FYI

Things worth knowing

THE QUEEN TO HOST HOMETOWN HEROES CELEBRATING DELAWARE’S BEER, WINE & SPIRITS TRAIL

The 12th annual Delaware Beer, Wine & Spirits Festival returns to the Delaware Agricultural Museum & Village in Dover on Sat., Aug. 27 from 4-7:30pm. The event is the only statewide festival for the state’s craft alcohol industry and features producers on the Delaware Beer, Wine & Spirits Trail. The event features more than 70 product for sampling, live music by Blue Cat Blues and Too Tall Slim, a vendor marketplace, food trucks, lawn games and more. Admission is limited to 500 with private tables and VIP options. Visit DeBeerWineSpirits.com

Delaware Public Media and host Mark Rogers will honor the local music scene with the 13th presentation of the Hometown Heroes Homey Awards at The Queen Theater in Downtown Wilmington Aug. 7 at 7pm. Awards will be presented in 28 categories. Visit TheQueenWilmington. com for ticket information. For those who can’t attend, you can listen at DelawarePublic.org or WMHS 88.1FM in Wilmington or WDDE 91.1FM in Dover.

MISSION-DRIVEN DINNERS DELIVER FOR INDEPENDENT RESTAURANT COALITION

TAKING IT TO THE STREETS

At a ceremony at Le Cavalier last month, IRC x Wilmington, a series of benefit dinners featuring celebrity chefs working alongside local talent, presented a $100,000 check to the Independent Restaurant Coalition (IRC). The Wilmington dinners, which were part of a national campaign, ran from Dec. 2021 thru March 2022 and featured acclaimed chefs such as including Ashley Christensen, Tom Colicchio, Gregory Gourdet, and Andrew Zimmern working with area chefs from Bardea, La Fia, Le Cavalier, Stitch House, and Wm. The Open Streets Wilmington program continues its tour Mulherin’s Sons. Le Cavalier chef-partner Tyler Akin of city neighborhoods with the is a founding board member of the next installment set for Sat, Aug. 20 at Fourth St. (between Union St. and Greenhill Ave). Open Streets closes designated city Independent Restaurant Coalition. Proceeds benefit the IRC’s mission of supporting independent restaurants and bars nationwide. streets to motor vehicle traffic for a three-hour stretch and encourages the community to use that space to walk, bike, run, roller blade or simply socialize. The initiative is a collaboration between Urban Bike Project, West Side Grows Together and the Open Streets steering committee. The 2022 campaign continues Sat., Sept. 17 at Delaware Ave. (between Union St. and Brinkle Ave.) and concludes Sat., Oct. 15 at Baynard Blvd. (between 18th St. and Concord Ave.). Visit OpenStreetsWilmington.org

Andrew Zimmern (center left, glasses & beard) with the Bardea team at IRC x Wilmington. Other visiting celebrity chefs pictured: Gerald Allen (far right); Khoran Horn (left of Allen).

Delaware Division of the Arts is investing nearly $3 million in more than 110 arts-and-community organizations that will serve Delawareans statewide with arts programming and services, arts education, and arts marketing and promotion. This first round of funding for the fiscal year that began July 1, 2022 includes: General Operating Support, Project Support, Arts Stabilization, StartUp and Education Resource grants. "Artists and arts organizations state-wide have been on the cutting edge of innovation and community impact over the last two years. As they turn to a new phase of recovery from the shutdowns related to Delaware's public health emergency, it is critical that the Delaware Division of the Arts continue our significant investment into the sector," said Jessica Ball, director of the Delaware Division of the Arts. "This investment in the creative workforce—artists and organizations alike—enhances education, stimulates local economies, and enriches our communities."

“Delaware’s financial support of our artists and arts organizations is engrained into the fabric of what we do at the state level,” said Secretary of State Jeffrey Bullock. “Our roster of artists and arts institutions makes the state attractive for our residents, employers, and employees who spend their free time and money to enjoy the many experiences available to them. Supporting the arts makes sense any way you look at it.”

BIG LIFT FOR WILMINGTON DRAMA LEAGUE REVITALIZATION PROJECT

The Wilmington Drama League received a major boost as it begins its 90th season. The community theater has been awarded $510,000 from the Delaware Community Reinvestment Fund for the revitalization of its building, which dates to 1939. WDL also received an additional $300,000 for future projects.

The theater will resume its season Oct. 14-23 with a performance of Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George. Visit WilmingtonDramaLeague.org

The Delaware Art Museum and Brevity Bookspace are teaming up to present a weekend of engaging literary programming, featuring the return of the virtual Wilmington Writers Conference as well as an in-person conversation and book signing in partnership with the National Book Foundation.

On Sat., Aug. 6, The Wilmington Writers Conference, a signature summer staple, returns. This year’s virtual offering, which costs $10 to attend, will feature a keynote speech and writing workshop by Delaware author Ethan Joella, whose debut novel, A Little Hope, has been praised by outlets such as The New York Times and The Today Show. Joella will be joined by Saliym Cooper of Brevity Bookspace, who will also be teaching a special writing session.

On Sunday, August 7, the Museum and Brevity are partnering with the National Book Foundation to host a free event welcoming National Book Award–honored authors Clint Smith (How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America) and Kali Fajardo-Anstine (Sabrina and Corina, Woman of Light) for “Rewriting American Memory,” a conversation about intergenerational histories amongst Black, Latinx and Indigenous peoples. The conversation will be followed by a book signing at the DelArt Store, where guests will have the opportunity to meet Smith and Fajardo-Anstine and purchase their books. Registration is open at delart.org.

WILMINGTON WRITERS CONFERENCE

THE GRAND APPOINTS NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Pam Manocchio has been named by The Grand’s board of directors to succeed Mark Fields as the performing arts center’s executive director. The appointment will take place in September when Fields steps down after serving 16 years in that role.

Manocchio first came to The Grand in 2006 as director of development and segued into the role of director of community engagement in 2009. She has overseen all The Grand’s outreach-and-education programs with the community, including Stages of Discovery (school matinees), Summer Explorers, and The Grand Galleries (rotating visual art exhibitions). These programs serve more than 30,000 youth and adults annually. In 2021, she was named managing director when Steve Bailey stepped away from that position.

“I am thrilled and grateful for the opportunity to take on this leadership role for The Grand,” says Manocchio. “Having worked side by side with both Mark Fields and Steve Bailey over the past 16 years, I feel well prepared to guide this institution into its next chapter. We have lots of room to grow in our community, and we’ll do so in the most impactful and creative ways imaginable.”

Prior to her Grand tenure, Manocchio had worked in development positions for The Curtis Institute of Music, American Symphony Orchestra League, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, and Hartford Symphony Orchestra. Pam Manocchio