FOCUS, Group calls for Tuesday passage of slavery apology resolution
COMMENTARY, Brack: Is S.C. ready for a political pig in a poke?
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Charleston Gaillard Center
MONEY, Morris: Prepaid tuition 529 plans offer flexibility over 529 savings plans
WHAT WE LOVE, Burkel: Charleston brings out the best in us
FEEDBACK: On ferries, Michaux mural and governor’s race
MYSTERY PHOTO: A house that may look familiar
S.C. ENCYCLOPEDIA: Peaches, our state fruit
CALENDAR, June 18+: Portrait unveiling, jazz, yoga, book sale
FOCUSFOCUS: Group calls for Tuesday passage of slavery apology resolution
The Old Slave Mart in Charleston, S.C.
By SJRE Collaborative leaders, special to Charleston Currents | For the past 15 months, the Social Justice Racial Equity Collaborative convened by the Sophia Institute has hosted duet conversations with local black and white leaders sharing their personal perspectives and truths. On Tuesday, June 19, passage of the Resolution to Recognize, Denounce, and Apologize for the City’s role in the Institution of Slavery offers a chance for the Charleston region to begin to share its truth.
We hope you will lend your voice in support and stand with us.
- If you live in the City of Charleston, we encourage you to reach out to your council member and share your support – you can find your city council member and their contact information here.
- If you would like to add your name to our growing list of over 70 supportive individuals and organizations, click here by noon on Tuesday, June 19, so we can add you to the names we will share with City Council at the meeting.
- If you would like to join us, the City Council meeting begins at 5 p.m. in council chambers at Charleston City Hall, 80 Broad Street. The sign-up sheet for comments opens at 3 p.m.
Background on this historical journey
The idea to seek this apology came from of a June 2017 planning retreat of the SJRE Collaborative to advance its mission to inspire collaborative action by advancing bold strategies that promote personal, structural, and systemic change in social justice and racial equity through truth, healing, and transformation. Melissa Maddox-Evans chaired the effort to develop the approved draft that SJRE Collaborative leadership team gave to the city, and shepherded it through its refining process and its ultimate placement on the city council agenda.
This resolution is not an apology by any individual. It’s an apology made on behalf of the city of Charleston for its central role in regulating, supporting and fostering slavery and the resulting atrocities inflicted by the institution of slavery.
This resolution is a formal recognition that the prosperity and robust economy of this city began with a dependency upon the free labor, technical expertise and craftsmanship of those peoples who were enslaved, as well as the possession and sale of those who were enslaved.
This resolution opens the door to a better understanding of Charleston as a capital of slavery, a birthplace of the Confederacy. and a leader in creating and maintaining the justification and vestiges of slavery after the Civil War in many aspects of living, such as in its commerce, housing, education and public spaces.
This resolution offers commitments, calls of action, pledges and assurances to promote racial equality and work for equity in health, education, jobs, housing and livability.
The United States Congress, nine states and a few other cities have apologized for slavery — a list that does not include the state of South Carolina or any of its cities. An approval on Tuesday will enable Charleston to join this list and inspire others to follow.
A call to action
As The Post and Courier‘s editorial board recognized: “A slavery apology resolution can’t right centuries of wrongs. But it is an apology, which is what good people do when they’ve harmed someone else. It makes a powerful statement. And sometimes words can go a long way in helping to heal old wounds.”
We hope you will join us in calling for Charleston City Council to make this powerful statement and begin the healing our community needs.
This commentary is authored by Barbara Kelley-Duncan and Carolyn Rivers, co-chairs of the Social Justice Racial Equity Collaborative, and Melissa Maddox-Evans, chair of the organization’s Apology Committee.
- Have a comment? Send to: editor@charlestoncurrents.com
BRACK: Is S.C. ready for a political pig in a poke?
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | More than 100,000 South Carolinians may have bought a pig in a poke in the recent GOP primary. They voted for Greenville businessman John Warren, a political neophyte who joined the state’s gubernatorial race just a few months back and who reportedly has pumped $3 million of his own money into winning.
He is, if you didn’t know, a Marine. That’s about all we really know about him, as he repeatedly says in television ads.
The term “pig in a poke” is an English idiom from the Middle Ages, a time when meat often was scarce. Tricksters would offer suckling pig in a closed bag to customers. Many times, however, the bag contained the meat of some other animal.
