Knowing Charleston Real Estate... » Charleston Calendar of Events

Grape Stomping Festival This Weekend in Charleston

Jacquie — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 15:17:53 +0000

For those that remember that classic I Love Lucy episode, when Lucy goes to Italy and stomps grapes, you will appreciate what’s happening at the Irvin- House Vineyards on Johns Island. Saturday, August 28th from 2-6pm, the 7th annual Grape Stomping Festival. Admission is $5 per car. You can bring a blanket and a picnic lunch or graze on the food that they have available and enjoy the live music. If you have kids, bring them out as there will be children’s activities to keep them occupied. There will also be a Lucy Look-a-Like contest.

If you want to get a good laugh The Have Nots will be performing at Theater 99 at 8pm on Saturday, August 28th, followed by New York commedien Kenny Z at 10 pm.

Saturday, August 28 from 12-9pm and Sunday, August 29 from 12-9pm , The Beach Music and Shag Preservation Society present the 57th Annual Charleston Beach Music and Shag Festival. For more information go to Pivots Beach Club.

Charleston Battery vs Richmond Kickers for the USL-2 2010 Championship at Blackbaud Stadium on Saturday, August 28th. To purchase tickets go to www.charlestonbattery.com.

What’s Happening in Charleston This Weekend for Father’s Day!

Jacquie — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 14:35:37 +0000

If you are looking for a way to treat dad for Father’s Day, here are a few options:

On Saturday, June 18, Woodlands Inn in Summerville is grilling out (and dad doesn’t have to man the tongs, like at home) with their Beer and BBQ Tasting with Palmetto Brewery. It’s $55 (plus tax and gratuity), which covers four courses: grilled shrimp, togarashi, pickled watermelon rind, and cucumber; Carolina-style smoked chicken and pulled pork with Anson Mills grits; a main course of Moroccan spiced Lamb, tangine, and saffron couscous; and a dessert of warm chocolate and espresso cake with vanilla ice cream and hot fudge. Of course, there’s also beer pairings with each course, and dad even gets an after-dinner cigar and bourbon. Reservations are required.

On Sunday, June 20, there will be a Father’s Day Brunch buffet style featuring BBQ Benedict, Red-eye gravy, shrimp and grits and much more. Cost $55. There will also be a kids menu for kids (4-12).

If you want t dine in a more casual venue you can grab a steak at Outback and dad has a chance to win FREE Outback for a year! The special goes from June 18-June 20.

SC Aquarium has free admission for fathers with a paying guest or child. Sunday, June 20 from 9am to 6pm.

If your dad is the outdoors type, take him on a k ayaking trip with Sea Kayak Carolina. The tour begins at 7:30 am to the launch point at Battery Island and goes to Sandy Point on Kiawah Island. Rental kayaks are $30. You can bring your own kayak

If you want to give dad a different gift for Father’s Day because you are tired of giving him the same old things, check out Bellezza Buzz spa and give dad a relaxing treatment.

What’s Happening In Charleston This Weekend!

Jacquie — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 13:39:34 +0000

Friday June 4, Wine Tastings – Enjoy appetizers paired with featured wines at Ted’s Butcherblock - Cost is $5.00.

Friday, June 4, Piccolo Spoleto Beach Party in Downtown Charleston at the US Custom House from 7pm-11pm. Free!

Friday, June 4, Hazelnut Hang - Enjoy the music of Sister Hazel at the Windjammer on the Isle of Palms. Cost $25.00

Saturday, June 5, Annual Sweetgrass Cultural Arts Festival 10:00 am – 8:00pm at Waterfront Memorial Park in Mt. Pleasant. There will be several mini-events and activities with crafters, quilters, gospel singers, Gullah storytellers, the ADANDE African Drum and Dance Group, and much more.

Sunday, June 6, Daughtry will be at the North Charleston Colliseum with special guests Lifehouse & Cavo. Tickets are still available at Ticketmaster.

FOR THE KIDS

If you’re looking for a place to take the kids go to the Joe Riley Stadium.The Riverdogs will be home all weekend. Remember that Fridays there’s fireworks after the game. Saturdays there are free giveaways and on Sundays there’s free parking and kids eat for free.

Another fun thing to do outdoors with the kids is climbing the wall at the James Island County Park. South Carolina’s tallest outdoor climbing facility. It’s open 7 days a week, from Noon to 8pm on weekdays and from 9am to 8pm on Saturday and Sunday.

Whatever you decide to do, have a great weekend!

IT’S SPOLETO TIME!

Jacquie — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 12:33:48 +0000

An exciting time in Charleston for the arts – is when Spoleto is here. Every year we can count on looking forward being entertained by wonderfully talented artists in theater, dance, opera, visual arts & jazz.

