That Summer Book Sale is an ideal way to stock up on great summer reading for all ages. It kicked off this morning and goes through the weekend. More about that in a minute. This is a great weekend to be in a beach house Charleston. There’s a lot going on, including a relatively new event happening tomorrow. It’s proven to be so popular that tickets sell out fast. VIP tickets are already gone. So if you’re interested, you’d better act fast, as with many ticketed events around the Lowcountry. It’s called RumFest, and is quite the celebration of all things rum. Shiver me timbers! Get set for:
- 15 chefs from some of Charleston’s best restaurants;
- Over 12 different global rum distilleries;
- Plenty of food and beverages involving - you guessed it - rum;
- A pirate costume contest;
- Plenty of “pirate-themed mischief,” including games like Spin the Wench, Shotskis, Knot tying, mermaid magic station, and henna tattoos;
- Puppy photo booth with the Berkeley County Animal Shelter;
- Tickets are $45 each and include unlimited rum tastings and five food tickets;
- Benefits Charleston Chefs Feed the Need, which provides food to local shelters and soup kitchens.
It’ll happen tomorrow - Saturday, June 23rd – from 7:00 till 11:00 p.m. at Memminger Auditorium, 56 Beaufain Street in downtown Charleston. Read all about it and get tickets at the official website.
Fill your satchel with a slew of summer reading material
One of the most popular things to do while staying in a beach house is to a read a book. Sure, there are more high-tech ways to enjoy a novel - kindle, smartphone, iPad, tablets of all sorts - but sand and electronics don’t usually mix very well. When it comes right down to it, it’s hard to beat flipping the paper pages of a really engrossing story while taking in the sunshine and all its good vitamin D… either on the beach or while lounging on the deck. If you’re here this weekend, there’s a great opportunity to stock up your summer reading material - at a great price, and for a great cause. It’s the Charleston County Library’s annual summer book sale. “That Summer Book Sale,” as it’s known, boasts a huge assortment of summer reading and entertainment options - as in, 20,000 titles. Included are fiction and nonfiction, paper and hardback, children’s books, CDs, DVDs and audio books, with prices starting at just $1.00 (and only 50 cents for children’s books). They accept cash, checks or credit cards, and proceeds go toward helping the public library do its good work for the community. The sale takes place at the main, massive library branch downtown. It’s located at 68 Calhoun Street. It’s going on today until 5:30 p.m., tomorrow (Saturday, June 23rd) from 9:00 a.m. till 5:30 p.m., then again on Sunday afternoon from 2:00 till 4:00. There will be special pricing on Sunday, when you can really score some deals. Admission is free. Here’s a link with more info.
Celebrate Carolina Day
June 28th is a big day in South Carolina history… actually, in “American” history, even though the source of the celebration pre-dates the Declaration of Independence by several days. On June 28, 1776, patriots from the Carolinas and Virginia -- even though they were outmanned 10 to one -- turned back the British forces (the Royal Navy and the British Army under Cornwallis) who were trying to take the Fort Sullivan on Sullivan’s Island, and thus Charleston. It was the first time that American colonists decisively defeated the British in their fight for independence. It gave a gigantic boost to the whole push for independence and ended up keeping Britain from gaining a stronghold in South Carolina for another four years. This victory is officially celebrated as CAROLINA DAY. Thursday will mark the 242nd year since this incredibly important battle in our nation’s past. Official commemorations of the holiday began all the way back in 1777. So Carolina Day was one of America’s original holidays, even though many folks (visitors and locals alike) still don’t know all that much about it. Leave it to Carolinians to make United States history even before we were officially a country!
How Carolina Day became a thing
It was June 28th, 1776. Nine British warships were swarming in off the coastline, trying to gain a foothold in the American colonies. But the 2nd South Carolina Regiment under command of Colonel William Moultrie had other ideas. They positioned themselves at Fort Sullivan on Sullivan’s Island, and they didn’t want to give up their precious turf. Though ridiculously outnumbered and outgunned, they battled the Royal Navy and British Army and heroically turned back the assault from ocean, mainland and the Isle of Palms. Moultrie’s victory was the first in the patriots’ fight for independence, and it gave a major boost the idea that these little upstart colonists had a chance against the mighty land of England and their powerful military forces. No wonder Carolina Day became a holiday. Colonel Moultrie became the namesake for the fort on Sullivan’s Island, which is now well known as Fort Moultrie, and later went on to become a two-time governor of South Carolina. Fort Moultrie is now part of the National Park Service, as a unit of Fort Sumter National Monument.
This weekend's commemorations
So this weekend - both Saturday, June 23rd and Sunday the 24th - is the official local celebration, based at Fort Moultrie (1214 Middle Street on Sullivan’s Island). Admission will be free to Fort Moultrie, along with programs of events and activities from 10:00 a.m. till 4:00 p.m. Saturday and 10:00 a.m. till 1:00 p.m. Sunday. Events include reenactments by the 2nd South Carolina regiment, medical demonstrations, demos on weapons, every day camp life and living conditions of the patriot soldiers, and musket drills. Activities are kid friendly and appropriate for all ages.
- Musket demonstrations - 10:00 and 2:00 Saturday, 10:00 Sunday;
- Artillery demonstrations - 11:00 and 3:00 Saturday, 11:00 Sunday.
- Admission is free, as the Park Service will be waiving entrance fees on both days.
- Read more here.
So grab some summer reading material, some rum and celebrate Carolina Day just over Breach Inlet from the Isle of Palms. And begin and end your search for beach homes by calling EP. All best, Lowcountry Lisa your Isle of Palms vacation blogger