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Members of the U.S. military overcome all kinds of challenges to carry out their missions – and during Savannah’s fifth-annual “Rockin’ for the Vets” concert, several local bands will follow the example of American soldiers to hold a fundraising event benefitting area veterans while striving to stay safe amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

On Jan. 30, local acts Whaleboat, Ember City, Perpetual Care, Salute Your Jorts, and others will perform live at The Wormhole for this annual charity concert that will raise money for Savannah’s Tiny House Project for homeless veterans. Concert entry is free, but organizers are asking for donations at the door of money or non-perishable food items.

According to Michael Baker, bartender at The Rail Pub and a founding organizer of the concert, this year’s “Rockin’ for the Vets” show will be something of a homecoming as it will be held at its original location.

“We hosted the event at The Rail Pub the last few years, but we decided to move it back to The Wormhole this year to get back to its roots and provide an indoor venue in case of inclement weather,” Baker said.

Over the last four years, Baker and co-organizer Billie Null (a bartender at The Wormhole) have raised more than $4,000 for the Tiny House Project operated by the Chatham County Homeless Authority, providing its veteran residents with safe long-term shelter, resources, and services, along with a supportive community.

“We hope to be able to raise even more after our event this year,” said Baker.

The project hits close to home for Baker and Null, who are both Army combat veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

“It just seems like a natural fit for us,” explained Baker. “People seem to enjoy a reason to support local music while also helping out the most vulnerable members of our community.”

Speaking of vulnerable populations, COVID-19 remains at the forefront of organizers’ minds as they move forward with planning this concert while the pandemic continues through the holidays.

“COVID-19 is a big concern this year, so we are asking people to continue to wear masks and respect social distancing if they are attending the event in person,” Baker said.

This year, in light of the pandemic’s obvious challenges, they are also making accommodations for people to attend the concert virtually through Facebook Live (check back on Connect’s Facebook page to learn how to watch).

“I am working on a way to accept donations if people want to contribute while watching remotely,” explained Baker.

Baker and Null are hoping the remote option helps expand the concert’s audience for the benefit of the event’s beneficiaries, and are also offering other ways to raise money at the concert, like raffles, silent auctions and more.

“I feel that we’re a better community if we actively participate in enriching the lives of the less-fortunate, especially those who have gone through the traumas that our veterans have,” said Baker.

Savannah’s “Rockin’ for the Vets” concert is happening at The Wormhole (2307 Bull St., Savannah) from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Dec. 30; attendees must be aged 18 or older. Visit wormholebar.com for more details.

The Savannah Stage Company is inviting schoolchildren down the rabbit hole by presenting an imaginative virtual production of Alice in Wonderland.

Since the Savannah-based troupe remains unable to stage large-scale plays for live audiences due to ongoing pandemic precautions, its dedicated artistes decided to expand its reach by launching the Savannah Stage Company’s first-ever “virtual field trip” with an aim of offering school-aged kids across Georgia and beyond opportunities to participate in a literary-theater experience online.

While this virtual field trip will be available to schools by request – as well as a Q&A with the artists that created it and an interactive study guide – the company is presenting an online premiere of its new Alice in Wonderland adaptation via a Facebook Live streaming event from the historic Savannah Theatre at 7 p.m. on Jan. 30. There is no charge to tune into this play, although donations to support the Savannah Stage Company are gratefully accepted.

This colorful version of Lewis Carroll’s classic story is a collaborative effort based on a script written by company member Alexis Balaoing Ambrose, who also plays Alice in the show.

“Alice in Wonderland appealed to me because of its sort of nonsensical nature of the world that she falls into, and Lewis Carroll’s absurdism,” Ambrose said.

According to director David McCall, that absurdism can be perplexing for some audience members, but this Savannah Stage Company production is custom-made so that Carroll’s fanciful tale will be more accessible for youths.

“I remember people talking about Alice in Wonderland not being their favorite story because it just seems like madness. But Lexi [Ambrose] did a really great job of giving context or a message to the madness,” McCall said.

