLUB EVENTS

Club Elan Anti-Valentine’s Day Party, 9 p.m. House of Mata Hari The Downtown Delilahs w/ Sex, Love, and Rock & Roll The Jinx The House of Savannah Sweet Gunt-Tease presents Just Duets, 9 p.m.

SUNDAY 2.17 LIVE MUSIC

Bayou Cafe Don Coyer, 9 p.m. Congress Street Social Club Voodoo Soup, 10:30 p.m. Cuoco Pazzo Sunday Jazz Brunch, 10 a.m., Bill Smith and David Keller, 6 p.m. Good Times Jazz Bar and Restaurant The Eric Jones Trio w/ violinist Ricardo Ochoa, 7 p.m. Jazz’d Tapas Bar Jon Lee Murphy Duo, 7 p.m. Kevin Barry’s Irish Pub Live Music, 8 p.m. Mansion on Forsyth Park Ben Rosenblum Trio, 5 p.m. The Olde Pink House Eddie Wilson River House Ford Natirboff The Sentient Bean Arizona Ranger, Liana Gabel, The Star Sisters, 7 p.m. The Shrimp Factory Matt Eckstine Tubby’s Tank House (River St.) Jeremy J Riddle, 6 p.m. Tybee Island Social Club Sunday Bluegrass Brunch, noon Vic’s on The River Jimmy Frushon The Warehouse Thomas Claxton Wild Wing Cafe Bucky & Barry, Ember City, 1 p.m.

TRIVIA & GAMES

Moon River Brewing Co. Trivia, 6 p.m. Tailgate Sports Bar and Grill Trivia, 9:30 p.m.

KARAOKE

Club One Karaoke, 10 p.m. McDonough’s Karaoke, 9 p.m. Tailgate Sports Bar and Grill Karaoke/DJ, 10:30 p.m.

Boomy’s DJ Basik Lee, 10 p.m.

BAR & CLUB EVENTS

Exclusives Bar & Grille Open Mic Poetry Night, 7 p.m. Saddle Bags Bar Olympics

MONDAY 2.18 LIVE MUSIC

Abe’s on Lincoln Open Mic, 10 p.m. Bayou Cafe David Harbuck, 9 p.m. Fiddler’s Crab House (River St.) Ben Keiser, 5 p.m. Kevin Barry’s Irish Pub Live Music, 8 p.m. Vic’s on The River Jimmy Frushon The Warehouse Eric Britt The Wormhole Open Mic, 8 p.m., Open Mic, 6 p.m.

TRIVIA & GAMES

Blowin’ Smoke Southern Cantina Pubstar Trivia, 7 p.m.

KARAOKE

Boomy’s Karaoke, 10 p.m. Club One Karaoke, 10 p.m.

McDonough’s Karaoke, 9 p.m. Wet Willie’s Karaoke, 9 p.m.

COMEDY

The Loft on Liberty Odd Lot Improv: Monday Night Madness, 7:30 p.m. White Whale Craft Ales White Whale Open Mic Comedy

The Black Rabbit DJ D Frost, 9 p.m. The Jinx DJ Lucky Bastard, 10 p.m. SEED Eco Lounge DJ Pieces, 10 p.m.

BAR & CLUB EVENTS

Fia Rua Irish Pub Family Movie Night, 8 p.m.

TUESDAY 2.19 LIVE MUSIC

Bay Street Blues Ben Keiser Band Bayou Cafe Jam Night with Eric Culberson, 9 p.m. Fiddler’s Crab House (River St.) Michael McCormick, 5 p.m. Good Times Jazz Bar and Restaurant The Earl Williams Quartet, 7 p.m. Jazz’d Tapas Bar Peter Hennes, 7 p.m. Kevin Barry’s Irish Pub Live Music, 8 p.m. Molly MacPherson’s Open Mic The Ordinary Pub Jeremy J Riddle, 7 p.m. The Grove Savannah Virgil Kaine Happy Hour, 5 p.m. Top Deck James Lee Smith, 6:30 p.m. Vic’s on The River Jimmy Frushon The Warehouse Hitman Blues Band, 8 p.m.

TRIVIA & GAMES

Basil’s Pizza and Deli Trivia, 7 p.m. Coach’s Corner Texas Hold ‘Em, 7 p.m. CoCo’s Sunset Grille Trivia, 7 p.m. Congress Street Social Club Trivia, 10 p.m. Fia Rua Irish Pub Trivia, 7:30 p.m. McDonough’s Bingo, 7 p.m. Mellow Mushroom Trivia, 7:30 p.m. PS Tavern Poker Rachael’s : Sports • Food • Fun Adults Only Trivia, 9 p.m. Savannah Taphouse Trivia, 7 p.m. Wild Wing Cafe (Pooler) Trivia, 9 p.m. The Wormhole Trivia, 10:30 p.m.

KARAOKE

Blueberry Hill Karaoke, 9 p.m. Club One Karaoke, 10 p.m. McDonough’s Karaoke, 9 p.m. The Rail Pub Karaoke, 9 p.m. Wet Willie’s Karaoke, 9 p.m.

COMEDY

Chuck’s Bar Comedy Open Mic, 9 p.m.

SEED Eco Lounge DJ C-Rok, 10 p.m.

SOUNDBOARD

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

SOUNDBOARD DIRECTORY Abe’s on Lincoln 17 Lincoln St.

Dub’s Pub 225 W. River St.

The Olde Pink House 23 Abercorn St.

The Shrimp Factory 313 East River Street

Artillery 307 Bull St. The Bar Bar 219 est Julian St.

East End Provisions 420 E. Broughton St.

The Ordinary Pub 217 1/2 West Broughton Street

Barrelhouse South 125 W. Congress St.

912-495-5808

Southbound Brewing Company 107 East Lathrop Ave. St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church 1401 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. Stafford’s Public House 306 W. Upper Factor’s Walk Sunny’s Lounge 5630 Ogeechee Rd.

912-231-1910

912-662-5576 barrelhousesouth.com

Basil’s Pizza and Deli 216 Johnny Mercer Blvd. 912-897-6400 basilsonline.com

Bay Street Blues 17 E. Bay St. 912-236-6655

Bayou Cafe 14 N. Abercorn St. 912-233-6411 bayousavannah.com

Billy’s Place at McDonough’s 20 E. Perry St.

912-231-9049 billysplacesavannah.com

The Black Rabbit 1215 Barnard St. Blowin’ Smoke Southern Cantina 1611 Habersham St. 912-231-2385 blowinsmokesavannah.com

Blueberry Hill 546 Dean Forest Rd. 964-8401

Boomy’s 409 W. Congress St. 912-436-6660 boomysbar.com

The Chromatic Dragon 514 MLK Jr. Blvd. 912-289-0350 chromaticdragon.com

Chuck’s Bar 305 W. River St. 912-232-1005

Club Elan 301 Williamson St. Club One 1 Jefferson St.

(912) 200-3652 dubspubriverstreet.com

912-335-5522

El-Rocko Lounge 117 Whitaker St.

The Perch at Local 11 ten 1110 Bull St. Peregrin 256 E Perry Lane

Fia Rua Irish Pub 10132 Ford Ave.

Pour Larry’s 206 W. St. Julian St.

912-695-2116

912-459-4160 fiaruairishpub.com

Fiddler’s Crab House (River St.) 131 West River St. 912-644-7172 www.liveoakstore.com/ fiddlersriverstreet

Foxy Loxy Cafe 1919 Bull St. 912-401-0543 foxyloxycafe.com

Good Times Jazz Bar and Restaurant 107 W. Broughton St. House of Mata Hari 306 W. Factor’s Walk House of Strut 17 West 41st Street 912-398-0138 www.houseofstrut.com

Jazz’d Tapas Bar 52 Barnard St.

912-236-7777 www.jazzdsavannah.com

The Jinx 127 W. Congress St. 912-236-2281

Kevin Barry’s Irish Pub 117 West River St. 912-233-9626 www.kevinbarrys.com

Lizzy’s Tequila Bar and Grill 417 East River St. 912-341-8897

Coach’s Corner 3016 E. Victory Dr. CoCo’s Sunset Grille 1 Old U.S. Hwy. 80

McDonough’s 21 E. McDonough St.

912-352-2933 coachs.net

912-786-7810 cocostybee.com

Cohen’s Retreat 5715 Skidaway Rd. 912-355-3336

Congress Street Social Club 411 W. Congress St. 912-238-1985 congressstreetsocialclub.com

Cuoco Pazzo 606 Abercorn St.

912-239-6950 cuocopazzosavannah.com

Doubles Nightclub 7100 Abercorn St. 912-352-7100

(912) 238-5130 www.theordinarypub.com/

Etta’s Caf’e & Winery 1308 Montgomery Street Exclusives Bar & Grille 2003 Greenwood Street

The Loft on Liberty 215 W. Liberty St. Mansion on Forsyth Park 700 Drayton St.

912-232-0200 clubone-online.com

912-232-4286 www.plantersinnsavannah.com

912-238-5158 mansiononforsythpark.com

912-233-6136 mcdonoughssavannah.com

Mellow Mushroom 11 W. Liberty St. 912-495-0705 mellowmushroom.com

Molly MacPherson’s Scottish Pub 311 W. Congress St. 912-239-9600 macphersonspub.com

Molly McGuire’s 216 Johnny Mercer Boulevard

912-898-0852 liveoakstore.com/mollymcguires

Moon River Brewing Co. 21 West Bay St. 912-447-0943 www.moonriverbrewing.com/

(912) 415-9000

912-232-5778

PS Tavern 11 W. Bay St. 912-495-5145

Rachael’s : Sports • Food • Fun 1190 King George Blvd. 912-920-7772 rachaels1190.com

The Rail Pub 405 W. Congress St. 912-238-1311 therailpub.com/

Rancho Alegre Cuban Restaurant 402 MLK Jr. Blvd. 912-292-1656 ranchoalegrecuban.com

River House 125 W. River St.

912-234-1900 liveoakstore.com/riverhouse

Rusty Rudders Tap House 303 W. River St. 912-944-6302

Ruth’s Chris Steak House 111 W. Bay St. 912-721-4800 ruthschris.com

Saddle Bags 317 West River St.

912-349-5275 saddlebagssavannah.com/

The Sandbar 1512 Butler Ave. 912-786-8304

Savannah Smiles 314 Williamson St.

912-527-6453 www.facebook.com/pages/ Savannah-Smiles-DuelingPianos/118909441502557

Savannah Taphouse 125 E. Broughton St. 912-201-8277 savannahtaphouse.com

SEED Eco Lounge 39 Montgomery St. 912-349-5100

The Sentient Bean 13 E. Park Ave. 912-232-4447 sentientbean.com

Service Brewing Company 574 Indian Street Ships of The Sea Museum 41 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. 912-232-1511 www.shipsofthesea.org

912-236-4229 www.theshrimpfactory.com

912-234-6628

Tailgate Sports Bar and Grill 11215 Abercorn St. 912-921-2269

Taste of India 401 Mall Blvd. 912-356-1020

The Beach House Resort 1 South Forest Beach Drive The Grove Savannah 301 West Congress Street Tijuana Flats 1800 E. Victory Dr. 912-344-9111 tijuanaflats.com

Top Deck 125 W. River Street Tubby’s Tank House (River St.) 115 East River St. 912-233-0770 www.liveoakstore.com/ tubbysriverstreet

Tubby’s Tank House (Thunderbolt) 2909 River Dr. 912-354-9040 www.liveoakstore.com/ tubbysthunderbolt

Two Tides Brewing Company 12 West 41st St. Tybee Island Social Club 1311 Butler Ave.

3 0 TH F E S T I VA L S E A S O N M A R C H 2 8 –A P R I L 1 3 , 2 0 1 9 savannahmusicfestival.org BOX OFFICE 912.525.5050

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#SMF2019

PUNCH BROTHERS Saturday, March 30 at 7:30 pm, Trustees Theater

I’M WITH HER

S A R A WAT K I N S • S A R A H JA R O S Z • AO I F E O ’ D O N OVA N

Friday, March 29 at 7:30 pm, Lucas Theatre for the Arts

PUNCH BROTHERS Saturday, March 30 at 7:30 pm, Trustees Theater

K AT H Y M AT T E A / M O L LY T U T T L E B A N D Friday, April 5 at 5:30 and 8:30 pm North Garden Assembly Room at Ships of the Sea Museum

D I M M E R T W I N S / T. H A R DY M O R R I S Thursday, April 11 at 8 pm North Garden Assembly Room at Ships of the Sea Museum

ROBERT EARL KEEN / D AV E A LV I N & J I M M I E D A L E G I L M O R E Saturday, April 13 at 7:30 pm, Lucas Theatre for the Arts

912-472-4044 tybeeislandsocialclub.com

Vic’s on The River 26 E. Bay St. 912-721-1000 vicsontheriver.com

Visitor’s Information Center 301 MLK Jr. Blvd. 912-944-0455 savannahvisit.com/

The Warehouse 18 E. River St.

912-234-6003 thewarehousebarandgrille.com

Wet Willie’s 101 E. River St. 912-233-5650 wetwillies.com

White Whale Craft Ales 1207 Bull St. Wild Wing Cafe 27 Barnard St. 912-790-9464 wildwingcafe.com

Wild Wing Cafe (Pooler) 417 Pooler Pkwy. 912-208-3700 wildwingcafe.com

IS A SPONSOR OF THE SAVANNAH MUSIC FESTIVAL INVESTMENT IN THE SAVANNAH MUSIC FESTIVAL IS PROVIDED BY THE CITY OF SAVANNAH Major Sponsors: Critz Auto Group, Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., The Kennickell Group, Visit Savannah, Floor & Decor, Wet Willie’s Management Corp., WTOC 11, HunterMaclean, Memorial Health, Mercer University School of Medicine, National Endowment for the Arts, SCAD, Savannah Economic Development Authority, Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum

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912-349-0525 abesonlincoln.com

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Marie Benedict writing, I pick women who have made a major contribution to our lives. I think rachael@connectsavannah.com people sometimes see these very modern issues in bold relief when they’re set in a HEDY LAMARR was a woman ahead of time period of a different setting than their her time who defied social expectations own lives. They extrapolate that and apply just by being both beautiful and intelligent. it to their own lives, whereas if She was a film actress whose greatest you bring it to a success came with the 1949 film Samson modernand Delilah. She was also the inventor of a day setradio guidance system for Allied torpedoes ting, I don’t that is the basis for today’s WiFi and Blue- know if it tooth technology. would be As it turned out, the world at that could received the not quite handle a beautiful genius, posits same way. Marie Benedict in her novel, “The Only And I think Woman in the Room.” that’s someBenedict will appear at the Savannah thing we need Book Festival on Feb. 16 to read and disto think about. cuss her novel. We spoke to Benedict last We need to ask week about beauty, authenticity, and being ourselves what taken seriously. we’re holding on to. Why are I hate to admit this, but every time I we holding these hear the name Hedy Lamarr I think of preconceptions the “Blazing Saddles” gag with Harvey that we know are Korman playing a character named inappropriate? Hedley Lamarr. It’s one of the things that I was I get that a lot! She actually sued them very attracted to for that—she was super litigious later in about this story, and her life. I think that whole thing is really that [Lamarr] heremblematic, and that later in her life, she self described it with was frustrated by this dichotomy between the word mask. That her exterior and interior. She described really stuck with me. it as a mask she wore. I use that scene throughout the book because that’s how Let’s talk about how you first got she felt. They wanted to see her in one way started writing historical fiction. only, and that was a beautiful woman. It’s a little bit of a long story. In middle So often, intelligence and beauty are school, I had an amazing aunt who gave believed to be mutually exclusive—you me “The Mists of Avalon” by Marion Zimcan’t be pretty and smart. mer Bradley. It was about the legend of King Arthur, but told from the perspective What’s interesting about that idea is that of Guinevere and Morgan LeFay. It was even modern readers, people who haven’t the first time I had ever read a book like read the book or are familiar with it are that, and it really changed me. It opened always like, “Are you serious? They didn’t my eyes to the idea that there were other take her seriously?” voices. What I thought of as history was 24 She is so emblematic in that. When one slice of the reality.

CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 13-19, 2019

BY RACHAEL FLORA

Marie Benedict. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE SAVANNAH BOOK FESTIVAL.

This is also a conversation of authenticity. I went to college and was a history major, and when you were a history major at that time you went towards being a lawyer. I went to law school, and I worked for top firms. For a long time, I followed someone else’s version of what my life should be. I liked the intellectual part [of practicing law] and I learned skills, but by the same token, I always knew that it wasn’t what I wanted to do. It took me a long time to extricate myself. I wrote other books under my real name, Heather Terrell, about history. A lot of people just love the past for the past, but what I love is what it tells us about ourselves now. How do you choose who you write about? I really look for women who have had such impacts on our lives, but we are unaware of them. I operate like the archaeologist I always wanted to be—I find these

women and dig them out. It’s almost like their origin stories, how they arrive at this moment of epiphany. I focus on a contribution, whether one or multiple, and share it with people so they can see that women have already done the things we are striving to do. We have accomplished so much, but our narrative of our past and ourselves are sometimes suppressed. I bring those narratives into our conversation and make them visible. What do you hope readers take away from the story of Hedy Lamarr? If anything, my ultimate goal is to offer people a fresh lens through which to look at the past and use that lens in our everyday lives. That’d be the ultimate goal. The best thing was that Barnes and Noble picked my book for the book club, and all 650 stores had a book club discussion about my book. The greatest thing about that is that all these readers, all these people, came together at the same time and talked about this exact issue—this woman, her contributions, what it means for us today, and how we learn from her contributions and the struggles she had in her life. CS

Marie Benedict will speak Sat., Feb. 16 at the Lutheran Church Fellowship Hall at 4 p.m.

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SAVANNAH BOOK FESTIVAL

Tena Clark BY RACHAEL FLORA

rachael@connectsavannah.com

What was your impetus for finally telling your story? I wrote about a hundred pages [of a draft] a long time ago, and I showed it to her and I asked her what she thought. She said, “I want you to do this. I think it’d be cathartic for you. Just wait until I’ve passed.” My mom had been passed away for 16 years, my dad for 20, so obviously I waited a long time. I never thought much about it until my oldest sister passed away about three years ago. I started seeing history repeat itself in the South, and in Mississippi, and I felt like I was tired of, when I’d go home, pretending things were a way that they weren’t. Even though my family was close, and as dysfunctional as it was, I couldn’t pretend anymore. I thought I needed to tell my story. I had not longed to write a book, I had never intended to. It just seemed like the right time and right place. Hopefully through me telling my story of so many factors of coming of age during that era would help someone. What’s crazy, though, is since I’ve written this book, I would say 80 percent of the people who come up to me or email my publisher or messages me through Facebook have all these similar stories. There are twists and turns in different ways.

