Noble Ruin of the South
February 17, 2022
By Tom Poland When man abandoned it, the traffic diverted west, and the forest began to claim it. Today, sycamores, cedars, and oaks console it, and wind and water…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts
Spoleto Festival USA announces a robust 46th season
February 16, 2022
International performers return to Charleston for a program exploring themes of faith, migration, intertwining histories, and reclamations of the past Spoleto Festival USA General Director Mena Mark Hanna announced today…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc Category: education, music, on-the-move, the-arts
Inspired by Gullah Geechee history, Yawkey Foundation donates $1MM to International African American Museum
February 14, 2022
Gift Perpetuates the Foundation’s Longstanding Commitment to South Carolina’s Lowcountry The International African American Museum has received a grant of $1 million from the Yawkey Foundation in support of the…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc Category: education, on-the-move, the-arts
Plans for IAAM’s Gullah Geechee exhibit made possible by Yawkey Foundation
February 10, 2022
Inspired by Gullah Geechee History, Yawkey Foundation donates $1MM to International African American Museum The International African American Museum has received a grant of $1 million from the Yawkey Foundation…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc Category: on-the-move, the-arts
Miss Lucy, Childhood Legend
February 10, 2022
By Tom Poland “Perhaps you recall a person from childhood whom everyone kept their distance from. Enjoy this glimpse of small-town life in the 1960s.” Small towns have that one…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
State Museum and the City of Charleston working on an extended loan agreement of the Calhoun Monument
February 7, 2022
Officials with the South Carolina State Museum and the City of Charleston are working collaboratively on an extended loan agreement of the John C. Calhoun Monument statue to the State…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc Category: on-the-move, the-arts
2022 Southeastern Film & Photo Conference begins Feb. 24
February 7, 2022
The Southeastern Film & Photo Conference is coming to Charleston, February 24–26 Photographers, YouTubers, filmmakers, TikTokers and students will want to attend this three-day conference. Hosted by ASMP South Carolina,…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: on-the-move, the-arts
International African American Museum receives third grant from FordFoundation
February 3, 2022
Third Round of Funding Sets the Stage for a new Telling of the African American Journey. The International African American Museum has received a grant of $500,000 from the Ford…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc Category: entertainment, hospitality, non-profit, on-the-move, the-arts
Bitters, A History In Life And Literature
February 2, 2022
By Tom Poland Among the dusty bottles and vase stand three alcoholic potions. I bought the matador-like bottle in Madrid when I traveled by train through hard, brown Spain. Next…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
Charleston students reach S.C. Poetry Out Loud finals
February 1, 2022
From among statewide submissions, judges selected eight finalists who now have a chance to represent South Carolina this spring in the national finals of Poetry Out Loud—an annual, nationwide recitation…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc Category: on-the-move, the-arts
IAAM’s Dr. Tonya Matthews earns spot on “50 Most Influential People”list
January 31, 2022
Dr. Tonya M. Matthews, president and CEO of the International African American Museum (IAAM), has been selected by the Charleston Business Magazine (CBM) as one of the 50 Most Influential…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc Category: on-the-move, social-scene, the-arts
Crow Tastes Pretty Good In Snow
January 27, 2022
By Tom Poland My last column criticized I-20 as a barrier to snow in the classic South. “Winter after winter, radar reveals blue, pink, and white blotches rolling north…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts
Wild Dunes Resort announces new artist in residence at The Gallery at Sweetgrass
January 25, 2022
Wild Dunes Resort, a Destination Hotel located on Isle of Palms in South Carolina’s Lowcountry, is pleased to announce Fallon as the new artist in residence at The Gallery at…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc Category: hotels, on-the-move, the-arts
The Great Dividing Line
January 21, 2022
By Tom Poland Yet another dud weather storm forecast teaches me something. When the next Ice Age arrives, its frozen sheet will grind to a halt where I-20 crosses…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
Remembering Smokehouses
January 20, 2022
By Tom Poland I wrote about old hand-dug wells not long ago. Many old wells had a companion nearby, smokehouses. I’ve written about these farm icons before, but a…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts
The Old Hand-Dug Well
January 12, 2022
By Tom Poland Driving a country road, I passed an old well house. It didn’t look like a wishing well. It looked rustic, more like a shed, a practical…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
The Allure of Barbed Wire & Cedar
January 6, 2022
By Tom Poland Out in the country skinny metal fence posts rule pasturelands nowadays. I seldom see old cedar-barbed wire fences, but when I do they unleash a flood…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts
City of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs announces Griots of Cotton, Indigo, and Clay
January 5, 2022