In this new adaptation, the audience will be given a fuller look at Alice’s everyday life and provide more depth to largely unseen characters in her world. The script gives Alice’s mom (DeAnna Laree Craig), stepdad (Rayshawn Roberts), and sister (Ashley Cook) a voice, while a tutor (Ryan Henderson) appears later as the White Rabbit, “much like The Wizard of Oz, how you have real-world characters aligning with fantasy characters,” McCall added.

McCall said that preparing for this online show was unlike any other production that he’d ever worked on, with challenges including arranging “proper rehearsals” among cast members.

“When I say proper rehearsals, I mean proper for 2020. Meaning a Zoom room, with me and a stage manager, Abbie Wells, and then all the cast in their respective spaces,” McCall said. “Who knows what the neighbors must have thought? Shouting lines from Lewis Carroll, but it was so fun!”

While this style of remote direction was limiting in some regards, McCall said that the Savannah Stage Company thespians adapted well to the unconventional circumstances.

“As a director, you try to be clear and honor everyone’s input as much as you can. You’re trying to build this world, and it’s already difficult while you’re in the same room. It’s crazy difficult when you’re all over Zoom,” McCall said. “Some things work in our imaginations in Zoom rehearsals that don’t work practically, but this cast was incredible at adapting and problem-solving.”

The actors were outfitted by costume designer Megan Wellman Blanton, and the play features original music by McKenna Lyons, a fellow Savannah Stage Company member.

“I’d have to say I’m a little biased as a director, but I think it’s some of the most stunning music, especially a lot of her underscoring music. It’s so transporting. I loved it. I loved working with it,” said McCall.

For the entire crew behind the Savannah Stage Company’s new Alice in Wonderland show, rehearsing and presenting this play online in a nontraditional way served as a reminder that following your curiosity can lead to fantastic places.

View the Savannah Stage Company’s play Alice in Wonderland online via Facebook Live at 7 p.m on Jan. 30 by visiting facebook.com/savannahstagecompany.com, and check out savannahstagecompany.com for more details.

Some artists are inspired by past greats. Others are inspired to bring past greats back to life.

The five young performers starring in “Legends Live On” – a decade-hopping revue of energetic song-and-dance tributes to iconic chart-toppers ranging from The Temptations to The Beatles to The Jackson Five to Bruno Mars – are now lighting up the Savannah Theatre’s storied stage, and each of them have ample experience with vocally channeling historic figures.

The show features the four accomplished stars of Legacy – Tracy Byrd, Justin Reynolds, Noah Rivera, and Deaundre Woods – along with widely traveled songstress Alex Hairston, performing with the Savannah Theatre’s house band and a local aerialist on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays through Feb. 14.

For New York-based Tracy Byrd, who played Lionel Ritchie in a touring production of “Motown: The Musical,” singing hits from the ’70s and ’80s comes naturally.

“It’s a dream come true to me, honestly,” Byrd said, adding that being in “Legends Live On” gives him greater understanding of the difficult circumstances endured by many of the artists they’re emulating. “I find myself channeling what they were going through when they were singing.”

Justin Reynolds, who performed as Smokey Robinson in “The Marvin Gaye Musical,” also experiences flashbacks to his past role.

“We actually don’t have any Smokey in this show, but we do a whole Temptations medley, which Smokey Robinson wrote a lot of that music,” Reynolds said.

Since Noah Rivera hit the high notes while playing Frankie Valli in the Las Vegas production of “Jersey Boys,” it might be expected that he would belt out all the falsetto parts in “Legends Live On,” but this show calls on all of its performers to use their full vocal ranges.

“I sing bass most of the show, and we all are jumping all over the place,” says Rivera, who now tours with Valli’s ensemble, and meanwhile leads a Four Seasons performance in the “Legends Live On” show.

Shortly before the pandemic struck, Deaundre Woods was playing the title role in the San Francisco production of “Hamilton,” and while the bygone performers that he is channeling in this show are distinguished in a different way than the American statesman, he still feels their historic connections.

“A lot of this music is music that I wish I grew up with,” Woods says of Legacy’s repertoire.

As for Alex Hairston, she’s made a name for herself starring in “The Donna Summer Musical,” and in “Legends Live On” she uses that experience to sing a disco medley.

