Coastal Companion

Your ultimate guide to the coast

Colonial Faire and Muster at Wormsloe Plantation, Georgia

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This is one of the great living history events on the coast of Georgia that returns every year. On Saturday and Sunday, February 6-7, 2010, from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., it’s time again for the annual Georgia Days Colonial Faire and Muster.  Here you can take a giant step back into history on the site of one of the  most beautiful colonial-era plantations of the Georgia coast.  Have fun and learn about our past at the same time. Make sure to visit the ruins of the plantation house and slave cabin.

Highlights of this weekend-long event include cannon and musket firing; blacksmithing, craft, and cooking demonstrations; Native American and slave life interpretations; and period music and dance. This is a free event.

The Colonial Faire and Muster is part of GHS’s Georgia Days, a month-long commemoration of Georgia’s rich history, and GHS’s signature educational event of the year.

For more information about Georgia Days, visit www.georgiahistory.com and follow the Georgia Days links.

Click here to read more about events on Georgia Days

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Super Museum Sunday in Georgia

Georgia Days 2010

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Georgia Days is the signature educational program of the Georgia Historical Society held every year. The events take place around the anniversary of the founding of the colony of Georgia on February 12, 1733. The event tries to bring history to life through a variety of programs including a series of school events and curriculum, crafts workshops, and the two-day Colonial Faire and Muster living-history program held at Wormsloe State Historic Site. The colorful Georgia Day parade is one of the most popular highlights of the Georgia Days celebration.

Georgia Days Kick Off Event & Lecture
Featuring an evening with National Public Radio’s Scott Simon, author of Jackie Robinson and the Integration of Baseball
Tuesday, February 2, 2010, 6:00 P.M.
Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum Annex – 460 Martin Luther King Blvd, Savannah

Savannah Book Festival
Friday and Saturday , February 5-6, 2010
Various locations around Telfair Square, Savannah

Colonial Faire and Muster
Saturday (Family Day) and Sunday, February 6-7, 2010, 10:00 A.M. – 4:00 P.M.
Wormsloe State Historic Site, Savannah

Take your family back in time to the site of one of the earliest and most beautiful plantations of the Georgia coast for this popular annual living-history event featuring costumed re-enactors.

Georgia Days Super Museum Sunday
Sunday, February 7, 2010, 12:00 – 4:00 P.M.
Multiple Savannah-area sites.  Experience coastal Georgia’s rich history and cultural life as historic sites, house museums, art museums, and other points of interest in Savannah and coastal Georgia open their doors to the public at no charge during this annual Georgia Days event.  From Statesboro to Darien, more than 40 sites participate in this event, providing visitors a rare opportunity to experience the history in our own backyard.

Georgia Day Parade


Thursday, February 12, 2010, 10:30 A.M.
Bull Street from Forsyth Park to City Hall, Savannah

Thousands of costumed local school children participate in the annual parade. The kids will march behind banners in commemoration of Georgia’s founding in 1733. The parade also include local dignitaries, costumed characters, musicians, and a military color guard. The Georgia Day Parade starts at Forsyth Park and ends with a program in front of City Hall. Here the mayor and other officials will give out awards for the annual Banner Competition.

Oglethorpe Arrives at Darien
Friday, February 13, 2009, 10:00 a.m.
Fort King George State Historic Site, Fort King George Drive, Darien

On January 19, 1736, Scottish Highlanders arrived at the site of Fort King George on January 19, 1736. James Oglethorpe visited the site a month later.  Witness a re-enactment of the historic landing and hear Oglethorpe’s speech to the new Highland settlement. For more information please call 912.437.4770.  This is a free event.

Georgia Days Birthday Bash and Annual Awards Gala
Saturday, February 14, 2010, 7:00 P.M.
Hyatt Regency, Savannah

The Georgia Days Birthday Bash and Annual Awards Gala is the lavish culmination of GHS’s two-week commemoration of the founding of the Colony of Georgia. The celebration will be held under the stars on the banks of the Savannah River.

