$4.1 million to support S.C.’s arts, cultural work in FY21
July 29, 2020The South Carolina Arts Commission is announcing grants totaling $4.1 million awarded in at least 41 South Carolina counties to support arts and culture work in the new fiscal year.…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: on-the-move, the-arts
Rural arts and culture initiative expands to 15 counties
July 27, 2020Addressing local issues with S.C. Arts Commission program Across South Carolina, an initiative called The Art of Community: Rural SC has taken root, creating new networks, community engagement, partnerships and…
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Tallulah Point Outlook, Part One
July 23, 2020By Tom Poland An Enduring Icon Endures No More In that precious time of boyhood summers, our family would drive from Lincoln County, Georgia, to the North Carolina…
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Ghost Stories
July 14, 2020By Tom Poland Great Aunt Annie, long buried in some graveyard up Asheville way, told me ghost stories when I was a boy. I’d sit by a hissing wood…
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United Community Bank awarded 2020 Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Governor’s Awards for the Arts
July 14, 2020United Community Bank is pleased to have been recognized by the South Carolina Arts Commission (SCAC) as a 2020 Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Governor’s Awards for the Arts award recipient. The…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: banking-and-finance, on-the-move, the-arts
Saws, Maters, & Men Long Gone
July 8, 2020By Tom Poland Growing up in eastern Georgia deep in pines, I wakened to the wail of chainsaws six days a week. Yellow McCullochs and red Poulans sliced through…
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South Carolina ETV to launch ‘Palmetto Perspectives’ series with multi-platform racial injustice program July 8
July 7, 2020Viewers encouraged to participate through live stream on social media South Carolina ETV (SCETV) today announced that it will be launching a new, community engagement-focused series with a one-hour discussion…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: non-profit, on-the-move, telecommunications, the-arts
Fried Green Tomatoes
July 2, 2020By Tom Poland My back-road explorations take me to little eateries tucked neatly in the middle of nowhere, whistle-stop places. Country folks run these deep-fried, lonely roadside stops so…
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Upstate Warrior Solution releases film on Wilderness Warrior Fellowship Program
July 1, 2020A 15-minute film capturing the work of military veterans working to maintain wilderness trails is being released for the Fourth of July Holiday Upstate Warrior Solutions and GVLMedia came together…
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Ariail wins 70th annual Green Eyeshade Award for editorial cartooning
July 1, 2020Veteran SC editorial cartoonist, Robert Ariail, has won the 70th annual Green Eyeshade Award for editorial cartooning. The awards, presented by the Society of Professional Journalists, recognize the best in…
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The Outhouse Flower
June 25, 2020By Tom Poland I remember Mom talked of a flower with a strange name, hollyhocks. She talked flowers a lot mentioning dahlias, Cape jasmines, which go by jasmines, gardenia,…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc, laurenscountybuzz Category: life, the-arts
Artist Minute – Patrick Rice, Classical Guitarist
June 22, 2020The Who’s on the Move, UpstateBizSC, Artist Minute is a quick, two-minute interview in support of the undeniable impact that the arts and local artists have on our communities. One…
Read MorePosted in: upstatebizsc Category: podcast, the-arts
Grace Will Lead Us Home: A Compelling Guide to Understanding the Emanuel Church shootings
June 17, 2020By Reba Hull Campbell Rarely does a book appeal to all my “reading” senses – well written, important message, compelling story and human connections. “Grace Will Lead Us Home”…
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A Childhood, The Biography of a Place
June 17, 2020By Tom Poland The book is 9.25 inches long, 6.5 inches wide, and less than an inch thick. Its 182 pages present a world well-fed folks can only guess…
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Just One Great Adventure
June 11, 2020By Tom Poland On my way back I crossed Clarks Hill Lake twice. In soft early evening light, the water lay like a mirror. Smooth as glass as we…
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Woods, Waters, and Flowers
June 3, 2020By Tom Poland A botanical superstar lives in the South. It’s exquisite, ephemeral, and periled, in that much of its habitat lies beneath lakes. I’m writing about the rocky…
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FUEL’s Matthew Garvin appointed to the City of Greenville Arts in Public Places Commission