“I was actually right in the middle of a tour, the ‘Donna Summer’ tour, when the pandemic shut everything down,” Hairston recalls, adding that she’s grateful that this production allows her to “revisit some of those songs, and revisit her spirit in the show.”

All five of these artistes are glad to be staging “Legends Live On” in the historic Savannah Theatre, where pictures of world-renowned actors who have graced this venue hang on numerous walls.

“In 40 years, somebody’s going to be looking at our pictures here,” says Byrd as the ensemble laughs in agreement.

“Legends Live On” is playing at the Savannah Theatre (222 Bull St., Savannah) on Jan. 29, 30, and 31, and Feb. 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, and 14. Friday and Saturday shows are at 8 p.m. (except on Saturday, Feb. 13, with shows at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.) and Sunday shows are at 3 p.m. To allow for social distancing during performances, audiences are limited to 35% of theater capacity. See savannahtheatre.com for details.

While many activities are disrupted by the ongoing pandemic, human trafficking is not one of them.

Experts say that human trafficking is now proliferating due to how COVID-19 is worsening the social and economic conditions that are root causes of this global crime. Locally, the Savannah Interagency Diversity Council’s annual Traffick Jam is taking action to diminish this increase through education.

Because of the pandemic, the SIDC was not able to hold its annual in-person Traffick Jam event this year to raise awareness about human trafficking in this region, but the group is adapting and reaching new crowds by hosting their annual conference online this month.

The SIDC will conclude its 2021 Traffick Jam conference, themed “Breaking the Cycle of Human Trafficking One Human at a Time,” with the main event open to the public on Jan. 30 from 8 a.m. to noon.

Like many other events that have taken place since the pandemic’s outbreak, this is the first time that the Traffick Jam conference has gone virtual. This year’s conference was hosted by the streaming platform Airmeet with sponsors including Memorial Health and International Paper, according to SIDC Marketing Chair and Treasurer Tina Browning.

The Traffick Jam is usually held at Savannah State University on a single day with varied speakers addressing area professionals who confront human trafficking – including law-enforcement officers and mental-health specialists – along with one seminar series welcoming the general public.

To accommodate its online platform, this year’s Traffick Jam is taking place over the course of four consecutive Saturdays, with the three sessions of specialized educational training workshops for professionals held on Jan. 9, 16, and 23, and the final session for all community members happening on Saturday.

“The reason why we have this every year is to ensure that the public obtains awareness as to what to look for, the signs, and who to contact in case they see or suspect human trafficking or know someone who is being trafficked,” said SIDC Chairman William Gettis. “We also want to ensure the public gains knowledge of who our partners are, including the local organizations we want the public to know who they are, because that’s who they would call for assistance.”

The conference’s educational topics include the operations and rescue efforts of the National Human Trafficking Hotline, victim resources and rehabilitation services, how sex trafficking victims are targeted and groomed, victim and survivor stories, and local prevention partners.

Going virtual is not the only difference between this sixth-annual conference and previous ones. This year, the Traffick Jam is featuring its first male survivor of human trafficking as a speaker: Jerome Elam, the president and CEO of the Trafficking in America Task Force. Elam is a former victim of child abuse, child sex trafficking, and child pornography.

“The reason why we have this every year is to ensure that the public obtains awareness as to what to look for, the signs, and who to contact in case they see or suspect human trafficking or know someone who is being trafficked.”

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Other main-event speakers include nurse practitioner Heather Quaile, Sarah Pederson with Georgia’s Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, and Mel Meyer, director of the Atlanta Dream Center’s Anti-Sex Trafficking Department.

“These are top-level speakers that will be at the January 30 main conference weekend,” said Gettis.

By reaching out to diverse community members, Traffick Jam organizers hope to raise awareness of what to look out for to identify human trafficking in all sectors of society, according to Browning.

“How important it is that every individual in their respective roles, including employees, business owners, and partners, understand really what human trafficking is, who’s at risk, and the negative impact of trafficking on individuals,” said Browning. “A lot of people think it’s just sex trafficking, but it’s also the forced labor where they have the domestic servitude, and it occurs everywhere.”

