Just back from Cordova, Alaska, Marshall Hawkins, the music director for the 21st-annual Jazz in Pines, is relaxed and ready. While he played some bluegrass, Hawkins was still ambassador for the true American music genre — jazz. And the jazz festival will be a showcase for this musical genre, and Hawkins, his friends and his…

In my personal experience, Belgian beers are often regarded as the finest of their craft. Many people have romanticized ideas of monks crafting ales in the walls of monasteries across Belgium. When talking to those involved in the Belgian brewing community, I found a startlingly different opinion. Many craft brewers in Belgium feel the same way many craft brewers in America feel.