It’s funny, because Sela Ward—the actress from Mississippi, we grew up close to each other and we’ve been friends for a while—when I told her how I think there’s some people in my family in that town that are not happy about the book, she said, “Baby, women from the South don’t like their petticoats pulled up.” [laughs] Tell me more about your relationship with Virgie. Virgie probably didn’t even know what the word “gay” was. I think she always knew that I was, as my mom would say, “special.” We never discussed everything, but she taught me unconditional love and I would say simplicity, coming from a wealthy family and learning very quickly that money does not buy happiness, safety, or security. Watching her life and her being my buoy in the storm so many times, she taught me unconditional love. And I think when she did find out [I was a lesbian], of course later on, she would never have blinked. It was a non-starter. I just cannot imagine what would have happened to me if I had not had Virgie. None of us are born with discrimination or hate. We are taught that, or we emulate that, or see that, or are around that. For

whatever reason, thank God that I did not connect with that [hatred]. The only thing I knew was that black people were people that I loved. They were sweet and kind and took care of me, and there was no pretense. What I saw there, it was so foreign to me. What shaped me was trying to figure out and never wavering that why everybody around me had the visceral reactions to and treatment of these people. Why was that there? Why was I a bad person for not feeling the same way they all do? What do you hope people take from reading “Southern Discomfort?” If there was one thing I would want someone to walk away with, it would be the courage to live your truth, whatever that truth may be. Not only do I feel, but I know, if you don’t live your truth, it will live it for you. Whether that’s through illness or addiction, whatever it may be, you will not be fulfilled, nor will you ever find that true joy that I think God expects us all to have. People settle for something they’re not. That’s one thing about me—I never settle. I was never confused. I marched for what I believed. CS Tena Clark will discuss her book on Sat., Feb. 16 at the Baptist Church Sanctuary at 10:10 a.m.

CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 13-19, 2019

TENA CLARK never set out to be an author. The songwriter and CEO/CCO of her own company, DMI Music & Media Solutions, Clark came of age in a tiny Mississippi town in the 1960s. Her family ascribed to the typical Southern royalty archetype: wealthy beauty queen marries one of the richest men in the state and lives on a sprawling farm. However, amidst alcohol abuse and infidelity problems, Clark’s parents separated, leaving her and her three sisters in the care of Virgie, her black nanny. Clark learned about unconditional love from Virgie, especially as she came to realize she was attracted to women, a taboo in the South at that time. “Southern Discomfort” is Clark’s story of strength, love, and acceptance in the Civil Rights-era South. We spoke with Clark last week.

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SAVANNAH BOOK FESTIVAL

Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

BY JIM MOREKIS

jim@connectsavannah.com

NANA KWAME Adjei-Brenyah’s new collection of short stories, Friday Black, has been described as “dystopian” and almost a form of science fiction, a futuristic view of the potential effect of racism and inequity. However, many African Americans might say these gripping, visceral, often suddenly violent stories are rather a distressingly realistic psychological portrayal of life as a black person in America today, right now. The book made the New York Times bestseller list – quite an achievement for any author’s debut work. Many of the stories take place in deceptively commonplace settings, such as theme parks and shopping malls. Indeed, the title of the book is an inversion on the American commercial ritual/orgy called Black Friday. There are speaking fetuses, beheadings, shooting sprees, and various observations on the phenomenon of “code-switching.” We spoke to AdjeiBrenyah ahead of his appearance at the Savannah Book Festival this Saturday. Many reviewers call attention to the “exaggeration” of your writing. But hyperbole is an established literary tradition. Do you accept the characterization of your work as exaggerated for effect, or is it just painfully realistic?

CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 13-19, 2019

I am using an established device, but more in the manner of something surreal attached to a tradition. For me it’s mostly about finding different ways to describe exactly what I’m seeing. It’s a way to create energy. At first glance things may seem not of this world.

I enjoy your tone. It is immediate and impactful. I spend a lot of time talking to my students about voice, and about tone and how that branches off. For me, it’s largely about the verbs you choose to use, to create an effect. Sometimes you use it ironically. You can use dark, harsh language about eating dessert, and it has a comedic effect. How would you respond if I said your work is much like Flannery O’Connor’s? She often exaggerated

some traits of characters, and there is sudden violence in her work too. I consider it a big honor! She wasn’t afraid to depict violence in lots of different ways, but always in a purposeful manner. George Saunders is also appearing at the Book Festival. You studied under him at Syracuse, right? He was my professor before he was my mentor. I came to Syracuse to teach because of him. He was my thesis advisor on the project which eventually became this book. You are the child of African immigrants. I’m told the worldview of the recent African diaspora can be quite different from the worldview of African-Americans. Is this accurate? Well, first of all you have to remember that in Africa, people of African descent aren’t in a minority. There is certainly a legacy of colonization and racism, but obviously it’s a bit different because Africans are in the majority in their own countries. Racism is involved with everything in the United States. It has a profound effect no matter what. But as far as me personally, I knew my parents viewed the world in a different way from how I ended up viewing it. I’ve heard writers say the short story is actually more difficult to do well than a novel. Your thoughts? Luckily I don’t have to choose! I don’t feel short stories are a lesser form, for sure. There are specific challenges with the short form. I do know that in novels sometimes there can be long sections in which I’m not engaged. In a short story that wouldn’t be acceptable. Every word must be purposeful and engaging. What’s in store for folks who attend your talk here? Do you have a set talk, or do you sort of improvise? I get the vibe of the room, and take into account the space and the time. Then I’ll sort of call audibles in the moment depending on what I feel is right. CS Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah appears at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Savannah Theatre

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SAVANNAH BOOK FESTIVAL

Patti Callahan Henry

OF THE SAVANNAH BOOK FESTIVAL.

BY RACHAEL FLORA

rachael@connectsavannah.com

IF YOU’RE searching for a romance that beat the odds, consider the story of C.S. Lewis and Joy Davidman. They were both writers, but the comparisons ended there. His Christian faith warred with her atheism; she was a fiery New Yorker who was married with two children, and he was an Oxford and Cambridge scholar who never left Britain. Yet, they fell in love, and Patti Callahan Henry’s “Becoming Mrs. Lewis” lays the story out for us. Callahan Henry, a New York Times bestselling author of twelve novels, is set to appear at the Savannah Book Festival on Feb. 16. We spoke to the Birmingham- and Bluffton-based author, publishing under Patti Callahan, last week. I’ve always felt that C.S. Lewis was an author I couldn’t confine to any sort of genre, and because of that I didn’t know much about him. That’s part of why I wrote the book. What we do know is a lot of myth and conjecture and guessing. We know C.S. Lewis as the guy who wrote Narnia or “The Screwtape Letters.” But even more fascinating was the fact that people knew so little about his wife, who, if people know anything

about her at all, it’s that she’s the dying wife of C.S. Lewis. When she died, she so broke C.S. Lewis’ heart that he wrote “A Grief Observed” [under the pseudonym N.W. Clark]. It’s one of the best books on grief ever written; it’s the seminal book on grieving and the things we go through. In it, he goes through doubt and faith—it’s a heartbreaking book. And he wrote it about her. It started to fascinate me that the only thing anyone ever knew [about her] was that she broke his heart. She is this fiery, brilliant woman. When I did my research, I realized there were two Joy Davidmans. The first was this New York raised, assertive, married with two kids woman who inserted herself into C.S. Lewis’ life. Then the second was this fiery brilliant woman who so enchanted him that he said she was not only the first woman, but the first person, who was as smart as him. Their improbable love story totally fascinated me. When I first learned about her, I thought she was this hybrid woman. She was this New York, Jewish heritage woman born in the Bronx who was an award-winning poet and a novelist—but she was also married with two kids, and an atheist and a communist. On the other side of the ocean—and keep in mind this is the late 1940s, we’re not emailing—you have this Oxford don, never left Ireland or England except for six months when he was in the war. And he’s 17 years older than her. It’s the most

improbable love story ever. How are they ever going to meet? How are they going to become friends? Fall in love, forget about it. Get married? No way! He’s this staunch Anglican man who would never marry a divorced woman. I wanted to know what happened, so I wrote about her. What did you find? Falling in love with and marrying C.S. Lewis was only one of many fascinating things about her. She was a woman ahead of her time, forging these trails. As I did my research I found this quote by her: “If we should ever grow brave, what on earth would become of us?” She wrote that question and kind of buried it in this essay called “On Fear.” I never heard anyone pull it out. What does that mean? What is the answer? I looked in the essay for the answer and I never found it. I realized that she answered that question with her life. She is constantly a new wonder to me, even after the book. How long did the writing process take, from deciding you would write about her to finishing the book? I first learned of her twenty years ago, but from the time I first said I was going to write about her, it was about three years. It was a slow burn. I didn’t even know I wanted to write about her for a long time. It was something that came to me when I was

That is such an excellent question. What’s even more astounding is that it was hidden down there. She asked just the right question at the right time. You said that much of what we know about both Lewis and Davidman was conjecture. With that in mind, was there much source material out there for you to use? There is so much out there. Because she was such a prolific, famous writer in her day—and, of course, he was too—I had loads and loads of what we would call primary material. There were essays, novels, letters. That’s good and bad because I wanted to be true to her, and yet it was like I was drinking out of a firehose. I had to really narrow it down. What did I want to know? How much did I want to know? What was the writing process like after that? You start to see connections nobody had seen before, the scenes of her life that would tell the truth. I spent a long time building what I called the skeleton because I wanted the skeleton to be 100 per cent facts. You can’t make up things [about their life]—they are both very well-known. I took liberty within constraint. It was the most fun I’ve had writing a book, ever, and also the hardest. CS

CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 13-19, 2019

Patti Callahan Henry. PHOTO COURTESY

in a stuck place. I was talking to a girlfriend of mine, who’s also a writer, and she said, “What would you write about if you could write about anything you wanted?”

Patti Callahan will discuss her book Sat., Feb. 16 at the Jepson Center at 4 p.m. 27

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SAVANNAH BOOK FESTIVAL

Dan Hampton BY JIM MOREKIS

jim@connectsavannah.com

A DECORATED combat pilot who retired from the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel, Dan Hampton has built quite a second career for himself as a best-selling author. Best known for his memoir Viper Pilot: A Memoir of Air Combat, Hampton writes from his perspective as a veteran of the Iraq War, the Gulf War, and the Kosovo conflict. His newest book, Chasing the Demon, chronicles the leadup to the breaking of the sound barrier in the years after WWII. Most Americans know of the exploits of famed American test pilot Chuck Yeager from Tom Wolfe’s novel (later movie), The Right Stuff. But Hampton says the story didn’t necessarily go down that way. We talked to him ahead of his appearance this weekend at the Savannah Book Festival.

CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 13-19, 2019

Most Americans associate Chuck Yeager with breaking the sound barrier, mostly from The Right Stuff. Your book says a close look at history shows that Yeager wasn’t actually the first to break the sound barrier, it was a pilot named George Welch.

The Right Stuff was slanted toward Yeager, but it’s definitely more complicated than that. Nobody’s taking away anything from Yeager. Nothing I write is meant to detract from his accomplishments. But he wasn’t the first. Also if you look at the aviation side of it, Yeager is flying a rocket. The X-1 was basically a research tool. But Welch was flying a true jet fighter off the deck. It’s been an open secret all these years. A lot of it is whoever gets the best press. Welch never got the credit he deserved, and he wasn’t the kind of guy to seek the limelight for himself. I see this as more a case of credit being given where it’s due. Welch is a fascinating guy in and of himself.

Welch was actually one of the only two American pilots to get airborne during the Pearl Harbor attack. They were hungover! When the Japanese attacked, he and his buddy drove to the alert strip. They were still half-dressed in tuxedoes from the night before. You can see this in the otherwise horrible movie Pearl Harbor with Ben Affleck (laughs). There are anecdotes of pilots in WWII briefly breaking the sound barrier while engaged in air combat, usually in steep dives. Did this actually happen or is it mostly apocryphal? We don’t really know, precisely because they weren’t test pilots. They were busy fighting. The other part you have to keep in mind is the instruments at the time weren’t calibrated for that kind of precision at that high a speed. So there’s no way to get an accurate measurement in those kinds of situations, with those instruments. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Germans may have done it in their jet fighter, the ME-262.

Col. Hampton with his F-16 during the Iraq War.

There’s a lot of revisionist history about the Cold War, but it was a strategic victory, accomplished without the feared nuclear war. Now people mostly concentrate on how expensive it was. Which was still a heck of a lot better than the alternative! It was indeed a strategic victory, with very little loss of life, especially compared to any kind George Welch, of nuclear exchange. the ‘fighter pilot’s That said, we came closer than people fighter pilot,’ recognize to WWIII. In the period in during WWII which the book takes place, the Russians were in an expansive mode. I’m not a warmonger. I believe the best way to fight an the “Shiny Shoes” Air Force — the desk ideology is with another ideology. Somejockeys who sit at computers all day comtimes though, there’s no alternative. ing up with new ideas, mostly divorced from reality. As a fighter pilot, what do you think Think about it: Would you get into an of the Air Force’s new drive toward Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, i.e. drones? airliner without a human pilot? Would you really? We can’t make even make self-drivA lot of these ideas come from what we call ing cars work!

There’s definitely a purpose for human pilots. Until they can come up with a computer than can do a trillion calculations a second, like my brain and your brain can, we will always need them. CS Dan Hampton appears 1:30 p.m. this Saturday at Trinity United Methodist Church.

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SAVANNAH BOOK FESTIVAL

Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes THIS YEAR marks the fifth anniversary of the terroristic Boston Marathon bombing. Newlyweds Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes were hurt in the blast, with Downes losing one leg and Kensky ultimately losing both. In the emptiness that followed, they met Rescue. Rescue is Kensky’s service dog, and the duo is the subject of “Rescue and Jessica: A Life-Changing Friendship.” The book, written for children ages 5 to 9, shares the importance of service dogs for people who are differently abled. As part of an extensive book tour, Kensky, Downes and Rescue have two appearances in Savannah this weekend. The first takes place Saturday at the Southwest Chatham Library, complete with a book reading, a demonstration of what Rescue can do for Kensky, and a Q&A session. The next day, the trio will appear at the Savannah Book Festival’s Children’s Tent for a shorter appearance. We spoke with Kensky and Downes last week. How did you decide to write this book? Downes: We found out that children were seeing our prosthetic legs and they saw Rescue and they were jumping out of their skin trying to figure out what the hell was going on. “Mom, look at that lady with the legs!” You could tell they really wanted to know. At first, we weren’t sure how to handle it—it’s something other parents might not feel comfortable with. But over time, we decided we don’t have any shame. We didn’t do anything wrong. They’d walk up to us, and I’d invite them to check out my prosthetic. The minute they touched it, they’d smile. It was demystified— not this big scary thing. It’s a cool robot guy. Same for Rescue. When they found out he could do things for Jess, they thought he was a superhero. We realized there was an opportunity to talk to kids in an honest way about how she had gotten through it with Rescue by her side. Kensky: Some kids can’t help it—they’re so loud, and they’re at the age where they haven’t learned that staring is rude. I’d be in the grocery store and see a mom keep their kids from looking at me and usher them out of the store. That interaction doesn’t feel great either. We were hoping

this book helps parents who don’t know what to do or say. They can’t be experts. This book has given them a way to introduce these topics and to talk about someone else who gets around differently. We do have a very dear friend Pat went to college with, and she’s a children’s book agent. Had we not had her in our life, this book wouldn’t have happened. She saw Rescue through this lens of, “This is an amazing story that needs to be told. Our experience with kids in public and then having her in corner saying we needed to tell this story. But I have to say, the first few drafts were just about Rescue. Were you hesitant to share your story? Kensky: I just didn’t know how I wanted to share that. It’s a little more personal than talking about just your dog. How could we tell it? It was something I was living. In the midst of all this, I’m having these surgeries, losing my second leg, which was the most horrible thing. How am I going to tell that to a kid? Patrick is a psychologist, and in school he did a lot of work with kids. We found a way to tell it appropriately and honestly. You only have so many pages, how could we ever include my journey? How did you get linked with the book’s illustrator, Scott Magoon? Downes: We didn’t know Scott, but he used to work at Candlewick Press. Once we connected with them and signed on, they knew that he’d be a perfect fit. Not just because of his talent, but he was running the marathon the day of the bombing. His family was there. Thankfully, none of them were injured physically, but he has told us and said to others that this is a powerful journey for him to be on, too, to make sense of what he and his family went through and helping us tell our story. It’s a perfect team coming together. Tell me about the process of writing the book.

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Downes: We wrote the entire thing over the course of two years while we were patients at Walter Reed Military Hospital. Frankly, we just used it as a thirty-minute escape every couple of days. I knew it was the one topic I could bring up to Jess that wouldn’t lead to one of us crying. We could think like children again and imagine some scenario in the book or pore over the language. It allowed us to take our minds off some agonizing surgical decisions—the complexity of Jess’ medical picture is far more complex.

