The street post signs are already out, and I’m looking forward to the upcoming North Charleston Arts Festival, which will be May 2 through May 10. Daniel and I weren’t living in North Charleston at this time last year, so this is the first we’ve heard of the event. The festival’s website is very thorough and includes event dates, times, locations, and descriptions.
About: “The North Charleston Arts Festival is a fabulous, multidiscipline nine-day event that draws over 30,000 visitors annually. The Main Event, held the first weekend in May at the North Charleston Performing Art Center and Charleston Area Convention Center, offers free admission and parking to over 40 performances from national, regional and local performers on four themed stages; Cultural Heritage, Children’s Entertainment, Bands and General Audience. Other activities include judged art and photography shows, SC Palmetto Hands Juried Fine Craft Exhibit, a gem show, children’s activities at Box City and Creation Stations, Art and Craft booths and a Food Court. The Arts Festival continues with 50 events throughout the week at various locations around the city of North Charleston. An exciting array of free and ticketed events include street dances, concerts, performances for children, art workshops and demonstrations, a National Outdoor Sculpture Competition and Exhibition, the Arts Festival Gala, and concludes with the Grand Finale with performances, children’s activities and fireworks at the beautiful Riverfront Park.”
From the website, here’s a peak at some of the upcoming events that I think sound really interesting (although there are many more listed on the website):
Saturday May, 3
SHADOW PUPPET PLAY: “Green – The World is a Basket”
Geoffrey Cormier, formerly of the Jim Henson Company, and Wayang Modern Puppet Theater produce fresh and topical interpretations of the ancient Indonesian Wayang Kulit shadow puppet theater for modern, adult audiences. Opening with a “cartoon” short, this shadow puppet performance will illustrate how our past is connected to our future using puppets made of sweetgrass, an iconic Lowcountry staple. Puppets and original art will also be on display. Cormier and Wayang Modern were voted Best Puppet Show for Charleston City Paper’s Best of Charleston 2008.
Location: The Meeting Place, 1077 E. Montague Avenue, North Charleston
Date and Time: Saturday, May 3 at 8:00PM
Admission: $7.00 in advance or $10 at the door
Wednesday, May 7
ART WALK: Co-sponsored by the Olde North Charleston Merchants Association
Stroll down E. Montague Avenue through businesses, pubs, small cafes, and salons to see works from local artists, art from private collections, and stunning samples from masters’ collections. Art majors from the Charleston County School of the Arts and the non-profit group, ‘Kids with Cameras’, also included. Visit the Art Co-Op at The Meeting Place. The Yonrico Scott Jazz & Soul Trio will be performing from 6:00-7:00PM in an outdoor garden setting. This group is currently touring with Santana and has played with other national performing artists such as Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, and OutKast.
ART CO-OP Exhibition & Sale: The Meeting Place, 1077 E. Montague Avenue, Open House and Reception during the Art Walk
ART WALK: Olde North Charleston Business District, E. Montague Avenue
Time: 5:00-8:00PM
Admission: FREE
Thursday, May 8
DINNER THEATER: Interactive Murder Mystery
Dwight Kemper, Master of Mystery and published mystery novelist, will be hosting the evening with “Bye, Bye Blackbird: The Return of the Maltese Falcon - A Detective Chief Inspector Kemper Mystery”. The audience is asked to participate in solving the crime.
Location: Charleston Area Convention Center, Embassy Ballroom, 5000 Coliseum Drive, North Charleston
Time: 7:00-10:00PM
Admission: Seating limited – tickets: $30 (Individual), $28 (4 or more), $25 (10 or more). Ticket price includes dinner, performance, gratuity and parking pass.
Ticket Deadline: Monday, May 5, 2008
Friday, May 9: SC FILM SHOWCASE Presented by the Carolina Film Alliance
The showcase will feature the winning movie of the SC Film Office production fund’s 2007 grant, along with other short films and movie trailers shot in SC. Learn more about the CFA by visiting their website.
Location: North Charleston & American LaFrance Fire Truck Museum (movie theater)
4975 Centre Pointe Drive, North Charleston (behind Tanger Outlet Mall)
Time: 7:00PM
Admission: FREE
Saturday, May 10
SIDEWALK CHALK COMPETITION: The Navy Yard at Noisette
This event features a chalk drawing competition on the sidewalks of Storehouse Row. Competition entries will be judged and awarded prizes in student and non-student categories. A box of chalk will be supplied with the entry fee. Contact Jenny Wiedower, Executive Director of The Navy Yard at Noisette Community Association, Inc. at (843) 529-3698 or jwiedower@navyyardsc.com. For additional information, visit www.navyyardsc.com or www.northcharleston.org.
Location: 10 Storehouse Row, Noisette Blvd., The Navy Yard at Noisette (on the former Charleston Naval Base)
Time: 11:00AM-4:00PM, entry form can be downloaded at www.northcharleston.org
The grand finale is also Saturday, May 10 and includes a concert and fireworks at Riverfront Park at the old Navy Yard.
From everything that I’ve been reading, it looks like this is going to be a great event, and there should be something for everyone. I really like how it’s spread throughout an entire week (and around various venues) and not just crammed into one weekend. For any of you who are interested in volunteering (I think Daniel and I might try to lend a hand with one of the events), there’s an application available for download at the main site (under the Applications section).
All images from the North Charleston Arts Festival website.
2 Comments
The shadow puppet show should be great.
An interesting web site where traditional Balinese and Javanese puppets are displayed and described - and also for sale - is Murni’s in Bali http://www.murnis.com.
Highly recommended.
John
I’m definitely looking forward to the show. The idea of using sweetgrass for the puppets is fantastic.
Thanks for the additional link!