Over 600 participants joined 2020’s Traffick Jam, and this year, even more are taking part in the virtual conference, according to organizers. Gettis enthusiastically added that the conference is attracting participants from faraway locations like Washington, D.C., Illinois, Philadelphia, Michigan, and even the Philippines.

“We think that it’s important that this gets out in media that’s in every area, and we’re not going to let COVID pull us back,” said Browning.

Visit thesidc.org for more information about the 2021 Traffick Jam and to register for the Jan. 30 conference events.

Slap shots and hat tricks will get local hockey fans on their feet soon after the Savannah Arena is completed, according to Mayor Van Johnson’s Jan. 27 announcement that the city will soon be home to a new professional ice-hockey team.

Johnson joined other city leaders at the Savannah Arena construction site on Wednesday to announce the formation of the new team, which will be named based on the results of a contest. The team is the first official tenant at the Savannah Arena, which is scheduled to open in winter of 2022.

“Savannah is officially a hockey town now,” Johnson exclaimed at a press conference held amid the partially completed arena’s exposed girders and concrete slabs, while construction workers plugged away throughout the stories-tall framework towering over the city’s Canal District.

“As you can see, this is rapidly becoming reality,” Johnson said of the Savannah Arena, which is being built for $165 million with Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax funding. “This will serve as a gathering place, a meeting place, a fun place.”

Savannah’s ECHL hockey team will be owned by Roo Hockey, LLC, with the organization being established immediately and a permanent business office planned to open in the city in July, according to Roo Hockey CEO Andy Kaufmann.

“We are grateful to the ECHL Board of Governors for awarding us a new membership,” Kaufmann stated. “Savannah is a terrific sports town and we look forward to making it a fantastic hockey town.”

According to ECHL Commissioner Ryan Crelin, Savannah’s hockey team will be taking on regional competitors such as the Atlanta Gladiators, the South Carolina Stingrays, the Greenville Swamp Rabbits, and the Jacksonville Icemen.

“Jacksonville, you’re going down. Atlanta, you’re going down,” Johnson quipped of Savannah’s soon-to-be rival teams.

Savannah’s pro hockey team will be an official affiliate to the NHL and AHL, with plans to begin competing in October of 2022 and playing 36 regular-season home games, according to the team’s savannahprohockey.com website. The team is currently accepting deposits to reserve season tickets and for premium seats in its inaugural season.

Team management also announced that a “Good Neighbor” program will be established to work with Savannah’s nonprofit community groups to bring hockey-based educational opportunities for local youths.

The team is being established through a collaboration with the Oak View Group, the company hired by Savannah’s City Council to manage and operate the Savannah Arena. According to Oak View Group Chairman Peter Luukko, hockey will be only one of many attractions at the city’s newest major venue.

“You’re going to see Beyoncé here. You’re going to see Bon Jovi here,” Luukko said during the press conference. “Savannah’s new professional hockey team is the first in many terrific events and attractions we will bring to the new Savannah Arena.”

Luukko emphasized that Oak View Group would be developing and implementing new protocols at the Savannah Arena to establish systems to ensure pandemic safety during all events.

“We need to have a safe and sanitized environment,” Luukko said.

Details about the contest to name the hockey team will be announced soon, although Johnson proposed an option during the press conference.

“It’s going to be, ‘The Savannah City Council,’” Johnson declared to the nonplussed crowd, before immediately withdrawing the proposal. “It sounded good when we talked about it.”

Following the press conference, Johnson joined fellow City Council members Linda Wilder-Bryan and Nick Palumbo for a ceremonial first face-off at a goal set up by the edge of the construction site’s muddy rubble.

As the Savannah tourism industry grows, appreciation for locally owned independent restaurants is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Many Savannahians remember several mom-and-pop eateries that were on corners for years before watching their unfortunate shuttering.

Harboring fond memories of these beloved spots is getting to be part of what it means to be a local in Savannah, but it still hurts to see another longstanding staple shut its doors. Sadly, at the end of January, River Street’s Bayou Cafe will be joining that nostalgic list.