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It sounds like it was very therapeutic for you both to write it. Downes: It was incredibly therapeutic. The way Boston and the entire country wrapped their arms around us, they paved the way for us to do this. We acknowledged that something awful had happened, but reminded each other that we had each other’s back, and we would somehow make meaning out of it. We definitely followed that weed in writing. These two guys took all this time to enact this act of hatred. In the split second after their acts of terror, people ran towards us to help us. They ran towards smoke and explosion and loud noise to get us safe on the street, get us into ambulances and the best hospitals. This instant response was able to quickly be the antidote to a lot of hate. CS Sat., Feb. 16, 2 p.m. Program w/ Jessica, Patrick and Rescue Southwest Chatham Library, 14097 Abercorn St. Sun., Feb. 17, 1:30 p.m. Book signing at Savannah Book Festival’s Children’s Tent, Reynolds Square

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BY RACHAEL FLORA

rachael@connectsavannah.com

CULTURE THE ART•BEAT OF SAVANNAH

Lanes of Savannah: The artistic path less traveled

BY RACHAEL FLORA

rachael@connectsavannah.com

CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 13-19, 2019

A FEW months ago, artist Sandra Attales got a call from Peter Roberts, director of Location Gallery. “He goes, ‘Are you sitting down?’” Attales laughs. “‘Guess what the Davenport House is highlighting in January? The lanes!’” Roberts knew that, for years, Attales had been painting Savannah’s lanes. “I came upon the concept in 2008,” says Attales. “I was still in school at the time, and it really came about because we don’t have alleyways down here, or compressed spaces. That was most intriguing.” That’s how “Between,” Attales’ gloomy yet romantic lane paintings, came to be. Attales achieves that gloominess by working with charcoal and oil on canvas. “I think the whole idea of not being able to go down the alleys, there’s that allure, a push and pull,” Attales says. “I started looking more into the atmosphere in the work and I thought, ‘What medium is going to best pull that out of the viewer?’ I felt like charcoal on canvas. I go back with glazes of color at first with oil, translucent just to get that dirt feeling that’s still on the canvas. That mood, I love it.” After Attales graduated from SCAD’s Atlanta campus, she moved to Islamorada, FL, to start her gallery, Studio Sesh Arts, and the lanes took a backseat. “I took a break from doing them and ventured off and did some other work,” Attales says. “The original ones that Peter fell for, I had never put those in a show. Those were just hidden in my house. I thought coming back to the Keys, nobody would appreciate them. When I opened my gallery down here, I was like, ‘You know what? I’m putting them up. I have an industrialized kind of space, and people were like, ‘These are great.’” As Attales knows and appreciates, the art market is different in the Keys than it is in the Lowcountry. “People down here are trying to buy what fits their homes, and this doesn’t fit and I get that. I just have been pushing them anywhere else,” she says. “Then there are some people that think they have to buy art that fits, and I think there are people that don’t even think about their home. They buy art they can wake up every 30 day and they want to live with. When I go

PHOTOS COURTESY OF LOCATION GALLERY.

away and find a piece I love, I’m like, ‘I love it, I need it.’ I’m not even thinking about making it fit.” Roberts and Attales, she says, hit it off immediately when they met several years ago. Attales’ stint at Location is her half of a gallery flip; Roberts is currently exhibiting his HeadCases papercuts at Studio Sesh Arts. “Between” fits in perfectly with the Davenport House’s new initiative to tell the story of Savannah’s lanes. “We have plans to expand our interpretation and facilities, which include a more informed understanding of what the lane were in the early 19th century, particularly with regard to the African-American community,” shares director Jamie Credle. As Credle explains, the lanes are an

important part of Savannah’s history and its city plan. “The lanes were the communication route of the African American community during the early 19th century,” explains Credle. “A historian has said that wardens and constables usually stayed away from the lanes, unless there was something

that aroused their suspicion. It allowed enslaved household members a passage beyond outbuildings and sheds, which led to a broader world.” Credle and the Davenport House team are still working on the details of the new initiative, but Attales’ show proceeds benefit the house and their efforts. CS

CULTURE VISUAL ARTS

BY RACHAEL FLORA

rachael@connectsavannah.com

AFTER A year full of challenges, erotic artist Tatiana von Tauber was having trouble creating the sequel to 2015’s “Art Porn” and 2017’s “Back It Up.” “Rather than try to create a show, I decided I’ll just paint,” says von Tauber, who also owns the Studio School on Bull Street. “I’ll paint 15 paintings and take a look and see what I’ve done, and then I’ll make a decision. Six months went by, and I think I painted three paintings. There was no cohesion to it. Ultimately, I ended up with ten or 12 paintings and I was looking for the common denominator, and I realized: it’s all women. Normally I do couples, but I only had one male painting. He ended up being the player.” “Players in Pleasantville,” on display at the Studio School from Feb. 16 to 23, follows one central male, the player, and the women in his circle. “It wasn’t really my intention,” von Tauber says of her decision to paint women. “It just happened. The way I paint is intuitive, and I think this show is just more personal. I think we’ve all met players, we’ve all been played, and some of us have played others— it happens. It was a reflection of some closure for my own personal life. I was trying to paint men, but I was just kind of over it. I ended up painting women in more sensual ways because I’m tired of the objectified porn as well. I spent so much time looking at the porn, I got a little tired of it.” While von Tauber has painted porn imagery in the past, the body of work in “Players in Pleasantville” is much more scaled down than previous work. “There are some pieces that are very

Showtime.

provocative,” she says. “But people see the word ‘erotic’ and make that judgment. You have to find a way to make it approachable.” Approachability is important to demystifying erotic art like von Tauber is creating. “It’s about opening people’s minds, not so much like, ‘Hey, here’s some sexual content in your face,’ but more to look at it from a different perspective,” she says. “Really, people’s judgment on this kind of work is their own shame. You can tell a lot by the way a person reacts to the paintings. At the first show I did, there’d be mostly women who came in and really quickly run through and then run out. They don’t want to see it. “I get the conservative nature of people, and I respect that. We’re all different. But I don’t want to be shunned by a word that shames someone else. My work is beautiful and it speaks to people and it’s respectful to women, and I think we need more of that. We need more women making art like me.” As von Tauber explains, there are three types of imagery: sensual, erotic, and pornographic. “There are fine lines, and I think that a lot of people can handle the implied because it’s sexy,” says von Tauber, “but as soon as it turns into pornographic, they’re not into it. This body of work is really more sensual, but I want them to see the eroticism in it.” Of course, the biggest criticism lobbied at erotic art is the old “think of the children” bit. “Everyone’s trying to save the children, but I went through the kid stage, both as a child and as a parent,” says von Tauber.

Lounge in Blue.

The artist at home. PHOTO BY RACHAEL FLORA.

“I’m 47. I would like an adult world. There has to be some place I can go and feel safe as an adult who happens to enjoy this kind of world or topic without feeling like I should ban myself.” She’s carving out that space with exhibitions like “Players in Pleasantville” and with her newsletter, Savannah Love Talk. Also available online at savannahlovetalk.com, the newsletter was created as promotion for the show, but von Tauber hopes to keep it going. “People need it and they want it and nobody is giving it to them in a way that’s approachable,” she says. “That’s the key. That’s what I’ve learned. I’ve got to take out the word ‘porn.’ It scares people. If you want to reach them, you have to speak to them in a language they’re comfortable in.” Savannah Love Talk is a fun, flirty newsletter that feels like talking to a sexually literate friend. “It’s about giving them an education,” she says. “I was trying to think of content

that was really basic but fun. It’s important to know; it’s intelligent stuff to make people think. Sexual education is so important for people to make good choices.” Even as she helps create that safe space for sensual art to thrive, von Tauber’s freedom to express herself is most important. “Ultimately, the paintings represent narratives of my future as they explain my past and keep me balanced, focused and happy in the present,” explains von Tauber. “That has been the ultimate realization during this show’s development: the more I paint eroticism, the more I discover a world where I can understand myself, men, relationships and human nature, and dig deeper into the mysterious side of us that only emerges from our sexual selves as it exists nowhere else.” CS “Players in Pleasantville” is on view at the Studio School at 1319 Bull St. from Feb. 16 to 23 from 3 to 7 p.m. The opening reception is Friday, Feb. 16, from noon to 8 p.m.

CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 13-19, 2019

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Elizabeth

Winnel BY RACHAEL FLORA

rachael@connectsavannah.com

WHAT DO rosy-pink lips and advertisements about masculinity have to do with each other? Absolutely everything, and Elizabeth Winnel could talk about it for hours. Winnel’s body of work primarily consists of lips, sometimes posed slightly open, sometimes biting flowers. While you might assume the lips were of a female model, you’d be wrong—the lips belong to Winnel’s best friend, David, and to her husband, Martin. Winnel challenges the typical gender assignments we give, both knowingly and unknowingly, and the role certain advertisements play in that work. We spoke with Winnel last week.

How did you get started making art? I’m one of those weird kids that I always did. We grew up where we had an arts and crafts cupboard in the kitchen, just for crafting. There was always the expectation that if you’re not doing something, you should be making art. I think maybe because my mom is an elementary school teacher, she’s always like, “Let’s keep kids busy.” I can even picture in my head where the section of colored paper is. It’s funny because when I decided to pursue art as my job, it was like, “Whoa, what?”

CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 13-19, 2019

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etal pressures. The shoulds. The don’ts. “Don’t look at this, don’t be like that.” In society, whether through advertising or television or film, there are all these things that kind of undermine the uniqueness of everybody’s autonomous experience. “You as an individual are not good enough, so here’s us selling you more shit or reaffirming that you’re not good enough.” We’re all similar and we’re all different, but we just exploit that insecurity we have of being different because we’re scared. We want to belong. Even psychologically, there’s safety in belonging.

4. How does that politicization of

advertising fit into the art you make?

We should just keep ourselves. Why should we keep buying into that [insecurity]? Why am I buying into the mindset of I have to look a certain way, changing my face, changing my hair, purchasing this product to make my waist smaller or my ass bigger. Why am I doing this? It’s that fear of “I’m not good enough, I’m not enough, I should be something more.” And the “more” is just a construct. It’s not real. I look forward to a day where maybe we’re okay with being who and what we are.

3. Do you think we’re close to that?

No. It’s like the Gillette ad, which I know a lot of people are up in arms about, but also support. I’m sitting on the fence. I get that if people say, “Don’t put politics in my products,” I don’t think that’s true either, because the whole point of ads is to undermine us or appeal to us through politics or emotions or our lifestyle. So, for them to now side with another part of it, which was previously to objectify women, and now you’re having them say the best a man can get is to be a good person? I get the political shift because if they don’t make that jump…I know it’s about selling more razors, but also, if they don’t take a stand, they’re going to be that misogynistic company that said the best a man can get with a girl kissing some dude’s face.

I wanted to flow between preconceived notions of what it is to be female or male. We’re just bodies. Often we see poses like [the open mouth] from the Kardashians or the culture of Instagram, a puckered face on a 20-year-old. Why is that we assign that? Why has that become a thing for women to do? Is sexiness only assigned to women? Is softness only assigned to women? I think about these things and why is that just within the camp of femininity. It’s not—it’s just things we don’t allow everyone to feel. We like to put people in little boxes. Something I wonder about a lot is we say that women are assigned identities, but then my question is, are men also? “Boys don’t cry, be a man.” What we do is we’re not only undermining the feminine experience, we’re undermining the male experience as well. I think we’re all sensual and soft, or have the propensity to be. We can be, but we don’t want it on some people. So this is really kind of a challenge, in that way. If we feel differently about these lips because they have facial hair, which suggests that it’s a male, does that make us less inclined to think they’re soft? If I’m uncomfortable because it needs to be hairless for me to be comfortable, then maybe I’ve got a problem.

5. How does the color pink, par-

ticularly in your paintings, relate to softness?

It’s happy and it’s warm. It can be fun. I’ve been playing a lot with the dripping and the flowers. They look fleshy and I like that. I don’t think I’ll change them. I wanted them to be fleshy, I wanted them to reference our body and the different colors our bodies can be. The fingertips are one color, the tip of your nose is different. Necks, lips, knees, palms—everything can be this beautiful different fleshiness. That’s kind of what I’m into. CS

Patrol

OPENINGS & RECEPTIONS

CIVILIZED NATURE — This body of work explores how modified trees and bushes and indoor plants reflect human culture, how we understand the landscape, and how we appreciate and control nature. Feb. 14-17. Sulfur Studios, 2301 Bull St. FEBRUARY BLACK AND WHITE FILM DEVELOPING WITH BRIDGET CONN — $55.00 Sat., Feb. 16, 1 p.m. sulfurstudios.org. Sulfur Studios, 2301 Bull St. LIQUID VESSELS — The SCAD Museum of Art presents “Liquid Vessels,” an exhibition by SCAD alumna Monica Cook. The exhibition includes recent sculptures and paintings, which further the artist’s investigations into material assemblage, found objects and adornment. Feb. 14-May 19. scadmoa.org/. SCAD Museum of Art, 601 Turner Blvd. PLAYERS IN PLEASANTVILLE — Sensual, erotic art show by Tatiana von Tauber. 18 & over audience only. “Players in Pleasantville” is an exploration of players within relationships, who such players might be and how they might play with erotic fantasies projected in a world they call Pleasantville. Opening Sat Feb 16, noon to 8pm. Gallery/open studio Feb 17-23, 2019, 3pm to 7pm. free Feb. 1623. Studio School, 1319 Bull St.

CONTINUING EXHIBITS AMERICAN ABOLITIONIST AND ANTISLAVERY ACTIVISTS: CONSCIENCE OF THE NATION — The exhibit consists of photographs and engravings of historic abolitionists and anti-slavery activists. The exhibit begins in the 18th century with some of the early colonial American anti-slavery activists. Curated by Eric Saul. Through Feb. 28. Beach Institute, 502 E. Harris St. ABSTRACTS AND ANIMALS — Donna Stankiewicz works with realistic subject matter using paints, dye, and fabric. Jody Beth Wigton uses color and pattern to create multipieced abstract and improvisational designs. Through Dec. 31. Savannah City Hall, 2 East Bay Street. CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN-AMERICAN ART FROM THE KING-TISDELL COTTAGE FOUNDATION PERMANENT COLLECTION — Artists include William Tolliver, Luther Vann and more. These legendary African-American expressionist artists have gifted the foundation with exceptional works that will leave you in awe. In honor of Black History Month The Beach Institute is opening our treasure trove to the world. Come and see some of the most profound contemporary art in our permanent collections. Through April 30. Beach Institute, 502 E. Harris St.

CONTEMPORARY SPOTLIGHT: ERIN JOHNSON — Telfair Museums presents a Contemporary Spotlight exhibition with artist Erin Johnson (American, b. 1985), who is creating new work that addresses questions and themes specific to our region and considers what it means to tell the history of a place. Through March 3. Jepson Center for the Arts, 207 West York St. COOLING EFFECT — Each large-scale, squareformat oil painting reveals a complex material and emotional journey, employing gravity, dripping, textured layering, Art by Bridget Conn is featured at In Vino Veritas. Conn also will brushwork, mark-making, teach a film developing course at Sulfur Studios. and intention. Shea Slemmer has had a studio in Brooklyn and Savannah for the past HARRIET ZABUSKY-ZAND — Harriet year, all the while traveling frequently by car to Zabusky-Zand attributes her lifelong love of color and interests in drawing and painting rural art-world destination Marfa, Texas, her new studio-home beginning in 2019. Through to the early influence of her parents. Seeking new vehicles for personal expression, she March 2. Laney Contemporary, 1810 Mills B. learned to weave and moved to England and Lane Blvd. set up a studio. During her stay abroad she exhibited her work and executed commisCROSSING HORIZONS — Cynthia Knott’s sions for tapestries and rugs. Through Feb. exhibit “Crossing Horizons” examines the 28. savannahjea.org. Jewish Educational existential essence of horizons crossed and the profound vastness of those yet traversed. Alliance, 5111 Abercorn St. Through March 16. 912-232-1511. Ships of INVOLUNTARY MAPS — Bridget Conn The Sea Museum, 41 Martin Luther King Jr explores gesture, symbolism, intuitive markBlvd. making, and written language through the medium of chemigrams. Created without a ENTHUSIASM MAKES THE DIFFERENCE camera or negatives, chemigrams are made — Zara Bell’s work explores relationships: by exposing silver gelatin photo paper to light between figure and ground, thought and action, the narrative generated by the interaction and traditional darkroom chemistry. Through March 14. In Vino Veritas, 102 E. Liberty St. of forms and bodies, and where the viewers’ associations meet the artist’s decisions. Bell sourced her images (as well as this show’s ti- IT’S SIMPLE: PRINTS BY MELISSA tle) from books that have been around a long HOLDEN — Melissa Holden’s work embraces a minimalist aesthetic of clean, bold shapes time because she is interested in what they might reveal about her contemporary culture and lines, and high contrast. Everything is and the lineage of her beliefs. Through March completely produced by Melissa from start to finish using top of the line materials. Through 5. Starland Cafe, 11 East 41st St. March 31. foxyloxycafe.com. Foxy Loxy Cafe, 1919 Bull St. FRUITION BY MICHAEL MAHAFFEY — KATNISS — Part of a yearlong commis“Fruition” offers the fully realized vision of some of Mahaffey’s favorite stencil concepts. sion process, the museum’s largest to date, katniss is the result of a creative collaboraYou may have caught glimpses of these tion between Katherine Sandoz and Rachel ideas in previous shows, but you’ve never Reese, Telfair’s Curator of Modern and seen them fully executed. These pieces are reworked, finalized, and in some cases, com- Contemporary Art, the museum’s dedicated pletely brand new to the public. Through Feb. exhibition staff, and Julio Garcia of Price Street Projects, who fabricated the work in 28. Gallery Espresso, 234 Bull St. Miami. Through June 2. telfair.org/jepson/. Jepson Center for the Arts, 207 West York St.

KEITA TAKAHASHI: ZOOMING OUT — Telfair Museums hosts the first museum survey of the work of visionary videogame designer Keita Takahashi (Japanese, b. 1975). Takahashi is noted for his outside-thebox approach to game development, game mechanics, aesthetics, and music. Museum admission Through July 14. Jepson Center for the Arts, 207 West York St. NATIVE SON: FIFTY YEAR RETROSPECTIVE — The name Rudolph Valentino Bostic conjures up one of the most focused, religiously graphic artists in American Folk Art today. Through March 31. Beach Institute, 502 E. Harris St. NORTH OF VICTORY: SAVANNAH’S SOULFUL SIGNAGE — This photography exhibition displays a sampling of Savannah’s rich cache of hand-painted signs from storefronts and facades of predominately AfricanAmerican churches, barbershops and beauty salons, restaurants and seafood emporiums, and auto repair and car wash businesses. The photographs in this exhibition were taken during the late 1990’s to early 2000’s by local photographer and author Susan Earl. The exhibit was produced by Emily Earl of Prismatic Prints. Through Feb. 26. sulfurstudios.org. Sulfur Studios, 2301 Bull St. ON::VIEW: TINTYPE PORTRAITS — Over two years ago, a younger Jemma Castiglione could be found creating tintypes out of the back of her Accord. The production back then involved scraping together odd materials and a toy Holga camera. During this residency, she will expand this process into a month long experimentation of tintype portraiture. Through March 3. sulfurstudios. org. Sulfur Studios, 2301 Bull St. THE PRINTS OF DAME LAURA KNIGHT — Despite a childhood filled with hardship (most of her immediate family passed away by the time she was 15 years old), Laura Johnson exhibited artistic talent at an early age, fostered by her mother who made her living as an art instructor. Through July 28. Jepson Center for the Arts, 207 West York St. SAVANNAH FAMILIES ABROAD: THE CONSUMPTION OF CULTURE IN THE 19TH CENTURY — In the 19th century, wealthy Americans enjoyed extensive explorations of Europe, many traveling to the continent multiple times in their lives. Savannah Families Abroad: The Consumption of Culture in the 19th Century will feature many of the lavish souvenirs wealthy Americans procured to commemorate their journey and as marks of their own refinement. Through March 10. telfair.org. Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences, 121 Barnard St.

CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 13-19, 2019

ART

ART PATROL IS A FREE SERVICE - TO BE INCLUDED, PLEASE SEND YOUR INFORMATION WEEKLY TO ARTPATROL@CONNECTSAVANNAH.COM. DEADLINE FOR INCLUSION IS 5PM FRIDAY, TO APPEAR IN NEXT WEDNESDAY’S EDITION. WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO EDIT OR CUT LISTINGS DUE TO SPACE LIMITATIONS

FOOD & DRINK VALENTINE’S DAY

The Gnocchi at Leoci’s Mercato Italiano.

