Connect Savannah May 20, 2015

the return of black tusk, 82 | complete revival fest lineup! 84 May 20-26, 2015 news, arts & Entertainment weekly connectsavannah.com

Best Of Savannah The

#2015BOS

Best Bartender Tony Beasley of The Jinx; Maggie Lee Hart, Best Actress; Jose Ray, Best Visual Artist and Best Local Book Winner; Leslie Adele of Best Local Funk/R&B/Soul Band Nickel Bag of Funk; all seated inside Best New Restaurant The Grey. Photo by Best Photographer Geoff L. Johnson (geoffsphotos.com)

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MAY 20-26, 2015

Long Weekends Rock!

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Week At A Glance

compiled by Rachael Flora | happenings@connectsavannah.com Week At A Glance is Connect Savannah’s listing of events in the coming week. If you want an event listed, email WAG@ connectsavannah.com. Include specific dates, time, locations with addresses, cost and a contact number. Deadline for inclusion is 5pm Friday, to appear in next Wednesday’s edition.

thu / fri / sat

Raiders of the Lost Ark trilogy Wednesday / 20 Bee Market

Artists from the SCAD community will sell their wares and provide demonstrations for the public. Buy art, eat food, listen to music, and have fun.

5 p.m Arnold Hall (SCAD), 1810 Bull St. beemarket2015@gmail.com

Film: Mystery John Wayne Film

Famed actor, director and producer John Wayne died in 1979 at the age of 72, but he remains an international icon of rugged masculinity and brooding power.

In honor of Wayne's larger-than-life career, the Psychotronic Film Society is proud to screen perhaps the single most notorious film he ever made - a movie that was so controversial it was intentionally withheld from the public for decades after its initial, embarrassing theatrical release. The exact title of this incredibly entertaining turkey will not be revealed before showtime.

8 p.m The Sentient Bean, 13 East Park Ave. $7

Savannah Sand Gnats

MAY 20-26, 2015

Vs. Augusta. Pack the Park for charity.

7:05 p.m Grayson Stadium, 1401 East Victory Dr. $8

Thursday / 21 Film: Body and Soul: The State of the Jewish Nation

This film chronicles the undeniable historical connection between the Jewish people and the land of Israel. Featuring com4 mentary by some three dozen historians,

academics, religious leaders, political scientists and other experts, the film debunks the propaganda, myths and misinformation that have become deeply entrenched in public discourse.

7 p.m Jewish Educational Alliance, 5111 Abercorn St.

Film: Raiders of the Lost Ark

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark is a 1981 American adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. It pits Indiana Jones (Ford) against a group of Nazis who are searching for the Ark of the Covenant, which Adolf Hitler believes will make his army invincible. Rated PG. 115 minutes.

8 p.m Lucas Theatre for the Arts, 32 Abercorn St. $8

Tea in the Garden

Learn about tea traditions and experience an early 19th century tea in Davenport House’s courtyard garden. Patrons will visit areas of the home where tea service took place and will participate in an afternoon tea given with costumed interpreters in the garden. This performance requires that guests be able to walk up and down stairs. Reservations recommended.

5 p.m.

Davenport House, 324 East State St. $18 912-236-8097. info@davenporthousemuseum.org. davenporthousemuseum.org

Concert: Thursday Night Opry

Clouds and Satellites, Rachael Shaner, and Caleb Warren & the Perfect Gentlemen play this edition of the Thursday Night Opry.

Thu., May 21, 7 p.m.

Trinity UMC, Telfair Square

$10

Third Thursdays on Tybee

Enjoy outdoor entertainment at the Tybrisa Strand Roundabout with Cynergy. third Thursday of every month.

Tybee Roundabout, Tybrisa Street and Strand Avenue.

Friday / 22

Deen Family Book Signing

The Deen family will sign books at the Lady and Sons. 300 wristbands will be distributed at 9 a.m.

When: Fri., May 22, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.

Lady and Sons, Congress and Whitaker

Tea in the Garden

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a 1984 American adventure film directed

by Steven Spielberg. After arriving in North India, Indiana Jones is asked by a desperate village to find a mystical stone.

He agrees, stumbling upon a Thuggee cult practicing child slavery, black magic, and ritual human sacrifice in honor of their god Kali. Rated PG. 118 minutes.

8 p.m Lucas Theatre for the Arts, 32 Abercorn St. $8

Learn about tea traditions and experience an early 19th century tea in Davenport House’s courtyard garden. Patrons will visit areas of the home where tea service took place and will participate in an afternoon tea given with costumed interpreters in the garden. This performance requires that guests be able to walk up and down stairs. Reservations recommended.

5 p.m.

Davenport House, 324 East State St. $18 912-236-8097. info@davenporthousemuseum. org. davenporthousemuseum.org

Southbound Anniversary Concert

Saturday / 23

Film: Temple of Doom

Ramblin' Man Productions hosts The Heavy Pets to celebrate Southbound Brewing Company’s second anniversary.

Guests will enjoy a great beer line-up from Southbound including throw-back favorites such as Moonlight Drive Coffee Imperial Stout and Bad Bad Cascade Brown as well as some special barrel-aged releases. Tickets for this 21+ event are $25 in advance and include a souvenir pint glass and beer samples throughout the evening. Food will be available for purchase.

6:30 p.m Southbound Brewing Company, 107 East Lathrop Ave. $25 912-335-7716. katie@southboundbrewingco.com

Bess T. Chappas Book Signing

Bess T. Chappas, local author and storyteller, will sign her new book, "Wrath of Aphrodite," a paranormal romance set in Savannah in the 1970s.

10 a.m.-noon E Shaver Booksellers, 326 Bull St. 912-234-7257. savteller@aol.com

Discovering 1820s Savannah: Early Bird's Walking Tour of the City Isaiah Knew

Explore Savannah on this 2.5-mile early morning walk. Admission may be purchased the morning of.

8 a.m.

week at a Glance |

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Fort McAllister Memorial Day

Family activities include fiber demonstrations, spinning, felt bead and drop spindle making. Living history demonstrations will take place throughout the day including a Cavalry Unit drilling demonstration, Civil War era medical demonstration and weapons programs. Cannon firings and musket firings hourly.

10 a.m.-4 p.m Fort McAllister Historic Park, 3894 Fort McAllister Rd.

Ogeechee Riverkeeper Paddle Trip

Davenport House, 324 East State St. $21 912-236-8097. info@davenporthousemuseum.org. davenporthousemuseum.org

Film: The Last Crusade

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a 1989 American adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, from a story co-written by executive producer George Lucas. In the

film, set largely in 1938, Indiana searches for his father, a Holy Grail scholar, who has been kidnapped by Nazis. Rated PG. 127 minutes.

8 p.m Lucas Theatre for the Arts, 32 Abercorn St. $8

Forsyth Farmers Market

Local and regional produce, honey, meat, dairy, pasta, baked goods and other delights. Rain or shine.

9 a.m.-1 p.m Forsyth Park, 501 Whitaker St. Free to attend. Items for sale.

912-484-0279. forsythfarmersmarket.com

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MAY 20-26, 2015

Concert: Hymns with Roger Moss

MAY MAY20-26, 20-26,2015 2015

SUN / 24

To celebrate 10 years of advocating for an important part of Coastal Georgia’s most beloved natural resources, Ogeechee Riverkeeper announces a new program of paddle-trips, which runs from March through September 2015. In exchange for a small fee, paddlers who don’t own a boat can rent one and embark on a tranquil journey that boasts facets of exploration, education and relaxation. Each fourth Saturday, participants meet at 9 a.m. to acquaint themselves with the breath-taking sights in the Ogeechee River basin’s four sub-watersheds. Each trek necessitates about three to four hours of paddling plus an hour for lunch.

May trip: Scarboro Landing to Rocky Ford Ogeechee Riverkeeper, =ogeecheeriverkeeper.org

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week at a Glance |

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Psychotronic Make-up Class

The Psychotronic Film Society hosts a oneday-only quadruple feature of cool, obscure motion pictures from around the globe.

Films shown are Vasilisa the Beautiful, The Young One, Curse of the Doll People, and Scorpion Thunderbolt.

Muse Arts Warehouse, 703 Louisville Rd. $7 per film, $20 for all-day pass

Savannah Fire Flea

This flea market provides a retail outlet for emerging artisans, designers, vintage dealers and food service businesses in the Savannah area.

10 a.m.-5 p.m Music Festival Grounds, 425 Speedway Blvd.

Wilmington Island Farmers Market

Vendors offer fresh produce, baked goods, honey, meats, poultry, granola, coffee, pasta, pecans, popsicles, ice cream, kettle corn, canned goods, body products, herbs, plants. Events also include story time, a musical guest, and other special guests.

9 a.m.-1 p.m.

111 Walthour Rd @ Islands Community Church.

Free wifarmersmarketpr@aol.com. wifarmersmarket.org

Sunday / 24 Lecture: Rapture

Sjohnna McCray will be discussing and reading from his poetry, including poems to appear in Rapture, which was selected for the 2015 Walt Whitman Award from the American Academy of Poets.

4 p.m Flannery O’Connor Childhood Home, 207 E. Charlton Street.

Savannah Fire Flea

This flea market provides a retail outlet for emerging artisans, designers, vintage dealers and food service businesses in the Savannah area.

10 a.m.-5 p.m Music Festival Grounds, 425 Speedway Blvd.

Concert: Hymns with Roger Moss and Timothy Hall

Local vocalist Roger Moss and organist / pianist Timothy Hall present a concert of hymns from many traditions. Moss, a former finalist in the American Traditions Competition has an extensive background that varies from the role of Jake in Porgy and Bess with the Memphis Opera to his ongoing work with Onstage Cabaret at the Lucas Theatre. He is also the co-founder of the Savannah Children’s Choir. Hall is the organist and choirmaster at Christ Church Episcopal. He is the accompanist for the Savannah Children’s Choir.

Sunday, May 24, 3pm

DANCE! Shag Dance Lessons

Tuesdays, June 2, 9, 16, 23, 6–7:30 pm / Telfair Academy Price per lesson: Students $5 / Members $10 / Non-members $15

MAY 20-26, 2015

Life will truly be a “beach” as we beat the heat with Shag dancing. Lessons are taught by the Savannah Ballroom Dance Studio in the magnificent Telfair Academy Rotunda and are open to dancers of all levels, from beginner to expert. Space is limited, and advanced reservations are encouraged.

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Drop-ins are welcome for one or more lessons but are subject to availability. A small reception will follow the June 23 class.

To buy tickets or For More Information Visit telfair.org/ tickets or Call 912.790.8866

Christ Church Episcopal, Johnson Square $10, a portion of proceeds benefit Savannah Children’s Choir.

Monday / 25 Richmond Hill Memorial Day

The program will honor military members who are serving and those who have lost their lives in service. Keynote speakers include Lt. Col. James R. Embry, Congressman Buddy Carter, Richmond Hill Mayor Harold Fowler, and representatives from the American Legion, Vietnam Veterans of America, and Veterans of Foreign Wars.

The ceremony will also include a 21-gun salute and laying of a wreath to honor the nation’s fallen heroes. The public is invited.

11 a.m J. F. Gregory Park, Richmond Hill.

Savannah Sand Gnats

Vs. Asheville. Dollar Monday.

7:05 p.m Grayson Stadium, 1401 East Victory Dr. $8

Tuesday / 26

Produce. There will also be free balloons, reusable shopping bags, corn hole, and a bouncy house.

2-7 p.m.

J. F. Gregory Park, Richmond Hill.

Savannah Sand Gnats

Vs. Asheville. Two-for Tuesday. Pack the Park for charity: Catholic Diocese.

7:05 p.m Grayson Stadium, 1401 East Victory Dr. $8

Tongue: Open Mouth and Music Show hosted by Melanie Goldey

A poetry and music open mic with an emphasis on sharing new, original, thoughtful work. fourth Tuesday of every month, 8 p.m The Sentient Bean, 13 East Park Ave.

Wednesday / 27 Savannah Sand Gnats

Vs. Asheville. Pack the Park for charity: Jewish Heritage Day. 7:05 p.m Grayson Stadium, 1401 East Victory Dr. $8

Richmond Hill Farmer's Market

Vendors include Hardwicke Farms, Sage Wishes, FraLi Gourmet, Savannah River Farms, Woodland Swamp Farm, Sikes Honey, Foods of the Farm, and Farm Fresh

VIEW!

May 15-August 30!

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editor’s note

The Best is here and it’s epic

by Jim Morekis

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

jim@connectsavannah.com

AND SO WE COME to another edition of the Best of Savannah, that time of year when it’s all about you and your votes.

The Best of Savannah is always a huge deal, but this year it’s particularly epic: You hold in your hands the single largest issue of Connect Savannah ever published, clocking in at a whopping 112 pages.

(Who said print is dead? Not around here.)

This year we got Photographer Extraordinaire and this year’s “Best Photographer” winner Geoff L. Johnson to shoot our cover.

Also as is usually the case, we chose a setting reflective of one of the year’s signature wins. This year the no-brainer choice for a cover location was the interior of The Grey.

Not only did you choose The Grey on MLK Jr. Boulevard as Savannah’s “Best New Restaurant,” the James Beard Awards felt the same way, choosing them as a short-list finalist for the same category in their prestigious competition this year.

Many thanks to John O. Morisano of The Grey for basically giving us the run of the place to play around after hours to get the right shot.

Our cover models – Leslie Adele of Nickel Bag of Funk, actress Maggie Lee Hart of The Collective Face theatre ensemble, artist/author Jose Ray, and genius bartender Tony Beasley of The Jinx – are all winners in their own rights as well, and we thought they represented a nice crosssection of the people who make Savannah so awesome.

For those of you new to all this, here’s the drill: We posted an online ballot for several weeks inviting everyone to respond.

All the winners are chosen through that ballot, and the decisions represent no editorial input from us other than tabulating the votes and presenting the results.

Many readers often comment on the extraordinary volume of categories in our Best of Savannah. Indeed, “complain” is probably the more appropriate word.

It can get a bit daunting, as we ourselves

Proud Sponsor of the Savannah Music Festival

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 (912) 721-4360 Jessica Leigh Lebos, Community Editor jll@connectsavannah.com (912) 721-4386 Anna Chandler, Arts & Entertainment Editor anna@connectsavannah.com (912) 721-4356 Rachael Flora, Events Editor happenings@connectsavannah.com Contributors John Bennett, Matt Brunson, Lauren Flotte, Lee Heidel, Geoff L. Johnson, Orlando Montoya, Cheryl Solis, Jon Waits, Your Pal Erin Advertising

An outtake by Anna from Geoff’s cover shoot at The Grey, with Leslie, Tony, Maggie & Jose. The art on the wall behind them is by another great Savannah artist and past ‘Best of Savannah’ winner, Marcus Kenney. Photo by Anna Chandler are abundantly aware as we put together this vast effort.

But in my mind that might be the most significant contribution of our annual Best of Savannah issue– it provides probably the most comprehensive snapshot of what’s going on at the ground level in Savannah, in great scope and in a large sample size.

(If you want to look at it as market research, be my guest. In particular, a look at the runners-up can provide a sneak peek of future trends and future winners.)

Every year we choose some of the winners to be the subject of extended profiles. This is usually done on the basis of the newsworthiness of the win – in other words, usually when someone is a first-time winner, the category itself is new, or there is some other

buzzworthy component of the win.

The shorter blurbs are sort of a community effort, but the staff authors of the extended profiles are identified in a tagline at the end.

As always, huge thanks and appreciation go to our staff for this herculean effort: Writers Jessica Leigh Lebos, Anna Chandler, and Rachael Flora…..

On the design side, Brandon Blatcher and Britt Scott…..

And on the sales and administrative side, Jay Lane, Matt Twining, and our fearless leader Chris Griffin.

In next week’s issue we’ll post some pics from our big Best of Savannah Winner’s Party at the Charles H. Morris Center.

Until then, enjoy! cs

Information: (912) 721-4378 sales@connectsavannah.com Jay Lane, Account Executive jay@connectsavannah.com (912) 721-4381 Matt Twining, Account Executive matt@connectsavannah.com (912) 721-4388 Design & Production Brandon Blatcher, Art Director artdirector@connectsavannah.com (912) 721-4379 Britt Scott, Graphic Designer ads@connectsavannah.com (912) 721-4380 Distribution Wayne Franklin, Distribution Manager (912) 721-4376 Thomas Artwright, Howard Barrett, Jolee Edmondson, Brenda B. Meeks Classifieds Call (912) 231-0250

MAY 20-26, 2015

News & Opinion

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news & Opinion | The (Civil) Society Column

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Bringing out the Best of Savannah

By Jessica Leigh Lebos jll@connectsavannah.com

MAY 20-26, 2015

What you’ve got in your hot little mitts right now is a handbook of hipness, a manual nonpareil, a guide to all that is good in this sweet little city of ours.

We know the Best of Savannah issue has legs longer than a giraffe wearing a pair Louboutins, and its winners continue to be referenced long after its week on the stands.

(A coincidence that this year’s Best Celebrity Sighting Channing Tatum sought out still-winning local chiropractor Dr. Chris Whelan after he tweaked his back on the set of Magic Mike XXL? Maybe, maybe not.)

It’s a huge job—and a high honor—to collect and present this compendium of cool. As we toiled over this very special edition of Connect this week (buoyed by iced chai lattes and the occasional spontaneous

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dance session), one question kept bouncing ‘round my brain like a half-rubber ball: How else can we bring out the best of Savannah all year long?

A few ideas came to me as I was doing The Whip behind my desk chair: BUY LOCAL. It’s not just a hipster battle cry; it’s smart economics.

Studies show that dollars spent with our own artisans, farmers, shops and restaurants tend to keep circulating in our community—returning as More murals, please! much as three times the cash to our tax base than businesses even offer a residential discount. money spent at national chains. Purchasing Also, no one, but no one, needs more from the source saves transportation costs cheap crap made in China. and reduces pollution, and some Savannah

GET THEE TO A GARDEN. Digging in the dirt has been proven to reduce stress, alleviate depression and, oh yeah, yield inexpensive and delicious food. There’s just no easier or cheaper way to grow a happier, healthier Savannah.

Those backyard blueberries and flowering basil plants also provide strategic offense in the fight to keep our environment balanced: Our nectar-loving friends need a diverse floral smorgasbord to survive, and we need bees more than ever to pollinate our local and global food supply.

The brave amongst ye may soon even be able keep your own apiaries within city limits if the revised Animal Control ordinance passes. (No nets

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necessary, Alderwoman Shabazz.)

In the meantime, every apartment balcony potted tomato plant helps. If you’re more inclined to share the labor, sign on with the flourishing Midtown Miracle Community Garden, Occugardens or of the free fertile plots available through the city’s Community Garden Program.

most direct routes to effecting the change hopes and dreams for their city, currently that matters most to you. (Don’t have one or hanging inside the almost-open Starlandia don’t know how to contact yours? The city’s Creative Supply.

Neighborhood Services Coordinator Ashley Helmholdt is delighted to help.)

LET’S BE CITIZENS FIRST. The top one-percenters would like us to scurry MORE MURALS. We may have lost around like good little consumers, buying SeeSAW’s inaugural Muralcle at 34th Street up their sweatshop brands and stepping on to the bulldozers, but its legacy remains in anyone unfortunate enough to get in our MEET THY NEIGHBOR. You don’t the form of an officially-sanctioned public way. That selfish mindset infects us on a have to love them, in the biblical sense or art policy. Any crew with cans can apply for local level when we become more obsessed otherwise. You don’t even have to like them. permission to paint, and rumor has it that about our tax pennies than the greater good But in a city with a downtown that takes the MPC’s Site and Monument Commisthey’re supposed to benefit. less than 20 minutes to walk from its eastsion really wants more to approve.

“The difference between understandern border to its west (try it along State As we’ve seen in urban areas like Philaing oneself as a citizen and understanding Street sometime; it’s lovely!), pretty much delphia and Miami, colorful walls can break oneself as a taxpayer is not merely wide; everyone is a neighbor. down the other barriers that segregate us. it is antagonistic,” novelist Toni Morrison If we’re really interested in solving the Public art need not even require physical admonished on a recent blog. social problems plaguing our culture and pigment, proved by the Matt Hebermehl/ “A citizen thinks primarily about his or country, we have to start by saying “hello” to Bison Jack collaboration that projected illu- her community and is preoccupied with the each other. Neither bees nor bullets care a minated poetry onto the big blank façade of safety of the neighborhood, the health of the flick about voting districts and old grudges, Levy’s Jewelers a couple of weeks back. elderly and disabled, the well-being of the and neither should we.

Need more inspiration? Check out the young. A taxpayer thinks mostly about himIt can be as simple as a handshake and new animaltastic panorama on Victory self or herself.” maybe a gift of your surplus sunburst Drive by multidisciplinary maestro Jose Listen, I’m all for better oversight of our squash. The Instagram-inclined can click Ray (this year’s Best Local Artist is also tax coffers. And while I do believe that a aboard the Citizens Advocacy #MeetY2015’s Best Local Book Author!) Even the good dance party could lighten things up, ourNeighbor campaign (smile, snap photo, kids are doing it: This weekend the adorable I’m not naïve enough to think we can solve upload, repeat.) Better yet, join your friendly smarties of Deep Center’s Block by Block our problems with a round of “Kumbaya.” neighborhood association—it’s one of the completed a gorgeous canvas mural of their (Although—fun fact—the campfire song

everyone loves to hate is actually believed to be derived from our nearby Gullah communities.)

No doubt, there are some real dummies holding the checkbooks around here. And in spite of the efforts of some good people, our police situation and public school system are a giant clucking mess. Plus we’ve got almost 300 years of Southern legacy informing our institutions and our streets.

As Chief Lumpkin put it during a panel this weekend, “We have a history that we have to live with.”

If we choose to, we can divide ourselves by race, class, political affiliation and chicken sandwich preferences for time eternal—or until we implode. But we don’t have to be Ferguson or Baltimore. We can choose differently every day, in every interaction, in every smile to a stranger. We are citizens of Savannah, and we have much in common to protect and be proud of.

Speaking of pride, thank you for voting me Best Newspaper Columnist of 2015.

It’s a title I work every week to earn, and The (Civil) Society Column remains my favorite vehicle for shining a light on Savannah’s people, places and issues. Congratulations to all of this year’s winners, and may we always bring out the best in each other. cs

MAY 20-26, 2015

The (Civil) Society Column |

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#2015BOS | A closer look

Reading between the votes from a drop down list or write in an answer?

The write-in votes are where things can take a sharp detour from normal and veer off into the cow patties of really interesting.

TherE COMES a Never mind the various, um, options, for point in counting the spelling (quick, how do YOU spell gelato?).

Best Of Savannah votes Ignore that you may not know your barthat you really wish tender’s name (or more likely, you can never drinking was allowed at remember it). Forget about the sudden brain work. Actually, there’s gaps that occur when you’re trying to recall several points where that the name of that place that makes that those occurs, usually within really great sandwiches—you know, that one the first day. that’s in Midtown on that street?

Not the counting the votes is all bad! In Yeah, you’re faking it again, or interruptfact, the only reason to do it year after year is the hilarious things that people put in for ing your S.O. telling you about their day to ask where that place is, and all hell breaks answers at times. loose, because then they know you weren’t But first, a bit of explanation. really paying attention to them this time.

Remember back in April when you were But never mind about my personal life... clicking through all 333 categories, spread The thing is, when it’s just a person and over 7 sections, on the Best Of Savannah a blank space, what comes out of their head ballot? Or was it all just a blur that you accomplished during a staff meeting, or at 3 can be surprising. This is when the selfa.m., or while your significant other was tell- censor disappears and the ego swells to the power of the moment. Usually. There were ing you about their day?

Remember that there were two ways you many comments of disbelief or “I don’t know” or “if you find one, let me know.” could vote in the categories: either choose

By Brandon Blatcher

brandon@connectsavannah.com

All the strange things y’all wrote on the Best Of Savannah ballot

Often, these were over various niche categories, such as Best French or Vegetarian Restaurant. But that’s what we’re here for, to highlight hidden gems of the city.

It was also fun to see responses in the Best Liberal and Conservative category. Naturally people chimed in to say “THERE IS ONE” or a few colorful epitaphs.

Perhaps we should have a Best Of Brunch and just invite people from those two categories? I’ll bring popcorn and help set up the bleachers! Or maybe a festival where everyone gathers in one spot to do their voting?

But this is getting long. So, without further padding of this column, here’s list of the funnier or more odd comments.

Best Veggie Burger: “The devil was asked to leave heaven for eating veggie burgers” Best Indian Restaurant: “My kitchen, she said humbly” Best Bartender: “my husband” “girl with weird hats at American Legion” Best Local Album: “we haven’t made one yet” Most Crushworthy Savannahian: “You’re

looking at him baby” “Erin go braless” Best Savannahian: “You’re Still looking at him, baby” Film Festival: “That one that showed that movie” Best Local Author: “Janey ( Jane from Brighter Day’s best friend)” Best Pilates: “Dollhouse and The Distillery” Best Psychologist: “my dog” Craziest Local Crime Story: “THE CITY forcing the Westin NOT to put a blockage in front of the racetrack and the CITY making the Westin? Golf course take down every blockade or gate they put in front of the entrance to the raceway UNITL BEN TUCKER GOT KILLED” Best Judge: “Lori Judge for Best Judge” (she’s a realtor, not a judge) Celebrity Spotting: “Myself in the Mirror” Person You’ll Miss the Most: “Shorty that used to take pics and sell them back to you” Maid: “me” “Mom” “It’s a dirty job” cs

The Confucius Institute at Savannah State University presents

MAY 20-26, 2015

A Journey of Hope: Jewish Communities in China

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Jewish Refugees in Shanghai A Traveling Exhibition Opening Reception Sunday, May 31, at 6:30 p.m. www.Savannahstate.edu/confucius

The Jewish Community in Kaifeng A Lecture Sunday, June 7, at 6:30 p.m.

Jewish Educational Alliance 5111 Abercorn St. In partnership with the Jewish Educational Alliance and the Sino-Judaic Institute

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news & Opinion | The straight dope

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the world top 20 for math, science, or reading test scores—and somehow I doubt raising a generation of human bomb-smellers is what’ll put us back up where we belong.

Honestly I don’t know much about babies’ olfactory capacity, but if the other senses are any guide it’s probably pretty acute.

The brain contains 100 billion neurons at birth. While that number stays the same through adulthood, the rest of the structure of the brain is more or less dependent on its reaction with the surrounding environment. Synapses (the connections between neurons) form and are strengthened based on external stimuli, and we go from about Do babies have super powers?

2,500 of them per neuron at birth to 15,000 or more per neuron by the time we’re two.

I’ve read that as babies we have a super-keen As we grow that number decreases at sense of smell, but we seem to lose interest in smelling things and that part of our brain just roughly the same rate as our cuteness, until we arrive at adulthood with more pimples shrivels up. If we made the effort, though, is than brain chains (about half as many as at it possible babies could keep that part of their brains sharp into adulthood and become fit for peak).

Part of the reason baby brains work in work as talking dogs, sniffing out drugs and overdrive is because they haven’t yet develbombs? —Lee Walser oped an efficient system for filtering the input they receive. By the time we’re adults, RIGHT, because if we really want to different regions have specialized for differachieve our full potential as a species, what ent jobs (vision, hearing, face recognition, we need to do is turbocharge our sense of smell. The human brain is a marvel, capable doing taxes, etc.), and we automatically of tackling such complex concepts as “What screen out the information we don’t need, unless it’s on Facebook. But babies are is free will?” and “How can I best stalk my still processing basically everything, which exes on the Internet?” means they pick up on things adults can’t.

Why would we want to reallocate finite Language is a great example. From birth, mental resources toward performing a task a healthy baby will be able to start learning we’ve already outsourced to less-evolved any language spoken by humans: synapses beings? Americans have famously fallen behind in the brain game—we’re not even in form after they hear certain phonemes—a

language’s basic sounds that when put together make up words—over and over again, allowing them to recognize the contrast between even very similar sounds.

Newborns can tell the difference between two languages other than the one spoken in their home, but this capacity is gone within months; soon their babbling contains only phonemes of their native language. It’s significantly harder for adults to learn a new language, because they no longer have the synaptic structure to distinguish between unfamiliar phonemes.

Children retain the ability to perceive phonemic contrasts for several more years, but after age six or so it’s rare for someone to pick up a second language without a nonnative accent.

The whole sensitivity-to-sound thing does give very young babies some weird abilities. At six months, English-learning babies were found to be apparently better than adults at distinguishing between the vocalizations of different rhesus monkeys (as evidenced by C-Span ratings, this skill is lost in adulthood).

But because so much of this learning and synapse-making happens based on experience, it means that a deaf child will have a much harder time learning a language at all if the initial rules aren’t acquired within (roughly) the first ten years of life.

Something similar happens with vision, only earlier. Baby brains are also better than adults at picking up very small visual differences—between the seemingly indistinguishable faces of two monkeys, for instance.

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Like hearing, vision also can’t develop without external cues: babies born blind from cataracts will remain blind if they’re not removed by age two, because the peak of synapse development in the visual cortex occurs earlier there than anywhere else in the brain.

So-called critical periods for brain development are rare, though; generally speaking, our brains are incredibly adaptable. Children who have had huge chunks of their brain damaged or even removed can live almost completely normal lives.

One woman in China has lived her entire life without a cerebellum—which accounts for only 10 percent of a brain’s mass but contains 50 percent of its neurons—and no one noticed until she was 24. People whose primary visual cortex is damaged may still have “blindsight,” in which the brain can process visual input to avoid obstacles and danger even though the brain’s owner has no awareness of vision.

So, sure, it stands to reason that a person’s sense of smell might be improved by systematic use in early childhood. Perhaps somewhat more usefully, though, a baby could potentially learn dozens of languages, or become wildly proficient in music. There are already plenty of things your kids will wind up blaming you for in therapy; a concerted program of smell-training is only going to give them more ammo. CS By cecil adams Send questions to Cecil via straightdope.com

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news & Opinion | blotter 2015 Sav/Chatham County Homicide Total through Sun. May 17:

12 (3 solved)

Animal hoarder investigated

Last Wednesday, Savannah-Chatham Animal Control Division with support of patrol officers and detectives “recovered more than 30 animals from a Ben Butler Road residence after reports of animal hoarding,” police say.

Metro first responded to the residence early Wednesday morning. “Immediately, four cats requiring veterinary care were seized from and near the property for animal cruelty and neglect,” police say.

Contact was made with two adults in the residence. “They refused Metro’s request to investigate the welfare of other animals throughout the property,” police say.

A search warrant was obtained after Metro “observed multiple animals with signs of respiratory distress through the windows of the residence. A strong odor also was encountered.”

During the warrant service, police removed 28 additional animals found inside the residence. Among them were seven dogs

believed to be Chihuahuas, 19 cats of various ages and breeds, one grey squirrel, “and one African spur thigh tortoise.”

All of the animals are now under veterinary care. Police say charges are pending against the owners of the animals.

Man shot on West 46th Street

Detectives are investigating the shooting of a Savannah man after he interceded in an argument between two others in front of his West 46th Street house Sunday night.

Ramon Gould, 28, of the 600 block of 46th Street, was transported for treatment after the 8 p.m. shooting. His injuries were considered non-life threatening.

Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police are trying to identify the suspect, described as a black male in his early 30s, 5-foot-7 to 5-8 in height with a slim build. He was wearing an orange shirt, blue shorts and black shoes.

Hit & Run driver sought

Major Accident investigators from the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department are investigating the death of a pedestrian who was struck by two cars that left the scene Saturday night.

Ronald Roundtree, 61, died at Memorial

University Medical Center No immediate where he was transported changes to precincts after the 11:49 p.m. incident and beats will take at East 37th and Paulsen. place, the agreement He was crossing 37th says.

Street when he was struck During year two by a car that left the scene is when potential traveling east. A second car issues may come to a traveling west also struck head; that’s when an the victim as he lay in the “amended agreement als roadway and a third vehicle and cost formula anim ued resc the of One stopped to assist after possiconsistent with the bly striking him a third time.

Committee’s recomPolice are searching for a mendations” will black or dark gray 1993 Honda Civic that have to be hammered out and made effecmay have struck the victim first. The car tive by July 1, 2017. may be missing a side mirror.

The issue of who the Chief will answer to seems to have been resolved in the City’s New Merger agreement reached favor. The Chief will “fall under the City’s organizational structure.” As for hiring Concluding a year of intense political decisions related to the Police Chief, the struggle, the City of Savannah and the County Manager’s influence is limited to Chatham County Commission last week being consulted and rendering a written unveiled an agreement which will preopinion “to the City Manager. cs serve the endangered City/County police merger at least until summer 2017.

The agreement takes effect July 1, and All cases from recent local law the first step is to jointly hire and pay a enforcement incident reports. Give law enforcement consultant to “provide anonymous crime tips to Crimestoppers guidance in the collection, analysis and at 912/234-2020 or text CRIMES (274637) interpretation of relevant data.” using keyword CSTOP2020.

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Is This a Great Country or What?

There’s hardly a more “generic” song in America than “Happy Birthday to You,” but to this day (until a judge renders a decision in a pending case), Warner/Chappel Music is still trying to make big dollars off of the 16-word ditty (15 original words plus a user-supplied 16th). Its original copyright should have expired, at the latest, in 1921, but amendments to the law and technicalities in interpretation (e.g., did the copyright cover all public uses or just piano arrangements?) bring Warner at least $2 million a year in fees. A federal judge in California is expected to rule soon on whether the song is in fact uncopyrightably “generic” -- 125 years after the Hill sisters (Mildred and Patty) composed it.

Can’t Possibly Be True

-- In April, WNBC-TV’s investigative unit in New York City reported on a series of fetish parties in Manhattan reportedly organized by a licensed M.D., in which the consensual activities consisted of saline scrotal inflation, controlled nearasphyxiation and controlled arterial bloodletting (in which splatters are captured on a canvas as if made by a painter). An event organizer said the “Cirque de Plaisir” was more of a “performance art” display by a few body-modification aficionados than it was a fetish “party.” Local governments were alarmed especially by the blood splatters’ endangering onlookers and promised an investigation.

-- Accused amateur serial tooth-puller Philip Hansen, 56, was convicted on two counts in May following a trial in Wellington (New Zealand) District Court. Several women had accused him, during 19882011, of holding their mouths open and wriggling teeth out with pliers (and in one case, a screwdriver), motivated by his attraction to “gummy women” as a prelude to sex.

He apparently also lauded the “free” service he was providing, since real dentists, he said, would have charged the women. (Hansen allegedly told another woman, with full dentures, how “beautiful” she was -- as he was removing the plates, crushing them and flushing them down a toilet.)

Ironies

-- “The ancient art of yoga is supposed to offer a path to inner peace,” wrote the Wall Street Journal in February -- before launching into a report on how many yoga classes

these days are so crowded that inner peace- dismissal despite a tenant petition. seekers are more likely than ever either to -- When the chief auditor for Hartford, seethe throughout their session -- or to Connecticut, finally got around to checkopenly confront floor-hoggers. Explained ing the finances of the police shooting range one coach, “People who are practicing yoga recently, he found that the range superviwant Zen; they don’t already have it.” sor had bought 485,000 bullets per year, -- Timely Information: (1) Joseph Forren, but was using only 180,000 -- and had no 21, with a .172 blood alcohol level, plowed paperwork on where the other bullets went. into a pickup truck in April (In one instance, the superin Trumbull, Connecticut visor acknowledged hav(though with no serious ing bought 94,500 rounds injuries). Police said Forren’s of .45-caliber ammo two cellphone on the seat still years after the department Deep down, displayed a current text meshad stopped using .45s aren’t we all sage, “Don’t drink and drive ... and switched to .40-caliber the Best of Dad.” (2) According to police weapons -- but his story Savannah? records released in April, Mila was that he needed .45-calDago (now 24 and awaiting iber bullets so he could trial for DUI manslaughter) trade them for .40s.) was trading sarcastic texts with her ex-boyfriend that New World Order night in August 2013 while Millions of sports fans barhopping (later, registering “draft” their own fantasy .178 blood alcohol), and as sports teams -- and even she ran a red light, smashed the bass-fishing tournainto a pickup truck, injuring ment circuit has its fantasy herself badly and her friend league, where fans select in the passenger seat fatally. anglers good at exploitAccording to the police report, her last text ing choice spots on the lakes. In March, to the ex- boyfriend (three minutes earAlaska Dispatch News reported that, for lier) was “Driving drunk woo ... I’ll be dead the fourth straight year, there would be an thanks to you.”

Iditarod Fantasy League, with a “salary cap” -- Readers’ Choice: (1) The Indian Journal of “$27,000” to pick seven mushers with the of Dermatology announced in April that it best chances to push their dogs to victory, was withdrawing a recent scientific paper by with all-stars going for around $6,000 and a dentist in Kerala state, “Development of a promising rookies selling for much less.

Guideline to Approach Plagiarism in Indian Scenarios,” because parts of the article had Compelling Explanations been plagiarized from a student dissertation.

Alfred Guercio, 54, was arrested in (2) Low voter turnout in non-presidential Burnsville, Minnesota, in March after forcelection years is increasingly problematic in ibly entering a neighbor’s home and swiping easily distracted Los Angeles, but the issue a knife set that he had given the woman as was specifically addressed by campaigners in a Christmas gift. He told the woman, and the March 3 city council elections -- which, police, that he was taking the gift back, as of course, only about 9 percent of registered he was upset that the woman was failing to voters cast ballots in. appreciate it enough.

Suspicions Confirmed

-- In New York City, someone can be fired for being “too nice.” Doorman Ralph Body, 41, was dismissed from his job at an upscale New York City apartment building because he did too many favors for tenants, according to an April New York Post report. Body said he “gave his life” to the residents at the “27 on 27th” tower in Queens, but “upper management” thought such extra kindnesses violated building policy and ordered his

Fine Points of the Law

John Deere became the most recent company in America to claim that, though a buyer may have paid in full for a device, he may not actually “own” it. Deere claims that because its tractors run on sophisticated computer programs, the ostensible owner of the tractor cannot “tamper” with that software without Deere’s permission -- even to repair a defect or to customize its operation.

Already, traditional movie videos may come

with restrictions on copying, but the Deere case, according to an April report on Wired. com, might extend the principle to machinery not traditionally subject to copyright law.

Cultural Diversity

The March arranged-marriage ceremony in Kanpur, India, was about to start when cousins of the bride (whose name is Lovely, daughter of Mohar Singh) commandeered center stage and demanded that groom Ram Baran answer the question, “What is 15 plus 6?” Baran answered, “17,” and in short order, Lovely and her family began to drift out of the room, and the marriage was off. Eventually, according to a Times of India report, the families settled the fiasco amicably, with all gifts returned.

A News of the Weird Classic (March 2011)

“You’re not going to like this,” warned NPR’s Robert Krulwich, about to deliver a February (2011) story about visionary robotics developers James Auger and Jimmy Louizeau, who created a carnivorous clock, supposedly able to power itself for 12 days merely on the carcasses of 12 dead houseflies (which the clock traps with flypaper and then mechanically razors in two). The pair also showed a prototype of a coffee table that catches mice by luring them up the table legs with cheese into a hole in the center, where they are guillotined. Auger and Louizeau said their creations are just extensions of TV nature programs showing animals hunting in the wild, but Krulwich fretted about the dangers inherent in “giving robots a taste for (meat).”

CLARIFICATION: The story two weeks ago about the anticipated “sex shop” in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, though reported by many reputable news sources, was in fact (a) about a year old and (b) apparently based on a faulty translation from Arabic, and no such shop can be said to be forthcoming. The “developer,” Abdelaziz Aouragh, apparently disclosed only that he would be “willing” to open such a shop. cs By chuck shepherd UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE

www.connectsavannah.com. Browse listings and events, add them to your smartphone

MAY 20-26, 2015

news & Opinion | News of the weird

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#2015BOS | Music & Culture

Music & Culture

Best Performance Troupe

MAY 20-26, 2015

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The burly KIDS of the 912 maintain their sweet spot in the hearts of locals; with their playful and humorous take on old-school burlesque, it’s easy to see why.

“When we started the troupe, we wanted to make sure that when people came to our shows, we have something for everyone,” co-founder Wendy Penatello Denney (Rebel Belle on stage) shares.

“People come out who like traditional burlesque, so we have that aspect. But most places we perform are punk rock bars— most of those people don’t want to see two hours of girls doing traditional burlesque.”

That’s the beauty of the Teases: from dance styles to characters, every member has their own unique approach to the art.

“In casting people as Sweet Tease performers, we’ve made sure everyone has different personalities, as well as keeping different shapes, sizes, colors, all that good stuff,” says Denney.

And the times have changed since the early days of vaudeville; entertainment in the Internet age comes with a whole new set of challenges.

“The bottom line is, when burlesque originated, if you showed your shoulder or ankle, it was a big deal,” Denney explains. “To have a long evening gown—that was something!

Now, with social media and HBO, you can see whatever you wanna see. We have to think about it differently, and have the shock factor, even though people can see what they want on the Internet.”

As the troupe has grown, the Sweet Tease has had the opportunity to take the show on the road, teaming up and forming friendships with burlesque performers in other cities.

“We kind of like where we are doing five shows a year at home; we have been taking our tours a little longer,” says Denney. “We used to go out for two days. Now, they’re weeklong tours.”

In the future, they plan to hit new cities like Raleigh, Charlotte, Greensboro, and parts of Florida they have yet to visit.

Denney says the team will soon be setting up a fundraiser to get a tour van; currently, a

Photo by Adriana Iris Boatwright

Savannah Sweet Tease

Tease tour requires three cars, which gets expensive.

It’ll allow them to take the show to the next level: festivals and competitions.

“Every festival is different,” Denney elaborates. “Typically, you have to submit a video of whatever performance you’re interested in doing, and they have to accept it.”

Locally, you can catch the Teases in their upcoming summer show on July 25. It’s a departure from their normal themed shows—typically, Denney and co-founder Jessica Knapp are responsible for dreaming up concepts and casting.

“This time, we just had people submit acts they’ve always wanted to do and cast it based on that,” says Denney.

However they change it up, the troupe knows that their hometown has their back, 100%.

“Everything has grown a lot faster than I ever expected it to,” Denney says. “I feel really grateful that people in this town and other towns have taken to us so quickly and have given so much support. People who came to the first show have proceeded to come to all our shows: that’s a good sign! It means you’re doing something right.” —Anna Chandlero Runner-up: Odd Lot continues on p.16

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Music & Culture |

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Photo by Jon Waits

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Best Tattoo Shop • Best Art Gallery

MAY 20-26, 2015

The Butcher Tattoo Studio and Art Gallery

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Back in 2011, Jimmy Butcher was tired of the stigma surrounding tattoo shops. A visual artist outside of his tattoo career, he set out to create a new kind of space in Savannah: a pristine, progressive space where locals could not only get inked, but check out fine art in the gallery space.

“I wanted to break down the stigma that’s attached to tattoos,” Butcher explains. “I personally struggle a lot with being labeled a ‘tattooer’ instead of an artist—and that’s just my own little pet peeve—but I guess the shop is a projection of that. Basically, we’re saying, ‘Hey, we’re creative people—we’re not just tat guys.’”

While envisioning The Butcher, located on Bay Street, Butcher saw a place that was an intersection of a gallery, small business, and a place to get inked by the finest artists in the Lowcountry.

“It felt important to be connected to the city and to the art and culture, since that’s what we consider ourselves to be,” Butcher says.

While he maintains the tattoo business side, Jenny Hawkes acts as Art Curator in the gallery.

“When we first started out, I learned a lot just by doing,” remembers Hawkes. “I just learned as much as I could, and the shows just started to grow in popularity. Before I knew it, we had artists banging on the door!”

The Butcher plays host to a variety of artistic styles and mediums—in the last year, the walls held works as diverse as W. Gerome Temple’s modernist illustrations and R. Land’s zany graphic multimedia pieces. And that’s just how Hawkes likes it.

“It’s always really different,” she says. “Most of it is what I feel like will work with the general atmosphere of the shop and what I feel like will appeal to a lot of our customers. A lot of stuff I’m

personally drawn to, I think our customers will be drawn to. The general atmosphere that I’m trying to create with the business itself is polished and clean, but extremely creative. It’s pushing the boundaries, but it’s definitely very polished and clean.”

One of Hawkes’ all-time favorite shows was the very first she was ever involved with: an exhibition of works by Savannah artist Matt Hebermehl.

“It’s hard to choose a favorite, because every time new art comes in, it’s like Christmas, and I get to unwrap it!” she laughs.

While Butcher advises that the gallery and tattoo business are thought of very separately, occasionally there’s some happy crossover, like June’s forthcoming exhibition. Known around town for her feminine, organic tattoo work, Butcher artist Kimberly Reed is also an oil painter; her pieces will be on display up front.

Both Hawkes and Butcher are excited for the return of Patch Whisky, the neon-soaked, bubbly street artist based in South Carolina, whose work will be back on the walls toward the end of 2015.

With exhibitions booked through the rest of the year and the tattoo side as busy as ever, the duo are looking forward to the future.

