Coastal Companion

Your ultimate guide to the coast

Things to do in South Carolina – April 2012

by

It is spring, and actually Summer is right around the corner. The weather is beautiful, and it’s perfect to spend time outdoors. Luckily for us, there are plenty of events and festivals in the coastal South Carolina area to choose from. Here are some of the upcoming events for the month of April 2012.

Charleston has lots of events this month

First Friday on Broad – Charleston, S.C.
April 6, 2012
Stroll from one gallery to another on Broad Street and take in the Southern charms of blooming hidden courtyards and gardens, and old architecture.
Participating merchants include: Ellis-Nicholson Gallery, Hamlet Fine Art, Edward Dare Gallery, COCO VIVO, Mary Martin Fine Art, UTOPIA, Spencer Galleries, Ella Walton Richardson Fine Art, Martin Gallery, SCOOP Studios, Bernie Horton, Lambert GrayFine Art Studio, Jake’s, Blind Tiger and the Oak Steak House.

Farmers Market – Hilton Head Island, S.C.
April 6, 13, 20, 27
This farmers market is located at Honey Horn and is open on Fridays. April 6, 2012, is the opening day for the season and the mayor is coming out to ring the bell at 8:30 am and declare the farmers market open.

Hat Ladies Easter Parade – Charleston, S.C
April 7, 2012
The Hat Ladies will stroll down Meeting Street, between Broad and White on April 7th, 2012 at 11:00 am. Sounds like a great photo op!

The Farmers Market is open for the season

Charleston Farmers Market
April 7, 14, 21, 28 2012
This market is open from April 7 – December 16, 2012 at Marion Square in downtown Charleston. It is the perfect place to come and hang out, have a cup of coffee, watch people pass by and enjoy the downtown atmosphere.

2nd Sunday on King Street
April 8, 2012
Food, music, shopping and fun from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM, Sunday, April 8, Queen Street to Calhoun.
Gary Erwin of Shrimp City Slim fame and one of the best blues musicians around will grace 2nd Sunday along with Austin Fitzhenry, The Honeybees, South Carolina Broadcasters, Dan Mackey, Bianca & Page and Peter Kiral of Charleston Virtuosi.

Ken Burger will be on hand at the 2nd Sunday Info Tent at Wentworth to talk Charleston and sign copies of his latest book, Baptized in Sweet Tea.

Come to the Information Tent for your free parking vouchers, good in most City Garages downtown. (click here for the voucher)

Charleston International Film Festival in April

Charleston International Film Festival
April 11 – 15, 2012
Every year the city of Charleston, South Carolina, holds a film festival in the dowtown area. This festival offers a variety of programs for the cinema enthusiast as well as the film maker. Lots of independent films, short films, animations and documentaries. Check out the full program at www.charlestoninternationalfilmfestival.org 

The World Grits Festival – St. George, SC
April 13 – 15, 2012
The little town of St. George is world famous for its grits consumption. This festival celebrates grits in all its forms. You can have grits for breakfast, lunch and dinner at this event, participate in grit eating contests and most importantly roll in grits. Read more about the World Grits Festival here.

Plantasia 2012 – Charleston, SC
The Horticulture Society of Charleston holds Plantasia Friday, April 13, 11am -5pm. and Saturday, April 14, 8am – 2pm. at Wragg Square, 342 Meeting Street, in front of Second Presbyterian Church. Horticulturally-trained garden docents and volunteers will be available to help with plant selection and answer questions. Workshops will be offered every hour on the hour from topics ranging from basic garden to having chickens in the city. In addition, a wide selection of “Member’s Favorites”, plants grown and donated by Charleston Horticultural Society members, will be on sale at bargain prices. There will be a “Real Yard Sale” featuring previously loved garden items such as pots, furniture and ornamental items. “Member’s Favorites” and “Real Yard Sale” will only be available for purchase Saturday. For a complete listing of events, workshops, tours, and vendors, please check out our website at www.charlestonhorticulturalsociety.org.

Festival of House and Gardens
The 65th Annual Festival continues until April 21, 2012. This spring festival celebrates Charleston’s magnificent spring season. Right now, the city is in full bloom. During this event you have an opportunity to go on garden tours and visit some of the most beautiful Charleston Homes. Find out more here.

Colleton County Rice Festival
April 27 – 29, 2012
This festival in downtown Walterboror, S.C., is a celebration of the rice planting heritage that helped found Colleton County. The focus is family entertainment that includes a fireworks display, live entertainment, arts and crafts, food concessions, cultural displays and performances depicting our local heritage. Call 843-549-1079 for more information.

