Hilton Head Island highlights regional arts and culture during the 2024 annual Crescendo Celebration

The Town of Hilton Head Island’s Office of Cultural Affairs and the Arts Council of Hilton Head are thrilled to announce the seventh annual Crescendo Celebration of Arts & Culture, scheduled to take place from Oct. 10 to Nov. 23.

This regional event, dedicated to October’s National Arts and Humanities Month, offers a vibrant showcase of Hilton Head Island’s diverse arts, culture, and history. It spotlights the talents of local arts and culture organizations, individual artists, performers, and authors.

The Crescendo Celebration features an impressive lineup of over 100 unique arts and cultural programs. These include concerts by award-winning visiting musical performers, theatrical productions of Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award nominated plays, unique museum and gallery exhibitions, enlightening lectures, inspiring poetry readings, captivating dance performances, historical tours, hands-on arts experiences, educational offerings, and cultural festivals.

Here is a schedule of this year’s Crescendo events:

• Tuesday, Oct. 15 (5:30-7:30 p.m.): The annual Crescendo kick-off celebration at Shelter Cove Community Park will feature live music, performances, and exhibitions by local artists and cultural organizations. This year, we are excited to present Grammy Award-winning musician Charlton Singleton and his band, Contemporary Flow, as the headline performance.
• Sunday, Oct.13 and Monday, Oct.14: The Junior Jazz Foundation proudly presents the 10th annual Bob Masteller’s “Jazz for All Ages” Festival at the Sonesta Resort. This year’s lineup includes performances by John Pizzarelli & Catherine Russell, and The Emmet Cohen Quartet featuring Kurt Elling, Mark Rapp and April Varner.
• Now Through October 27: “Something Rotten!” at the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina. The best show you may not know, “Something Rotten,” features big song and dance numbers including an abundance of tap, and a delightfully wacky cast of over-the-top characters. This hilarious, history-twisting tale makes it clear that “nothing’s as amazing as a musical!”
• Starting Oct.16: “This is Not: Aldwyth in Retrospect”, an exhibition of the rarely seen works of Hilton Head Island-based artist Aldwyth at the Coastal Discovery Museum. The exhibit spans nearly 70 years of her work, including early examples of photography, painting, and fiber, as well as her later bricolages and epic-scaled collages that resemble medieval manuscript pages. Now in her late 80s, the artist who goes by the single name Aldwyth, arrived on the Island in 1967, and has lived and worked in an octagonal house overlooking a salt marsh for decades.
• Friday, Oct.18 (7:30 p.m.): The Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra presents “Symphony Under the Stars” at Lowcountry Celebration Park.
• Oct. 31 – Nov. 10: Lean Ensemble presents the Pulitzer Prize finalist and Tony nominated play, “What the Constitution Means to Me.” Playwright, Heidi Schreck will participate in a panel discussion on Saturday, November 2.
• Saturday, Nov. 23: The Hilton Head Island Lantern Parade, a captivating and delightful procession along South Forest Beach. It will culminate at Lowcountry Celebration Park.

Additionally, Crescendo will include these other highly anticipated events:

• Two weekends of the beloved holiday classic, “The Nutcracker“
• Hilton Head Island Concours d’Elegance and Motoring Festival and the Grand Motoring Film Festival
• “Dinner with Friends” presented by Sea Glass Stage Company
• Gullah Food Festival
• Hilton Head Island Oyster Fest
• Rock ‘n Ribs at Coligny Plaza featuring Drivin’ N Cryin’ & Cranford Hollow
• Visual art exhibits at the Hilton Head Art League and Academy, Island Recreation Center, and Town Hall
• Poetry and Storytelling Series at Tio’s
• The Lowcountry Reads and Community Conversation
• Ghosts and Myths at the Zion Cemetery and Baynard Mausoleum
• Singer Songwriter Series at Lowcountry Celebration Park
• “Spotlight” presented by the Island School Council for the Arts
• Historical Tours with Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park and Coastal Discovery Museum
• “Shift Happens” presented by TEDX Hilton Head at the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina

For more details on all events, visit CultureHHI.org.

About the Town of Hilton Head Island’s Office of Cultural Affairs

The Town of Hilton Head Island’s Office of Cultural Affairs works to promote and support Hilton Head Island as a vibrant cultural destination that enriches our diverse community. We strive for the island to be recognized as a vibrant and distinctive destination known for its unique arts and culture assets that serve a diverse community and create a richer quality of life. For more information, visit www.culturehhi.org.

About National Arts and Humanities Month

National Arts and Humanities Month was founded over three decades ago by Americans for the Arts with the following goals: Focus on the arts at local, state, and national levels; Encourage individuals and organizations to participate in the arts; Allow governments and businesses to show their support of the arts; and Raise public awareness.