“It’s not really about the tattoos or the quality of artwork, but more about people having a good time,” Butcher explains. “The most important thing we’re trying to do is give people a good experience, and we’ll continue to try to do that in the future even more so. For me, it’s only the beginning.” —Anna Chandler Runner-up (Best Gallery): A.T. Hun Art Gallery Runner-up (Best Tattoo Shop): Black Orchid Custom Tattoo & Gallery

Music & Culture |

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Best Cultural Event Best Festival (that’s not Saint Patrick’s Day)

Savannah Music Festival

It just keeps getting better and better. A marathon of world-class music, the 2015 Savannah Music Festival brought in the luminous talents of artists like Dawes, Lucinda Williams, Dianne Reeves, and more. This year’s fest also marked SMF’s ambitious team-up with Savannah VOICE Festival, resulting in a stunning double-bill of operas, Puccini’s Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi.

As Executive and Artistic Director Rob Gibson wryly told us back in March: “There are only two kinds of music. We do the good kind.” We can’t wait to see what good comes our way in 2016.

Runner-up (Cultural Event): Saint Patrick’s Day Parade Runner-up (Best Festival That’s not Saint Patrick’s Day): Savannah Stopover Music Festival

Thank you We’re proud to be voted Savannah’s “Best Cultural Event” and “Best Festival”

Best Film Festival

Savannah Film Festival

Amid October’s annual mayhem, SCAD’s annual ode to the silver screen remains a cultural favorite. This year, folks buzzed about town in hot pursuit of celeb guests Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead’s grungy tough guy, Daryl), Mike Myers, Gena Rowlands, Joe Manganiello, and Asa Butterfield. While big-hitters like The Imitation Game, The Book of Life, and Foxcatcher packed the house, the fest boasted a surprising increase in documentaries this year, including the deservedly hyped Glen Campbell documentary, I’ll Be Me, and Hunted: The War Against Gays in Russia.

Runner-up: Psychotronic Film Festival

Best Indie Film Venue

The Lucas Theatre

In the last year, The Lucas has blossomed into the gilded, old Savannah alternative to your high-dollar multiplex, creating the perfect weekend date night. With movie nights and weekend marathons, the historic theatre’s been bringing in both family favorites and cult classics (Halloween Movie Madness, which featured four movies in one day, ran the gamut of Hocus Pocus to a midnight screening of Evil Dead 2).

They’ve also teamed up with local organizations and efforts: Psychotronic Film Society’s screening of Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, hosted at The Lucas, was a successful fundraiser for Keith Kozel’s kidney fund, and profits from July’s screening of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert will help fund a community center for LGBT organization First City Network.

And with this weekend’s Indiana Jones marathon, The Lucas certainly is the best INDY film venue, isn’t it?! (Save your eye rolls for when the house lights go down.)

Runner-up: Muse Arts Warehouse

Best Movie Theatre

Carmike 10

Conveniently located on Stephenson Avenue, Carmike 10 boasts both 3D and jumbo digital screens. Refillable popcorn bucket, anyone?

Runner-up: Royal Cinemas & IMAX

Best Local Theatre Production

The Collective Face continues to provide world-class theatre with their stellar ensemble, and Grey Gardens was certainly no exception. A musical (Collective Face’s first) based on a documentary of the same name, Grey Gardens chronicles the fall of Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale and daughter Edith Bouvier Beale, cousins of former First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, as they shrink from aristocratic life into reclusiveness in their decaying estate. Maggie Hart and Mickey Dodge simply shone in their lead roles, flexing their acting chops even further when they swapped the roles of Big Edie and Little Edie in the second act.

Runner-up: Chicago—Bay Street Theatre

continues on p. 18

M a r k yo u r ca l e n da r f o r n e x t y e a r : M a r c h 2 4 –a p r i l 9 , 2 0 1 6

MAY 20-26, 2015

Grey Gardens – The Collective Face Theatre Ensemble

savannahmusicfestival.org

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Best Local Theatre Director

David I.L. Poole

Teaching, directing, papier-mâché, hunting down gorgeous true vintage costumes—is there anything David I.L. Poole can’t do (and if there is, when the heck would he have time to do it)? From Savannah State University to The Collective Face to Asbury Memorial Theatre to Savannah Children’s Theatre, you can see Poole’s fingerprint all over Savannah’s stage productions—it’s a mark of excellence.

Runner-up: Jeff DeVincent

Best Local Actress

Maggie Lee Hart

It’s her second year in a row being crowned Best Local Actress and fourth since 2011, and the award is certainly deserved—Hart is a gem of Savannah’s theatre scene, fleshing out her characters’ complexities with natural finesse and transfixing dexterity. When she’s not teaching Drama at Saint Andrew’s School, you can catch Hart with The Collective Face and Savannah Children’s Theatre.

Runner-up: Dandy Barrett

Best Local Author

David Lynn Lyons

David Lynn Lyons’ memoir, A Long Way from Whitehall, chronicles the Garden City police chief ’s storied life beginning with his Alabama upbringing, carrying through his time in the Navy, the police force, and Army. Raised by a single mother, times were hard in Whitehall, and the “long way” he describes is a thrilling ride of going against the odds to become the leader he is today; he hopes to inspire others with his story.

Runner-up: Jane Fishman

Best Museum

Jepson Center for the Arts

Paintings by local artist Panhandle Slim one month, a gallery of Winston Churchill’s landscapes the next: there’s truly something for everyone in that glistening modern cornerstone on Telfair Square.

Runner-up: Might Eighth Air Force Museum

Best Actor

MAY 20-26, 2015

Mark Rand

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They say that behind every great man is a great woman. Which is true.

But in the case of Mark Rand and JinHi Soucy Rand, you could just as easily switch that around, and it would be just as true.

JinHi is known around town as not only a wonderful actress in her own right, but as the driving force behind Muse Arts Warehouse. She was working tirelessly and cheerfully to establish Savannah’s grassroots arts scene long before that became a trend, when the obstacles were much greater than today.

Perhaps a bit lesser known to the public at large is the role of her husband Mark Rand. He is not only JinHi’s partner in life and in the arts, he won your vote for Best Actor, and there are no more deserving winners.

With movie star good looks and a quietly understated masculine confidence that brings to mind the late, great James Garner, Rand also brings to bear a remarkably refined sensitivity to his craft.

A member of The Collective Face repertory ensemble—which swept all the theatre awards this year—Rand is probably best known over the past year for his work in the Pulitzer Prize-winning Wit and Grey Gardens, the latter of which won Best Local Theatre Production this year.

I’ve known both Mark and JinHi for many years now, and I can confidently say without hyperbole that much of what you and I enjoy in Savannah’s growing and vibrant arts and cultural scene wouldn’t have happened without them.

And that’s an award without measure. —Jim Morekis Runner-up: Chris Blair

Best Art Show

First Friday Art March

Savannah culture fiends’ favorite monthly tradition keeps getting better and better. In December, Art Rise Savannah was awarded $5,000 from the City’s Department of Cultural Affairs to develop First Friday Art March, an evening that’s part gallery hop, part market, part workshop, and part big ol’ community mingle in Starland. We can’t wait to see what they’re up to next.

Runner-up: SCAD Sidewalk Arts Festival

Best Local Photographer

Geoff L. Johnson

We’re, of course, huge fans of Geoff ’s work here at Connect—this week’s cover is just one of many examples of his knack for capturing vibrant and poignant moments in the lens—but his talent goes above and beyond his contributions to this paper. Raw band photos, luminous wedding photography, crisp studio work, live show photography that makes you feel the band’s sweat on your skin with just a glimpse: whatever you need, Geoff L. Johnson is your guy.

Runner-up: Jon Waits Photography

Best Fashion Event

SCAD Fashion Show

SCAD’s talented students never fail to impress as they send models down the catwalk in diverse and awe-inspiring designs. Notorious rule breaker Vivienne Westwood took home this year’s André Leon Talley Lifetime Achievement Award.

Runner-up: Junk 2 Funk, Savannah Arts Academy

Music & Culture |

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Best New Local Book

Heave Ho!, by Jose Lucio Best Visual Artist

Jose Ray

Jose Ray is one of those local faces you see everywhere, and one you’re always glad to see.

From his energetic visual artwork, performed with gusto during just about every Art Rise Savannah event, to his tasty vinyl spinning as a well-known local DJ, Ray already had a great claim to being maybe Savannah’s most notable Jack of All Trades.

He has added yet another color to his palette, however, in his new role as children’s book author and illustrator.

Under the pen name Jose Lucio, he has created the delightful Heave Ho!, the story of a bird and a worm and some friends.

“It’s about teamwork and outside the box thinking,” Ray/Lucio told us right before his appearance at the most recent Savannah Book Festival as a featured author.

“The worm gets caught by the bird, but luckily has a friend to help pull him back underground. Then the bird has animals helping him out, so it becomes a big tug of war. It’s about finding your way out of situations like that which just go on forever and no one’s getting anywhere,” he says.

One of the most delightful things about Heave Ho! is that its illustrations are completely different in style from the work you might be most familiar with from him.

Whether you call him Ray or Lucio, he’ll always be Jose to Savannah, and we’re happy to have him! —Jim Morekis Runner-up, Book: A Long Way From Whitehall, David Lynn Lyons Runner-up, Artist: Panhandle Slim continues on p. 20

ART/HISTORY/ARCHITECTURE/SHOP/DINE/PLAY

Thank you Savannah for your Support!

BEST HISTORIC BUILDING Telfair Museums’ Owens-Thomas House

BEST MUSEUM Telfair Museums’ Jepson Center

MAY 20-26, 2015

TELFAIR.ORG

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Photo by Adam Bailey

Music & Culture |

Best Local Hip-Hop/ Rap Artist

Miggs Son Daddy

MAY 20-26, 2015

When Miggs arrived in Savannah in 2006, he wasn’t really seeking out a music scene.

“I wasn’t like, yo, I’m Miggs the Artist, listen to my mixtape!” the SCAD grad recalls.

“I just happened to rap.”

It was the heyday of hip-hop collective Dope Sandwich; as fate would have it, Miggs just happened upon Knife’s album release party at Hang Fire.

“It was totally unexpected to see what they were doing,” he recalls. “To see the official way the show was being ran—they had huge tables with all this merch out, girls wearing Dope Sandwich shirts, all supporting these guys on stage.”

Miggs was hooked. Through that show, he was introduced to Hip-Hop Night at The Jinx, where he honed his craft and became fully immersed in the local scene.

It all paved the way for the overwhelming success of his 2014 album, Son of a Gun. A visual artist with a great team of supportive friends and collaborators, Miggs employed smart design, guerilla marketing, word of mouth, and the help of professionals to create buzz about the release, catapulting the LP onto the worldwide hip-hop radar.

With radio play through the U.S., Europe, and the U.K., the “realness” of it all finally hit him.

“It was nice to take the actual proper channels to do something and have it be successful,” he says. “It’s like, ‘Ah! This is how you be a musician!’”

It’s pushed him to work bigger and better for his follow-up.

“I don’t want to put out my next album and have it be equal to or lesser than what Son of a Gun was like,” he says resolutely. “The only way to do that is to spend that much more time on the creation and promotion.”

Keeping that in mind, Miggs hints at an upcoming EP, but is tight-lipped on any information or a drop date; he plans on keeping it a surprise. Not that his world has slowed down at all; his constantly working with other visual artists, musicians and rap20 pers has led to new opportunities, including a jazz-influenced collaboration with former

Word of Mouth bandmate Melissa Hagerty and his brother. He and Knife also have an incredibly ambitious project in the works: a concept album based on the story of Peter Pan. “I happen to be a huge Peter Pan fanatic,” grins Miggs. “We started just kind of joking, ‘What if we did a take on the origin story of it?’”

As the duo talked through it, they began noticing correlations between a graphic novel Knife had written and themes in J.M. Barrie’s classic work.

“The crocodile was always lingering, and is the only thing Captain Hook fears,” Miggs offers as an example. “It could be big government, big companies, CEOs of corporations constantly overlooking what is happening. And that turns into government, and authority, and now we have S.W.A.T. teams with shields and the crocodile logo on it.”

“It’s definitely something that’s very conceptual and very different from a lot of hiphop,” he says. “It’s not a straightforward rap album. It’s just storytelling from an abstract standpoint. It felt amazing to do that…even with just regular rap music, you’re following the guidelines of what rap music is supposed to sound like. We just spent a whole bunch of time thinking outside the box and spreading our rap wings.”

Miggs advises that the project will “come out when it comes out.” In the meantime, he’s dedicated to helping releasing music by up-and-coming talents on the Dope Sandwich label, including Bassdrum Bloodlust and Culture Cypher. He hopes that his Connect win will inspire a new generation to step up and participate in local hip-hop.

“I want there to be more of an active scene going on,” he says. “I know there’s tons of people out there interested in being a musician and rapping. I want to inspire people to come out to Hip-Hop Night, to put out a mixtape, and look at what I’m doing as an invitation to join. If I can help spark people and motivate them to do be honest with that they’re doing, then cool. I’ve done what I want to do, and I’m glad that my albums can be vehicles for that.” —Anna Chandler

Runner-up: Dope Sandwich

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Best Local Comedian/Comedy Team

The Odd Lot

Savannah’s premiere improv troupe started back in 2008 with a performance of A Christmas Carol; ever since then, they’ve had us in stitches. With performances every Monday at Muse Arts Warehouse, the gang keeps it fast-paced and family-friendly so everyone can have a good laugh to kick off their week.

Runner-up: Phil Keeling

Best Concert

Southern Culture on the Skids at Savannah Stopover

Well, Savannah, apparently we really love having greasy fried chicken flung at us. But who wouldn’t? It was a little rainy, but that didn’t stop the crowds from hitting the Morris Center for food trucks, Lagunitas beer, Deep Eddy vodka, and one hell of a lineup.

The Wave Slaves set the surf tone for the show, impressing out-of-town attendees and writers with our local talent right off the bat. The all-American (down to the Skynyrd shirts and flag-motif Gibson SGs) rock ‘n’ roll of Turbo Fruits got the crowd primed for the headliner. Southern Culture on Skids launched Stopover V in unforgettable glee, playing hits and deep cuts plucked from all across their expansive catalog. If you were one of the “skidders” groovin’ onstage for the last song (or if you’ve been regretting not jumping up there), there’s another chance to dance: SCOTS are headlining this year’s Revival Fest!

Runner-up: A-Town Get Down

Best Local Country/Americana Band

The Train Wrecks

Our good ol’ Savannah boys keep on rolling. With the release of We Roll On, their first album in three years, the Wrecks have continued to pack the house locally and on tour, spreading the good gospel of Jason Bible and company throughout the Southeast and all the way to Bible’s home state of Texas.

Runner-up: Damon & the Shitkickers

Best Local Folk Band/Artist Best Local Bluegrass Band

City Hotel

Savannah’s favorite hard-giggin’ pickers ‘n’ grinners released an excellent full-length, Dogged Days, this year. Catch them live on Friday at The Jinx with Waits & Co. (that’s “Best Singer-Songwriter” Jon Waits’ band!) and Caleb Warren & The Perfect Gentlemen.

Runner-up (Best Local Folk Band/Artist, Best Local Bluegrass Band): The Accomplices

Best Local Punk Band

Crazy Bag Lady

Crazy Bag Lady’s been around awhile, but this has been their year, and this first-time win proves it. The four-piece has been going nonstop: signing with Retro Futurist, playing every show possible from Hang Fire to houses, touring, releasing their first LP, Hunks, and keeping busy in other projects. The band’s always writing new material; we can’t wait to see what’s next.

Runner-up: Cusses

Best Local Metal Band

Black Tusk

Read our feature on Black Tusk in this issue and make sure to catch them at The Jinx on Saturday.

Runner-up: Kylesa

Best Local Rock Band/Artist

CUSSES

Best Local Vocalist

Angel Bond

The fifth win in a row for Cusses vocalist Angel Bond, this year’s is especially deserved. continues on p. 22

MAY 20-26, 2015

Music & Culture |

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Music & Culture |

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When the singer discovered masses pressing on her vocal cords—results of a thyroid disease—the band was forced to cancel a series of upcoming shows. Bond has spent the year adopting the cleanest, healthiest lifestyle possible and working with a professional to sing as safely as possible, and now she’s back in action. The band hits the road this spring.

Runner-up (Best Local Rock Band/Artist): Wet Socks Runner-up (Best Local Vocalist): Trae Gurley

Best Local Funk/R&B/Soul Group/Artist

A Nickel Bag of Funk

For the past decade, powerhouse vocalist and Connect cover girl Leslie Adele has led her talented band and kept funk alive in the Lowcountry. From the moment Adele was dared to go onstage and belt out Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” on Independence Day, 2005, Savannah’s never been the same: count on A Nickel Bag of Funk’s eclectic and rollicking live show to get even the shyest of wallflowers out on the floor.

Runner-up: Ambrose

Best All-Around Musician

Ricardo Ochoa

Best Local Jazz Band/Artist

Velvet Caravan

When he was just 15 years old, Ricardo Ochoa was accepted into the Venezuela Philharmonic, making him the youngest musician to ever enter the Orchestra. Nowadays, you can catch Ochoa with Savannah Philharmonic Orchestra, where he’s principle second violin, and with his highly-acclaimed band of gypsy jazz crafters, Velvet Caravan. While he’s fluent in Jazz, Gypsy, and Country styles, what really distinguishes Ochoa is his fun and spirited take on performance; the energy he emits while soaring through violin leads is completely contagious and entrancing.

Runner-up (Best All-Around Musician): Eric Culberson Runner-up (Best Local Jazz Band/Artist): Jackson Evans

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Best Local Club DJ

Basik Lee

Where can’t you find Basik Lee (Steve Baumgardner)? He’s on the decks all across town, he’s back hosting Hip-Hop Night on Tuesdays at The Jinx, he strums the classical guitar and belts chill-inducing soul melodies at open mics and with his band, Ambrose. He’s a true renaissance man, and Savannah’s lucky to have him.

Runner-up: Jose Ray

Best Local Electronic Artist

Sunglow

Another busy bee, Daniel Lynch is a man of versatility, beating the devil outta his drums in his mainstay, Crazy Bag Lady, and with The Toxic Shock (skillfully drumming with a bag over his head for the latter). But if you’re one to venture ‘round Congress Street during the witching hour, you’re sure to have stumbled across a Sunglow set. You’ll know it by the packed dance floor and the pulsating beat of Lynch’s weirdo club bangers. As an artist who’s never not writing new material, Lynch put out two tapes this year with Furious Hooves: the critically-acclaimed Nothing Doing, and a reissue of an early set of songs, Jalopy.

Runner-up: Jeff Zagers

Best Local Music Video (“Library Card”) Best Local Album of 2014 (Drips)

Wet Socks

Scuzzy, sleazy, and catchy as hell, Wet Socks took the last twelve months by storm: signing with Retro Futurist, releasing their first LP, Drips, essentially acting as Hang Fire’s house band, touring, and putting out one of the most fun (and NSFW) music videos Savannah’s ever seen. Filmed in the beautiful old Carnegie Branch Library over on Henry Street, “Library Card” makes its historic location seem anything but quaint. Peppered with familiar faces from the local scene, it’ll have you racing to settle up those overdue fines and get frisky in the stacks.

Runner-up (Best Local Music Video): Cusses, “Don’t Give In” (2012)

Music & Culture |

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Best Local Album of 2014: We Roll On, The Train Wrecks

Best Recording Studio

Dollhouse Studios

Another win for Peter and Blake Mavrogeorgis’ wondrous wartime warehouse of vintage sound. Recent noteworthy projects include Creepoid’s Cemetery Highrise Slum, the Stopover Sessions, the digital master of Jeff Zagers’ Still / Alive, HOTPLATE’s May EP, Plans are Built on Thin Ice, and sessions for NPR. Runner-up: Elevated Basement Studio

Best Local Record Label

Graveface Records

Jon Waits

Even if you don’t know Jon Waits personally, you’ve likely encountered his work in some form. Maybe you’ve flipped through an issue of Connect and spotted his vibrant photography, or seen him dashing around behind the scenes at Trinity UMC’s Thursday Night Opry series. Maybe he’s handed you a steaming cup of Perc coffee over the counter at Foxy Loxy Print Gallery and Café. Or, perhaps you’ve seen him onstage as Waits & Co., flanked

by Markus Kuhlmann and John Pizzichemi.

Waits has crafted a particular brand of what he’s coined “original Southern songwriting”—honest, personal tales of struggle and celebration with a certain Georgia lilt to them.

“What it comes down to is this,” Waits explains over a cup of Foxy Loxy brew. “I’m a Southern man—dyed-in-the-wool, born and raised here.

Yeah, I’ve seen enough of the rest of the world to not fall into some of the same stereotypes as a lot of people think of Southerners. But, that being said, I embrace the hell out of where I’m from, and I love what we have here. I love being a part of it. We have a bloody past, but I’m from it, and that’s part of me: the good, the bad, and the ugly is what I was raised in.”

Following in the steps of his best friend, Waits first started strumming when he was about 9 or 10. While living in Atlanta in his 20s, he performed in a variety of bands, trying out the coffeehouse circuit on his own.

A self-described “survivor of self,” Waits’ songwriting process has grown and changed with him through the years, particularly as he emerged from his struggle with addiction.

“The irony was, when I got sober, the times weren’t as dark anymore,” he recalls. “So the inspiration—the need to get this stuff out—wasn’t quite there as much. So there’s been a change in what I do.”

You know that whole “art comes from suffering” saying?

“That first year, I couldn’t write,” Waits says. “I couldn’t. Nothing was coming.”

He began cobbling together scraps of old writing, pushing himself and practicing until he was able to put pen to paper again. Though he finds value in that kind of discipline— Waits loves the routine of sitting down at the kitchen table with his guitar and a cup of coffee to express his truth through song—he is gracious for the music that seemingly materializes out of nowhere.

“The best ones are the ones that are a like a flash,” he explains. “You get the inspiration,

you sit down. Fifteen minutes later, it’s done. Those are the ones that are spiritual and come from somewhere. Every now and again, the atmosphere just sort of opens up, and you gotta be ready to reach up there and grab it.

“And that was a big problem with the heroin and boozing—I couldn’t feel that. I couldn’t touch it. It wasn’t there for me. When I got those out of the way, those moments started happening more frequently.”

Soon, Waits & Co. will record a live EP; Waits hopes to work on a full-length in the fall. While he’s interested in possibly taking the show on the road, the Georgia fella says he’s perfectly happy enjoying life’s small pleasures and taking this whole thing in stride.

“I’m realistic,” he says. “I’m in my 40s, I’m a survivor of self, and really just happy to be playing and having people enjoy it. If that means it doesn’t go any further than Savannah, that’s completely fine.”—Anna Chandler Runner-up: Jason Bible

MAY 20-26, 2015

Best Singer-Songwriter

Photo by Jon Wa its

When Ryan Graveface relocated to Savannah from Chicago, he brought his vast collection of oddities and vinyl to stock his record shop, Graveface Records & Curiosities. But perhaps even more importantly, the move south was a relocation for his label, Graveface Records, a roster of talent featuring bands like Black Moth Super Rainbow, The Appleseed Cast, and more. With its spectral overtones and cult following, Savannah couldn’t be a more perfect home for the label.

Runner-up: Furious Hooves

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#2015BOS | City Life & public affairs

City Life

& Public Affairs

Biggest Local Political Scandal

Craziest Local Crime Story

The

Fall

MAY 20-26, 2015

of

24

Willie Lovett

Biggest Local

News Story

Biggest Waste of Local Taxpayer Money

This story’s got it all: Drug dealers. Dirty cops. Burner cellphones. A pimp. A fence. Extramarital affairs. Federal agents. Police pensions. Corrupt politicians. Nepotism. Cronyism. Courtrooms. Jail cells.

And some dude named “Red” Roach.

Nope, it’s not a season of The Wire. It’s the almost unbelievably sordid tale of former Savannah/Chatham Metro Police Chief Willie C. Lovett, now serving federal prison time on extortion charges, but still influencing local life due to the extreme impact of his long-running nefarious shenanigans.

The story began to unfold in last year’s Best of Savannah issue, when the Lovett scandal was also the top vote-getter in these categories.

That was back when the craziest thing about Lovett was that he resigned in a hurry under sexual harassment allegations and amid allegations he tampered with the local Counter Narcotics Unit to protect drug dealers.

Pretty crazy, right? But who knew Season Two of the tale would get SO much crazier?

By June 2014, Lovett was indicted on federal charges of extortion, gambling, and obstruction charges surrounding a bizarre scam involving skimming profits from a protected gambling ring run by some colorful carnies.

By November 2014 the verdict came down: 7.5 years in federal prison.

Good news so far right?

That is, until it became apparent that Lovett might be entitled to keep getting his $130K per year pension while in prison—almost a million bucks of taxpayer money in total—mostly because City Manager Stephanie Cutter let Lovett resign rather than going after him for the corruption the City almost certainly knew was happening!

The first months of 2015 involved the fight between elements of City government who seemed passionately attached to the idea of defending Lovett’s right to his pension—much in the manner of Samuel Adams attached to the idea of freedom for the 13 colonies—and taxpayers who insisted there must be a way to keep a felon away from that boatload of cash.

(Eventually, a weak-tea solution was found to garnish Lovett’s pension for about $60K in court costs and fees.)

So what’s most disgusting about all this?

• Lovett’s almost cartoonishly criminal reach in one of the region’s most powerful positions, giving a new and awful meaning to the old phrase “long arm of the law?”

• The fact that all this means we are STILL dealing with the devastating fallout of former City Manager Rochelle Small-Toney’s short but catastrophic tenure in City Hall?

• The apparent fact that of almost all the controversial issues over the past year, the one that seemed to motivate the City of Savannah the most was going to bat for Lovett to keep his pension?

• The likelihood that no matter how effective new Police Chief Joseph “Jack” Lumpkin might prove, he probably can never completely clean up the many tentacles of Lovett’s pernicious influence on law enforcement in Savannah, which has almost certainly led to much of the violent crime on our streets?

• Or the near-certainty that this time next year we will find out even MORE about the reach of Savannah police corruption, as various federal and state probes continue toward resolution?

Stay tuned, folks. The craziest thing is.... it ain’t over yet. —Jim Morekis Runner-up, Scandal: $12,000 a month to former City Attorney Peter Giusti Runner-up, Waste of Money: City Council Runner-up, Crime Story: Charles Smith Shooting on Augusta Avenue continues on p. 26

MAY 20-26, 2015

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City Life & public affairs |

continued from previous page

Best Clergy

Rabbi Robert Hass

Photo by Jon Waits

Savannah’s Jewish community may be America’s third oldest and one of its most storied, but it remains a fact that synagogue dwellers will always be a tiny minority in this city.

Yet out of all the pastors, reverends, ministers and priests preaching the Good Word out there, y’all somehow elected a rabbi as the favorite clergy of 2015. Perhaps it’s a testament to Savannah’s accepting climate, or maybe you’re all secret gefilte fish fans.

It could have something to do with the fact that Rabbi Robert Hass is just such a nice guy. A native of McAllen, TX, Rabbi Hass grew up with Southern grace and has served as the spiritual leader of Congregation Mickve Israel on Monterey Square since 2012. He was ordained at Hebrew Union College in 2002 and studied in Jerusalem at the PARDES Institute of Jewish Studies. He also spent a year volunteering with AIDS patients in Kenya with the humanitarian group American Jewish World Service.

Understanding how vital a role religious organizations play in the South, he began reaching out to churches immediately after he arrived. He’s continued the Mickve Israel tradition of partnering with Christian and Islamic organizations and works tirelessly to support a solid interfaith network throughout the Lowcountry.

Rabbi Hass often speaks to civic and community groups as well. A fixture at United Way and Habitat for Humanity fundraisers, he’ll also try his hand at stand-up comedy at this week’s event for the children’s advocacy program CASA. “Everyone is so open here,” says Rabbi Hass. “I wear this kippah everywhere, and people are curious and always kind.”

Within his own flock, Rabbi Hass regularly visits the sick, teaches religious school and offers continued study for all ages. He’s also been known to show up for holidays in full costume and often peppers his sermons with Star Wars references.

Rabbi Hass’ non-denominational outreach and fun-loving spirit surely helped garner this win for Savannah’s small but vibrant Jewish community. But anyone who’s visited his office know that his popularity might also have something to do with the giant jar of candy he keeps on his desk. —Jessica Leigh Lebos Runner-up: Pastor Andy Vaught

Best Private School

St. Vincent’s Academy

Best New City Initiative

Best Principal/Headmaster

CAT Bike Share

Well, actually the top vote-getter in this category for the second year in a row is a Chatham Area Transit project, not a City initiative at all. But it’s still worth noting, not only to cue CAT to increase its marketing effort for the “Bike & Ride” program, but to call attention to this most excellent bike rental service at Ellis Square and the CAT Intermodal Station off Oglethorpe Avenue. Go to www.catchacat.org for more info.

Runner-up: Broughton Street Renovations

Mary Anne Hogan

A staple of modern life is the Prom Controversy, whereby some students run afoul of some school rule and can’t go to Prom. Under the leadership of headmaster Hogan, St. Vincent’s joined that club this year with a high-profile hubbub regarding a longstanding rule at the school that students cannot be late for Prom for any reason, or they won’t be allowed to enter. Unlike the case with other schools, however, St. Vincent’s alumni and parents were pretty strong in supporting the rule, saying expecting students to adhere to higher standards is what makes the school what it is.

Runner-up, School: Savannah Country Day Runner-up, School: Leslie Taylor

Savannah Psychotherapy Center &

Dr. Susan Lamb, PhD MAY 20-26, 2015

Voted Best Psychologist

26

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THANKSSavannah!

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FOR VOTING US

BEST COFFEEHOUSE Best Historic Building Owens Thomas House In a city lined with architectural jewels, the wonderfully preserved Regency mansion on Oglethorpe Square earns the respect of locals once more.

Breathtaking in its opulence and full of historically accurate details down to the wallpaper, the Owens Thomas House also comprises a finely manicured English garden and the two-story, tabby “servants’ quarters” out back. The domicile once served as home to the wealthy Richardson family along with a staff—our own Downton Abbey, if you will—and its current caretakers strive to present a complete picture of life in Savannah in the 19th century.

That means bringing forward details about the nameless people who cooked, cleaned and served.

“We call them slaves now. And we’re working to reinterpret a history that includes them,” says Tania Sammons, Senior Curator of Decorative Arts and Historic Sites for the Telfair Museums.

In the late 1990s, the Owens-Thomas House restored and opened its former slaves’ quarters, where at least ten indentured people lived at a time, half of them children.

Swatches of “haint” blue paint meant to keep away evil spirits are still visible on the exposed beams, the largest example of the ancestral African practice in North America.

Last year, OTH restored and opened for viewing the previously overlooked butler’s pantry, a staging area for formal meals and parties that would have been frequented by slaves and only occasionally by the lady of the house. The room formally documents slave life in the 1800s and is the only butler’s pantry on display in the city.

Sammons just returned from a curator’s convention at the Brooklyn Museum, where she learned that the latest trend in museum presentation is something that OTH has been doing for ages: For the past two years, the museum has employed a full-time staff of interpreters, most of whom have advanced degrees in historic preservation or a related field.

“There was all this market research done showing that having educated people around to answer questions elevated the museum experience,” relays Sammons.

“People want to talk to people. We already knew that!”

Even better, says Sammons, the Owens Thomas House interpreters continue to work on their own projects, sharing research and informing each other of new developments in preservation and historic narrative.

“It’s amazing,” says Sammons. “The quality of our tours is just going up and up.”

—Jessica Leigh Lebos continues on p. 28 Runner-up: Cathedral of St. John the Baptist

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He tops out at 6’3” with his boots on and possesses a pair of eyes so blue they’d make Sinatra jealous, so it’s no wonder a’tall that Savannah’s got a crush on Jon Taylor.

It might also be his moves: You may have caught his sexy policeman act with The Savannah Sweet Tease Burlesque Revue or as House of Gunt’s blond bombshell Rachel Fauxrelle, and the performer known as Jack N. ThaCox recently slayed crowds at NYC’s Boylesque Festival earlier this month.

The 23 year-old hottie first came to Savannah to study Illustration at SCAD, but since graduation he’s been taking a much-needed “mental palate cleansing,” which consists mainly of nurturing his succulent garden and enjoying the sunshine in as little clothing as possible. (His glorious plant and reclaimed vinyl sculptures can be found around town under the name Plantasia.)

Yet underneath the flamboyant, hip-swiveling persona lies a thoughtful young soul who harbors a deep appreciation for life’s tenderness (as well as a fascination with sad clowns.)

Says one unnamed suitor: “He’s got something that a lot of people in their 20s don’t have. There’s something very accepting and open-minded about him—he’s a come-as-you-are kind of person.”

Taylor attributes his irresistible

Photo by Jon Waits

Jon Taylor

Most Crushworthy Savannahian charisma to his “badass” parents, who raised him to be comfortable in his own skin.

“I suppose I’m always myself whether I’m on stage or on the street,” he shrugs with a seductive smile. “I think people are attracted to that.”

Potential beaus, take note: He likes his coffee with a little cream, no sugar. Adoration of his cat, Pugsly, is non-negotiable.

His perfect date? “Pizza, donuts, booze and cuddling.”

But please don’t mistake the man for a player. Though he may make all the boys and girls swoon, Jon Taylor is no Casanova.

“I’m really just searching for serious relationship with an honest man,” he confesses. “Performing can be very lonely. I’d like someone to see me through all through it all.

“If I could find a clown, that would be amazing.”

—Jessica Leigh Lebos Runner-up: Greg Tackett

Best Public School

Savannah Arts Academy

SAA also won statewide honors, being named as fifth best public high school in Ga. Runner-up: Hesse Elementary

Best House of Worship

MAY 20-26, 2015

Cathedral of St. John the Baptist

28

Now known as the spiritual epicenter of Irish Catholicism in Savannah, the ornate and recently restored edifice on Lafayette Square actually began as a congregation of French Catholics forced out of Haiti by modern history’s only successful slave uprising.

Runner-up: Savannah Christian Church

Best Celebrity Sighting

Channing Tatum

Two Words: MAGIC MIKE. Runner-up: Norman Reedus

Best Charity Event

Jewels & Jeans

This year’s sold-out April shindig benefiting America’s Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia featured music by Junkyard Angel.

Runner-up: Kiss-A-Pig

Best City Council Member

Mayor Edna Jackson

By City Charter, the Mayor of Savannah holds little actual power. That is, until something really unusual happens, such as the shooting of Charles Smith by a police officer on Augusta Avenue. The ensuing unrest had every possibility of making Savannah another Ferguson, but Mayor Jackson’s calm, soothing presence and total commitment to a peaceful resolution got the community through that extraordinarily difficult time.

Runner-up: Tony Thomas

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Best Local Police Officer

Ofc. Warren Blauth

Officer Blauth says he isn’t quite sure why he won this year.

“I think I got a lot of votes because my mother’s computer is back up and running,” he jokes on the phone during a quiet moment on patrol.

After several years in forensics, this Savannah/Chatham Metro PD veteran has been back on beat patrol for the last couple of years. While Central and Island Precincts—the latter of which includes the dangerous Eastside—get the most press, Officer Blauth works in the West Chatham Precinct, mostly in the Georgetown area.

“It’s not a bad area to work in,” he says. “The construction on 204 is killing me, though.”

Blauth says while Georgetown is rapidly changing and getting away from its onceexclusive reputation, “I certainly wouldn’t say there’s been a rampant increase in crime.”

He says new Police Chief Joseph “Jack” Lumpkin has helped foster “a more positive attitude all around. I think he’s moving the department in the right direction.”

As concerns continue to be raised that too many officers are getting their training in Savannah and then leaving as soon as possible for jobs in less-dangerous areas, Blauth explains why he remains here despite his impressive resume: “I’m originally from Jacksonville, Florida, but I moved here when I was nine, so I guess by proxy you could say I’m from Savannah,” he says. “I like giving back to the community I grew up in. I like helping people. That’s why I took the job in the first place.”

During a time when police are not only under increased scrutiny because of brutality and in some cases even murder, Officer Blauth says he would still encourage young people to seek a career as a police officer.

“I enjoy it. I could recommend it as a career, and I often do. The job’s not for everybody, but then again I don’t think I could be a writer like you,” he muses. —Jim Morekis Runner-up: Gary Murphy

Best County Commissioner

Dean Kicklighter

It’s been a challenging year for the Westside rep, with ethics allegations which ended up nowhere and a DUI conviction. But his constituents still admire and support him overwhelmingly because of his consistency and honesty.

Runner-up: Helen Stone

Best Conservative

Jack Kingston

Quitting the House of Representatives last year to unsuccessfully run for Senate apparently didn’t dampen Jack’s popularity among local Republicans.

Runner-up: Ben Crystal

Best Judge

Louisa Abbot

Now marking her 15th year as a judge in Chatham County Superior Court.

Runner-up: Hermann W. Coolidge Jr.

Best City Employee

Bret Bell

Savannah’s Public Information Officer, who’s been to known to engage in vigorous social media debates late into the night, is referred to by one City Council member as the “man behind the curtain” making everything run at City Hall.

Runner-up: Jason Carangelo

continues on p. 30

MAY 20-26, 2015

City Life & public affairs |

29

City Life & public affairs |

30 continued from previous page

Photo by Jon Waits

If you ask Tom Kohler what he does, he’ll tell you he “puts people together.”

That’s been his main mission as the director of Savannah Chatham Citizens Advocacy, the non-profit that pairs ordinary folks with those whose developmental disabilities have excluded them from participating in community life. These advocates and protégés often form tight bonds that last a lifetime, learning together how to navigate the true meaning of friendship and dignity.

Kohler began partnering people up 37 years ago, facilitating over 110 matches with his small staff. But the power of his work reaches far beyond the official description: These advoBest cate relationships have inspired a beloved community of ranBest dom kindness, and the Citizens Advocacy Annual Meeting and Covered Dish Supper is one of the city’s most joyful and well- Best attended occasions of the year.

Your grassroots choice for Best Savannahian is also homegrown: The native son graduated from Jenkins High and attended then-Armstrong College in the 1970s, back when the demand for social equality began bubbling into the collective conscience. He graduated from UGA with an education degree and returned to his hometown, planting the seeds of change alongside the city’s community leaders.

“I was shepherded into this work by others who looked at the world with passion,” recalls Kohler, stroking his famous beard.

“I was always attracted to people who were involved in civic life.”

Lately he’s put his weight behind Emergent Savannah, an umbrella organization of activists searching for out-of-the-box solutions to the city’s most persistent problems. Along with regular “Monday Means Community” events at the Sentient Bean, Emergent Savannah gives regular citizens an opportunity to learn about the inner workings of the city and voice their concerns.

“It seems like people are interested and frustrated at how fast Savannah is changing, and at the same time, they’re interested and frustrated at what isn’t changing,” says Kohler of Savannah’s stratified economic development, persistent poverty and disparity of resources.

“We wanted to invite people to come together and to think and talk about these issues.”

As for the liberal label, he considers himself more of a “profoundly local, independent communitarian.”

“Politics for the sake of politics doesn’t really interest me. It’s healthier, I think, to ask good, probing questions in the civic realm and let the politics grow out of that,” muses the man with no shortage of plans for a better Savannah.

“I’m most interested in how small groups of committed citizens can create change that matters to them.”

—Jessica Leigh Lebos Runner-up, Community Activist: Jessica Leigh Lebos Runner-up, Liberal: Travis Coles Runner-up, Best Savannahian: JinHi Soucy-Rand

Community Activist Liberal Savannahian

Tom Kohler

Best School Board Member

Jolene Byrne

Anyone who’s met Jolene Byrne in person knows there are few local folks as pleasant and interesting to talk to as the new Savannah-Chatham County School Board President.

So what in the world did she do to piss off the local mainstream media?

Apparently, being a woman who won on a platform of delivering much-needed reform to local public schools was enough.

After suggesting that maybe there’s too much emphasis on homework at the expense of raising well-rounded, welladjusted children – the same sentiment your grandmother would probably express – Byrne was the subject of not one but two attack pieces in your local daily paper on the subject, with an editorial cartoon making fun of her to boot.

(One of the attack pieces in the daily’s obsessive full-court press featured the ironic headline “Ten Things More Important For School Board Than Limiting Homework.”)

But as they say, if you’re not pissing someone off you’re probably not doing your job right.

Best County Employee

Jefferson Kirkland

Oh sure, technically he’s the Chatham County Environmental Program Coordinator, but we hear strong rumors that The Kirk Man —perennial repeat winner in this category—will also be the next Avenger!

Runner-up: Van Johnson

MAY 20-26, 2015

Best Firefighter

30

Chief Nathan Gaskill

This longtime Savannah Fire Department veteran realized many a schoolkid’s dream when he was promoted to Battalion Chief in 2014. When he’s not holding down Station 5, he passes on his blazing skills as a teacher with the Fire Science program Woodville-Tompkins Technical and Career High School.

Runner-up: Billy King

One thing’s for sure: Byrne’s mild-mannered exterior should never be confused for weakness, and she handles the criticism with a smile and a little shake of her head, preferring to focus on a practical agenda for the future.

“On the immediate agenda is a smooth transition away from First Student, on making sure the new Building Bridges program, replacing Ombudsman, is successful, and on raises for teachers and support staff,” says Byrne.

“We also plan to review our discipline processes to address the disproportionate amount of black students that are referred to the juvenile justice system,” she adds.

“The bigger stuff - shifting our emphasis from merely producing workers to educating healthy and creative citizens, challenging the bureaucratic obstacles to meaningful improvements in our struggling schools, focusing more on where we need to improve than on boasting about our successes - those things will take more time,” says Byrne. – Jim Morekis Runner-up: Julie M. Wade

Best Local Cause

Humane Society for Greater Savannah

Helping animals doesn’t just help animals! One of the Humane Society’s programs is Operation New Hope, which matches up dogs with poor prospects for adoption with inmates. The goal is to reduce recidivism, which is does to the tune of 75 percent!

Runner-up: Savannah Mission

Best Nonprofit Organization

Coastal Pet Rescue

A repeat win for this deserving local group, but with special import this year as the all-volunteer organization celebrates its first-ever permanent site to house animals up for foster and adoption, at “Camp Pawsawhile” near Lake Mayer.

Runner-up: Art Rise Savannah

31 continued from previous page

“

Savannahian You Love To Hate

Paula Deen

Thank you so much for your kindness. I love and appreciate my patients!

We were sort of surprised at this, given the level of rancor directed toward local politicians and given that Mrs. Deen has managed to stay out of the headlines for awhile.

Oh, well, the $12 million she will get from selling her Wilmington Island compound will buy a lot of healing for hurt feelings…

Runner-up: Ben Carter

Best Primary Care Physician

RIP: Person We’ll Miss the Most

Jonathan Athon

Under a myriad of tattoos and a voluminous ginger beard beat one of the biggest hearts in the South. Athon possessed hands that could build custom drums, dominate a grill, fix anything, wrangle bass riffs against Black Tusk bandmate Andrew Fidler’s huge guitar hooks.

He was a natural helper with a lust for life and love of travel.

In November, Athon and his girlfriend, Emily Boutwell, were riding home on Athon’s Harley when they were struck by a car driven by an 85-year-old man who failed to stop at a stop sign. The next day, Athon passed away from injuries sustained from the accident.

In the days that followed, the Savannah humidity felt even heavier than usual as the community came together to mourn. Family, friends, tour mates, and fans from all over the world flocked to Savannah to attend the memorial service. The Jinx’s sister shop, Ghost Town Tattoo, offered memorial tattoos—over 100 people now have the memory of Athon inked into their skin, while the window of The Jinx, Athon’s second home, became a memorial shrine, displaying live photos, McRib sandwich boxes, Jim Beam bottles.

At the time of the accident, Black Tusk was already slated for a winter tour with Black Label Society, though it had yet to be announced. The opportunity was something Athon in particular was looking forward to. With old friend Corey Barhorst taking his place, the band confirmed the tour; you can read more in our Black Tusk feature in this issue.

Runner-up: Ben Tucker

”

Dr. Kristen Updegraff

9 Chatham Center South, Savannah, GA 912.527.7211| SouthCoast-Health.com

THANK YOU CONNECT SAVANNAH READERS FOR VOTING US

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City Life & public affairs |

31

#2015BOS | Media

Best

Media

Local TV Commercial

Best

Local Law Firm

Best

Local Attorney

Jamie Casino/Casino Law Group

Longtime winner in this category Mike Hostilo has finally been dethroned, but he shouldn’t feel too bad about it. The whole nation is now aware of the legal leviathan and judicial juggernaut that is Jamie Casino and his amazing two-year run of widely-viewed viral Super Bowl ads.

While the world is full of cheesy lawyer ads, everyone clued in pretty quick that these two-minute spots were something different.

The first ad told the story of Casino’s transformation from defense attorney to crimefighter after the murder of his brother. The second ad, this year, delved further into local politics and police corruption – even quoting Connect Savannah prominently.

“Your article hit exactly how most of us feel,” Casino tells us. “Local politicians are bullying us into accepting things we shouldn’t have to accept. We need more people to step up and open their mouths about the negligent, self-serving people running the local government.”

For Casino, the rapid and complete fall of former Police Chief Willie Lovett represents, if not closure, at least vindication.

Lovett was Chief when Casino’s brother Michael Biancosino was shot along with Emily Pickels in their car in 2012. The Chief infamously—and inexplicably—announced to the media that “no innocent persons were targeted.”