Warren obviously has the required skills to run a successful financial services business, coincidently named after his Marine unit. It remains to be seen whether those skills are enough to navigate as governor in a state paralyzed by challenges for education, health care and infrastructure.
Warren
Warren, who will face Gov. Henry McMaster in a June 26 runoff, offers a big obstacle to McMaster’s desire to win a gubernatorial election outright. He took the office, you may remember, after former Gov. Nikki Haley resigned to become an ambassador in the Trump administration.
While McMaster shines when reminding voters he has Trump’s endorsement as much as Warren plays the Marine card, GOP voters these days may be more willing to give the new guy a chance than to cast their lot with someone who has been around for a long time. Just look to Trump’s election and the deflation of the old-time Republican Party into the Trumpian Party to understand that.
“Trump has a tremendous impact on South Carolina Republican primary politics,” said College of Charleston political scientist Gibbs Knotts. “Loyalty to Trump has become one of the most important litmus tests for Republican primary voters.”
So McMaster, the first statewide official to endorse Trump when he was running for president, has that going for him. He benefited over the last year in raising lots of money and building a machine in what Knotts calls the “invisible primary.” Knotts said he expected McMaster, who won more than 155,000 votes in the primary, to win the runoff over the inexperienced Warren.
But Brad Warthen, former editorial page editor of The State newspaper in Columbia, isn’t so sure. An incumbent governor – even one who has been in office for a year and a half – should be stronger. For months, McMaster was pounded by four challengers.
“Telling everybody he [Trump] is your best buddy isn’t a sure road to success,” Warthen told our sister publication, Statehouse Report. “McMaster is in a remarkably weak position for an incumbent….”
McMaster
“Everybody seems to be ganging up on him at this point. McMaster’s problems are his association with the Quinns [who are involved in a corruption case], his old-school image, the fact that he wasn’t elected to the position, and the possibility that at some point his slavish devotion to Trump — at times, the relationship seems to be all he can say about himself — could become an albatross for him.”
Two days after the primary was over, Warren picked up endorsements from two other anti-establishment Republicans who wanted to be governor – Lt. Gov. Kevin Bryant of Anderson and Catherine Templeton of Mount Pleasant.
But is their support enough to carry Warren over the top? Probably not.
McMaster came out on top in 40 of 46 counties, including voter-rich Richland, Lexington, Charleston, York and Horry counties. McMaster edged Warren in Spartanburg County. Templeton garnered more votes than McMaster in three small counties and Beaufort County. Bryant mostly was in single digits, except in his home county where he nailed 22 percent of the vote. Warren came out on top in two counties – narrowly in Pickens, but by a large margin in Greenville.
As they say in politics, everything in elections is about turnout. McMaster has the benefit on June 26 of a strong relationship with the president and a campaign organization in the work for months, if not years. Warren has the aura of a newbie, but many may be growing tired of how he trumpets his military service for personal gain.
- Have a comment? Send to: editor@charlestoncurrents.com
SPOTLIGHT: Charleston Gaillard Center
Charleston Gaillard Center provides the Lowcountry with a world-class performance hall, elegant venue space and vibrant educational opportunities that inspire dynamic community throughout the area through the power of the performing arts. The Center’s vision is to enrich the diverse community of Charleston with artistic and cultural experiences that are accessible and unique, and to serve as an educational resource for generations to come.
Did you know that the Charleston Gaillard Center is a 501c3 non-profit that works with over 25,000 students each year from the tri-county area? Promoting education is one of the core values of the Charleston Gaillard Center and an integral part of our mission. By broadening the reach of arts-education in the Lowcountry the Gaillard Center encourages learning through the arts and serves as a powerful tool for student achievement and personal development while providing people of all ages with the opportunity to cultivate and grow their talents and appreciation for the arts. To learn more about our education initiative, click here: www.gaillardcenter.org/outreach.
For more information, click the links below:
- Buy tickets and see our great events
- Become a member today
- Plan your event at the Charleston Gaillard Center
- Learn about our education and community programs
- Contact the Gaillard Center.
MORRIS: Prepaid tuition 529 plans offer flexibility over 529 savings plans
By Kyra Morris, contributing editor | 529 education saving plans are not all savings plans, as we discussed recently in this space, and all of them are not all are run by the state. There is another alternative: prepaid 529 tuition plans.