Along with its delicious food, Bayou Cafe has been a spot for soul-filling live music for over 30 years. Despite rumors, Bayou Cafe is not closing due to COVID-19. The property’s landlord has increased the rent, and Bayou management made this difficult decision after weighing the cost of continuing business.

Bayou Cafe served as one of the few places in town that put live music front and center, standing the test of time for three decades by providing food and live music seven days a week.

While living in Savannah during the heyday of Southern rock, Jerry Zambito − a touring musician in bands such as Tangerine − played at the venue that preceded the Bayou in the same location. He decided to open the Bayou and bring his love of music to the people.

In 1991, Zambito first welcomed guests to Bayou Cafe. Since then, pretty much every Savannah native has stopped into the Bayou at some point during their stumbles down River Street, but few know the storied history of what it has meant to Savannah’s live-music scene.

Thomas Claxton, the restaurant’s assistant booker and frequent performer, started his musical career at the Bayou. As a junior in high school, Claxton first played on the Bayou Stage. Even though he is classically trained, much of his music education came from the Bayou and learning from other performers at the Bayou.

“After you work with guys like Jerry Zambito and Chief, you definitely are more prepared when you go into major cities,” he told me. After learning from them and starting at the Bayou, Claxton claims he was never nervous onstage performing anywhere else.

Though it goes without saying, Claxton also told me that “this place had a serious impact on this area, especially River Street in general. This is a place where people come from all around the country just to come visit every time they are in town.”

The quaint stage has hosted a plethora of big names, even drawing other big names to observe from the crowds. Acts like The Black Crowes, Edwin McCain, and Derek St. Holmes have all earned their stripes on the storied stage of Bayou Cafe.

When the Black Crowes called Zambito to set up a gig at Bayou, they asked if there was any room for security detail. He jokingly told them that they would have to set them up in the kitchen if they came, because it wasn’t the biggest venue in the world. As legend has it, they ended up coming anyways and were so charmed by Zambito that they asked him to play a few numbers onstage with them.

The Black Crowes, incredible though they may be, are not the only famous folks to have walked through the doors at Bayou Cafe.

“I looked up from the stage one day and the WWE World Champion was sitting in here,” Thomas told me. It was one of those nights that stood out for Claxton. Like most young boys of the ’80s and ’90s, Claxton grew up watching wrestling. He instantly recognized A.J. Stiles and The Good Brothers, bought them a round, and continued with his show.

Spending most of his career learning and growing with the Bayou, it is fitting that Claxton will host the farewell celebration, but he wanted to ensure that patrons remembered the people who made Bayou Cafe so special.

“Chief was our house musician here on the weekdays. Sunday through Thursday, from 1991 until he unfortunately passed away in 2011. A good 20 years he was a regular guy up here. I don’t think I met anybody yet that played the Bayou that left a mark on the Bayou quite like he did,” Thomas opined.

If you never met Chief, I can tell you that he was an incredible musician. Like any great artist, the music that he played was matched only by his presence onstage − injecting humor and himself into everything that he did. Unlike modern musicians with iPads and holders for their drinks, Chief brought books of music and lyrics with him to every show. He was as old school as they came, and customers still ask about him to this day. When people think back on what made Bayou what it was, visions of Chief will certainly dance in their heads.

Going out in style, the Bayou Cafe will say goodbye with a four-day celebration. On Thursday, Jan. 28, Claxton will play an acoustic set that he says is inspired by “those old MTV unplugged type of feels, where Alice In Chains was onstage with just their acoustic guitar.”

On Jan. 29, John Lee and the Hextons will play and host an open jam for anyone who wants to join in. And for the big finale weekend, Claxton, Paul Cooper, Jo, Willis, and Gordon Perry will play open-jam sessions on Saturday and Saturday dubbed The Grand Jam Finale.

Though the doors may be shutting, the Bayou Cafe food truck will continue to carry the torch of their delicious fare. Vince Zambito, son of the Bayou Cafe’s founder, will be all around Savannah filling mouths with delicious bites of Cajun cookin’.

