It’s January, which means that tickets for this year’s Spoleto Festival are finally available for purchase. Spoleto Festival USA is one of the preeminent arts festivals in the country (and arguably the world). It draws people from all around the globe to Charleston. This year is the 44th annual installment, and all manner of performance art and art of all kinds will take over the Holy City. Genres and categories of Spoleto Festival performances abound. They include opera, musical theater, theater, cabaret, dance, physical theater, music, the Wells Fargo Jazz series, First Citizens Bank Front Row, artist talks, the visual arts and special events. This year’s Spoleto Festival USA 2020 runs from Friday, May 22nd through Sunday, June 7th. Tickets officially went on sale Wednesday, January 15th, both through the official festival website and by phone at (843) 579-3100. It looks to be quite an exciting lineup this year. Headlining events include the world premiere of Grammy award winner Rhiannon Giddens' opera, “Omar,” “Romantics Anonymous,” “Until the Flood,” “Machine de Cirque,” the Scottish Ballet performing “The Crucible,” Ballet Flamenco Sara Baras, “The Planets” performed by the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, the Steep Canyon Rangers, and much more. You can see the entire performance schedule on the website. Or if you’d rather, you can click through a digital version of the printed brochure which they normally snail mail out. The in-person box office will open at the Gaillard Center, at 95 Calhoun Street, on Friday, May 1st. But honestly, if you really want tickets, your best bet is to buy them online or by phone as soon as possible. Many of these productions will sell out fast.
Spoleto Festival venues, plus private garden tours...
Venues are scattered all across the downtown peninsula. They include such beloved sites as the Dock Street Theatre, Gaillard Center, Gibbes Museum of Art, Sottile Theatre, City Hall, Charleston Library Society, Cistern Yard of the College of Charleston, Woolfe Street Playhouse, and St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church. And don’t forget the gardens. A trip to Charleston isn’t complete without touring through some of its famous gardens. The Charleston Horticultural Society and The Garden Conservancy have teamed up with the Spoleto Festival. They're offering self-guided tours of 16 different private gardens on the historic peninsula. It’s called Behind the Garden Gate, and here is how they describe it: “Walls of entwined ivy, dazzling blooms, and sun-dappled fern fronds abound in Charleston’s botanical sanctuaries. For the eighth year, Spoleto Festival USA collaborates with the Charleston Horticultural Society and The Garden Conservancy to open the Holy City’s garden gates for self-guided tours. Each Saturday tour features eight different private gardens, promising two full days of exploration and beauty in these artfully cultivated spaces.” Of course a Charleston beach house makes the perfect home base for a festival experience. Late May/early June is a very popular time around these parts. Not only do you have Spoleto and Piccolo going on, but you’re also entering the height of wedding season. After all, Charleston is one of the top marriage destinations in the country. So check out the Spoleto schedule and get those tickets while you can. And when you are searching for the perfect place to stay, be sure to call EP. Not unlike the Spoleto Festival, our portfolio of luxury beach homes is world-class. All best, Lowcountry Lisa your Isle of Palms vacation blogger