THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, November 3, 1995 TAG: 9511010233
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Ida Kay's Portsmouth
SOURCE: Ida Kay Jordan
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
Last time I wrote about the pleasures of living in Portsmouth, I got a lot of flak from some of our readers, who implied that I must be dreaming. A couple of abusive telephone calls and some letters that basically said Portsmouth isn't what it used to be convinced me that some people never will see the new potential of the city.
But that doesn't mean I'm giving up.
We have a good base of activity to make this an attractive place to live.
Those who don't believe me need only to peruse the pages of Currents every week. All kinds of visual arts, music, dance, sports, just about everything anybody could want, are available right here.
Oh yeah? you ask.
Yeah! I say.
Tonight at Willett Hall, Ramsey Lewis and a jazz group - traveling as the Urban Knights - will be doing a concert. This follows another great show last Sunday, an appearance by the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra under the baton of Buddy Morrow.
Saturday night the Ninth Gala Art Exhibition and Auction at Gomley Chesed Synagogue will bring together people from all over Hampton Roads for the annual champagne party and sale of original art by Marlin Art of Deer Park, N.Y.
Yale Dolsey, the man who gets the art auction together, is proud of the variety of work that will be available.
It is, he said, ``something for everybody'' and every year some works go for as little as $25.
But there is art for collectors too - signed works of Boulanger, Erte, Agam, Neiman, Chagall and Delacroix, among dozens of other well-known artists. The sale will include lithographs, etchings, drawings, watercolors, oils, posters and sculptures. In addition, Dolsey - a prime mover in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament - always requests the dealer to bring along some sports items.
The auction is a fund-raiser for the synagogue but the event is a fun time for people.
On Sunday afternoon, Wayne Potrafka's gallery at Tower Mall and The Olde Towne Art Gallery on Downtown High Street will have simultaneous art openings.
On Thursday night, the public is invited to the 1846 Courthouse gallery for the opening of ultra-realistic sculpture by Mark Sijan of Milwaukee. His figures are so lifelike that viewers have been known to try to converse with them.
If that's not your cup of tea, then stop on the first floor where the Elizabeth River Artists have a new show titled ``A Women's Vision.''
Then next Saturday night, Nov. 11, the venerable Portsmouth Community Concert Series will open with a performance by the Richmond Ballet.
The concert association has made special arrangements to sell individual tickets for this performance to give young ballet students the opportunity to see the ballet. This concert series has been a mainstay in Portsmouth for more than half-a-century, a record of longevity as these things go.
I've listed all of these in a single column just to prove my point about Portsmouth. Sometimes we don't realize just how much is going on around here and we need to see it spelled out in one place.
When I got so much negative response to comments about wonderful Portsmouth, I began to look for very concrete evidence of why I think it's a fine place to live. This listing of just the most visible events of a couple of weeks proves the point, as far as I'm concerned.
All are first-class events. They are reasonably priced or, in some cases, free.
These are the kinds of activities that give Portsmouth great hopes for the future. They are activities conceived and organized mostly by volunteers. Even those at the art museum and Willett Hall involve unpaid help from citizens.
I don't know what people want in a community if people don't see the potential here.
Certainly, it's not like it used to be but I bet in many ways it's even better. by CNB