Now, one alleged shooter is dead of a shooting himself and his accomplice is on trial.

“The whole trial speaks to Lovett himself and how disingenuous and hurtful his statements were, and how deceptive,” Casino says. “I called the lead detective on the case and he said he had no idea Lovett had even made the statement, nor had the detective been consulted. The detective said ‘they didn’t do anything wrong that we could see.’”

As for the now-legendary Super Bowl ads, Casino says they actually come “from a very spiritual Christian position.”

“I look at that not so much as an advertisement as much as doing the right thing. I had the opportunity to basically call someone out that really needed it,” Casino says.

“I got the idea right around Christmas. I saw my mom’s face, and she was just broken. Then I thought of Lovett sitting at home enjoying his big fat pension, and I was determined not to let that slide.”

As for the current state of crime in the City of Savannah, Casino says “You’d have to be a moron to say all that corruption didn’t have the effect of increasing crime. Criminals see corruption and take advantage of it.”

On the upcoming elections, Casino is also typically blunt: “Things have spiraled out of control, and it’s costing this city big time. The department is still in shambles. This City Council and these County Commissioners don’t want to put any more money into the police department. They turned a blind eye to bullying and corruption and we’re all now paying for it on multiple fronts,” he says.

“We need a full slate of challengers and wipe all those people out of here,” he concludes. —Jim Morekis Runner-up: Mike Hostilo

Best Local TV News Anchor

Best Local Investigative Reporter

This year was the last time you got to vote for Sonny Dixon as best anchor—and to have it count, anyway.

Dixon, who became the face of Savannah’s highest-rated newscast with the retirement of Doug Weathers, has announced his retirement after nearly 15 years with the station.

“Just 15 days and I’m off and away on my Harley!” Sonny wrote us the other day.

This Best of Savannah award from our readers should be just the right send-off for a ride into the sunset.

Before assuming his role at WTOC, Dixon cut his teeth on local politics as a Democratic state representative from West Chatham in the Georgia General Assembly from 1989-1997—back when there were actually a lot of Democrats in the Georgia General Assembly. In 2002 the legislature renamed the intersection of Route 21 and Jimmy Deloach Parkway in his honor.

Runner-up: Tina Tyus-Shaw, WSAV

We’re excited to introduce this new category this year, and there’s no more deserving inaugural winner than Don. Best known for spearheading the uber-popular feature “WTOC Asked and Answered,” that platform has resulted not only in a higher profile for Logana himself, but in increased investigative reporting throughout the station.

“There might have been a time when investigative reporting was on the back burner to follow breaking news,” he muses. “But the station is totally behind it now.”

A lot of Logana’s impact is due to his robust social media presence. “Viewers today are so interactive and so ready. It’s to the minute and they’re ready to go,” he says. “They’re more free to do be interactive on social media that’s on the tip of their fingers rather than an email or phone call like the old days.”

The Syracuse, N.Y., native says Savannah does offer some unique quirks that make reporting here pretty unique. “Syracuse is a bit bigger and the demographics are different. But Savannah politicians definitely give us a lot of interesting material!”

Runner-up: Dave Kartunen

MAY 20-26, 2015

Sonny Dixon, WTOC

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Don Logana, WTOC

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Best Local TV Sports Anchor

Frank “The Big Guy” Sulkowski, WJCL

No local on-air sports personality brings the level of passion and intensity to Savannah airwaves like The Big Guy, WJCL Sports Director, a very popular perennial winner with our readers.

Currently getting ready to spearhead coverage of YOUR ATLANTA HAWKS as they head to the NBA Eastern Conference championship for the first time in franchise history, Sulkowski played football back in the day for East Tennessee State University, and is a proud graduate of Georgia Southern University closer to home.

Runner-up: Ken Slats

Best Local Twitter Feed Best Local Instagram Feed

Visit Savannah

Savannah’s chief tourism marketing organization was ahead of the curve with social media and is pretty widely regarded, not just by our readers, as the folks in town who truly “get it.” While a lot of that success is testament to their staffer Amy Brock—transitioning into a new position with Visit Savannah—we remain confident the new person running Visit Savannah’s social media will keep up the great work.

Runner-up, Twitter: Brew/Drink/Run Runner-up, Instagram: Savannah Sweet Tease Burlesque Revue

Best Local TV Meteorologist

Best Local Radio Station

Not your typical garden variety TV weatherperson, Pat is what you definitely call a “Meteorologist.” The man has forgotten more about climate than any of us will ever know.

His highly informative yet very accessible style has made him beloved of local viewers since joining WTOC in 1980. But despite his longevity, Pat is nothing if not 100 percent current: Almost alone among local high-profile people, he energetically states the case for the existence of climate change and the need to take steps to mitigate it.

And also, Pat and his wife Mary are just really great people. That counts for a lot, too.

This is actually a HUGE win for your local Public Radio affiliate. They won last year for “Best Talk Radio Station,” but this is whole ‘nother level of coolness, the Big Enchilada of Audio.

While a certain amount of controversy came about when longtime staffers at FM 91.1 were let go a couple of years back, the reimagining of the station as a more current, newsdriven organization more in line with large metro-area public radio has clearly paid big dividends, at least with our readers.

With a staff of three full-time journalists working out of the local office—that’s a pretty big staff by modern standards, by the way—GPB Savannah is now a media player every bit on par with other news orgs in town, like the daily paper, the TV stations, and us as well.

— Jim Morekis Runner-up: WRHQ 105.3 FM

Patrick Prokop, WTOC

Best Local Columnist

Jessica Leigh Lebos

Our own Community Editor won out this year for her insightful contributions to the inner workings of Savannah life and culture.

Runner-up: Bill Dawers

GPB Savannah

Best Talk Radio Station

WTKS 1290 AM

Best Local Blog

Hissing Lawns

Connect Savannah may not be super-conservative, but the fact remains that this is still a pretty conservative area, and Bill Edwards and the rest of the WTKS gang offer the best in right-leaning commentary, from Limbaugh to Beck to Hannity, not to mention Edwards’ own engaging and relevant local interview show.

Runner-up: GPB Savannah

Blogging has changed a lot over the past five years—oh hell, over the past five minutes—but Hissing Lawns (hissinglawns.com) is keepin’ it real with previews and recaps of local and regional shows, from The Jinx to Shaky Knees. While a Bill Dawers project, guest contributors like Larry Jack Sammons and Andy Berger and photographers like Tom Cartmel provide entertaining and insightful content.

Runner-up: Yo, Yenta! ( Jessica Leigh Lebos, yoyenta.com)

Best Local Radio Personality

Kotter

The voice of Rock 106.1 FM is also its Program Director. His “Work Release Program” with Marshall is quite simply one of the best things on local airwaves, radio or TV. Check out their podcast with Best Facebook Page Winner The Stone Stairs of Death!

Runner-up: Bill Edwards

Best Local Facebook Page

The Stone Stairs of Death

We’ve never seen instant domination in a category quite like this one. Soon after starting the page, Stone Stairs garnered Likes faster than your News Feed can show another shot of Kim Kardashian’s ass. Last year The Stone Stairs easily wrapped up this category, and this year the voting wasn’t even close.

While the page started off as a politically incorrect chronicle of “the Savannah Shitshow,” as it’s called in Stone Stairs verbiage, with daily pics of foolish tourists (“touronetards”) and downtown drunks (“douchetards”), the page has evolved into covering more actual issues, aggregating links about local politics and in the comments section promoting a vigorous dialogue.

You can tell the level of Stone Stairs’ increasing news-breaking notoriety by one metric: Local politicians who used to comment there now keep their mouths shut and enjoy it from afar, knowing that whatever they say on Stone Stairs will be broadcast far and wide.

— Jim Morekis Runner-up: Old Savannah Tours

Best Morning Radio Show

Kidd Kraddick in the Morning

This Texas-based syndicated show is featured locally on 97.3 KISS FM. Runner-up: Tim Leary and the Morning Showgram

Best Local Website

Connectsavannah.com

We have to say we’re very happy with the upgrade to our site, especially the improvements to the mobile version.

Runner-up: hissinglawns.com

Best Local App

WTOC

The area’s leading newcast also has its highest-voted news app.

Runner-up: Sav Happs (Connect Savannah)

MAY 20-26, 2015

Media |

33

#2015BOS | Food & Restaurants

34

Food&Restaurants

in New York City. After interviewing over two dozen chefs, John met Mashama and knew she was the one.

“As long as I found a chef that saw food the same way I did and was passionate about cooking, I was happy,” John recalls. “I just wanted delicious food that makes people happy.”

It’s worth noting that both John and Mashama are new to the restaurant game. The Grey is the first restaurant John has owned and the first restaurant Mashama has cooked for by herself.

Is it any wonder that the Grey brought home Best New Restaurant?

“Every day is a learning experience, everything is new to us,” John says. “Before we The Greyhound bus station turned restaurant opened in December and immediately opened we tried to be as thoughtful as we possibly could.” started turning heads.

Since the restoration took eighteen months to complete, John and Mashama pored over John Morisano scouted for several locations in the downtown Savannah area, but the every detail, from the menu to the branding to the bar napkins. spot on MLK was an immediate favorite.

The attention to detail has clearly paid off, as the restaurant is quick becoming the “When we found it, it was dilapidated, abandoned, filled with junk,” John says, “but hotspot for any occasion. But John has his sights set much higher. under all that the bones of the building were in really good shape. We knew if we did a “We want to be the spot for Savannahians,” he says. “We want to be that neighborhood thoughtful restoration we could make it into something really special.” spot. We want people to say, ‘Should we cook or should we go to the Grey?’ on a weekPart of the Grey’s success has definitely been chef Mashama Bailey, a former sous chef night. And if we become one of those spots in five years, I’ll call it success.” – Rachael Flora Runner-up: The Florence

Best New Restaurant

continues on p. 36

MAY 20-26, 2015

Photo by JGeoff L. Johnson

The Grey

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continues on p. 34

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35

Food & Restaurants |

36 continued from previous page

Green Truck Pub

Best Overall Restaurant Best Wait Staff Best Pub Food Best Gourmet Burger Best Veggie Burger

Owned by adorable married couple Whitney and Josh Yates, Green Truck Pub has been winning awards every year since its opening in 2010. What’s their secret to pulling Best Overall Restaurant four years in a row?

“We’re lucky!” laughs Whitney.

Sure, it might be a little luck, but mostly it’s good food in a fun atmosphere and making the most of the local resources they have.

All their beef, grass-fed and hormone-free, comes from Hunter Cattle Company in Brooklet, and they use locally-made Perc Coffee.

“A lot of our success is delivering good ingredients at everyday prices,” Josh explains. “It’s approachable food. People really respond to the authentic, local, farm-to-table sourcing.”

Josh also credits the staff, who took home Best Wait Staff, for a big part of the restaurant’s success.

If you haven’t dropped by to try the food yet, getting a burger is the clear choice.

“I always suggest the Trailer Park because, to me, that’s the overall favorite,” Whitney says. “But I emphasize how flexible the menu is; I always get a Flathead with a veggie patty on rye.”

The flexible menu is a clear perk for people with dietary restrictions, who are sure to find something they like with little modification.

“I love that you can come here and get a healthy meal, or if you wanna blow it out and get fries and a beer, that’s great too,” Whitney says. – Rachael Flora Runner-up, Overall & Wait Staff: Olde Pink House Runner-up, Pub Food: Crystal Beer Parlor Runner-up: Gourmet & Veggie Burger: B&D Burgers

Best Food Event

Savannah Food and Wine Festival

A hallmark of a metro area that’s really on the map is a genuine food and wine festival. Savannah finally has its own. Marking its third edition this November, the Savannah Food and Wine Festival brings together the best area chefs in a variety of beautiful settings and specialty events.

Runner-up: Shalom Y’all Jewish Food Festival

Best Takeout Restaurant Best Gourmet Sandwich

Zunzi’s

Let’s face it: Zunzi’s has come a long way from the pure takeout-only place we all fell in love with what seems like so long ago. With a full sit-down place on the other end of downtown and added seating at the original York Street location, it’s become a force to be reckoned with. But that said – their takeout still rules!

Runner-up, Takeout: Green Truck Pub Runner-up, Sandwich: Starland Cafe

Best Caterer

Joe’s Homemade Café and Catering

A breath of fresh air in an often-overrated local catering scene, Joe’s Homemade focuses on freshness and friendliness.

Runner-up: Angel’s BBQ

MAY 20-26, 2015

Best Vegetarian Restaurant Best Salad

36

Kayak Kafe

Who says comfort food can’t be healthy? Kayak Kafe has nearly cornered the market on fresh, light menu items at a reasonable price. Their new midtown location offers the same quality with a bit better parking than downtown!

Runner-up, Vegetarian: The Sentient Bean Runner-up, Salad: Green Truck Pub continues on p. 38

37

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Food & Restaurants |

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Best Brunch

B Matthews

Anyone who has tried to grab a quick Sunday brunch at B Matthews shouldn’t find it a surprise that the Bay Street joint has been awarded Best Brunch in Savannah — the line’s always out the door.

The menu is diverse enough to accommodate every bruncher, and staples like the Fried Green Tomato Benedict and mimosas garnished with a strawberry are photogenic snaps for your Instagram feed.

“I think our intricate menu provides a good flavor profile,” assistant general manager Brittany Canady says. “And our chefs make sure that every dish going out is quality, whether it’s the beginning or end of the day.”

Brittany also notes that B Matthews has seen a “massive” growth in business the past few years, coinciding with the recent designation of brunch as the cool thing to do on weekends.

Fortunately for all hungover brunchers, B Matthews has also perfected the art of the midmorning cocktail. Their mixed-moses are made with both orange and fruit juice, and their homemade bloody Mary is the perfect hair of the dog to get your day going.

From the basic breakfast to the apple, walnut and bourbon chutney waffles, even the pickiest eaters will be satisfied with the selection.

Brittany loves the shrimp and grits, but notes that they’re available every day on the breakfast menu.

“If you’re looking for a weekend-only brunch food, I’d say it’s either the fried duck and waffle or the fried green tomato Benedict,” she recommends.

No doubt about it, B Matthews’ brunch is worth the wait. – Rachael Flora Runner-up: J. Christopher’s

Best Fine Dining Best Downtown Restaurant Most Romantic Restaurant Best Shrimp ‘n’ Grits

The Olde Pink House

Wow, look that lineup of wins. The Pink House has figured out the perfect formula of using its innately beautiful and historic setting to complement its high quality cuisine and service, for a great date night in an absolutely unique historic building with a fascinating provenance of its own.

Runner-up, Fine: Elizabeth on 37th Runner-up, Downtown: Crystal Beer Parlor Runner-up, Romantic: Alligator Soul Runner-up, Shrimp: Vic’s on the River

Best Late Night Restaurant

Sweet Melissa’s

Used to be that Sweet Melissa’s was basically the only late-night spot downtown and won this category by default. That’s no longer the case, but their reputation and their perfect location in the middle of downtown’s live music party zone continues their winning streak.

Runner-up: Betty Bomber’s

Best Farm-to-Table Restaurant

Cha Bella

MAY 20-26, 2015

Anchoring the east end of Broughton Street with an emphasis on creative locally sourced cuisine.

Runner-up: Green Truck Pub

Best Tapas

Jazz’d Tapas Bar

Quietly but surely, Jazz’d has become one of downtown’s go-to spots for fun, tasty eats, and good drink.

38 Runner-up: bar.food

Best Place for Steak

Ruth’s Chris Steak House

There are several really good steak places in town, but Ruth’s Chris seems to dominate in this category.

Runner-up: Outback

Best Pancakes

IHOP

They’re international!

Runner-up: J. Christopher’s

Best Breakfast

J. Christopher’s

This regional chain renovated an old auto shop on Liberty Street and it’s been drawing ‘em in ever since.

Runner-up: The Breakfast Club

Best Burger for $6 or Less Best Fries

Five Guys

With three locations in Savannah, it didn’t take long for Five Guys to become Savannah’s go-to spot for a tasty budget burger.

Runner-up, Burger: B&D Burgers Runner-up, Fries: Green Truck Pub

Best Sub Shop

Baldino’s

Still staying true to its northeastern roots, with Southern hospitality.

Runner-up: Jimmy John’s

continues on p. 40

Thank you, Connect Savannah readers, for voting us

BEST

SEAFOOD

912.786.9857 • www.thecrabshack.com 40 Estill Hammock Rd • Tybee Island, GA

MAY 20-26, 2015

since 1998!

39

Food & Restaurants |

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Gourmet Food Store Whole Foods Best Best Cheese Shop This fancy but friendly chain restaurant still retains a local feel with its helpful, invested staff and its ability to multitask.

“We have regular, everyday groceries as well as those specialty items you can add to your cart,” says Hillary Bradbury, the marketing team leader for the Victory Drive location. “We have great local producers and special items that might make dinner a little bit more advanced.

“You can still get your applesauce and cereal, but you can also get certain spices you might need to make tabbouleh.”

In addition to stocking exotic spices, the store also holds plenty of events, including healthy eating demonstrations. Some of the demos feature specific ingredients and show ways to cook the food to its full, healthiest potential.

As a company, Whole Foods prides itself on stocking products that are organic, fair-trade, responsibly-grown, and GMO-free. All their products are guaranteed to be good for you, and any member of the staff can help you find food that’s best for your diet.

The store also has a buffet of healthy ready-made food, for the lazy cook with good intentions.

The win is even more special to Hillary and her team because Whole Foods doesn’t do any advertising outside of the occasional holiday spot. Whole Foods has a lot of dedicated fans who know the value of the food they sell.

“A lot of what we do is word of mouth and customer experience. I feel like we’ve really met the needs of our community for them to recognize us as the best,” says Hillary. – Rachael Flora Runner-up, Gourmet: Fresh Market Runner-up, Cheese: FORM

Best Southern Food Best Fried Chicken

Best Pizzeria Best Delivery Pizza

The secret is long out, especially after President Obama’s visit here in 2010. But what made Mrs. Wilkes so special to so many generations of Savannahians stays true to tradition.

Runner-up, Southern &Chicken: Sisters of the New South

A perennial winner in these categories, Vinnie’s was among the first wave of businesses to reclaim and revitalize downtown, and they remain one of downtown’s best and most favorite eating spots.

Runner-up, Pizzeria: Mellow Mushroom Runner-up, Delivery, Screamin’ Mimi’s

Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room

Best Wings

Wild Wing Café

Now with a successful new location in Pooler.

Runner-up: 520 Wings

Best Barbecue

Baker’s Pride

The best and fluffiest sweet stuff around.

Runner-up: Back in the Day

Best Chocolatier

Best Ribs

Seriously, Adam’s work is so masterful and so beautiful it’s almost a shame to eat it. Almost.

Runner-up: Lulu’s Chocolate Bar

Wiley’s Championship BBQ

Take a ride out to Whitemarsh Island and see for yourself.

Runner-up: Sandfly BBQ

Best Deli Best Bagels

Midtown Deli & Bagel Shop

A little slice of Manhattan in Chatham Plaza Shopping Center, Midtown Deli is one of Savannah’s most beloved food establishments for sure.

Runner-up, Deli: Larry’s Giant Subs Runner-up, Bagels: Panera Bread MAY 20-26, 2015

Best Bakery

Angel’s BBQ

A uniquely Savannah take on an old Southern standard Runner-up: Sandfly BBQ

40

Vinnie Van Go-Go’s

Best Seafood Restaurant

The Crab Shack

This Tybee institution on beautiful Chimney Creek offers fresh seafood in a festive, relaxed atmosphere.

Runner-up: AJ’s Dockside

Chocolat by Adam Turoni

Best Cupcakes

Gigi’s Cupcakes

Two words: Gourmet Cupcakes!

Runner-up: Back in the Day

Best Desserts

Lulu’s Chocolate Bar

A wonderful downtown getaway run by some really cool local folks.

Runner-up: Leopold’s Ice Cream

Best Ice Cream

Leopold’s Ice Cream

Along with The Lady and Sons, Stratton and Mary Leopold’s place is probably Savannah’s most recognizable and well-known business, with a literally international following.

Runner-up: Cold Stone Creamery continues on p. 42

41

S

DDLE EAS I M TE T R

N

BE

Thank you for Savannah voting us

Serving Savannah for 15 years 2311 Habersham St

PROUDLY SERVING HALAL! Falafel | Hummus | Chicken Curry | Baba Ganoughe

Hours: Mon-Sat 10:30-8:30 912-447-0400

Kevin Barry’s I

THANKS FOR VOTING US

rish P ub & Restaurant EST. 1980

BEST BRUNCH!

Savannah, thanks for voting us

BEST IRISH PUB!

& BEST RIVER ST. BAR!

BEST OF SAVANNAH • 2014 •

117 WEST RIVER ST SAVANNAH · 233-9626 · WWW.KEVINBARRYS.COM

BEST

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325 E. Bay St. • 912.233.1319 • bmatthewseatery.com

41

Voted Best Salad & Best Vegetarian Restaurant

Thanks Savannah!

Open For Lunch & Dinner!

233.6044 · 1 e. broughton st 349.4371 · 5002 paulsen st eatkayak.com

MAY 20-26, 2015

If you like us, throw your thumb in the air 42

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Flying Monk

Best Asian Fusion Best Noodle Bowl

When Flying Monk’s bright red facade popped up on Broughton nearly a year ago, it brought a flood of people interested to try the food. Now it’s helping revitalize the street and filling the immense need for authentic Asian cuisine.

“It’s a validation of our vision and the huge amount of work our team has invested, from the drawing board to our opening day and even beyond,” says owner Ele Tran. “We love what we do, and we’re most grateful to see it take off so very well.”

Ele and her husband Sean own a whopping six restaurants in the Savannah area: Chive Sea Bar and Lounge, Ele Fine Fusion, The King and I, Tangerine, Fire Street Foods, and Flying Monk.

It’s clear that their experience is part of what makes Flying Monk successful.

“This is fresh Asian fare at its best,” says Ele, who’s from Vietnam. “Plus, the interior was a blast to create. It’s an inviting space and I love the artistic, cozy feel and how comfortable it is.”

Flying Monk does feel like the perfect place to either grab a warm bowl of soup, like the White Elephant, or to try the wild, spicy flavors that Asian food contains. A favorite is the Crispy Succulent Pig with ginger rice, steeped in chicken and broth and fresh ginger, and served with spicy pineapple ginger sauce.

The diversity of the menu keeps people coming back to try more.

“Honestly, many people are admittedly addicted to that food,” Ele says. “We see some of the same faces day after day. We are thankful to have such a huge following.” —Rachael Flora Runner-up, Fusion: Ele Runner-up: The Noodle Bowl

Food & Restaurants |

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THANKS FOR VOTING US

Roberto Leoci, left, at last year’s Best of Savannah Winner’s Party

Best Chef

Roberto Leoci

Best Italian Restaurant

BEST OUTDOOR DINING!

Leoci’s Trattoria

In a town enamored of Southern comfort food, Southern fusion, New South cuisine, etc., Roberto Leoci has brought a bit of Old World glamour to the local restaurant scene. With a heavy dose of Mediterranean charisma to go along with his down-home friendliness, Leoci has not only become the figurehead of a growing food movement in Savannah, he has restored the luster of its once moribund Italian dining scene.

Runner-up, Chef: Mashama Bailey, The Grey Runner-up, Italian: Bella’s

Best Frozen Yogurt

Lovin’ Spoons

Fro Yo Y’all!

Runner-up: La’Berry

Best Coffeehouse

Foxy Loxy Café

A new business anchor in the Victorian District, beloved of hipster and professionals alike, with awesome live music in the courtyard out back. They also very generously hosted our shoot for the Best of Savannah party video!

Runner-up: The Sentient Bean

Best Local Coffee Roaster

PERC

Philip Brown’s growing enterprise is a testament to his passion for and devotion to the wonders of the coffee bean and its amazing, energy-giving product without which this and most newspapers probably wouldn’t exist.

Runner-up: Savannah Coffee Roasters

JOIN US ON THE PATIO FOR LUNCH, DINNER OR SUNDAY BRUNCH! 1611 Habersham St. • 912.231.2385 • blowinsmokesavannah.com

Best Seafood Market

Russo’s Seafood

MAY 20-26, 2015

Still your choice for fresh seafood.

Runner-up: Seafoodlicious

continues on p. 44

43

Food & Restaurants |

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35

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Best Islands Restaurant Lili’s

Restaurant and Bar

After being open only six months, Lili’s on Wilmington Island took home Best Islands Restaurant, a “humbling” award for chef and owner Mir Ali. “I think the Islands really needed a place like this,” Mir muses, “a place where people don’t have to go downtown or to Tybee and isn’t too much money.”

Indeed, the selection at Lili’s is diverse enough to accommodate any diner. The entrees are simple enough—pork chops, seafood stew, salads—but it’s the accompanying flavors that make the dishes pop, like wasabi-ponzu, roasted eggplant caponata and green tomato chow-chow.

Their brunch menu also stands out from the typical biscuits-and-gravy fare: shrimp and adluh grits, tandoori-spiced chicken and waffles, and barbecue beef brisket hash are served alongside omelettes and burgers.

Though the menu items sound exotic and fancy, Lili’s is anything but uptight.

“We’re not too pretentious; we have a creative, inviting environment. All those little factors created a buzz,” Mir says.

Most buzzworthy item on the menu? Mir points to the seared lamb chops, served with a shirazi salad and cilantro-yogurt chutney.

“It creates two different worlds taste-wise,” he notes.

He also notes the unique flavor of the curry spiced crab and shrimp cakes, served with lemon-saffron aioli.

But even with increased recognition of their bang-up food, Mir and his wife are keeping level heads.

“My wife and I don’t like to toot our own horns,” says Mir. “We just love what we do and want to share it with the community.” —Rachael Flora Runner-up: Basil’s

Best Grocery Store

Publix

Excellent service with a big smile is their stock in trade.

Runner-up: Whole Foods Market

Best Health Food Store

Brighter Day Natural Foods

MAY 20-26, 2015

Peter and Janie Brodhead invested in the future of downtown long before it was fashionable, or even advisable by most. They have reaped the reward in owning what is easily one of the top five most beloved businesses in town.

Runner-up: Nature’s Pantry

44

21 W. BAY ST. SAVANNAH

912.447.0943

MOONRIVERBREWING.COM

Best Spice Shop

The Salt Table

One of the newer success stories on the revitalized Broughton area corridor.

Runner-up: Brighter Day continues on p. 46

HOME OF THE $

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for voting

Thank You Coastal Empire for Your Back to Back Vote for

BEST SUB!

1800A East Victory Dr. Savannah, GA 912.233.6506 1022 East Hwy. 80 Pooler, GA 912.748.7827

5815 Waters Ave. Savannah, GA 912.354.8459

4620 Augusta Rd. Garden City, GA 912.964.0133

6600 White Bluff Rd Savannah, GA 912.352.7827

456 Gen Screven Way Hinesville, GA 31313 912.368.8093

2285 Hwy. 17 & 144 Richmond Hill, GA 912.756.2262

www.baldinosofsavannah.com

BEST BAGEL & BEST DELI

7805 Abercorn St #18 Savannah 912-355-8717

MAY 20-26, 2015

Thank you to Connect Savannah & the readers who voted us

45

POOLER’S COOLEST SPOT COME EXPRESS YOURSELF!

Best French Restaurant MON 5/25@8PM

Circa 1875

(FUNK/R&B/SOUL)

Best Japanese Restaurant

NICKEL BAG OF FUNK

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912.988.1052 • 125 FOXFIELD WAY

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(ACROSS FROM THE IMAX THEATRE)

Molly MacPherson’s Scottish Pub & Grill

Serving Scottish & American fare for VOTED lunch and dinner daily

BEST SCOTTISH PUB

Thanks Savannah!!!

MAY 20-26, 2015

Best Soul Food Restaurant

A perennially popular winner in this category.

Runner-up: Sweet Potatoes

5 POINTS KARAOKE

46

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Sisters of the New South

WED 5/20@8PM

The Largest Selection of Single Malt Whiskies on the East Coast!

Food & Restaurants |

DOWNTOWN: TUES. Open Mic 10pm WED. Whiskey Wed 8pm-12 FRI.5/22: Magic Rocks SAT. 5/23: Hitmen RICHMOND HILL: WED. Trivia 8pm

POOLER: MON. Bingo 8pm TUES. Open Mic 7pm / S.I.N. 10pm THURS. Trivia 8pm FRI. 5/22: GA Kyle SAT. 5/23: Cody James & Benji Taylor

Downtown • 311 W. Congress St •239.9600 Pooler • 110 Town Centre Dr, #300 • 348-3200 Richmond Hill • 3742 S. Hwy 17 • 459-9600

Three words: Joie de Vivre!

Runner-up: Papillote

Miyabi Japanese Steakhouse Usually a solid winner in this category.

Runner-up: Sushi Zen

Best Sushi Restaurant

Sushi Zen

Sushi Zen was ahead of their time, with head chef Yoshi bringing his world-class skills to town long before supermarkets started offering sushi.

Runner-up: Ta Ca

Best Indian Restaurant

Taste of India

One of the best buffets in town, with almost indescribably tasty and delicious food in a whimsically wonderful interior.

Runner-up: Pakwan

Best Middle Eastern Restaurant

Al Salaam Deli

Mr. Salameh had built this small enterprise into one of Midtown’s most beloved spots, due not only to his culinary skills but to his friendliness.

Best Chinese Restaurant

Wang’s II

They have literally never lost this category.

Runner-up: The Noodle Bowl

Best Mexican Restaurant

Tequila’s Town

We have seen few places take off as fast as this bustling and delicious Mexican eatery on Whitaker Street, already one of Savannah’s most popular spots.

Runner-up: Jalapeno’s

Best Burrito

Chipotle

That’s their thing!

Runner-up: Tequila’s Town

Best Greek Restaurant

Olympia Café

Defying the stereotype of the mediocre River Street tourist trap, Olympia Café not only more than holds its own with any other restaurant in town in terms of quality, they have stood the test of time with their amazing longevity.

Runner-up: Troy Mediterranean Cuisine

Best Caribbean Restaurant

Sweet Spice

This is an absolute gem of a little place in Midtown with a friendly staff, devoted following, and extremely delicious authentic Jamaican food.

Runner-up: Rancho Alegre

Thursday-Sunday

LIVE MUSIC! 5/21: DAVID HARBUCK-7PM 5/22: BUCKY & BARRY-6PM 5/23: LAUREN LAPOINTE & MARC CARTER-8PM 5/24: GREG WILLIAMS-6:30PM 5/28: GREG WILLIAMS-7PM 5/29: THE ROSIES-6PM 5/30: CC WITT-8PM 5/31: GREG WILLIAMS-6:30PM

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MAY 20-26, 2015

WEEKLY SPECIAL MENU

47

• Thanks For Voting Us •

Food & Restaurants |

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BEST MEXICAN RESTAURANT, BEST MARGARITA & RUNNER-UP BEST BURRITO

Tangerine Fusion & Sushi Bar

Best Thai Restaurant

The King & I

Pad Thai to die for.

Runner-up: Ruan Thai

Best Vietnamese Restaurant

Saigon Bistro

Thanks Savannah!

109 Whitaker St • 236.3222

This Waters Avenue spot has succeeded where other places in this location have not.

They’ve done so, quite simply, because people love Vietnamese food and they focus on making it as fresh and tasty and authentic as possible.

Runner-up: The Noodle Bowl

Best Family Restaurant

Carey Hillard’s

A Savannah success story from way back, with the best sweet tea in the South.

Runner-up: B&D Burgers

Best Southside Restaurant

Tangerine Fusion & Sushi Bar

This eclectic menu is really what they mean by “fusion”—and is also one of Southside’s premiere fine dining spots.

Runner-up: Spanky’s

Best Tybee Restaurant

Sundae Café

Tybee is quietly developing a great indigenous foodie scene, and Sundae Café is easily the best case statement of that development.

Runner-up: Tybee Island Social Club

Best Westside Restaurant

Spanky’s

People love this place. Spanky’s has one of the most devoted followings of literally any other place in town, and has for many years now.

Runner-up: Schnitzel Shack

Best Outdoor Dining THANK YOU SAVANNAH FOR VOTING US

BEST GREEK

MAY 20-26, 2015

RESTAURANT FRESH & LOCAL FOR OVER 20 YEARS

48

5 E. RIVER ST • 233.3131 • LIKE US ON FACEBOOK

Blowin’ Smoke

A brilliant move from MLK to Habersham really paid off.

Runner-up: B&D Burgers

Best Farmer’s Market

Forsyth Farmer’s Market

Easily one of the great success stories of Savannah over the past few years and one of the great local causes.

Runner-up: Savannah Food Co-op

THANKS FOR VOTING US

BEST ISLANDS BAR

TEAM TRIVIA MONDAYS 10 DIFFERENT DRAFTS INCL. 7 IMPORTS + FULL BAR POOL TABLE DARTS FREE WIFI

140 JOHNNY MERCER BLVD. / WILMINGTON ISLAND 912.898.4257

THANKS FOR VOTING US

SAVANNAH’S BEST 6 YEARS IN A ROW

Wiley’s was voted #1 BBQ in Georgia by Trip Advisor in 2014 #1 BBQ in Georgia in 2015 by Thrillist, a leading lifestyle website READ The Good Book of BBQ: Secrets That Old Men Take to the Grave

BEST OF SAVANNAH • 2014 •

4700 HWY 80 East • 912.201.3259 www.wileyschampionshipbbq.com

Browse listings and events, add them to your smartphone!

MAY 20-26, 2015

www.connectsavannah.com.

49

Best of savannah 2015 | nightlife & drink

Nightlife &

Best New Bar

Drink

Treylor Park

Treylor Park is revered for its eclectic food and its kitschy trailer-trash vibe, but its bar should get just as much love.

“There’s nothing like us here,” says bartender Chris Teenan. “I like to say we’re the guilty pleasure of Savannah.”

The cocktails all have fun names like Tire Swing, Mamasita Margarita, and Illegally Blonde. But they’re not just aptly-named; they’re designed by a friend of owner Trey Wilder and chef Hunter Satterwhite.

“Rick Kunzi comes down from New York City every season to create the cocktails for us,” Chris explains. “We tend to tweak on ‘em, but he creates them for us.”

Chris’ favorite cocktail is The Recliner, a refreshing drink with sweet tea, muddled raspberries and bourbon.

Treylor Park is located at the east end of Bay Street, an interesting location for a bar that’s not attached to a restaurant. But the placement has worked, at least for the bar’s fan base.

“We’re away from the bar scene on Congress Street and River Street, but we have our own crowd,” says Chris. “We gained a huge clientele right after opening.”

If you’re looking for a laid-back bar experience away from the rush of frat bros and tourists, Treylor Park can be your new go-to.

“We’re not here to be hoity-toity, we’re just here to have a good time,” says Chris.

—Rachael Flora Runner-up: The Grey

Best Overall Bar Best Bartender (Tony B.) Best Bar Staff Best Live Music Bar Best Downtown Bar Best Bar to Spot a Celebrity

The Jinx

Best Southside Bar

Tailgate Sports Bar and Grill

Don’t feel like driving from Southside to downtown just to grab a beer? Tailgate understands. Tailgate is there for you.

Runner-up: Spanky’s

Best Islands Bar

Savannah’s coolest bar on so many levels, but not only that—there is a whole commuThe Britannia nity within these walls. Whether you’re an old head or a newbie to the scene, everybody Absolutely the closest thing to a downtown bar on the islands, and in truth more “downhere keeps up not only with great music, but with each other. That’s what it’s all about, and town” than most downtown places these days. that’s why in some ways The Jinx is at the center of just about everything truly good hapRunner-up: Huc-a-Poos pening in Savannah today. And congrats to Tony Beasley on his Best Bartender win!

Runner-up, Overall, Staff: The Rail Best Tybee Island Bar Runner-up, Bartender: Patrick Lawrence Huc-a-Poo’s Runner-up, Live & Downtown: Hang Fire The locals all say: After catching some sun at the beach all day, catch some beer and live Runner-up: Celebrity: Pinkie Master’s music at Huc’s.

Runner-up: Tybee Island Social Club

Best River Street Bar and Best Irish Pub

MAY 20-26, 2015

Kevin Barry’s

50

When you’re done wandering along River Street, dive into Kevin Barry’s and enjoy the respite from the crazy crowds.

Runner-up: Wet Willie’s Runner-up, Irish: McDonough’s

Best Westside Bar

World of Beer Pooler

The newest anchor of West Chatham’s exponentially growing social and nightlife scene.

Runner up: Bahama Bob’s

continues on p. 52

BEST OF SAVANNAH • 2014 •

THANKS FOR VOTING US

Best

DESSERTS! SUN-THURS 2PM-1AM • FRI & SAT 2PM-2AM

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nightlife & drink |

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Best Local Brewery

Southbound Brewing Co.

Southbound has already gained a huge following of beer fans in its first two years.

Their production process alone sets it apart from other brewers.

“We’re experimenting with a bunch of really awesome beers; we have a barrel aging program going on,” says Smith Mathews, brewmaster and managing partner.

“I’d say that’s different from anyone else,” chimes in Carly Wiggins, marketing/sales director and co-founder. “We have eighty barrels. They’re wine barrels from Napa that he’s putting different beers in and souring and doing different things to them.”

But Smith, Carly and the rest of the Southbound crew aren’t just sitting back and making beer all day long. They’re holding tours, nonprofit fundraisers and concerts.

“We essentially do our own thing,” says Smith. “We have a different style. We bring a lot else to the table other than beer—we’re pushing the music scene, things like that.”

In fact, Southbound’s second anniversary of the sale of their first beer was May 15, and they’ve got a blowout anniversary party with the Heavy Pets planned for May 22.

“I think that in general, people should try to know their brewers and to know where their beer is coming from,” says Carly. “Drink local, eat local. That’s so important. And having the ability to come in here and see the place, take a tour and do tastings and get to know all of us — I think that’s a lot of fun and a great opportunity to have a good time and to understand what we’re about.” —Rachael Flora Runner-up: Service Brewing

Best College Bar, Best Signature Drink

Best Sommelier

Not only is Wes’s place where all the cool college kids go—and basically never before 11 p.m.—it’s priced for college kids too. Most of the shows are free or five bucks—the latter being the price of a Mason jar chock full of delicious Scorpion Tea goodness!

Runner-up, College: Congress Street Social Club Runner-up, Signature: Jen’s and Friends Martini

Le Chai’s mission is to make wine selection less intimidating, and Christian Depken makes it happen.

Runner-up: Jason Restivo

Hang Fire

Best Neighborhood Bar

bar.food

New weekday routine: walk to bar.food, drink wine, walk home. No need for a DD. Runner-up: American Legion

Best Upscale Bar and Best Rooftop Bar

Rocks on the Roof

Nothing feels fancier than having cocktails on the roof overlooking the river, and Rocks kicks the fancy up a notch with their live music and artsy decor.

Runner-up, Upscale: The Grey Runner-up, Roof: Tree House

Best Happy Hour

Mellow Mushroom

$2 drafts for three hours?! That’s pretty happy.

Runner-up: The Jinx

Best Place for Cocktails Best Martini

Jen’s & Friends

With over 300 martinis to choose from, Jen’s is sure to have the perfect drink for you.

Runner-up, Both: Lulu’s Chocolate Bar

Best Margarita

MAY 20-26, 2015

Tequila’s Town

52

With a name like Tequila’s Town, the margaritas have to be out of this world, and trust us, they are. Purely in the name of research, of course.

Runner-up: Jalapeños

Best Scottish Pub

Molly MacPherson’s

Le Chai’s Christian Depken

Best Bar/Restaurant Bottled Beer Selection Best Place for Craft Beer

World of Beer

It’s literally a world of beer. A whole world waiting for you to sample its wares.

Runner-up, Both: The Distillery

Best British Pub

Churchill’s

You can eat authentic British food and drink British beer in the company of some of Savannah’s friendliest bartenders, and we bet nobody will judge you for the fake English accent you start using, either.

Runner-up: Six Pence Pub

Best Local Spirits Distillery

The Distillery

Well, the place is on the site of an actual historic distillery, for real.

Runner-up: Savannah Bourbon

Best Pool Hall Best Outdoor Bar

Congress Street Social Club

Rain or shine, blistering or freezing, Social’s outdoor patio is always the place to be— unless, of course, you’re looking to kick some ass at pool in the basement.

Runner-up, Pool: American Legion Runner-up, Outdoor: Moon River Brewing

Best Dance Club Best LGBT Club

Club One

Dance all night long at Lady Chablis’ own stomping grounds.

Runner-up, Dance: Club 51 Runner-up, LGBT: Chuck’s Bar

Grab some beers or some Scotch at this authentic Scottish pub—no kilt required. continues on p. 55

VOTED BEST COLLEGE BAR

BOOZERY & MUSIC CAVERN

DRINK & BEST SIGNATURE SCORPION TEA THANKS SAVANNAH! (

)

THANKS FOR VOTING US

BEST

LIVE MUSIC BAR • OVERALL BAR DOWNTOWN BAR • BARTENDER • BAR STAFF BAR TO SPOT A CELEBRITY

WED MAY

37 WHITAKER ST DOWNTOWN 443.9956

20

RS THE SLACKEDUP PIES

W/ SPECIAL GUESTS THE

TRY NIGHT AND TATTOO INDUS TATTOO STUDIO EMPLOYEES DRINK SPECIALS FOR

BUY 1, 2ND $1 ON EVERYTHING!

THURS MAY DANCE WINE SPIRITS BEER www.HabershamBeverage.com

21

FRI MAY

22 SAT MAY

PARTY

SQUARE ONE

W/

$2 WELLS FOR EVERYONE!!!

WHISKEY DICK & THE HARD-ONS

[happy hour set w/]

[happy hour set w/]

DAMON & THE SHITKICKERS

PRONE

23 BOTTLED VIOLENCE DJ METAL ROB MON MAY

BUY 1, GET SECOND FOR $1

(IF YOU WORK IN BAR OR RESTAURANT)

MON-FRI 4-8PM

BUY 1 DRINK GET THE 2ND FOR $1

FREE VIDEO GAMES

26

FOR AN EVENT SCHEDULE VISIT

THEJINXSAV.COM

HIP HOP NIGHT

@ 11PM

127 WEST CONGRESS ST

912.236.2281

MAY 20-26, 2015

Thank You,Savannah!

25

OFFICIAL CONNECT TUES THESAVANNAH BEST OF SAVANNAH AFTER PARTY! MAY

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Best Restaurant/Bar Wine Selection

The Florence

MAY 20-26, 2015

Allison Crupton’s wine selection process for The Florence is guided by one simple mantra: what grows together goes together.

“I’m an Italian-only wine list because we’re an Italian restaurant,” she explains.

Allison is The Florence’s general manager and wine director and has been with the restaurant since its opening last year. Selecting wines is trickier than it seems to non-restauranteurs; picking the prettiest label or what your friend had at their house will not suffice, especially at an Italian restaurant.

“I do need to find a little something for everyone, whether it be a buttery chardonnay or a

big oaky cabernet,” Allison explains. “But Italy does everything, makes everything.”

In Italy, wine is meant to complement food. Of course, wine can be enjoyed solo, but its purpose is to bring out the flavors of the food and create an overall experience.

To ensure an authentic Italian experience, Allison meets with the Florence waitstaff before every shift to discuss perfect wine pairings for the day’s entrees.

The backstory of each wine is also important.

“I look for houses or wineries that are family owned and operated. I prefer organic or biodynamic sustainable farming methods,” Allison says.

“I do my research, I look into them. It’s good to know who it was imported by. I want to support the farmers who are doing something good.

“Good sustainable methods create a good wine.”—Rachael Flora Runner-up: The Grey

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Best Sports Bar

Coach’s Corner

The best place to watch sports with people who know sports, at this locally-owned neighborhood treasure.

Runner-up: Wild Wing

Best Adult Entertainment

Scores Presents Savannah

She climbin’ that pole and I’m in love with a stripper.

Runner-up: Temptations

Best Karaoke

McDonough’s

We know you’ve been waiting to do your own rendition of “Don’t Stop Believin’,” and McDonough’s welcomes you with open arms.

Runner-up: The Rail

Best Trivia Night

The Wormhole

The best place to prove your talent for collecting useless knowledge. Useful, we mean, useful!

Runner-up: Mellow Mushroom

Best Local Wine Shop

Habersham Beverage

Wines at Habersham Beverage range from ultra-fancy to boxed wine status, which fits every oenophile’s needs.

Runner-up: Le Chai

11 W. Liberty St • Downtown Savannah 495-0705 • Open 11am every day!

Dine In, Take Out or Delivery

Voted

Best Karaoke!

Thanks Savannah!

mCdonough’s in historic downtown savannah

mCdonough’s • 21 e. mcdonough st. • 233-6136 mcdonoughssavannah.com • billysplacesavannah.com

MAY 20-26, 2015

Savannah’s Favorite Restaurant & Bar 55

#2015BOS | Recreation, Health & Beauty

Recreation,

Health

&Beauty Photo by Rodney K. Gary of One Moment One Shot Photography

This year may not have been a championship run for the Beach High Bulldogs softball team, but for senior Jasmine Bigham, just being on the field made it a winning season.

“Playing on the Beach team has given me a whole other family. We all have each other’s backs and know we can turn to each other when we need help,” she told the One Moment One Shot photography blog earlier this year.

