2014 North Charleston Arts Festival Gala Set for May 2

The spring festival season is in full swing and the 2014 North Charleston Arts Festival is just around the corner. In honor of the annual event, the City of North Charleston invites the public to don their Lowcountry best and head to the North Charleston Performing Arts Center Entrance Hall on Friday, May 2, from 7:00pm to 11:00pm for the Sweetgrass Soirée, a gala celebration. Tickets for the premier event are $50 and can be purchased by calling Sheri Pearson at 843-740-2538.

The soirée begins with a steel drum serenade compliments of Charleston’s most prominent steel drum band, The Island Trio. While enjoying a menu of Lowcountry favorites and the evening’s signature cocktail, the Sweetgrass Sipper, patrons will have an opportunity to meet this year’s Arts Festival design artist, Amiri Gueka Farris. Farris will be auctioning off an original piece and signing posters featuring his winning design, Gullah Islander Toss. Entertainment during dinner service includes a lively performance by Adande African Drum & Dance Company and a shoe tapping, hand clapping program full of traditional Gullah songs, spirituals, and gospel tunes by renowned a cappella singing group, The Plantation Singers. Following the performances, guests can dance the night away to music by Plane Jane. The band is built to keep the crowd on its feet with an extensive catalog of exciting hits from the sixties to the present. The evening’s line-up is sure to entertain and makes for an exciting kick off to the nine days of arts and cultural programs and activities offered during the 2014 North Charleston Arts Festival, taking place May 2-10.

The North Charleston Performing Arts Center Entrance Hall is located at 5001 Coliseum Drive in North Charleston. Ticket price includes parking. The Sweetgrass Soirée is co-sponsored by North Charleston Magazine. For more information about the event or the 2014 North Charleston Arts Festival, including the full schedule of events, visit NorthCharlestonArtsFest.com.

North Charleston Dinner Theatre Series Sings the Blues on January 31

Songstress Laura Ball offers a soulful salute to America's gifted women of the blues in the third performance of North Charleston's 2013/14 Dinner Theatre Series

Another fabulous dinner theatre performance is set to take place in North Charleston on Friday, January 31, 2014, with Black & Blues presented by songstress Laura Ball of UNED!TED. The exquisite cabaret evening of musical history is a soulful salute to America's gifted women of the blues. Dinner for the evening is catered by Embassy Suites and features an entrée of smoked chicken and sausage penne. Tickets are on sale until Tuesday, January 28.

Giving voice to the female singers who put blues on the American map, Miss Ball and her blues trio, The Gentle Time Band, will take audiences on a musical journey from the Mississippi Delta to the back alleys of New Orleans to the to the Charleston Lowcountry. The original program features the songs and stories of such celebrated blues women as Big Mama Thornton, Billie Holiday, Bessie Smith, Janis Joplin, Bonnie Raitt, and many more.

A native Charlestonian, Laura Ball is an active teacher, music director, composer, and performer known for her innovative collaborations across musical genres and her explorations of contemporary chamber music practices. She grew up with deep roots in the Gullah and Irish song-storytelling traditions and her musical background includes a broad survey as an instrumentalist, choral conductor and vocalist – spanning repertoire from the Baroque to Broadway. She currently works as the music director at Holy Spirit Catholic Church on Johns Island, SC, and is the founder and creative director of the UNED!TED Interdisciplinary Arts Concert Series, now in its fourth season. She has been a featured performing artist and composer at SECCA (Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, NC), Panoramic Dance Troupe (Raleigh, NC), and Goddard College (Port Townsend, WA), and maintains ongoing compositional collaborations with Charleston Dance Institute, Chamber Music Charleston, and Annex Dance Company. She has also appeared locally with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Seabrook Island Club, Kiawah Arts Council, Gibbes Museum of Art, and Parliament. For more information, visit LauraBall.com or UneditedArtists.com.

Black & Blues will be presented at the Charleston Area Convention Center Ballroom (adjacent to the North Charleston Performing Arts Center) at 5001 Coliseum Drive in North Charleston. The ballroom doors open at 7:00pm for dinner. Tickets are $40 per person. Group discounts are offered. Ticket price includes dinner, play, and gratuity. Tickets for just the play are available for $15. Parking is free. A cash-only bar will be available. To purchase tickets, contact Pam Smith at 843-740-5847 by Tuesday, January 28. For details on the 2013/14 North Charleston Dinner Theatre Series or information on additional programs and events, contact the City of North Charleston Cultural Arts Department at 843-740-5854 or visit http://bit.ly/culturalarts.