As the name implies, you lock in future tuition costs at today’s prices. The benefit is that potentially thousands of dollars can be saved. Currently there are 18 state-sponsored plans and one institution-sponsored prepaid tuition plan. Only 11 of the state-sponsored prepaid tuition plans are accepting new applicants and most of these have residency requirements. The institution-sponsored plan is the Private College 529 Plan.
These prepaid 529 tuition plans have the same tax benefits as 529 savings plans. The earnings grow tax free as long as you use the funds towards tuition and mandatory education expenses. You can contribute to prepaid 529 tuition plans for the benefit of your child, grandchild or friend. Most prepaid plans are designed to pay for tuition at a certain school or schools. The plans are either “contract” plans, where you pay for a certain number of semesters of college tuition or “unit” plans, where you to buy fractional units based on tuition costs at a target group of schools.
The Private College Tuition Plan is a very flexible prepaid tuition plan and participants are not limited by state residency. It is owned by nearly 300 private colleges and universities nationwide. South Carolina has several participating universities. This particular plan has no fees. One hundred percent of your contributions go towards tuition. In this article, I use the Private College Tuition Plan’s characteristics to describe prepaid plans in general because it is available nationwide and the characteristics are similar to the other state-sponsored plans. I can also be specific about this plan without concern about residency issues and variances.
You can use your contributions to the Private College Tuition Plan for up to 30 years. This plan is a “unit“ plan. You purchase tuition certificates that correlate to the participating schools. The value of your certificate depends on the current tuition rates at the different schools. For example a $10,000 contribution may be worth .33 of a year at one school whose tuition is $30,000 per year but it may be worth .25 of a year at another school whose tuition is $40,000 per year. The Private 529 Plan will report each year the amount of tuition for each participating school that you own.
The enrollment for this plan is year-round and your contributions are aggregated over a program year — July 1 through June 30. Each year that you contribute, you will receive a new certificate. Each certificate will represent a unit of years’ paid for each participating school. Certificates must be held 36 months from the purchase date before they can be redeemed.
If the beneficiary receives a scholarship that covers all or most of the costs of the qualified expenses, you have several options. You can request a refund up to the amount equal to the scholarship. You pay tax on the amount greater than the contribution, but it is not subject to the 10 percent penalty. You could also roll the excess to a state-run 529 savings plan and use the funds to cover additional expenses like room and board that are not covered with the prepaid tuition 529 plan, or you can roll the plan to another qualified beneficiary.
If the beneficiary of the certificate goes to a school that is not one of the participating schools, then you can do several things. You can roll the plan to a state-sponsored 529 savings plan, switch the plan to another beneficiary or request a refund.
Prepaid tuition 529 plans are more limited in use than state-sponsored 529 savings plans. The focus is on tuition and mandatory costs. Most prepaid tuition plans can roll into a state-sponsored savings plan if that is appropriate. This does extend their flexibility. Most prepaid tuition plans cannot be used for secondary or elementary tuition. This is not their purpose.
When should you use a prepaid tuition plan verses the state-sponsored 529 savings plan? That is an individual decision and should be carefully considered. There is potential to use both, and optimize the benefits. Your financial advisor can help you determine the best strategy for you and your child or grandchild. The point is that there are tools to use to save and plan for education. Take advantage of them.
More resources:
- Prepaid College Savings Plans: Here’s What You Need To Know, by Kathryn Flynn, updated Dec. 12, 2017
- PrivateCollege529.com
- Busting the Top 7 Myths About Prepaid 529 Plans, by Florida Prepaid College Board
Kyra H. Morris, a Certified Financial Planner, is CEO of Morris Financial Concepts, Inc., in Mount Pleasant. A national leader in the financial planning profession, she has been named several times by leading magazines as one of the country’s top financial planners. Disclaimer: “I am not employed by not receive any remuneration from the Private 529 Plan”
- Have a comment? Send to: editor@charlestoncurrents.com
GOOD NEWS: History Fair to return July 7 to Magnolia Gardens
Along the Ashley River at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, outside Charleston, S.C.
Staff reports | Want to explore local history and meet the people who promote and preserve it? If so, come to the 6thannual History Fair on July 7 at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens.
The free fair is features well-known organizations in education, religion, social services, the arts and tourism, including the planned International African American Museum at Gadsden’s Wharf where nearly 40 percent of the captured West Africans brought to Charleston first stepped on American soil.