May 28, 2020Matthew Garvin, Senior Developer at FUEL, a marketing agency in downtown Greenville, SC, has been appointed as a board member for the City of Greenville Arts in Public Places Commission.…
Read MorePosted in: upstatebizsc Category: marketing-and-communications, on-the-move, the-arts
Metropolitan Arts Council of Greenville establishes Covid-19 arts relief fund
May 26, 2020In conjunction with the Graham Foundation and the Canal Charitable Foundation, the Metropolitan Arts Council of Greenville is distributing $275,500 to 28 local arts organizations. “All of us at MAC…
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Quarantine Heartbreak
May 25, 2020By Tammy Davis Part Ten of The Corona Chronicles Part Nine here Part Eight here Part Seven here Part Six here Part Five here Part Four here Part Three here Part Two here Part One here After…
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If At First You Don’t Succeed
May 25, 2020By Tom Poland Among my father’s passions were birds and woodworking. He made bluebird boxes in his workshop and mounted them around home. He loved hummingbirds and looked for…
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Junkyard Beauty
May 18, 2020By Tom Poland One man’s junk is another man’s treasure. It’s true. We live in a throwaway society and junkyard junkies seek bargains. Making use of discards is frugal.…
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The Pull Of Beauty
May 13, 2020By Tom Poland Over the last five years, I’ve developed two traditions I plan to never break. Come March and come May, I drop everything and head to three…
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Buzzard Luck
May 6, 2020By Tom Poland A searing, sweaty summer day … just as my friend leaned over to pick up his dropped keys, his glasses slid onto the asphalt and cracked.…
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Had Harry Sat Here
April 30, 2020By Tom Poland Rain, rain, and more rain. It hasn’t been a biblical forty days and forty nights but sure seems like it. A record sopping-wet winter has creeks…
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Buddy bear.
April 30, 2020By Cathy Rigg Monetti There are a thousand reasons, I suppose, we are obsessed with the bear. He’s beautiful, for one. Big, and healthy, with a full shiny coat…
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S.C. Arts Commission to provide arts emergency relief grants
April 27, 2020Applications to be accepted April 29 through May 15, 2020 The South Carolina Arts Commission (SCAC) is announcing emergency relief for South Carolina arts organizations and individual artists who can…
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Kidcreate Art Studio
April 22, 2020Previously a management professional, Andrea wanted a business with fun and flexibility after recently becoming a stay at home mom. She and her husband Anthea decided they wanted a business…
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High As A Georgia Pine
April 16, 2020By Tom Poland The South and its vernacular, love it and never lose it. Seems to me, we have the finest, most colorful expressions. Yes, Southerners have a flair…
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Be well.
April 16, 2020By Cathy Rigg Monetti YESTERDAY WE AWOKE to a strange and beautiful scene. It was 5:55 a.m., and through our east window we saw that slight but gorgeous glow…
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House Arrest Haircuts
April 8, 2020By Tom Poland Nancy’s eyes betrayed frustration and fear. “I can’t cut your hair right now. I’ve got to close.” Early April 2020, the year of perfect vision, what…
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This Silent Strange Spring
April 1, 2020By Tom Poland Spring’s springing. I put my hummingbird feeders up for soon the feathered jets will arrive. My azaleas burst into living color as Disney phrased it, and…
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Peace Center announces 2020-2021 Peace Broadway Season
March 31, 2020The 2020-2021 Peace Broadway Season at the Peace Center, sponsored by Gibbs Cancer Center, features Tony Award®-winners, fan favorites, reimagined revivals and the hottest shows straight from New York City.…
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Hauling Up Water
March 26, 2020By Tom Poland The cold water hurt my teeth, and it didn’t come from a cooler. Nor a faucet. There was no faucet. My grandparents cranked a windlass, lowering…
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The Wonder Of Woods And Waters
March 19, 2020By Tom Poland Remembering & Thanking Harry Hampton Fall 1980, a St. Andrews Columbia office park known as Dutch Plaza teems with activity. We’re packing up files, desks, cameras,…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: environmental, life, the-arts
South Carolina ETV reimagines mission-driven partnership with S.C. Department of Education in response to COVID-19