The bittersweet closing of Bayou Cafe isn’t lost on anyone that has ever been a part of the family that made Bayou what it was. From employees to patrons to musicians to the folks that sat outside and vibed alone on the cobblestones to the music inside, the Bayou family extends its warmest and most gracious adoration and praise. It’s what both Zambito and Claxton shared as they reminisced about the long history of this long-loved local hangout.

Bayou Cafe: 14 N. Abercorn Ramp, Savannah. Visit epicuropedia.com for more by Lindy Moody.

Various officials of Savannah and Chatham County are increasing their efforts to boost the number of local citizens taking the coronavirus vaccine to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

During his weekly press conference on Jan. 26, Savannah Mayor Van Johnson repeated a call from Georgia’s Department of Public Health urging licensed medical professionals and others to volunteer to help with administering the COVID-19 vaccine.

“An effective response relies on volunteers who are pre-credentialed,” Johnson said, referring to doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other medical professionals who can legally administer the vaccine shots. “Nonmedical volunteers may be used in administrative roles such as registering individuals for vaccination.”

Anyone interested in volunteering to help with the vaccination effort can visit dph.georgia.gov/georgia-responds and click on the “Register Now” box.

In another initiative, three members of the Chatham County Commission made a public display of receiving their inoculations with hopes of inspiring eligible area residents to roll up their sleeves to take the vaccine as well.

County Commission Chairman Chester Ellis and Commissioners Bobby Lockett and Tanya Milton announced on Jan. 25 that they had received COVID-19 vaccinations at the Chatham County Health Department.

“Commissioners Lockett and Milton and I have received our first COVID vaccination, since we fell in the group of 65 and older. We did it as a commission to send out the message to all of those who are skeptical about taking the vaccine,” said Ellis. “I encourage all of you that when your time comes, to get with your health provider, get with the health department to make an appointment. I need to take care of you. You need to take care of me. We need to take care of one another. Please get your vaccination.”

While local officials encourage the public to take the coronavirus vaccine, the DPH is making some adjustments to its COVID-19 testing services to accommodate the inoculation operations.

According to Coastal Health District Health Director Dr. Lawton Davis, beginning Feb. 1 all CHD COVID-19 testing services will be shifted to two regional testing sites in Chatham and Glynn Counties to increase the capacity to administer the vaccine in health facilities of smaller counties.

“We have to shift our priorities to better meet the demand for COVID-19 vaccine,” Davis said.

The CHD COVID-19 testing services will continue at the Savannah Civic Center without appointments, but individuals must pre-register for tests beforehand. Visit covid19.gachd.org for more details.

The Chatham Area Transit Board of Directors voted 6-3 to terminate CAT CEO Bacarra Mauldin during their Jan. 26 monthly meeting, according to a statement issued by Board Chairman Deidrick Cody.

Cody said that he could provide no further details about the termination, citing the issue as a personnel matter. In the last few minutes of the Jan. 26 virtual meeting, board member Helen Stone, the Chatham County Commissioner for District 1, initiated Mauldin’s removal.

“I make the motion that at this time it is necessary to terminate our executive director, effective immediately,” Stone said. Board member Tabitha Odell seconded the motion.

After the 6-3 vote was taken, Cody – who voted to remove Mauldin – expressed gratitude to the freshly fired CEO for her work at CAT.

“I am sorry we had to close out like this. I want to also thank Ms. Mauldin for her services,” Cody said.

“Thank you for the opportunity to serve,” Mauldin replied, before abruptly departing from the meeting.

Following the vote, board member Clinton Edminster – who voted against removing Mauldin – vocalized his dismay with the outcome.

“I’m just disappointed,” Edminster said. “I don’t think this was the right move.”

CAT’s Chief Administrative Officer David Stearns was appointed by the board to serve as the interim CEO on a temporary basis, and the board plans to meet again this week to appoint a long-term replacement, according to the statement.

Mauldin was announced as CAT’s new CEO in June of 2020. Previously she served as the Director of Policy and Innovation with the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority. According to the CAT Facebook page, Mauldin was elected as the Vice President of the Georgia Transit Association in December.