“The memories I have with my team will always be precious to me.”

The star athlete shines off the diamond as well: She was recognized as Beach’s 2015 STAR student for having the highest SAT scores in this year’s graduating class, with a cumulative total of 1850. She plans to major in Biology at college next year and has designs on a medical career as a reconstructive surgeon.

“I really want to do something with my life that I can be proud of. Helping people with some sort of deformity feel beautiful again will bring great feelings of joy and success to my life,” says the academic athlete.

When she’s not studying or practicing her swing, Jasmine enjoys shopping at Wet Seal and reading fantasy novels.—Jessica Leigh Lebos Runner-up: ACE with Savannah Derby Devils

Best Local Athlete

Jasmine Bigham

Best Running/Walk Event Best Local Sports Event

Savannah Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon and Half Marathon

Marking its fifth anniversary in Savannah this November, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon has been a huge hit since its arrival. While not without its challenges—Savannah is by far the smallest market the Marathon runs in, and traffic issues abound—the sizable and enthusiastic local running community has embraced it wholeheartedly. Not only that, but it has become a big regional draw as well.

Runner-up, Run/Walk: Color Vibe 5K Runner-up, Sports Event: A Sand Gnats game!

MAY 20-26, 2015

Best Local Club Sports Team

SSA Savannah United

Partnering with Chelsea F.C., Savannah United just saw one of its players make the U14 Boys National Team.

Runner-up: Savannah Derby Devils

Best Local High School Team

Best Local Pro Sports Team

A deserving and quite literal “Best” win is the first-ever State Championship win by the Cadets this past season, with a defeat of Greater Atlanta Christian in the Georgia Dome to claim the Class AA title.

Runner-up: Beach High School

A bittersweet win, given the 99 percent likelihood that the team will be moving to Columbia, S.C., and a new stadium after this season. While there is certainly a possibility that another franchise will come here at a later date—Savannah has taken several hiatuses from minor league ball over the decades—the ongoing issues at Grayson Stadium would seem to militate against a quick or easy fix.

Runner-up: Savannah Sabers

Benedictine Cadets Football

56

the Eagles made the transition to the ever-more competitive FBS. 2014 was their first FBS season, and it was a resounding success, garnering a 9-3 record and winning the Sun Belt Conference championship under Head Coach Willie Fritz.

Runner-up: SCAD Soccer

Best Local College Team

Georgia Southern Eagles Football

After a dominant show of force in the FCS, winning six national championships,

Savannah Sand Gnats

continues on p. 58

Lifesaving Care.

It happens nearly 3,000 times a year when a loved one is brought to Memorial’s trauma center. As the only Level 1 trauma center in the region, we support a team of trauma surgeons, nurses, and emergency professionals available around the clock. Rest assured, we’re here for you. Experience Excellence. Memorial Health.

memorialhealth.com MAY 20-26, 2015

Experience

Southeast Georgia’s Only Level I Trauma Center

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Best Primary Care Physician

Kristen A. Updegraff, MD

Medical experts says that primary care physicians will be in short supply in the coming years as the Affordable Care Act achieves optimum speed, so you might want to book a physical with Dr. Kristen Updegraff STAT. Along with exhorting the importance of preventative measures like proper nutrition and moderate exercise, the Southcoast Health physician specializes in diabetes management and women’s health. She also has a reputation for giving her patients an extra dose of time and attention—some come from as far as 40 miles away to keep their appointments.

“Dr. Updegraff reminds me of the doctors of years ago, she seems like she has all the time in the world for you,” writes an online reviewer. “I feel like I have a doctor who cares and actually listens,” applauds another.

The good doctor earned her letters at the Medical College of Georgia and did her residency at Columbia’s esteemed Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. She speaks multiple languages, including Spanish, French and American Sign Language.—Jessica Leigh Lebos Runner-up: Dr. Karen Turner, D.O.

Best Local Coach

Stephanie Britt

This is an exciting new person on the scene in this category. Stephanie heads up Cheer Savannah, which sends cheerleading teams to competitions all over the southeast. Last year their Senior 5 squad, nicknamed Lady Obsession, went to the national championships, an ESPN-televised event in Orlando.

Runner-up: Coach Kahn, Savannah Derby Devils

Best Yoga Instructor

Kelley Boyd

Best Yoga Studio

Savannah Yoga Center

The yoga explosion has hit Savannah big-time, but Kelley Boyd was always ahead of the curve with it, and that’s one reason why her Savannah Yoga Center— now in its 12th year —is such a huge success. With the motto of “Just Show Up,” show up they do, with great frequency and enthusiasm, due not only to Boyd’s passion and commitment but also due to a roster of engaging instructors.

Runner-up, Instructor: Sue Finkle Runner-up: Studio: Savannah Power Yoga

Lo Cost Pharmacy

A beloved staple of Midtown Savannah life.

Runner-up: CVS

Best Urgent Care

Urgent Care 24/7

With six locations in the area, all open literally 24/7 as the name says and with office visits at $99, Urgent Care 24/7 is a great option for anyone of any age (including pediatric needs) who needs immediate attention. Not only that—their affordable monthly Primary Healthcare Plan takes them to the next level beyond just emergency care.

Runner-up: Southern Urgent Care

Best Psychologist

Susan Lamb, PhD

This longtime reader favorite brings a wealth of knowledge and compassion to her practice.

Runner-up: Dr. Marian Marsh

Best Pilates Studio

Best OB/GYN

Carol Daly-Wilder was probably the main proponent of professional Pilates instruction in Savannah, and after a couple of locations seems to have settled on a bustling Southside location, on Ferguson Avenue.

Runner-up: Pure Barre Savannah

This high-profile medical maven has garnered a faithful practice for her knowledge and her sensitivity.

Runner-up: Dr. Glen L. Scarbrough, MD

Momentum Pilates Studio

Best Fitness Studio

Pure Barre Savannah

It’s a franchise, but a carefully curated one. Pure Barre isn’t just a fad, but its proponents speak of a unique culture to this intense, fast-paced, but well-rounded discipline.

Runner-up: YMCA of Coastal Georgia

Best Personal Trainer

Mark Lebos

The proprietor of Strong Gym offers a full range of appointment-based personalized services in what is easily the cleanest and most well-kept gym in Savannah, with the most up-to-date and well-maintained equipment. With a Masters in Exercise Physiology and full certification, Lebos isn’t just a motivator, but also deeply knowledgeable about muscle groups and the way they work together—and just as importantly, about how to keep them injury-free during and after workouts.

Runner-up: Zachary Burke MAY 20-26, 2015

Best Pharmacy

Best Physical Therapist

Ernest Ledesma

The clinicians at Ledesma Sports Medicine are dedicated to using state-of-the-art techniques and equipment to improve your quality of life.

58 Runner-up: Spine and Sport

Carmela A. Pettigrew, MD

Best Nurse

Heidi Longenberger, LPN

Behind every great doctor is a great nurse – really a whole team of nurses.

Runner-up: Francine Robin

Best Midwife

Jill Whitfield RN, MSN, CNM, CCE, Certified Nurse

Can you believe there was a time when midwives and natural birth were frowned upon here? Thank goodness times have changed, and that’s largely thanks to the great work of Whitfield, a perennial winner in this category.

Runner-up: Georganna Wiley

Best Pediatrician

Ramon Ramos, MD, P.C

Perhaps Savannah’s single most beloved doctor—and yes we realize that statement will get a lot of hackles up—Dr. Ramos has literally helped raise generations of children in Savannah to be healthier and happier.

Runner-up: Dr. Dudley Stone

continues on p. 60

Thanks for voting me

CONGRATULATIONS TO DR. SPENCER WHEELER

BEST DENTIST

ON BEING VOTED BEST ORTHOPAEDIC SURGEON IN SAVANNAH BY READERS!

JULIE HOWARD, DMD

Spencer M. Wheeler, M.D.

533 Stephenson Avenue • Savannah, GA 912.236.3557 • howardfamilydental.com

Thank you Connect Savannah readers for voting  





519 Stephenson Avenue Savannah, GA 31405 519 Stephenson Avenue • Savannah, GA 31405 www.gastrosav.com www.gastrosav.com

354-9447 

MAY 20-26, 2015

                            

ChathamOrtho.com

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Best Head Shop

Planet 3

MAY 20-26, 2015

Photos by Jon Waits

60

Best Piercing Studio

If Cheech and Chong wandered into Planet 3 these days, they might think they were lost.

Savannah’s favorite head shop of 2015 doesn’t look much like your stoner uncle’s sleepy-eyed hangout: No Bob Marley altars or tie-dye tapestries, and there’s not a Jerry bear in sight.

Instead, the sunny shop on Abercorn near 33rd Street is decorated with vintage antiques and chandeliers, the vibe charming and slightly bewitching. Upbeat house music wafts from the sound system, and a fine collection of glass water pipes lines the walls and shelves along with a wide range of vaporizers and accessories. It feels more like an eclectic boutique than a smoke shop, which was exactly what owner Michelle Mcrorie intended when she redesigned the space a year and half ago.

“The culture is changing. We didn’t want to be hidden anymore,” says Mcrorie, who has owned Planet 3 with husband, Brian, since 1994. “We wanted to take it to the next level.”

She professes surprise and gratitude at the shop’s win, since head shops and smoke specialty stores have been cropping up all over town as of late, a testament to the cultural shift towards, um, smokeables.

“People are using it as medicine now, and the perception of smoke shops is far more mainstream,” adds Mcrorie.

Part of the update entailed making the space welcoming for women and professionals, so no more dark corners or chauvinistic Heavy Metal posters. But the incense selection still rocks, and you can probably still dig up a Grateful Dead sticker out of the steamer trunk up front.

On the piercing side of Planet 3, no one’s a stranger to victory. The shop’s needlephilic staff has won Best Piercing Studio for its proper handling of human hardware installation as long as anyone can remember. Head piercer Mason Smith and protégé Rhiannon Frette perforate the steady stream of customers, who can choose adornments from a tremendous assemblage of stainless steel jewelry and wooden gauges of all sizes.

The most popular spots to pierce? Nipples, septums and nostrils, oh my!

—Jessica Leigh Lebos Runner-up, Best Head Shop: Smoke City Runner-up, Best Piercing Studio: TIE! Black Orchid Tattoo/Butcher continues on p. 62

Thanks Savannah!

VOTED BEST FARMER’S MARKET/FOOD CO-OP CONGRATULATIONS

SUE FINKLE RUNNER-UP

BEST YOGA TEACHER Join Sue and our other great teachers for these upcoming events at Savannah Power Yoga Rooftop Yoga at The Florence | May 21st | 3:45 - 4:45 pm Master Class with Sue Finkle | Jun 5th | 5:45 - 7:45 pm Disco Om with Kim Norvell | Jun 19th | 5:45 - 7:00 pm Art and Mastery of Anatomy with Michael Schweppe MD | Jun 27th | 2:00 - 4:00 pm 7360 Skidaway Rd. Unit J-3

Shop every Saturday, 9am-1pm south end of Forsyth Park

912-349-2756

www.savannahpoweryoga.com

We would like to thank our patients for voting us the

BEST ORTHODONTIC OFFICE

VOTED BEST NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION

IN SAVANNAH

Thank you for your support!

It has been our privilege to serve the Savannah community for the past 48 years!

500 Eisenhower Dr. Savannah, GA

912.355.7022

www.savannahorthodontics.com

Wilmington Island • Pooler • Swainsboro • Bluffton

• Rescue, foster care, veterinary care, and sterilization for animals in county animal shelters that would otherwise be euthanized.

• Foster care for animals surrendered by their owners who either can no longer provide for the pets or no longer wish to have them in their homes.

• Adoption of rescued pets to qualified homes that have been properly screened and counseled by our adoption coordinators and foster parents to maintain the pet in the home for a lifetime.

• Training of leadership team members and volunteers in the areas of humane education, animal welfare, animal behavior and care, and disaster response.

• Education to the public in the form of adoption counseling, pet behavior consultation and training, hurricane evacuation planning, media interviews, and classroom presentations.

Learn how you can help at COASTALPETRESCUE.COM Special thanks to Carmela Pettigrew, MD for donating this paid advertisement.

MAY 20-26, 2015

Coastal Pet Rescue is an all-volunteer, non-profit animal rescue organization. Founded in February 2003, our mission is to save the lives of homeless, abused and neglected dogs and cats in the Coastal Empire Savannah and surrounding areas.

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Best Dermatologist

Tonya McCullough, MD

Put your skin in the hands of this award-winning dermatologist.

Runner-up: Dr. Claudia N. Gaughf MD

Best Allergist

Brad Goodman, MD

This is Savannah, Ga., aka Allergy Central. Allergyville. The Capital of Allergy. Allergyopolis. Good thing Doctor Brad’s here.

Runner-up: Dr. Melvin Haysman

Best Cardiologist

William Wallace, MD

A cardiologist named William Wallace is just too good to be true. Wonder how many times a day he has to hear a Braveheart joke.

Runner-up: Mark G. Jenkins

Best Gastroenterologist

Branden S. Hunter, MD

Dr. Hunter will take care of those hard-to-diagnose pains deep inside.

Runner-up: Dr. Charles Duckworth MD

Best Orthopedist

THANKS

Spencer M. Wheeler, MD

Splicing up those limbs and helping fix those torn ACLs. Runner-up: Mark Jenkins

FOR VOTING US

BEST PILATES

Best Dentist

STUDIO

Julie Howard, DMD

That ATL native and longtime SAV resident is an up-and-coming winner in this category.

Runner-up: Ronald C. Smiley

momentum

Best Cosmetic Dentistry

Brad Durham, DMD

PI L AT ES S T U D I O

Smile when you say that, pardner.

Runner-up: Dr. Julie Howard

8413 A Ferguson Ave Savannah GA 912.238.0018

Best Orthodontist

Broderick, Dusek & Deleon

Keeping your kids’ teeth straight—sand maybe their parents’ too.

Runner-up: Dr. Vaught

Four Years In A Row! Thank You For Choosing Glow!

Best Optometrist

Donald W. Watson, OD

The very knowledgeable Dr. Watson runs a very friendly practice on the Southside.

Runner-up: Miriam Pendleton

Best Opthalmologist

Judith M. Piros, MD

Keeping those peepers healthy is Dr. Piros’ business.

Runner-up: Dr. Elizabeth A. Miller, MD

Best Vision Center

MAY 20-26, 2015

Georgia Eye Institute

Voted Best Medical Spa 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 BEST OF SAVANNAH • 2014 •

62

www.glowsavannah.com • 912.303.9611

The go-to LASIK place in town for sure.

Runner-up: Islands Eye Care

Best Sleep Specialist

James A. Daly III, MD

You are feeling very sleepy…. You are feeling very…. Oh wait, that’s a hypnotist. Dr. Daly is an actual sleep specialist who tackles a pressing problem of our time.

Runner-up: Dr. Anthony Costrini, MD

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Best Chiropractor

Whelan Chiropractic

Thanks Savannah for Voting Us the

No matter how rich or famous you are, there’s no such thing as happiness when you’re suffering from a bad back.

Maintaining his reign as your choice for Best Chiropractor, Dr. Chris Whelan has been gently aligning spines for 19 years at his busy downtown practice (and occasionally on the beach.) He credits his practice’s popularity to his colleagues, Dr. Lyle Myers and Dr. Erin Todd, who help him treat Savannah’s sciatica, pain and traumatic injuries with gentle hands. Dr. Whelan also praises his seasoned office staff that keeps the patient load moving smoothly as a healthy hip joint.

“Yolanda, Tammy, Barbie, and Kenna have been with me for almost 17 years,” says Dr. Whelan of his loyal support team.

A Villanova alum who trained at Life University in Marietta, GA, Dr. Whelan also volunteers as a swim coach at the JEA and has provided free physicals for the Special Olympics.

“I think I have the best job in the world because I am able to help many people on a daily basis with great success,” says Dr. Whelan.

Being Savannah’s favorite adjuster also comes with occasional glamorous perks: Last fall when the cast of Magic Mike XXL was in town filming the blockbuster sequel, Dr. Whelan’s office got a call from its hunky star (and Best Celebrity Sighting of 2015), Channing Tatum. The movie idol found relief for his sore spots on the chiropractic table, just like the rest of us!

“He was a really down to earth and funny guy,” reports Dr. Whelan.

“I guess all those dance moves can be pretty tough on the back!”—Jessica Leigh Lebos Runner-up: Wetherington Chiropractic Clinic continues on p. 64

BEST FITNESS CENTER

912.665.1129

5521 Abercorn St. • Suite 500 Savannah, Georgia 31405

Thanks for your support, Savannah!

Ramon Ramos, MD

VOTED BEST PEDIATRICIAN

Kelley Boyd Voted Best Yoga Instructor & Voted Best Yoga Studio 9 years running!

30 Days of Yoga For $30 savannahyoga.com

PEDIATRIC INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE

460 Mall Blvd. • 912.354.3400 • ramonramosmd.com

1319 Bull St • Just south of Forsyth Park 912.232.2994

111 Canal St.#101 • Pooler, GA 912.988.1320

MAY 20-26, 2015

Thank you to Connect Savannah readers and to my patients for your recognition!

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Best Cosmetic Surgery Center

Best Hair Stylist

People joke about fake boobs all the time, but plastic surgery also helps literally reconstruct people’s lives after surgeries like mastectomies.

Runner-up: Georgia Institute for Plastic Surgery

Jennifer has a long and devoted list of satisfied clients for her signature work at Savannah’s most popular salon.

Runner-up: Renata Duran, Salon Aqua

Savannah Plastic Surgery

Jennifer Taylor, B Street Salon

Best Veterinarian

Best Hair Colorist

Best Veterinary Clinic

Nikki is one of the all-time perennial winners in our entire Best of Savannah competition.

Runner-up: Lindsey Nix

Alex Hill, D.V.M.

Nikki Edwards

Central Animal Hospital

With degrees from both Harvard and UGA, where he went to vet school, Dr. Hill joined the staff at Central Animal Hospital in Starland in 2008 and he spearheaded that beloved institution to a another win this year in this very competitive category.

Runner-up, Vet: Dr. Jeffrey Mahaney Runner-up, Clinic: Case Veterinary

Best Barber Shop

The Barber Pole

Best Nail Salon

Golden Nails

They’ll give you golden nails, red nails, pink nails, blue nails. Whatever nails you want!

Runner-up: Spa Bleu

Best Local Nail Technician

Ginger Parsons

A bona fide downtown institution.

Runner-up: Juan’s

She’ll keep those cuticles as cute as can be!

Runner-up: Cora Lynn Crystal

Best Hair Salon

B Street Salon

They don’t get nearly enough credit for this in our opinion, but Monica McMasters and the B Street gang are easily one of the longest-running and most successful family-owned businesses on Broughton Street, through good economic times and bad, with no signs of slowing down.

Runner-up: Colorboxx

Best Medical Spa

Glow Medical Spa

Heal yourself with time well spent at the largest spa in Savannah.

Runner-up: Savannah Day Spa continues on p. 66

Golden Nails

Thank You Savannah For Voting Us

VOTED

BEST

Best Nail Salon

PERSONAL TRAINER 4TH YEAR IN A ROW

Life Takes Strength

Specializing In: Personal & Group Training

BEST OF SAVANNAH • 2014 •

Weight Loss & Boot Camp Functional & Core Training Injury Rehabilitation

MAY 20-26, 2015

Senior Fitness

64

Cancer Recovery

Mark Lebos, Owner and Trainer

1321 Bull Street

912.443.4006

Savannah’s Premier Full-Service Nail Salon

Now offering Gel Polish · Manicures · Pedicures · Waxing · Kiddie and Massage Chairs

4741 Waters Ave Savannah • 353-7040

65 T H A N K S

F O R

A L L

O F

Y O U R

V O T E S !

Best Nurse Heidi Longenberger, LPN Best Midwife Jill Whitfield, CNM

• Women’s Health Care • Annual exams Preconception planning Contraception and family planning Menopause care and management Pregnancy and birth Ultrasounds Birth center delivery Area hospital delivery Water birth Pain management during labor

The only free-standing birth center in GA for the last 28 years p (912) 629 6262 f (912) 629 6269 1692 Chatham Parkway Savannah, GA

www.themidwifegroup.com

Thank You Savannah! for voting our office

Whelan Chiropractic We’ve got your back!

602 Abercorn St Savannah 912.232.1900

MAY 20-26, 2015

Best Chiropractor!

65

Thanks for voting me

BEST PHYSICAL THERAPIST!

Recreation, Health & Beauty |

continued from previous page

Best Day Spa

Spa Bleu

Treat yourself to this downtown oasis of tender care.

Runner-up: Savannah Day Spa

Best Tanning Salon

Bronze Tanning Salon

Keepin’ it real… real golden tanned!

Runner-up: Palm Peach Tan

Best Piercing Artist

Joe Buckler

Joe is holdin’ it down at Good Fortune Tattoo on the Eastside, near Home Depot and Target.

Runner-up: Carl Kimberly (California Tattoo)

Best Tattoo Artist

Marcus Dove

Spa Bleu

Marcus does his body art at Kustom Hustle on MLK. Runner-up : Jimmy Butcher

Best Golf Course

The Club at Savannah Harbor

This Hutchinson Island gem, opened in 1999, is known for being particularly well-maintained.

Runner-up: Crosswinds Golf Club

Best Bowling Alley

Frames ‘n’ Games

Bowl a perfect game in Pooler!

Runner-up: AMF Savannah Lanes

Best Marina

Hogan’s Marina

A friendly and well-equipped oasis along beautiful Turner’s Creek.

Runner-up: Isle of Hope

Best Massage Therapists

Savannah Day Spa

Just say AHHHHH, SPAAAAA. Runner-up: Spa Bleu

Best Hospital

Memorial Health University Medical Center

State-of-the-art treatment from trauma to therapy and everything in between.

Runner-up: St. Joseph’s/Candler

MAY 20-26, 2015

340 Eisenhower Dr. BlDG 1400, Suite A

66

(Located in Central Park Office Complex)

912-401-0443

www.ledesmasportsmed.com

DownloaD the FrEE Sav happS app!

SAV HAPPS

Or tExt “Savannah” tO 77948

Savannah’S only EvEnt & EntErtainmEnt GuidE

Thank You For Voting Us Best Veterinary Clinic & Dr. Alex Hill, D.V.M. for Best Veterinarian!

Brought To You By

Thanks For Voting Us

BEST DAY SPA! Runner-up:

Best Massage Therapist, Nail Salon & Local Nail Technician (Cora Lynn Crystal)

912.236.1490 101 Bull Street www.SpaBleu-sav.com

Thank You Savannah

912.234.4772 • 2417 Bull St CentralAnimalHospitalSav.com

The management and employees of Hogan’s Marina would like to thank our patrons for voting us the

BEST MARINA FOR THE 4TH YEAR IN A ROW!

BEST SLEEP SPECIALIST 912.629.2290 • SELUNG.COM • 340 HODGSON CT., STE. 2

36 Wilmington Island Rd. Savannah, GA 31410 www.hogansmarina.com

912.897.3474

MAY 20-26, 2015

James A. Daly III, MD

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#2015BOS | Shopping & Services

Shopping & Services Best New

Store

68

One of Lauren McCoy’s favorite thrills is the greeting she gets to give when anyone walks in the door of her shop.

“I love being able to say ‘Welcome to the Future!” laughs McCoy, the owner of the Future on Forsyth, located in a former hair salon on Savannah’s favorite park.

“It’s even better when we have returning customers and I get to say, ‘Welcome back to the Future.’”

It may seem like an odd direction on the timeline for a store that specializes in vintage and retro-inspired clothing and accessories, but McCoy assures that the past and the future easily converge—especially when it comes to fashion.

“The future is all about sustainability and making the old new again,” explains the Shreveport, LA native who graduated with a Fashion Design degree from SCAD in 2010.

“Wearing used clothing and using it create your own unique style is how you bring fashion forward.”

Peruse a rainbow of pretty party frocks from the 1940’s and pin-up girl styles influenced by the 1950s, including a brightly-patterned selection of high-waisted shorts and halters for summer. The 1970s can be glimpsed in a row of glittery platform disco kicks, and hanging along the far wall is a long rack of Hawaiian shirts for the dudes.

Try it all on in a dressing lounge that boasts a big gold couch and a loop of Tom & Jerry cartoons showing on a giant white RCA floor TV straight from the set of the Brady Bunch.

The Future’s mixed-lab mascot, Jim, might bark his approval from behind the counter.

McCoy makes several buying trips a year, hunting down perfectly-preserved treasures from flea markets, estate sales and junk shops around the country. She also carries nostalgia-steeped new garments (all the style, none of the scratchy polyester!) from up-and-coming designers and brands, an adherence to McCoy’s belief that the future of fashion also means supporting manufacturers close to home.

“When it comes to new stuff, we’d like to sell only what’s made in the USA,” says McCoy. “Even better, we’d like it be local.”—Jessica Leigh Lebos Runner-up: The Guild Hall continues on p. 70

Photo by Jon Waits

MAY 20-26, 2015

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Best Bike Shop

MAY 20-26, 2015

Photo by Jon Waits

Bicycle Link

70

There aren’t many local businesses who can brag that they’ve won Connect’s “Best of ” award before the contest even existed.

Bicycle Link was first voted “Best Bike Shop” back when this paper was still called Creative Loafing, and the full service sales and service store has captured the title at least seven or eight times since. Or maybe it’s ten.

“I actually can’t remember how many times we’ve won,” says owner John Skiljan a bit sheepishly as he looks over a wall of award certificates at the spacious shop on Victory Drive. “We might have more of these in storage.”

In any case, Bicycle Link is back in the saddle as your favorite place to grease your gears or buy a whole new rig.

Skiljan first began as a mechanic at the Bicycle Link when it was on the Southside and bought the business in 1997. He moved to another location on Eisenhower and expanded to another storefront on Broughton Street in the early 2000s, when fix-it whiz Leon Frana joined the maintenance crew. They then consolidated back to one shop in 2008, spending five years on MLK Blvd. before shoring up the burgeoning commercial district across from One West Victory last year.

Its loyal two-wheeled customer base has followed.

“We get everyone from college students to homeless guys to kids getting their first bikes to the racers,” says Skiljan, who carries Trek bicycles and accessories among other popular brands. “We’ve got all skills coming in.”

Throughout the years, Skiljan and his wife, Amy, have supported Savannah’s bicycle riding community by sponsoring triathlons and hosting regular Wednesday evening bike rides. He marvels at the institution of new bike lanes, raised public awareness and other improvements to bike life in the Hostess City.

“The Savannah Bicycle Campaign has done incredible work for bike riding in Savannah,” says Skiljan, who helps the SBC as an advisor.

“The student population has helped immensely, too. You can’t around town anymore without encountering bicycles. That’s great.”

—Jessica Leigh Lebos Runner-up: Perry Rubber continues on p. 72

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Best Indie Bookstore

E Shaver Booksellers

It looked like the end of an era when Esther Shaver announced she’d be selling the longtime, beloved aspect of Savannah cultural life. The good news is that the store will continue under a hybrid management of Mrs. Shaver and a longtime employee, Jessica Osborne. So no need to panic, bibliophiles!

Runner-up: The Book Lady

Best Comic Book Store

Comics & More

This Southside staple has been a regional go-to for the comics/graphic novel community for years and shows no signs of letting up.

Runner-up: Planet Fun

Best Musical Instrument Store Photo by Jon Waits

Portman’s Music Superstore

Best Local Toy Store

Planet

Somewhere in a galaxy that looks very much like Broughton Street, there is a planet where Harry Potter frolics with My Little Pony and stacks of comic books replicate as if Captain Picard issued the order himself.

This parallel universe is known to earthlings as Planet Fun, your choice for Best Local Toy Store of 2015. Its colorful world offers all manner of playful distraction for the busy modern mind: Board games, collectible miniatures and cosplay weaponry can be found on its labyrinthine shelves, along with Dr. Who memorabilia, Pokemon decks and Lego sets.

“I originally came to Savannah to come to SCAD, and I wondered why there wasn’t a place dedicated to this kind of stuff downtown,” says owner and headmaster John Croley.

“So after I graduated, I opened one up.”

Croley set up a tiny shop on Broughton in 2011, attracting Savannah’s geeks and gamers with a gravitational pull. He expanded last year to a space four times the size, allowing Planet Fun to pull more people and products into its entertaining orbit. Half of the shop is now dedicated to a used video game library, where gamers can pick up cartridges for their Playstations and Wiis on the cheap as well as trade in the ones they’ve already dominated for store credit or cash.

But Planet Fun isn’t just for the outliers: Interspersed among the Iron Man and WWF figurines are mainstream surprises like mini Cabbage Patch dolls and an old school Lite Brite set. An epic vintage Barbie Dream House sits in cotton candy-pink glory above the shelves, with a squad of brand new, smiling blond bombshells ready to move in.

“We’re interested in anything that’s relevant in pop culture,” says Croley of the manga books and comic collection that have recently sprouted in the far corner.

He looks down and gives a wave with his Nintendo Powerglove, introduced in 1989 and quickly relegated to the dustbins of video gaming history.

“Or, anything ironically irrelevant,” he adds with a grin. —Jessica Leigh Lebos Runner-up: Toys ‘R’ Us

MAY 20-26, 2015

Fun 72

Portman’s has been a local legend since 1936, not only providing instruments for working musicians but a very healthy presence in the school band rental business. Starting out on Broughton Street, they moved to their present expansive Southside location in 1993.

Business must be good – they’ve opened stores in Brunswick, Albany, and Augusta.

Runner-up: Rody’s Music

Best Furniture Store Best Lighting Store

24e

One of Savannah’s signature downtown family-owned businesses has entered a new phase, with an energetic rebranding of inventory focusing not just on furniture, but completely unique designs, often using imaginatively repurposed material.

Runner-up, Furniture: One Fish, Two Fish Runner-up, Lighting: Circa

Best Cigar/Tobacco Shop

Ye Ole Tobacco Shop

I don’t always smoke a cigar, but when I do it’s from Ye Ole Tobacco Shop.

Runner-up: Savannah Cigars Inc.

Best Lawn & Garden Store

The Home Depot

The corporate behemoth won again in its yearly back-and-forth struggle in this category with the locally-owned runner-up.

Runner-up: Hester & Zipperer

Best Motorcycle Dealer

Savannah Harley-Davidson

They’ve won the Bronze Bar and Shield Award, signifying great sales and service, for the past two years.

Best Place to Buy a New Car Best Place to Buy a Used Car

Grainger Honda

This family-owned business was one of the first anchors of the Chatham Parkway development and has boasted satisfied repeat customers from day one.

Runner-up, both: J.C. Lewis Ford

Best Automotive Repair

Savannah Tire

You bring it in, they fix it, it’s that simple for this perennial winner in this category.

Runner-up: Sanderlin’s Automotive Service

Best Car Wash

Savannah Car Wash Keepin’ it tight!

Runner-up: Auto Shine

continues on p. 74

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VOTED MAY 20-26, 2015

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MAY 20-26, 2015

Photo by Jon Waits

Best Frame Shop

74

Maldoror’s

This tiny shop with the funny name may be tucked away behind a wall of ivy in the Starland District’s Desoto Row, but that hasn’t stopped Savannahians from bringing Maldoror’s into the spotlight for its second win in as many years.

The custom frame and rare print gallery is owned and operated by Jenny Weldy and Andy Johnston, who met at the College of Charleston and bonded over a love for fine arts and creative crafts.

“I’d always enjoyed hands-on work, so I started framing to do it for ourselves. Then we started doing it for friends,” says Weldy of her accidental foray into the professional matte and frame world.

The couple moved back to Weldy’s hometown of Savannah and opened their cloistered spot in 2006. They’ve built a loyal customer base catering to budget-conscious SCAD students hanging their first shows, professional artists requiring an eye for detail and the Rangers of Hunter Army Air Field, who provide a regular stream of ceremonial plaques that need framing. Word of mouth has always been their primary marketing tool, and a 2007 mention in the New York Times continues to attract curiosity seekers. These days the artisans are joined in the shop by their one year-old daughter, Mathilda.

Johnston confesses the shop is named after a beloved cat rather than the creepy poem by proto-surrealist Comte de Lautréamont, but Maldoror’s retains the eerie beauty of a Victorian sitting room with antique prints and the scent of freshly-milled wood. A fascinating collection of engravings and lithographs dating as far back as the 16th century hang on the walls, juxtaposing the beautiful and grotesque by design: “We try to keep a keen eye on points where those divisions overlap and merge,” proclaims the Maldoror’s website.

When he’s not planing angles for others in the back room, Johnston creates marvelous turntables and lamps out of reclaimed heart pine under the name Ars Regia.

Weldy and Johnston have watched Starland’s destination as an art nexus ebb and flow, and it might be argued that they’ve been an anchor all along. Going on nine years, they are Desoto Row’s longest current residents, and they don’t plan to change.

“We might need a bigger space eventually,” shrugs Weldy. “But we really love the neighborhood.” —Jessica Leigh Lebos Runner-up: Atwell’s continues on p. 76

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Best Rental Car Company

Enterprise

A perennially popular winner in this category.

Runner-up: Avis

Best Sporting Goods, Best Outdoor Outfitters Best Place to Buy a Boat

Bass Pro Shops

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A huge trifecta for the anchor of Savannah Mall.

Runner-up, Sporting: Hibbett Sports Runner-up, Outdoor: Half Moon Outfitters

Best Daycare

Maggie’s Morning School

Someone said the other day that Savannah’s version of Six Degrees of Separation is Maggie’s Morning School. Few other institutions have that kind of long-running shared impact on so many local families at one point or another.

Runner-up: SCPS

Best Art Supply Store

Blick Art Materials

BEST Real Estate Company

Thank You Savannah!

Southside: 329 Commercial Drive Downtown: 124 Habersham Street Richmond Hill: 1107 Gandy Dancer Pooler: 110 Pipemakers Circle

Primary Art Supply used to win this category every year, and while we all mourn its passing, the great part is their acquisition by Blick was totally amicable and most everyone ended up keeping their jobs in the transition.

Runner-up: Michaels

Best Arts & Crafts Store

Michaels

The staple of Abercorn Commons is always a big winner in this category.

Runner-up: Blick

Best Window Display

Paris Market & Brocante

Witty, elegant, Old World—and occasionally featuring a live human!

Runner-up: 24e

Best Men’s Clothing Store

Men’s Warehouse

‘Cause every girl crazy ‘bout a sharp-dressed man.

Runner-up: J. Parker Limited

Best Women’s Clothing Store Best Thrift/Vintage Store Best Fashion Accessories Store

Civvies

Locally-owned and one of the most fun and popular shops on all Broughton Street has a little bit of something for everyone.

Runner-up, Women: Red Clover Runner-up, Vintage: Goodwill Runner-up, Accessories: Future on Forsyth

Best Children’s Clothing Store

Sara Jane’s Children’s Boutique

MAY 20-26, 2015

Sara Jane is Sara Jane Strickland Stroupe, a Savannah native who has won this award the past five years in a row.

Runner-up: Punch and Judy

76

Best Clothing Boutique

Red Clover

This beloved Bull Street store is the labor of love of Leah Lancaster Riffle and Thu Tran.

Runner-up: Anthropologie

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Best Local Clothing Designer

Best Gift Store

A repeat winner, this Mississippi native and “rock ‘n’ roll chic” designer graduated SCAD in 2010 and has gone on to start her own eponymous line and a leather T-shirt line.

Runner-up: Mamie Ruth

Jennifer Beaufait Grayson’s nearly two-decades-long labor of love was one of the first stores in the now-thriving Downtown Design District Runner-up: Paris Market & Brocante

Brooke Atwood

Best Local Jewelry Designer

One Fish, Two Fish

Best Surf Shop

Danielle Hughes Rose

This SCAD grad has taken her art to the next level, sculpting metal masterpieces which are absolutely one-of-a-kind and which reflect her tasteful minimalism and dedication to high quality both in craft and in material. Find her work at the Liberty Street Gallery.

Runner-up: Meredith Anne Sutton

Best Shoe Store

Globe Shoe Company

One of Broughton’s staple stores, where service is the key and every day is Throwback Thursday.

Runner-up: Fleet Feet Sports

Best Bead Store

Epiphany Bead & Jewelry Studio

This wholesale and retail bead store on Fahm Street downtown offers a breathtaking variety of beautiful baubles.

Runner-up: Civvies

Best Jewelry Store

Levy Jewelers

One of the gutsiest and most effective business plays we’ve seen lately was when Lowell Kronowitz moved his flagship location to the then-vacated corner of Bull and Broughton, historically Savannah’s premiere piece of real estate.

Runner-up: Zia Boutique

Best Costume Store

Acme Costumes

You wanna be a Sexy Pirate for Halloween or the Pirate Fest? Say no more, we know where you should go.

Runner-up: Planet Fun

High Tide Surf Shop

A longtime staple of Tybee life and a deserving winner.

Runner-up: Waves

Best Antique Shop

37th @ Abercorn Antiques and Design

A big win in a very competitive category in this antique-loving town.

Runner-up: Habersham Antiques Market

Best Dry Cleaner

Savannah Dry Cleaners

A staple of the Waters Avenue corridor in Midtown.

Runner-up: David’s Dry Cleaners

Best Pest Control

Yates-Astro Termite and Pest

Serving the Savannah area since 1928, and the largest pest control company in Southeast Georgia.

Runner-up: Orkin

Best Flooring Store

Floor & Décor

Wow, this mega-store just opened a few months ago in Savannah and is already dominating in this category.

Runner-up: Coastal Floor Covering

Best Heating & Air Service

Canady’s Precision Air Conditioning and Heat

Over a quarter-century of outstanding service in the Coastal Empire.

Runner-up: McDevitt Air

Best Adult Toy Store

Sunset Novelties

Hey, it’s one of Savannah’s most popular and long-lived family-owned businesses. And business is good.

Runner-up: Joker Novelties

Best Lingerie Store

Victoria’s Secret

With two locations, at both malls, there was never really a question who would win this.

Runner-up: Joker Novelties

Thanks For Voting Us

BEST COSTUME STORE

continues on p. 78

Thanks for Voting Us Best Bicycle Shop!

Best Green Business Best Landscaping Company

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Runner-up, Green: Savannah Bee Company Runner-up: Landscaping: Butler Brothers

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Best Pet Store Best Pet Grooming

Best Maid Service

Hubbard’s Maid Service

Nicole Hubbard is now celebrating over a decade in business in the Savannah area.

Runner-up: Merry Maids

Best Mall/Shopping Center

PetSmart

Savannah’s one-stop shop for pet stuff since opening alongside Whole Foods.

Runner-up, Store: TailsSpin Runner-up, Grooming: Animal Resort & Spa

Oglethorpe Mall

Best Pet Boutique

Best Florist

This locally-owned treasure doesn’t just sell stuff – they give back to the community in many ways, from charity to awareness-raising.

Runner-up: Retail Retreat

Still packin’ em in at this recently revitalized mall, first in Savannah.

Runner-up: Savannah Mall

John Davis

Always entertaining, Mr. Davis is also the go-to flower guy for Savannahians in the know.

Runner-up: Pink House Florist and Nursery

Best Photography Service

Bay Camera Company

A perennial winner in this category.

Runner-up: Daly and Salter Photography

Best Pawn Shop

Welsh Pawn

One of Savannah’s longest-running and most successful family-owned businesses.

Runner-up: Cash American Pawn

TailsSpin Pet Supplies Store

Best Pet Daycare

Catnip-n-Biscuits

The best answer when you have to leave the little furry loved ones behind for awhile.

Runner-up: Barks Gymboree

Best Bed & Breakfast

The Gastonian

This wonderful refuge is a perennial winner in this important category.

Runner-up: The Foley House

Best Hotel

Westin Savannah Harbor Resort & Spa

The only bona fide resort pool in Savannah, with amazing views of both the waterfront and the cargo ships which pass only yards away.

Runner-up: The Bohemian Hotel

Thank you for voting us

Best Boutique!

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Best Local Insurance Agent

Best Cellular Service Provider

Sam Sharpe, State Farm

With offices in Southside Savannah and in the growing Pooler market.

Runner-up: Seacrest Partners

Best Realty Company

Verizon Wireless

A perennial winner in this all-important category.

Runner-up: AT&T

Best Bank

Keller Williams Realty

Wells Fargo

A frequent winner in this very competitive category.

Runner-up: Judge Realty

This once mostly-Western bank has made significant inroads into the Savannah market in a very short period of time.

Runner-up: Bank of America

Best Realtor

Chelsea Phillips

This ace realtor with Keller Williams will take care of all your real estate needs.

Runner-up: Don Callahan

Best Local Moving Company

Best Credit Union

Georgia Heritage Federal Credit Union

People who use credit unions swear by them, and this is the leader of the bunch.

Runner-up: Navy Federal Credit Union

Two Men and a Truck

Best Local Tour Company

Best Self Storage

Continuing to expand their offerings and their infrastructure to keep up with booming demand in this tourist economy.

Runner-up: Old Town Trolley Tours

Old Savannah Tours

Still our vote for the best business name ever.

Runner-up: American Moving and Storage

24 Hour Self Store

Best Taxi Service

Safe and sound self storage in Garden City.

Runner-up: Chatham Parkway Self Storage

Savannah Pedicab

Once a novelty, now we can’t imagine downtown Savannah without the familiar site of these distinctive (and very practical) contraptions.

Runner-up: Yellow Cab of Savannah

Best Apartment Community

The Oaks at Wilmington Island Two words: Infinity Pool!

Runner-up: West Wind Landing

Best Limo Service

Above and Beyond

Best New Home Community

When you absolutely gotta get there in maximum style and comfort.

Runner-up: Coastal Limo

Creekside at Richmond Hill Plantation A K. Hovnanian Homes enterprise.

Runner-up: Mosswood Plantation

Best Place to Work

Gulfstream Aerospace

Best Local Homebuilder

Brian Robin, Robin Restoration

For over 15 years, native Savannah son Brian Robin has helped make houses feel like home. He and his team can help restore your historic mansion, shore up your mid-Century modern ranch or build something new from foundation to roof shingle.

Best Local Computer Repair

Digital Doc

Another dominating win for Savannah’s premiere employer.

Runner-up: SCAD

Business You’re Most Sorry to See Go

Bonna Bella Yacht Club

A once-revered local name in waterfront dining and imbibing.

Runner-up: Clipper Trading

They’ll make house or office calls within 50 miles of Savannah.

Runner-up: Irepair

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Photo by Geoff L. Johnson

Music | TCBT

A decade of Black Tusk

The trio moves forward with hometown show, tours, record by anna Chandler

MAY 20-26, 2015

anna@connectsavannah.com

After the tragic death of bassist Jonathan Athon in November, Black Tusk’s Andrew Fidler and James May decided to honor their bandmate and friend in the best way they knew how: continuing the sludgedripped power trio they created together.

With the addition of Corey Barhorst (Formerly of Kylesa, currently of Niche), Savannah’s “Best Local Metal Band” is back on the road, hitting major European festivals and finalizing all the details for their forthcoming LP, recorded with Athon, on Relapse Records.

But first, they’ll play their first show on their hometown stage with the new lineup.

We chatted with the trio about the addition of Barhorst, the new record, and life on the road.

What was this last European tour like?

82 Andrew Fidler: It was different. It was a

new experience with Corey with us, but it was still cool. The fans were still there.

James May: I mean, that’s what it was going to be. It was going to be weird anyway, regardless. You know what I mean?

Andrew: Playing-wise, it was like we never missed a stride. Corey’s crushing it.

Corey, did you ever think you’d be back out playing like this after Kylesa?

Corey Barhorst: I don’t know. I mean, I didn’t think I would as in, I didn’t have anything planned, but I didn’t think I was finished. Not on that larger, metal thing—I never thought I’d do that again. I think actually, when I left the old band, I said I was never going to do that again!

Andrew: Now you’re going to do it a lot!

Corey: Yeah, now I’m going to do it just as much, and probably even more. So, be careful what you say!

Corey was y’all’s first choice, right?

James: Yeah. So it made it easier, he’s the first person we considered saying anything to.

Corey: It was pretty much, they were at a party and said, ‘What, out of all of our friends who plays bass, could probably do it and has nothing going for him, some poor, helpless person?’ And they said— Andrew & James: That guy! [laughs] Are you playing the parts pretty straight from the albums or are you putting your own spin on it?

thing we don’t want, that we told Corey, we don’t want you to copy everything that Athon did, you know? Black Tusk is its own thing, so now you’re a part of this band, so you put your input.

James: Yeah, don’t go be a robot. Don’t just be like, a fill-in. cause you’re not a fill-in— you’re a new member.

Corey: There are little things that I might have changed that are so small to where I doubt anyone would notice. And it’s even just like, those things are just what I would have done anyway. It was more playing it like a second nature.

I didn’t change any of his lyrics or anything like that. You know, and obviously the vocals sound different because I can’t copy someone’s vocals.

James: It’s close enough. It still sounds like Black Tusk.

Corey: I’m not changing anything. I’m playing everything from what—I mean, Athon wrote out tablature for all his songs.

Andrew: He was very anal about that.