From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., you’ll have an opportunity to meet representatives of 34 historic groups. The event is designed for amateur and serious historians and children who want to touch the past. Some highlights:
- Storyteller Kitty Wilson-Evans, who portrays an 18th century enslaved worker named Kessie, will be in the History Room at the Main House.
- Master brick maker Rick Owens will demonstrate early brick-making techniques near the Peacock Café.
- “Inalienable Rights: Living History Through the Eyes of the Enslaved,” will be staged at the cabins once occupied by Magnolia’s enslaved workers. This presentation isan outreach of the Slave Dwelling Project founded by Joseph McGill, Magnolia’s history consultant. Living History includes a blacksmith, cooking and chair-making demonstrations and storytellers.
On the night of July 6, you also can join McGill for a sleepover in the former slave cabins at Magnolia. Sit around the camp fire as he discusses the need to preserve extant slave dwellings. To register for the sleepover contact McGill at mailto:slavedwellingproject@gmail.com. Deadline to register is June 29. The sleepover is limited to 35 people.
The History Fair will also be a time to show appreciation for South Carolina’s public and private school teachers and college and university faculty. Magnolia will offer free garden admission on July 7 to teachers and their immediate family. Valid identification is required.
While the fair is free, guests who purchase the $20 general admission to the gardens will have access to a storyteller, brick maker and a living history program.
- For more information and a list of the presenters, go to magnoliaplantation.com.
In other Good News:
Coming soon: Artist, designer, and environmentalist Maya Lin will serve as the Gibbes Museum of Art’s 2018 distinguished lecture speaker on Nov. 7 in Charleston Music Hall. You might know her best through her first work, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Lin interprets the natural world through science, history, politics and culture by “creating a remarkable and highly acclaimed body of work in art and architecture,” the museum said. “Following her early success, Lin designed seminal artworks such as the groundbreaking four-acre earthwork for the Storm King Art Center in New York and the 11-acre A Fold in the Field for Gibbs Farm in New Zealand.”
New editor. Congratulations to Sam Spence, a longtime staffer at the Charleston City Paper who has become its new editor. Most recently, he’s served as the paper’s web editor. He’s also worked in politics and is a graduate of the College of Charleston. Good luck (and have fun)!
New book. Hats off to former Post and Courier reporter Sybil Fix who has a new book, The Girl from Borgo. It’s a “memoir of growing up in Cetona, Italy, and of seeking home and wholeness at the intersection of two places and two cultural identities.” The book is available in a number of online locations, including Amazon.
New park: The City of North Charleston will open Waylyn Park, its newest city park, 5 p.m. June 19 in the Dorchester-Waylyn neighborhood, 2678 Olympia Street. The park includes a playground, picnic area, and a multi-use open basketball court. “ “Instead of a dilapidated home and a vacant lot, the neighborhood now has a walkable gathering place and recreation area for the families of the Dorchester-Waylyn neighborhood to enjoy,” said North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey. “Waylyn Park is a wonderful addition to a dynamic, traditional neighborhood.”
Beard Fellow. Congrats to Ann Marshall of High Wire Distilling Co. in Charleston who will participate in the James Beard Foundation’s Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership program in September. She is one of 20 fellows who will take part in the five-day program at Babson College to provide women culinary entrepreneurs with tools to grow their careers and businesses.
WHAT WE LOVECharleston brings out the best in us
James Island resident Archie Burkel loves Charleston so much that she had a hard time writing it all down. Here’s how she explains her love affair with the Holy City:
“What do I love about Charleston? Let me count the ways. But if I did, it would take 100 things, not 100 words. So I will pull out of my hat what I believe puts our Holy City in a class by itself: You find yourself talking to total strangers.
“It does not matter the part of town, the way the person looks, or the time of day. The ‘stranger danger’ many brought with (when we got here as fast as we could) disappears. In its place, we found a place that brings out the best in us.
“We become who we always wanted to be. Hats off to Charleston!”
Tell us what you love. Send a short comment – 50 words to 100 words – that describes something you really enjoy about the Lowcountry. It can be big or small. It can be a place, a thing or something you see. It might the bakery where you get a morning croissant or a business or government entity doing a good job. We’ll highlight your entry in a coming issue of Charleston Currents. We look forward to hearing from you.
