News Flash

Join hosts Reginald Robinson and Judy Leonard for this annual celebration of “The Vacation Paradise of the South.” This virtual stroll down memory lane of the premier seaside resort for African-Americans during the Jim Crow Era. 

Evening highlights include skits, games and sing-alongs, as well as the unveiling of portraits of BayShore notables. Other activities include an induction ceremony of the BayShore Hall of Fame for 2021, including two other historic Black beaches, Virginia Beach’s Seaview Beach and Atlantic City’s Chicken Bone Beach; the National Dental Association (formally known as the Trid-State Dental Society) founded at the BayShore Hotel in 1913; Poo Johnson, former leader of the Boys and Girls Club of Hampton Roads; John Mallory Phillips II, grandson of legendary John Mallory Phillips, one of the original founders of the BayShore Resort, Hampton City Council member and seafood entrepreneur; the TUX Club, a civic organization of Black professionals formed in segregated Norfolk in 1920; and the eight-piece 1960s Newport News soul and funk ensemble that accompanied Otis Redding as his 1^st touring band, The Rocking Cabanas, led by the legendary Chuck “Guitar” Chavis.

In honor of one of the BayShore Resort founders, and guiding force in the success and expansion of BayShore, Charles H. Williams, Robinson will present the Charles H. Williams Award of Leadership posthumously to Hampton businessman and community leader, Roger Saunders. Sr.

The evening’s special guest speaker, Charles H. Hones, M.S. ED, nephew of Charles H. Williams, will present personal memories of his uncle and stories of his days working at BayShore along with his family.

Accompanying the virtual event is a display of artifacts and photos of this beloved ocean paradise on from Robinson’s collection in the museum’s Great Hall on Saturday, September 18, 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. and Sunday, September 19, 1:00-5:00 p.m.