Corey: Yeah, so there are very detailed things about what to do. But yeah, sure, especially from playing the songs from rehearsals and the tour, I tried to keep every(A.M. Rodriguez, whose band, Prone, will thing the same. join Black Tusk at the Jinx show, approaches Andrew: But you’re different people. Every- us with the last oyster from his Sorry Charlie’s body has their own different style. And one supper. May dives in. The verdict: delicious.)

tcbt |

83 continued from previous page

It was pretty much, they were at a party and said, ‘What, out of all of our friends who plays bass, could probably do it and has nothing going for him, some poor, helpless person?’ And they said— “That guy!”

Talking about the European tour—from following y’all online, I saw you were scattering ashes along the way.

Andrew: We did. In Europe, pretty much in every country we went to. We didn’t do it in every city, but we definitely hit every country.

Because Athon lived his life traveling on the road—constantly improving, constantly doing stuff. So you know, we talked with his mom and we had the idea. He was cremated, I was like, ‘What should we do with the ashes?’

I told her, ‘We can take them on tour, we can spread them around the world.’ She thought that was a great idea, so we did it.

We have a bunch more for when we tour the U.S.—we’ll take them when we go to Australia, New Zealand and Japan.

t h e

Is this new record a change stylistically? Is talked while we were on tour, and he said it stuff you’ve been working on for a while? he’d love to do the project.

James: I know on this one, for a few albums we had said, ‘This song isn’t long enough,’ ‘This song is too long.’ On this album, whenever we felt like a song was done, it was done. Even if it was two minutes long. We hadn’t done that in a long time—just wrote some short, banger songs. And on this one, there’s those, which I like, because it gets a little old when you’re monitoring yourself: ‘This isn’t quite long enough, so we need to write another part.’ Even if you think the song’s fine. So we didn’t do that with this, and I think it came out better that way.

Andrew: We recorded it at Audioseige with Joel Grind of Toxic Holocaust. Black Tusk had done a tour in Europe with Toxic.

Our label and management told us, ‘Joel’s doing records now.’ The new Toxic recorded sounded amazing—and he had done it. We

Are you excited to be home, playing back here?

Andrew: Yes; the last time we played here was Halloween. It’ll be bittersweet, but it’s going to be really cool at the same time.

It’s gonna be awesome. Prone’s gonna play, too, little A.M.’s punk band. And we pulled Bottled Violence out of retirement, so they’re gonna play, too.

What are you looking forward to on these next tours?

James: Playing shows! And getting out of Savannah for a little while.

Corey: The European festivals are always a blast to play at. They’re fun, but you also get to run into friends who are also in traveling

bands. You get to play to a bunch of people who actually care, then hang out and drink beers with your friends.

Andrew: I’m excited for the record to come out so we can tour the U.S. again. It’s been way too long since we toured the U.S. properly.

We’ve been at this ten years now—this is ten years of Black Tusk.

And no signs of stopping.

James: Yeah. Might as well keep going if you’ve made it ten years! CS Black Tusk, Bottled Violence (Minor Threat cover band), Prone, DJ Metal Rob The Jinx Saturday, May 23 10 p.m. $10 at the door (no pre-sale)

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Music | REVIVAL FEST

Sweet

Holy Ghost Tent Revival

Southern Music

Revival Fest promises to be one helluva a good time

Horse Thief

by anna chandler anna@connectsavannah.com

MusicFile Productions has announced its Revival Fest lineup, and all we Georgians can say is, DANG! Kayne Lanahan and company may specialize in the new and hot, but this year’s Revival Fest is a great look into fresh Southeastern talent, acts that have dazzled Savannah in the past, and sensational, AllAmerican artists with a few years under their belts.

Most noteworthy? The gang’s nabbed the wonderful indie-folk band Fruit Bats to headline. Their fest date is a part of a quietly announced reunion tour, with singersongwriter Eric D. Johnson back on board with his typically rotating cast.

The band dissolved in 2013 with a statement from Johnson citing “no major or dramatic reason” for the breakup; it’s good to see them back on the circuit.

Stopover fave Southern Culture On the Skids return, as well as Those Darlins, Christopher Paul Stelling, and Margo & The Pricetags.

The day-long festivities will take place Saturday, September 12, in the idyllic sprawl of the Georgia State Railroad Museum. A celebration of music, Southern eats, bourbon and local brews, advanced tickets are available now via Ticketfly. CS

Southern Culture On the Skids

Have Gun, Will Travel Those Darlins

Margo & The Pricetags

Robert Lee

MAY 20-26, 2015

Full lineup: Fruit Bats Southern Culture On The Skids Parker Millsap Those Darlins Holy Ghost Tent Revival Horse Thief Christopher Paul Stelling Margo & The Pricetags Robert Lee Coleman & The Night Owls Have Gun, Will Travel Missionary Blues Paving Gravy 84 Sweet Thunder Strolling Band

Fruit Bats

Paving Gravy

Missionary Blues

Parker Millsap

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85

Music | The Band page

By Anna Chandler | anna@connectsavannah.com

Whiskey Diablo, Crazy Man Crazy @The Wormhole With raspy vocals and quick picking, Charleston’s Whiskey Diablo cranks out ham-bonin’ songs for drinkin’ and good-timin’.

A hard-gigging four-piece comprised of Patrick Blake (vocals, guitar, kazoo), Brad Poplin (upright bass, vocals), Marshall Hudson (drums and harmonica, also of The Royal Tinfoil and Jordan Igoe’s band), and Jonathan Depriest (fiddle), fans of Damon & the Shitkickers and The Train Wrecks won’t be disappointed.

Let me just say: I once drove up to Charleston for a bachelorette party. During my two-hour drive, the bridesmaids and bride had been steadfastly primping and drinking champagne in their hotel. When our Savannah crew arrived, the gals were done up real nice, but, after a day of beachside celebrating, were a little tuckered in time for evening antics—that is, until we wandered into a bar where Whiskey Diablo was playing. Bourbon was poured, and the evening ended with a country conga line out the door and a few pairs of shoes ditched for dancing purposes. I think they even let the bride-to-be hit a tambourine, or some percussive device. Everyone woke up with no voice and dirty soles. Cheers, fellas. Be it known: Whiskey Diablo can save your party.

Local rockabilly kings Crazy Man Crazy join the bill.

MAY 20-26, 2015

Friday, May 22, 9 p.m.

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Whiskey Diablo.

Bit Brigade. Photo by Mike White.

Bit Brigade, DIP, Trophy Wives, Nightly Borders @The Chromatic Dragon The Guild Hall’s Forge area, a warehouse-y type of building featuring a stage, wood shop, and a 3-D printer, has played host to all-ages shows before; maybe you caught the Cusses backer party there a few weeks back, or the legendary Bane in 2014. While it’s wonderful to have a decent-sized space providing a legal, all-ages option in a town that offers so few, renting The Forge will cost ya, and sometimes it’s a bit more than promoters or bands can spend.

Hence why this show is so rad. The Chromatic Dragon, The Guild Hall’s new gamer pub that backs up to The Forge, slings booze and food—so it doesn’t have to be 21 and up. Are shows like this gonna be a regular thing? Difficult to say, but let’s keep our fingers crossed.

If any band’s perfectly preened to play The Dragon, it’s Bit Brigade. With projector in tow, the band will beat MegaMan in its entirety, live, while performing the soundtrack to perfection.

It’s on the menu, it’s on the stage: DIP. See it to believe it, then dip it.

Trophy Wives may have played The Guild Hall more than any other band at this point; will the campus’s newest pride and joy withstand their fury? Will nary a joystick be left in their wake? Only one way to find out…

Savannah’s Nightly Borders kick things off.

Thursday, May 21, 8 p.m., free, all-ages

Music | The Band page Rachael Shaner. Photo by Jon Waits.

LIVE MUSIC Friday, May 22nd

GENERAL PATTON Saturday, May 23rd

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You may have seen Rachael Shaner at Trinity’s Opry series in the past, supporting Payne Bridges; in fact, you’ve probably seen the upright bassist supporting damn near everyone around town.

“It’s not so much, ‘what bands are you playing with?’—it’s ‘who are you gigging with?’” she laughs when asked how many bands she’s in currently.

Sure, she performs alongside Randy Cuba in Southern Maple, contributes bass and vocals to Nightingale News, and sits in with many others, but Shaner is much, much more than a side woman.

She got her start through busking, playing her upright bass down on River Street when she was just 14. From there, she started getting jazz and blues gigs, mostly performing at parties and private events.

An opportunity presented itself in the form of a seven-year contract in Nashville. Eager for a break, Shaner and her then-musical partner and boyfriend signed over their artistic rights to, as Shaner now puts it, “be a pop-singing robot.”

Then Shaner’s relationship fell through. And with it, the deal.

“Someone threw me a rope, but it was a noose,” she says frankly.

The ordeal of getting out of the contract was “like the break of the Protestant Church from the Catholic Church,” she laughs.

The original material she’d created wasn’t hers to use anymore; Shaner came home and “went into hiding, basically, from Savannah,” cloistered on the island, writing an album’s worth of songs. It was a crucial healing process, but in the end, Shaner scrapped the material.

She finds that her best songs are written after she’s been able to take in her experiences.

“You don’t write a eulogy at a person’s death bed,” she compares.

With time to reflect on the writing and Nashville experience, Shaner has approached her original songs once more and is ready to cut an album with Matt Collett at The Garage.

For an intimate look into her work, she’s opted for a boldly vulnerable lineup at Trinity: just her and her upright bass.

“I want to bring the bass into the light it should be in,” Shaner says.

While bass is often thought of as a foundation, Shaner notes that it can be beautifully melodic in and of itself.

“The versatility is what I want to point out,” she says.

She’ll sing and play—something that people have said can’t be done on the upright bass. Playing a fretless instrument requires quite a bit of concentration; plus, she’s not just playing the root chord, she’s playing melodic lines. It requires a great deal of focus to hit each note perfectly, particularly while singing a different melody.

“I’m in a really vulnerable position,” Shaner says. “But I don’t think anyone’s going to walk away going, ‘where’s the band?’”

Above all, Shaner is excited to let audiences experience something new and different.

“When I’m just playing—that’s home to me,” she explains. “Even if they only catch that for a minute, that’s okay.” CS Thursday, May 21, 7 p.m., $10

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MAY 20-26, 2015

Thursday Night Opry: Rachael Shaner, Clouds & Satellites, Caleb Warren and the Perfect Gentlemen @Trinity UMC

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music | soundboard

Club owners and performers: Soundboard is a free service - to be included, please send your live music information weekly to anna@connectsavannah.com. Questions? Call (912) 721-4356.

Wednesday / 20 Barrelhouse South VuDu Shakedown Bay Street Blues Hitman Bayou Cafe Thomas Claxton Billy’s Place at McDonough’s Mike Sweat, piano/vocal Boomy’s Eric Culberson Band coffee deli Acoustic Jam The Jinx The Slackers, Duppies Kevin Barry’s Irish Pub JJ Smith Rachael’s 1190 Jeremy Riddle Rocks on the Roof Southern Maple The Sandbar Open Jam Night The Wormhole Open Mic Treehouse Wobble Wednesday Wild Wing Cafe Jeff Beasley

Trivia & Games

The Jinx Rock ‘n’ Roll Bingo Tailgate Sports Bar and Grill Trivia World of Beer Trivia

Karaoke

Ampersand Karaoke Hercules Bar & Grill Karaoke McDonough’s Karaoke Mediterranean Tavern Karaoke hosted by K-Rawk Paddy O’Shea’s Irish Pub Karaoke Tondee’s Tavern Karaoke Wet Willie’s Karaoke

Comedy

Mutuals Club Phatt Katz Comedy Thang

DJ

Club One Karaoke The Crypt Pub DJ Lil G SEED Eco Lounge DJ Cesar

Bar & Club Events

Bayou Cafe Voyage of Temptress TV Premiere

MAY 20-26, 2015

Thursday / 21

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Ampersand Jazz Night Basil’s Pizza and Deli David Harbuck Bay Street Blues Hitman Bayou Cafe Eric Culberson Band Billy’s Place at McDonough’s Mike Sweat, piano/vocal The Chromatic Dragon Bit Brigade, DIP, Trophy Wives, Nightly Borders Feather & Freight Open Mic & Pint Night Jazz’d Tapas Bar Trae Gurley Kevin Barry’s Irish Pub JJ Smith North Beach Grill Pocket Change Rocks on the Roof CC Witt

The Islander Karaoke McDonough’s Karaoke Sunny’s Lounge Karaoke

Sandfly Sports Bar & Grill Charlie Fog Band Wild Wing Cafe Bucky & Barry Wild Wing Cafe (Pooler) Acoustic Thursday

Comedy

The Historic Savannah Theatre Spine Tingling Tales

Trivia & Games

The Britannia British Pub Trivia Pour Larry’s Explicit Trivia Sunny’s Lounge Trivia Uncle Maddio’s Pizza Joint Trivia

The Crypt Pub DJ Michael Pata SEED Eco Lounge DJ Pieces Treehouse DJ Phive Star

Karaoke

Bar & Club Events

Applebee’s Karaoke Doodles Karaoke Thursday & Saturdays Flashback Karaoke McDonough’s Karaoke Mediterranean Tavern Karaoke Rusty Rudders Tap House Karaoke World of Beer Karaoke The Wormhole Karaoke

DJ

Congress Street Social Club DJ Blackout The Jinx Live DJ SEED Eco Lounge DJ Cesar

Bar & Club Events

Club One Drag Show Mediterranean Tavern Lip Sync Battle

Other

Tailgate Sports Bar and Grill Open Mic

Friday / 22 Barrelhouse South Spore Basil’s Pizza and Deli Bucky & Barry Bayou Cafe Thomas Claxton and the Myth Billy’s Place at McDonough’s Mike Sweat & Nancy Witt, piano/vocal Congress Street Social Club Ambrose Fiore Italian Bar and Grill Annie Allman Hang Fire CandyLand Presents: Exersystem ProFit Workout PX9000 Jazz’d Tapas Bar American Hologram The Jinx Waits & Co., Caleb Warren & The Perfect Gentlemen, City Hotel Kevin Barry’s Irish Pub JJ Smith Molly MacPherson’s Scottish Pub (Pooler) Georgia Kyle Mansion on Forsyth Park Tradewinds Molly MacPherson’s Scottish Pub Magic Rocks North Beach Grill Smoking Guns Rancho Alegre Cuban Restau-

DJ

Club One Drag Show Wild Wing Cafe (Pooler) Party on the Patio w/ Josh Sanders

You guys up for some reggae tonight? Oceanstone plays World of Beer on Friday.

Rocks on the Roof Hitman Ruth’s Chris Steak House David Duckworth & Kim Polote Sandfly Sports Bar & Grill General Patton, Andrew Gill The Wormhole Crazy Man Crazy, Whiskey Diablo Wild Wing Cafe Lyn Avenue World of Beer Oceanstone World of Beer (Pooler) Danielle Hicks and the Eight Ohm Resistance Zunzi’s Live Music

Trivia & Games

Coach’s Corner Movies & Music Trivia Paddy O’Shea’s Irish Pub Trivia

Karaoke

Bay Street Blues Karaoke The Islander Karaoke McDonough’s Karaoke Sunny’s Lounge Karaoke Tailgate Sports Bar and Grill Karaoke/DJ

Comedy

The Historic Savannah Theatre Spine Tingling Tales

DJ

Club 309 West DJ Zay SEED Eco Lounge DJ C-Rok Treehouse DJ Phive Star

Bar & Club Events Club One Drag Show

Saturday / 23 17 Hundred 90 Restaurant Gail Thurmond bar.food Annie Allman Barrelhouse South Atlas Road Crew Basil’s Pizza and Deli Lauren LaPointe and Marc Carter

Bayou Cafe Thomas Claxton and the Myth Billy’s Place at McDonough’s Mike Sweat & Nancy Witt, piano/vocal Casimir’s Lounge Jackson Evans Trio Cocoa’s Martini & Dessert Bar The Solis Duo Congress Street Social Club Trongone Band Doc’s Bar American Hologram Fiore Italian Bar and Grill Jackson Evans Jazz’d Tapas Bar Isaac Smith Band The Jinx Black Tusk, Bottled Violence, DJ Metal Rob Kevin Barry’s Irish Pub JJ Smith Molly MacPherson’s Scottish Pub (Pooler) Cody James & Benji Taylor Molly MacPherson’s Scottish Pub Hitman North Beach Grill Bottles & Cans The Olde Pink House David Duckworth & Kim Polote Rancho Alegre Cuban Restaurant Jody Espina Trio Rocks on the Roof Southern Maple The Sentient Bean Eric Sommer Tybee Island Social Club Missionary Blues Wild Wing Cafe Tokyo Joe Wild Wing Cafe (Pooler) Waits & Co. World of Beer Best Brothers World of Beer (Pooler) Jamie Salvatore Zunzi’s Live Music

Karaoke

Applebee’s Karaoke Bay Street Blues Karaoke Doodles Karaoke Thursday & Saturdays

Sunday / 24 17 Hundred 90 Restaurant Gail Thurmond Aqua Star Restaurant (Westin Harbor Hotel) Sunday Jazz Brunch Basil’s Pizza and Deli Greg Williams Bayou Cafe Don Coyer Congress Street Social Club Voodoo Soup Kevin Barry’s Irish Pub JJ Smith North Beach Grill Cicada Brothers The Olde Pink House Eddie Wilson Rocks on the Roof Wood and Steel Tybee Island Social Club Sunday Bluegrass Brunch Wild Wing Cafe Bucky & Barry Z2 (Zunzi’s II) Open Mic

Trivia & Games

Lulu’s Chocolate Bar Sunday Afternoon Trivia Tailgate Sports Bar and Grill Trivia

Karaoke

Club One Karaoke McDonough’s Karaoke Tailgate Sports Bar and Grill Karaoke/DJ Tondee’s Tavern Karaoke

DJ

Boomy’s DJ Basik Lee

Bar & Club Events

Ampersand Blues & Brews

Monday / 25 Abe’s on Lincoln Open Mike with Craig Tanner and Mr. Williams Bay Street Blues Open Mic Bayou Cafe David Harbuck Kevin Barry’s Irish Pub Harry O’Donoghue Mediterranean Tavern Open Mic hosted by Nickel Bag of Funk

The Wormhole Open Mic Wild Wing Cafe Eric Britt

Trivia & Games

The Britannia British Pub Bingo Hang Fire Team Trivia Molly MacPherson’s Scottish Pub (Pooler) Bingo McDonough’s Trivia Mediterranean Tavern Game Night with Pubstar Trivia

Karaoke

Boomy’s Karaoke McDonough’s Karaoke Wet Willie’s Karaoke

DJ

The Jinx DJ Lucky Bastard SEED Eco Lounge DJ Pieces

Bar & Club Events

Muse Arts Warehouse Odd Lot Improv

Tuesday / 26 Bay Street Blues Jubal Kane (blues) Bayou Cafe Open Jam with Eric Culberson Foxy Loxy Cafe Clouds and Satellites Jazz’d Tapas Bar Annie Allman The Jinx Hip-Hop Night Kevin Barry’s Irish Pub Harry O’Donoghue Molly MacPherson’s Scottish Pub Open Mic Treehouse Jelly Jam Tybee Island Social Club Open Mic The Warehouse Hitman Wild Wing Cafe Chuck Courtenay

Trivia & Games

Coach’s Corner Trivia CoCo’s Sunset Grille Trivia Congress Street Social Club Trivia Mediterranean Tavern Battle of The Sexes Game Mellow Mushroom Trivia

Karaoke

McDonough’s Karaoke The Rail Pub Karaoke Wet Willie’s Karaoke

Comedy

Chuck’s Bar Comedy Open Mic

DJ

Hang Fire Vinyl DJ SEED Eco Lounge DJ C-Rok

Other

Molly MacPherson’s Scottish Pub (Pooler) Open Mic

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89

Culture | pics!

Zia

at the Beach!

Photos by Geoff L. Johnson geoffsphotos.com

MAY 20-26, 2015

so here are some awesome pics that our good friend Geoff L. Johnson shot for us from this past Friday night’s special Art on Tap party celebrating the Martin Parr photo exhibit at the Jepson, with a way-cool and uber-sexy fashion show from Zia Sachedina.

Intrigued by the general absurdities and local quirks of beachgoing, Martin Parr has photographed beaches across the world for many decades, creating images that range from closeups of sunbathers to shots of rambunctious swimmers caught mid-plunge.

In his show Life’s a Beach, he takes us on a color-saturated journey to a place loved by all: the seaside.

This exhibition, up at the Jepson through the end of August, presents photos of beachgoers on far-flung shores, including those of Argentina, Brazil, China, Spain, Italy, Latvia, Japan, the United States, Mexico, Thailand, and, of course, the artist’s native England. cs

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90

SINCE 2001  BREWING COFFEE & COMMUNITY

artpatrol@connectsavannah.com

Openings & Receptions

Folk Art: Simply Profound —

What is folk art? Exaggeration and simplicity converge to describe the folk artist as he deals with family, God and the human condition. Beach Institute, 502 E. Harris St.

Beaumont’s Fairy Tales — Olivia Beaumont

specializes in fantasy portraiture of the animal kingdom utilizing historical costume and character. Her works commonly feature the epic Shakespearean themes of barbarism, opulence, and bravery. Galerie 124, 124 East Taylor Street.

Going to the Dogs — An art exhibit of paintings by Lisa Rosenmeier will be held at Coffee Deli, 4517 Habersham St. Art will be available for purchase. All artwork that is sold will be distributed after May 31, when the exhibit closes. coffee deli, 4517 Habersham St.

Out of the Fire: 2015 — SCAD Ceramic Arts

presents its annual juried show of student work. The work was all completed within the last year by students in our program, and was selected for its quality and creativity. Free Opening reception May 22, 5-8pm. Sulfur Studios, 2301 Bull Street.

Work in Progress — The artists of Kobo Gal-

lery are bringing the studio to the gallery Memorial Day weekend. From Friday to Sunday the gallery will be an active artmaking work zone. Come meet the artists and get a glimpse into how and why they do what they do. Kobo Gallery, 33 Barnard Street

The Highwaymen — The

exhibit features several well known black artists known as The Highwaymen. A total of 26 artists, one woman and twenty-five men, traveled the highways of Florida from the early 1960s to the early 1990s selling oil paintings from the trunks of cars. Beach Institute, 502 E. Harris St.

Continuing Exhibits The Art of Diplomacy: Winston Churchill and the Pursuit of Painting — Paintings by Sir Winston

Churchill, as well as photographs, letters, and personal belongings on loan from members of his family. The Art of Diplomacy explores the relationship between Churchill’s strategic decision-making and his evolving practice as an artist. Beyond what he called a “joyride in a paint-box,” he saw painting as a testing ground for such leadership strengths as audacity, humility, foresight, and strength of memory.

Jepson Center for the Arts, 207 West York St. Bill Rousseau and Mary Ingalls — Bill’s beauti-

ful paintings portray the combined beauty of architecture and nature that surround Savannah. Mary’s technical expertise with stained glass work is creative, bold, fun and fanciful. Gallery 209, 209 E River St. data.tron/data.scan — Exhibition by acclaimed

Japanese composer and visual artist Ryoji Ikeda, marking his first exhibition in the southeastern U.S. Ikeda’s practice explores the contemporary world of information and data. His immersive installations, sculptures and performances incorporate physical elements and properties of the smallest conceivable units including pixels of light, bits and bytes. SCAD Museum of Art, 601 Turner Blvd.

Deborah Raines — Raines explores fairy tales

and illusions in her artwork. Jewish Educational Alliance, 5111 Abercorn St. Dicky Stone and Dana Richardson — A native

of Sewanee, Tennessee, Dana Richardson holds a BFA in painting and a MAT from SCAD and currently teaches art at Savannah Christian. Her pieces are small-scale Savannah cityscapes in oil, collage and mixed media. Savannahian Dicky Stone 1transforms indigenous wood such as pecan,

Christina Edwards at work; she’s among the artists at Kobo Gallery’s ‘Work in Progress’ show all weekend sycamore and maple into decorative pieces of sculpture. A self-taught wood carver and turner he says this work makes his heart sing. A portion of sales will benefit the hospice’s Daily Impact Fund. Hospice Savannah Art Gallery, 1352 Eisenhower Drive.

Fiberworks – Showcasing the Fiber Art of the Fiber Guild of the Savannahs — This exhibition will

showcase over 100 works created by 24 members through a variety of mediums such as weaving, spinning, knitting, crochet, felting, quilting, basketry and other fiber-related techniques. The Fiber Guild of the Savannahs is a very diverse group of artists who share an interest and passion for fiber arts. Participants, from ages 9 to 90, study a new skill or improve their current skills with their companionship of other practitioners through meetings, lectures and workshops. City of Savannah Department of Cultural Affairs, 9 West Henry St. Fine Art Photography Exhibition by Sarah Horan —

Fine art photography exhibition presented

by Sarah Horan. Horan’s body of work, Contact, explores human vulnerability through large-scale representations of human skin and the human form as a whole. Black Orchid Tattoo Studio & Gallery, 118 West Victory Dr.

Life’s a Beach: Photographs

by Martin Parr — One of

Britain’s most beloved photographers takes you on a color-saturated journey through a place loved by all, the seaside. This exhibition presents photos of beachgoers on far-flung shores, including Argentina, Brazil, China, Spain, Italy, Latvia, Japan, the United States, Mexico, Thailand, and, of course, the artist’s native England. General museum admission. Jepson Center for the Arts, 207 West York St.

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The Maps of Infinitude — Known for his

complex, monumental and kaleidoscopic mandala paintings, SCAD alumnus Caomin Xie (M.F.A., painting, 2001) ponders the magnitude and ethereal beauty of the celestial realm. SCAD Museum of Art, 601 Turner Blvd.

The Mermaid Circus — Enjoy the whimsical and eerie works of Lisa Ocampo and her sister Tiffany O’Brien while you nibble on treats, have your tarot cards read, and snap some pics of yourself as a mermaid in this fun-filled event. The Butcher Tattoo Studio, 19 East Bay St. The Nature of Being — SCAD alumnus Scott

Carter (B.F.A., painting, 2008) transforms Pinnacle Gallery into an immersive sculptural installation using the material of its construction — drywall. SCAD Museum of Art, 601 Turner Blvd.

SAT., MAY 23 | 8PM

ERIC SOMMER TUES., MAY 26 | 8PM | FREE

TONGUE: OPEN MOUTH & MUSIC SHOW

SUN., MAY 31 | 8PM | FREE

SAVANNAH COMRADES MEETING

MAY 20-26, 2015

culture | art patrol

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culture | brew/drink/run

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New local beers unveiled in the merry month of May Southbound, Service, Coastal Empire present their newest brews by lee heidel lee@brewdrinkrun.com /@brewdrinkrun brewdrinkrun.com

MAY 20-26, 2015

LAST THURSDAY I had the pleasure of moderating a special live episode of the Brew / Drink / Run podcast at Your Pie in Sandfly.

The show’s featured guests were the head brewers from Southbound Brewing Company, Service Brewing Company and Coastal Empire Beer Company.

During the show, we reflected on Savannah’s brewing history and the market’s future growth, but also celebrated what’s happening right now in Savannah’s craft beer world.

With Coastal Empire marking its fourth year in business, Southbound hosting its second anniversary party this weekend and Service raising a glass to one year in the books later this summer, all of the breweries

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currently have brand new but very different beers available on draft around town.

Service Brewing’s head brewer Jeff Hyatt provided insight on Truman’s Tribute, Service’s new session India Pale Ale (IPA). The session moniker means the beer has a lower than average alcohol by volume (ABV) ratio.

The idea behind session beers is that you can enjoy more than one in a sitting and not imbibe as much alcohol. The recent trend in session IPAs is to provide more interesting and bold flavor profiles.

So while the beverage may be lacking in the traditional alcohol content, the fresh combinations of ingredients make up for that aspect.

Truman’s Tribute is dry-hopped with Huell Melon and Mandarina Bavaria hops.

Jeff explained that this blend contributed directly to the unique flavors.

“It’s got a little bit of spiciness to it, a little earthiness,” said Jeff. “It’s got some melon notes and it’s also got a little bit of citrus/ tangerine notes to it as well.”

The conversation switched from spicy to sweet as Coastal Empire Beer brewer Kevin Haborak described its latest offering, Southern Delight Praline Amber. Kevin described

the beer’s origins in delicious detail.

“It’s an amber ale that we brew with Georgia pecans, Madagascar vanilla and then we also add lactose to it to sweeten the beer and enhance the natural caramel flavors from the malt to provide a flavor profile that’s reminiscent of a praline.”

While amber ales generally have more of a sugary-malt profile, those with a sweet tooth will love what Kevin has done with Southern Delight. It has quickly become one of the brewery’s best selling beers and can currently be found on many tap handles throughout Savannah.

Spicy and sweet gave way to sour as Southbound Brewing Company’s Smith Matthews introduced Transilience, his brewery’s summer seasonal. Only available for a limited time, this beer is an imperial take on a German Berliner Weiss style.

Where session beers attempt to reduce the expected amount of alcohol in a beer, imperials like Transilience go the other direction, often doubling the amount of alcohol the style traditionally has. This beer stays true to the Berliner Weiss format with a wheat base and tartness of flavor from the use of a wild fermentation technique.

“It has a tart lactic-acid forward notes to it, so it’s really nice and refreshing in the hot weather,” explains Smith. “We used lactobacillus which is a wild bacteria to get that tart acidity.” The beer also benefits from the addition of fresh pomegranate and mango that provide tropical fruit notes.

All of these beers are available at the individual brewery tap rooms during tours and tasting events. cs Service Brewing is open to the public on Thursdays and Fridays from 5:30 – 7:30 PM and on Saturdays from 2:00 – 4:00 PM. Coastal Empire is open on the first and third Saturday of each month from 1:00 – 4:00 PM. Southbound Brewing is open Wednesday through Friday from 5:30 – 7:30 PM and Saturdays from 2:00 – 4:00 PM.

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by Matt Brunson

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD

OOO It’s the film’s shakiest visual effect, yet also its coolest concept. The roving band of baddies in Mad Max: Fury Road don’t travel anywhere without their own soundtrack— specifically, a vehicle which sports at its front a huge sound system powered by a rocker feverishly strumming away on his electric guitar.

And not just any guitar: This one has the ability to shoot flames from the top. Those fiery licks look awfully CGI-ish, but no matter: In writer-director George Miller’s fourth Mad Max flick, it’s established that rock ‘n’ roll ain’t noise pollution so much as it’s the theme music for the upcoming apocalypse.

Miller’s original Mad Max, released in 1979 in his Australian homeland and in 1980 on these shores, was part of the Aussie New Wave that allowed global audiences in the 1970s to see that our neighbors Down Under were making some pretty incredible films. Mad Max set the stage, but 1981’s The Road Warrior (aka Mad Max 2) positively set it ablaze, popping up on numerous 10 Best lists and elevating the bar on both vehicular mayhem and daring stuntwork.

The third entry, 1985’s Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, found the road warrior going Hollywood—it was the first entry primarily backed by a major studio—and the result was a PG-13 rating (the others had been R), perfectly coiffed hair for star Mel Gibson, and, after a terrific opening 45 minutes, an unfortunate narrative shift that basically found Max hanging out with Peter Pan’s Lost Boys.

All of that is just pretext for this latest entry, which absolutely works as a standalone film and requires little knowledge of the original trilogy which ended 30 long years ago. With Tom Hardy cast as the new Max Rockatansky, it’s quickly established that this man is a loner who suffered great

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Tom Hardy deals with all sorts of problems as the title character in Mad Max: Fury Road loss during his lifetime but always manages to keep himself alive and kicking. Yet his troubles commence as soon the film itself, with Max being captured by a group of pasty warriors and in essence used as a human blood bag for a sickly youth named Nux (Nicholas Hoult, hairy as the X-Men’s Beast but hairless here).

The community is ruled by the savage Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne), who keeps a stable of beauties for the purposes of breeding. When the one-armed warrior woman known as Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) crosses Immortan Joe and flees across the desert with his grateful brides in tow, planning to introduce them to a better life, the outraged despot takes off in hot pursuit (sans Sofia Vergara, thankfully),

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flanked by his soldiers. This includes Nux, who ties his human blood bag to his vehicle.

Big mistake: Just as nobody puts Baby in a corner, nobody puts Max in front of a car, like some tarnished hood ornament on a Mercedes-Benz.

It’s hardly a spoiler to reveal that Max eventually frees himself and forges a testy relationship with Furiosa (after all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend). Yet even as they grow mutually respectful, theirs is a camaraderie based on action, not words.

Miller makes sure to keep Max’s personality intact from the Mel Gibson years, again presenting him as a taciturn fighter who’s gruff but compassionate, a man whose personal pain dictates that he keep others at a distance yet whose empathy forces him to

make concessions along the way. Hardy was a sound choice to assume the role, and he matches up nicely with Theron, who provides most of the picture’s heart.

Miller throws in a few treats for the series faithful, not only in the inspired casting of Keays-Byrne as Immortan Joe—he previously played head villain Toecutter in the original Mad Max—but in scattered visual references throughout the picture (the widening eyeballs from Mad Max, the music box from Beyond Thunderdome, etc.).

There’s also a nice shout-out to fellow Aussie trailblazer Peter Weir in the porcupine design of some of the vehicles, a clear homage to Weir’s 1974 The Cars That Ate Paris (aka The Cars That Eat People).

But let’s cut to the literal chase.

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by the First Family (cue amusing reactions shots of Barack and Michelle).

The only way to salvage the group’s tarnished reputation is for the ladies to win the world championship, something no American team has ever done before because, as a guffawing John and Gail point out, “The rest of the world, they all hate us!” Undeterred, the Bellas set out with the intent of besting all rivals, particularly the loathsome German team The Sound Machine.

But despite the welcome presence of a newcomer in the group, a freshman named Emily (True Grit’s Hailee Steinfeld), there’s trouble in the ranks when it becomes clear that Beca (Anna Kendrick) is already looking at life past the Bellas, trying to jumpstart her career as a music producer by landing an internship under an acerbic, Grammywinning sharpshooter (a wonderfully written role for Keegan-Michael Key of MADtv and Key and Peele).

Apropos its school setting, Pitch Perfect 2 feels like a jovial class reunion where everyone manages to make an appearance. NatuPITCH PERFECT 2 rally, the mainstay likes of Fat Amy (Rebel OOO Wilson) and Chloe (Brittany Snow) are on Without the sort of studio hype and hand, and we expected to see the smarmy movie-website presence all but required these days to make a dent in the public con- Bumper (Adam DeVine) pop up, but the sciousness, the winning 2012 comedy Pitch callbacks don’t end there.

As for the leading ladies, Kendrick often Perfect nevertheless proved to be a stealth performer at the box office, earning enough seems as checked out as her character, but Steinfeld is a bright presence, Snow again bank to convince the studio that a sequel nails Chloe’s peppy intensity, and Hana wouldn’t be a bad idea. And thus we get Mae Lee quietly (and I mean quietly) steals Pitch Perfect 2, and the good—nay, make that great—news is that it’s almost equal to scenes as the whispery Lilly. And Wilson, who was the first picture’s breakout star, is its predecessor. As before, an ingratiating cast, some catchy musical arrangements and equally uproarious here—she’s a fearless a raft of killer quips make for an irresistible actress who’s game for anything, though it’s a shame Banks and Cannon take advantage of combination. her willingness this time around.

And like the previous entry, the picture One of the beauties of the first Pitch Perdoesn’t exactly cater to any lowest common fect was how an overweight character was denominators: A hilarious gag involving allowed to be confident, sexy and not the Sonia Sotomayor earned a hearty laugh butt of a series of derogatory jokes. That from maybe a dozen people at the advance stance is unfortunately missing here, as screening, and it’s guaranteed the silence wasn’t because the joke bombed but because Amy finds herself humiliated at nearly every that name was (sadly) unfamiliar to most in turn—did we really need a scene in which she announces that she’s going to use the attendance. side of a tent as toilet paper?

Actress Elizabeth Banks, who co-proHer treatment is even more baffling duced the first picture as well as appeared as commentator Gail (alongside the equally considering how expertly this film pushes amusing John Michael Higgins as her part- the notion of the benefits of female solidarity in an often cruel and unjust world (for ner-in-catty-crime John), here makes her instance, unlike the NFL, where the player feature-film debut as director (not countrather than the team is punished for a mising her short segment from the horrific anthology flick Movie 43). She and scripter take, the Bellas are all punished for an error made by one member).

Kay Cannon (returning from co-writing Pitch Perfect 2 is stellar entertainment, but the original) smoothly continue the saga in this regard, it manages to strike its one of the college a capella outfit the Barden Bellas, now three-time national champions sour note. but caught up in scandal when a wardrobe continues on p. 96 malfunction occurs at an event attended Performances, storyline, sops to the faithful—these are all secondary to the series’ bread and butter, the action. Post-screening, I joked on Facebook that “The action scenes in Mad Max: Fury Road make the action scenes in Avengers: Age of Ultron look as puny as Bela Lugosi wrestling with that fake octopus in Ed Wood’s Bride of the Monster by comparison.” Of course, I’m exaggerating (I think I’m exaggerating?), but the truth is that the film’s kinetic thrust is breathtaking, with Miller relying as much on physical feats of derring-do as he does on CGI. As a guy who was born without the automotive-fanatic gene (Volkswagen bugs are the ones that look like roly-polys, right?), car chases in movies often bore me, but the ones in Mad Max: Fury Road—like the ones in Mad Max and The Road Warrior— thrilled me to the core. The picture is full of incredible and original sights, many not even related to the chases. Yet it’s the vehicular action that towers above everything else. .

Whether it’s fancy or just plain fun, your party for Hospice Savannah always makes a difference!

As we celebrate 36 years of helping our community, we ask you to thoughtfully consider hosting or co-hosting a Summer Nights fundraising party during our birthday month of June.

Parties support Hospice Savannah’s Daily Impact Fund – making a difference each and every day in the lives of our patients and their families. Our Annual Giving Specialist, Ophelia, is here to help you plan your gathering – large or small, elegant or casual. She will provide printed invitations, donation cards to mail to your guests, more information and lots of party-planning help! Reach her at 912.629.1027 or orodriguez@HospiceSavannahHelps.org

www.HospiceSavannah.org/SummerNights

MAY 20-26, 2015

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MAY 20-26, 2015

Od There was a stretch during the 1980s when a rash of bad buddy comedies teamed the most unlikely and incompatible of partners, as if the pairs had been chosen by random spins on a wheel of misfortune. Hot Pursuit whisks us back to that ‘80s mindset by putting together Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara. The result goes well beyond oil and vinegar—it’s more like ketchup and Frosted Strawberry Pop-Tarts. Witherspoon plays Cooper, a Texas cop whose legendary blunder out in the field has since kept her behind the desk in the precinct evidence room. She’s finally given a chance to redeem herself when she’s tasked with protecting Daniella Riva (Vergara), the wife of an informant, as they travel to Dallas for the trial of a powerful cartel head ( Joaquin Cosio).

But matters go astray once corrupt cops show up on the scene, and the constantly bickering Cooper and Daniella must put their vast differences aside in order to stay alive. Along the way, Daniella makes fun of Cooper’s granny panties, Cooper disguises herself as a Justin Bieber lookalike, and the two discuss the sexual move known as “the pirate hook.”

Viewers who sit through Hot Pursuit might occasionally feel as if they themselves are on the receiving end of one of those “pirate hook” maneuvers. The main perpetrators would be Anne Fletcher, who directed such flatliners as 27 Dresses and The Guilt Trip, and TV-born-and-bred scripters David Feeney (primarily the James Belushi sitcom According to Jim) and John Quaintance (mainly the Matt LeBlanc sitcom Joey).

The participation of Fletcher accounts for the film’s erratic pacing while the presence of the latter pair explains the boob-tube beats surrounding the would-be laughs. There are a few genuinely funny bits scattered around the picture and, given the lameness of the majority of the gags, their arrivals prove to be as startling as when Norman Bates swiftly pulled that shower curtain aside and began stabbing Marion Crane.

Most of these moments that do work owe their heartiness to Witherspoon, who often rises above the tired nature of her role (a female cop who’s a klutz on the job and a failure on the dating scene). It’s easy to peg Vergara as a TV star because she delivers the type of broad performance often seen when a small-screen player hits the big screen. She’s all oversized gestures, oversized emotions, oversized enunciation—in a 96 word, she’s terrible.

Witherspoon, on the other hand, draws upon the comedic chops that sustained her back in the days of Election and Legally Blonde, before she became a serious, Oscarwinning actress. She’s superb at drama, of course, but it’s nice to see her playing loose and funky once again. It’s just a shame it has to be in a movie as criminally bankrupt as this one.

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

CCOd Director Joss Whedon kicks off the sequel to 2012’s Avengers with a bang, dropping the audience smack-dab in the middle of the action set. From there, it’s a non-stop ride as the team of misfit superheroes travels the globe in a attempt to stop the latest big, a killer robot who thinks the world would be a better place without humans. Whedon is in his element, with a huge ensemble cast featuring Robert Downey Jr. as brilliant and arrogant inventor Tony Stark, Chris Evans as the firmly patriotic Captain America, Scarlett Johansson as the deadly Black Widow, Chris Hemsworth with his pecs and abs as Thor, and—well—if we listed all thse stars, we’d been here all day. Suffice to say, that film is stuffed with talent, but to its credit, it never loses the delicate balance of having over a dozen megastars jostling for screentime. At nearly two and half hours long, the film barrels along a stretch too long, but it remains firmly what it was always meant to be: a summer popcorn flick that’ll have you cheering and laughing. — Brandon Blatcher

WOMAN IN GOLD

CCO Helen Mirren stars in this British-American drama chronicling the real-life personal affects of Nazi art theft during World War II. The tital piece of the film, Gustav Klimt’s iconic Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, was comissioned by the father of Mirren’s character, Maria Altmann. A portrait of Altmann’s aunt, it hung for years in the family’s home. When Nazis invaded Austria, it was confiscated, along with with other works throughout the city.

Altmann herself was forced to flee to America, where she settled and lived out most of her lift. In the late 1990s, the Austrian government had a reconcilation of sorts with various stolen art pieces and their original owners; when Altmann attempts to claim her familiy’s property, she discovers the reconcilation was a sham, and the Austrians have little interest in returning the painting.

She enlists the help of lawyer, Randy Schoenberg (ably portrayed by Ryan

Reynolds); together, they fight a court battle in both in Austria and America. The outcome of the film is never in doubt, but Mirren is always a joy, and Reynolds wisely keeps his performance understated against such a formidable star.

The two have a likable chemistry, and the depth of their relationship grows as they spend the years fighting for what’s ultimately right. The destination is never in doubt, but the journey is entertaining enough. —Brandon Blatcher

THE AGE OF ADALINE

OOd Lively, in her best role since her breakout turn in 2005’s The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, plays Adaline Bowman, who was born near the start of the 20th century but who, through a scientific phenomenon that the film amusingly states won’t be discovered and named until 2035, remains glued to the age of 29 following an unusual car accident.

Because of this, she never stays in one place for more than a decade and never allows herself to become too attached to anyone.

That changes, though, once she meets Ellis Jones (Michiel Huisman of, like practically every other big-screen newcomer, Game of Thrones). Adaline initially resists his advances but soon finds herself in a relationship.

A high level of suspension of disbelief is required to enjoy The Age of Adaline, and the film is charming enough and accomplished enough that we willingly give ourselves over…to a point. To its credit, it succeeds throughout most of its length, but then pushes it with a climactic development that’s egregious in the extreme.

What’s required is a bittersweet resolution and a sense of acceptance and understanding on the part of the characters.

What’s delivered is a forced ending that’s more market-driven than organic; it doesn’t feel like a confirmation, just a betrayal.

WHILE WE’RE YOUNG

OOO In While We’re Young, the latest from writer-director Noah Baumbach (The Squid and the Whale), the gap in the so-called generation gap has closed significantly, to the extent where the chasm is measured in yards rather than miles. When middleaged couple Josh (Ben Stiller) and Cornelia (Naomi Watts) first meet fresh-faced hipsters Jamie (Adam Driver) and Darby (Amanda Seyfried), they approach them with the same mix of awe and trepidation as Indiana Jones eyeing the golden idol in that Peruvian temple. The presence of Jamie and Darby in their lives feels like a godsend,

a way to recapture their lost youth and feel vibrant again.

Baumbach mines an ample amount of humor and truth out of the vagaries of getting older, and the auteur also comments on the notion of cross-generational pollination, such as the fact that the middle-aged pair have embraced cutting-edge technology with a vengeance (they’re rarely seen without their iPods and iPhones) while the kids prefer to be retro (listening to vinyl LPs and plucking away on typewriters).

A great film about modern generational relationships still needs to be made. But until such a movie comes along, the entertaining and occasionally insightful While We’re Young does its part to help fill in the gap.

FURIOUS 7

OOP Most film series have the good sense to end after two or three pictures, when the money’s been made and the franchise can’t really go any further.

But then there’s the curious case of the Fast and the Furious flicks. Let’s just marvel at how much mileage the studio has gotten out of what’s basically 1950s-style “B” programmers supercharged for contemporary audiences.

Previously on F&F: The tag at the end of Part 6 found a dapper British chap played by Jason Statham killing one of the members of the DIY family lorded over by Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel). The assassin is Deckard Shaw, brother to the villain vanquished by the speed racers in the last installment.Deckard is out for revenge, meaning no one is safe.