BY JESSICA FARTHING VALENTINE’S DAY is a fixture on the calendar, a time to focus on appreciating the people you love. It also can be a stressful holiday, with pressure to create the perfect event for your significant other. In Savannah, the options are endless to craft a successful date. Area restaurants are already romantic, like a table at the vintage-inspired Prohibition complete with a tasting menu and handcrafted cocktails. However, some of the establishments in Savannah have created a special set of options for Valentine’s Day.

Fox & Fig’s Valentine’s Thai Pop-Up Dinner

CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 13-19, 2019

The plant-based cafe created a menu of Thai options that can serve as a sit-down feast or be taken to go. All the items are offered a la carte for a reasonable $6 - 12 per dish. Popular Thai street food noodles Pad See Ew, spicy coconut soup Tom Kha Gai, tofu Pad Thai, red coconut curry and pan-fried dumplings are served with green papaya salad (Som Tam), black rice and mango. It’s a great option for couples happy to celebrate a traditional Valentine’s day with a sit down feast or a tasty vegan 34 option for singles and those that don’t

The Crimson Rose at Cotton & Rye.

The view on The Georgia Queen

believe the hype. There may even be some leftovers for National Singles Awareness Day on the 15th.

Cotton & Rye’s Food Specials for Two

Owner Zach Shultz has a new reason to be celebrating this Valentine’s Day. He recently became engaged to girlfriend, local lawyer Caroline Bradley, making him a pretty lucky man, “She’s my best friend and my biggest supporter.” You can feel the love in his menu at the restaurant, with specials meant to be shared by a couple. The first is whole Maine lobster split and grilled, served with a rice pilaf and haricot verts with almonds and lemon. The second dish is a 55-day wet aged 24-ounce prime ribeye cooked over a wood-fired grill with creamed spinach, roasted red bliss potatoes and a brandy cream sauce Valentine’s Day drinks will include a rose-infused gin cocktail among other concoctions.

to make reservations for the delicious Italian plates. The special menu created for Valentine’s Day is no different. Leoci’s is offering a 3-course meal with four options for the main course, local Hunter Cattle short ribs, lobster ravioli in champagne red sauce made in-house, handmade gnocchi tossed with Swiss dairy cream and forest mushrooms or thinly sliced veal roulade wrapped with prosciutto and stuffed with mushrooms served with a four cheese risotto. The restaurant is taking reservations for the night.

Leoci’s Mercato Italiano’s 3-course meals

Lulu’s Chocolate Bar’s ‘Loved-Up Menu’

The city loves Chef Roberto Leoci and his new restaurant, Leoci’s Mercato Italiano on Abercorn Street. On Facebook, the restaurant’s pictures of pappardelle bolognese and herbed garlic lamb leave social media followers hungry and ready

The Georgia Queen.

Lulu’s not only offers an after-dinner hot spot for sweet indulgences downtown but has a bakery offering cakes, cheesecakes and mini-desserts on Hodgson Memorial Drive. They are in full swing at both, with a menu that co-owner Janine Finn

describes as “heart-shaped and loved-up.” Popular options are the giant chocolate covered strawberries, as big as apples, for $40 a dozen, the honey lavender cake and a chocolate caramel tart with gold glitter. The cocktails available at the bar reflect a Valentine’s Day theme: the true love champagne cocktail, a white chocolate strawberry martini and an ice cream float made from a chocolate whiskey. They are sharing the love at Lulu’s. Before the recent tragic death of employee Niema Ross, the self-named ‘Whiskey Mama’ created and served a cocktail based on that same chocolate whiskey. Now, the bar serves the mixture, called the Niema Screama’, and donates the proceeds to a trust for her children. Expect to have a crowd on the holiday. If this isn’t your style, Lulu’s has just signed up with the Waitr app to provide delivery.

VALENTINE’S DAY Savannah Riverboat Queen’s Dinner with a View

With a city as romantic as Savannah, love (and pollen) is certainly in the air on Valentine’s Day. Couples, singles, romantics or those who like to abstain from the holiday can all find tasty options for eating out. CS

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The Valentine’s Day Dinner Cruise offered by Savannah Riverboat Cruises on River Street is held several nights, February 14-16. Couples board and enjoy a 2-hour boat trip with a four course meal, music, a bottle or wine or champagne, roses and dancing. Advance reservations are required for this all-inclusive experience. Dinner choices are filet mignon au Poivre, baked red snapper, stuffed chicken roulade and pink pasta, pappardelle with tomato & wild mushrooms in a blush cream sauce finished with sherry & Boursin cheese. The menu also includes local ingredients, like Ghost Coast Cocktail Sauce served with jumbo shrimp cocktail and Leopold’s Lemon Sorbet with mint. While enjoying all the indulgences, the view over Savannah’s waterways is sure to inspire love.

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Taraji P. Henson in What Men Want

WHAT MEN WANT

// The 2000 Mel Gibson hit What Women Want undergoes a sex-change operation and emerges as What Men Want, a rousing if rocky remake-of-sorts that proves to be no better or no worse than its predecessor. In that Y2K smash, Gibson played a misogynistic advertising executive who, through a freak accident, is given the gift/ curse of hearing the inner thoughts of members of the opposite sex. At first, he uses his newfound ability to get ahead, but once he slows down and starts to really listen to what’s being internally said, he blossoms into a sensitive male with a new interest in women’s rights. More nonsensical than knowing, What Women Want found the superstar delivering a charming and believable performance (more so since we now know the true inner thoughts of Mr. “Sugar Tits”). The dynamics are slightly changed in What Men Want. Ali Davis (Taraji P. Henson) looks down on most guys not because she’s a man-hater but because they’re perpetually keeping her down at her place of employment. A high-powered sports agent, she’s repeatedly passed over for partnership at her firm, even as she witnesses the usual mediocre white males ascending ever higher. Interestingly, though, she’s not much better than her dude-bro co-workers. For starters, she treats her harried assistant Brandon (Josh Brenner) poorly, she blows off her best friends with regularity, and she’s selfish in the sack, leaving her lovers hanging once she enjoys her orgasm. A well-timed bump on the head changes all that — at least eventually. Once she’s able to read the thoughts of all men, she’s able to stay one step ahead of the

colleagues who are trying to box her out. It also provides her with the inside track on acquiring as a client the most promising newbie in the upcoming NBA draft: Jamal Barry (Shane Paul McGhie), a sensible kid who’s under the thumb of his well-meaning but overbearing dad, Joe “Dolla” Barry (Tracy Morgan). But her newly acquired gift doesn’t seem to curb her self-centered attitude, as she still treats Brandon shabbily and even uses her boyfriend (Aldon Hodge) and his young son (Auston Jon Moore) in her scheme to get ahead. Clearly, Ali needs to become a better person while subjugating the louts around her, and that she does with clockwork precision in a film that, like the Gibson version, never takes full advantage of its intriguing premise. In its depiction of the male-female dichotomy, even the dated Tootsie still works better than this new effort, which goes for the obvious gags and the obvious reads on too many occasions. The inner thoughts heard in the film are rarely anything more challenging than one man wondering if he can break wind with nobody noticing, and another guy plotting to bang a hot waitress whether it’s before or after his upcoming wedding. It’s not that this is inaccurate; it’s just that it’s incomplete, resulting in a film that remains frustratingly on the surface when there are some tantalizing depths to be mined. Henson is in typically fine form, although the film piles on her character flaws to such a high degree at the start that her eventual thaw is a stretch even in the context of the outlandish premise. At least she enjoys solid chemistry with Hodge — an improvement over the mismatched pairing of Gibson and Helen Hunt back in the day. Morgan is as broad as ever and

thus not particularly amusing; in the overacting sweepstakes, the better option is Erykah Badu, who’s a riot as a particularly peculiar psychic. There’s no doubt that What Men Want is what at least some audiences want. But with a little more insight, it could have provided some substantial food for thought to go along with those concession snacks.

MISS BALA

// A remake of a 2011 Mexican movie that only played film festivals stateside, Miss Bala follows in the footsteps of such recent efforts as Peppermint and Everly in that it takes a standard Liam Neeson or Bruce Willis programmer and injects it with a heavy dose of girl power. In Peppermint and Everly, the heroine fought for the love of family. In Miss Bala, Gloria (Jane the Virgin’s Gina Rodriguez) fights for the love of her friend. A LatinAmerican makeup artist working in Hollywood, Gloria returns to Tijuana to visit her best friend Suzu (Cristina Rodlo), a beauty who’s preparing to enter the Miss Baja California pageant. With Gloria in tow, Suzu goes to a local nightclub to schmooze with Saucedo (Damian Alcazar), the local police chief and primary benefactor of the beauty contest. But once cartel leader Lino (Ismael Cruz Cordoba) and his posse bust into the nightclub to carry out an assassination attempt on Saucedo, all hell breaks loose, and Gloria loses track of her friend. What follows next is a plunge into hell for Gloria, as her attempts to find Suzu place her squarely in the hands of Lino and his outfit. To survive, she must perform dirty deeds for her captor, including running drugs across the border to an

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American contact (Anthony Mackie). As if this isn’t dangerous enough, Gloria also becomes a pawn of DEA agent Brian Reich (Matt Lauria), whose wretched treatment of her reveals him to be not much better than the drug dealers. While the masterful Sicario revealed the complexities of the US-Mexico drug wars, Miss Bala is content to toss aside all sociopolitical context and serve up a straightforward thriller. That would be fine if the movie actually got the job done, but Miss Bala registers as no more than a formulaic action yarn. Part of the problem rests in its central character. While director Catherine Hardwicke and scripter Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer take great pains to give Cordoba’s Lino all the great angles and all the detailed backstory, Gloria remains a flat and colorless character throughout. She’s a girl who’s less power and more puff, and her continued status as a naïve and helpless hostage hardly makes her a feminist heroine — if anything, the film repeatedly goes out of its way to insult her looks and her intelligence through dialogue provided by insignificant secondary characters. While all this might conceivably make sense in the context of the story about an innocent caught in an unfamiliar world, it also renders her last-minute, lateinning transformation unbelievable and illogical, a decision that feels more geared toward building a potential franchise than anything else. Hardwicke, best known for directing the raw teen drama Thirteen and the first (and best) of the Twilight pictures, stages the copious shootouts with assured confidence, though she fails to provide any tension in the more individual moments (such as when Gloria tries to plant a bug in Lino’s phone or cross the border in a cash- and drug-filled car). Rodriguez handles all of her assignments well enough, and it’s nice to see an unlikely actress going the Liam Neeson route. But when it comes to Miss Bala itself, the film is sure to leave audiences feeling taken.

SERENITY

/ Just how absolutely ludicrous is the big twist in the new thriller Serenity? It’s so head-smackingly stupid that I had to check the credits to see if M. Night Shyamalan was listed anywhere. Instead, the culprit is Steven Knight, a gifted scripter responsible for such original efforts as Dirty Pretty Things (for which he earned an Oscar nomination), Eastern Promises, and Locke. It’s one thing to think outside the box; it’s another to deliberate beneath the barrel. Serving as both writer and director, Knight has come up with a movie whose originality is thoroughly obliterated by its idiocy. It starts out in familiar neo-noir

Serenity

fashion, as Matthew McConaughey plays a fishing boat captain who’s asked by his ex-wife (a bored Anne Hathaway) to murder her abusive husband (Jason Clarke) for 10 million dollars. As he contemplates whether to execute the dirty deed, he’s given advice by his conscientious best friend (Djimon Hounsou) and pursued by a strange businessman (Jeremy Strong) sporting a briefcase. Were I a kinder man, I would just go ahead and offer a spoiler and save everyone valuable time and money. But since the critics’ code prevents blatant reveals, let’s just say the movie doesn’t have as much in common with a neo-noir as it does with Neo, the protagonist in that highly popular and influential trilogy starring Keanu Reeves. The plot pirouette effectively neutralizes any emotions we might be feeling toward any of these characters, and it leads to a final half-hour that’s as daft as anything found in an Ed Wood turkey. Indeed, about the only thing missing is a shot of McConaughey bellowing “Pull the string!” while a herd of buffalo — or, in this case, a school of tuna — parade across the screen.

STAN & OLLIE

/// Among the eight Academy Award nominations recently earned by Vice is one for Best Makeup and Hairstyling, honoring the team that helped turn Christian Bale into Dick Cheney. Perhaps not as many prosthetics were needed to turn stout John C. Reilly into stout Oliver Hardy — or skinny Steve Coogan into skinny Stan Laurel, for that matter — but the handiwork on display in Stan & Ollie is remarkable and should have earned an Oscar nod as well. Ultimately, though, it’s not the makeup that propels Stan & Ollie but rather the men who have been tasked with bringing the comedy legends to life. Coogan and

Reilly are nothing short of sensational as the beloved stars who inspired and influenced subsequent generations of comedians. The bulk of Stan & Ollie is set in 1953, long after the team’s standing as one of cinema’s most popular attractions has ended. Now coping with failing health and falling finances, the two agree to partake in a stage tour across the United Kingdom, hoping in the process to secure the backing to make a motion picture spoof centered around Robin Hood (Rob ‘Em Good is the proposed title). Perhaps only viewers of a certain age — or at least viewers with an interest in classic cinema — will fully be able to appreciate Stan & Ollie, a gentle valentine that embodies an enormous amount of love and respect for its title characters. This isn’t a warts-and-all biography — while there does exist some tension between Stan and Oliver (due to career choices made by each individual in earlier decades), the focus is on their mutually beneficial relationship and how it sustained them even during the lean times. And Coogan and Reilly so expertly recreate many of the team’s signature moves — Stan’s hair-twirling, Ollie’s “Well, here’s another nice mess you’ve gotten me into” catchphrase, their bowler-hat routine — that fans who long ago relegated them to the sidelines for more recent and raunchier comedians might suddenly feel a pronounced sense of yearning.

GLASS

/1 Forget about trying to ascertain whether Glass is a theatrical experience that should be viewed as either half-full or half-empty. Instead, the latest headacheinducer from writer-director M. Night Shyamalan is such a parched project that viewers will leave the auditorium with

the irritable sensation that there’s sand trapped in their shorts … or possibly in their heads. It’s the third part of the trilogy that began with 2000’s Unbreakable, the auteur’s first film following The Sixth Sense and an interesting achievement that functioned as a comic-book movie but also operated well outside the genre’s established parameters. Both thematically and stylistically, Unbreakable and Split were about as compatible as oil and vinegar, or drinking and driving, or Pelosi and Trump — nevertheless, enough people bit hard enough that we now have Glass, which brings together the characters from the previous two films in a rank gumbo that grows progressively worse as it ambles along. Split star James McAvoy returns as Kevin Wendell Crumb, the psychopath in possession of 24 distinct personalities (never mind that Split botched mental illness so badly that scores of experts objected; that’s another story); Unbreakable star and Split cameo player Bruce Willis is back as the heroic — make that superheroic — David Dunn; and Unbreakable co-star Samuel L. Jackson reenters the scene as the villainous — make that supervillainous — Mr. Glass. All three find themselves confined to a mental institution wherein Dr. Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson) tries to analyze them while Kevin teases the staffers, Glass plots his next master plan, and David pouts a lot. While I’m sure to see worse movies than Glass over the rest of 2019, there’s no guarantee I’ll see any as pretentious and selfimportant as this one. The majority of the picture is merely average and thus innocuous, marked by the sort of obvious developments, stagnant set-pieces and unremarkable dialogue we’ve come to expect from most M. Night endeavors. There’s also the curious sight of the filmmaker simultaneously trying to suck up to comic-book aficionados even as he’s trying to conceal his disdain for their kind; at any rate, his grasp of such matters suggests that he hasn’t even held an actual comic book in his hand in 19 years (i.e. since Unbreakable), let alone taken the time to flip through one. Of course, it wouldn’t be an M. Night Shyamalan Special Event if there weren’t some sort of twist ending, but the one here is especially ludicrous. Anyone who remembers the sequence in Signs when Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix spot an alien on TV can rest assured the big reveal here operates in similarly stupid fashion. The only positive attribute of Split resided in the performance by McAvoy, whose dark turn at least felt of a piece with the picture’s overarching grimness. CS

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SCREENSHOTS

Happenings

COMPILED BY RACHAEL FLORA happenings@connectsavannah.com HAPPENINGS IS CONNECT SAVANNAH’S LISTING OF COMMUNITY EVENTS, CLASSES AND GROUPS. VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT CONNECTSAVANNAH.COM TO SUBMIT A LISTING. WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO EDIT OR CUT LISTINGS DUE TO SPACE LIMITATIONS.

ACTIVISM & POLITICS

SAVANNAH AREA YOUNG REPUBLICANS Get involved. Meetings are the last Tuesday of every month (except for December) at 7:00pm. Contact number: (912) 657-9623 912-604-0797. chairman@sayr.org. sayr.org. VICTORIAN NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION MEETINGS The VNA represents all residing, working or otherwise involved in the Victorian District and meets every second Tuesday of each month to the exception of the month of August. Meetings are held at The Mansion on Forsyth Park. Social starts at 5:30 p.m. and meetings start at 6 p.m. There is no fee to attend our meetings. For anyone using the Valet Parking at The Mansion, there is a $5. fee. MEMBERSHIP YEARLY FEES are: Individual $25. - Household (2 people) $40. - Business $50. and Students $10. Free ongoing, 6-7 p.m. vnasavannahga2013@ gmail.com. mansiononforsythpark.com. Mansion on Forsyth Park, 700 Drayton St.