Initially the festival started in the acient city of Spoleto, Italy in the provence of Perugia founded by Gian Carlo Minotti. Named Festival dei Due Mondi which means Festival of Two Worlds, the intentionwas to have the worlds of American and European culture facing each other in his event; this concept would then be strengthened by the fact that it was held in conjunction with its “twin”, the Spoleto USA Festival.

I have been fortunate enough to attend a concert by Frank Emilio Flynn, a Cuban jazz piano player as well as a production of Mamba’s Daughters, at the Dock Street Theater. Both performances were outstanding.

If you are interested in attending any of these events, you can to www.spoletousa.org.

If you would like to take advantage of the Spoleto experience but are a little tight on cash, you might want to check out the events of Piccolo Spoleto. Launched in 1979, Piccolo Spoleto was designed to offer the Spoleto experience to everyone regardless of their economic, social or physical circumstance.

Whatever you decide to do, just get out there and enjoy Charleston!

What’s Happening This Week in Charleston

Jacquie — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 13:56:44 +0000

The month of May brings beautiful weather and opportunity to take advantage of all the great things Charleston has to offer.

April 30-May 2, 2010 – Gourmet & Grapes – Kiawah Island Enjoy the second annual weekend of fine food & wine as the country’s finest culinary’s and winemakers are assembled for three days of Gourmet & Grapes. For more information go to http://www.kiawahresort.com

May 1, 11 a.m. and Sun., May 2, 10 a.m. Rugby South Championships at Ansonborough Field Concord St. and Washington St.
The best rugby teams in the South will travel to Charleston to compete for the USA Rugby South Division II and III Championships and a bid to the USA National Championship Final 16.

May 1, 2010 – Charleston Riverdogs Vs Hickory Crawdads at the Joe Riley Stadium. Free Webkinz giveaways to the first 1,000 fans.

May 1, 2010 – Cinco de Mayo Festival - Charleston’s fifth annual Cinco de Mayo Festival, where there will be local Mexican cuisine, margharitas and Mexican beer. There will also be a salsa competition. Amateurs and professional dancers will be able to participate. The winner will receive $200.00 For more information go to this site. http://www.charlestoncinco.com

May 1, 2010 – Sullivan’s Island Lighthouse Open House - . The event takes place from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. on the grounds of the U.S. Coast Guard Historic District at 1815 I’On Avenue on Sullivan’s Island

May 7-9, 2010 – Charleston Greek Festival - Enjoy traditional Greek food, live Greek music, folk dancing and more at the Greek Orthodox Church
of the Holy Trinity. For more information call (843) 577-2063.

Interested in Boating? Here’s Some Information You May Interested In!

Jacquie — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 21:58:05 +0000

Summerville boat manufacturer, Zodiac, has seen demand for the lightweight rubber-bottomed boats soar in the last year. The French-owned company is poised to double its local workforce and its physical space, upping its output from approximately 700 boats to 1,000 next year.

Charleston Boat Show cranks up its 29th edition at the North Charleston Coliseum January 23-25th. On Saturday, the 24th WEZL will have a booth in parking lot E where you can enter a contest to win Rascal Flats tickets by showing off your twangin guitar talent. The tickets also include backstage passes and a chance to meet Jessica Simpson. There’ll be live music and if you have kids, there’ll be a jump castle and face painting. If you want more information go to Charleston Boat Show site.

Things to do Around Town for this Weekend!

Jacquie — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 22:24:19 +0000

Ladies, if you’re looking for a luxe time, look no further. The Sanctuary at Kiawah is back with their 5th Annual Women’s Escape Weekend on the 15th-18th. Teaming up with Charleston Home magazine, they will present you with a weekend full of ideas for inventing new creations for yourself and your environment.

Chamber Music Charleston presents another set of House Concerts. On the afternoon of the 18th , the Downtown Concert 3 will be at the Ripich-van Raalsten home at 160 Broad Street. The evening of the 19th, the Edmondston-Alston house at 21 East Battery will host.

If you are an equestrian or just love horses, The Lippizaner Stallions will present their equestrian extravaganza on the 18th at the Coliseum. If you are not familiar with them, check out their website. Lippizaner Stallions

Eat, Drink and Be Merry!

Jacquie — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 18:36:22 +0000

If you love comedy and you love live entertainment and you love to eat and drink … well it’s time to eat drink and be merry and merry is the key word. Theatre 99 and the City Paper are up to their old tricks. They have put together some of the country’s best stand up, improv and sketch artists into 36 shows in 6 different venues in just 4 nights.

The sites are all in the downtown Charleston area and the festival runs the 14th-the 17th.

Now to the “eat and drink” part of the equation. Southern Wine and Spirits and Trident Technical College Foundation are presenting “A Night in the Valley” featuring the Culinary Institute of Charleston on the 23rd at the College Center.

