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2014 Strides
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FiLe PHOTO
An annual favorite at the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts is Ballet virginia’s “The Nutcracker” and the Sugarplum Tea that precedes it. At the tea, young fans meet the dancers and get autographs, as well as make a craft and sample sweets. Above, Coral Featherer, 6, of virginia Beach reaches for her autograph book after a dancer signed it at the 2011 event.
Cultural delights story by Matthew A. Ward
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hen Crystal Gayle brought her supple crooning to the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts in 2012, it drew one couple to our fair city all the way from Australia, the center’s executive director reported. “They were planning their vacation around coming here and seeing Crystal Gayle,” Jackie Cherry said. “They flew into Philadelphia, rented a car, came here, spent two days at our hotels eating out, buying gas.” It’s an example of the center’s long reach, Cherry said, adding she polls the attendance at just about every performance and often finds 85 percent of folks came from outside Suffolk. Another example, she said, was a group that came down from Washington for a performance at
the SCCA. “The theater here is small enough and intimate enough for most performers to meet and greet and sign autographs,” Cherry said. “They don’t have the opportunity when they go to other, larger venues.” From its 2013-2014 season, Ballet Virginia International’s “The Nutcracker Suite” — always immediately preceded by the ever-popular Sugarplum Tea — the Virginia Symphony Orchestra Series, “Popovich Comedy Pet Theater,” “Masters of Motown,” and “One Night in Frogtown” show how the center caters to an array of tastes and age groups. But Cherry points out that the center is more than just a performance venue. It partners with other nonprofits and businesses to bring a variety of classes and workshops, she said, such as lectures this year by the Nansemond River Preservation Alliance, sponsored by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, on Suffolk’s waterways.
The center is also partnering with Suffolk Public Schools on programs that are relevant to the Standards of Learning, she said, and has several other programs focused on children and families. A thumbnail sketch of what’s on offer at the center through the year includes art exhibitions, pottery and photography workshops, yoga, Zumba, weaving classes, arts and theater camp, ballet, and screenings of classic movies. There’s also the dining and catering provided by in-house cafe Mosaic. The first time she heard the center described as a hidden gem, Cherry said her reaction was, “Why in the world are we a hidden gem?” A lot of Suffolkians, she said, still think they need to “go across the river” to get their arts and culture. “My desire is that more locals take advantage of us,” Cherry added. “It’s a pleasure to be here, and such a pleasure to offer everything that we offer.”