North Charleston Dinner Theatre Series Goes Gullah on November 15

Sharon Cooper-Murray as The Gullah Lady

Another fabulous dinner theatre performance is set to take place in North Charleston on Friday, November 15, with Gullah Roots presented by The Gullah Lady, Sharon Cooper-Murray. The interactive program features a captivating collection of stories and songs that offer a glimpse into Gullah life and culture on the coastal plains and Sea Islands of South Carolina and Georgia. Dinner for the evening is catered by Embassy Suites and features an entrée of sage buttered and roasted pork tenderloin. Tickets are on sale until Tuesday, November 12.

In Gullah Roots, Cooper-Murray uses her rich singing voice and conversational storytelling approach to take the audience on a journey through her memories, revealing the people, songs, stories and experiences that have shaped her passion and understanding of the Gullah culture.   Although she is known as The Gullah Lady, many are surprised to learn that Sharon Cooper-Murray is not Gullah at all. Born and raised in Lake City, SC, she attended college in Tennessee and moved to the Lowcountry at the age of 22. It was in 1984, when she married Wadmalaw Island native Frank Murray, that she was first introduced to the Gullah culture. She was immediately fascinated with the Gullah way of life and its unique language, oral traditions, music, crafts and food ways. More than two decades later that fascination has turned into a life-long passion to not only learn all she can about the Gullah people and their traditions, but also to preserve and promote the language and culture. She does so by traveling throughout the east coast of the United States to participate in workshops, lectures, storytelling events, special occasions and artist in residency programs. She also performs regularly at Boone Hall Plantation.

Gullah Roots will be presented at the Charleston Area Convention Center Ballroom (adjacent to the North Charleston Performing Arts Center) at 5001 Coliseum Drive in North Charleston. The ballroom doors open at 7:00pm for dinner. Tickets are $40 per person. Group discounts are offered. Ticket price includes dinner, play, and gratuity. Tickets for just the play are available for $15. Parking is free. A cash-only bar will be available. To purchase tickets, contact Pam Smith at 843-740-5847 by Tuesday, November 12. For details on the 2013/14 North Charleston Dinner Theatre Series or information on additional programs and events, contact the City of North Charleston Cultural Arts Department at 843-740-5854 or visit http://bit.ly/culturalarts.

North Charleston Kicks Off Dinner Theatre Series September 20

Photo by Josh Burg

Another fabulous season of dinner theatre kicks off in North Charleston on Friday, September 20, with Sherlock Holmes and the Charleston History Mystery presented by The Black Fedora Comedy Mystery Theatre. The interactive production is a hauntingly historical and hysterical whodunit recommended for Sherlock Holmes fans, Charleston history buffs, and adults out on the town. Dinner for the evening is catered by Embassy Suites and features an entrée of Trattoria Carbonara. Tickets are on sale until Tuesday, September 17.

When a member of the infamous Charles Townson family is murdered during a civil war shooting demonstration, the World's Greatest Detective, Sherlock Holmes, is called to solve the case. Townson’s own brother is clearly the shooter and is immediately arrested, but Holmes suspects there is more to this story; in fact, several centuries more. Join the Master of Logic himself on the journey to solve this Lowcountry case of mystery, history, spooks, and specters. A journey where, without ever leaving their seat, audiences will explore Charleston's past, present, and other worldly; and where, should they choose to volunteer, audience members may actually play a victim, villain, or vile vision.

The Black Fedora Comedy Mystery Theatre opened its doors in early August of 2012. Owners/producers, Darryl & Sherry Wade, relocated to Charleston from Atlanta, Georgia, with nearly two decades of knowhow in the business of producing live, comic-mystery entertainment for corporate, college and general public audiences. Already highly ranked on Trip Advisor’s list of Charleston attractions, this new theatre is the place to go for family-friendly live theatre in a cozy setting. Their comedy-mystery shows are presented year-round at The Black Fedora Comedy Mystery Theatre and Shoppe at 164 King Street in downtown Charleston, with professional actors, volunteer audience participation and a la carte appetizers, desserts, and drinks. For more information, visit charlestonmysteries.com.

Sherlock Holmes and the Charleston History Mystery will be presented at the Charleston Area Convention Center Ballroom (adjacent to the North Charleston Performing Arts Center) at 5001 Coliseum Drive in North Charleston. The ballroom doors open at 7:00pm for dinner. Tickets are $40 per person. Group discounts are offered. Ticket price includes dinner, play, and gratuity. Tickets for just the play are available for $15. Parking is free. A cash-only bar will be available. To purchase tickets, contact Pam Smith at 843-740-5847 by Tuesday, September 17. For details on the 2013/14 North Charleston Dinner Theatre Series or information on additional programs and events, contact the City of North Charleston Cultural Arts Department at 843-740-5854 or visit http://bit.ly/culturalarts.