 

Mt Pleasant, SC
Dance the night away in Mount Plesant, SC

Shaggin’ on the Cooper
April 28, 2012
This is the first Shaggin’ of the season. Dust off your dancing shoes and get ready for summer and Shaggin’ on the Mount Pleasant Pier. Live music will fill the air with local bands performing throughout the season at the Mount Pleasant Pier. Gates open at 7:00pm and the music begins at 8:00pm. All ages are invited to let loose, breathe in the ocean breeze and dance the night away under the stars. Food and beverages will be available for purchase. 

Art & Craft Show – Hilton Head Island, SC
April 28 – 29, 2012
The Art Market at Historic Honey Horn, a juried fine art and craft show, is set for April 28 and 29, 2012 on Hilton Head Island. The Coastal Discovery Museum will jury in artists in media that includes: clay, wood, fibers, metals, glass, jewelry, watercolors, oil, mixed media and photography. All work will be on display and for sale.
This event host artists from 13 states annually and well-known local artists share the spotlight during this weekend-long event, as they compete for prizes.
The show is open to the public on Saturday, from 10 am until 5 pm and on Sunday, from 11 am until 4 pm. There is a $6.00 per car parking donation, while admission to the show is free. Demonstrations throughout the weekend will be held in glass, pine needle basketry, clay and much more. Food and beverage are for sale during the event. . Show admission is free, parking is $6 per vehicle.
The Art Market is presented by the Coastal Discovery Museum.

Town of Mount Pleasant Blessing of the Fleet & Seafood Festival
April 29, 2012

This spring festival takes place at the new Memorial Waterfront Park at the foot of the Arthur Ravenel Bridge. About 12,000 people attend this festival every year. The festival takes place Sunday April 29th from 11:30 am – 6:00 pm. for more information, please call (843) 884-8517

Camellias at Middleton Place – Charleston, SC

by

The beautiful Camellias are blooming in the middle of winter at Middleton Place in Charleston, SC. The camellias enhance the Middleton Place Gardens with thousands of blossoms, from white to all shades of red and pink. The Camellia is a southern landscape favorite, and it show off an amazing variety of color throughout the winter months. It is said that the French botanist Andrè Michaux gave the Middletons some of the first camellias to be planted in an American garden. Some 50 years later, in 1838, a Middleton daughter wrote, “Papa called me to the terrace to admire the Camellias which I found in great beauty both the white and variegated…”

Now, the gardens at Middleton Place has over 3,500 camellias including many rare varieties as well as one of the four original Michaux plants, fondly referred to as the “Reine des Fleurs” or “Queen of Flowers”, and during this time Middleton Place offers special Camellia Walks to learn more about the fascinating plant. 

Enjoy the beauty of the blooming camellias while learning more about its history during a Camellia Walk. These tours are held every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday beginning February 11th and continuing through March 24th, 2012. The special guided tours will begin at 11:00 a.m. at the Garden Market & Nursery and last approximately an hour and a half.

There is no additional fee for the Camellia Walks but reservations are required. Adult admission is $25, students are $15, children (6-13) are $10 and 5 years old and under are free. For reservations and additional information, call (843) 556-6020 or visit www.middletonplace.org.

The camellia will also be the topic of a Free Seminar to be held at the Middleton Place Garden Market and Nursery on Saturday, February 18th at 1:00 pm. Participants will have an opportunity to learn more about the care of camellias, when and where to plant them and what varieties work best in the southern garden. Sidney Frazier, VP Horticulture will conduct the informative seminar.

02/14/2012
02/16/2012
02/18/2012
02/21/2012
02/23/2012
02/25/2012
02/28/2012
03/01/2012
03/03/2012
03/06/2012
03/08/2012
03/10/2012
03/13/2012
03/15/2012
03/17/2012
03/20/2012
03/22/2012
03/24/2012

Blues on Broad – Charleston, SC

by

Gallery Row on Historic Broad Street is gearing up again this year to present “Blues on Broad” on February 3rd from 5 -8PM, with music starting between 5 and 6 pm. During this First Friday on Broad artwalk, join us on Gallery Row for a gumbo of live music & fine art. Galleries will be filled with a mélange of roots music (Blues, Soul, Jazz and Rock n Roll) and artwork inspired from all of these genres.
Hamlet Fine Art Gallery will feature South Carolina blues artist Shrimp City Slim (aka Gary Erwin) (piano/vocals). Erwin was originally from Chicago but has lived in Charleston since the 1980s. He is known as the originator of “Lowcountry blues & original songs”, has released seven CDs to date, and is the producer of the celebrated Lowcountry Blues Bash (festival), which will have its 22nd edition this February 8-21. His various locally-themed tunes such as “Gone With the Wind”, “Phosphate Woman”, “Lowcountry Mama”, “Charleston Strut”, and others have entered into Charleston music history. Expect lowdown blues, crisp coastal shuffles, and plenty of exuberance from this well-known South Carolina blues artist.