Fort Frederica Living History Festival
February 21, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Fort Frederica National Monument, 6515 Frederica Road, St. Simons Island
This annual event commemorates the founding of Frederica in 1736. Activities throughout the day will immerse visitors in the history of Frederica and the struggle for empire between Great Britain and Spain in the 18th Century. Programs include tabby making, hands-on musket drills, colonial children’s games, journal making, and archeology programs. This event is organized by Fort Frederica National Monument. For more information, please contact the Fort Frederica Visitor’s Center at 912.638.3639.

Georgia Days Scottish Highland Dinner
Saturday, February 20, 2010, 7:00 P.M.
Fort King George State Historic Site, Fort King George Drive, Darien

This annual event features a Scottish dinner, hosted by Oglethorpe himself, at the Fort King George barracks. This event is organized by Fort King George and the Lower Altamaha Historical Society. For more information, please call 912.437.4770. Reservations required; a fee will be charged for dinner.

For more information about Georgia Days events, click here.

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From Monroe to Ocean, Architecture and Jazz. Explore in Jacksonville, Fl

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The Beaches Museum & History Center present the work of award-winning architect, William Morgan, Jan. 16 through Feb. 13, 2010. Maintaining that there is no such thing as primitive architecture but only primitive means, Morgan relates buildings and human activity to the ecological context, thus revealing the universality of phenomena while also advocating creative freedom. An Evening at the Museum with William Morgan will be held Feb. 11, 2010, from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.

The Beaches Museum and History Center
413 Beach Boulevard, Jacksonville Bch, FL 32250
(904) 241-5657

Jazz it Up

Beginning Jan. 20, the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens will unveil a new must-see exhibit for jazz fans of all ages. Jazz ABZ: An A to Z Collection of Jazz Portraits by Paul Rogers highlights jazz greats through poetry, from A (Louis Armstrong) to Z (Dizzy Gillespie). Each portrait and poem is evocative of the particular musician’s sound, and each work of art alludes to song titles, artifacts, and other markers of the time, including artistic references to well-known artists who were particularly inspired by jazz music.

The Cummer Museum of Arts & Gardens
829 Riverside Avenue, Jacksonville, Florida 32204
904.356.6857


Life as a Legend: Marily Monroe
Marilyn Monroe is once again in the limelight at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Jacksonville this season. The feature exhibition, Life as a Legend: Marilyn Monroe, will debut on Jan. 22 and run through April 4, 2010. Forever Blonde, a captivating one-woman live performance celebrating the life and glamour of Marilyn Monroe will take the stage Thursdays through Sundays Feb. 11 to March 7, 2010. On March 13, MOCA will host the Mad About Marilyn Soirée, a Hollywood-style party featuring diamond-laced cocktails, live music, dancing and late-night tours of the Marilyn exhibition.

MOCA Museum of Contemporary Art
333 North Laura Street,Jacksonville, FL, 32202 USA
(904) 366-6911

Virtual Ocean Trip
A fully immersive maze-based exhibit starts on January 30 at The Museum of Science and History (MOSH) in Jacksonville. A-Mazing Sea is a virtual trip into the ocean with surprises around every corner – from role play games and puzzles to problem-solving and deep-sea sleuthing.

A-Mazing Sea compels visitors to climb into sea turtle shells, crawl through a whale’s mouth and reach into an octopus cave while discovering simple solutions for challenges that face inhabitants of the deep blue and beyond.

MOSH Museum of Science and History
1025 Museum Circle, Jacksonville, Florida 32207
904-396-6674

New Year’s Eve for the family – Charleston, SC

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Celebrate New Year’s Eve at Marion Square in Charleston, South Carolina with lots of fun and activities for the whole family. This is perfect if you have family visiting town, or if you have younger children celebrating New Year’s with you. Head to downtown Charleston and Marion Square for an evening out on the town. The festivities begin at 4:00 pm and end with fireworks at 10:15 pm.