Each year, Savannah’s PULSE Art + Technology Festival draws thousands of people to the Telfair Museums Jepson Center. Locals and visitors get a glimpse into the future amid immersive installations that combine traditional art with modern technology.

This year, the festival will go on, but will look a little different due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Beginning on Jan. 27, PULSE will take on a hybrid format with exhibitions at the Jepson Center, a virtual STEM Chat with Diana Eng and Natalie Zee Drieu, a virtual curator’s tour, and workshops for both children and adults.

The main attraction at the Jepson Center will be the first U.S. solo exhibition of Caribbean artist David Gumbs, titled From Dust to Gold.

Gumbs’ exhibition includes multiple interactive digital installations and drawings. His art, projected onto the Jepson Center’s walls, features moving explosions of color with incredibly detailed drawings of butterflies, tropical leaves, and more.

“It’s really about the resilience of the Caribbean people, from having to deal with massive Category 5 hurricanes and devastation, to dust blowing from the Sahara, to the legacy of colonialism,” said Harry DeLorme, the Telfair senior curator of education and PULSE.

The psychedelic exhibit is a lighthearted, fun experience that draws visitors in, then leaves them thinking and feeling connected to the world around them. DeLorme says themes of the natural world, spirituality, and current events are clear in Gumbs’ work.

“I think there are qualities in his work that anyone can appreciate,” DeLorme said.

All of Gumbs’ installations are hands-free, making his exhibit perfect for an event in a COVID-19 world. In the past, exhibits included features like cranks to turn and buttons to push.

“The largest one we’ll have this year, Blossoms, will be sound-activated, so it’s an entirely hands-free experience,” DeLorme said.

Also at the Jepson Center are installations by local artists. Remains to be Seen by Greg Finger allows visitors to be “seen” by a giant projection eyeball. Marionette by SCAD student Guanzhi Kou features a motion controller that detects hand gestures and lets visitors play with digital puppets.

“There are folks right here in our own community who are doing really interesting and innovative work,” DeLorme said, adding that PULSE contributes to Savannah’s rich art scene by being a cheerleader for creators of all ages.

“I think, and I hope, that we’ve encouraged a lot of artists here in our community to keep doing work of this kind,” DeLorme said. “I know we’ve had some students from [the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System] and some teachers who have been very involved. It’s been exciting to see students from past years come in with robots they’ve built and other tech projects that they’ve created.”

DeLorme says one of the most popular attractions each year is the PULSE family day. To spread out the crowd of excited children and parents, organizers have created three-day free-admission weekends. They’ve also created “art kits” for children to replace all of the hands-on activities missing from this year’s event. Each kit includes materials and instructions for children to create their own masterpieces at home.

At the end of the day, DeLorme says, PULSE is about having fun, learning something new, and energizing the creative sides of visitors.

“Hopefully we’re having an effect and inspiring folks,” DeLorme said. “Whether you make art or not, I think inspiring people is one of the things we really hope to do.”

The Telfair PULSE Art + Technology Festival kicks off on Jan. 27 at 6 p.m. with a virtual opening lecture from Gumbs. Visit telfair.org/pulse2021 for more information and to register for online events.

A new memoir by the co-owners of one of Savannah’s most praised restaurants reveals that success stories are not always black and white.

The Grey restaurant in downtown Savannah is a stylish reinvention of a formerly segregated, Art Deco-styled Greyhound bus station originally built in 1938. Since opening in December 2016, The Grey is now an internationally acclaimed restaurant recognized for its impeccable cuisine of the American South by co-owner and Executive Chef Mashama Bailey. In 2019, Bailey and co-owner John O. Morisano (known as “Johno”) won the James Beard Award in the Best Restaurant: Southeast category.

To outsiders the restaurant may appear to be an overnight success, but in Black, White, and The Grey − the memoir jointly written by Bailey and Morisano and released in mid-January – the co-owners share that the establishment of their accolade-enamored restaurant was not all peaches and cream. Besides the expected difficulties that Morisano, a media entrepreneur, and Bailey, a former sous-chef, experienced with teaming up to start a restaurant with no prior experience in running a kitchen, the business partners encountered challenges that they were unprepared for.