Unfortunately, the picture can’t maintain its momentum until the end. The various new characters aren’t especially interesting, and the sorts of savory plot twists present in the previous two pictures are nowhere to be found.

At 140 minutes, this is the longest film in the series, and a bit of judicious trimming would not have been unwelcome.

But why carp? Diehard fans will doubtless drool over every second, and more power to them for getting their money’s worth and then some. CS

We reserve the right to edit or cut listings because of space limitations.

Activism & Politics

Drinking Liberally

Every first and third Thursdays, 7:00 p.m.

A gathering of Liberals for an informal discussion of politics, the economy, sports, entertainment, and the world around us. Free to attend. Food and beverages available for purchase. Free third Thursday of every month. (912) 341-7427. livingliberally.org/drinking/chapters/ GA/savannah. Tondee's Tavern, 7 E. Bay Street.

Saturdays with Alderwoman Shabazz

Residents in Savannah’s 5th District are invited to meet with their Alderwoman every 4th Saturday of the month. Residents may come with specific issues and concerns, or just to meet their representative on Savannah City Council. District 5 runs roughly west of Bull Street and north of 36th Street, and also includes newly developing areas of the City in the southwest quadrant of Chatham County. Free and open to the public. fourth Saturday of every month, 2-4 p.m. 912-651-6410.

Shabazz Seafood Restaurant, 502 W. Victory Dr. Savannah Area Young Republicans

Get involved. Contact is Michael Johnson, via email or telephone, or see website for info. 912-604-0797. chairman@sayr.org. sayr.org. Call or see website for information. Free ongoing. 912-308-3020. savannahyoungrepublicans.com.

Savannah Libertarians

Join the Facebook group to find out about upcoming local events. Mondays. Facebook.com/groups/SAVlibertarians.

Savannah Tea Party

5pm social time. 5:30pm meeting begins.

6pm speaker. Reservations not necessary.

Free to attend. Food and beverages available for purchase. Mondays, 5:30 p.m..

912-598-7358. savannahteaparty.com. liveoakstore.com/tubbysthunderbolt.

Tubby's Tank House (Thunderbolt), 2909 River Dr. Young Democrats

Mondays at 7pm on the second level of Foxy Loxy, Bull Street. Call or visit the Young Democrats Facebook page for more information. Free ongoing. 423-6197712. foxyloxycafe.com/. Foxy Loxy Cafe, 1919 Bull St. Auditions and Calls for Entries

Call for Applications to Citizens Academy

Registration is now open for the next semester of the City of Savannah Citizens Academy, an eight-session program intended to immerse residents into the workings of their city government. The Academy gives residents a detailed overview of City services and policies and includes on-site visits, presentations by key City officials, and other hands-on

activities. It's designed to increase awareness on how Savannah's government works. The application deadline is July 17. Interested citizens must be willing to commit to attend twice-a-week classes, which generally run 6-8pm, beginning July 28 through August 20. A maximum of 25 students will be accepted for the 2015 Academy, which will be filled on a firstcome, first-served basis. $5 entrance fee Through July 17. savannahga.gov/citizensacademy.

contacted the week of May 25 and may be asked to make some minor adjustments to their artwork. Through May 22. Downtown Savannah, downtown.

Call for Proposals for 2015 Weave-a-Dream

The City of Savannah's Weave-a-Dream Panel has issued a call for proposals for its 2015 cultural and arts projects initiative. Applications will be accepted through the calendar year, while funds are available. Programs are to be completed prior to October 1, 2015. Project funding is available up to $2,000 for Call for Art Instructors specific and innovative arts, cultural, or The City of Savannah’s Department of Cultural Affairs is now accepting resumes heritage projects or presentations that have a measurable, quantifiable benefit for visual arts, puppetry, and age appropriate video and animation instructors for to Savannah’s diverse populations. The the 2015 Summer Art Camp, taking place Weave-A-Dream committee seeks proposals that actively involve youth, seniors, June 1 through July 31 at 9 West Henry and those who have limited access to arts St. Children ages 5 to 12 can participate based programs in Savannah. Programs in the week-long camp which provides engaging participates ranging from 6 -11 an introduction to painting, ceramics, graders with disciplines of production, jewelry, fibers, mixed media, puppetry, animation, photography desktop publishvideo and animation in age-appropriate ing, CAD, metalworking and carpentry are group settings. Instructors at the full day of particular interest to Weave-A-Dream. art camp work with children ages 5-8, While other programs such as performand/or 9-12 and teen interns ages 13-18. ing, visual, media, theater, folk, design The hours are 8:30 am - 5:00 pm. Each week, Monday through Thursday, instruc- (architecture), or literary arts are also tors will teach five classes a day, one hour encouraged to apply. To be eligible for per group, with a maximum of 10 children consideration, an organization must be per group. On Friday, instructors will meet a non-profit, 501c3, head-quartered in Savannah’s corporate limits. Proposed with each group in the morning for 30 programs must also be produced within minutes. Instructors may plan multiple the City’s corporate limits. No individprojects per week. Qualified instructors must submit to a background check. This ual artist applications will be accepted.

Through Aug. 2. 912-651-5988 ext. 8969. is a contracted weekly position. Through rbrown02@savannahga.gov. savannahga.

June 1. 912-651-6783. chefner@savangov/arts. City of Savannah Department of nahga.gov. City of Savannah Department Cultural Affairs, 9 West Henry St. of Cultural Affairs, 9 West Henry St. Call for Artists

The Sentient Bean seeks experienced artists for one-month-long exhibitions of his/ her work. Artists must have a website with current images representing a sample of the work to be shown in order to be considered. Apply to sentientbooking@gmail. com, subject line “art show." See website for info. Fridays.. sentientbean.com/ booking#visualarts. sentientbean.com.

The Sentient Bean, 13 East Park Ave. Call for Entries for Savannah Food and Wine Festival Poster Competition

The 2015 festival is opening up the poster competition to any artist over 18 years of age, in any medium. The entry finalists will be selected by the SF&WF Poster Judging Committee and on display at the Eat It and Like It Foodie Awards at the Mansion on Forsyth Park on May 27th.

Artwork should depict a food and wine element, be unique, and contain recognizable Savannah representations/imagery.

Art must include dates of the event (November 9-15, 2015) and the website. Final artwork should be submitted in a PDF format by May 22 via email to info@savannahfoodandwinefest.com with the subject line Poster Competition. Finalists will be

Call for Speakers for Geekend 2015

The theme of Creative Coast's Geekend 2015 is Growth. All entrepreneurs, developers, marketers, social media mavericks, technology enthusiasts, designers and other creatives are encouraged to apply to speak now. Geekend is looking for compelling cutting-edge content that is actionable and touches upon any one or several of the following topics: Design, Development, Mobile, Social Media, Marketing, Growth Hacking, Access to Capital, Sales, Management. The festival will take place October 15-17. Through Oct. 15. 912-447-8457. geek-end.com/speakers/apply. thecreativecoast.org. Creative Coast, 415 W. Boundary St. City of Savannah TV Show Seeks Entries

The City of Savannah's TV station, SGTV, seeks profiles, documentaries, animations, original music videos, histories or other original works by or about the citizens of Savannah to run on "Engage," a television show produced by the city. No compensation. SGTV offers an opportunity to expose local works to over 55,000 households in Chatham County. Submit proposals via website. Saturdays.. savannahga.gov/engagesgtv.

Gallery Seeks Local Artists

Kobo Gallery, 33 Barnard Street, seeks 2-D and 3-D artists to join its cooperative gallery. Must be a full-time resident of Savannah or nearby area. Work to be considered includes painting, photography, mixed media, sculpture, glass, ceramics and wood. Submit 5-10 images of work, resume/CV and bio to info@kobogallery. com. Mondays. Kobo Gallery, 33 Barnard Street ,.

Homeschool Music Classes

Music classes for homeschool students ages 8-18 and their parents. Offered in Guyton and Savannah. See website for details. ongoing. CoastalEmpireMusic. com.

Oatland Island Seeks Memories and Recollections for 40th Anniversary

Oatland Island Education Center is looking for memories of Oatland Island in honor of their 40th anniversary. People who were part of the Youth Conservation Corp that helped to build Oatland Island Education Center in the 1970’s.

Great memories from field trips. Special family memories of Oatland Island. Send your photos and stories to memories@ oatland40th.org. Deadline is August 31. undefined. 912-395-1500. oatlandisland. org.

Benefits

Chatham County Animal Control Seeks Donations of Items

Chatham County Animal Control seeks items for pets in the facility. Canned and dry dog and cat food, baby formula, newspaper, paper towels, soaps, crates, leashes, collars, wash cloths, towels.

Open daily, 1pm-5pm. Mondays.. 912351-6750. animalcontrol.chathamcounty. org. Chatham County Animal Shelter, 7215 Sallie Mood Dr. Forsyth Farmers Market Seeks Sponsors

Market sponsors invest in a healthy community and support the local economy.

Sponsorships begin at $350. Help keep food fresh and local. Tuesdays.. kristen@ forsythfarmersmarket.com. forsythfarmersmarket.com. forsythfarmersmarket. com/. Forsyth Farmers' Market, 501 Whitaker St., South End of Forysth Park. $5 Bikram Yoga Class to Benefit Local Charities

Bikram Yoga Savannah offers a weekly Karma class to raise money for local charities. Thursdays during the 6:30pm class. Pay $5 for class and proceeds are donated to a different charity each month.

This is a regular Bikram Yoga class. ongoing. 912.356.8280. bikramyogasavannah.com.

SCMPD Animal Control seeks Volunteers

Savannah Chatham County Animal Control seeks volunteers to serve various tasks as needed by the shelter. No prior animal shelter experience is necessary.

Newly trained volunteers will be authocontinues on p. 98

MAY 20-26, 2015

happenings

compiled by Rachael Flora | happenings@connectsavannah.com Happenings is Connect Savannah’s listing of community gatherings, events, classes and groups. If you want an event listed, email happenings@connectsavannah.com. Include specific 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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rized to serve immediately after orientation. Potential volunteers are asked to notify J. Lewis prior to orientation; though, walk-ins are welcome. Volunteers must be at least 17-years-old. ongoing. (912) 525-2151. jlewis01@savannahga.gov.

Shoes to Trees Program

Help with West Broad Street YMCA with the Shoes to Trees program. Help the MORE Foundation send millions of tree seeds to offset carbon and help Y’s overseas support themselves. Funding for this life-changing program comes from used athletic shoes donated by members, volunteers, donors, community partners, and more. Every donated pair sends 10 tree seeds to a Y overseas. Every pair removes one ton of carbon from the atmosphere.

Now collecting gently used athletic and soccer shoes sizes 7-11. Through Aug. 31.

912-233-1951. westbroadstreetymca.org.

YMCA-West Broad St, 1110 May St. Classes, Camps & Workshops

Art Classes at The Studio School

Ongoing weekly drawing and painting classes for youth and adults. See website, send email or call for details. 912-4846415. melindaborysevicz@gmail.com. thestudioschoolsavannah.com.

Art, Music, Piano, Voice Coaching

Coaching for all ages, beginners through advanced. Classic, modern, jazz improvization and theory. Serious inquiries only. 912-961-7021 or 912-667-1056.

Beading Classes

Offered every weekend at Perlina Beadshop, 6 West State Street. Check website calendar or call for info. 912-441-2656. perlinabeadshop.com.

Beading Classses at Epiphany Bead & Jewelry Studio

Learn jewelry-making techniques from beginner to advanced. Call for class times. 912-920-6659. Epiphany Bead & Jewelry Studio, 101 N. Fahm St. 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. Anahata Healing Arts Center, 2424 Drayton St. Champions Training Center

Offering a variety of classes and training in mixed martial arts, jui-jitsu, judo and other disciplines for children and adults.

All skill levels. 525 Windsor Rd. 912-3494582. ctcsavannah.com.

MAY 20-26, 2015

Chatham County Sheriff's Office Explorers Post 876

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Chatham County Sheriff's Office Explorers Post 876, is taking applications from young men and women (ages 14-20) interested in law enforcement careers.

Explorers experience mentoring, motivation, and learn skills which help prepare them for their roles as productive citizens.

See Chatham County Sheriff's web page, click "Community/Explorers Post 876 or call. Wednesdays.. 912-651-3743. cha-

thamsheriff.org.

Chinese Language Classes

The Confucius Institute at Savannah State University offers free Chinese language classes starting January 17. To register, please call 912-358-3160. ongoing. 912358-3160. confuciusinstitute@savannahstate.edu. savannahstate.edu. savstate. edu/. Savannah State University, 3219 College St.

912-484-6415. melindaborysevicz@gmail. com. thestudioschoolsavannah.com.

Studio School, 1319 Bull St.

1500. portmansmusic.com. portmansmusic.com. Portman's Music Superstore, 7650 Abercorn St.

Emphasis on theory, reading music, and improvisation. Located in Ardsley Park. ongoing. 912-232-5987.

Savannah Musicians Institute offers private instruction for all ages in guitar, ddrums, piano, bass, voice, banjo, mandolin, ukelele, flute, woodwinds. 7041 Hodgson Memorial Dr. ongoing. 912-6928055. smisavannah@gmail.com.

Guitar, Mandolin, or Bass Guitar Lessons

Housing Authority Neighborhood Resource Center

Housing Authority of Savannah hosts classes at the Neighborhood Resource Center. Adult literacy/GED prep: MonThurs, 9am-12pm & 1pm-4pm. Financial The City of Savannah’s Cultural Affairs education: 4th Fri each month, 9amCommission has issued a “Call for Proposals” for the 2016 Contracts for Cultural 11am. Basic computer training: Tues & & Arts Services Program. Free workshops Thurs, 1pm-3pm. Community computer will be held to explain the 2016 Contracts lab: Mon-Fri, 3pm-4:30pm. ongoing. 912232-4232 x115. savannahpha.com. savanfor Cultural & Arts Services process. nahpha.com/NRC.html. Neighborhood The workshops will focus on funding Resource Center, 1407 Wheaton St. programs, eligibility criteria, funding priorities, and the application process.

Knitting & Crochet Classes The workshops are open to the public.

Offered at The Frayed Knot, 6 W. State St. Workshop dates and times are subject to See the calendar of events on website. change. Space is limited and registration Mondays. 912-233-1240. thefrayedknotis required. For more workshop dates sav.com. please visit our website. Through May 21. Learn to Sew 912-651-6417. rbrown02@savannahga.

Sewing lessons for all ages and skill levgov. savannahga.gov/arts. City of Savanels. Private and Group classes. Tuesdays.. nah Department of Cultural Affairs, 9 912-596-0889. kleossewingstudio.com.

West Henry St. Kleo's Sewing Studio, 36 W. Broughton St. #201.

Clay Classes Savannah Clay Studio at Beaulieu offers Life Coaching handbuilding, sculpture, and handmade Group & individual life coaching with a tiles, basic glazing and firing. 912-351Certified Life Coach. Plan for a career 4578. sav..claystudio@gmail.com. change, new lifestyle, or an opportunity to pursue creative or business projects.

Boating Classes Step-by-step guidance to fulfill aspiraClasses on boat handling, boating safety and navigation offered by U.S. Coast Guard tions. In person or telephone sessions.

Thursdays.. 912-596-1952. info@roiseanAuxiliary. See website or call to register. dassociates.com. Downtown Savannah, 912-897-7656. savannahaux.com. downtown.

DUI Prevention Group Offers victim impact panels for intoxiLove dolphins? cated drivers, DUI, offenders, and anyone Love dolphins? Interested in learning seeking knowledge about the dangers about the local Bottlenose dolphins and/ of driving while impaired. A must see for or helping in dolphin research? Come teen drivers. Meets monthly. $40/session learn about these wonderful animals.

912-443-0410.

You'll be amazed at what you don't know about the local Bottlenose dolphins.

English as Second Language Classes Help protect wild estuarine Bottlenose Learn conversational English, compredolphins by volunteering with The Dolphin hension, vocabulary and life communicaProject for research surveys. $0 Sat., May tion skills. All ages. Thursdays, 7:30pm, Island Christian Church, 4601 US Highway 23, 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. 912-657-3927.

80 East. Free. 912-897-3604. islandchris- thedolphinproject@gmail.com. thedolphinproject.org. Southwest Chatham tian.org.

Library, 14097 Abercorn St. Family Law Workshop The Mediation Center has three workMusic Instruction shops per month for people who do not Georgia Music Warehouse, near corner have legal representation in a family of Victory Drive & Abercorn, offering matter: divorce, legitimation, modificainstruction by professional musicians. tions of child support, visitation, contempt. Band instruments, violin, piano, drums Schedule: 1st Tues, 2nd Mon, 4th Thursand guitar. All ages welcome. ongoing. day. Call for times. $30 912-354-6686.

912-358-0054. georgiamusicwarehouse. mediationsavannah.com. com/. Georgia Music Warehouse, 2424 Abercorn St. Fany's Spanish/English Institute Spanish is fun. Classes for adults and Music Lessons: Private or Group children held at 15 E. Montgomery Portman’s Music Academy offers private Crossroad. Register by phone. ongoing. or group classes for ages 2 to 92, begin912-921-4646. ner to advanced level. All instruments.

Also, voice lessons, music production Figure Drawing Classes technology and DJ lessons. Teaching staff Tuesdays 6-9pm and Wednesdays 9:30of over 20 instructors with professional, 12:30am. $60/4-session package or $20 drop-in fee. At the Studio School. ongoing. well equipped studios. Fridays.. 912-354Call for Proposals for 2016 Contracts for Cultural Services

Music Lessons--Multiple Instruments

New Horizons Adult Band Program

Music program for adults who played a band instrument in high school/college and would like to play again. Mondays at 6:30pm at Portman's. $30 per month. All ages and ability levels welcome. Call for info. ongoing. 912-354-1500. portmansmusic.com. Portman's Music Superstore, 7650 Abercorn St. New Mama's Club

A weekly Friday gathering of new moms and their babies. Practice baby & mom yoga, do a planned activity. Dream boards, affirmation writing, personalized aromatherapy and other projects. Fridays, 10 a.m.-noon. 912-704-7650. ann@douladeliveries.com. douladeliveries.com. erigosavannah.com. Erigo, 5301 Paulsen Street.

Novel Writing

Write a novel, finish the one you've started, revise it or pursue publication.

Award-winning Savannah author offers one-on-one or small group classes, mentoring, manuscript critique, ebook formatting. Email for pricing and scheduling info. ongoing. pmasoninsavannah@ gmail.com.

Photography Classes

Beginner photography to post production.

Instruction for all levels. $20 for two-hour class. See website for complete class list.

410-251-4421. chris@chrismorrisphotography.com. chrismorrisphotography.com.

Piano Lessons

Piano lessons with a classically trained instructor, with theater and church experience. 912-312-3977. ongoing. georgiamusicwarehouse.com/. Georgia Music Warehouse, 2424 Abercorn St. Piano Voice-Coaching

Pianist with M/degree,classical modern jazz improvisation, no age limit. Call 912-961-7021 or 912-667-1056. Serious inquiries only. ongoing.

Pole Fitness Classes

Pole dancing is a beautiful artform, and a combination of dance, flexibility and gymnastics. Pole dancing has quickly become one of the most popular forms of fun and exercise for women. It can help you lose weight, gain beautiful muscle tone, make you stronger than ever and build confidence like no other form of exercise can.

Join us on Tuesday nights and get fitter and stronger than you've ever been, with this amazing full body workout. Schedule TBA $20 Every other Tuesday, 7-9 p.m.

912-988-1052. Mediterranean Tavern, 125 Foxfield Way. Reading/Writing Tutoring

Ms. Dawn’s Tutoring in reading, writing,

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and composition. Remedial reading skills, help with borderline dyslexia, to grammar, term paper writing, and English as a Second Language. Fun methods for children to help them learn quickly. 912660-7399. cordraywriter@gmail.com.

A. Roper Studio - Voice Technique and Coaching

Experienced and successful voice instructor is accepting students. Nurturing and collaborative studio. Services offered include strengthening the voice, range extension, relaxation techniques, and coaching through various styles of music. Audition and competition preparation. Located 15 minutes from downtown.

Varies Mondays-Saturdays, 8 a.m.-8 p.m.

912-484-0628. Downtown Savannah, downtown.

Russian Language Classes

Learn to speak Russian. All experience levels welcome, beginner to expert. Call for info. ongoing. 912-713-2718.

Sewing Classes

For beginners or advanced sewers.

Industry standard sewing courses designed to meet standards in the garment industry. Open schedule. Savannah Sewing Academy. 1917 Bull St. Sundays..

912-290-0072. savsew.com.

Singing Classes

Bel Canto is a singing style which helps the voice become flexible and expressive, improves vocal range and breathing capacity. A foundation for opera, rock, pop, gospel and musical theatre. $25 Mondays, 6 p.m.. 786-247-9923. anitraoperadiva@yahoo.com. Institute of Cinematic Arts, 12 West State Street, 3rd and 4th flrs.,.

Spanish Classes

Spanish courses for professionals offered

by Conquistador Spanish Language Institute, LLC. Beginner Spanish for Professionals--Intro price $155 + textbook ($12.95). Instructor: Bertha E. Hernandez, M.Ed. and native speaker. Meets in the Keller Williams Realty meeting room, 329 Commercial Drive. Tuesdays.. conquistador-spanish.com.

Vocal Lessons

A group of voice instructors who believe in the power of a nurturing community to help voice students blossom into vibrant artists. Each instructor holds a Masters of Music in Voice Performance. Group classes held once a month, plus an annual recital. Varies Wednesdays.. 912656-0760. TheVoiceCoOp.org. The Voice Co-op, Downtown.

Clubs & Organizations

13th Colony Sound Barbershop Chorus

Sing in the harmonious barbershop style with the Savannah Chorus of the Barbershop Harmony Society. No charge Mondays, 6:30 p.m.. 912-344-9768. rfksav@ gmail.com. savannahbarbershoppers.org.

Savannah Arts Academy, 500 Washington Ave. Abeni Cultural Arts Dance Classes

Classses for multiple ages in perfor-

mance dance and adult fitness dance.

African, modern, ballet, jazz, tap, contemporary, gospel. Held at Abeni Cultural Arts studio, 8400-B Abercorn St. Call Muriel, 912-631-3452, or Darowe, 912-272-2797. ongoing. abeniculturalarts@gmail.com.

Avegost LARP

Live action role playing group that exists in a medieval fantasy realm. generallly meets the second weekend of the month.

Free for your first event or if you're a nonplayer character. $35 fee for returning characters. ongoing. godzillaunknown@ gmail.com. avegost.com.

other fiber arts. Meets at Oatland Island Wildlife Center, first Saturday of the month (Sept.-June) 10:15am. Mondays, 10:30 a.m. fiberguildsavannah.homestead.com/. Fiber Guild of the Savannahs, 711 Sandtown Road GA. Georgia's Other Unwanted and Unneeded Pipeline

The Palmetto Pipeline is not the only pipeline project in Georgia being fought by landowners and environmentalists.

John S. Quarterman from the WWALS Watershed Coalition and one of the landowners affected by the Sabal Trail Pipeline in Southwest Georgia will share Blindness and Low Vision Workshop their experience at the next Sierra Club Workshops on the 3rd Thursday of each meeting. Come to the meeting and gain a month on vision loss, services, and technology available to participate in the com- wider perspective on the untenable push to expand fossil fuel production when munity. For people with blindness or low vision, and for caregivers and friends. Free climate change compels us to turn to clean energy. Free Thu., May 21, 7 p.m. and open to the public. third Thursday of every month.. savannahcblv.org. Savannah 912-961-6190. fpc.presbychurch.net. First Presbyterian Church, 520 Washington Center for the Blind and Low Vision, 214 Ave. Drayton St. 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.

Business Networking on the Islands

Small Business Professionals Islands Networking Group meets first Thursday each month, 9:30am-10:30am.

Tradewinds Ice Cream & Coffee, 107 Charlotte Rd. Call for info. ongoing. 912308-6768.

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. Drop N Circle Craft Night

Sponsored by The Frayed Knot and Perlina. Tuesdays, 5pm-8pm. 6 W. State Street. A working gathering of knitters, crocheters, beaders, spinners, felters, needle pointers, etc. All levels of experience welcome. Tuesdays.. 912-233-1240.

Exchange Club of Savannah - Weekly Lunch

Meets every Monday (except on the fifth Monday of the month), 12pm-1pm. Weekly speaker, and honor a student of the month and year, police officer and fireman of the year. Charities: Jenkins Boys & Girls Club; Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse. Guest are welcome Mondays, 12-1 p.m.. 912-441-6559. Savannahexchange.org. Exchange Club of Savannah, 4801 Meding Street.

Historic Flight Savannah

A non-profit organization dedicated to sending area Korean War and WWII veterans to Washington, DC, to visit the WWII Memorial. All expenses paid by Honor Flight Savannah. Honor Flight seeks contributions, and any veterans interested in a trip to Washington. Call for info. ongoing. 912-596-1962. honorflightsavannah. org.

Historic Savannah Chapter: ABWA

Meets the second Thursday of every month from 6pm-7:30pm. Tubby's Tank House, 2909 River Drive, Thunderbolt. Attendees pay for their own meals. RSVP by phone. ongoing. 912-660-8257.

Ink Slingers Writing Group

A free creative writing group for writers of poetry, prose, or undefinable creative ventures. Meets every other Wednesday.

Discussion of exercises, ideas, or already in progress pieces. See Facebook page savinkslingers. Every other Wednesday.. foxyloxycafe.com/. Foxy Loxy Cafe, 1919 Bull St. Islands MOPS

A Mothers of Preschoolers group that meets two Wednesdays a month, 9:15am11:30am. Wednesdays.. sites.google. com/site/islandsmops. fbcislands.com/.

First Baptist Church of the Islands, 6613 Johnny Mercer Blvd.

Knitters, Needlepoint and Crochet

Meets every Wednesday. Different locations downtown. Call for info. No fees.

Want to learn? Join us. ongoing. 912-3086768.

Knittin’ Night

Knit and crochet gathering held each Tuesday evening, 5pm-8pm All skill levels welcome. Tuesdays, 5-8 p.m. 912-2380514. wildfibresavannah.com/. Wild Fibre, 409 East Liberty St. Low Country Turners

A club for wood-turning enthusiasts. Call A club focusing on weaving, spinning, bas- Steve Cook for info at number below. ongoing. 912-313-2230. ket making, knitting, crocheting, quilting, beading, rug hooking, doll making, and Military Order of the Purple Heart Ladies Fiber Guild of the Savannahs

Auxiliary

Meets the first Saturday of the month at 1:00pm. Call for info. ongoing. 912-7864508. American Legion Post 184, 3003 Rowland Ave. Philo Cafe

Discussion group that meets every Monday, 7:30pm - 9:00pm at various locations. Anyone craving good conversation is invited. Free to attend. Email for info, or see Facebook.com/SavannahPhiloCafe.

Mondays. athenapluto@yahoo.com.

R.U.F.F. - Retirees United for the Future

RUFF meets the last Friday of each month at 10am to protect Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and related senior issues. Parking in the rear. Free to all Seniors ongoing. 912-344-5127. New Covenant Church, 2201 Bull St. Safe Kids Savannah

A coalition dedicated to preventing childhood injuries. Meets 2nd Tuesday each month, 11:30am-1:00pm. See website or call for info. ongoing. 912-353-3148. safekidssavannah.org.

Savannah Brewers' League

Meets 1st Wednesday of the month, 7:30pm at Moon River Brewing Co. Call or see website for info. ongoing. 912-4470943. hdb.org. moonriverbrewing.com/.

Moon River Brewing Co., 21 West Bay St.

Savannah Charlesfunders Investment Discussion Group

Meets Saturdays, 8:30am to discuss stocks, bonds and better investing. Contact by email for info. ongoing. charlesfund@gmail.com. panerabread.com/.

Panera Bread (Broughton St.), 1 West Broughton St.

Savannah Council, Navy League of the United States

A dinner meeting every 4th Tuesday of the month at 6:00 pm at local restaurants.

3rd Tuesday in November; none in December. For dinner reservations, please call Sybil Cannon at 912-964-5366. ongoing. 912-748-7020. savannahnavyleague. us.

Savannah Fencing Club

Beginner classes Tuesdays and Thursdays for six weeks. $60. Some equipment provided. After completing the class, join the Savannah Fencing Club; $5/month.

Experienced fencers welcome. Tuesdays, Thursdays.. 912-429-6918. savannahfencing@aol.com.

Savannah Go Green

Meets most Saturdays. Green events and places. Share ways to Go Green each day.

Call for info. ongoing. 912-308-6768.

Savannah Kennel Club

Monthly meetings open to the public the 4th Monday each month, Sept. through June. ongoing, 7 p.m. savannahkennelclub.org. barnesrestaurant.com.

Barnes Restaurant, 5320 Waters Avenue.

Savannah Newcomers Club

Open to women who have lived in the Savannah area for less than two years.

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to help learn about Savannah and make new friends. ongoing. savannahnewcomersclub.com.

Concerts

13th Colony Sound (Barbershop Singing)

“If you can carry a tune, come sing with us!” Mondays, 7pm. ongoing. 912-344Beach, Buffet and no dress code. Check 9768. savannahbarbershoppers.org. website for events calendar or send an Thunderbolt Lodge #693, 3111 Rowland email for Parrot Head gatherings. ongoAve. ing. savannahphc@yahoo.com. savannah- PICKSouthbound Anniversary Concert phc.com.

Ramblin' Man Productions hosts The Society for Creative Anachronism Heavy Pets to celebrate Southbound Meets every Saturday at the south end of Brewing Company’s second anniversary.

Forsyth Park for fighter practice and gen- Guests will enjoy a great beer line-up eral hanging out. For people interested in from Southbound including throw-back re-creating the Middle Ages and Renaisfavorites such as Moonlight Drive Coffee sance. Free Saturdays, 11 a.m.. savannah- Imperial Stout and Bad Bad Cascade sca.org. Forsyth Park, 501 Whitaker St. Brown as well as some special barrelSavannah Story Games aged releases. Tickets for this 21+ event A group that plays games that tell impro- are $25 in advance and include a souvenir vised stories. Create an amazing story pint glass and beer samples throughin just three hours, using group games out the evening. Food will be available with special rules that craft characters, for purchase. $25 Fri., May 22, 6:30 settings, and conflicts. Sundays at 6pm. p.m. 912-335-7716. katie@southboundfree Saturdays, 6 p.m.. info@savannahsto- brewingco.com. https://facebook.com/ rygames.com. savannahstorygames.com. events/722122734571591/. Southbound Guild Hall, 615 Montgomery Street.

Brewing Company, 107 East Lathrop Ave. Savannah Parrot Head Club

Savannah Toastmasters

Helps improve speaking and leadership skills in a friendly, supportive environment. Mondays, 6:15pm, Memorial Health University Medical Center, in the Conference Room C. ongoing. 912-484-6710. memorialhealth.com/. Memorial Health University Medical Center, 4700 Waters Ave. Savannah Veggies and Vegans

Join the Facebook group to find out more about vegetarian and vegan lifestyles, and to hear about upcoming local events.

Mondays.

Savannah Writers Group

A gathering of writers of all levels for networking, hearing published guest authors, and critique. 2nd and 4th Tuesdays, 7:00pm, Atlanta Bread Company, Twelve Oaks Shopping Center, 5500 Abercorn.

Free and open to the public. fourth Tuesday of every month.. savannahwritersgroup.blogspot.com.

Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 671

Meets second Monday of each month, 7pm, at the American Legion Post 135, 1108 Bull St. ongoing. 912-429-0940. rws521@msn.com. vvasav.com.

Waving Girls--Smocking Arts Guild of America

The Waving Girls welcomes smockers and all those who create fine heirloom items.

At each meeting there is an opportunity to learn and share our work. The group makes over 100 "wee care" gowns for memorial hospital each year. fourth Monday of every month, 6:30 p.m. 912 536 1447. debcreation@hotmail.com. smocking. org. Coastal Center for Developmental Services, 1249 Eisenhower Drive.

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Meets second Tuesday each month (except October) 6:00pm, WoodvilleTompkins, 151 Coach Joe Turner St. Call or email for info. ongoing. 912-232-3549. chesteraellis@comcast.net.

Conferences

Career Fair

Get ready to put your resume to good use.

Whether you are a Veteran, transitioning military, student, recent graduate or someone just looking for employment you are invited to the Job Fair. Job Fairs are excellent places to learn, network and land a job. You will have the opportunity to meet with employers that you might not be able to access any other way. Free Wed., May 20, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. 678-863-0425. jobfairs@unemploymenteliminators.com. unemploymenteliminators.com. savannahcivic.com. The Savannah Civic Center, 301 West Oglethorpe Ave. Dance

Adult Ballet Class

Maxine Patterson School of Dance, 2212 Lincoln St, offers adult ballet on Thursdays, 6:30pm-7:30pm $12 per class. Call for info. ongoing. 912-234-8745.

Adult Intermediate Ballet

Mondays and Wednesdays, 7pm-8pm. $12/class or $90/8 classes. Call for info.

Academy of Dance, 74 W. Montgomery Crossroad. Wednesdays. 912-921-2190.

Beginner and intermediate ballet, modern dance, barre fusion, barre core body sculpt, gentle stretch & tone. Tuesdays..

912-925-0903. theballetschoolsav.com.

Ballet School, 10010 Abercorn St.

p.m. 912-663-1306. Chakradancer@ comcast.net. chakradance.com/. synergisticbodies.com. Synergistic Bodies, 7901 Waters Ave. Ballroom Group Dance Class

Weekly ballroom dance classes focus on two types of dance each month. Open to partners/couples or to solos. The $35 for 4 weeks or $10 drop in Mondays, 7 p.m.

912.312.3549. reservetodance@gmail. com. salondebailedancestudio.com. Salon de Baile Dance Studio, 7064 Hodgson Memorial Drive.

Ballroom Series Group Class

A group ballroom dance class for beginners through advanced. Rumba, Swing, Tango, Foxtrot, Waltz, Cha Cha, Samba, and more. Singles or couples. $10.00 per person or $35 for 4 weeks (per person) Wednesdays, 7-8 p.m.. 912.312.3549. reservetodance@gmail.com. salondebailedancestudio.com. Salon de Baile Dance Studio, 7064 Hodgson Memorial Drive.

Ballroom/Latin Group Class

Group classes every Tuesday and Wednesday at 8pm. Tuesdays focus on fundamental steps, styling, and techniques. Wednesday's classes are more specific, with advanced elements. $15/ person and $25/couple Wednesdays, 8 p.m. and Tuesdays.. 912-335-3335. savannahballroom@gmail.com. savannahballroomdancing.com. Savannah Ballroom Dance Studio, 11 Travis Street.

Beginner's Belly Dance Classes

Learn basic moves and choreography with local Belly Dancer, Nicole Edge. Class is open to all ages and skill levels. Walk-ins welcome. 15.00 Wednesdays, 7-8 p.m.

912-596-0889. edgebelly@gmail.com. edgebellydance.com. Fitness on Broughton, 1 E. Broughton St. Beginners Belly Dance Classes

Instructed by Nicole Edge. All ages/Skill levels welcome. Sundays, 12pm-1pm. Fitness body and balance studio. 2127 1//2 E. Victory Dr. $15/class or $48/hour. Call or see website. ongoing. 912-596-0889. cairoonthecoast.com.

Beginners Belly Dancing with Cybelle

For those with little-to-no dance background. Instructor is formally trained, has performed for over ten years. $15/person.

Tues. 7pm-8pm. Private classes and walk ins available. Synergistic Bodies, 7724 Waters Ave. ongoing. 912-414-1091. info@ cybelle3.com. cybelle3.com.

Happenstance Bellydance

Lessons Sundays 1:30-3;30pm. Open to the public. $3 per person. Wear closed toe leather shoes if possible. Doris Martin Dance Studio, 8511-h ferguson Ave. Call or email for info. ongoing. 912-925-7416. savh_tango@yahoo.com.

All levels and styles of bellydance welcome. Classes every Monday, 5:306:30pm. Drop-ins welcome. $15/lesson Mondays, 5:30 p.m.. (912) 704-2940. happenstancebellydance@gmail.com. happenstancebellydance.wordpress.com.

Anahata Healing Arts Center, 2424 Drayton St. Suite B.

A free-flowing, meditative dance, with eclectic music selected to resonate with each specific chakra, along with guided imagery. No dance experience or chakras knowledge needed. $20 ongoing, 7-8:30

Wednesdays, 6pm-8pm. Clogging or tap dance experience is necessary. Call Claudia Collier for info. ongoing. 912-7480731. Windsor Forest Recreation Building, Windsor Forest.

Argentine Tango

Awaken with Chakradance™

C.C. Express Dance Team

Dance for Peace

A weekly gathering to benefit locals in need. Music, dancing, fun for all ages.

Donations of nonperishable food and gently used or new clothing are welcomed.

Free and open to the public. Sundays, 3 p.m. 912-547-6449. xavris21@yahoo.com.

Forsyth Park, 501 Whitaker St. Dance Lessons (Salsa, Bachata)

Learn to dance Salsa & Bachata. For info, call Austin (912-704-8726) or Omar (Spanish - 787-710-6721). Thursdays.

912-704-8726. salsa@salsasavannah. com. salsasavannah.com. Great Gatsby, 408 West Broughton Street.

Dance Party

Dance on Thursdays at 8pm--fun, friendship, and dancing. Free for Savannah Ballroom students. $10 for visitors ($15 for couples). free - $15 Thursdays, 8 p.m.

912-335-3335. savannahballroom@gmail. com. savannahballroomdancing.com.

Savannah Ballroom Dance Studio, 11 Travis Street.

Disco Hustle Dance Class

Do the hustle! A New York style Disco Hustle group class taught by Jos'eh Marion, a professional ballroom dance instructor. Sundays at 5pm. Call for pricing. Sundays, 5 p.m.. 843-290-6174.

Trudancer@gmail.com. ymcaofcoastalga. org/. YMCA (Habersham Branch), 6400 Habersham St. Free Dance Thursdays at Lake Mayer

Lake Mayer is offering free dance and fitness classes for all ages every Thursday, in the Community Center. 9:30 am and 10:30 am is the "Little Movers" class for toddlers. 12:00 pm Lunch Break Fitness.

1:30 pm Super Seniors. 5:30 pm youth hip hop. 6:30 pm Adult African Fitness. FREE ongoing, 9:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. 912-6526780. sdavis@chathamcounty.org. Lake Mayer, 1850 E. Montgomery Crossroads.

FUNdamentals Dance Lesson

Group dance lessons every Tuesday and Wednesday at 8pm. Tuesday: fundamental steps, styling, and techniques.

Wednesday: advanced elements. $15/ person $25/couple Tuesdays, 8 p.m. and Wednesdays, 8 p.m.. 912-335-3335. savannahballroom@gmail.com. savannahballroomdancing.com. Savannah Ballroom Dance Studio, 11 Travis Street.

Home Cookin' Cloggers

Wednesdays, 6pm-8pm, Nassau Woods Recreation Building, Dean Forest Road.

No beginner classes at this time. Call Claudia Collier for info. ongoing. 912-7480731.

Irish Dance Classes

Glor na Dare offers beginner to champion Irish Dance classes for ages 5 and up.

Adult Step & Ceili, Strength and Flexibility, non-competitive and competitive programs, workshops, camps. Certified.

Wednesdays.. 912-704-2052. prideofirelandga@gmail.com.

Kids/Youth Dance Class

Kids Group class on various Ballroom and Latin dances. Multiple teachers. Ages 4-17 currently enrolled in the program.

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Prepares youth for social and/or competitive dancing. $15/person Saturdays, 10 a.m. 912-335-3335. savannahballroom@ gmail.com. savannahballroomdancing. com. Savannah Ballroom Dance Studio, 11 Travis Street.

LaBlast- Dance Fitness designed by Louis Van Amstel from DWTS

Created by world renowned dancer and ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" professional, Louis Van Amstel, LaBlast uniquely combines a wide variety of ballroom dance styles and music genres.

Do the Cha Cha Cha, Disco, Jive, Merengue, Salsa and Samba set to everything from pop and rock to hip-hop and country – and burn fat and blast calories! No experience and no partner necessary. $15.00 drop in or 10 classes for $80.00 Mondays, 6-7 p.m. and Fridays, 10-11 a.m. 912.312.3549. reservetodance@ gmail.com. salondebailedancestudio. com. Salon de Baile Dance Studio, 7064 Hodgson Memorial Drive.

Line Dancing

Take down Tuesdays. Jazzy Sliders Adult Line Dancing, every Tuesday, 7:30pm10:00pm. Free admission, cash bar.

Come early and learn a new dance from 7:30pm-8:30pm. ongoing. doublesnightclub.com/. Doubles Nightclub, 7100 Abercorn St. Mahogany Shades of Beauty

Dance classes - hip hop, modern, jazz, West African, ballet, lyrical and step.

Modeling and acting classes. All ages/ levels welcome. Call Mahogany for info. ongoing. 912-272-8329.

Modern Dance Class

Beginner and intermediate classes. Fridays 10am-11:15am. Doris Martin Studio, 7360 Skidaway Rd. Call Elizabeth for info. ongoing. 912-354-5586.

Salsa Lessons by Salsa Savannah

Tues. 8pm-9pm and 9pm-10pm. Thur.

8pm-9pm and 9pm-10pm. Sun. 5pm6pm and 6pm-7pm. Salon de Maile, 704B Hodgson Memorial Dr., Savannah, 31406.

Tuesdays.. salsasavannah.com.

Salsa Night

Come and shake it to the best latin grooves and bachata the night away in Pooler where it's cooler. Wednesdays, 8-11 p.m. 912-988-1052. medi. tavern314@gmail.com. Mediterranean Tavern, 125 Foxfield Way. Savannah Shag Club

Wednesdays, 7pm,at Doubles Lounge.

Fridays, 7pm, at American Legion Post 36, 2309 E. Victory Dr. ongoing. doublesnightclub.com/. Doubles Nightclub, 7100 Abercorn St. Savannah Swing Cats--Swing Dancing

ongoing. doublesnightclub.com/. Doubles Nightclub, 7100 Abercorn St. Sizzle: Dance and Cardio

A class designed to maintain that summer body by dancing and having fun.

Incorporates dance and cardio to fun, spicy songs. $10 drop in or 10 classes for $80 Tuesdays, Fridays, 10 a.m. 912312-3549. reservetodance@gmail.com.

salondebailedancestudio.com. Salon de Baile Dance Studio, 7064 Hodgson Memorial Drive.

West Coast Swing Class

Instructor Rick Cody teaches the smooth rhythms of beach music and west coast swing. $12 drop in fee or $35 for 4 weeks Wednesdays, 7 p.m.. 912.312.3549. salondebaile.dance@gmail.com. salondebailedancestudio.com. Salon de Baile Dance Studio, 7064 Hodgson Memorial Drive.

Events

3rd Annual Nonstop Glow Run

Join NonStop Fitness for their 3rd annual 5k Glow Run. They will run 2 laps around Lake Mayer with an 85 foot inflatable obstacle course to break things up, and finish up at the big pavilion with a 30ft high dual lane finish line slide. 20.00-30.00 Fri., May 22, 9-11 p.m. 912-349-4902. thenonstopfitness@gmail.com. NonstopFitnessSav.com. NonStop Fitness, 8511 Ferguson Ave. Awaken with Chakradance™ - Thursdays

Join us for a free-flowing, meditative dance and experience the healing power of Chakradance™. With eclectic music selected to resonate with each specific chakra, along with guided imagery, Chakradance™ will take you on a spiritual journey, free the energy in your body and open you to a deeper experience of life.

No dance experience or prior knowledge of the chakras is necessary. Limited to 12 participants – email to reserve a spot today! $20 Thursdays, 6:45-8:15 p.m.

912-663-1306. Chakradancer@comcast. net. anahatahealingarts.com/healingaha/. Anahata Healing Arts Center, 2424 Drayton St. Suite B. Bee Market

Artists from the SCAD community will sell their wares and provide demonstrations for the public. Buy art, eat food, listen to music, and have fun. Wed., May 20, 5 p.m. beemarket2015@gmail.com. Arnold Hall (SCAD), 1810 Bull St. Class of 1970 45th reunion

SHS class of 1970 45th reunion Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum, Pooler, GA May 23, 2015 tbd Sat., May 23, 6:30-11 p.m.

520-661-0810. jordangirl1152@yahoo.com. mightyeighth.org/. mightyeighth.org/.

Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum, 175 Bourne Ave. Discovering 1820s Savannah: Early Bird's Walking Tour of the City Isaiah Knew

Explore Savannah on this 2.5-mile early morning walk. Admission may be purchased the morning of. $21 Saturdays, 8 a.m.. 912-236-8097. info@davenporthousemuseum.org. davenporthousemuseum.org. davenporthousemuseum.org.

Davenport House, 324 East State St. Fort McAllister Memorial Day

Family activities include fiber demonstrations, spinning, felt bead and drop spindle making. Living history demonstrations will take place throughout the day including a Cavalry Unit drilling demonstration, Civil War era medical demonstration and

weapons programs. Cannon firings and musket firings hourly. Sat., May 23, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. gastateparks.org/FortMcAllister/. Fort McAllister Historic Park, 3894 Fort McAllister Rd.