AUDITIONS AND CALLS FOR ENTRIES

CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 13-19, 2019

AUDITIONS FOR ARMSTRONG YOUTH ORCHESTRA Auditions for our spring session will be held January 9, 2019. Students who played in the Fall 2018 session, and who plan to remain in the same ensemble, do not need to re-audition in January. The January auditions are for new students, or students wishing to move to a different ensemble. Choose your instrument from the list on their website - https://ayosavannah.org/ auditions/ -to see the audition requirements for applicable ensembles. Then, contact them via email at ayosavannah2004@gmail. com to reserve an audition date and time, or with any questions you may have. ongoing. Armstrong Campus, Georgia Southern University, 11935 Abercorn St. CALL FOR EARLY 19TH CENTURY DANCERS/REGENCY DANCING The Davenport House has a social dance program which meets most Wednesdays at 5 p.m. The Museum is looking for new participants in this free community activity. For information contact info@davenporthousemuseum. org or call 912-236-8097. ongoing. davenporthousemuseum.org. Davenport House, 324 East State St. CALL FOR LOCAL PRODUCTS AND RETAILERS FOR COHEN’S RETREAT ONSITE BOUTIQUE SHOP Cohen’s Retreat, a historic destination for art, food and community located in Savannah’s famed Moon River District, is seeking specialty retailers interested in placing their locally or regionally-made products in its onsite boutique shop, Brown Dog Market. Cohen’s Retreat is refreshing its product lines at Brown Dog Market to feature more of a mix of mainstream local products to include with their current artisan products. Retailers who would 38 like access to some of Savannah’s largest

Valentine’s Day Weddings in the Garden

Get married in the Museum’s beautiful courtyard garden and make it a Valentine’s Day to remember. Ceremonies will be offered every 10 minutes. Confirmed reservations are highly recommended. $100 THU., FEB. 14, 5-7 P.M. DAVENPORTHOUSEMUSEUM.ORG. DAVENPORT HOUSE, 324 EAST STATE ST. neighborhoods located in and near the Moon River District are encouraged to apply for shelf space. Interested retailers should reach out to Colleen Smith at colleen. smith@cohensretreat.com or by calling 912.355.3336, ext. 4. Please include product name(s), description, price point, availability, contact information and any other essential details. ongoing. cohensretreat.com/ shopping.html. Cohen’s Retreat, 5715 Skidaway Rd. SAVANNAH STAGE COMPANY AUDITIONS Announcing open auditions for Savannah Stage Company’s 2019 Season. We are a professional theatre company looking to hire artists for our 2019 Company. All positions are paid. Sign up at http://www. savannahstagecompany.com/auditions/. We will email you back with a confirmed time. Auditions will be held in 90 minute groups sessions based on bravery, imagination, team work, and movement.

Actors will be asked to learn a movement piece and to perform a prepared monologue and 16-bars music. Please be prepared to stay for your entire time slot. Sat., Feb. 16, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. and Sun., Feb. 17, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Ms. Amy’s School of Music, 2421 Waters Avenue.

BENEFITS

SCI FANS FOR SENIORS DRIVE Members of the community who would like to donate a new box fan or make a cash donation to purchase a fan may come by SCI’s headquarters at 3025 Bull Street, Savannah between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday or donate on-line at www.seniorcitizensinc.org/give. ongoing. Senior Citizens Inc., 3025 Bull St.

CLASSES, CAMPS & WORKSHOPS

2018 SUMMER BONANZA The program will expose young people

to local government, cultural diversity, and positive role models. Strengthening academic development while providing safe, structured, and fun activities for youth is essential. Summer Bonanza meets once per week on Saturday mornings from 10 am – 1 pm at the Moses Jackson Center. Saturdays, 9 a.m. (912) 663-4528. Moses Jackson Advancement Center, 1410B Richards Street. ACCENT REDUCTION GROUP CLASS In this 6-week course, you will receive individual guidance on your specific speech sound patterns by a licensed speech-language pathologist. Benefit from observing and practicing with others in a small group format. By the end of the course, you can expect to have a basic understanding of your own sound deviations, how to produce target sounds, and strategies for effective practice. You will receive practice materials after each class to reinforce the concepts discussed.

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Email tricia@newyorkspeechcoaching. com to register or to schedule a free phone consultation! Georgia Speech Coaching is the Savannah branch of New York Speech Coaching. $295 Tuesdays, 4-5:30 p.m. tricia@newyorkspeechcoaching.com. 2222 Bull St, 2222 Bull Street. AN AFTERNOON WITH KWAME & RANDY Kwame Alexander and Randy Preston present moving stories and amazing photography from Ghana, an inspiration for the book Solo. Free and open to the public Sat., Feb. 16, 2:30 p.m. liveoakpl.org/ program/kwame-randy/. liveoakpl.org. Bull Street Library, 2002 Bull St. ANTI-VALENTINE’S TAXIDERMY CLASS Learn how to create a full-sized rat mount start to finish, no prior experience needed. To guarantee a spot, call 912-335-8018 or stop by the store to sign up. $75 Wed., Feb. 13, 6 p.m. graveface.com/. Graveface Records & Curiosities, 5 W. 40th Street. AWAKENING HARMONY HEALING RETREAT Engage in powerful, life-changing work that allows your best self to emerge. Join Awakening Harmony facilitators, Josh Fox L.Ac and Life Coach, Jon Handelman, at Georgia’s iconic Hostel in the Forest for an inspiring weekend of song, ceremony, and personal growth that will empower and deepen your relationship with yourself, your voice, your community, and your soul purpose. The weekend retreat begins Friday afternoon and continues until Sunday early evening. Registration includes 2 vegetarian brunches, 2 vegetarian dinners, and 2 nights stay at this magical gem of Southern Georgia. $180-$250 Fri., Feb. 15, 4-10 p.m., Sat., Feb. 16, 8 a.m.-10 p.m. and Sun., Feb. 17, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. 912-264-9738. jonhandelmanis@gmail.com. facebook. com/events/276544523206859/. Hostel in the Forest, PO Box 1496. BACHATA AND SALSA DANCE CLASSES New 4 week dance series, designed for absolute beginners to learn the fundamentals of Bachata or Salsa for social dancing! Bachata and salsa are fun dances from the Dominican Republic that can be found in cities all over the world, and is a great way to meet other people and enjoy amazing music. No partner or dance experience needed, just come and have fun! Special discount if you decide to do the salsa and bachata series together! RSVP via facebook or email. $40 for 4 classes, $70 for both bachata and salsa series ongoing. stephaniehmetzger@gmail.com. facebook. com/events/239285403377870/. BASIC SELF DEFENSE Essential self-defense for adults. $30/ month Tuesdays, Thursdays, 6 p.m. fit912savannah.com. fit912savannah.com. Fit912 Savannah, 428 Bull Street. BEGINNING BELLY DANCE CLASSES Taught by Happenstance Bellydance. All skill levels and styles. Private instruction available. $15 912-704-2940. happenstancebellydance@gmail.com. happenstancebellydance.wordpress.com. BRAZILIAN JIU JITSU CLASSES Monday/Wednesday- Competition 5:30pm and Fundamentals at 7:00pm Tuesday/

Thursday- Fundamentals at Noon and Fundamentals at 5:30pm Friday- Private Lessons by appointment Saturday- Open Mat at 10:30am ongoing. Serg Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, 401 Mall Blvd. BRIDGE LESSONS Learn to play bridge. BB2 Competitive Bidding: Monday, September 24@7:00PM. BB4: Play of the Hand/ Declarer/Play: Saturday, September 15@10:00AM. Intermediate/Advanced Workshops: Friday, September 14@10:00AM ongoing. 912-2284838. bridgewebs.com/savannahclubs. Savannah Duplicate Bridge Center, 8511 Ferguson Ave. COUNTRY TWO STEP GROUP CLASS Join us every week to learn how to dance to the classics and modern day songs of country music. All levels welcomebeginners to advanced. Each week will progress from the previous. First week is the top of the month and runs for 4 weeks. Sign up today! $40 for 4 weeks Thursdays, 7-8 p.m. 612-470-6683. salondebaile.dance@ gmail.com. salondebailedancestudio.com. Salon de Baile Dance & Fitness Studio, 301 US Hwy 80 SE. CREATIVITY COACHING Do you have a creative idea but don’t know where to start? Is it time to move forward with your project? Work with your very own creativity coach and learn how to blast through blocks, plan your time, and enjoy the richness of a creative life. You’re Invited To A Free Masterclass: 5 Steps to Turning Your Talents and Expertise Into A Successful Online Coaching Business (even if you have no idea how to get started!) See website for more info at www.laurenl.com/creativity_ coaching/ or contact Creativity@LaurenL. com ongoing. Online, ---. DRIVER’S EDUCATION AT SAVANNAH TECHNICAL COLLEGE MAIN CAMPUS Learning to drive is a major milestone in life. It’s important for young or inexperienced drivers to learn safe driving techniques. The program offered by Savannah Technical College meets Joshua’s Law options that include 30-hours of classroom instruction and 6 additional hours of drive time with an instructor. Most insurance companies also give a reduction (approx. 10%) on insurance premiums upon successful completion. Participants must attend all class dates for the full class periods. $350 Sat., Feb. 16, 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. 912-4433012. continuinged@savannahtech.edu. savannahtech.edu/pce-driversed. Savannah Technical College, Crossroads Campus Auditorium, 190 Crossroads Parkway. DRUM FOLK: A RIDDIMIC RESCUE Join a new folk and funk cultural movement built within the classic traditions of GullahGeechee cultural legacy. Learn about juba, hand jive, ring play, ring shout, tambourine, riddimic movement, and vocalization along with the various regional drum legacies connecting national and international culture. $12 per 1.5 hour session Wednesdays, 7 p.m. nowgriot1@aol.com. sulfurstudios.org. Sulfur Studios, 2301 Bull St. DUI PREVENTION GROUP Offers victim impact panels for intoxicated drivers, DUI, offenders, and anyone seeking knowledge about the dangers of driving

while impaired. A must see for teen drivers. Sign in time begins 6:00-6:20 p.m. Panel starts promptly at 6:30 p.m. and ends at approximately 8:00 P.M. Fee is $40.00 money orders or certified bank checks only payable to DUI Prevention Group. Meets monthly, check the website. $40/session (912) 691-4905. info@duipreventiongroup. org. ENTREPRENEUR’S NIGHT The Creative Coast and Podcast On The Go have partnered to create Entrepreneur’s Night, a fresh, monthly event, where local small business owners can gather to learn, network, and grow with each other. Each month there will be a featured speaker and new topic on a specific business topic, a motivational message, and a mastermind breakout session for attendees. Thu., Feb. 14, 5:30 p.m. thecreativecoast.org. Creative Coast, 415 W. Boundary St. EXCEL BASICS This course offers a fundamental understanding of Microsoft Excel 2016, including basic Excel environment, navigating the worksheet and ribbon, creating and formatting worksheets, entering and editing data, using functions and formulas, controlling the print output, and using basic tables. We will create: an address list a timesheet a checkbook register a simple payroll sheet a budget a sales sheet with charts At the conclusion of the class, you will be able to use templates, formulas, functions, charts, graphics, and styles. Handouts will be provided. The instructor will be using materials from GCFGlobal.Org Early Bird by Jan 18-$115 Then $120 Thursdays, 6-7:30 p.m. 912478-2560. adaniels@georgiasouthern. edu. academics.georgiasouthern.edu/ ce/programs/excel-courses/. Armstrong Campus, Georgia Southern University, 11935 Abercorn St. FLOOR LOOM WEAVING FOR BEGINNERS WITH SUZY HOKANSON Take the fear out of weaving on a Floor Loom. Come to our Oatland Fiber Studio two consecutive Sundays and create a short narrow warp each Sunday. Discover how to put the yarns on the loom and start to weave. Participants will be able to weave during the week and be ready to wind a second warp the next Sunday. Also discover freestyle weaving techniques to explore the joy of weaving without fear. Bring two balls of fingering weight cotton yarn (approx. 350 yds) in contrasting colors. Also bring any leftover bits of yarn from other projects. $100 for members, $120 for non-members Sun., Feb. 17, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. 518-2650514. fiberguildofthesavannahs2@gmail. com. fiberguildsav.com/. Fiber Guild of the Savannahs, 711 Sandtown Road GA. GALENTINE’S DAY! Inspired by the badass Leslie Knope herself, Galentines Day is a full day where we “leave our husbands and our boyfriends at home, and we just come and kick it.” This is for women to connect with other women & treat yo’ self to yoga, intention setting, lighting shit on fire and eating delicious food & chocolate. $149 by Feb 1st/$199 after Sat., Feb. 16, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. 912-231-9642. AlexandraAnn@ dancingdogsyoga.com. facebook.

com/events/1921653937883775/. dancingdogsyogasavannah.com/. Dancing Dogs Yoga, 18 E Broughton St. GETTING STARTED IN CREATIVE WRITING Are you ready to move beyond writing for your own satisfaction in writing to share with others and perhaps be published? This class is designed to help you take that step. Maybe you are working on a memoir, telling the story that only you can tell. Perhaps you have the seed of an idea for a short story. Family history? Personal essays? The instructor will produce individual critiques of manuscripts, and class members will present their work to the class as well. Participants can bring a duplicate copy of a current writing project if they have one. Early Bird by Jan 18-$140 Then $150 Mon., Feb. 18, 6-8 p.m. 912478-2560. adaniels@georgiasouthern. edu. academics.georgiasouthern.edu/ ce/programs/creativewriting/. Armstrong Campus, Georgia Southern University, 11935 Abercorn St. HIGH VIBE / LOW COST YOGA Join Melissa DeLynn for all-levels, beginner friendly Yoga classes. These classes are well-balanced, nourishing, and challenging with an emphasis on philosophy and spirituality. Expect to learn, heal, meditate and connect. $15 Wednesdays, 6-7:15 p.m. 706-614-4715. mdelynn@gmail.com. WELMONT, 1930 Montgomery Street. JESSICA KENSKY & PATRICK DOWNES Join Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes for an engaging program about overcoming adversity. Survivors of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, their service dog Rescue inspired them to share this incredible story of healing and love. Free and open to the public Sat., Feb. 16, 2-3 p.m. liveoakpl. org/program/rescue-jessica/. Southwest Chatham Library, 14097 Abercorn St. JEWELER’S GUIDED OPEN STUDIO Join us for time to practice your skills and knock out some projects you’ve been dreaming up. Tuition includes access to the studio with support from Christina or one of her assistants. Students are responsible for their own materials. Prerequisite of Jewelry I or similar instruction from another studio. $30 Thursdays, 1-4 p.m. 912-289-8337. christina@dreamcatstudio. com. dreamcatstudio.com. Use our space to practice your skills and knock out your personal pieces. Tuition includes access to the studio with support from Christina or one of her assistants. Students are responsible for their own materials. Prerequisite of Jewelry I or similar instruction from another studio. $30 Fridays, 6 p.m. 912-289-8337. christina@ dreamcatstudio.com. dreamcatstudio.com. dreamcat studio, Hover Creek RD. MUSIC LESSONS AND CLASSES: ALL INSTRUMENTS, ALL AGES Portman’s Music Academy offers private lessons on piano, guitar (electric, acoustic, classical), mandolin, ukulele, banjo, bass guitar, drums, percussion, voice, clarinet, saxophone (alto and tenor), oboe, flute, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, euphonium, tuba, DJ, Pro Logic, Composition, Ear Training, violin, viola, and cello. Group

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classes for beginner piano and guitar. Music Adventures for ages 5 to 7. ongoing. 912354-1500. portmansmusic.com. Portman’s Music Superstore, 7650 Abercorn St. NAMI FAMILY TO FAMILY EDUC PROG Help caregivers understand and support loved ones with serious mental illness. every week from 2/5/2019 through 4/16/2019 Free Tue., Feb. 19, 6-8 p.m. 912-401-2689. namisavannah.org. Isle of Hope Methodist Church, 412 Parkersburg Rd. NIDRA SLUMBER PARTY Yoga nidra or yogic sleep is a state of consciousness between waking and sleeping, and can be just as restorative as sleep. In the first 60 minutes, Con will guide you into this state, where you can tap into your relaxation response and surrender to deep rest. Afterward, enjoy a 30 minute social gathering with warm beverages and warm conversation. All ages and levels are welcome. This workshop is not heated. $25 ($20 Early Bird before February 8th) Fri., Feb. 15, 7-8:30 p.m. 912-349-2756. programs@savannahpoweryoga.com. savannahpoweryoga.com/workshops. savannahpoweryoga.com. Savannah Power Yoga, 7360 Skidaway Road Unit J-3. THE OWENS-THOMAS HOUSE & SLAVE QUARTERS: TELLING THE WHOLE STORY A showcase of the house as part of the wider history of slavery in Savannah and the south. Join us each month for Saturdays @ Southwest to learn from local experts about thought-provoking topics. Free and open to the public. Sat., Feb. 16, 11 a.m.-noon. 912-927-4079. communications@liveoakpl. org. liveoakpl.org/saturdays/. Southwest Chatham Library, 14097 Abercorn St. PETSAVER TRAINING The Hipster Hound, a full-service dog daycare in Savannah, is now offering PetSaver Training for pet owners and pet care professionals through PetTech, an international training center dedicated to providing premium Pet CPR, first aid and care programs for dogs and cats. $99 Sat., Feb. 16, 8:30 a.m. and Sun., Feb. 17, 8:30 a.m. 912-436-6560. The Hipster Hound, 115 Echols Ave. POWER SELF DEFENSE Join us for fun and fitness in the heart of downtown Savannah. Fit912Savannah offers fun, safe, friendly classes in yoga, self defense, dance, and fitness, with more classes coming soon! Have a question, want to register? Contact us at nfo@ fit912savannah.com! Located in the lower level of the United Way Building, 428 Bull Street, Savannah, GA (Enter via the red doors on East Wayne Street) Tuesdays, Thursdays, 7 p.m. fit912savannah.com. fit912savannah. com. Fit912 Savannah, 428 Bull Street. QIGONG CLASSES Qi Gong energy cultivation. What used to be an ancient Chinese secret is now known as one of the best healing modalities available. Come learn these amazing exercises from a twenty year practitioner. Relax, energize, destress, revitalize, balance and strengthen. Tuesday and Thursday at 1:30 p.m. classes only $8. www.savannahyogabarre.com 912-200-4809 ongoing. savannahyogabarre. com. Savannah Yoga Barre, 2132 E Victory 40 Drive.

Savannah Irish Festival

Kick off the Savannah St. Patrick’s Day festivities with our celebration of Irish culture featuring traditional Irish music, Irish dancing, and plenty of laughter. There are four stages of live Irish music, Irish dancing, and entertainment promising to bring fun for the entire family throughout the weekend. $9 SINGLE DAY, $13 BOTH DAYS SAT., FEB. 16, 9:30 A.M. AND SUN., FEB. 17, 11 A.M. SAVANNAHIRISH.ORG. SAVANNAHCIVIC.COM. THE SAVANNAH CIVIC CENTER, 301 WEST OGLETHORPE AVE.