On the main stage – entertainment from drumming to sing-a-longs and at 8:00 pm the headliner “Total Package” takes the stage.
Fireworks at 10:15 pm!!

Kidsfest Under the Tent
There’s a special tent at Marion Square for kids with everything from face painting, arts and crafts, balloon art and sing-a-longs.

At 4:50 pm a bagpiper will lead the way to the Second Presbyterian church for free concerts. At 5:00 pm there’s a special concert for kids called “The Velveteen Rabbit”

  • 6:30 pm Baroque Splendor: music of Bach, Handel, Vivaldi
  • 8:00 pm Chamber Music of Charleston
  • 9:00 pm, Brass Concert performed by Charles Towne Brass with Julia Harlow

This event is presented by the City of Charleston.
The concerts take place at Second Presbyterian Church, 342 Meeting Street.
For more information call (843) 724-7305

Holiday Events for the Family in Jacksonville, Florida

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Many of us have friends and family visiting for the holidays, or we have kids who are home from school. Sometimes you just need something to do that fits the whole family. We have found a few events the family can enjoy together, and these events will� get you into the holiday spirit without breaking your budget.

We suggest you take a break from the holiday hustle and bustle and enjoy a late afternoon or early evening in downtown Jacksonville.

First, take a walk around the downtown area and look at the beautiful holiday window displays.  This is definitely going to look best when it’s starts to get dark. When the 2009 windows were unveiled and many walkers joined Mayor John Peyton for a tour of holiday windows. But if you haven’t seen them yet, don’t worry, the 15 holiday windows are still on display and you can download a printable map  in pdf format right here.

Christmas Tree Light Show at Jacksonville Landing

christmas-tree-200At night you can watch the synchronized Christmas tree light show at the landing. Over 78,000 LED lights in the Christmas tree are synchronized to blink to holiday music to spread holiday cheer in the courtyard. I’m sure this is a big hit with the younger crowd – and it’s free� – which is always an extra plus in my book

Christmas Tree Light Shows:
Sun – Thurs 6 pm – 9 pm and Fri – Sat 6 pm – midnight

On Saturday Dec 18 at 7 pm the Navy Band Southeast perform with a special Christmas Concert at the Jacksonville Landing. This is also free.

If you come early in the day, maybe you can even combine your walk with some free holiday music at city hall. Check out the schedule below.

Holiday Entertainment at City Hall St. James

December 2009
City Hall at St. James Atrium
Free Admission

Friday,� Dec. 18

11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. – U.S. Navy – Holiday Brass
1 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. – Ritz Voices

holly-150Monday, Dec. 21

1 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. – Orange Blossom Country Music Association, Inc.

Tuesday, Dec. 22

1 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. – 100 Youth Voices

Wednesday, Dec. 23

11:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. – Rebecca Hewitt

The Gingerbread Extravaganza and Victorian House Tours

It’s only $5.00 to go and see the magnificent and unique gingerbread houses at Old St Andrew’s Episcopal Church, but the exhibit is well worth a visit. The proceeds go to charity, so it’s money well spent and this is definitely an event for the whole family.

OLD ST. ANDREW’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
317 A. Philip Randolph Blvd. Jacksonville, FL 32202
This annual� event at the Old St. Andrews brings thousands to the site to enjoy the artistic Gingerbread exhibit installed in a National Register Site.

GB logo 2007

The 2009 Gingerbread Extravaganza Details:

until December 23, 2009
Wednesday – Saturday – Exhibit Hours: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Tuesdays, December 1, 8 & 15: By Appointment

General Public Open Dates
Wednesday – Saturday, December 3rd -20th: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Week before Christmas – 11a.m. – 5 p.m.

Monday, December 21, Tuesday, December 22, and Wednesday, December 23

Call (904) 391-3425
For more information visit� www.jaxhistory.com

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Read our previous post about the Rotary Gingerbread House Extravaganza in Jacksonville, Florida