December Holiday Happenings in Charleston

Jacquie — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 17:18:43 +0000

This time of year I always hear people saying how stressed out they are from the holidays and how many things that they have to do. That’s one way of looking at things. We need to stop and enjoy some of the activities and fun things there are to do especially here in Charleston.

The Joseph Manigault House will be dressed the 6th-31st with live plant decorations typical of the 19th century. The Charleston Garden Club will be decorating.

Marion Square will be the downtown headquarters for all things holiday. Children’s choirs, storytelling and a visit with Santa, Mrs. Claus and their elf assistants at the North Pole Mailbox are available. Don’t miss the fun daily from the 7th through the 23rd. FREE

The Men’s Chorus will present its 14th Annual Christmas Concert on the 21st at the Citadel at 5 pm. Take a break and enjoy this group.

Chanukah in the Square 2008 will be marked from 4-6pm on the 21st as the first night of Chanukah is celebrated.

Need something else to do? You could try to fit in some of the holiday theatre running throughout the month. The Christmas Carol, a Ghost Story of Christmas is Charleston Stage’s original adaptation returning to the C of C’s Sottile Theatre. Then, there’s the hilarious Inspecting Carol written by Tony Award winning Broadway Director, Daniel Sullivan at the Footlight Players Theatre. The Charleston Christmas Special, a two hour musical variety show, is at the Charleston Music Hall. One performance only, A Child’s Christmas in Wales will be at the Circular Congregational Church the23rd at 7 pm.

And there’s always the Christmas lights at the James Island County Park. You can ride through with your family and enjoy the beautiful display of lights and forget the stress and realize the magic of the season.

Ring in 2009 at the elegant Black and White Ball will be held New Year’s Eve as the Sanctuary at Kiawah presents New Year’s Eve in High Style.

Don’t forget about the hopping John for luck and the collards for money on New Year’s Day! If this is a new tradition for you here’s a recipe for both Hoppin John and Collards. Hoppin John and Collard Greens

We hope that you have a joyous holiday season and no matter which day you may call your special one, that you end this year with love in your heart and peace in your soul. We hope that your new year is filled health, happiness.