SASS & SWAG ADULT HIP HOP Sass & Swag is a high energy, adult hip hop dance class. Learn hip hop grooves you can take to any party or club, and learn a choreographed routine to today’s hottest hits. Mondays at 7:30 pm. $15 Mondays, 7:30 p.m. 323-539-1760. DANCEHOWIWANTTO@GMAIL.COM. DANCEHOWIWANTTO.COM. SAT MATH PREP This course focuses on thinking strategies and skill development needed for maximizing scores on the math portion of the SAT. We will review the use of various formulas essential to solving problems and discuss effective strategies for increasing the likelihood of answering problems correctly. The Official SAT Study Guide, 2018, Edition, by College Board is required for this class, ISBN #978 145 7309 281. This book has a BLUE cover. The SAT test is on Saturday, March 9, not at the Armstrong Campus, but throughout Savannah Early Bird by Jan 10-$170 Then $180 Wednesdays, 6-8 p.m. 912-478-2560.

adaniels@georgiasouthern.edu. academics. georgiasouthern.edu/ce/programs/sat/. Armstrong Campus, Georgia Southern University, 11935 Abercorn St. SAT PREP FOR READING, WRITING, AND VOCAB This 6-week series focuses on strategies used in active reading that pertains specifically to the SAT, and addresses writing strategies used on possible topics during the writing portion. The writing process will be emphasized and students will practice timed writing sessions to prepare for the reading and writing portions of the SAT. By improving these skills, students will be able to approach the SAT with confidence and the necessary tools for optimal results. Early Bird by Jan 10 - $170 Regular Registration-$180 Tue., Feb. 19, 6-8 p.m. 912-478-2560. adaniels@georgiasouthern.edu. academics. georgiasouthern.edu/ce/programs/sat/. Armstrong Campus, Georgia Southern University, 11935 Abercorn St. SURFING AND UKULELE LESSONS

Surfing & Ukulele Lessons and surf camps. Tybee Surf Lessons, Tybee Island/ Savannah. Email or call Turner for more info 808-385-5364. TybeeSurfLessons.com. ongoing. Tybee Island, Tybee Island. TAI CHI The tai chi classes are open to the first 25 participants 60 years of age or older. Wednesdays, 10 a.m. 912-877-0056. Senior Citizens, Inc. Liberty County Neighborhood Center, 800 Tupelo Trail. TANTRA FOR SELF CONNECTION Local tantra practitioner Mackensey Alexander guides you through what tantra is, an overview of the tools and practices, the 5 elements theory, how tantra can help heal trauma, and how people of all ages and genders can benefit. $20 Wed., Feb. 13, 6:30 p.m. info@waxandwanewaxing.com. Wax and Wane Waxing Salon, 1917 Bull Street. TASTE OF CORE SPINNING WITH TAMAR DURAN Core spinning is a set of techniques involving different ways to design and create textured and colorful yarn, based on using

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a “core” yarn. These yarns are suitable for jewelry, knitting, weaving and rug making. Beginners are welcome, but you need to know how to spin a stable single and ply. Bring a wheel with an orifice large enough to accommodate a bulky weight yarn. Bring a spool of sewing thread, a small skein of fingering or lace weight mohair or crochet cotton plus an ounce or two of a a small art batt and/or roving. $20 for members, $30 for non-members Sat., Feb. 16, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. 518-265-0514. fiberguildofthesavannahs2@ gmail.com. fiberguildsav.com/. Fiber Guild of the Savannahs, 711 Sandtown Road GA. ZONA ROSA WRITING WORKSHOP Become the writer you were meant to be: Join Zona Rosa, the internationally acclaimed, monthly Savannah-based writing workshops founded and led by awardwinning author Rosemary Daniell. Over 180 Zona Rosans have become published authors. For information, contact Rosemary at info@myzonarosa.com. Also ask about the week-long, intensive Sixteenth Annual Zona Rosa Writing and Living Retreat,Tybee Island, July 22-29, 2017. ongoing. No physical address given, none.

CLUBS & ORGANIZATIONS

ABENI CULTURAL ARTS DANCE CLASSES Classses for multiple ages in performance dance and adult fitness dance. African, modern, ballet, jazz, tap, contemporary, gospel. Held at Abeni. For more info visit https://www.abeniculturalarts.com or call 912-272-2797. ongoing. abeniculturalarts@

gmail.com. abeniculturalarts.com. BUCCANEER REGION SCCA Local chapter of the Sports Car Club of America, hosting monthly solo/autocross driving events in the Savannah area. Anyone with a safe car, insurance and a valid driver’s license is eligible to participate. See website. ongoing. buccaneerregion.org. CHATHAM SAILING CLUB Friday evening social event at the clubhouse. Meet Members and their families who all enjoy water based activities but whose prime interest is sailing. This BYOB event is free and all are welcome, but Membership is encouraged after several visits once interest is gauged!! We look forward to meeting you. Fridays, 7-10 p.m. pranschkec3@gmail.com. Young’s Marina, 218 Wilmington Island Rd. COASTAL BEAD SOCIETY Our mission is to further the art of beading and bead education within our membership and our communities. Visit website for more info regarding the next Bead-In Class or the next CBS Meeting! ongoing. coastalbeadsociety. com/coastalbeadsociety-com. cgc. georgiasouthern.edu/. Coastal Georgia Center, 305 Fahm Street. FIBER GUILD OF THE SAVANNAHS A club focusing on weaving, spinning, basket making, knitting, crocheting, quilting, beading, rug hooking, and other fiber arts. Meets at Oatland Island Wildlife Center (in the 2nd floor studio), first Saturday of the month (Sept.-June) 10:15am - 1pm. Visit website for more updates! ongoing. fiberguildsav.com. Fiber Guild of the

JONESIN’ CROSSWORD BY MATT JONES

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ACROSS

1 “In ___” (Nirvana album of 1993) 6 506, in Roman numerals 9 Breaks down 13 Diminished 15 Youngest woman to serve in Congress, initially 16 “___ for Steve” (Morley Callaghan short story) 17 Coen Brothers movie of 1991 19 Zip 20 Internet annoyance 21 Lazybones 22 Lenny’s friend on “The Simpsons” 25 2007 T-Pain song feat. Yung Joc 28 Garden pests 30 March Madness org. 31 Queen of Quebec? 32 Sandcastle tool 34 “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” disguise 37 Good value, slangily 41 “___ y Plata” (Montana motto) 42 “Tres ___” (“Very well,” in Paris) 43 Bindi and Robert Irwin’s mother 44 Crawl around? 46 Bedazzler item 47 Color categorized as #DA1884 and Pantone 219C and trademarked by Mattel

52 Diamond experts? 53 Bird-related 54 Laissez-___ 56 Tolkien trilogy, to fans 57 Islands off the North Carolina coast, or the theme of this puzzle 62 One in the red 63 Volcanic dust 64 “The Death of Actaeon” painter 65 ___ buco (Italian veal dish) 66 ATM charge 67 Word of the future?

DOWN

1 Flash drive letters 2 “___ Carter V” (Lil Wayne album of 2018) 3 Goof 4 Sounding like a clunky engine 5 ___ about (approximately) 6 Every 24 hours 7 Actor Max ___ Sydow 8 “Ew!” 9 Actress Bullock of “Bird Box” 10 Central Florida city 11 City in the Black Forest, when doubled 12 Inspire, as Kondoesque joy 14 Radio features, once 18 It might give you chills 21 “Princess ___” (Gilbert

& Sullivan operetta) 22 ___ loading (marathon runner’s strategy) 23 “... partridge in ___ tree” 24 Horned charger 26 Part of SOTU 27 “Because Freedom Can’t Protect Itself” org. 29 ___ Jam Records 32 Dress up fussily 33 Consenting vote 34 Gold, in Latin 35 Monetary stand-in 36 Onion peels 38 Award co-presented by the American Theatre Wing 39 State hwy. 40 Hand down to heirs 44 Food court pizza chain 45 Get a victory 46 Go around, as an issue 47 “The Jungle Book” bear 48 Affirms as true 49 Formal ceremonies 50 “___ shoe fits ...” 51 No, in Scotland 55 Triple Crown category in baseball 57 Ungainly one 58 Take advantage of 59 Actress Vardalos 60 Penn of the “Harold & Kumar” films 61 Show with Ego Nwodim, briefly

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HAPPENINGS

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CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 13-19, 2019

Savannahs, 711 Sandtown Road GA. HOSTESS CITY TOASTMASTERS CLUB Toastmasters International is an organization which gives its members the opportunity to develop and improve their public speaking abilities through local club meetings, seminars, and contests. Regardless of your level of comfort with public speaking, you will find a club that is interested in helping you improve your speaking abilities. Free Tuesdays, 6:15-7:15 p.m. hostesscity.toastmastersclubs.org. bullstreetlabs.com. Bull Street Labs, 2222 Bull St. ONE MILLION CUPS Opportunity to polish your pitching skills while networking and making valuable connections. Pitch your idea/business in front of fellow entrepreneurs and get real-time constructive feedback. 2222 Bull Street, weekly Wednesday 9-10am, no charge, free coffee. www.1millioncups.com/ savannah Wednesdays. bullstreetlabs.com. Bull Street Labs, 2222 Bull St. PROOFREADER’S WHISKEY CLUB Membership includes the first whiskey drink free, free monthly private whiskey tastings from various brands, 15% off the member’s bill for the year, and a personalized book card including a list of 75 whiskeys in each chapter in the DeSoto library. Library series meetings will be the last Thursday of every month and include one free guest pass per member for the year. They will pick a book from the Edgar’s P&P library to hold their personalized book card which will be used to keep track of their progress on the whiskey list. $50 ongoing. eventbrite. com/e/proofreaders-whiskey-clubtickets-42943991635. proofsavannah.com. Edgar’s Proof and Provision, 15 E. Liberty St. THE SAVANNAH CHINESE CORNER The Savannah Chinese Corner welcomes anyone interested in Mandarin language or Chinese culture. Meets every Saturday morning from 10 am to noon. Check the Facebook group to see meeting location. ongoing. facebook.com/groups/ SavannahChineseCorner. Downtown Savannah, downtown. SAVANNAH SACRED HARP SINGERS Savannah Sacred Harp Singers welcome you to join our monthly community singing on the second Saturday of the month from 2-4pm at Ferguson Avenue Baptist Church. Sacred Harp is an American tradition of singing hymns in four part harmony. No particular religious affiliation is required or endorsed. All are welcome. No experience necessary. ongoing. Ferguson Avenue Baptist Church, 10050 Ferguson Ave. SCAD DAILY TOURS SCAD offers tours in Savannah, Atlanta and Hong Kong for prospective students and their families. Tours are available daily, excluding Sundays, in Savannah, Atlanta, and Hong Kong. Tours allow prospective students an opportunity to view classrooms and administrative buildings, galleries, residence halls and dining facilities and see where our students live, learn and prepare for professional careers. Free MondaysSaturdays. scad.edu/admission/visit-scad/ daily-tours. scad.edu/. Savannah College of Art and Design, PO Box 2072. 42 SOCIAL MEDIA BREAKFAST

Social Media Breakfast Savannah (#SMBSAV) is a grassroots, nonprofit community of professionals in the greater Savannah area who meet every month to discuss social media and its application to business. Meetings are usually held on the 3rd Friday of the month at a local coffee shop. third Friday of every month, 8 a.m. foxyloxycafe.com. Foxy Loxy Cafe, 1919 Bull St. STITCH AND BITCH Slow down and nurture your creative spirit in a constructive, casual atmosphere. Bring a project or enjoy one of our kits curated to focus on the dedicated process of craft: embroidery, knitting, needlework, or any of the fiber arts. All ages are welcome! Cheeseboard + wine deals to be had. Wednesdays, 6-9 p.m. foxyloxycafe.com. Foxy Loxy Cafe, 1919 Bull St. VALENTINE DINNER DANCE Dinner prepared by Creative Creations includes baked chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, sautéed vegetables, pasta salad, and garden salad. Rachael Moore teaches a rumba lesson at 7 p.m., and social dancing follows. Cocktail attire preferred. $40 dinner and dance. Dance only rates are $10 for USA Dance members and $15 for non-members. Sat., Feb. 16, 6 p.m. usadancesavannah. com. usadance.com. USA Dance Savannah, 301 U.S. 80.

CONCERTS

AMERICAN TRADITIONS VOCAL COMPETITION The American Traditions Vocal Competition celebrates and preserves all styles of classic American music. The 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization promotes these songs by producing an annual vocal competition in Savannah, Georgia, that awards over $35,000 in cash prizes. As part of community-driven service and initiative, the organization provides musical education, exposure and performances for Savannah locals of all ages. Feb. 18-21. siumc.org/. The American Traditions Vocal Competition celebrates and preserves all styles of classic American music. The 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization promotes these songs by producing an annual vocal competition in Savannah, Georgia, that awards over $35,000 in cash prizes. As part of community-driven service and initiative, the organization provides musical education, exposure and performances for Savannah locals of all ages. Feb. 18-21. americantraditionscompetition.com. siumc. org/. Skidaway United Methodist Church, 54 Diamond Causeway. CHAMBER CONCERT An evening of small ensembles featuring Georgia Southern students. The proceeds will benefit future scholarships. Tue., Feb. 19, 7:30-9 p.m. Armstrong Campus Fine Arts Center, 11935 Abercorn St. Located in Fine Arts Auditorium. $6 Tue., Feb. 19, 7:30 p.m. 912-344-2801. armstrongboxoffice@ georgiasouthern.edu. Armstrong Campus, Georgia Southern University, 11935 Abercorn St. THE LOVE AND SOUL EXPERIENCE Kimberly Gunn Music Presents The Love and Soul Experience every third Friday of the month beginning May 17th. There will

be music, poetry, comedy, creative arts, and networking. Kimberly Gunn Music and friends will provide musical entertainment. An event for ages 18 and up. $10 Admission $12 VIP third Friday of every month, 7:30 p.m. (912) 224-6084 or (912) 224-4461. kimberlygunn.com. The Eden Room, 1105 Stiles Avenue. SAVANNAH BLACK HERITAGE FESTIVAL: SONS OF MYSTRO Sons of Mystro are classically trained violinists who use their instruments to interpret reggae, classics, American pop songs, and their own creations accompanied by beats, a DJ and a guitarist. Free Fri., Feb. 15, 7:30 p.m. savannahblackheritagefestival.com. Armstrong Campus, Georgia Southern University, 11935 Abercorn St. WHAT IS THIS THING CALLED LOVE? This Valentine‘s Day weekend, join Roger Moss and Kim Steiner as they perform songs of love from the American Songbook. $15-$20 Fri., Feb. 15, 7 p.m. East End Provisions, 420 E. Broughton St.

EVENTS

300 HOUR YOGA TEACHER TRAINING INFO SESSION Are you a 200 Hour certified yoga teacher looking to deepen your knowledge and practice? Are you ready to expand your teaching skillset? Our 300 Hour teacher training program is focused on three elements: Hatha Yoga, Raja Yoga, and Karma Yoga. Come learn about the details of this program from Kate Doran, E-RYT 500. FREE Sat., Feb. 16, 12:45-1:30 p.m. 912349-2756. programs@savannahpoweryoga. com. savannahpoweryoga.com/workshops. savannahpoweryoga.com. Savannah Power Yoga, 7360 Skidaway Road Unit J-3. ACCENT REDUCTION GROUP CLASS $295.00 Tue., Feb. 19, 4 p.m. 2222 Bull St, 2222 Bull Street. ANDY KRAMER AUCTIONS GRAND OPENING To celebrate the opening of Andy Kramer Auctions, the auction house is holding its Grand Opening President’s Day Auction. This auction will feature items including multiple estates, original artwork, collectibles, antique furniture, fine oriental rugs, and much more. Mon., Feb. 18, 1 p.m. Andy Kramer Auctions, 8890 Abercorn St. ARTIST TALK W/ SHEA SLEMMER Join Laney Contemporary and artist Shea Slemmer for an informal artist talk regarding her exhibition, ‘Cooling Effect.’ Each large-scale, square-format oil painting reveals a complex material and emotional journey, employing gravity, dripping, textured layering, brushwork, mark-making, and intention. Sun., Feb. 17, 1 p.m. Laney Contemporary, 1810 Mills B. Lane Blvd. BE OURS: GHOSTED VALENTINE’S Ghosted on Valentine’s Day? Ditch stupid cupid and join us at B&D Burgers on Congress (open-close) with $5 Shot Specials and $5 Cocktails featuring Ghost Coast Distillery spirits while enjoying your favorite B&D grub. Thu., Feb. 14, 11 a.m.11:45 p.m. 912-238-8315. bdburgers.net/. B & D Burgers (Downtown), 13 East Broughton St. BLACK WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT DAY

This day-long event will be hosted by Student African-American Sisterhood. Tue., Feb. 19, 11 a.m. Armstrong Campus, Georgia Southern University, 11935 Abercorn St. BONAVENTURE CEMETERY AFTER HOURS: MY SKULLY VALENTINE There’s a long tradition of coupling in cemeteries. Story maestro, Shannon Scott, “The Bard of Bonaventure” will romance you with stories of those couples who made it for decades and then those who made the front pages and for all of the wrong reasons. $45 Sat., Feb. 16, 5 p.m. 912-319-5600. savannahga.gov/cityweb/cemeteriesweb. nsf/cemeteries/bonaventure.html. Bonaventure Cemetery, 330 Bonaventure Rd. DRINKS AFTER WORK This group is for people that enjoy getting out mid-week, being social after work, and want to discover new places in the downtown Savannah area. Come have a cocktail, make new friends, and get over the hump. The group will meet on Wednesdays at various establishments throughout Downtown Savannah and nearby area. http://www.meetup.com/Drinksafter-work/ https://www.facebook.com/ groups/960991837322187/ Wednesdays, 7 p.m. drinksafterworksavannah@gmail. com. meetup.com/Drinks-after-work/ events/227656080/. distillerysavannah. com. The Distillery, 416 W. Liberty St. EAST & UP GALENTINE’S DAY BINGO Bring your gals, pals, mom, grandma, the whole crew. Let’s see if luck is on your side and kick it with some good ol’ Bingo. Prizes will be super awesome and you’ll be leaving feeling the love for sure! Snacks and refreshments will be available so be there or be lame. Wed., Feb. 13, 5 p.m. East + Up, 6 E. Liberty St. THE EXCHANGE CLUB OF SAVANNAH In a rut? The Exchange Club of Savannah welcomes men and women like you to support, serve and encourage the best teachers, students, firefighters, crime fighters, leaders and organizations in our community. Check us out at savannahexchange.org or find us on Facebook. Mondays, noon. 912441-6559. ddewitt30@yahoo.com. Savannahexchange.org. Exchange Club of Savannah, 4801 Meding Street. FEBRUARY BIRTHPLACE GENERAL TOURS $15.00 Fri., Feb. 15, noon. juliettegordonlowbirthplace. org/. $15.00 Sat., Feb. 16, noon. juliettegordonlowbirthplace.org/. Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace, 10 East Oglethorpe Ave. FEBRUARY GIRL SCOUT TROOP EXPERIENCE $13.00 Sat., Feb. 16, 8:45 a.m. juliettegordonlowbirthplace.org/. $13.00 Mon., Feb. 18, 8:45 a.m. juliettegordonlowbirthplace.org/. $13.00 Tue., Feb. 19, 8:45 a.m. juliettegordonlowbirthplace.org/. Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace, 10 East Oglethorpe Ave. GEORGIA SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY EAGLE PREVIEW Learn more about what it’s like to #BeMore at Georgia Southern.