FEEDBACKOn ferries, Michaux mural and governor’s race
Jetfoil could boost a local ferry system
To the editor:
Judy Hines was right [in her 6/11 letter] on about a partial solution to our overwhelming traffic problems. For years I have been trying to drum up support with public officials for a ferry system in Charleston.
There is hardly a point in Charleston County that is more than two miles from a navigable waterway. Such a water ferry system could use the Ashley River as a starter from near the airport at the foot of the Mark Clark ferrying people down to the city marina and then up the Cooper to the old Navy Base at the Riverfront Park and expand from there.
Of course logistics such as parking would have to be worked out. This ferry system would be the long distance link and then the CARTA busses would connect each ferry landing to local points nearby.
Look at the video [on the Boeing 929 Jetfoil] and the low wake the hydrofoil kicks up. I bet it would cost a lot less than completing I-526 and relieve traffic congestion everywhere. Boeing might even kick in the funds to purchase a couple of these to get the program going.
— P.C. Coker, Charleston, S.C.
Airport features mural from Friends of Michaux
Michaux mural at airport.
To the editor:
Reading your publication, I just realize that Karl Smith’s mural given to the airport by our association, the Friends of Andre Michaux Garden, was not mentioned in the Art Section. Would you be kind enough to mention it in your next publication.
— Marie Laure Arnaud, Charleston, S.C.
Editor’s Note: Charleston International Airport occupies land where famous French botanist Andre Michaux created a botanical garden in 1786. Read about it and the mural here.
A+ on the governor’s race
To the editor:
[On the June 11 commentary about the governor’s race]: You get a score of 100.
— Jack Bass, Charleston, S.C.
Send us your thoughts: We love hearing from readers. Comments are limited to 250 words or less. Please include your name and contact information. Send your letters to: editor@charlestoncurrents.com. | Read our feedback policy.
MYSTERYMYSTERY: A house that may look familiar
Here’s a house that may look familiar to Lowcountry residents and visitors. But what, pray tell, is it and where? Send your best guess – plus your name and hometown – to editor@charlestoncurrents.com. In the subject line, write: “Mystery Photo guess.” (If you don’t include your contact information, we can’t give you credit!)
Last issue’s mystery
The June 11 mystery, a photo by Bill Segars of Hartsville, showed an old guard house and police station in Barnwell, S.C.
This was tougher than recent photos as only three alert readers identified it: Cheryl Smithem of Summerville; George Graf, Palmyra, Va.; and Tom Tindall of Edisto Island. Congratulations.
Tindall offered some context via Wikipedia and the S.C. Picture Project:
“The mystery photo is of the old Barnwell Police Station on Burr Street in Barnwell, S.C. Built in 1944 to serve as a guard house for the prisoner of war camp housing German POWs during the later stages of World War II, the guard house was built by Charles Cheek and assisted by the German prisoners. After the war, the camp was torn down and the guard house was moved to the town circle where it was used as the police station.
“Legend has it that S.C. Sen. Edgar Brown and S. C. Rep. Sol Blatt, leaders of the “Barnwell Ring,” often held spirited ‘discussions’ at the old building. The ring arose in the late 1930s and lasted into the 1970s and literally controlled state government. Brown and Blatt were the principals of the ring. Brown was the president pro tempore and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee from 1942 to 1972. Blatt was the speaker of the house from 1937 to 1946, and 1951 to 1973. Both men denied the existence of the ring until 1963 when Brown exclaimed: “Long live the Barnwell Ring” at a dinner to honor Blatt.
Send us a mystery: If you have a photo that you believe will stump readers, send it along (but make sure to tell us what it is because it may stump us too!) Send it along to charlestoncurrents@gmail.com.
S.C. ENCYCLOPEDIAHISTORY: Peaches, our state fruit
S.C. Encyclopedia | The peach (Prunus persica, Rosaceae) is a temperate-zone stone fruit that is grown widely around the world. Peaches originated in China, where they have been cultivated for thousands of years. From China, peaches migrated to ancient Persia and then to Europe. In the 1600s the Spaniards introduced peaches to North America. By the early 1700s there were several prominent accounts of peach cultivation in South Carolina. The native Indians cultivated peaches and preserved them by drying and pressing them into cakes. Henry William Ravenel of Aiken is credited as the first commercial grower to ship peaches outside the state in the 1850s.