The City of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs presents Griots of Cotton, Indigo, and Clay, on view January 17 through February 28, 2022 at City Gallery, located at 34 Prioleau…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc Category: on-the-move, the-arts
No Gas, No Batteries, No Electricity Required
December 16, 2021
By Tom Poland All it requires is a steady hand. It doesn’t disturb the peace on Saturday mornings. So quiet is it, I doubt it’d suffer banning in ever-vigilant…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts
International African American Museum announces Community School Supply Drive benefiting CCSD
December 13, 2021
Today, the International African American Museum (IAAM) announced the launch of their inaugural school supply drive in partnership with Teachers’ Supply Closet, an organization providing free resources for teachers in…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc Category: non-profit, on-the-move, the-arts
S.C. Arts Commission selects five for Emerging Artist Grant
December 9, 2021
Up to $1,500 grant includes mentorship, more A ceramicist, a dancer, a painter and fiber and installation artists make up the five #SCartists receiving South Carolina Arts Commission Emerging Artist…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: on-the-move, the-arts
Black Ink Festival announces open registrations to Black authors for 2022 virtual event
December 9, 2021Black Ink: A Charleston African American Book Festival announced registration is now open to Black authors for the 2022 event, whose mission is to amplify the voices of Back authors.…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc Category: on-the-move, the-arts
A Vanishing Coastal Icon
December 8, 2021
By Tom Poland Photographers love to shoot them at sunrise. Riding a glittering golden sea, shrimp boats strike a classic silhouette with that orb of fire rising behind them.…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts
Charleston Symphony announces Harlem Quartet for world premiere in January
December 7, 2021The Charleston Symphony is delighted to announce the Harlem Quartet will join the CSO in the Hart of Tchaikovsky on January 7 and 8 at the Charleston Gaillard Center. Part…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc Category: on-the-move, the-arts
College of Charleston Professor receives Grammy nomination for classical album
December 2, 2021[In May 2021, we interviewed Paul Sánchez as part of our Artist Minute series – CLICK HERE] Paul Sánchez, director of piano studies and artistic director for the International Piano Series (IPS) at the…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc Category: education, on-the-move, the-arts
That Legendary Everlasting Plant, Rabbit Tobacco
November 30, 2021
By Tom Poland She smoked it as a kid. Said she smoked grapevines too but it was Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium, one of the everlastings, she talked about most. She and…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
Grandmom’s Fabulous Fried Pies
November 17, 2021
By Tom Poland She dried sliced apple, peaches, and pears on a slanted wooden table facing the sun. Nails prevented the fruit from sliding to the ground. Once it…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts
Elusive Butterfly Of Fall
November 4, 2021
By Tom Poland December 1965, that’s when a catchy tune debuted. Bob Lind’s “Elusive Butterfly” used a butterfly as a metaphor for love. Some of you survivors of these…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts
Star Light, Star Bright
October 27, 2021
By Tom Poland Back in the late 1980s and early ’90s, I’d leave on a Friday afternoon and head for the mountains, the Blue Ridge species. My monthly drives…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
Magic In Some Alien World
October 21, 2021
By Tom Poland On a hot, windless Sunday, I found a place where wind swept up and over a cliff to pour through pines. The cooling torrent felt like…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
Local organization to host event that exposes youth to arts entrepreneurship
October 20, 2021
Entrepreneur Centers 4 Youth (EC Youth) presents Financial Literacy – Making Money in the Arts on Sunday, October 24, 2021 from 1-5 PM at Jenkins Institute for Children (3923 Azalea…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc Category: education, entertainment, entrepreneurship, on-the-move, the-arts
Tall Tales—Truth Can Be Elusive
October 6, 2021
By Tom Poland The last time I wrote about the nightlife, my late mom gave me a reading. She upbraided me about the evils of alcohol and told me…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
You’ve Got To Feel the Food
September 29, 2021
By Tom Poland A few years back on a fall day I attended a wild game dinner on the grounds of Hobcaw Barony’s Bellefield Stables. I sat among folks…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts
The Good Old Days Are Gone
September 22, 2021
By Tom Poland Last Friday night some grandparents went to watch their grandson play in a high school football game. They were in for a shock. Paying for the…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts
Acclaimed 30 Americans headed to the Columbia Museum of Art
September 22, 2021
Hugely popular and historically important exhibition opens October 9 The Columbia Museum of Art announces its major fall exhibition 30 Americans, a dynamic showcase of contemporary art featuring many of the…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: on-the-move, the-arts
Freeway Music School celebrates 10-year anniversary
September 20, 2021
South Carolina’s fastest growing music school continues its commitment of delivering high-quality music lessons and giving back to the community Freeway Music —Columbia, South Carolina’s locally owned, premier music school…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: education, music, on-the-move, the-arts
Who’s The Queen Of Flowers?
