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events

World Cup Watching in Savannah

world cup watching

white whale craft ales
Eight years ago I was living in Brooklyn.

Four years ago I was living in Atlanta.

Now I am living in Savannah. I enjoy watching the World Cup. Who else is watching the World Cup which just started in Russia?!  I will be watching some of the games which run from June 14th until July 15th. Thirty-two teams from around the world will be playing.  Unfortunately, the United States didn’t qualify, but the matches are great to watch.

Here’s a list of the bars where you can watch The World Cup in Savannah.

  • Dub’s (225 West River St.)
  • Coach’s Corner (3016 East Victory Drive)
  • Savannah Taphouse (125 E Broughton St)
  • PJ’s Tavern (11 W Bay St)
  • White Whale Craft Ales (1207 Bull St)
  • World of Beer (112 W Broughton St)

 

 

 

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events savannah

Savannah Sideways, Up and Down

Former Connect Savannah columnist, Jessica Leigh Lebos, has published a book of her essays, and it is Savannah Sideways.  Last night there was a book party at the tiny yet legendary Book Lady Bookstore.  It was standing room only as Jessica read three of her essays from her collection.  Jessica has an authentic voice that is funny, thoughtful and focused.  Get a copy at your local bookstore; and review it on Goodreads.

My dad says, “You learn something new every day”;  I learned about the delicious tequila-based cocktail, Paloma.  A Paloma is a Mexican cocktail that is three parts grapefruit soda, one part tequila. What’s better a than a Paloma? A frozen slushie Paloma. At Pinkie Master’s they have Paloma slushie. For a festive drink to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, but I suggest having a Paloma slushie while supplies last.

Thumbs down to the crab cake appetizer at Sorry Charlies at Ellis Square.  In the South, portion sizes tend to be bigger, so I when I ordered the crab cakes, I assumed it would be smaller than an entree but bigger than h’orderves.  When my plate arrived, I got three tiny crab cake puffs that were probably the same size as the hush puppies.  They were tasty but tiny. Sorry, Charlie but the crab cake appetizer is too small.

Coming Up:

TED X Savannah is May 11th.

She Hustles is May 24th.

 

 

 

 

 

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events

Introducing Gnatty Savannah Mini Podcast

street art in savannah

Yeah, I am podcasting (sorta).  I like the brevity of Bumpers, so I am using the app to record little morsels of audio content about Savannah. [The app is shutting down soon, but I will still record on another app.] This first one is about what’s happening this week.  Savannah Stopover, the music festival is March 8th-10th at various venues around downtown.   See my past coverage of Savannah Stopover in 2017, and 2016. Listen to the first episode right now. https://bumpers.fm/e/baevpmnv1egg013fr1qg

St. Patrick’s Day is less than 12 days away! The greening of the fountain is this Friday at Forsyth Park.

You can check out stand-up comedy this week at Chuck’s Bar on Tuesday, and Stafford’s on Wednesday.

 

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business events

Business: She Hustles At Bull St. Labs

The Creative Coast at Bull Street Labs is hosting an event featuring local women entrepreneurs,  She Hustles.  The discussion is happening Thursday, December 7th at Bull St. Labs (2222 Bull Street) at 6:30 pm. Doors open at 6:15pm.  I will be moderating the discussion. The event is FREE and you can RSVP via Facebook.

The Panel:

Elondia Harden, Elonwick

Aleshia Howell, Codebase

Christine Wacta, GeoGen

Facilitated by Nichelle Stephens

 

Here’s a list of some of the business resources that I collected.

 

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events

BlogHer17: The Pressure Is A Privilege

Jovan, Nicole and Nichelle at BlogHer17

It’s hard to recap a conference like BlogHer especially when you spent three days meeting new people, listening to panels, being inspired by speakers and learning new information. I was impressed and inspired by Janet Mock, Serena Williams and Amy Ziering.

Here are some of my random thoughts from #BlogHer17.

  • Ana Navarro is hilarious! CNN is being ridiculous if they don’t offer her a show of her own.
  • Serena Williams has a soft voice, but her words are powerful.  It’s great that she is supporting Purple Purse which helps women escape domestic violence.
  • The lazy river at the Hilton Bonnet Creek is so much fun!
  • The butterscotch pudding with toffee on the side at La Luce is sinfully delicious.
  • Review your friend’s books on Amazon.  It helps them with sales.
  • Empathy is not enough. Do something.

Takeaway:

I heard conversations among attendees and panelists that were so similar to conversations I had seven years ago at #BlogHer10.   Is BlogHer not growing or is the same old conference model with speakers and panels in need of disruption?  I would suggest more unstructured events like a bar camp where anyone can sign up to speak on a topic. In addition, I think there should have been pop-up bookstore selling books authored by speakers and attendees. Other than networking, there should have been an opportunity for attendees to sell their products  (maybe an artisan market). Attending BlogHer or any other women’s conference should be a more quantifiable step forward because the time and money spent attending a conference is time and money away from family, career and projects that are just as important if not more.