March 17, 2020Network to modify programming three days each week beginning March 24 South Carolina ETV (SCETV) today announced a plan in partnership with the S.C. Department of Education (SCDE) to broadcast…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: education, government, health-care, marketing-and-communications, on-the-move, technology, the-arts
S.C. Arts Awards postponed because of COVID-19 concerns
March 16, 2020Official statement from the South Carolina Arts Commission: COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina Arts Awards scheduled for May 6, 2020 are being postponed until further notice. With the ongoing uncertainty…
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Greenville Theatre cancels remianing performances of A GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER
March 16, 2020Following the recommendation of the Governor and State Health Officials, and in the interest of public health, Greenville Theatre is canceling the remaining performances of A GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO LOVE…
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A Genuine Barber Shop
March 11, 2020By Tom Poland My great uncle cut my hair when I was growing up in Lincolnton, Georgia. That would be Waymon Walker, Granddad’s brother. Walker’s Barbershop of white concrete…
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The Dignity Found In Abandonment
March 4, 2020By Tom Poland As you drive from here to there in a rush, how many times have you turned around to stop at an abandoned store? I do that…
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Artist Minute – Miranda Barnett, Actor
March 2, 2020The Who’s on the Move, UpstateBizSC, Artist Minute is a quick, two-minute interview in support of the undeniable impact that the arts and local artists have on our communities. One…
Read MorePosted in: upstatebizsc Category: podcast, the-arts
Doodling In the Dust
February 27, 2020By Tom Poland Homes perch on rock piers in a forgotten land called Abandonment, but as that old Elton John song goes, they’re still standing. Now modern homes with…
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Curtis R. Harley Art Gallery presents “BURD BRAIN” by Marius Valdes
February 26, 2020Curtis R. Harley Art Gallery, sponsored by the University of South Carolina Upstate, announce s“Burd Brain”, an exhibiton of paintings, garphics and illustrations by Marius Valdes. The exhibition opens on Feb.…
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Remembering A Journalist
February 20, 2020By Tom Poland He didn’t like to fly, but he traveled the world, missing the South always. When he was in some country afar and by chance heard a…
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Camps Show Students Their Future
February 13, 2020By Tom Poland Hands-On Learning, Real Learning, Fun Learning The blue lake, white sands, and green trees of summer camps live on as I recall days at Rock…
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Greenville Center for Creative Arts announces new Executive Director
February 12, 2020Kim Fabian has been named Executive Director of the Greenville Center for Creative Arts (GCCA) following an extensive local and national search. Fabian brings more than 25 years of experience…
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Spartanburg County Parks and Chapman Cultural Center launch the Cleveland Park Walkway Project
February 8, 2020Chapman Cultural Center announces the completion of a new public art project that features a unique walkway mural between Cleveland Park and Berry Field. The walkway mural was a collaborative…
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S.C. Arts Commission announces six recipients of 2020 Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Governor’s Award for the Arts
February 5, 2020South Carolina’s highest award for achievement in the arts is to be presented to six uniquely qualified arts practitioners and supporters announced today by the South Carolina Arts Commission (SCAC).…
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Down South
February 5, 2020By Tom Poland Window To The Past The old window looks out on Highway 25. The view at best is limited. Standing behind the window, you’d peer through iron…
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Mardi Gras Columbia Festival and Parade set for February 22 at City Roots
February 5, 2020The 10th annual Mardi Gras Columbia Festival and Parade will be held on Saturday, February 22, 2020 at City Roots urban farm in Columbia’s Rosewood neighborhood. Hosted by the festival’s…
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Fifth annual African American History Month art exhibition now on display at Greenville Technical College library
February 3, 2020An art exhibition at the Greenville Technical College library, in celebration of African American History Month, is on display through February 29, 2020. The library is located in the Beattie…
Read MorePosted in: upstatebizsc Category: education, on-the-move, the-arts