At the start of the twenty-first century, peaches were the most widely grown commercial fruit crop in South Carolina, comprising more than seventeen thousand acres in the state and with an estimated annual farm value of between $30 million and $40 million. Peaches have been grown in three primary regions proceeding from the mountains to the coast: the Piedmont, “The Ridge” region between Columbia and Augusta, and the coastal plains. South Carolina ranks as the number-two peach producer in the United States, after California. In 1984 the peach was designated by the General Assembly as the state fruit of South Carolina.
More than forty commercial varieties of peaches are grown in South Carolina. In a normal year more than two hundred million pounds of peaches are harvested in the state. The peach harvest season begins in early May and ends in late September. The vast majority of the commercially grown South Carolina peaches are destined for fresh markets up the eastern seaboard of the United States. Local roadside markets are the second major outlet for fresh peaches. Some peaches are grown specifically for processing into baby food and other value-added processed products.
Most peach trees in South Carolina’s commercial orchards actually begin in Tennessee nurseries. First a seedling rootstock is grown, and then a desirable fruiting cultivar is grafted onto that seedling. Trees are then dug bare-root and shipped to South Carolina for planting during the winter. Peach trees begin bearing fruit during their third year after planting, and peach orchards will remain in production for roughly fifteen years. A mature tree that is well cared for can produce up to eight bushels of fruit and may use up to forty gallons of water per day near harvest.
Peach cultivation in South Carolina can be very profitable, but several factors may negatively impact year-to-year profitability. Some of these include adverse environmental conditions (warm winters, spring freezes, hail, drought), pests and disease (peach tree short life, oak root rot disease), and economic factors (labor costs, urban encroachment). To diminish the impact of some of these factors, growers are utilizing newer technologies such as microsprinkler irrigation, integrated pest management, wind machines, and resistant rootstocks. In addition, they are constantly planting newer, high-quality varieties to expand their marketing opportunities.
— Excerpted from an entry by Desmond R. Layne. To read more about this or 2,000 other entries about South Carolina, check out The South Carolina Encyclopedia, published in 2006 by USC Press. (Information used by permission.)
BROADUSEditor’s Note: “Broadus” is a Gullah-Geechee word from the Carolina and Georgia coast that means “something given as a bonus.”
ON THE CALENDAR
CALENDAR, June 18+: Portrait unveiling, jazz, yoga, book sale
Hurd portrait. The Charleston County Public Library will unveil a portrait of Cynthia Graham Hurd, which will be dedicated in honor of the 31-year library employee who died in the Emanuel AME church shooting in June 2015. Hurd was manager of the St. Andrews Regional branch at the time of her death. An unveiling ceremony will take place noon June 20 at the Cynthia Graham Hurd/St. Andrews Regional Library in West Ashley. Refreshments will be served and the program will be followed by a special event, an ice cream sundae bar at 1 p.m., which is part of the branches Kindness Week, organized in memory of Cynthia Graham Hurd and her philosophy to always be kind. The Charleston Friends of the Library funded the official portrait.
The Art of Jazz: 6 p.m., June 20, Gibbes Museum of Art, 135 Meeting St., Charleston. Charleston Poet Laureate Marcus Amaker will team with musician Quentin E. Baxter for an evening of art-inspired poetry and jazz in the museum’s second summer music series. $20 for members; $25 for non-members. More.
Salute to Solstice Charleston Yoga Fest: 5 p.m., June 21, James Island County Park, James Island. Throughout history, solstices and equinoxes have been sacred points of time to honor the flow of life on earth. The June 21 event is designed to bring the community together to salute the solstice on the day the sun rises to the highest point in the sky. Guests will gather in the meadow of James Island County Park to practice yoga starting at 5 p.m., and live music by Thomas Champagne and Friends will begin at 6 p.m. More.
That Summer Book Sale: June 22-24, Main Library, 68 Calhoun St., Charleston. The Charleston Friends of the Library will offer its big summer sale with great deals on thousands of books, DVDs and CDs with pries starting a $1 for paperbacks and $ for hardback books. Free admission. Click here to learn about times and more.