Sax at Dusk, 24 x20 Oil on Canvas by Jim Darlington

Edward Dare Gallery will feature Blues inspired works in oil by Jim Darlington and photography by Ron Rocz while visitors are entertained by the guitar duo, Ace and the Sultan. Figures have long been one of the favorite subjects of Darlington, and his blues series continues to be a source of enjoyment for collectors of his work. Stop in to see the musical side of Darlington as he and Minimum Wage band member Brandt Saunders entertain us as the duo, Ace and the Sultan, with their interpretation of blues favorites and other soul shaking, foot tapping musical renditions. This music is the perfect ambiance for Rocz’s Mississippi Delta Blues Collection. These sepia-toned photographs convey a sense of what life was like in the early days of the blues, surrounded by cotton plantation life and work. As he often tells his viewers, “if weren’t for the cotton, there would have been no blues.” His photographs include old share cropper cabins, cotton gins, rural churches, juke joints, get-a-way railways, and local blues players. Rocz’s blues photography collection has been well received at art shows in major cities across the nation.
COCO VIVO Fine Art & Interior Design will present musical guest Tim Church III as a pre-event to Charleston’s 22nd Annual Low Country Blues Bash. COCO VIVO will also host Charleston fashion clothes designer Alena Fede and her new spring collection, Spring Flowers by Alena Fede; the artwork of one of America’s finest designers of natural pearl and hammered silver jewelry, artist Christine Peters Hamilton of Maine; and sculptor Kevin McLean introduces new bronze sculpture, blending classical processes and techniques with a raw and expressive style.

The Ellis-Nicholson Gallery entertainment will be provided by the homegrown Charleston talent of young singer/songwriter Irene Rose. Her music is a soundtrack of the south as she wistfully sings about family, small towns, sweet tea, grits and God. “I like to sing the songs that make people smile and nod because they know exactly what I’m talking about.” Irene Rose and her sister Lydia went on a music tour to Nashville where she was invited to sing in multiple honky tonks on Broadway. She has celebrated two album releases, “Irene Rose” and “How it Ought to Be”. In January Irene Rose was chosen to be played over 30 radio stations in South Carolina in the Discover and Uncover New Artists Series sponsored by IheartRadio.

The Ella Walton Richardson Gallery will feature their newest Dutch paintings. Contemporary artists highlighted include Simon Balyon, Johannes Eerdmans, Frits Goosen, Rene Jansen, Niek van der Plas, and Frans van der Wal. The variety of subjects include still life works, architectural scenes of Charleston, and Dutch landscapes.

Mary Martin Gallery will feature musical guest Don Olson who will perform Appalachian songs on Viola for the evening at their new beautiful location at 103 Broad Street. Spencer Fine ArtI, II and now III (!) will also have entertainment and a wonderful variety of soulful art for art lovers and collectors.
For more information on the artists featured during Gallery Row’s Blues on Broad event, visit www.charlestongalleryrow.com and click on your favorite gallery or phone 843-722-1944.

First Friday and Taste of the Arts – Charleston

by

Gallery Row is pleased to present two major events this October. The annual “Autumn Hues” show with opening receptions during The First Friday Art Walk and the French Quarter Gallery Association Fall Art Walk will take place on October 7, 2011. 

On the following evening, Saturday October 8, 2011,  from 6-8 pm, Gallery Row will host the annual event “Taste of the Arts on Gallery Row” produced by the Charleston Restaurant Association as part of the “Southern Living ® Taste of Charleston”. A spectacular selection of major new work by such important artists as Douglas Grier, Jean-Claude Gaugy, Albert Handell, Catherine Spencer, Hai Ou Hou, George Speck, Stephanie Schuler Hamlet, Victoria Platt Ellis, Bernie Horton and many more will be showcased at various galleries on Gallery Row.

Artists’ receptions are scheduled for Friday, October 7th from 5 pm to 7 pm, where collectors will have a chance to meet many of the participating artists. Additional artists will be on hand for demonstrations during the Taste of the Arts event on Saturday.

Autumn is the time of year when fine art seems to capture the imagination of Charleston, with no limit to the exceptional quality and diverse nature of subjects and genres being featured in the galleries. There are a great number of collectors, editors, museum curators and fine art enthusiasts in town for the festivities.