The memoir is not your average “foodie” read. During a virtual forum hosted on Jan. 18 by E. Shaver, Bookseller, Bailey, a Black chef from Queens, New York, and Morisano, a white media entrepreneur from Staten Island, plunged into a discussion confronting biases of race, gender, and culture, telling the tale of how they went from tentative business partners to dear friends while turning a battered old bus station into a highly revered eatery.

During the virtual forum, Morisano mentioned that he introduced the idea to write a book about The Grey years ago. Bailey was initially unenthusiastic about this, since they were still striving to get their new restaurant off the ground, yet she encouraged her partner to write the book himself if he wished.

After presenting a complete manuscript to several interested publishing houses, Morisano chose Lorena Jones Books as the publisher, who suggested that Bailey add her own experience to the manuscript. Assuming that the process would be simple since the work was mostly done, Bailey agreed, bringing about a turn of events that made the book what it is today. “When I handed her the manuscript I put a helmet on and waited for the fallout, because they were conversations that we had never had,” Morisano said.

Bailey recalls feeling a mix of negative emotions upon reading Morisano’s perspective of their surrounding environment.

“I was angry when I read the first manuscript,” said Bailey. “This was a book that our relationship wasn’t ready for, because we never really discussed the nuances of race between us.”

According to Morisano, when Bailey inserted her ideas into the manuscript, the book transformed from being about a guy opening a restaurant to the experiences of two partners running an eatery − and because they were of different races, issues of race became a central concept in the work because of their different perspectives on life in the South.

“I had to push myself to be vulnerable because I didn’t want to have those conversations,” said Bailey of the memoir’s revision process. “I kind of just wanted to write ‘F you’ on every page.”

Morisano said that when he and Bailey started working on the book, he had no idea that it would grow legs and teeth and contribute to the conversation of social and racial justice occurring during an era when issues of racial disparities have been highlighted nationally, including the impacts from the killing of Ahmaud Arbery in nearby Glynn County in February of 2020.

Furthermore, Morisano came to recognize that the book’s conversation about racial biases hit closer to home with some experiences that he encountered with Bailey at The Grey. He discussed a rude awakening as to how deep the problems can be while recalling a time when he went to a table to ask a group of white patrons how they were enjoying their meal, and was met with an unexpected response about a new watermelon salad that Bailey had prepared.

“‘Y’know, us crackers don’t usually go in for this, but when one of them makes it,’ and he points toward the open kitchen at Mashama, he’s like, ‘it’s just so damn good.’ And he looks at his wife and says something like ‘you know how they love watermelon,’” Morisano said of the scene included in the memoir. “I was just flabbergasted, absolutely flabbergasted, because I had prepared myself for a negative guest experience, getting yelled at, hating the food, but I was not prepared for that at all.”

Shocked, Morisano remembers that he ran around the outside of the restaurant and through a door to the kitchen to relay the experience to Bailey, who responded, “We’re in the South. Is a bigoted redneck really shocking to you?”

Morisano said he felt guilty for not defending Bailey’s honor, but in conversations following the encounter, she said she’s just glad that Morisano can now see the depth of this issue and understand it for himself.

“For this person to come in there and act like that, I was like, ‘Goddammit.’ You know it’s there, you know we’re Americans in this liberal city in this small pocket, and you just kind of hope that no one has the guts to come out and tell you exactly who they are,” Bailey said of the bigoted restaurant patron. “I wasn’t hurt, I was just disappointed in the fact that he was even in this space. Like, you’re not welcome here, don’t come here.”

Reflecting on their own realizations discovered while telling their story, Bailey and Morisano see Black, White, and The Grey as an opportunity for readers to recognize their own biases.

“Mashama and I think we have a point of view that we wanted to share with the public, and we could have been successful at that or we may have failed at that, but that’s just the risk that everybody takes when they put themselves out there, whether you’re a writer, or an artist, a chef, a restaurateur,” said Morisano.

Black, White, and The Grey is available at Savannah’s E. Shaver, Bookseller store and online in hardcover and paperback. Visit thegreyrestaurant.com for more information.