Anniversary commemoration. Fort Sumter National Monument will commemorate the 242nd anniversary of the Battle of Sullivan’s Island with special programs on June 23 and June 24 at Fort Moultrie. Visitors of all ages are invited to explore the American Revolution through the life of a soldier in South Carolina. Musket demonstrations by volunteer reenactors from the 2nd South Carolina Regiment, National Park Service volunteer reenactors and staff will take place at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday and at 10 a.m. on Sunday while artillery demonstrations will take place at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday and at 11 a.m. on Sunday. Fort Moultrie is located at 1214 Middle Street, Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina. film. An entrance fee is normally charged for the park. More info: www.facebook.com/FtMoultrie
Uncle Sam Jam: 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., July 4, Mount Pleasant Pier, Mount Pleasant. Get your tickets early! Celebrate the Fourth of July on the Mount Pleasant Pier! Dance to Carolina beach and party music performed by Ellen Drive, at an excellent venue for viewing fireworks displays throughout the Lowcountry. Beverages will be available for purchase. Outside alcohol, beverages and coolers are strictly prohibited. Tickets $8 in advance and are limited; advance purchase is recommended. More.
Music Under the Oaks: 11 a.m. on July 7 and Aug. 4, Charles Pinckney National Historic Site, 1254 Long Point Road, Mount Pleasant. On June 2, NIA Productions will feature African drumming and dance; On July 4, the show will feature singer Ann Caldwell while the Plantation Singers will perform Aug. 4. Bring sunscreen and insect repellant.
Historic Charleston house tours. 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., every Tuesday through Aug. 7 at the Nathaniel Russel House, 51 Meeting St., Charleston, and every Thursday through Aug. 9 at the Aiken-Rhett House, 48 Elizabeth St. To learn more about the event and fees, click here.
TEDxCharleston: The annual day of ideas in Charleston is accepting applications through August 27 for participants to speak or perform on issues related to the theme for April 10, 2019: Currents. The theme will explore “What trends are rising to the surface? How are science, art, culture and conversation making waves and evolving to meet the needs of future communities? What changes are happening that parallel and challenge our history?” Learn more |
sign up.
Early morning bird walks at Caw Caw: 8:30 a.m. every Wednesday and Saturday, Caw Caw Interpretive Center, Ravenel. You can learn about habitats and birds, butterflies and other organisms in this two-hour session. Registration not required, but participants are to be 15 and up. $10 per person or free to Gold Pass holders. More: http://www.CharlestonCountyParks.com.
AREA FARMERS MARKETS
SATURDAYS: The Charleston Farmers Market, is back in action from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Saturday through Nov. 24 at Marion Square. A holiday market will be open Dec. 1, 2, 8. 9, 15 and 16.
SATURDAYS: Johns Island Farmers Market operates each Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. year-round with more than 50 local farmers and vendors, food trucks, music and more. The market is located on the campus of Charleston Collegiate School, 2024 Academy Road, Johns Island.
SATURDAYS: The Town Market on James Island are again open. Open 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday at the James Island Youth Soccer Club, 871 Fort Johnson Road, James Island.
TUESDAYS: The Town of Mount Pleasant’s Farmers Market is every Tuesday from 3:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the market pavilion at Moultrie Middle School, 645 Coleman Blvd, in Mount Pleasant.
WEDNESDAYS. The West Ashley Farmers Market, 55 Sycamore Ave., is open every Wednesday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. in Ackerman Park. More.
THURSDAYS. The Sullivan’s Island Farmers Market, 1921 I’On Avenue, is 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. through June 28.
- If you have an event to list on our calendar, please send it to charlestoncurrents@gmail.com for consideration. The calendar is updated weekly on Mondays.
OUR UNDERWRITERS
Charleston Currents is an underwriter-supported weekly online journal of good news about the Charleston area and Lowcountry of South Carolina.
- Meet our underwriters
- To learn more about how your organization or business can benefit, click here to contact us. Or give us a holler on the phone at: 843.670.3996.
OUR TEAM
Charleston Currents offers insightful community comment and good news on events each week. It cuts through the information clutter to offer the best of what’s happening locally.
- Mailing address: O. Box. 22261 | Charleston, SC 29413
- Phone: 670.3996
Charleston Currents is provided to you weekly by:
- Editor and publisher: Andy Brack, 843.670.3996
- Contributing photographer: Michael Kaynard
- Contributing editor, careers: Ben Fanning
- Contributing editor, common good, Fred Palm
- Contributing editor, money: Kyra Morris
- Contributing editor, Palmetto Poem: Marjory Wentworth
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