Mark your calendar for the Oct 8th “Taste of the Arts on Gallery Row”, an auxiliary event to the “Southern Living ® Taste of Charleston” weekend festival at Boone Hall Plantation. Combining the best of the city’s culinary arts and fine art, ticketed patrons are invited to enjoy a complete artistic experience on this evening as they tour the galleries and enjoy special appetizers with wine pairings from select Charleston restaurants, experience live artist demonstrations and great music. Proceeds benefit the Ronald McDonald House and other local charities. To purchase tickets for Taste of the Arts on Gallery Row visit www.southernliving.com or www.charlestonrestaurantassociation.com.

For more about the monthly event First Friday, click here.

Things To Do in South Carolina – September

by

 September always kicks off with a busy Labor Day Weekend packed with fun events and lots of things to do all over the coastal region. But that’s not the end of it. In actuality, it’s the beginning of Fall festival season – just take a look at the massive list of festival, events and happenings for Coastal South Carolina for the rest of September.

 

Restaurant Week – Charleston, SC

September 7 – 18, 2011

Who doesn’t love to go out and eat? All of us do, and during this event you have the opportunity to get a three course meal at a fixed price. It’s a good deal, and a great time to explore and find new places to eat in Charleston.

Read more about the event here – Charleston Restaurant Week

 

 

Largest Garage Sale – Myrtle Beach, SC

September 10, 2011

This is the 23rd year for  this huge garage sale held at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, Exhibit Hall. The sale features 280 vendor booths and thousands of shoppers.  

Read more about the Largest Garage Sale in Myrtle Beach, SC here.

 

Dog Day AfternoonDog Day Afternoon – Charleston, SC

September 10, 2011

Let your dog enjoy the last days of Summer with a special doggy play day at Whirlin’ Waters Adventure Park.  Read more about the event here.

 

Shaggin’ on the Cooper – Charleston, SC

September 10, 2011

This is the last dance for the season on the Cooper! It’s a bittersweet goodbye because it means that Summer is ending and Fall is knocking on our door. Read more about Shaggin’ on the Cooper here.

 

Scottish Games & Highland Gathering – Charleston, SC

September 17, 2011

This festival offers has a little bit of everything and is great fun for the whole family. Here you can enjoy Scottish heavy athletics, from caber toss to hammer throwing and much more. The festival also holds the largest drum and pipe competition in the Southeast. Visit our special events page to watch the video from the event. 

Just click here.

 

Fall Tour of Home & Gardens – Charleston, SC

September 22 – October 23, 2011

During this event you get a chance to stroll through intimate gardens and architecturally significant private homes, churches and public buildings. Tours highlight American architecture from the early Georgian Period into the 20th century. You will enjoy unique neighborhoods that represent Charleston’s flourishing culture from the Colonial era to the present.

 

Atalaya Arts & Crafts Festival – Huntington Beach State Park, SC

September 23 – 25, 2011

Atalaya is a Moorish-style “castle” built in the Great Depression as a winter home and sculpture studio by Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington at Huntington Beach State Park. This is the location of a great yearly Arts & Crafts Festival that draws a crowd from all over. 

Watch the video and get the link to the dollar off coupon from our special events page.

Click here for more about the Atalaya Arts & Crafts Festival.

 

Moonlight Mixer – Charleston, SC

September 23, 2011

The Moonlight Mixer series is also wrapping up. The next Moonlight Mixer at Folly Beach Pier is coming up on September 23, 2011 and there is one more dance left for October. Tickets are available first come first serve – at the gate for $10. More information www.ccprc.com

 

Museum Mile Weekend – Charleston, SC

September 25, 2011 The 2nd Annual Museum Mile Weekend is scheduled for September 23 – 25, 2011. Many of the cultural sites along Charleston’s Museum Mile have joined forces and created this event. This year Friday has been added to the weekend, so you have even more time to explore the history of Charleston, SC. Read more about the Museum Mile Weekend

 

Green Fair – Charleston, SC

September 25, 2011

In 2010 ab0ut 5,000 eco-conscious festival goers gathered at Marion Square for the Green Fair, and this year’s festival promises to be even better. Visit our special event page to watch the video from the event.

Just click here.

 

MOJA Arts Festival – Charleston, SC

September 29 – October 9, 2011

The MOJA Arts Festival is a colorful festival with a variety of performances. You can experience everything from visual arts, classical music, dance, gospel, jazz, poetry, R&B music, to storytelling, theatre, children’s activities, traditional crafts, ethnic food, and much, much more.

For tickets and updated information visit www.MOJAfestival.com

 

Other stories to read:

Oktoberfest on the River – Savannah, GA

Talk Like a Pirate Day – September 19

 

 

Â