Annual North Charleston Arts Festival Set for May 2-10

Nine-day celebration of the arts offers something for everyone

The annual North Charleston Arts Festival is just one month away, set to kick off on May 2 and conclude on May 10. Now in its 32nd year, the nine day event has matured into one of the most comprehensive arts festival in the state, drawing thousands of residents and visitors to experience the talents of national, regional, and local artists and performers in the areas of dance, music, theatre, and visual, media, and literary arts. Nearly 200 festival offerings are scheduled to take place in a variety of venues throughout North Charleston and the surrounding area, including libraries, community centers, schools, businesses, civic auditoriums, and parks.

Recognized by the Southeast Tourism Society as a Top 20 Event, the North Charleston Arts Festival offers something for everyone – from classical to contemporary, funky to formal. The City of North Charleston Cultural Arts Department organizes and presents the event each year, striving to maintain the spirit of a public celebration with the mission of presenting a broad, multidiscipline event schedule that provides a wide range of performances, exhibitions, and activities for people of all ages and backgrounds. Many of the offerings are free, and those that are ticketed are moderately priced.

“The variety of Arts Festival offerings and the inclusiveness of the event have really become a point of pride for the City of North Charleston,” says North Charleston Mayor, Keith Summey. “We look forward to this time each year when we are joined by thousands from throughout the Southeast to celebrate the importance of art within our world.”

The Arts Festival Main Event, held on Saturday, May 3, and Sunday, May 4, at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center and Charleston Area Convention Center, offers free admission and parking to over forty performances on four themed stages: General Audience, Cultural Heritage, Youth Entertainment, and Bands. Other features include judged fine art and photography exhibits; the 13th annual South Carolina Palmetto Hands Fine Craft Exhibit; youth art from Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester county students; the Lowcountry Gem & Mineral Society show and sale; the Village Antiques & Collectibles show; children's activities at Box City and Creation Stations; art & craft vendors, a food court, and much more.

Individual events take place throughout the nine days of the festival at various locations. An exciting array of free and ticketed offerings include concerts, theatre presentations, film screenings, workshops and demonstrations, poetry readings, exhibition receptions, children’s programs, and much more. This year’s festival Gala, the Sweetgrass Soiree, will take place on Friday, May 2, from 7:00-11:00pm at the Performing Arts Center Entrance Hall. Tickets for this premier event are $50. Other highly anticipated programs include an Art Walk on Wednesday, May 7, an interactive murder mystery dinner theatre on Thursday, May 8, and street dances featuring beach/variety music and reggae on Friday, May 9. Examples of visual art exhibitions on view during the festival include a series of cut paper collages and prints by Lillian Trettin (Becoming Southern Steampunk); mixed media works by Cuban born artist, Maribel Acosta (Pieces); paintings and found-object sculptures by Gingi Martin (Landscapes of Mozart and Beethoven); the 9th annual National Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition; a group exhibition featuring Charleston area female photographers (Through the Lens); an Art & Fine Craft CoOp Gallery & Sale; the 8th Annual African American Fiber Art Exhibition (JOY!); and the 2nd Annual Wearable Art Competition and Exhibition. This festival’s Grand Finale on May 10 features a Tri-County School Steel Drum Festival, dance demos and performances, a slam poetry show, children’s activities, food trucks, and an evening concert by The CoastRunner Band. The event concludes with a fantastic fireworks display over the Cooper River.

Visit NorthCharlestonArtsFest.com for complete details for the 2014 North Charleston Arts Festival or contact the North Charleston Cultural Arts Department office at (843) 740-5854. Applications are still being accepted for participation in the Festival’s Art Walk. Entry instructions for the Festival’s Judged Fine Art Exhibition, Judged Photography Exhibition, and Tri-County Youth Art Exhibition, as well as volunteer sign-up forms are also available. All forms and instructions can be downloaded at NorthCharlestonArtsFest.com/apply.

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.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute concert set for January 18 in North Charleston

Wouldn’t Take Nothing For My Journey Now: A Martin Luther King, Jr. Tribute Performance featuring the CSO Gospel Choir and CSO Spiritual Ensemble, members of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra and the Colour of Music Festival Orchestra, in collaboration with the City of North Charleston Cultural Arts Department, brings the legendary civil rights leader’s legacy to life through music, imagery and narration on Saturday, January 18, 2014 7:00pm at Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church, 7396 Rivers Avenue, North Charleston SC.

This performance is free and open to the public. Entry ticket required; freewill donations accepted.

Directed by Guest Conductor Vincent L. Danner, the event will commemorate Dr. King’s civil rights legacy in a moving musical and visual performance featuring gospel and spirituals woven together with narration provided by Dr. Karen Chandler of the College of Charleston and historical images of Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement.

“We are excited to partner with the City of North Charleston again and bring our choirs together with musicians from our partner organization, the CSO, and the newly formed Colour of Music Festival Orchestra as we honor Dr. King’s contribution to civil rights and economic equality. The event will be the perfect way for the community to reflect upon his wisdom, sacrifice and hope,” says Lee Pringle, President and Founder of the two choirs and executive producer of the event.

“Conducting performances honoring Dr. King are annual highlights for me; I look forward to showcasing moving selections carefully chosen to tell Dr. King’s extraordinary, epic story,” says Vincent L. Danner, Guest Conductor.

WHAT: Wouldn’t Take Nothing For My Journey: A Martin Luther King, Jr. Tribute Performance (approximate running time: 2 hours)

WHO: CSO Gospel Choir and CSO Spiritual Ensemble with members of the CSO and Colour of Music Festival Orchestra
Vincent L. Danner, Guest Conductor

WHEN: Saturday, January 18, 2014, 7:00pm

WHERE: Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church, 7396 Rivers Avenue, North Charleston, SC 29406

TICKETS: FREE ADMISSION - Ticket required for entry. FREE entry tickets (four per request) available in person at North Charleston Cultural Arts Department, North Charleston City Hall or Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church. By mail, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to Tickets/City of North Charleston Cultural Arts Department, PO Box 190016, North Charleston, SC 29419-9016 by Friday, January 10, 2014.

Freewill donations encouraged to support CSO Spiritual Ensemble and CSO Gospel Choir community outreach efforts.

This program is generously sponsored by the City of North Charleston Cultural Arts Department. Additional support provided by Historic Second Presbyterian Church.

About Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Prime mover of the Montgomery bus boycott, keynote speaker at the March on Washington, youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Dr. King’s policy of nonviolent protest was the dominant force in the civil rights movement during its decade of greatest achievement, from 1957 to 1968. Dr. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. Commemorating the life of a tremendously important leader, we celebrate Martin Luther King Day each January.

About the CSO Gospel Choir
For thirteen years, the Charleston Symphony Orchestra (CSO) Gospel Choir, Charleston’s celebrated culturally diverse choir, performs gospel, spirituals and sacred music for annual concert events including a Palm Sunday performance, CSO Gospel Christmas, Piccolo Spoleto, regional events throughout the southeast and numerous engagements in Europe including Paris, London, Rome and Prague and Ghana, West Africa.
CSOGospel.com

About the CSO Spiritual Ensemble
Founded in 2008, the Charleston SC based, 35-member CSO Spiritual Ensemble honors the “spiritual,” the historical musical form born of the suffering and endurance of African slaves after arriving to the southern shores of this country. The CSO Spiritual Ensemble performs throughout the southeastern US and regularly for local and regional special events.
CSOSpiritual.com