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events savannah

Going To BlogHer17

Me with the Pillsbury Dough Boy
Me with the Pillsbury Dough Boy

I am an old skool blogger. I have been blogging for over a decade. I first started with a personal blog, Nichelle Newsletter on Blogger. Then I moved it to Typepad and later over to WordPress. In 2004, I met Rachel and Allison, and we created Cupcakes Take The Cake. I have started and abandoned several blogs over the years, and this one Gnatty Savannah is my newest blog baby. I started Gnatty Savnnah nearly two years ago when I moved here to Savannah.  Gnatty Savannah is focus on food, culture and events in Savannah.

Nichelle at the first BlogHer

I went to the first BlogHer conference in 2005 in San Jose, CA.  I am going to BlogHer  this year to reconnect with old friends and to reconnect with blogging. It’s hard to keep up a regular blogging momentum when there is faster and easier ways to distribute content via social media. Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram are social media I use daily. I only blog about once or twice a month.

Blogging is important because this is MY SPACE. Not MySpace (RIP), but my personal space. Social media may change, but as long as I own the domain and can pay for hosting, Gnatty Savannah is mine. Blogging is owning a home whereas social media is like renting an apartment. I need to spend more time fixing up my home. When I get back from BlogHer, I will.

Categories
events food

The Potlikker Papers

sorghum syrup

John T. Edge of the Southern Foodways Alliance came to Savannah to talk about his new book that chronicles food and the modern South over the last 60 years. The book is called ‘The Potlikker Papers‘.  In case you don’t know, potlikker or pot liquor is the liquid left behind after cooking greens. Anyway,  I love learning about Southern food. It has a rich history. I took copious notes on my iPod of the things John talked about during his talk at SCAD’s Alexander Hall. If any of the following interests you, then you should buy the book.

  • Edna Lewis
  • Black woman Political reckoning
  • Boiled peanuts in potlikker
  • Joe Randall
  • Clinton GA
  • 1955 – 2015 covered in the book
  • Georgia Gilmore Montgomery Bus Boycotts
  • Carpooling
  • Jackson, MS
  • Restaurants were battlegrounds, lunch counters
  • Jack Geiger
  • Wholesome Way
  • Food is power
  • Food is capital
  • Fannie Lou Hamer started a food cooperative and a pig bank (meat share)
  • Stephen Gaskin hippie
  • Monday night class Summertown, Tennessee
  • Sorghum and soybean
  • Active Southerners
  • Russell Sugarman, Mahalia Jackson
  • Grits and Fritz
  • Edna Lewis Honed the black pastoral
  • Clayborne Food editor of the New York Times during the 1970s
  • Elizabeth Terry, chef
  • Highlands Bar and Grill in Birmingham
  • Nathalie Dupree established a cooking school in the basement of Rich’s department store.
  • Glenn Roberts lead the grain movement. Started with corn, then Carolina rice. Heirloom corn from Moonshiners.
  • Sean Brock
  • Rodney Scott Barbecue in Hemingway, SC.
  • Barbecue is American folk food
  • Danny Meyer’s opening of Blue Smoke in the early aughts.
  • Barbecue, a democratizing answer to white tablecloth restaurants
  • Chingo Bling, Houston musician now comedian
Categories
events

FCW Society Variety Show

Dancers
Two weeks, I hosted a fun variety show featuring local Savannah talent. My friend Joanne Morton came up with the idea of doing a Planned Parenthood fundraiser. All of the performers were cool women.  They were fucking cool women.  There was singing, poetry, spoken word, comedy, dance and hula hooping. We raised over $400 for Planned Parenthood.
Jamie Failing

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events

Savannah Stopover 2017

Becca Mancari

I did Friday night of this year’s Savannah Stopover, and it was a blast.  Savannah Stopover is a three day music festival featuring bands from all over. Many of the bands stop over in Savannah before heading to SXSW in Austin.

I first stopped by the secret show at West Elm. Christopher Paul Stelling performed an acoustic set.  His new album, ‘Itinerant Arias’, will drop on 05/05/17.  After his set, I grabbed some dinner from the Chazitos Latin Food Truck.  The empanadas and plaintains are delicious.

Chazitos

Then I went to see Becca Mancari play at Trinity Church. She’s originally from Staten Island, but plays country music. Listening to secular music in a church is pretty cool.

Becca Mancari Later on, I saw Gracie and Rachel play.  Their sound is orchestral pop. Their choral acoustic cover of Kreayshawn’s “Gucci, Gucci’ is the best cover I have heard this year.

Gracie and Rachel

Alanna Royale is an authentic soul singer. She has so much stage presence that it is imperative that you see her live.  She is a great complement to Lee Fields and the Expressions who performed in the most handsome shiny suits.

They played baby-making music with an old school vibe,  and it felt so good.  However, seeing Alanna and Lee actually reminded me of Sharon Jones which made me feel a little melancholy. It was time for me to change venues, so I walked to Club One to see Floco Torres. Floco Torres is a hip hop artist from Macon, Georgia.  His flow reminded me of 90’s hip hop.  Next up was Deantoni Parks who used to be the drummer for Mars Volta.  Wearing a  first ‘Batman movie era joker t-shirt and playing drums, Deantoni was like if The Art of Noise met up with Prince and early Can.  He was great!  Last but not least was the dj collective, A Tribe Called Red.  They are a Canadian first nation group.  I saw all of the amazing music for less than $40.  The three-day passes are more, but I highly recommend coming to Savannah for Stopover next year.