"Ithaca" Is a Movie That Features Petersburg

Meg Ryan is one of my favorite actresses. Because of her part in "Sleepless in Seattle", I modeled the heroine of my novel, Daddy's Christmas Angel, after her. Now I am excited to know that "Ithaca", the movie she directed and plays the lead in, will soon be released.

Filmed in Petersburg during the summer of 2014, places like the Globe Department Store and Brickhouse Run Restaurant, as well as Sycamore Street are recognizable in the film, according to reports. After being connected to Petersburg for many years through Petersburg Regional Arts Center, and now The Ward Center for Contemporary Art, it will be exciting to see our street and a restaurant that we really like as part of the movie.

"Courthouse in Old Towne Petersburg" ©Mary Montague Sikes

An article by Shelby Mertens of the Petersburg Progress-Index describes Ryan's feelings as a mother that influenced the telling of this story that is set in the 1940s. Ryan found Petersburg to be an ideal setting for the story. The film crew praised the city for embracing them and allowing streets to be blocked off during the production.

Because of the historic ambiance of Old Towne Petersburg, the area is poised to become the setting of more movies in the future. Like other Virginia towns and cities, memories of the past still hang in the air and that is a factor to attract the motion picture companies.

***Please visit my new art blog, "The Artful Way".

A to Z Blogfest, Around the World in 30 Days - Old Towne, Petersburg VA

Petersburg Studio MMSikes

Looking for an "O" location for the A to Z Blogfest, the Passenger to Paradise pondered and pondered. Then she realized, her Around the World in 30 Days selection was just too close to notice. For the last 10 years, she has maintained studio space at Petersburg Regional Art Center in Old Towne Petersburg. Along with 40 or 50 other artists, she moved into the new studio space located in an old Butterworth Furniture store on North Sycamore St. The artists were forced out of their previous spaces in Shockoe Bottom Art Center in Richmond--an artist studio facility patterned after the successful Torpedo Factory in Alexandria. After the artists turned a rundown part of Richmond into a place to gather and visit for art openings and other times, owners of the huge warehouse structure decided it was time to move the artists out and turn the building into condos. So the Passenger had to leave.

Petersburg was not the thriving location the artists had expected. A tornado had swept through the Old Towne section and destroyed some of the old buildings. But the artists kept hoping for an upturn and that has begun. There are new restaurants opening and more buildings getting renovated. Last summer, part of a Lincoln movie (Steven Spielberg) was filmed in Old Towne Petersburg. There are famous battlefields located nearby and a big military base, Ft. Lee. New artists are moving in, replacing those who have tired of waiting.

Now things are looking up for Petersburg. Perhaps the art clients will arrive and gather in the Old Towne space. The Passenger to Paradise has her fingers crossed.

The Petersburg Regional Art Center is open to the public 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. The second Friday of each month, there is an Art Open House.