Guided Tours of the Lucas Theatre for the Arts

Learn the history of the historic Lucas Theatre on a 20-30 minute tour. Restoration, architecture, history of the theatre and of early cinema. $4. Group rates for ten or more. School trips available. No reservations needed for 10:30am, 1:30pm and 2pm. Other times by appointment.

Call for info. ongoing. 912-525-5023. lucastheatre.com. Lucas Theatre for the Arts, 32 Abercorn St. May Arts for Adults

Connect with each other in hilarious ways as we play improv games, learn basic acting techniques, and experiment with the greatest creative tool we have: our imagination. Main topics to be discussed are mime workshop and improv night.

Mon., May 25, 6:15-7:15 p.m. 912-2331951. westbroadstreetymca.org. YMCAWest Broad St, 1110 May 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. 1-866666-3323. 6thsenseworld.com. 6th Sense Savannah Tours, 404 Abercorn Street.

PBJ Pantry

A free food pantry held every Thursday, 10-11am and 6-7pm. Contact Jessica Sutton for questions. 912-897-1192 ongoing. ymcaofcoastalga.org/. YMCA (Wilmington Island), 66 Johnny Mercer Blvd.

Richmond Hill Farmer's Market

Vendors include Hardwicke Farms, Sage Wishes, FraLi Gourmet, Savannah River Farms, Woodland Swamp Farm, Sikes Honey, Foods of the Farm, and Farm Fresh Produce. There will also be free balloons, reusable shopping bags, corn hole, and a bouncy house. Tuesdays, 2-7 p.m. J. F. Gregory Park, Richmond Hill.

Richmond Hill Memorial Day

The program will honor military members who are serving and those who have lost their lives in service. Keynote speakers include Lt. Col. James R. Embry, Congressman Buddy Carter, Richmond Hill Mayor Harold Fowler, and representatives from the American Legion, Vietnam Veterans of America, and Veterans of Foreign Wars.

The ceremony will also include a 21-gun salute and laying of a wreath to honor the nation’s fallen heroes. The public is invited. Mon., May 25, 11 a.m. J. F. Gregory Park, Richmond Hill.

Savannah Fire Flea

This flea market provides a retail outlet for emerging artisans, designers, vintage dealers and food service businesses in the Savannah area. Saturdays, Sundays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Music Festival Grounds, 425 Speedway Blvd.

Savannah Storytellers

Tall tales and fun times with the classic art of storytelling. Every Wednesday at 6pm. Reservations encouraged by calling 912-349-4059. Wednesdays, 6 p.m. liveoakstore.com/tubbysthunderbolt. Tubby's Tank House (Thunderbolt), 2909 River Dr. 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.

Sixth Sense Savannah Tour

In 2002, smashing all of the barriers,the Sixth Sense Savannah tour became the first tour to go well beyond the usual touring areas and subject matter, starting in a neighborhood, where locals, family, friends, chose to share their personal ghost stories, exclusively with the company founder. 30.00 Every 55 days, 9:30 p.m. 9122920960. 6thsenseworld.com.

6th Sense Savannah Tours, 404 Abercorn Street.

Southbound Brewery Saturday Tours and Tastes

Savannah's first microbrewery is open for public tours and tastings Wednesday - Fridays from 5:30-7:30 and Saturdays from 2-4. Hang out, have a few cold ones, and learn a little more about Savannah's first craft brewery. Free Saturdays, 2-4 p.m. 912-335-7716. info@southboundbrewingco.com. southboundbrewingco. com. Southbound Brewing Company, 107 East Lathrop Ave. Southern Sugaring's Grand Opening Gala

Savannah's sweetest party this spring in honor of Southern Sugaring's grand opening! A dessert bar, traditional southern libations, music, and lots of sparkles to celebrate hair removal. Fri., May 22, 6-9 p.m. 912-682-1139. southernsugaring@gmail.com. southernsugaring.com.

Southern Sugaring - The Hair Removal Salon, 316 East Bay Street.

Tea in the Garden

Learn about tea traditions and experience an early 19th century tea in Davenport House’s beautiful courtyard garden.

Patrons will visit areas of the home where tea service took place and will participate in an afternoon tea given with costumed interpreters in the garden. This performance requires that guests be able to walk up and down stairs. Reservations recommended. $18 Thursdays, Fridays, 5 p.m.. 912-236-8097. info@davenporthousemuseum.org. davenporthousemuseum.org. davenporthousemuseum.org.

Davenport House, 324 East State St. PICKThird Thursdays on Tybee Enjoy outdoor entertainment at the Tybrisa Strand Roundabout with Cynergy. third Thursday of every month. Tybee Roundabout, Tybrisa Street and Strand Avenue.

Tongue: Open Mouth and Music Show hosted

by Melanie Goldey

A poetry and music open mic with an em-

MAY 20-26, 2015

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phasis on sharing new, original, thoughtful work. fourth Tuesday of every month, 8 p.m. sentientbean.com. The Sentient Bean, 13 East Park Ave. Under The Rainbow

On Thursday nights come out to the coolest spot in Pooler for Under The Rainbow.

Every week we will host a different event that will cater to those that play over, around and under the rainbow. Thursdays, 8-11 p.m. 912-988-1052. Mediterranean Tavern, 125 Foxfield Way. Fitness

$6 Community Yoga Classes

Savannah Power Yoga offers a community yoga class nearly every day of the week for just $6. All proceeds support local organizations. See schedule online for details. Most classes are heated to 90 degrees. Bring a yoga mat, towel and some water. $6 $5 Mondays-Fridays, Sundays.

(912) 349-2756. info@savannahpoweryoga. com. savannahpoweryoga.com. savannahpoweryoga.com/. Savannah Power Yoga, 7360 Skidaway Rd. $6 Community Meditation Classes

Join us for breath work, guided meditation, and yoga nidra, a deep relaxation technique to relieve stress, quiet the mind, and find the calm within. All proceeds support local organizations.

Sundays, 6-7 p.m. 912-349-2756. savannahpoweryoga.com/. Savannah Power Yoga, 7360 Skidaway Rd. Al-Anon Family Groups

An anonymous fellowship of relatives and friends of alcoholics. The message of Al-Anon is one of strength and hope for friends/family of problem drinkers.

Al-Anon is for adults. Alateen is for people age 13-19. Meetings daily throughout the Savannah area. check website or call for info. ongoing. 912-598-9860. savannahalanon.com.

Barre Classes

Looking for a fun way to tone and burn calories? Savannah Yoga Barre offers daily barre classes to help you reach your fitness goals. Diverse classes ensure there's something for everyone. All levels are encouraged to attend. Start where you are and go from there. Classes start as early as 6 a.m. and as late as 6:45 p.m. $15 drop-in or use class pass ongoing.

912-200-4809. info@savannahyogabarre. com. savannahyogabarre.com. Savannah Yoga Barre, 2132 East Victory Drive.

Beach Body Workouts with Laura

MONDAYS at 6:15 PM at the Lake Mayer Community Center $5.00 per session Mondays, 6:15 p.m. (912) 652-6784. Lake Mayer, 1850 E. Montgomery Crossroads.

MAY 20-26, 2015

Beastmode Fitness Group Training

Train with this elite team. A total body program that trims, tones and gets results. Personal training options available.

See website for info. Meets at West Broad YMCA. 5am-6am and 8pm-9pm. ongoing. beastmodefitnessga.com. YMCA-West Broad St, 1110 May St. Bellydancing Fusion Classes

102 Mixes ballet, jazz, hip hop into a unique

high energy dance style. Drills and choreographies for all levels.Small classes in downtown Savannah, and on request. $10 per person. Email for info. ongoing. bohemianbeats.com.

Blue Water Yoga

Community donation-based classes, Tues. and Thurs., 5:45pm - 7:00pm. Fri., 9:30am-10:30am. Email for info or find Blue Water Yoga on Facebook. ongoing. egs5719@aol.com. Talahi Island Community Club, 532 Quarterman Dr.

912-819-8800. sjchs.org/. Candler Hospital, 5353 Reynolds St. Dude's Day at Savannah Climbing Coop

Thursdays, 2 til 10 p.m. Savannah Climbing Coop 302 W Victory Dr, Savannah Every Thursday men climb for half price, $5. See website for info. Thursdays, 2 & 10 p.m. 912-495-8010. savannahclimbingcoop.com. Savannah Climbing CoOp, 302 W Victory Dr. Happy Hour Boot Camp Classes

Amanda Jessop, certified strength and conditioning specialist, teaches classes for those who enjoy challenging and fun This fun and challenging Pilates class workouts and have goals to lose weight, will tone your entire body while focustone up, or get in shape for the new year. ing on building core strength. Betsy Different packages available: Classes Hunter-Hughes is at your service every start out at $8 Tuesdays, Thursdays, 6-7 Mon-Wed-Fri 9:45 at Savannah Yoga Barre. $15 drop-in or class pass Mondays, p.m.. 832-470-2257. amanda@channelyourinnerathlete.com. channelyourinnerWednesdays, Fridays, 9:45-10:45 a.m. athlete.com/work-with-me/sports912-200-4809. info@savannahyogabarre. conditioning-boot-camp/. Tom Triplett com. savannahyogabarre.com. Savannah Community Park, U.S. Highway 80 West.

Yoga Barre, 2132 East Victory Drive.

Core Pilates

Krav Maga / Tactical Self Defense:

Dynamic Defensive Tactics combines the Israeli self defense techniques of Krav Maga with tactical fighting concepts. This is NOT a martial art but a no nonsense approach to self defense. With over 37 years of experience, Roger D'Onofrio will teach you solutions, which are aggressive, simple and effective, to the violent situations of today. Note: these are private sessions for adults only. ongoing. 912308-7109. ddt_910@yahoo.com.

Fitness Classes at the JEA

Sin, firm it up, yoga, Pilates, water aerobics, Aquasize, senior fitness, and Zumba.

Prices vary. Call for schedule. ongoing.

912-355-8811. savj.org. savannahjea. org. Jewish Educational Alliance, 5111 Abercorn St. Free Caregiver Support Group

For anyone caring for senior citizens with any affliction or illness. Second Saturday of the month, 10am-11am. Savannah Commons, 1 Peachtree Dr. Refreshments.

Free to attend. Open to anyone in need of support for the caregiving they provide. ongoing. savannahcommons.com.

Free Dance and Fitness Classes at Lake Mayer

Every Thursday. 9:30am-10:15am Toddler Class. 12pm-1pm Adult Lunch Break Dance Class. 1:30pm-2:30pm Super Seniors Workout. 5:30pm-6:15pm Youth African Dance Fitness (ages 6-12). 6:30pm7:30pm Adult African Dance Fitness. Wear comfortable clothing. Free and open to the public. Thursdays, 9:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m..

912-652-6784. Lake Mayer, 1850 E. Montgomery Crossroads.

Free Yoga for Cancer Patients

St. Joseph’s/Candler’s Center for WellBeing offers Free Yoga for Cancer Patients every Monday from 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. in Candler’s Heart & Lung Building, Suite 100. The very gentle movements and breath work in this class will give you much needed energy, it will make your body feel better, and it will give you a mental release. This class is free to cancer patients. Mondays, 1:30-2:30 p.m.

Hiking & Biking at Skidaway Island State Park

Year round fitness opportunities. Walk or run the 1-mile Sandpiper Nature Trail (accessible) the additional 1-mile Avian Loop Trail, or 3-mile Big Ferry Trail.

Bicycle and street strider rentals. Guided hikes scheduled. $5 parking. Open daily 7am-10pm. Call or see website. ongoing. 912-598-2300. gastateparks.org/ SkidawayIsland. gastateparks.org/info/ skidaway/. Skidaway Island State Park, 52 Diamond Cswy.

Insanity Workout Group Class

INSANITY turns old-school interval training on its head. Work flat out in 3 to 5-min blocks, and take breaks only long enough to gulp some air and get right back to work. It's called Max Interval Training, because it keeps your body working at maximum capacity through your entire workout. $10 or $80 for 10 fitness classes Sundays, 11 a.m. 912.312.3549. salondebaile.dance@gmail.com. salondebailedancestudio.com. Salon de Baile Dance Studio, 7064 Hodgson Memorial Drive.

Kung Fu School: Ving Tsun

Ving Tsun (Wing Chun) is the world's fastest growing martial arts style. Uses angles and leverage to turn an attacker's strength against him. Call for info on free trial classes. Drop ins welcome. 11202 White Bluff Rd. ongoing. 912-429-9241.

Latin Cardio

A cardio-based workout class designed to get students fit while having fun. Latin style dances like cha cha, samba, jive, rumba, salsa. No partner necessary.

Workout clothes required. $10 drop in or $80 for 10 classes Mondays, 6 p.m..

912.312.3549. salondebaile.dance@gmail. com. salondebailedancestudio.com. Salon de Baile Dance Studio, 7064 Hodgson Memorial Drive.

Living Smart Fitness Club

St. Joseph’s/Candler African-American Health Information and Resource Center offer the Living Smart Fitness Club, which is an exercise program to encourage healthy lifestyle changes. On Mondays

and Wednesdays the classes are held at the John S. Delaware Center. On Tuesdays, the classes are held at the center, at 1910 Abercorn Street. Classes include Zumba (Tuesdays) and Hip-Hop low impact aerobics with cardio and strengthening exercises (Mondays/Wednesdays).

Mondays, Wednesdays, 6:30-7:30 p.m. and Tuesdays, 5:30-7 p.m. 912-4476605. Delaware Recreation Center, 1815 Lincoln St. Mommy and Baby Yoga

Mondays. Call for times and fees or see website. ongoing. 912-232-2994. savannahyoga.com. savannahyoga.com/.

Savannah Yoga Center, 1321 Bull St. Nonstop Fitness Spin Class

Join us every Thursday at 5:30pm for Spin. Space is limited, please call 912-349-4902 to reserve your spot and to inquire about our other classes. 10 classes for $50 Thursdays, 5:30-6:30 p.m.

912-349-4902. kristi@nonstopfitnesssav. com. nonstopfitnesssav.com. NonStop Fitness, 8511 Ferguson Ave. Pilates Classes

Daily classes for all skill levels including beginners. Private and semi-private classes by appointment. Carol DalyWilder, certified instructor. Call or see website for info. ongoing. 912-238-0018. savannahpilates.com. pilatessavannah. com/. Momentum Pilates Studio, 8413 Rerguson Ave. Pregnancy Yoga

Ongoing series of 6-week classes. Thursdays. A mindful approach to pregnancy, labor and delivery. Instructor Ann Carroll. $120. Call or email for info. ongoing. 912704-7650. ann@aikyayoga.com. savannahyoga.com/. Savannah Yoga Center, 1321 Bull St. Qigong Classes

Qigong exercises contribute to a healthier and longer life. Classes offer a time to learn the exercises and perform them in a group setting. Class length averages 60 min. Any level of practice is welcome. $15 ongoing. qigongtim.com/. Anahata Healing Arts Center, 2424 Drayton St. Renagade Workout

Free fitness workout, every Saturday, 9:00 am at Lake Mayer Park. For women only.

Offered by The Fit Lab. Information: 912376-0219 ongoing. Lake Mayer, 1850 E. Montgomery Crossroads.

Richmond Hill Roadies Running Club

A chartered running club of the Road Runners Association of America. Monthly training sessions and seminars. Weekly runs. Kathy Ackerman, 912-756-5865, or Billy Tomlinson, 912-596-5965. ongoing.

Rock'n Body Fitness Bootcamp

Ultimate outdoor power workout! Group physical training program conducted by former military personnel. Build strength and fitness through a variety of intense group intervals lasting approx. 45 minutes. First Class FREE Mondays-Fridays, 6:30-7:30 p.m. 912-675-0952. rocknbodyfitnessbootcamp@gmail.com. rocknbodyfitnessbootcamp.com. Forsyth Park, 501

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Whitaker St.

Ladies Day at Savannah Climbing Coop

Wednesdays, 2 til 10 p.m. Savannah Climbing Coop 302 W Victory Dr, Savannah Every Wednesday women climb for half price, $5. See website for info. ongoing. 912-495-8010. savannahclimbingcoop.com.

Savannah Disc Golf

Weekly events (entry $5) Friday Night Flights: Fridays, 5pm. Luck of the Draw Doubles: Saturdays, 10am. Handicapped League: Saturdays, 1pm. Singles at the Sarge: Sundays, 10am. All skill levels welcome. Instruction available. See website or email for info. ongoing. savannahdiscgolf@gmail.com. savannahdiscgolf.com.

Savannah Striders Running and Walking Club

With a one-year, $35 membership,free training programs for beginners (walkers and runners) and experienced athletes.

Fun runs. Advice from mentors. Monthly meetings with quality speakers. Frequent social events. Sign up online or look for the Savannah Striders Facebook page. ongoing. savystrider.com.

SIZZLE- Dance Cardio

The hottest cardio class to keep or get you in shape for summer. Sizzle is designed to give you cardio, strengthening, and stretch training that you need for that bikini body. Enroll now and get the first class free. $10.00 or $80 for 10 classes Tuesdays, Fridays, 10 a.m. 912.312.3549. salondebaile.dance@gmail.com. salondebailedancestudio.com. Salon de Baile Dance Studio, 7064 Hodgson Memorial Drive.

Somatic Movement Improvisation

This class is for everyone who moves!

Improve your dynamic alignment, breath, grounding, and the ability to access fluid movement. You will improve in all your movement activities, while awakening more fully within your own life as an embodied experience. Led by international teacher Janet Kaylo. Wear light, loose fitting clothes suitable for dance or yoga.

No experience necessary. $15 drop-in or use class pass Tuesdays, 7-8 p.m. 912200-4809. info@savannahyogabarre.com. savannahyogabarre.com. Savannah Yoga Barre, 2132 East Victory Drive.

Turbo Kick Cardio Workout

Lose calories while dancing and kick-boxing. No experience or equipment needed.

Tues. and Thurs. 6pm, Fitness on Broughton, 1 E. Broughton Wed. 6pm Lake Mayer Community Center, 1850 E. Montgomery Crossroads. $5 ongoing. 586-822-1021. facebook.com/turbokicksavannah.

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. Zumba Fitness (R) with April

Mondays at 5:30pm, Thursdays at 6:30pm.

Nonstop Fitness in Sandfly, 8511 Ferguson Ave. $5 for nonmenbers. call for info. ongoing. 912-349-4902.

Food Events

Vegetable Gardening Round Table Discussion

The movement to grown your own vegetables or to purchase them locally grown is rapidly gaining popularity in our area. Ashantillly is coordinating with local farmers Ellery Mayence of Coastal Route 17 Green Goods, Rafe Rivers of Canewater Farm, and Jerome Dixon of Georgia Coastal Gourmet Farms to present information to other farmers and the public. Join us for a round table format discussion. FREE May 20, 5-6:30 p.m.

912-230-6962. ashantillycenter@gmail. com. ashantilly.org. The Ashantilly Center, 15591 GA Hwy 99.

Wilmington Island Farmers Market

Vendors offer fresh produce, baked goods, honey, meats, poultry, granola, coffee, pasta, pecans, popsicles, ice cream, kettle corn, canned goods, body products, herbs, plants. Events also include story time, a musical guest, and other special guests.

Free 9 a.m.-1 p.m.. wifarmersmarketpr@ aol.com. wifarmersmarket.org. Wilmington Island Farmers' Market, 111 Walthour Rd @ Islands Community Church.

Ongoing

PICKForsyth Farmers Market Local and regional produce, honey, meat, dairy, pasta, baked goods and other delights. Rain or shine. Free to attend. Items for sale. 912-484-0279. forsythfarmersmarket.com. Forsyth Park, 501 Whitaker St. Honey Tasting and Body Care Samples + Store Tour

Daily store tour, honey tasting, and body care. FREE Come to the WILMINGTON ISLAND store and see the bees behind our observation hive glass. FREE Mondays-Fridays, 10 a.m. 912-234-0688. tildsley@savannahbee.com. Savannah Bee Company, Wilmington Island, 211 Johnny Mercer Blvd.

Prepare Sunday Suppers at Union Mission

Local organizations are invited to sign up to prepare Sunday Supper for people who are homeless and live at Union Mission's shelters for homeless people. Groups must sign up in advance and bring/ prepare a meal, beginning at 2pm on Sundays. Call for information. ongoing.

912-236-7423.

Vegetable Gardening Round Table Discussion

The movement to grown your own vegetables or to purchase them locally grown is rapidly gaining popularity in our area. Ashantillly is coordinating with local farmers Ellery Mayence of Coastal Route 17 Green Goods, Rafe Rivers of Canewater Farm, and Jerome Dixon of Georgia Coastal Gourmet Farms to present information to other farmers and the public. Join us for a round table format discussion. FREE 912-230-6962. ashantil-

lycenter@gmail.com. ashantilly.org. The Ashantilly Center, 15591 GA Hwy 99.

Wilmington Island Farmers Market

Vendors offer fresh produce, baked goods, honey, meats, poultry, granola, coffee, pasta, pecans, popsicles, ice cream, kettle corn, canned goods, body products, herbs, plants. Events also include story time, a musical guest, and other special guests. Free wifarmersmarketpr@aol. com. wifarmersmarket.org. Wilmington Island Farmers' Market, 111 Walthour Rd @ Islands Community Church.

Health

All Level Free Fitness Class

Ready to get your free workout on? Come workout in a supportive, encouraging fun environment. All Fitness Levels welcomed. Every Monday at 9:30am. FREE Mondays, 9:30-10:30 a.m.. 912-544-6387. info@erigosavannah.com. erigosavannah. com. Erigo, 5301 Paulsen Street.

Armstrong Prescription Drug Drop-Off

Armstrong Atlantic State Univ. hosts a permanent drop box for disposing of unused prescription drugs and over the counter medication. In the lobby of the University Police building on campus.

Open to the public 24 hours/day, year round. Confidential. All items collected are destroyed by the Drug Enforcement Administration. ongoing. 912-344-3333. armstrong.edu. about.armstrong.edu/ Maps/index.html. Armstrong State University, 11935 Abercorn St. Free Enrollment Help for Medicaid and PeachCare

Parents can find the help they need to renew or sign up their children (ages 0-19) on Medicaid or PeachCare. Enrollment Assisters will work with clients through the process. Free and open to the public.

Mondays, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. and Wednesdays, 1-5 p.m.. 912-356-2887. Chatham County Health Department, 1395 Eisenhower Drive (facing Sallie Mood Dr.).

Free Hearing and Speech Screening

Hearing: Thursdays, 9am-11am. Speech: First Thursdays,. Call or see website for times. ongoing. 912-355-4601. savannahspeechandhearing.org. savannahspeechandhearing.org/. Savannah Speech and Hearing Center, 1206 E 66th St. Free HIV Testing at Chatham County Health Dept.

Free walk-in HIV testing. 8am-4pm Mon.Fri. No appointment needed. Test results in 20 minutes. Follow-up visit and counseling will be set up for anyone testing positive. Call for info. ongoing. 912-6445217. Chatham County Health Dept., 1395 Eisenhower Dr. Health Care for Uninsured People

Open for primary care for uninsured residents of Chatham County. Mon.-Fri., 8:30am-3:30pm. Call for info or appointment. ongoing. 912-443-9409. St. Joseph's/Candler--St. Mary's Health Center, 1302 Drayton St. Hypnosis, Guided Imagery and Relaxation Therapy

Helps everyday ordinary people with

everyday ordinary problems: smoking, weight loss, phobias, fears, ptsd, life coaching. Caring, qualified professional help. See website or call for info. ongoing.

912-927-3432. savannahypnosis.com.

Know Your Water

What everyone ought to know about our drinking water (bottled, tap, distilled, reverse osmosis, filtered, alkaline and spring.) Are you paying thousands of money for water that is making you sick? Find out what water is best for your body. FREE Tuesdays, 7-8:15 p.m. 703-989-6995. oggisavannah@gmail.com. Anahata Healing Arts Center, 2424 Drayton St. Suite B. La Leche League of Savannah

A breast feeding support group for new/ expectant monthers. Meeting/gathering first Thursdays, 10am. Call or see website for location and other info. ongoing. 912897-9544. lllusa.org/web/savannahga. html.

Living Smart Fitness Club

An exercise program encouraging healthy lifestyle changes. Mon. & Wed. 6pm7:15pm Hip Hop low impact aerobics at Delaware Center. Tues. 5:30-7:00 Zumba at St. Joseph's Candler African American Resource Center. (Program sponsors.) ongoing. 912-447-6605.

New Mama's Club

Fun new class with Ann Carroll. Time will be spent on a variety of engaging activities for mom and baby including some light yoga. $20 per mom or bring a friend and pay only $30 for you both. If you'd prefer to pay for multiple classes at once you can purchase 6-sessions for $95 to be used within 2 months of purchase. $20 Fridays, 10 a.m.-noon. 912-544-6387. info@erigosavannah.com. erigosavannah.com. Erigo, 5301 Paulsen Street.

Planned Parenthood Hotline

First Line is a statewide hotline for women seeking information on health services. Open 7pm-11pm nightly. ongoing. 800-264-7154.

Prepared Childbirth Class

This course gives an overview of reproductive anatomy and physiology and explains the process of labor and delivery in simple, easy-to-understand terms.

The four-week course includes a tour of the labor and delivery unit. This class is popular, so please register early $75 per couple Wednesdays, 6:30-8:30 p.m. 912350-2676. memorialhealth.com/. Memorial Health University Medical Center, 4700 Waters Ave. Kid's Happenings

Baby & Mom Yoga

For mothers with babies who are precrawlers. Moms learn poses for baby to help with digestion and sleeping -- and get a bit of relaxation, movement and camaraderie for themselves. $120 for a six session pass. Tuesdays, 10-11 a.m..

912-704-7650. ann@douladeliveriescom. savannahyogacenter.com. savannahyoga. com. Savannah Yoga Center Pooler, 111 continues on p. 104

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Canal Street.

Irish Dancers of Savannah

Savannah's first organized Irish dance school welcomes dancers, ages 4 and up.

Learn Irish Step and Ceili (Irish square) Dancing at a relaxed pace. Convenient mid-town location. Adult classes available. Thursdays.. 912-897-5984. irishdancsav@aol.com.

New Mamas Club

A weekly Friday gathering of new moms and their babies. Practice baby & mom yoga, do a planned activity. Dream boards, affirmation writing, personalized aromatherapy and other projects. $20 per session. Six session discount. Fridays, 10 a.m.-noon. 912-704-7650. ann@douladeliveries.com. douladeliveries.com. erigosavannah.com. Erigo, 5301 Paulsen Street.

Positive Youth Basketball Team

Tryouts for the Positive Youth Basketball Team begin March 14 and are open to 3rd-6th grade kids. The games are every Saturday from 2-4 pm. $20 per child ongoing. 912-604-2900. Delaware Recreation Center, 1815 Lincoln St. Savannah Children's Museum School Year Hours

SCM hours beginning 8/31/13 will be Sunday 11am-4pm; Tuesday-Saturday 10am-4pm. Open on holiday Mondays that SCC Public Schools are not in session including Labor Day. For more details go to savannahchildrensmuseum.org ongoing. Savannah Children's Museum, 655 Louisville Road.

Toddler Time

Bring your 2-4 year old to enjoy stories, games and learning designed just for them. Each week there will be a different nature-based theme. $5 parking Thursdays, 10 a.m. gastateparks.org/skidawayisland. gastateparks.org/info/skidaway/.

Skidaway Island State Park, 52 Diamond Cswy.

Toddler Tuesdays at Oatland Island Wildlife Center

Toddlers 6 months to 4 years, and their adults. Themed programs--story books, singing songs, finger puppet plays, crafts, guided walks, up close encounters with Oatland animals. Preregister by 4pm Monday. $5 children. Gen. Admission for adults ($5 or $3 for military & seniors) Tuesdays. 912-395-1500. oatlandisland. org. oatlandisland.org/. Oatland Island Wildlife Center, 711 Sandtown Rd.

MAY 20-26, 2015

Young Living Essential Oils for Overall Children’s Wellness Class

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Learn and explore the benefits of Young Living Essential Oils for overall children’s wellness. We will be discussing safe and practical uses as well as highlight common concerns: immune system support, allergies, healthy sleep options, calming tension & anxiety, and the best oils for focus and attention. FREE Saturdays, 6-8 p.m.. 912-480-4345. info@erigosavannah. com. erigosavannah.com. Erigo, 5301 Paulsen Street.

LGBT

First City Network

Georgia's oldest LGBT organization (founded in 1985), is a local non-profit community service organization whose mission is to share resources of health care, counseling, education, advocacy and mutual support in the Coastal Empire.

Members and guests enjoy many special events throughout the year, including First Saturday Socials held the first Saturday of each month at 7pm. Mondays. 912-236CITY. firstcitynetwork.org.

Gay AA Meeting

True Colors Group of Alcoholics Anonymous, a gay and lesbian AA meeting that welcomes all alcoholics, meets Thursdays and Sundays, 7:30pm, at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 311 E. Harris, 2nd floor. New location effective 11/2012. ongoing.

Georgia Equality Savannah

Local chapter of Georgia's largest gay rights group. 104 W. 38th St. 912-5476263. ongoing.

Savannah Pride, Inc.

Organizes the annual Savannah Pride Festival and helps promote the well-being of the LGBT community in the South.

Mission: unity through diversity and social awareness. Second Tuesday/month.

Call for location. ongoing. 912-288-7863. heather@savpride.com. savpride.com.

Stand Out Youth

4th Tuesday, 1pm. Bring a book you've read this month and tell all about it.

Treats to share are always welcomed.

Tea is provided. Call for info. ongoing.

912-232-5488. liveoakpl.org/. Ola Wyeth Branch Library, 4 East Bay St. Nature and Environment

Animal Sign ID

Animal sign is the evidence animals leave that they were in an area. Learn to identify scat, tracks, and other sign like different burrows and holes. Wednesdays, 2 p.m. gastateparks.org/info/skidaway/. Skidaway Island State Park, 52 Diamond Cswy.

Literary Events

Bess T. Chappas Book Signing

Bess T. Chappas, local author and storyteller, will sign her new book, "Wrath of Aphrodite," a paranormal romance set in Savannah in the 1970s. Sat., May 23, 10 a.m.-noon. 912-234-7257. savteller@ aol.com. eshaverbooks.com/. E Shaver Booksellers, 326 Bull St.

Recycling Fundraiser for Economic Opportunity Authority

Owls, hawks, and ospreys, oh my! Learn about the predators of the sky in this fun and informative lecture. Thu., May 21, 2 p.m. gastateparks.org/info/skidaway/.

Skidaway Island State Park, 52 Diamond Cswy.

Support EOA through the FundingFactory Recycling Program. Recycle empty cartridges, cell phones, small electronics, laptops, to EOA for recycling. They will receive technology products and cash.

Businesses may also recycle items on behalf of EOA for credit. Drop off at EOA, 681 W. Anderson St. See website, email or call for info. ongoing. 912-238-2960 x126. dwproperty@aol.com. fundingfactory.com.

Watch as the ranger feeds the reptiles, leaping lizards, chomping turtles and snakes licking their chops. Sundays, 10 a.m. gastateparks.org/info/skidaway/.

Skidaway Island State Park, 52 Diamond Cswy.

Meander through the marsh on a onemile guided hike with one of our knowledgeable park rangers. Sun., May 24, 3 p.m. gastateparks.org/info/skidaway/.

Skidaway Island State Park, 52 Diamond Cswy.

Birds of Prey

Breakfast Time

Dolphin Project

Dolphin Project's Education Outreach Program is available to speak at schools, clubs, organizations. A powerpoint presentation with sound and video about estuarine dolphins and their environment.

Age/grade appropriate programs and handouts. See website for info. ongoing. thedolphinproject.org.

A gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth organization. Meets every Friday at 7pm. Call, email or see website for info. Fridays, 7-9 p.m. 912657-1966. info@standoutyouth.org. stand- Knot Tying outyouth.org. Vineyard Church Office, 1020 Learn some handy knots for everyday use.

Sundays, 3 p.m. gastateparks.org/info/ Abercorn Street. skidaway/. Skidaway Island State Park, 52 What Makes a Family Diamond Cswy.

A children's therapy group for children of GLBT parents. Ages 10 to 18. Meets twice a month. Call for info. ongoing. 912-3522611.

in the Ogeechee River basin’s four sub-watersheds. Each trek necessitates about three to four hours of paddling plus an hour for lunch and features a guide who will share knowledge of the locale’s wildlife and nature. May trip: Scarboro Landing to Rocky Ford. Sat., May 23.

Ogeechee Riverkeeper, 785 King George Blvd, STE 103.

Memorial Day

Join us for an old fashioned Memorial Day. We will have family activities and living history demonstrations throughout the day. Cannon firings and musket demonstrations hourly. $8 adults, $5 youth Sat., May 23, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. gastateparks.org/ FortMcAllister/. Fort McAllister Historic Park, 3894 Fort McAllister Rd. Morning Bird Watch

Learn the basics about local bird varieties as we gaze upon the feeding stations.

Sat., May 23, 11 a.m. gastateparks.org/ Circle of Sister/Brotherhood Book Club info/skidaway/. Skidaway Island State Meets last Sunday of the month, 4pm. Call Park, 52 Diamond Cswy. for info. ongoing. 912-447-6605. sjchs.

Ogeechee Riverkeeper Paddle Trip org/body.cfm?id=399. African-American To celebrate 10 exciting years of advoHealth Information & Resource Center, cating and looking out for an important 1910 Abercorn St. part of Coastal Georgia’s most beloved PICKLecture: Rapture natural resources, Ogeechee Riverkeeper Sjohnna McCray will be discussing and announces a new program of paddlereading from his poetry, including poems trips , which runs from March through to appear in Rapture, which was selected September 2015. In exchange for a small for the 2015 Walt Whitman Award from fee, paddlers who don’t own a boat can the American Academy of Poets. Sun., rent one and embark on a tranquil journey May 24, 4 p.m. Flannery O’Connor Childthat boasts facets of exploration, educahood Home, 207 E. Charlton Street. tion and relaxation. Each fourth Saturday, Tea Time at Ola's (Book Club) participants meet at 9 a.m. to acquaint A book discussion group that meets the themselves with the breath-taking sights

Sandpiper Trail Hike

Walk on the Wild Side

A two-mile Native Animal Nature Trail winds through maritime forest, freshwater wetland, salt marsh habitats, featuring live native animal exhibits. Open daily, 10am-4pm except Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years. Call or see website for info. ongoing. 912-395-1500. oatlandisland.org. oatlandisland.org/. Oatland Island Wildlife Center, 711 Sandtown Rd. War of Jenkins Ear

Everyone is invited to attend this year's War of Jenkins' Ear program hosted by Wormsloe State Historic Site. Wormsloe will be commemorating Georgia's role in the 1739-1748 war between Britain and Spain. A brief presentation at the Visitor Center will be followed by a tour to the tabby ruins and then to our Colonial Life Area for military drills, musket and cannon firings, and a reenactment. For more information you can call 912-353-3023.

May 23-25, 1-4 p.m. gastateparks.org/ info/wormsloe/. Wormsloe Historic Site, 7601 Skidaway Rd. Wilderness Southeast

A variety of programs each month including guided trips with naturalists. Canoe trips, hikes. Mission: develop appreciation, understanding, stewardship, and enjoyment of the natural world. Call or see website for info. ongoing. 912-2368115. wilderness-southeast.org.

Pets & Animals

Low Cost Pet Clinic

TailsSpin and Dr. Stanley Lester, DVM, host low-cost pet vaccine clinics for students, military and seniors the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month.

5pm-6pm. Vaccinations: $12, ($2 is donated to Savannah pet rescue agencies). See website for info. ongoing.

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tailsspin.com. tailsspin.com. TailsSpin Pet Supplies Store, 4501 Habersham St., Habersham Village.

hands of the Lord." (Prov. 21:1) ongoing.

912-663-8728. jeanneseaver@aol.com. capitolcom.org/georgia.

Operation New Hope allows inmates to train unadoptable dogs from the Humane Society for Greater Savannah. The goals of the program are to decrease the recidivism rate among Chatham County inmates, help inmates learn a new skill, and help previously unadoptable dogs find loving homes. The graduated dogs are available for adoption can be viewed at www.humansocietvsav.org, and www. chathamsheriff.org. Operation New Hope is funded by the Humane Society and community donations. ongoing. chathamsheriff.org. humanesocietysav.org/.

Humane Society for Greater Savannah, 7215 Sallie Mood Dr.

Visit savannahzencenter.com for location, schedule & events. Teacher: Un Shin Beach, Sensei. Newcomers and all lineages welcome. Children of all ages welcome. Suggested donation $10. ongoing. Downtown Savannah, downtown.

Operation New Hope

St. Almo's

Savannah True Animal Lovers Meeting Others. Informal dog walks on Sundays, 5pm (weather permitting). Meet at Canine Palace. Call for info. ongoing. 912-2343336. caninepalacesavannah.com. Canine Palace Inc, 618 Abercorn St. Religious & Spiritual

Band of Sisters Prayer Group

All women are invited. Second Tuesdays, 7:30am-8:30am. Fellowship Assembly, 5224 Augusta Rd. Email or call Jeanne Seaver or see website for info. "The king's heart is like channels of water in the

by matt Jones | Answers on page 109

©2015 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com)

Buddhist Meditation

Catholic Singles

A group of Catholic singles age 30-50 meet frequently for fun, fellowship and service. Send email or check website to receive announcements of activities and to suggest activities for the group. ongoing. familylife@diosav.org. diosav.org/ familylife-singles.

Center for Spiritual Living--Savannah

All are invited to this Science of Mind community. Recognizing the presence and power of God within, and believing that this presence is in everything in the universe, unifying all of life. Welcoming all on their spiritual pathway. Celebration: Sunday mornings. Location: Bonaventure Chapel, 2520 Bonaventure Road.

Meditation at 10:30am Service at 11:00am Childcare available in the "Funday School" Sundays. cslsavannah.org.

Columba House

Columba House is an inclusive, welcoming hospitality space dedicated to building and sustaining a community of faith committed to social justice with the continues on p. 106

Across

1 Adjust accordingly 6 “The Many Loves of ___ Gillis” 11 Consumed 14 “Against the Wind” singer Bob 15 It’s not what you’d expect 16 Shins genre 17 V-shaped fabric pattern 19 Smith or Taylor 20 Chapter in history 21 “Disco Duck” singer Rick 22 Renaissance Faire title 24 Curly treatment 25 Molly formerly of “SNL” 27 Show up 30 Deli turnover 31 Kazakh character who’s been retired 32 Muscular jocks, stereotypically 36 “South Park” character Cartman 37 Wild hogs 38 Anti-piracy org.

39 Adult contemporary radio fare 41 Like Old King Cole 42 Band with a Ben & Jerry’s flavor named for it 43 Endowment recipients 44 Person on a pension 47 Dad’s sister 48 Big name in violins

49 Killer whale of a 1977 film 50 Hotel amenity 53 Instrument for Stan Getz 54 Lines seen outside the club?

58 50-50, for instance 59 Dasani rival 60 Blackboard stuff 61 Ice Bucket Challenge cause, for short 62 “Touched by an Angel” actress Reese 63 Sharpens

Down

1 Tennis Hall of Famer Arthur 2 “Caught in the headlights” animal 3 Taj Mahal’s locale 4 Part of MPH 5 Neptune prop 6 Mascot of Kellogg’s Honey Smacks 7 Odist’s spheres 8 Haunted house greeting 9 “Canterbury Tales” locale 10 Hair that’s wished upon 11 Reddy or Hunt 12 Chum 13 Amount of eggs 18 One short on social skills 23 Occurring naturally 24 It’s surrounded by the fuzz?

25 Sarcastic comments 26 Compilation album tracks, often 27 His mother raised Cain, too 28 “90210” actress Spelling 29 Advanced math course 30 Stacy of “Prison Break” 32 Bullwinkle, e.g.

33 Frigid follower?

34 Bold challenge 35 “Survey ___ ...” (“Family Feud” phrase) 37 Soft white cheese 40 Flourished 41 Black-and-orange butterfly 43 Air conditioning conduit 44 One who uses cannabis spiritually 45 Letter with an attachment, maybe 46 Perennial presidential debate issue 47 Venue for some football games 49 Toyota logo’s shape 50 C-___ 51 Brazilian hero 52 Makes inquiries 55 Night before 56 Rapper ___ Wayne 57 “So that’s your game!”

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city's young adults, college students, and creative demographic. Tuesday evenings 6:30-8pm, includes dinner and a program focused on justice. All are welcome. Free and open to the public. Tuesdays, 6:30-8 p.m. 912-228-9425. Columba House, 34th Street between Abercorn and Lincoln Streets.

Daily Meditation

Daily meditation is offered at Studio ZhaZhee. Each session is unique and designed to benefit those in attendance. Tea is served at 5:30am and 7:30pm. Please, come as You are. I look forward to sitting with You! By Donation Through June 3, 4:30-6:30, 8-9 a.m., 12:30-1 & 6:30-7:30 p.m. 912-231-3612. studiozhazhee@ gmail.com. calendly.com/studiozhazhee. studiozhazhee.com. Studio ZhaZhee LLC, 125 W Duffy st.

Gratitude Circle in the Squares

Join Joanne Morton and others on Wednesdays for a weekly gathering of positive energy. All are welcome. Free hugs. View calendar for the square of the week. Wednesdays, 12-12:30 p.m.

917-676-4280. magicpassionlove.com/ savannah-gratitude/. Downtown Savannah, downtown.

Guided Silent Prayer

Acoustical songs, 30 minutes of guided silent prayer, and minutes to receive prayer or remain in silence. Wednesdays, 6:45-8:00pm at Vineyard Church, 615 Montgomery St. See website for info. ongoing. vineyardsavannah.org.

Healer's Circle

This is a call-to-action for all balanced Savannah energy practitioners of all modalities and styles, as well as those willing to learn and those wishing to be practiced on by a group of talented beings. The circle will be guided by group conscious and focus on developing energy work and skills as a team and unit. By donation Tuesdays, Thursdays, 8-8:30 p.m.. 912-231-3612. studiozhazhee@ gmail.com. calendly.com/studiozhazhee. studiozhazhee.com. Studio ZhaZhee LLC, 125 W Duffy st.

Maritime Bethel

"Sundays on Thursdays" worship at the Fellowship Assembly. Plenty of parking for large trucks. Free Thursdays. 912220-2976. The Fellowship Assembly of God Church, 5224 Augusta Road.

A New Church in the City, For the City

Gather on Sundays at 10:30am. Like the Facebook page "Savannah Church Plant." ongoing. Bryson Hall, 5 E. Perry St.

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Courses are now being offered at the new Savannah Extension of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Full course loads for both Undergraduate and Graduate Degrees will be offered. Apply now at www.nobts.edu to start classes this winter. ongoing. 912-232-1033. revwasson@ gmail.com. Savannah Baptist Center, 704 Wheaton Street.

Read the Bible in One Year

A Bible book club for those wanting to

read the Bible in one year. Open to all.

Book club format, not a traditional Bible study. All welcome, regardless of race, creed, sexual orientation, religion. Thurs.

6:00pm-7:00pm. Call for info. ongoing. 912-233-5354. Holy Spirit Lutheran Church, 622 E. 37th Street.

with different beliefs gather as one faith.

Sundays, 11am. Email, call or see website for info. ongoing. 912-234-0980. admin@ uusavannah.org. uusavannah.org. uusavannah.org. Unitarian Universalist Church of Savannah, 313 Harris St. Unity Church of Savannah

Everyone is welcome. Unity of Savannah is not concerned with where people come from, what they look like, or whom they love – Unity is just glad that each person is here. Sunday 9:15am meditative service and 11:00am celebratory service show what the New Thought Movement is all about. Children’s church 11am service.

Unity loves all people, just as they are.

Savannah Reiki Share Sundays. 912-355-4704. unityofsavannah.

During shares, participants take turns org. unityofsavannah.org/. Unity Church of giving and receiving universal life force energy via Reiki and other healing modali- Savannah, 2320 Sunset Blvd. ties. Present at the shares are usually no Special Screenings less than 2 Reiki Masters. Come share Film: Body and Soul: The State of the Jewish with us on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of Nation every month at the Sweet Water Spa in This film chronicles the undeniable downtown Savannah. Sign up at Savannah historical connection between the Jewish Reiki Share or Reiki by Appointment on people and the land of Israel. FeaturFacebook. Free ongoing, 7 p.m. and third ing commentary by some three dozen Thursday of every month, 7 p.m. 440-371- historians, academics, religious leaders, 5209. Sweet Water Spa, 148 Abercorn political scientists and other experts, the Street. film debunks the propaganda, myths and Savannah Friends Meeting (Quakers)

Un-programmed worship. 11am Sundays, third floor of Trinity United Methodist Church. Call or email for info. All are welcome. ongoing. 912-308-8286. savbranart@gmail.com. trinitychurch1848.org/.

Trinity United Methodist Church, 225 West President St.

