Early celebrations of motherhood are traced back at least as far as Ancient Greece and Rome. They might have been more focused on the “mother goddesses” Rhea and Cybele, but hey, I bet ol’ Caesar picked up a pink card full of cliches for his mom. There’s no doubt that celebrations of moms and motherhood have changed a lot throughout the years. Within the first six years of Mother’s Day becoming a national holiday, the originator turned against it and decried what it was becoming. Meanwhile, Ethiopia takes multiple days out of the year to celebrate moms.
Mother’s Day celebrations are just as diverse as all the moms out there, so there’s no right or wrong way. Nonetheless, Reaver Beach is working overtime to ensure you’re set up for a super solid Mother’s Day. The taproom team over on Colley Ave has been hustling to line up a Mother’s Day Market that will blow your hallmark cards and 7-11 candy out of the water.
Your mom is a one-of-a-kind, extra special person, so you can’t get her any old gift. Over 30 vendors will gather from far and wide on Saturday to make sure your Sunday is extra lovely. The market will be featuring all sorts of diverse indie crafts, handmade goods, and small business wares. You can rest assured that every vendor creates their goods with love and care, in proper mom fashion.
You can expect to find outstanding gifts for all kinds of moms here. Your grandmas, your aunts, your sisters, your mothers-in-law, and the standard “moms”- three’s something for each and every one. For the traditional, sustainable locally-grown flowers by Mermaid City Flowers and stunning paper flowers by The Flower Craft Shop will settle the score. On the other end of the spectrum, shops like Velvet Witch, Coastal Gothic, Organamama Apothecary, and Grimm and Bare It Arts have dark and edgy goods. If your mom prefers to wear her gifts around town to flaunt how much her kids love her, the bright and colorful jewelry from Neptune City Beads, Pixi’s Moonlit Trinkets, Sugar Bird Jewels, and Alodeuri are the right moves. Of course, some moms are pulling double duty with real human kids and the probably-better-behaved fur kids. For those dog moms, the Hemp Barkery and Posh Pit Canine Designs will make sure they have some goodies for their fluffy friends.
There are almost two dozen other vendors covering books, art, vintage goods, and all kinds of gift-able goodies. It’s a smorgasbord of small business goodness, a tidal wave of tiny shops, a festival of friendly faces, and a must-do for Mother’s Day. As you peruse the goods, Black and Gold, a local musical duo, will be providing a perfect Saturday shopping soundtrack.
Shopping through the stalls and browsing the booths can’t be done on an empty stomach, and Reaver Beach is absolutely covering that detail. Capt’n Crabby will be slinging their seafood sandwiches and coastal chow out on the Reaver lot. The sweet tooth special will be provided by On Ice and their ice cream cart. The Reaver Beach taproom will be pouring their usual drafts, but they’ve got a new beer on deck for fans. The Reaving Rainbow, a wild sour ale, features a palette full of fruit, including Apricots, Syrah Grapes, & Watermelon that would make LeVar Burton pucker up.
We know you waited until the last minute to grab something for mommy-dearest, so get it done right on Saturday. There’s no stress in the schedule, just small business-supporting, beer-drinking, music-jamming good times.
The Deets
Mother’s Day Market
Reaver Beach NFK
3800 Colley Ave
Saturday, May 7th
12-4 pm
Music by Black and Gold 12:30 -3:30 pm
Food Truck: Capt’n Crabby
Mobile Ice Cream Cart: On Ice
Paul Stetson Rice
Chelsea, NFK
Paul is the creator of NFKVA.com. He was born and raised in Norfolk, graduated from Virginia Tech, and narrowly avoided law school. Chat with him about economics, entrepreneurship, hip-hop, and hiking. When he's not working on five different projects, you'll catch him sharing a beer with friends at a local brewery.
