Yesterday, the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Small Business Development Center of Hampton Roads (SBDC), held its Small Business of the Year Awards luncheon at the Virginia Beach Convention Center. 

New York City: the musical theatre capital of New York State. It is said that if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. Having already made it in New York City with a successful, sold out run off Broadway, the producers of Cuff Me: The Fifty Shades of Grey Musical Parody are bringing the hit show to The Norva this weekend.

A delicate handmade curtain separates the lightly scented homemade soaps, fabric-covered buttons and hand-stitched makeup bags from the dust-covered tables, worn claw hammers and messy paint buckets. Despite the disarray of construction, crafty awesomeness lies ahead. 

So truly a banner night for Norfolk last night. All of these are facts, not just my Mountain Dew fueled optimism: 

1. There will be food trucks Downtown. Maybe even next month. 
2. There is officially an arts district in Norfolk. 
3. Open container laws have been relaxed. 
4. The council put a unique local business in a better position to succeed, signaling a more progressive view of a Downtown with awesome bones.