Service of Compline

misinformation that have become deeply entrenched in public discourse. Thu., May 21, 7 p.m. savannahjea.org. Jewish Educational Alliance, 5111 Abercorn St. PICKFilm: Mystery John Wayne Film Famed actor, director and producer John Wayne died in 1979 at the age of 72, but he remains an international icon of rugSouth Valley Baptist Church ged masculinity and brooding power. In Weekly Sunday services. Sunday school, honor of Wayne's larger-than-life career, 10:00am. Worship, 11:30am. Tuesday the Psychotronic Film Society is proud to Bible Study/Prayer Service, 6:30pm. Pas- screen perhaps the single most notoritor Rev. Dr. Barry B. Jackson, 480 Pine ous film he ever made - a movie that Barren Road, Pooler, GA "Saving a nation was so controversial it was intentionally one soul at a time." ongoing. withheld from the public for decades Sundays on Thursdays Worship Service after its initial, embarrassing theatrical Thursdays. 912-826-0206. maritimebethe- release. The exact title of this incredibly latsavannah.org. The Fellowship Assembly entertaining turkey will not be revealed of God Church, 5224 Augusta Road. before showtime. $7 Wed., May 20, 8 p.m.

Tapestry Church sentientbean.com. The Sentient Bean, 13 A church for all people! We don't care East Park Ave. what you are wearing, just that you are Film: Raiders of the Lost Ark here. From the moment you walk in until Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost the moment you leave, Tapestry is comArk is a 1981 American adventure film dimitted to delivering a creative, challengrected by Steven Spielberg. It pits Indiana ing, straight forward, and honest message Jones (Ford) against a group of Nazis who about the role of biblical principles in your are searching for the Ark of the Covenant, life. Come experience an environment that which Adolf Hitler believes will make his helps you connect with God and discover army invincible. Rated PG. 115 minutes. his incredible purpose for your life. Join $8 Thu., May 21, 8 p.m. lucastheatre.com. us every Sunday morning 10AM at the Lucas Theatre for the Arts, 32 Abercorn Habersham YMCA. Sundays, 10 a.m.

St. tapestrysavannah.com. ymcaofcoastalga. Film: Temple of Doom org/. YMCA (Habersham Branch), 6400 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is Habersham St. a 1984 American adventure film directed Enter the stillness of another age.

Gregorian Chant sung by candlelight at 9:00-9:30 p.m. every Sunday night by the Complne Choir of Christ Church Anglican.

Come, say good nigh to God. All are welcome. ongoing. Christ Church Anglican, 37th and Bull.

Theology on Tap

Meets on the third Monday, 8:30pm10:30pm. Like the Facebook page: Theology on Tap Downtown Savannah. ongoing. distillerysavannah.com. The Distillery, 416 W. Liberty St. Unitarian Universalist Church of Savannah

Liberal religious community where people

by Steven Spielberg. After arriving in North India, Indiana Jones is asked by a desperate village to find a mystical stone.

He agrees, stumbling upon a Thuggee cult practicing child slavery, black magic, and ritual human sacrifice in honor of their god Kali. Rated PG. 118 minutes. $8 Fri., May 22, 8 p.m. lucastheatre.com. Lu-

cas Theatre for the Arts, 32 Abercorn St. Film: The Last Crusade

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a 1989 American adventure film directed

by Steven Spielberg, from a story cowritten by executive producer George Lucas. In the film, set largely in 1938, Indiana searches for his father, a Holy Grail scholar, who has been kidnapped

by Nazis. Rated PG. 127 minutes. $8 Sat., May 23, 8 p.m. lucastheatre.com. Lucas Theatre for the Arts, 32 Abercorn St. Film: Tomorrowland

Bound by a shared destiny, a bright, optimistic teen bursting with scientific curiosity and a former boy-genius inventor jaded by disillusionment embark on a danger-filled mission to unearth the secrets of an enigmatic place somewhere in time and space that exists in their collective memory as "Tomorrowland." $7 Fridays, Saturdays, 6 & 8:40 p.m.. marstheatre.com. Mars Theatre, 109 S. Laurel Street.

PICKPsychotronic Make-up Class The Psychotronic Film Society hosts a one-day-only quadruple feature of cool, obscure motion pictures from around the globe. Films shown are Vasilisa the Beautiful, The Young One, Curse of the Doll People, and Scorpion Thunderbolt. $7 per film, $20 for all-day pass Sat., May 23. musesavannah.org/. Muse Arts Warehouse, 703 Louisville Rd. Sports & Games

Adult Coed Flag Football League

8x8 Coed Flag League. Play adult sports, meet new people. Sponsored

by Savannah Adult Recreation Club.

Wed. nights/Sun. mornings, at locations around Savannah. $450. Minimum 8 games. Ages 18+. Coed teams. See website or call for info. ongoing. 912220-3474. savadultrec.com.

Derby Devils Roller Derby Classes

Roller derby league offers 12-week courses for beginners, recreational scrimmaging for experienced players and two annual bootcamp programs.

See website for info. ongoing. savannahderby.com.

Grief 101 Support Group

Seven-week morning or evening adult support group offers tools to learn to live with loss. Tuesdays, 10am-11am; or Thursdays, 6:00pm-7:00pm. Free of charge. Offered by Hospice Savannah, Inc. Call for info. ongoing. 912-3039442. Full Circle Center for Grief Support, 450 Mall Blvd., Suite H. Saturday Group Run or Walk

Join us in our quest for fitness. Beginners are welcome. We can help you exceed your fitness goals. Free Saturdays, 7-8:15 a.m. 912-398-4130. runthecity@ live.com. savystrider.com. Lake Mayer, 1850 E. Montgomery Crossroads.

Sav. Strider Weekly Group Run or Walk Downtown

Join us for a run or walk downtown or over the bridge if you're feeling froggy.

The best part is afterwards when we

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get coffee or whatever else your heart desires from Savannah Coffee Roasters.

Free Sundays, 7-8 a.m. 912-398-4130. runthecity@live.com. savystrider.com.

Savannah Coffee Roasters, 215 West Liberty Street.

Savannah Bike Polo

Like regular polo, but with bikes instead of horses. Meets weekly. See facebook for info. ongoing. facebook.com/savannahbikepolo.

Savannah Sand Gnats

Vs. Augusta. Pack the Park for charity. $8 Wed., May 20, 7:05 p.m. sandgnats.com.

Vs. Asheville. Dollar Monday. $8 Mon., May 25, 7:05 p.m. sandgnats.com. Vs. Asheville. Two-for Tuesday. Pack the Park for charity: Catholic Diocese. $8 Tue., May 26, 7:05 p.m. sandgnats.com. Grayson Stadium, 1401 East Victory Dr. Sports Coach

Golf, Tennis, Baseball, Etc. for novices or professionals. Fine tune your mental game with guided imagery and visualization. 25 years experience. For more info call 912-247-4903. ongoing. Online only, none.

Ultimate Frisbee

Come play Ultimate! Tuesdays and Thursdays, 5:30pm until dark. Sundays, 4:30pm until we get tired. The west side of Forsyth Park. Bring a smile, two shirts (one light or white, one dark), water, and cleats (highly recommended). ongoing.

savannahultimateproject@gmail.com. savannahultimateproject.wordpress.com/ pick-up/. Forsyth Park, 501 Whitaker St. USMNT (Soccer) American Outlaws Chapter

USMNT is a national soccer team that represents the U.S. in international soccer competitions. American Outlaws Savannah chapter of USMNT meets regularly.

Call for details. ongoing. 912-398-4014. savannahflipflop.com. Flip Flop Tiki Bar & Grill, 117 Whitaker St. Support Groups

Alcoholics Anonymous

For people who want or need to stop drinking, AA can help. Meetings daily throughout the Savannah area. Free to attend or join. Check website for meeting days/times, or call 24 hours a day. ongoing. 912-356-3688. savannahaa.com.

Alzheimer's Caregiver and Family Support Group

For individuals caring for Alzheimer's and dementia family members. Second Monday, Wilm. Isl. United Methodist Church, 195 Wilmington Island Rd. Second Thursday, Ruth Byck Adult Care Center, 64 Jasper St. Sponsored by Senior Citizens, Inc. Call for info. ongoing. 912-236-0363 x143.

Second Monday of every month,7:00pm.

Denny’s Restaurant at Hwy. 204. Everyone is welcome. For more info, contact Debbie at 912-727-2959 ongoing.

Brain Injury Support Group

For traumatic brain injury survivors and their caregivers. Third Thursdays, 5pm. In the gym of the Rehabilitation Institute at Memorial. ongoing. memorialhealth.com. memorialhealth.com/. Memorial Health University Medical Center, 4700 Waters Ave. Breast Cancer Survivors Group

Citizens With Retarded Citizens

For families with children or adults with autism, mental retardation, and other developmental disabilities. Meets monthly.

Call for info. ongoing. 912-355-7633.

Citizens With Retarded Citizens, 1211 Eisenhower Drive.

Coastal Empire Polio Survivors Assoc.

Meets regularly to discuss issues affecting the lives of polio survivors. Call or see website for info. Polio survivors and guests are invited. Free and open to the continues on p. 108

Tuesdays, 5:20pm at First Presbyterian Church. For survivors and caregivers. Call for info. ongoing. 912-844-4524. fpc.presbychurch.net. First Presbyterian Church, 520 Washington Ave. Cancer Support Group

For anyone living with, through or beyond a cancer diagnosis. First Wednesdays, at Lewis Cancer Pavilion. Call for info. ongoing. 912-819-5704. Nancy N. and J.C. Lewis Cancer & Research Pavilion, 225 Reynolds Ave. Children's Grief Support Group

Seven week structured educational support group for children 6-17. Support, coping tools, utilizing play and activity to learn to live with loss. Free of charge. A Amputee Support Group service of Hospice Savannah, Inc. Call for Open to all who have had limbs amputated dates. ongoing. 912-303-9442. Full Circle and their families or caregivers. Call for Center for Grief Support, 450 Mall Blvd., info. ongoing. 912-355-7778.

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Back Pain Support Group

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107

Free will astrology ARIES

March 21-April 19

James McNeil Whistler was an influential painter in the latter half of the 19th century. He advocated the “art for art’s sake” credo, insisting that the best art doesn’t need to teach or moralize. As far as he was concerned, its most important purpose was to bring forth “glorious harmony” from chaos. But the immediate reason I’m nominating him to be your patron saint for the coming weeks is the stylized signature he created: an elegant butterfly with a long tail that was actually a stinger. I think you’ll thrive by embodying that dual spirit: being graceful, sensitive, and harmonious and yet also feisty, piquant, and provocative. Can you manage that much paradox? I think you can.

TAURUS

April 20-May 20

Renowned author George Bernard Shaw was secure in his feeling that he did good work. He didn’t need the recognition of others to validate his self-worth. The British Prime Minister offered him a knighthood, but he refused it. When he found out he had been awarded a Nobel Prize for Literature, he wanted to turn it down but his wife convinced him to accept it. The English government also sought to give him the prestigious Order of Merit, but he rejected it, saying, “I have already conferred this order upon myself.” He’s your role model for right now, Taurus. Congratulate yourself for your successes, whether or not anyone else does.

GEMINI

May 21-June 20

“Aha!” is your mantra for the coming weeks, Gemini. Keep it on the tip of your tongue, ready to unleash. This alwaysready-to-be-surprised-by-inspiration attitude will train you to expect the arrival of wonders and marvels. And that will be an effective way to actually attract wonders and marvels! With “Aha!” as your talisman, all of your wake-up calls will be benevolent, and all of the chaos you encounter -- or at least most of it -- will be fertile.

CANCER

MAY 20-26, 2015

June 21-July 22

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Do you chronically indulge in feelings of guilt? Do you berate yourself for the wrong turns and sad mistakes you made in the past? These behaviors may be sneaky ways of avoiding change. How can you summon enough energy to transform your life if you’re wallowing in worries and regrets? In presenting the possibility that you might be caught in this trap, I want you to know that I’m not sitting in judgment of you. Not at all. Like you, I’m a Cancerian, and I have periodically gotten bogged down in the very morass I’m warning you against. The bad news is that right now you are especially susceptible to falling under this spell. The good news is that right now you have extra power to break this spell.

LEO

July 23-Aug. 22

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by Rob brezsny | beautyandtruth@freewillastrology.com

In the TV comedy-drama *Jane the Virgin,* the fictional character known as Rogelio de la Vega is a vain but lovable actor who performs in telenovelas. “I’m very easy to dress,” he tells the wardrobe supervisor of a new show he’ll be working on. “Everything looks good on me. Except for peach. I don’t pop in peach.” What he means is that his charisma doesn’t radiate vividly when he’s wearing peach-colored clothes. Now I want to ask you, Leo: What don’t you pop in? I’m not simply talking about the color of clothes that enable you to shine, but everything else, too. In the coming weeks, it’s crucial that you surround yourself with influences that make you pop.

VIRGO

Aug. 23-Sept. 22

Are you willing to entertain an outlandish possibility? Here’s my vision: You will soon be offered unexpected assistance, either through the machinations of a “guardian angel” or the messy blessings of a shapeshifting spirit. This divine intervention will make it possible for you to demolish a big, bad obstacle you’ve been trying to find a way around. Even if you have trouble believing in the literal factuality of my prophecy, here’s what I suspect: It will at least come true in a metaphorical sense -which is the truest kind of truth of all.

LIBRA

Sept. 23-Oct. 22

“Glory” is the theme song of the film *Selma.* It’s an anthem about the ongoing struggle for equal rights by African Americans. I want to borrow one of its lines for your use in the coming weeks: “Freedom is like a religion to us.” I think those will be good words for you to live by. Are you part of a group that suffers oppression and injustice? Are you mixed up in a situation that squashes your self-expression? Are you being squelched by the conditioned habits of your own unconscious mind? It’s high time to rebel. The quest for liberation should be your spiritual calling.

SCORPIO

Oct. 23-Nov. 21

If you’re planning on breaking a taboo, sneaking into a forbidden zone, or getting intimate with an edge-dweller, don’t tell boastful stories about what you’re doing.

For now, secrecy is not only sexy; it’s a smart way to keep you safe and effective.

Usually I’m fond of you telling the whole truth. I like it when you reveal the nuanced depths of your feelings. But right now I favor a more cautious approach to communication. Until your explorations have progressed further, I suggest that you only discuss them sparingly. As you put your experiments in motion, share the details on a need-to-know basis.

SAGITTARIUS

Nov. 22-Dec. 21

There are many possible ways to create and manage a close relationship. Here’s one of my favorite models: when two independent, self-responsible souls pledge to help each other activate the best versions of

themselves. If you don’t have a partnership like this, the near future will be a favorable time to find one. And if you already do have an intimate alliance in which the two of you synergize each other’s quest for individuation, the coming weeks could bring you breathtaking breakthroughs.

CAPRICORN

Dec. 22-Jan. 19

It’s a challenge to drive a car through Canada’s far north. For example, if you want to get from Dawson in the Yukon Territory to Inuvik in the Northwest Territory, you take Dempster Highway. It’s gravel road for the entire 417-mile trip, so the ride is rough. Bring a spare tire and extra gasoline, since there’s just one service station along the way. On the plus side, the scenery is thrilling. The permafrost in the soil makes the trees grow in odd shapes, almost like they’re drunk. You can see caribou, wolverines, lynx, bears, and countless birds. Right now, the sun is up 20 hours every day. And the tundra? You’ve never seen anything like it. Even if you don’t make a trip like this, Capricorn, I’m guessing you will soon embark on a metaphorically similar version.

With the right attitude and preparation, you will have fun and grow more courageous.

AQUARIUS

Jan. 20-Feb. 18

Aquarian author James Joyce wrote *Ulysses,* one of the most celebrated and influential novels of the 20th century. The narrative is both experimental and tightly structured. Its chaotic stream-of-consciousness passages are painstakingly crafted.

(Anyone who wonders how the astrological sign of Aquarius can be jointly ruled by the rebellious planet Uranus and the disciplinarian planet Saturn need only examine this book for evidence.) Joyce claimed he labored over *Ulysses* for 20,00 hours. That’s the equivalent of devoting eight hours a day, 350 days a year, for over seven years. Will you ever work that hard and long on a project, Aquarius? If so, now would be an auspicious time to start.

PISCES

Feb. 19-March 20

The English writer and caricaturist Max Beerbohm moved away from his native land when he was 37 years old. He settled in Rapallo, Italy, where he lived for much of the rest of his life. Here’s the twist: When he died at age 83, he had still not learned to speak Italian. For 40 years, he used his native tongue in his foreign home. This is a failing you can’t afford to have in the coming months, Pisces. The old proverb “When in Rome, do as the Romans,” has never been so important for you to observe.

public. ongoing. 912-927-8332. coastalempirepoliosurvivors.org.

Connect for Kids

This group is for children who have a loved one with a life-limiting illness.

Wednesdays, 2-3 p.m. 912-350-7845. memorialhealth.com/. Memorial Health University Medical Center, 4700 Waters Ave. Debtors Anonymous

For people with debting problems. Meets Sundays, 6:30pm at Unity of Savannah.

See website or call for info. ongoing.

912-572-6108. debtorsanonymous.org. unityofsavannah.org/. Unity Church of Savannah, 2320 Sunset Blvd.

Eating Disorders Anonymous

Free, volunteer-led support group for recovery from anorexia/restrictive eating and/or bulimia/binge/purging. Not a diet group, nor for those who struggle solely with overeating. Mondays, 7:30pm8:30pm. Email for info. ongoing. edasavannah@yahoo.com. Asbury Memorial United Methodist Church, 1008 Henry St. Essential Tremor Support Group

For those with the disease, care partners, family and caregivers. Managing the disease, treatments and therapies, quality of life. First Thursdays, 3:00pm-4:30pm.

Call for info. ongoing. 912-819-2224. Nancy N. and J.C. Lewis Cancer & Research Pavilion, 225 Reynolds Ave. Fibromyalgia Support Group

Second Thursdays, 5:30pm-6:30pm. Call or see website for info. ongoing. 912-8196743. sjchs.org. sjchs.org. Candler Heart and Lung Building, 5353 Reynolds Ave. Gambling Problem 12 Step Program

Twelve step program offers freedom from gambling. Meets weekly. Leave message with contact info. ongoing. 912-748-4730.

Georgia Scleroderma Support Group

A group for people with scleroderma for the greater Savannah area and surrounding counties. Meets regularly. Call for day and time. Lovezzola's Pizza, 320 Hwy 80 West, Pooler. Info: 912-412-6675 or 912414-3827. ongoing.

Grief Support Groups

Hospice Savannah’s Full Circle offers a full array of grief support groups and individual counseling for children, teens and adults is available at no charge.

Counseling is offered at 450 Mall Blvd., Suite H in Savannah, and appointments are also available in the United Way offices in Rincon and in Richmond Hill. Call or see website for info. ongoing. 912-3039442. HospiceSavannah.org/GriefSupport.

Head and Neck Cancer Support Group Meeting

This group is open to patients with cancers of the head or neck and their caregivers. Call or visit website for more information. Wednesdays, 2-3 p.m. 912350-7845. memorialhealth.com/. Memorial Health University Medical Center, 4700 Waters Ave. Heartbeats for Life

Free support and education group for those who have suffered from or want

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to prevent or reverse heart disease and/ or diabetes. One Tuesday/month, 6pm.

Free and open to the public. Tuesdays.

912-598-8457. jeff@heartbeatsforlife-ga. org. Southwest Chatham Library, 14097 Abercorn St.

Parents of Ill Children

Backus Children's Hospital sponsors this group for parents with a seriously ill child receiving inpatient or outpatient treatment. Case manager facilitates the meetings. Meets weekly. Call for info ongoing.

912-350-5616. memorialhealth.com/ backus. memorialhealth.com/backus.

Backus Children's Hospital, 4700 Waters Ave.

Dropping The Vortex VOOM!!

One thing that helps me to feel better when people are acting mean is to realize that nobody wakes up and says, “I’m gonna Hand in Hand is a support group for chilbe a big jerk today.” Not you, not Daesha…

Dear Erin, dren that have a family member or loved not even Justin Bieber when he threw those Daesha used to be my best Savannah-South Coast Parkinson's Support one affected by cancer. third Wednesday eggs at his neighbor’s house. Everyone is just Group friend, but now she and the of every month. 912-819-5704. Nancy N. doing his or her best to stay in The Vortex The Savannah-South Coast Parkinson's and J.C. Lewis Cancer & Research Pavilother girls in my class are so Support Group will meet the first Satand sometimes we just plain fall out. ion, 225 Reynolds Ave. mean to me. They say things urday of each month from 9am - 11am Klinefelter Syndrome/47-XXY Support Group Case in point: when you leave school after like, “Amani, you so fat you at South Coast Medical Group, 1326 For parents of children with this diaga bad day, you try to go home and be happy.

Eisenhower Dr, Building 1. Contact James have to walk through the door nosis, and for men with this diagnosis.

But when your mom innocently asks, “How or Lou at 706-413-3264 or email: admin@ sideways!”

Started by the mother of a boy with 47was your day, Amani?” you wind up howlMama taught me to treat others like I want gaparkinsons.org for more information.

XXY. Email to meet for mutual support. ing at her like a mad ol’ jackal because it feels Contact name: James Trussell Saturdays.. ongoing. amkw21@gmail.com. to be treated, so I never say mean things back. I better than talking about your crappy day.

706-413-3264. admin@gaparkinsons.

Legacy Group: For individuals with advanced just want to be nice to people and do my best in org. southcoastmedical.com/Search/ It’s human nature for people to try and and recurrent cancer. school, but it’s hard to concentrate on what the search_details_locations.php?location=1.

Group addresses the concerns of addrag others along with them when they fall teacher is saying when the kids are so mean.

Southcoast Medical Group (Southside vanced and recurrent cancer survivors out of The Vortex. The good news is you Sometimes I am mean to my own family Savannah), 1326 Eisenhower Dr. from the physical, emotional, spiritual, after being nice to everyone else all day because don’t have to go along.

Parkinson's Support Group and social aspects of healing. To register You might not be able to control how First Thursdays, 5pm-6:30pm, Marsh I get so mad I just can’t take it anymore. What for a specific session and to learn about people treat you, but you can control how Auditorium at Candler.

Call for info. ongothe group, please call Jennifer Currindid you do when the kids were mean to you? you feel about it, and I am going to teach McCulloch at 912-350-7845. ongoing. 912- ing. 912-355-6347. sjchs.org/. Candler Your friend, Hospital, 5353 Reynolds St. 350-7845. Curtis and Elizabeth Anderson you a super easy magic trick to help you out.

Amani Cancer Institute (at Memorial Health Univ. Prostate Cancer Support Group: Man to Man Whenever you realize that you or someone This group is for prostate cancer patients ----------Medical Center), 4700 Waters Ave. around you is out of The Vortex, take a deep and their caregivers. Meets in the ConferLeukemia, Lymphoma and Myeloma Support breath and say, “1…2…3…VOOM!!” as Dear Amani, ence Room of the Curtis and Elizabeth Group loud as you can.

Anderson Cancer Institute. Wednesdays, For patients with blood-related cancers This phenomenon that you are asking For maximum effect, use your fingers 6-8 p.m.

912-897-3933. memorialhealth. and their loved ones. Call or see website about —the one where Daesha says mean com/. Memorial Health University Medical things to you and then you go home and are while counting to three and be sure to for info. Located in the Summit Cancer Center, 4700 Waters Ave. Care office at the Curtis and Elizabeth point with your index finger like Hermione mean to the people you love— that’s called Pryme Multiple Sclerosis Support Group Anderson Cancer Institute. Thursdays, Granger yielding her magic wand when you Meets the second Tuesday of each month being “out of The Vortex.” The Vortex is the 5-6:30 p.m. 912-350-7845. memorialdrop the ”VOOM!” happy place that we all have inside us.

When at St. Joseph’s Hospital,11705 Mercy health.com. memorialhealth.com/. MeI discovered this trick as a camp counselor we are in it, we feel so good that it would Blvd., Meeting Room 1(on the 2nd Floor morial Health University Medical Center, years ago when hot, grouchy kids started above ER entrance) at 6 p.m. An opportu- never occur to us to be unkind to others.

4700 Waters Ave. being mean to their friends. The first time nity for people with MS and their families Narcotics Anonymous The Vortex is also an essential part of and friends to share information, develop the creation process. It helps you to get we tried it, they looked at me like I had lobCall for the Savannah Lowcountry Area coping strategies, receive support and NA meeting schedule. ongoing. 912-238clear about which things you want to create sters growing out of my ears, but by sumbecome involved in community activities.

5925. mer’s end, all the kids were doing it because more of in your life and which experiences ongoing. 912-819-2224. sjchs.org/. St. Overeaters Anonymous it helped them feel better instantly. you want to tune out all together. Because Joseph's Hospital, 11705 Mercy Blvd.

For people who are eating compulsively.

Thanks for your thoughtful letter, Amani.

Rape Crisis Center of Daesha’ s unkindness, you wrote, “I just If nothing else has worked, there is help.

Assists survivors of rape and sexual asSavannah has 2 OA meetings a week: want to be nice to people and do my best in Always know that I am sending love and happy energy to you! sault. Free, confidential counseling for Wednesday 5:30pm First Presbyterian school.” victims and families. 24-hour Rape Crisis Church, 520 Washington Avenue (at Your pal, So in a way, Daesha did you a favor by Paulsen Street) Friday 6:30pm Unity Erin helping you to get clear about your priorities. continues on p. 110 Church, 2320 Sunset Blvd. (off of SkidNow it’s just a matter of figuring out how to away Rd.) Wednesdays, Fridays.. 912-844The Ghost Dog Diaries is a weekly advice column, Crossword Answers tune out her mean words so you can create 4524. elissabeam@yahoo.com. unityofsainspired by the late PJ Cuddlesworth. Three hours vannah.org/. Unity Church of Savannah, the experiences that you want. after PJ’s passing, Erin held an Irish Wake in her honor.

2320 Sunset Blvd. Is food a problem for But first, let me answer your question. you? Overeaters Anonymous can help.

That’s when her name appeared in her beer. (MisI was little and kids were mean, I cried a Savannah meetings Mon 6:30pm, Wed whole lot. Just like you, I wanted to be a kind spelled, of course. Ghost Dogs aren’t equipped with 5:30pm, Fri 6:30 p.m. See website for Autocorrect.) Erin and PJ have been giving psychic person and a good student, but instead of locations and info, or call 912-358-7150. readings and helping people connect with their loved using my sadness as an opportunity to create ongoing. oa.org/meetings. what I wanted, I faked being sick in order to ones who have passed ever since.

Parents of Children with IEP's (Individualized Education Plans) avoid going to school.

For parents of children attending ChaAs a result, I created bad grades and sick- Got a question about life after death and other supertham-Savannah Public School System natural phenomena? Give us a shout at psychicyourness in my body for real. So rather than who have IEP plans, to offer mutual palerin@gmail.com. Although we don’t give psychic looking at what I did when I was little, support through the challenges of the readings in this column, you can learn more about maybe it makes more sense to talk about the IEP process. Email for info. ongoing. private consultations at www.yourpalerin.com things I do to help myself feel better now amkw210@gmail.com.

109 that I’m a grown-up.

By Your Pal Erin

psychicyourpalerin@gmail.com www.yourpalerin.com

MAY 20-26, 2015

Howard Hand in Hand Children's Support Group

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MAY 20-26, 2015

Line operates seven days a week. 912233-7273. ongoing.

110

office work, crafting, sewing, light yard work, housekeeping, playing guitar for Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Support Group Help for people ages 11-18, or concerned patients, and licensed hairdressers.

Second Tuesdays at 7pm in Marsh Audito- parents of teens. Park Place Outreach Serving patients in Chatham, Bryan, rium at Candler Hospital. For anyone with Youth Emergency Shelter. Call or see Bulloch, Effingham, Liberty, Camden, this disorder, plus family members/care- website. ongoing. 912-234-4048. parkGlynn, McIntosh, and Screven Counties in givers interested in learning more. Call Georgia, and Beaufort, Jasper, Hampton, placeyes.org. for info. ongoing. 912-858-2335. sjchs.

Charleston, Colleton Counties in South Young Survival Coalition org/. Candler Hospital, 5353 Reynolds St. Carolina. See website or email or call for Young breast cancer patients and their SBC Toastmasters caregivers in the greater Savannah, Hilton info. ongoing. 888-842-4463. kbuttimer@ Toastmasters is an organization dedicated Head, and Coastal Georgia area are invited thagroup.org. thagroup.org. to the art of public speaking. In a friendly, to join this group. Meetings include preLive Oak Public Libraries supportive atmosphere, members learn sentations from local medical community Volunteers needed to assist in a variety to speak more precisely and confidently and discussions. Meetings conducted in of ways at its branches in Chatham, Effvia prepared speeches, impromptu speak- the Conference Room of the Curtis and ingham, and Liberty Counties. Call or see ing, and constructive evaluations. It's fun, Elizabeth Anderson Cancer Institute. Sat- website for info. ongoing. 912-652-3661. informative, and a great way to network urdays, 4-6 p.m. 912-897-3933. memorial- liveoakpl.org. with area professionals. Tuesdays, 12-1 health.com/. Memorial Health University Medical Professional Volunteers Needed p.m. 912-663-7851. St. Leo University, Medical Center, 4700 Waters Ave. St. Joseph's/Candler's St. Mary's Health 7426 Hodgson Memorial Drive, Suite A. Center, a free clinic serving the uninVolunteers Sisters Network (Breast Cancer in the African sured, seeks physicians, nurse practitioBethesda Seeks Volunteer Docents for New American Community) ners, nurses, lab techs, and patient care History Museum/Visitors Center A national organization to raise awaretechs. Non-clinical volunteers needed Bethesda seeks volunteer docents for ness about the impact of breast cancer to to schedule appointments. Contact their new visitors center/museum. on the African American community. At Stephanie Alston. ongoing. 912-443-9409.

Volunteer docents needed during regular the Curtis and Elizabeth Anderson Cancer museum hours, Thurs.-Sat. 10am-4pm.

St. Joseph's/Candler--St. Mary's Health Institute at Memorial. Call for info. fourth Docents will share Bethesda’s rich history Center, 1302 Drayton St. Tuesday of every month, 6-7 p.m. 912Oatland Island Wildlife Center and inspiring legacy with visitors from 236-7405. memorialhealth.com/. MemoOatland Island Wildlife Center often needs across the country and around the world. rial Health University Medical Center, ongoing. 912-351-2061. Elizabeth.brown@ volunteers. Call or see website for info.

4700 Waters Ave. ongoing. 912-395-1500. oatlandisland.org. bethesdaacademy.org. Bethesda AcadSpinal Injury Support Group oatlandisland.org/. Oatland Island Wildlife emy, 9250 Ferguson Ave. Third Thursdays, 5:30pm, at the Rehabili- Docents and Volunteers Needed at Flannery Center, 711 Sandtown Rd. tation Institute at Memorial. Call or see Pre-School Volunteers Needed O'Connor House website for info. ongoing. 912-350-8900.

Seeking early childhood education maFlannery O’Connor Childhood Home memorialhealth.com. memorialhealth. seeks additional volunteers and volunteer jors, retired elementary teachers and/or com/. Memorial Health University Medical docents to help on Fridays and Saturdays, community residents to help 3 & 4 year Center, 4700 Waters Ave. 1p-4pm, and for possible extended hours. olds with language development skills.

Spouse/Life Partner Support Group Duties: greet visitors, handle admissions, Mon.-Fri., 9am-12noon. Call for info. onOpen support group for adults whose going. 912-447-0578. sjchs.org/1969.cfm. conduct merchandise sales and help spouses or life partners have died. Meets with tours. Docent training and written St. Mary's Community Center and Health Thursday mornings from 11:00 a.m. to Center, 812 W 36th St. narratives for reference during tours are 12:00 p.m. Thursdays, 11 a.m.-noon. Full Retired and Senior Volunteer Program provided. ongoing. 912-233-6014. haborCircle Center for Grief Support, 450 Mall rello@aol.com. flanneryoconnorhome.org. Share time and talents through the RSVP Blvd., Suite H. program of the Equal Opportunity AuthorFlannery O’Connor Childhood Home, 207 Support Group for Women Coping with Inferity. Seniors 55 and older serve in various E. Charlton Street. tility or Who Desire to Pursue Adoption community organizations. Call for inforDolphin Project Seeks Volunteers For women who are on the infertility jour- Dolphin Project needs boat owners, phomation. ongoing. 912-238-2960 x123. ney, or have the desire to pursue adopRonald McDonald House tographers, and other volunteers to help tion, and need support from other women with scientific research on the Atlantic Help in the "home away from home" for who have been there or are on the same families of hospitalized children. VolunBottlenose dolphin along coastal Georjourney. Meeting location: 217 E. 55th teers needed to provide home-cooked gia. Must be age 18 or older. Call or see Street. Email for meeting days/times. meals for families at the house. Volunteer website for info. ongoing. 912-232-6572.

Every fourth Thursday. emptycradle_sainternships available for college students. thedolphinproject.org. vannah@hotmail.com.

Call or see website for info. ongoing.

Good Samaritan Health Clinic Survivors of Suicide Support Group 912-356-5520. rmhccoastalempire.org.

St. Joseph's/Candler's Good Samaritan Suicide often leaves survivors with guilt, rmhccoastalempire.org/. Ronald McDonClinic in Garden City needs volunteer anger, hurt and unanswered questions. nurses, physician assistants, nurse prac- ald House, 4710 Waters Avenue.

Hospice Savannah/United Way of Coastal titioners, Spanish interpreters and clerical Specialized Foster Care Services Empire/Coastal Suicide Prevention AlLutheran Services of Georgia provides staff. The clinic serves people without liance offer an ongoing support group. insurance and those whose income is less Specialized Foster Care services for Third Thursdays, 6:30-7:30pm. Safe and children in the custody of DFACS and than 200 percent of the federal poverty confidential. Free to attend. Barbara Moss level. Call to volunteer. ongoing. 912-964- Department of Juvenile Justice. We speat Full Circle of Hospice Savannah, 912cialize in placing children that are special 4326.

629-1089. ongoing. Full Circle Center for needs including (a) sibling groups, (b) Hospice Volunteers Needed in Chatham and Grief Support, 450 Mall Blvd., Suite H. teens, (c) children with physical, mental, other Coastal Counties Teens Nurturing Teens (Cancer Support) developmental and behavioral disabilities, Island Hospice, THA Group's nonprofit Support group for teens with a family (d) commercially sexually exploited chilhospice service, seeks volunteers for member or loved one impacted by cancer. patient socialization and caregiver respite. dren. We look for the best home to match Meets at the Lewis Cancer Pavilion. Call the children’s needs. Lutheran Services Also seeking nonpatient contact volunfor information. ongoing. 912-819-5704. seeks to provide the best support for the teers who can contribute by providing Nancy N. and J.C. Lewis Cancer & Rechild and the foster family. LSG Foster services including, but not limited to, search Pavilion, 225 Reynolds Ave. Teens With No One to Turn To

families have been evaluated to ensure that children in care will be provide a safe and nurturing home that can provide care and attention to children’s medical, emotional, educational and social needs. ongoing. (912)228-7873. lmccrary@lsga. org. lsga.org.

Stand-Up Paddleboarding

Lessons and tours. East Coast Paddleboarding, Savannah/Tybee Island. email or call for info. ongoing. 912-484-3200. eastcoastpaddleboarding.com.

Tutoring Volunteers Needed

Education majors, retired reading teachers or community residents sought to volunteer for a reading and math tutorial program for elementary and middle school students. Call for info. ongoing. 912-447-6605. sjchs.org/body. cfm?id=399. African-American Health Information & Resource Center, 1910 Abercorn St. Tutors Sought for Adult Learners (GED Prep and Literacy Needs)

The Adult Community & Education Program at Royce Learning Center seeks volunteer tutors to assist adult learners.

Monday - Thursday, 5pm-7pm. Tuesday & Thursday, 9am-11am. Classes at Royce Learning Center and at Wesley Community Center. Free tutor training. Email or call for info. ongoing. 912-354-4047. kmorgan@roycelc.org.

Urban Hope

An after school program for inner city children seeking adult volunteers to help with homework, Bible Study, art classes, and more. See website or email for info. ongoing. urbanhopesav@aol.com. urbanhopesavannah.org.

Volunteer at the Forsyth Farmers' Market

The market occurs each Saturday morning at the South End of Forsyth Park, from February through December. To volunteer, see website for contact info. ongoing. forsythfarmersmarket.com. forsythfarmersmarket.com/. Forsyth Farmers' Market, 501 Whitaker St., South End of Forysth Park.

Volunteer for Meals on Wheels

There are seniors in our community who are hungry. You can make a difference by volunteering one hour a week to delivering Meals on Wheels to homebound seniors. There are over 500 seniors on the waiting list to receive meals, and the number continues to grow. For more information, contact Lauren at Volunteer@ seniorcitizens-inc.org or 912-236-0363 Mondays-Fridays, 10:45 a.m. Senior Citizens Inc., 3025 Bull St. Volunteers Needed for the EOA

Share your time and special talents with others; join the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program of EOA. We need your help to help others. Qualifications are to be 55, want to enjoy life and have the desire to share your personal talents with others. ongoing. Downtown Savannah, downtown.

buy . sell . connect | Call call231-0250 238-2040 for business Businessrates rates| place your classified ad online for free at connectsavannahexchange.com

Announcements For Your Information

MAKE A CONNECTION, TALK TO SEXY SINGLES FREE now! Call 912.544.0013 or 800.926.6000 www.livelinks.com 18+

Items for Sale General Merchandise STOP GNAT & MOSQUITO BITES! Buy Swamp Gnat or Swamp Gator Natural Insect Repellant. Family & Pet Sale.

Available: ACE Hardware, Walgreen's, The Home Depot, homedepot.com.

Jobs Drivers Wanted LOOKING FOR MOTIVATED CLASS A CDL DRIVER FOR LOCAL PORT WORK. GREAT PAY AND HOME EVERY NIGHT. TWIC, 2 YEARS EXPERIENCE AND A CLEAN MVR. $100 SIGN ON BONUS & A QUARTERLY BONUS DEPENDING ON PERFORMANCE. CALL 912-663-0354

Help Wanted ADMIN ASSISTANT

ADMIRAL'S INN Tybee Island Now Hiring

Front Desk Clerk, Housekeeping, Breakfast Attendant, Laundry Person.

Experienced/Serious/Ready to Work Only Great workplace! High Season is Here!

PROPERTY MGMT. EXPERIENCED & QUALIFIED IN OPERATIONS OF A LEASING OFFICE... Enjoy working with others with a sense of humor?! We need each other!!

Flexible schedule. Advancement opportunities. Fax Resume 912352-3747

Week at a Glance

SEEKING MANAGER to run small Apt. complex. Must live on premises. Retired couple preferable. Contact Jack, 912342-3840 or Linda, 912-690-9097.

ConnectSavannah.com

These are fun tours, not serious. Must have city license. Must be very reliable.

7:30-10PM, Sat/Fri, most wknds. $50 plus avg. $50+ tips. 515-992-0519

FURNISHED APTS. $170/WK. Private bath and kitchen, cable, utilities, washer furnished. AC & heat, bus stop on property. No deposit required. Completely safe, manager on property.

Contact Linda, (912)690-9097 or Jack, (912)342-3840.

GEORGETOWN

Real Estate Homes For Sale

Furnished Efficiency Apt. includes utilities, electricity, gas, garbage and water. 1yr. lease & security deposit. $650/month. Close to Savannah Mall & Armstrong State University. 912-429-2073

3BR HOUSE FOR SALE, Savannah. $10,000 Down, take over Apply-in-person: payments $568/month. $25,200/ 9AM-1PM, Balance - Pay off in 7yrs. Good HOUSE FOR RENT, 4 bed/2 full Monday-Friday baths in Thunderbolt area. Large condition. 912-308-3934.

1501 Butler Avenue, Tybee yard, front porch and more.

Island. $1200/month plus security Mobile Homes For Sale deposit. Serious Callers Please.

3BR/2BA DOUBLEWIDE modular 843-415-2440 CLIFTON’S DRY CLEANERS Hiring! home with lot, completely ALL positions available. Apply in fenced. West side Savannah. person: 8401 Ferguson Avenue. $30,000. Possible financing with No phone calls.

25% down. 912-996-4574 (Text).

REDUCED RENT & boricua4542@yahoo.com DEPOSIT! EMBASSY SUITES HOTEL SPECIAL! SPECIAL! For Rent Savannah Airport 11515 White Bluff Road: (Exit 104 off I-95) *305 TREAT STREET: 2BR/1BA, $620/month for 1BR/1BA is hiring for: hardwood floors, CH/A, washer/ Apt. with $500/deposit.

Housekeepers, dryer hookup $650/mo.

Overnight Laundry Person, Maintenance Engineers. *2235 UTAH STREET: 2BR/1BA, 1303 E. 66th Street. all electric, CH/A, storage shed, 2BR/2BA $780/month.

Benefits available. carport $750/mo. 912-257-6181 Join our winning team! *8723 HURST: 4BR/2BA $1200.

Nice location, 207 Drug Test and Edgewater Rd. 2BR/2BA, all Background Check Required. *126 W.59TH: 2BR/1BA Apt. $650 Several Rental & electric, $795/month.

Apply in person: 145 Mulberry Drive Rent-To-Own Properties.

1812 N. Avalon: 2BR, 1.5BA Savannah, GA GUARANTEED FINANCING $720/month. or PHONE: 912-330-8222 STAY MANAGEMENT 352-7829 FAX: 229-241-0242 1111 East 57 Street, 2 BR/1BA DAVIS RENTALS EMAIL: Apartment, newly painted, galley 310 EAST MONTGOMERY recruit.motmanco@gmail.com kitchen, w/d connections, new X-ROADS, floors. $625/ mo $625 deposit. 912-354-4011 OR 656-5372 912-655-4303

Appointment coordination, event and meeting planning, make travel arrangements, record keeping, bookkeeping, scheduling.

Send your resume and salary expectations to: clscrccls@ aol.com

Looking to plan to fill your week with fun stuff? Then read Week At A Glance to find out about the most interesting events occurring in Savannah.

WEEKEND HAUNTED PUB CRAWLS

ads received by 5pm friday will appear in the Wednesday issue of the next week

No Bees; No Honey, No Classified Ad; No Money!

Call 912-721-4350 and Place Your Classified Ad Today!

RENT OR RENT-TO-OWN: Remodeled mobile homes, 3BR/2BA, in Garden City mobile 199 BRITTNEY LANE: 4BR/2BA home park. Low down affordable payments. Credit check approval. brick, large fenced lot. $1250/ Call Gwen, Manager, at 912-964month.

2BR/1.5BA condo, 7675 updated, no carpet. $695/mo.

Tom Whitten, Owner/Agent. 912SOUTHSIDE 663-0558, text or call.

•1BR Apts, washer/dryer DUPLEX: 1227 E. 54th Street. included. $25 for water, 2BR/1BA $550/month plus trash included, $625/month. $550/deposit. Two blocks off •2BR/1.5BA Townhouse Apt, Waters Avenue, close to Daffin total electric $700/month.

Park. Call 912-335-3211 or email adamrealstate@gmail.com. Days/ Call 912-927-3278 or 912356-5656 Nights/Weekends.

FURNISHED APARTMENTS, No Deposit. 1 Bedroom, Utilities Included. $160, $175, $190 per week. Corner of 38th and Drayton. 912-234-9779

Find Out What’s Going On In The Coastal Empire!

Community.ConnectSavannah.com

WESTSIDE: 3BR/2BA, over 1,000SF. Master with walk-in closet, large furnished kitchen, all electric, Central heat/air, washer/ dryer connection. 2min. from Downtown. $875/month, $800/ security dep. References required.

912-665-4886

SINGLE, Mature Individual for Roommate: Safe Environment.

Central heat/air, cable, washer/ dryer. Bi-weekly $280, $280/ security deposit, No lease.

Immediate occupancy.

Call Mr.Brown: 912-663-2574 or 912234-9177.

Room for Rent

Roommate Wanted

ROOMS FOR RENT $75 MOVE-IN SPECIAL TODAY!!

Clean, furnished, large. Busline, central heat/air, utilities. $100$130/weekly. Rooms with bath $145. Call 912-289-0410.

Roommate to share large home with pool, utilities furnished.

Convenient location. Must be responsible, non-smoker. $675/ month. Call 912-398-5105

AFFORDABLE ROOMS For Rent.

Fully furnished, TV, cable, internet.

Near bus line. Weekly Rates $130$160 plus deposit. Please Call 912-323-7105.

Automotive

CLEAN, QUIET, NICE ROOMS & EFFICIENCIES from $100-$215. Near Bus lines.

Refrigerator, Stove, Washer & Dryer. For More Info, Call 912-412-2818 or 912-2723438

Cars/Trucks/Vans FENDER BENDER ??

Paint & Body Work.

Reasonably Priced. Insurance Claims. We buy wrecks. Call 912-355-5932.

Service Directory Business Services

FURNISHED ROOM FOR RENT, FOR ALL TYPES OF Utilities Included, $110 per week.

MASONRY REPAIR Corner of 38th and Drayton. Call Brick, Block, Concrete, Stucco, 912-234-9779 Brick Paving, Grading, Clearing, ROOMS FOR RENT - ADULT etc., New & Repair Work. Call LIVING: $150 weekly. No Michael Mobley, 912-631-0306

deposit. Furnished rooms. All utilities included. Call 912844-5995 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.

Bedrooms are fully furnished and private. 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

SHARED LIVING: Fully Furnished Apts. $170 weekly.

No deposit. All utilities included. Call 912-844-5995 Happenings: All the info about clubs, groups and events. Only at www.connectsavannah.com

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