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Prospective and admitted students are invited to join the Office of Admissions for our spring open house event. As our most comprehensive event, Eagle Preview gives students the opportunity to talk one-onone with representatives from all of our academic colleges and student services departments and the Office of Admissions. Numerous break out sessions are offered on a wide variety of topics including Admissions, Housing, Financial Aid, Leadership and Community Engagement, and more! Tours of our residence halls, fitness center, and campus will also be available. Free (must register) Sat., Feb. 16, 8 a.m.-noon. 912.478.5851. visit@ georgiasouthern.edu. georgiasouthernu. askadmissions.net/Portal/EI/ViewDetails ?gid=623577235087929d464d45a5a059 ff1f2ad095. Armstrong Campus, Georgia Southern University, 11935 Abercorn St. HISTORICAL WALKING TOURS WITH SAVANNAH TOURS AND TALES True tales of the Irish Americans, African Americans, and Native Americans of Savannah’s past. Join KT O’Brien, a native Savannahian, for a leisurely stroll through the serene squares of Savannah. Frequent stops for seats and refreshments available. Reservations required for tours daily at 10:30am and 8:00pm 2hours $30. Private tours upon request. ongoing. savannahtoursandtales@gmail.com. IWORSHIP CAFE OPEN MIC NIGHT Its an evening of artistry designed to elevate you. Come out and here positive vibes from

local spoken word performers, singers, and musicians. Performers can sign up in advanced or walk-in. Free third Saturday of every month, 8 p.m. theinheritancecenter@ gmail.com. ticsav.com/iworship-cafe. ticsav.com. The Inheritance Center, 42 W. Montgomery Crossroads. THE LOCAL LOVE MARKETPLACE The Local Love Marketplace’s goal is to create a hub that encourages the circulation of the dollar in our community, fostering a sense of interdependence and economic growth. third Sunday of every month, 1 p.m. bullstreetlabs.com. Bull Street Labs, 2222 Bull St. THE MARKET AT 3 WEST RIDGE A Shopping Boutique and Spring Plant Sale with a wide-range of select national vendors. All proceeds from this event will be shared between two local beneficiaries: Family Promise of Savannah, which moves families from homelessness to independence, and HUGS, which uses preventative counseling to empower at-risk youth. Some vendor items will include unique apparel, soaps, stationery, hair accessories, handbags, linens, decorative accessories, jewelry, stones, and more! The plant sale will include high-quality flowering plants including old favorites and new additions. A catered lunch is available on Wednesday and Thursday for $10, and complimentary wine and hors d’oeuvres on Thursday. Tickets $5 - available at door Wed., Feb. 13, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Thu., Feb. 14, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. 912-598CONTINUES ON P. 44

TO WEEKLY SPECIALS 7PM 12AM

BLUE MON $7 BLUE MOON

6 JOSE CUERVO

TEQUILA TUE $

PRIME RIB WEDNESDAYS

$11.95 PRIME RIB & $8 BABY GUINNESS

THROWBACK THURSDAYS $7 KAMIKAZE & RED HEADED SLUTS

FIREBALL FRI SATURDAY NIGHT

PARTY

6 FIREBALL

DRINK SPECIALS ALL NIGHT LONG

SUNDAY NIGHT SPECIALS: MIXTURE OF ALL SPECIALS

12 NORTH LATHROP AVE. | 912.233.6930 | SAVANNAHSCORES.COM

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HAPPENINGS

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7242. themarketat3westridge@gmail.com. facebook.com/events/377610933001687/. stpeterssavannah.org. St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 3 West Ridge Road. MEN’S BREAKFAST - FEB 14 $12.00 Thu., Feb. 14, 6:45 a.m. Downtown Deli, Venue 1223, 1223 May River Dr. MONTHLY MEMBERSHIP DINNER AND MEETING Membership meeting with dinner and speaker. Navy League supports our Sea Services and their families. You do not have to have been in any of the military services to join. For further information contact Jeff Zureick at 912 450 0521 $22.00 third Tuesday of every month & 5:45-8:15 p.m. 912 450 0521. piwi@hargray.com.

savannahnavyleague.us. Savannah Navy League, 17 lake heron ct west. NIGHTLY SPIRITS GHOST TOUR Explore haunted bars, haunted buildings, and Savannah’s oldest area, all while having time to enjoy some tasty beverages along the way. Step back in time to the 1700’s to explore the parts of Savannah that most only dare to talk about. You’ll hear tales about the dead that haven’t quite moved on, visit some of the most haunted places in the city and get to know the spirits that haunt the locals…and the places that the locals haunt. $20 Fridays, Saturdays, 8:30 p.m. nightlyspirits.com/savannah-ghosttours/. savannahtaphouse.com. Savannah Taphouse, 125 E. Broughton St.

THE ORIGINAL MIDNIGHT TOUR One of the spookiest tours in town. Learn about the untold stories of some of the most haunted locations here in Savannah Georgia. Guaranteed to give you a few goose bumps and an unexplained need for a night light. 33.00 ongoing. 1-866-666-3323. 6thsenseworld.com. 6th Sense Savannah Tours, 404 Abercorn Street. OSSABAW ISLAND OVERNIGHT Experience an on-island overnight educational journey. Enjoy an Ossabaw Dinner prepared by Lesley Varnadore, featuring the Torrey’s Mystery Cake for dessert. An Ossabaw tradition! Following dinner, enjoy s’mores and stories of Ossabaw Island around a nighttime

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

ARIES (March 21-April 19)

When directors of movies say, “It’s a wrap,” they mean that the shooting of a scene has been finished. They may use the same expression when the shooting of the entire film is completed. That’s not the end of the creative process, of course. All the editing must still be done. Once that’s accomplished, the producer may declare that the final product is “in the can,” and ready to be released or broadcast. From what I can determine, Aries, you’re on the verge of being able to say, “it’s a wrap” for one of your own projects. There’ll be more work before you’re ready to assert, “it’s in the can.”

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

In accordance with astrological omens, I invite you to create your own royal throne and sit on it whenever you need to think deep thoughts and formulate important decisions. Make sure your power chair is comfortable as well as beautiful and elegant. To enhance your ability to wield your waxing authority with grace and courage, I also encourage you to fashion your own crown, scepter, and ceremonial footwear. They, too, should be comfortable, beautiful, and elegant.

CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 13-19, 2019

GEMINI (May 21-June 20)

In 1995, astronomer Bob Williams got a strong urge to investigate a small scrap of the night sky that most other astronomers regarded as boring. It was near the handle of the constellation known as the Big Dipper. Luckily for him, he could ignore his colleagues’ discouraging pressure. That’s because he had been authorized to use the high-powered Hubble Space Telescope for a ten-day period. To the surprise of everyone but Williams, his project soon discovered that this seemingly unremarkable part of the heavens is teeming with over 3,000 galaxies. I suspect you may have a challenge akin to Williams’, Gemini. A pet project or crazy notion of yours may not get much support, but I hope you’ll pursue it anyway. I bet your findings will be different from what anyone expects.

CANCER (June 21-July 22)

A study by the Humane Research Council found that more than eighty percent of those who commit to being vegetarians eventually give up and return to eating meat. A study by the National Institute of Health showed that only about 36 percent of alcoholics are able to achieve full recovery; the remainder relapse. And we all know how many people make New Year’s resolutions to exercise more often, but then stop going to the gym by February. That’s the bad news. The good news, Cancerian, is that during the coming weeks you will possess an enhanced power to stick with any commitment you know is right and good for you. Take advantage!

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)

Are there two places on earth more different from each other than Europe and Africa? Yet there is a place, the Strait of Gibralter, where Europe and Africa are just 8.7 miles apart. Russia and the United States are also profoundly unlike each other, but only 2.5 miles apart where the Bering Strait separates them. I foresee the a metaphorically comparable phenomenon in your life. Two situations or influences or perspectives that may seem to have little in common will turn out to be closer to each other than you imagined possible.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

Virgo basketball star Latrell Sprewell played professionally for 13 years. He could have extended his career at least three more seasons, but he turned down an offer for $21 million from the Minnesota team, complaining that it wouldn’t be sufficient to feed his four children. I will ask you not to imitate his behavior, Virgo. If you’re offered a deal or opportunity that doesn’t perfectly meet all your requirements, don’t dismiss it out of hand. A bit of compromise is sensible right now.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

In 1992, an Ethiopian man named Belachew Girma became an alcoholic after he saw his wife die from AIDS. And yet today he is renowned as a Laughter Master,

campfire, plus a champagne toast. On Saturday after a “hearty” breakfast, you’ll return to the mainland late morning. $175 Fri., Feb. 15. Ossabaw Island, 1 Cane Patch Rd. PARENTS’ NIGHT OUT TBA Fri., Feb. 15, 5 p.m. New Life Church, 389 Fording Island Rd. POTABLE GOLD: SAVANNAH’S MADEIRA TRADITION Experience the historic atmosphere of the Davenport House while learning about and tasting a unique and flavorful wine. Patrons are oriented to the long and rich tradition of Madeira (wine) as it relates to the history of Savannah and then they will participate in a Madeira party. During the experience guests

BY ROB BREZSNY

beautyandtruth@freewillastrology.com

having dedicated himself to explore the healing powers of ebullience and amusement. He presides over a school that teaches people the fine points of laughter, and he holds the world’s record for longest continuous laughter at three hours and six minutes. I nominate him to be your role model in the next two weeks. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, you will be especially primed to benefit from the healing power of laughter. You’re likely to encounter more droll and whimsical and hilarious events than usual, and your sense of humor should be especially hearty and finely-tuned.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

A study published in the journal *Social Psychological and Personality Science* suggests that people who use curse words tend to be more candid. “Swearing is often inappropriate but it can also be evidence that someone is telling you their honest opinion,” said the lead researcher. “Just as they aren’t filtering their language to be more palatable, they’re also not filtering their views.” If that’s true, Scorpio, I’m going to encourage you to curse more than usual in the coming weeks. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, it’s crucial that you tell as much of the whole truth as is humanly possible. (P.S. Your cursing outbursts don’t necessarily have to be delivered with total abandon everywhere you go. You could accomplish a lot just by going into rooms by yourself and exuberantly allowing the expletives to roll out of your mouth.)

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

In the mid-1980s, a California carrot farmer grew frustrated with the fact that grocery stories didn’t want to buy his broken and oddly shaped carrots. A lot of his crop was going to waste. Then he got the bright idea to cut and shave the imperfect carrots so as to make smooth little baby carrots. They became a big success. Can you think of a metaphorically comparable adjustment you could undertake, Sagittarius? Is it possible to transform a resource that’s partially going to waste? Might you be able to enhance your possibilities by

making some simple modifications?

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

Mongolia is a huge landlocked country. It borders no oceans or seas. Nevertheless, it has a navy of seven sailors. Its lone ship is a tugboat moored on Lake Khovsgol, which is three percent the size of North America’s Lake Superior. I’m offering up the Mongolian navy as an apt metaphor for you to draw inspiration from in the coming weeks. I believe it makes good astrological sense for you to launch a seemingly quixotic quest to assert your power, however modestly, in a situation that may seem out of your league.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

“A freshness lives deep in me which no one can take from me,” wrote poet Swedish poet Gunnar Ekelöf. “Something unstilled, unstillable is within me; it wants to be voiced,” wrote philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. In accordance with your astrological omens, I propose we make those two quotes your mottoes for the next four weeks. In my opinion, you have a mandate to tap into what’s freshest and most unstillable about you — and then cultivate it, celebrate it, and express it with the full power of your grateful, brilliant joy.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)

According to the *Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology*, the word “obsession” used to refer to the agitated state of a person who was besieged by rowdy or unruly spirits arriving from outside the person. “Possession,” on the other hand, once meant the agitated state of a person struggling against rowdy or unruly spirits arising from within. In the Western Christian perspective, both modes have been considered primarily negative and problematic. In many other cultures, however, spirits from both the inside and outside have sometimes been regarded as relatively benevolent, and their effect quite positive. As long as you don’t buy into the Western Christian view, I suspect that the coming weeks will be a favorable time for you to consort with spirits like those.

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will see the historic house at dusk including spaces usually off-limits to museum guests. The performance requires that guests be able to walk up and down stairs and maneuver in the candlelit rooms. $20, must be 21 years of age Fridays, Saturdays, 5:30 p.m. info@davenporthousemuseum.org. davenporthousemuseum.org. Davenport House, 324 East State St. SAVANNAH BLACK HERITAGE FESTIVAL: ARTISTS TABLE AND CHAIR TALK Richard Law, Karla Marriott and Tyriq Maxwell will discuss “The Current Political Environment and Its Impact on Artistic Expression.” Sun., Feb. 17, 3 p.m. savannahblackheritagefestival.com. Raw IImage, 113 E. Montgomery Cross Rd. SAVANNAH BLACK HERITAGE FESTIVAL: CELEBRATING SAVANNAH’S LAW, PT. 2 A historian, preservationist, aesthete and community activist share W.W. Law’s impact and legacy in Savannah. Wed., Feb. 13, 6:30 p.m. savannahblackheritagefestival.com. telfair.org/jepson/. Jepson Center for the Arts, 207 West York St. SAVANNAH BLACK HERITAGE FESTIVAL: I SHALL NOT BE MOVED Master storyteller Lillian Grant-Baptist will portray how storytelling, music and folklore have been used as tools of resistance and reconciliation throughout African American history. Sun., Feb. 17, 5:30 p.m. savannahblackheritagefestival.com. Kingdom Life Christian Fellowship, 425 W. Montgomery Crossroads. SCAD DAILY TOURS SCAD offers tours in Savannah, Atlanta and Hong Kong for prospective students and their families. Tours are available daily, excluding Sundays, and allow prospective students an opportunity to view classrooms and administrative buildings, galleries, residence halls and dining facilities and see where our students live, learn and prepare for professional careers. For more information please visit, https://www. scad.edu/admission/visit-scad/dailytours. ongoing. SCAD Student Center, 120 Montgomery St. SCAD DAY Explore SCAD Savannah and learn about the university’s award-winning degree programs, inspiring learning environment and one-ofa-kind student life at this open house event. Find out more about the application process as well as financial aid and scholarship opportunities. You can also take advantage of the SCAD Day concierge and design your SCAD Day to perfectly complement your unique interests and goals. Sat., Feb. 16, 9 a.m. Ruskin Hall (SCAD), 516 Drayton St. SCAD TALENT SHOW Drumline will open the annual SCAD Talent Show. Enjoy a signature showcase of SCAD students’ incredible talent. Sat., Feb. 16, 6 p.m. www2.scad.edu/venues/trustees/. Trustees Theater, 216 East Broughton St. SHIRE OF FORTH CASTLE FIGHTER PRACTICE Local chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronism meets Saturdays at Forsyth Park (south end) for fighter practice and general hanging out. For those interested in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

ongoing. savannahsca.org. ST. PIUS X HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION MEETING All former students of St. Pius X High School are invited to attend this meeting. Meet old friends, make new friends and have a great time. Several social events are hosted throughout the year. Dues are $24 a year. third Saturday of every month, 1 p.m. Savannah Classical Academy, 705 E. Anderson. TOAST TO BEING SINGLE IN SAVANNAH, SPEED DATING EDITION Event: Toast to being Single in Savannah, Speed Dating. When: February 14, 2019 Mingling starts at 6:30. Speed dating starts at 7. Details: Join us at Toasted Barrel for an evening of speed dating. The cost to participate is $20. Included in price, a signature beverage along with grilled cheese station plus plenty of conversations and fun. Space is limited, so reservations required. To sign up, stop by Toasted Barrel or email Savannahdtfood@ih-corp.com. 20 Thu., Feb. 14, 7-9 p.m. 912-721-6020. savannahdtfood@ih-corp.com. Toasted Barrel, 150 Montgomery St. TWO HOUR WALKING GHOST TOUR Chilling stories & eerie properties that paved the road to this fascinating title. Pre-colonial ghost history, all the way up to the 21st century. The most complete picture of all of the human psychical and paranormal events that put Savannah on the map as the ghostly city of greatness. Presented by America’s Most Haunted City Tour. ongoing, 9 p.m. 6thsenseworld.com/. UNITY IN THE COMMUNITY Unity in the Community is a nonprofit organization that promotes and hosts free, family-friendly culturally diverse events to give back to the community. The events feature handcrafted ethnic arts and crafts, home-based businesses, and community nonprofits. Entertainment is provided by churches and other local individuals and groups. third Saturday, Sunday of every month. riverstreetsavannah.com/. River Street, River St. VALENTINE’S DAY PARTY Mamie Ruth will have sweet treats, succulents and spray tans for all of their valentines. Wed., Feb. 13, 5 p.m. mamieruth. com. Mamie Ruth Showroom, 20 W Taylor Street. VALENTINES DAY PARTY $5.00-$75.00 Thu., Feb. 14, 8 p.m. 201 Tapas Lounge, 201 James Blackburn Drive. VALENTINE’S DAY WEDDINGS IN THE GARDEN Get married in the Museum’s beautiful courtyard garden and make it a Valentine’s Day to remember. Ceremonies will be offered every 10 minutes. Confirmed reservations are highly recommended. $100 Thu., Feb. 14, 5-7 p.m. davenporthousemuseum.org. Davenport House, 324 East State St.

FESTIVALS

AURA FEST 2019 All Underground Rock All Day plus food trucks, games, vendors and more. All ages. Tickets are $28 in advance, $45 VIP. $28 Sat., Feb. 16, 12:30-11 p.m. 912844-7407. coastalrock34@gmail.com.

aurafestsavannah.com. shipsofthesea.org. Ships of The Sea Museum, 41 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. SAVANNAH BLACK HERITAGE FESTIVAL “Celebrating 30 Years of Black History, Culture and Art” is the central theme of the Savannah Black Heritage Festival scheduled for February 1-22, 2019. Cultural education and exposure to the performing and visual arts are offered for all ages and interests throughout the celebration. Special programs and activities during this festival will serve as tribute to the late Westley W. Law, the founder and former organizer of the Savannah Black Heritage Festival. Updates and details are available at www.savannahblackheritagefestival. org, or call 912-358-4309. Through Feb. 22. savannahblackheritagefestival.com. SAVANNAH BLACK HERITAGE FESTIVAL: GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER AND FRIENDS Fri., Feb. 15, 4 p.m. savannahblackheritagefestival.com. Frank Callen Boys & Girls Club, 510 E. Charlton Street. SAVANNAH BLACK HERITAGE FESTIVAL: SANKOFA TRAVELING AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM EXHIBITION Fri., Feb. 15, Sat., Feb. 16 and Sun., Feb. 17. Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum, 460 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. SAVANNAH IRISH FESTIVAL Kick off the Savannah St. Patrick’s Day festivities with our celebration of Irish culture featuring traditional Irish music, Irish dancing, and plenty of laughter. There are four stages of live Irish music, Irish dancing, and entertainment promising to bring fun for the entire family throughout the weekend. $9 single day, $13 both days Sat., Feb. 16, 9:30 a.m. and Sun., Feb. 17, 11 a.m. savannahirish.org. savannahcivic.com. The Savannah Civic Center, 301 West Oglethorpe Ave. SBF CHILDREN’S TENT Join Live Oak Public Libraries and Savannah Book Festival for the SBF Children’s Tent. Activities include author presentations, book signings, celebrity storytimes, music, and art. Free and open to the public Sun., Feb. 17, 1-4 p.m. savannahbookfestival.org/sbfchildrens-tent. Reynolds Square, Abercorn and St. Julian Streets.

