Ghent Flooding, Norfolk 101, and a Strange Tidewater History

Description

This week on Tidewater Talk, Brodie checked in with Co while fighting through a summer cold, and we still packed the episode with plenty of local updates from around coastal Virginia. We talked about the sudden flooding in Norfolk’s Ghent neighborhood, where a highly localized storm dumped inches of rain in just a few hours, and we highlighted Norfolk’s new free Norfolk 101 Citizens Academy, an eight-week evening program that gives residents an inside look at city services, public safety, utilities, and more.

For this week’s Strange and Odd of Tidewater, we dug into the wild history behind Naval Station Norfolk: the world’s largest naval base was built on the grounds of the failed 1907 Jamestown Exposition at Sewells Point. We explored how abandoned fair infrastructure helped create the base and how several state pavilions still stand today on Admiral’s Row. We also shared a few local tips for the week ahead, including the Soulful Vegan Festival at Mount Trashmore, a wellness festival in Suffolk, a Surfers Healing benefit at Atlantic Park, Josh Groban with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, and Neptune’s Coastal Craft Beer Festival. We wrapped with a new clue-based segment for listeners to solve before next week’s episode, and celebrated hitting our 80th episode.

Where in Tidewater

There is something inside this building that was made in 1902, and it is still, technically, edible.
It wears a brass collar. It has been in Ripley's Believe It or Not three separate times. And it was once insured for five thousand dollars.
You'll find it in a 1913 bank building on Main Street, in a town whose name shows up on more American breakfast tables than any other town in Virginia.

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