November News in Charleston: Here’s What’s Happening Around Town

Jacquie — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 20:13:50 +0000

This is such an important month. The decisions we make in the voting booth will have impact for many more than the next four years. Choose wisely, but please choose. Educate yourself on all the races large and small; stand in the line with the rest of us because your vote does matter. Remember, you can’t complain if you don’t vote.
Veteran’s Day weekend will be celebrated by a Living History Day on the 8th at Patriot’s Point. Reenactors will help honor our vets by bringing past conflicts to life. Get ready for helicopter rides taking off from the Flight Deck and a special fly-over from the Air Force.
November brings cooler temperatures and Thanksgiving. We can be thankful for living in such a great location. Charleston’s Waterfront Park was named one of the nation’s 10 Great Public Spaces. The eight acre park is now ranked with landmarks like New York City’s Central Park, Union Station in Washington, DC and Pioneer Courthouse Square in Portland, Oregon.
Congratulations to the SC Research Authority. Their SC Launch program was one of four honored nationally with the “Building Entrepreneurial Capacity Award.” They were recognized as the best practice model in knowledge-based economic development. Wow!
For the sixteenth consecutive year, readers of Conde Nast Traveler magazine have chosen Charleston as one of the Top 10 travel destinations in the US. Moving up one slot, Charleston was bested only by San Francisco. Kiawah Island was voted the #2 island in North America, joined by Nantucket and Vancouver for the top three choices. The Sanctuary ranked as the #3 Resort in the mainland US, beaten only by Kenwood Inn and Spa in Sonoma and The Inn at Thorn Hill, Jackson, NH.
What’s all the fuss about? Learn what makes Charleston special at the Charleston Museum on the 8th. Shag with the folks from J.B. Pivots, sip sweet tea with the Charleston Tea Plantation staff and learn lots of fun facts about our area.
The Moore School of Business announced that South Carolina is the 5th best housing market in the country. Their research shows fewer subprime mortgages and fewer foreclosures in our state. Good News!!!!
Mixon, the sustainable neighborhood in the Park Circle area has garnered another honor. The American Institute of Architects Charleston Award for Service to the Community and Design Profession is given each year to a builder or developer who betters the community at large through excellence in their work.
Design is the Problem and the Solution: The future of design must be sustainable is the subject of a presentation on the 18th by Nathan Shedroff, chair of the MBA in Design Strategy at California College of the Arts in San Francisco. He will speak at the Visitor’s Center Theater at 6:00 pm.
The Fetes de Artisans will be at The Navy Yard at Noisette on the evening of the 6th to showcase the work of rising top artisans of the American College of the Building Arts and tour their workshops. The party is in conjunction with Design Week uptown in Charleston.
Celebrate Edible Arts: A Lowcountry Cooking Experience on the 15th at the Art Institute of Charleston. Prepare to impress your friends this holiday with duck, greens even pecan pie. They’ll thank you for going.
Summerville will present Taste of the Town on the 9th as Azalea Park turns red white and blue to honor our veterans.
The Junior League is sponsoring a Friday Family Fest. Admission is free at the Children’s Museum on the 21st and dinner is provided by Chic-fil-A !
The Shindig is scheduled at the Pine Forest Country Club on the 21st. You get to eat oysters and shag and the YMCA benefits.
The Center for Women is sponsoring their 2nd Annual Lowcountry Women Authors Holiday Book Signing at The Citadel Alumni House on the afternoon of the 23rd. Get your holiday shopping out of the way in one stop with personalized inscriptions from the authors.
The Holiday Festival of Lights at the James Island County Park opens on the 15th. If the nighttime sky intrigues you, the Old Santee Canal Park is the spot to be on the 29th. Learn about the stars above in their Astronomy class held from 7-8 pm.
Looking for something indoors on the 29th? Visit the Charleston Museum and check out the From Slave to Sharecropper: African Americans in the Lowcountry after the Civil War exhibit. Then, watch The Tuskegee Airmen, a movie about the Fighting 99 which picks up at the end of the exhibit period.
Towne Center in Mt Pleasant will kick off the holiday season with a tree lighting ceremony on the 22nd at 6 pm. Don’t forget to mark your calendar for more tree lighting and holiday revelry in North Charleston and the City of Charleston on the 6th of December. The same evening, join the crowds as the 29th Parade of Boats passes through the harbor.
The Maritime Center will host Historic Landmark, Schooner Roseway from the 5th-7th, open to the public 10-6 daily, free.
The 500th Anniversary of Palladio’s Birth will be celebrated the 6th & 7th.The architect’s influence is seen at Drayton Hall.
Making music with gourds is a special children’s hands-on history program at the Charleston Museum on the afternoon of the 6th. On the 8th, Charlestowne Landing will showcase “Colonial Trades and Harvest Festival” from 10-4. Ever want to design a walking stick? This is your chance. Select, prepare and decorate your own on the 8th and 10th at The Old Santee Canal Park. Bring your tools or they will provide. Is a basket more to your liking? The Basket Workshop will be held there on the 15th.
Google celebrated its official arrival in the Lowcountry at its $600 million, 500 acre site near Goose Creek off Highway 52. The internet search giant will employ about 200 when fully operational.
The Juicy Ideas Contest sponsored by Google involves 37 students from 4 area colleges in the quest to create the best new value from a glass medicine bottle. The prize? A visit to Google headquarters. That’s something a lot of people would love to do!
Golf World has announced the first ever Reader’s Choice Awards recognizing the 50 best private, public and resort golf destinations in the country. Courses were evaluated on 13 different performance criteria, such as quality of the course, course conditions, reputation and service. Kiawah Island Golf Resort was rated overall number one in the Resort category. The remaining top five resort courses were, beginning with number 2: Turning Stone Resort in Verona, NY; Sea Island Golf Club, Sea Island, GA; Reynolds Plantation, Greensboro, GA. Rounding out the top 5 was Pinehurst Resort, Pinehurst, NC. Florida had the most resorts on the list (10) followed by Hawaii (8) and South Carolina (5).
ESPN Charleston Classic will kick off at a dinner at Patriots Point on the 13th. Basketball teams from C of C, Clemson, TCU, Temple, Western Michigan, ETSU, Hofstra and SIUE will be participating in the tournament.
Running seems to be what November is all about. I guess that’s preventive medicine with the holiday parties coming up.
2008 Lean and Green 5K run will be at Brittlebank Park on the 8th. The Holiday Festival of Lights Fun Run /Walk will open the season with this 2 mile non-competitive event on the 15th at James Island County Park.
The Charleston Tea Plantation 5K Memorial Run/Walk on the morning of the 15th will honor Faye Mitchell, longtime employee and lifelong Wadmalaw resident. Funds raised on her behalf will go to MUSC for lung cancer research.
The 24th Annual Run for Thanks in Pinopolis will benefit the children of Berkeley County. Runners should bring canned goods to donate to the local food bank.
The iconic Turkey Day Run and Gobble Wobble is Thanksgiving morning. For over 30 years the Knights of Columbus have sponsored the event, now second only to the Cooper River Bridge run in size. Be at Marion Square at 9 am on the 27th.
You could look at all of these runs as a tune-up for the…Mark your Calendar … Stiletto Stampede coming to Mt Pleasant March 21st and benefiting the MUSC Children’s Center. Gotta see that one!!!!!!!!