FITNESS

AERIAL YOGA CLASSES Increase flexibility and strength using aerial yoga, a relatively new approach to a traditional yoga practice. We use a silk fabric called a ‘hammock’ to support the weight of our bodies, helping us achieve various postures with more depth, ease and excitement. Every Saturday. Class size limited. Required to register online ahead of time. $25 Saturdays, 12:30-1:45 p.m. 954.682.5694. elyse.thestudio@yahoo.com. thestudiosav.net/schedule.html. AFRO-CARIBBEAN DANCE Let the excitement begin as Mahogany takes you to the best staycation each and every Tuesday night to the Islands through movement and rhythm. This class will focus on the cultural movement of Afro-Caribbean dance. Get ready for hip winding and arms

in the air as we explore our bodies’ rhythm through Caribbean and reggae music. $10 Tuesdays, 6:45-7:45 p.m. 912-233-1951. wbsymcagardener@westbroadstreetymca. org. westbroadstreetymca.org. YMCA-West Broad St, 1110 May St. AIKIDO CLASSES Aikido is a traditional Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba, ‘O Sensei’ or (‘Great Teacher’). On a purely physical level it is an art involving throws and joint locks that are derived from Jujitsu and Kenjutsu (open hand and weapon based techniques). Beyond the self defense aspects of the art its true goal is to challenge its practitioners to discover their best selves. $50/month for JEA Members, $70/month for NonMembers, or $80/8-class punch card Tuesdays, Thursdays, 7-8:30 p.m. 912-6040958, 912-346-2650. AikiNorm@aol.com, AikidoBilly@hotmail.com. CoastalAikido. com. savannahjea.org. Jewish Educational Alliance, 5111 Abercorn St. BALLET BODY TONING Ballet Body Toning is a ballet inspired workout designed to improve balance, flexibility, and use body resistance to strengthen core, legs & booty. This workout is low impact and scorches major calories and teaches you basic ballet! Call to make a reservation before class. This is a semiprivate class so space is limited! $10.00 Wednesdays, Sundays, 6:30-7:30 p.m. 732.232.3349. FitnessFoodWine@gmail. com. BALLROOM FIT Always wanted to learn how to ballroom dance? Don’t have a partner? Want to get in shape and have fun in the process? If you answered yes to any of these questions, this program is for you! Learn how to ballroom dance and get a great workout in the process. We use all styles of music that are modern or traditional. Cha Cha, Rumba, Swing, Jive, Samba, Paso Doble, Foxtrot, Waltz, Hustle, and more! Check out our schedule for more details. 4 classes for $40, 10 classes for $80, UNLIMITED for $120 Sundays, 5-6 p.m., Mondays, 6-7 p.m., Tuesdays, 12:30-1 p.m., Wednesdays, 12:30-1 & 6-7 p.m. and Thursdays, 12:30-1 p.m. 612.470.6683. salondebaile.dance@ gmail.com. salondebailedancestudio.com. Salon de Baile Dance & Fitness Studio, 301 US Hwy 80 SE. BARIATRIC SURGERY SUPPORT GROUP

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CROSSWORD ANSWERS CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 13-19, 2019

HAPPENINGS

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

CONNECT SAVANNAH | FEB 13-19, 2019

Located in Mercer Auditorium of Hoskins Center at Memorial. For those who have had or are considering bariatric surgery. Call or see website for info. third Saturday of every month, 10 a.m. 912-350-3438. memorialhealth.com. memorialhealth.com/. Memorial Health University Medical Center, 4700 Waters Ave. BEGINNING POLE FITNESS Pole fitness is a fun and flirty way to get in shape! Taught by Pole Dance America National Professional Champion Sabrina Madsen, you’ll learn the basics of pole dance in a safe and welcoming environment. Gain strength, balance and confidence. Beginner Classes are open to all shapes and sizes and are for ladies only (men welcome at our Intermediate Class). $25 for drop-in or $100 for a package of 5 classes Tuesdays, 8-9 p.m. 801.673.6737. info@firstcityfitness.com. firstcityfitness. com/pole-fitnessparties.html. First City Fitness, 2127 1/2 Victory Dr. FIT4MOM SAVANNAH STROLLER STRIDES A group of moms that meet with strollers and workout at Savannah Mall, Daffin Park and on occasion Hull Park. Also offer HIIT Classes to other Moms who have any age children. The HIIT program is a kid free program. 1 hour long stroller based workout with kiddos. Moms- Pre and Post Natal, and kids of stroller age. Savannah Mall (M,W,F). Daffin Park (T,Th), Hull Park (Sat) ongoing. ashleyyoungblood@fit4mom.com. savannah.fit4mom.com. Daffin Park, 1198 Washington Ave. GET EXCITED AND MOVE This program is designed to combat the effects of Parkinson disease for Savannah/ Chatham-area people and their caregiver. The activities are designed to enhance and improve muscular strength, and endurance, coordination, agility, flexibility, speed work, and voice command. Visit the website for more info. Mondays-Wednesdays, 10:30-11:30 a.m. & 6-7 p.m. and TuesdaysThursdays, 10:30-11:30 a.m. 912-663-5833. getexcitedandmove.com. Anderson-Cohen Weightlifting Center, 7230 Varnedoe Drive. GLUTE CAMP WITH KAYLA All classes are included in membership and day passes. Please contact gym for more information. Fridays, 12:30 p.m. Fitness on Broughton, 1 E. Broughton St. INSANITY LIVE WITH SHAWN All classes are included in membership and day passes. Please contact gym for more information. Wednesdays, 5:30 p.m. Fitness on Broughton, 1 E. Broughton St. ISRAELI KRAV MAGA SELF-DEFENSE CLASSES A system of self-defense techniques based on several martial arts. The official fighting system of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). Custom Fit offers individual and small group training and intensive workshops. Visit website for more info. ongoing. 912-4414891. customfitcenter.com. LINE DANCE Line dance class teaches basic instructions, coordination, and dance combinations, to the rhythm of different styles of music. Line Dancing is exercise for the body & mind, and is a fun way to dance socially without 46 a partner. Dancing styles covered in this

Fauve

2019 Oscar-Nominated Shorts

February 17 (Sunday, 4 PM), Box office opens at 3:30. JEWISH EDUCATIONAL ALLIANCE (5111 ABERCORN ST.) TICKETS: $10 (CASH ONLY) class include Country Western, Swing, Salsa, Tango, Cha Cha, Waltz & more. $10 Wednesdays, 6-7:45 p.m. 912-233-1951. wbsymcagardener@westbroadstreetymca. org. westbroadstreetymca.org. YMCA-West Broad St, 1110 May St. POWER YOGA This is an hour of stretching your mind and body to become one, and a reset in the middle of the work week. Come experience the endless possibilities as you take yourself to the next level with Mahogany. $10 Wednesdays, 8-9 a.m. 912-233-1951. wbsymcagardener@westbroadstreetymca. org. westbroadstreetymca.org. YMCA-West Broad St, 1110 May St. POWER YOGA PRINCIPLES This class is intended for students who are new to yoga as well as those hoping to learn more about finding their best alignment in each of the poses. Each class will provide a complete yoga session, with additional emphasis on the “poses of the week.” Although the class is intended to provide a progressive learning experience over eight weeks, new students may join at any time. $19 Drop In ($16 Student/Senior/Military) Sat., Feb. 16, 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m. 912-3492756. info@savannahpoweryoga.com. savannahpoweryoga.com/apps/mindbody/ classes/210. savannahpoweryoga.com. Savannah Power Yoga, 7360 Skidaway Road Unit J-3. PRANA YOGA Prana Yoga is a practice that integrates breathing techniques and chakra sounds into the yoga. Come experience a deep sense of grounding, learn to be present, and develop your center, passion, strength, compassion, creativity, intuition, and light. $10 Mondays, 6:45-8 p.m. 912-233-1951. wbsymcagardener@westbroadstreetymca. org. westbroadstreetymca.org. YMCA-West Broad St, 1110 May St. SAVANNAH TWEED RIDE Grab your bike, don your tweed or other cold weather clothing, and get ready for the Sixth

Annual Savannah Tweed Ride. The ride will leave from Grayson Stadium at 2 p.m. to go on a beautiful, leisurely ride around the picturesque Daffin Park-Parkside Historic District. Dress up in your dandiest cycling gear and enjoy post-ride refreshments in Daffin Park. The ride and refreshments are free. This year’s Tweed Ride is cosponsored by the Parkside Neighborhood Association. Free Sat., Feb. 16, 2 p.m. Daffin Park, 1198 Washington Ave. SHIMMY CHIC Shimmy Chic Fitness is an energetic, fun dance workout based on the ancient art of belly dance- with a modern twist. The class provides calorie-burning and muscle-toning moves, along with increased flexibility, grace, and sense of self. No dance experience necessary. Shimmy Chic provides fun & repetitive routines suitable for all fitness levels. Please wear comfortable workout clothes and sneakers (you do not have to show your stomach). Open to all ages and fitness levels. $10 Thursdays, 5:45-6:45 p.m. 912-233-1951. wbsymcagardener@westbroadstreetymca. org. westbroadstreetymca.org. YMCA-West Broad St, 1110 May St. SLIDERS WITH KAYLA All classes are included in membership and day passes. Please contact gym for more information. Wednesdays, 12:30 p.m. Fitness on Broughton, 1 E. Broughton St. TIMED INTERVAL TRAINING WITH KAYLA All classes are included in membership and day passes. Please contact gym for more information. Mondays, 12:30 p.m. Fitness on Broughton, 1 E. Broughton St. TRX CIRCUIT TRAINING WITH SHAWN All classes are included in membership and day passes. Please contact gym for more information. Thursdays, 5:30 p.m. Fitness on Broughton, 1 E. Broughton St. TRX FUNCTIONAL TRAINING WITH SHAWN All classes are included in membership and

day passes. Please contact gym for more information. Tuesdays, 5:30 p.m. Fitness on Broughton, 1 E. Broughton St. VINYASA YOGA In this vinyasa yoga class you will experience dynamic movements while linking breath, building heat, and endurance. This class is open to all levels. We will explore each pose with special attention to alignment. This class will be the perfect way to start your week and stay energized. $10 Mondays, 8-9 a.m. 912-233-1951. westbroadstreetymca.org. YMCA-West Broad St, 1110 May St. WEIGHTED WORKOUT A 45 minute, total body workout that includes a 5 minute warm-up and a 5 minute cool-down/stretch. We will use dumbbells and steps to perform compound functional movements to maximize workout time. $10 Tuesdays, 8-9 a.m. 912-233-1951. westbroadstreetymca.org. YMCA-West Broad St, 1110 May St. YOGA FOR CANCER PATIENTS AND SURVIVORS Free for cancer patients and survivors. The classes help with flexibility and balance while also providing relaxation. Located at FitnessOne, on the third floor of the Memorial Outpatient and Wellness Center. Tuesdays, 6:30 p.m. and Thursdays, 12:45 p.m. 912-350-9031. memorialhealth.com/. Memorial Health University Medical Center, 4700 Waters Ave. YOGA WITH BIANCA All classes are included in membership and day passes. Please contact gym for more information. Mondays, 6 p.m. Fitness on Broughton, 1 E. Broughton St. YOGA, PILATES, AND SPIN Flow, Yin Yasa, Sculpt, Pilates, Spin, and the only studio in Savannah with the original Hot Yoga. Introductory Special: $49 for 30 days of unlimited classes. Visit thehubsav.com to see our awesome lineup of teachers and classes. $49 ongoing. 912.356.8280. info@ thehubsav.com. thehubsavannah.com. The HUB Savannah, 4505 Habersham St. YOGA@THELIBRARY The All Levels class meets from 10:30-11:30 and the Chair Yoga class meets from 12:001:00. Tuesdays. Southwest Chatham Library, 14097 Abercorn St. ZUMBA Zumba Fitness is a dance fitness class for everybody and every body! With easy to follow moves, Zumba focuses on a wide variety of Latin and International rhythms. This hour long class is guaranteed to make you sweat. It’s not a workout, it’s a party. $10 Tuesdays, 5:45-6:45 p.m. 912-233-1951. wbsymcagardener@westbroadstreetymca. org. westbroadstreetymca.org. YMCA-West Broad St, 1110 May St. ZUMBA FITNESS Isn’t lifting weights and running on the treadmill boring? Come join Sheena’s Zumba Fitness class and have fun while burning calories! The class regularly has 75+ participants that know that Sheena is the best Zumba instructor in Savannah! So show up early and see you soon! Free with YMCA membership Tuesdays, 4:30-5:30 p.m. 912-354-6223. YMCA (Habersham Branch), 6400 Habersham St.

Jobs

Help Wanted

1117 W. 50th Street. 4BR/2BA. Large LR/DR/DEN. Breakfast Area. Washer/Dryer Hookups. Central/Heat/Air. Fenced yard. $1100mo/$1100deposit. SECTION 8 Accepted. Call 912844-2344.

Completely remodeled large mobile home. 3BR, 2BA. All new stainless appliances, new paint, carpet. $850mo plus deposit. 912272-7445.

11515 WHITE BLUFF RD.

Thousands of People 1BR/1BA, all electric, equipped Are Looking At This Space. We are currently hiring experienced warehouse workers to unload containers in the Savannah, GA area. This is an incentive based position with a guaranteed base, but we have many employees earning upwards of $13-$17/hour based upon productivity. We can work with your schedule. Please contact Michael Granado @ 5 Oglethorpe Professional Blvd., Suite 140 Savannah, GA 31406 Phone: 912-433-6555 Email: mgranado@3plworx. com www.my3pljob.com

Real Estate Homes For Sale REDUCED! $93,000. 2ACRES w/Doublewide MH 3BR/2BA/LR/KIT/DR, Utility/Office Room. 5 Bay Heavy Equipment Workshop w/Potential $700+ income. 2 Rental Lots $200mo income. Shown by Appointment 912-657-3928. 912-236-3263 leave message.

Townhomes/Condos For Sale Beautiful 2 BR/2.5 Bath Condo for rent on Marsh. Over 1700sf includes washer/dryer/water/ trash pickup. $1250mo plus deposit. (912) 508-3637

For Rent $800.00/MONTH 2 bedroom. New flooring, paint. Central A/C. Yard. Washer/dryer hookup. Appliances Included $500.00 deposit. Call (912)659-1276. 1 BED/1 BATH APARTMENT Very nice, in very nice midtown area. C/A/H, Ceiling Fan, Large Rooms. Furnished Kitchen. $595/month +deposit. Call 912-355-7886, 912667-7347

Post Your EvEnt onlinE Community.ConneCtSavannah.Com

kitchen, W/D connection. Convenient to Armstrong College. $725/month, $500/deposit.

DAVIS RENTALS

310 E. MONTGOMERY X-ROADS, 912-354-4011 OR 656-5372

Make Them Your Customers! Call 912-721-4350 and Place your Classified Ad Today!

ADS RECEIVED BY 5PM FRIDAY WILL APPEAR IN THE WEDNESDAY ISSUE OF THE NEXT WEEK.

DORIS THOMAS REALTY www.doristhomasrealty.net 1237 E. Anderson 2BR/1BA Bonus Rm $850/mo. 1131 SE 36th Apt A 2BR/1BA $800/mo.

FOR RENT: 638B West 37th Street, Upstairs Apt. 3BR/1BA, central 136 Fair Street Apt. A heat/air, includes refrigerator, 2BR/1BA $750/mo. stove, dishwasher, washer/dryer, Section 8 applicants welcome microwave. $775/month. (251) 648-5705 Ask about student specials Call 912-341-4568 HERITAGE SQUARE TOWN HOUSE. 2220 E. Victory Drive #4. 2BR/1.5BA. LR/DR/Kit. W/D hookups. $875mo/$875 Security Deposit. 912-596-9946

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HOW tO PlacE an ad • call our classifieds department at 912-231-0250 • ads Must Be Placed By 11am On Monday Prior to Publication • all ads Must be PrePaid (credit cards accepted) • Basic rate includes up to 25 words.

DUPLEX: 1216 East 54th Street. 2BR/1BA $690/month plus $690/deposit. Two blocks off Waters Avenue, close to Daffin Park. Call 912-335-3211 or email adamrealstate@gmail.com. Days/ Nights/Weekends.

SHARED LIVING: Fully Furnished Apts. Ages 40 & better. $170 weekly. No deposit. All utilities included. Call 912-844-5995

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ROOMS FOR RENT

East & West Savannah. Adult Living. Furnished, all utilities including washer/dryer on premises, cable TV, WiFi/ Internet. $130-$200/weekly. Requirements: Pay stubs/ ID. Call 912-677-0271

Looking for nice roommate (no kids) Close to transportation. 2028 Eppington Street. $160 STUDIO APT. $300/week, plus week includes utilities. 912-856other rooms available. Call 912- 5111 401-1961 for info. ROOMMATE WANTED: WEEKLY COTTAGE HOUSE: 641 Furnished w/shared or private W. 41st St. 1BR Cottage house bath. Cable, wifi, all utilities for rent. Furnished w/utilities included in quiet home on bus included. On bus line. $225/ line. $155-$200/wk 912-414-4380 weekly; $150/deposit. Call 912441-5468

Room for Rent ROOMS FOR RENT Nice, Clean, large, furnished. Busline, utilities, central heat/air. $125-$145/weekly. Rooms with bath $165. Call 912-289-0410. • Paycheck stub or Proof of income and ID required. 2nd person/child add $100 per week

ROOMS FOR RENT - Ages 40 & better. $150 weekly. No deposit. Furnished rooms. All utilities included. On Busline. Call 912-844-5995 SAVANNAH’S HOUSE OF GRACE

SENIOR LIVING AT IT’S BEST FOR AGES 50 & BETTER Shared community living for full functioning seniors ages 50 & above. Nice comfortable living at affordable rates. Shared kitchen & bathroom. All bedrooms have central heating/air and cable. Private bedrooms are fully furnished. Make this community one you will want to call home. SAVANNAH’S HOUSE OF GRACE also has community housing with its own private bath. Different rates apply. Income must be verifiable. We accept gov. vouchers. Prices starting at $550.

Call 912-844-5995

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