September 15, 2021
By Tom Poland Orchids. There were days I wore them in my lapel for formal events, but those days are gone. I’ve not seen many in the wild, but…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts
Where They Sleep, While They Sleep
September 8, 2021
By Tom Poland I visit old cemeteries quite a bit. Lest you think death thoughts consume me, understand that readers tell me of near-forgotten cemeteries. It’s my duty to…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
South Carolina State Fair discount tickets available starting Sept. 8
September 8, 2021
Save time and money by buying early online or at participating Circle K locations Discount admission and ride tickets for this year’s South Carolina State Fair will go on sale…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc, laurenscountybuzz Category: agriculture, entertainment, food, local-industry, media, on-the-move, social-scene, the-arts
A Southern Writer
September 2, 2021
By Tom Poland Mississippi’s Willie Morris Several years back, I attended Edgefield’s Camellia Tea. As I was leaving, a lady in a red blazer walked up. “You’re that fellow…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
Long Lost Treasures, Heirloom Seeds
August 26, 2021
By Tom Poland Metal detectives seek old coins and treasure, and many folks look for arrowheads. A rare breed seeks long-lost seeds. Old coins and arrowheads won’t make you…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: food, life, the-arts
A Haunting Postscript
August 19, 2021
By Tom Poland Missing Caskets Recently I wrote about finding my great granddad’s old farmhouse, but I left out an eerie aspect that would be suitable for a Halloween…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts
My Family Quest
August 12, 2021
By Tom Poland Discovering a Homeplace The past means much. As family property goes, however, no one or anything remains from my childhood. Fires, real estate deals, and a…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz Category: life, the-arts
For The Birds
August 5, 2021
By Tom Poland This makes the second time I’ve used “For The Birds” as a title. “Contacting the dead through a Ouija board? That’s for the birds.” No flippancy…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
What’s The Big Rush?
July 28, 2021
By Tom Poland My back-road trips of late have been good but not as pleasant they usually are. Too many people. They drive like madmen. They pass on hills.…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
The Parking Lot Of The Dead
July 21, 2021
By Tom Poland Even in death they cling to dignity. Left to rust, they bless the rare visitor with awe and mystery. Just how did old trucks and cars…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
PURE Theatre announces return to live performances
July 16, 2021
After more than a year of producing theatre virtually, PURE Theatre will return to live performances for the company’s 19th season. Performances in the 2021-2022 season will take place at…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc Category: on-the-move, the-arts
My Mother’s Bible
July 15, 2021
By Tom Poland After Mom died, my sisters and I began to go through her and Dad’s belongings. Quite a task that surprised, amused, and puzzled us. Lots of…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
Basil Kerr becomes new Director of the Charleston Jazz Academy
July 8, 2021
The Charleston Jazz Academy welcomed Basil Kerr as its new Director. Basil has dedicated his career over the last 30 plus years to developing young talent and has taught some…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc Category: non-profit, on-the-move, the-arts
Ospreys—Nature Never Quits
July 8, 2021
By Tom Poland Noon sharp, a hot, humid Monday. Just twenty yards away a tremendous crash like a rock hitting water got my attention. There sat an osprey with…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
