Charleston Updates

Lights of Magnolia

Step inside a unique blend of Chinese Culture and Southern hospitality. Lights of Magnolia is a 9 acre experience of larger-than-life Chinese lanterns in the shapes of flowers, animals, traditional Chinese symbols, and more. Stroll through 23 different themed areas and walk away with unforgettable memories.

Good Catch Oysterfest

Celebrate with the South Carolina Aquarium at their annual oyster festival featuring some of Charleston’s best local cuisine and seafood fare. Enjoy savory, sustainably-sourced oysters and small plates from the aquariums Good Catch partners. Beer, wine, and entertainment also provided with purchase of your all-inclusive ticket. Event is 21+.

Southeastern Wildlife Exposition

SEWE is a three-day showcase of everything we love about wildlife and nature. It brings together people of all ages, men and women, sportsmen and conservationists, artists and artisans, fans and families. Through an incredible lineup of events – from fine art exhibits, conservation education, sporting demonstrations and parties, SEWE invites us all to explore our “wild” side and pay tribute to our naturally beautiful world.

Central to Their Lives: Southern Women Artists in the Johnson Collection at Gibbes

Spanning the decades between the late 1890s and early 1960s, Central to Their Lives brings together for the first time the paintings and sculptures of forty-two diverse women artists who made significant contributions to the art of the South. This exhibition examines the challenges female artists faced during a period in which women’s social, cultural, and political roles were being redefined and reinterpreted. Whether working from dedicated studio spaces, in spare rooms at home, or on the world stage, the artists showcased made remarkable impacts by fostering future generations of artists through instruction, incorporating new aesthetics into the fine arts, and challenging the status quo. Organized by the Johnson Collection in Spartanburg, South Carolina, the exhibition includes works by leading figures in the Charleston Renaissance such as Alice Ravenel Huger Smith and Elizabeth O’Neill Verner, as well as Corrie McCallum, Minnie Evans, Anne Goldthwaite, Clementine Hunter, and Augusta Savage. Now on exhibit at Gibbes Museum of Art until May 3, 2020.

Charleston Beer Fest

Calling all Lowcountry craft beer fanatics: Tickets are now on sale for the 2020 Charleston Beer Fest. Don’t miss the awesome live music, beer games and tantalizing food trucks on display at this Memorial Day Weekend event.

Charleston Coffee Fest

The 6th annual Charleston Coffee Fest will celebrate this burgeoning culture on Sunday February 9, 2020 at Lo-Fi Brewing. The event will feature local coffee shops, local and regional roasters from all over, favorite local brunch purveyors, artisans, and kids activities.

A Return to the Grand Tour: Micromosaic Jewels from the Collection of Elizabeth Locke at the Gibbes Museum of Art

Micromosaics arrived at their height of pictorial perfection from the late 18th to the mid 19th centuries. These exquisitely crafted plaques, which contain up to 1,400 delicately shaded tiles of glass per square inch, were sold to travelers on their Grand Tour through Italy. Made into jewelry, boxes, and paper weights and sold as easily carried mementoes, micromosaics passed out of fashion toward the end of the 19th century and are now a lost art. This exhibition features 92 brilliant examples from the private collection of Elizabeth Locke. Now on exhibit at the Gibbes Museum of Art through May 3, 2020.

8th Annual Colour of Music Festival

The Colour of Music Festival announces The eighth annual Colour of Music Festival will be held January 29-February 1, 2020 at three historic Charleston locations showcasing leading black classical artists from France, Britain, Colombia, and the Caribbean. The 2020 winter Chamber Series will feature members of an ‘elite’ Colour of Music Festival Octet and Quintet group of musicians highlighting performances that include Felix Mendelssohn’s Grand Octet and Florence B. Price’s and Johannes Brahms Piano Quintets.

Walking Tour of Post-Civil War Ashley River Side Features of Drayton Hall’s Landscape.

Curator Cameron Moon will lead a tour of the evolution of the Drayton Hall plantation landscape close to the Ashley River, at the back of the main house, on Saturday, February 1, 2020 from 10 am to 12 pm. She will take the group to areas never before interpreted at Drayton Hall to examine how the land was utilized from the colonial period to the 20th century. This walking tour of Drayton Hall is your opportunity to visit and discuss in depth the events and implications of the end of the Civil War on the lives of the enslaved and the Drayton Hall owners at the time.

6th Annual Charleston Jazz Festival

The 6th Annual Charleston Jazz Festival will present performances by a wide variety of talented jazz artists. From legends of jazz to emerging artists, to Charleston’s most celebrated home-grown talent, artists of the Charleston Jazz Festival will perform a wide range of styles including Swing, Salsa, Blues, Brazilian, the American Songbook and more.

Lowcountry Oyster Festival

The Lowcountry Oyster Festival, the world’s largest oyster festival, will be held this Sunday January 26th at Boone Hall Plantation. Highlights of the festival include the legendary “Oyster Shucking” and “Oyster Eating” Contests, live music on the main stage, wine, a selection of domestic and imported beers, a Children’s Area and a “Food Court” showcasing a variety of local favorite restaurants to satisfy everyone’s taste.

Farewell to BricksAlive at South Carolina Aquarium

January will be your last month to see the BricksAlive installation at the S.C. Aquarium. The exhibit features a collection of more than a dozen animal sculptures built from Legos. These incredible sculptures took the exhibit team nearly five months to construct. The final day of the exhibit will be January 28th.

New Year’s Eve at Historic Harbour Club

Come to the Historic Harbour Club for a final New Year’s Eve Blowout. Enjoy three open bars, a lavish menu including Raw Bars, Sushi, Carving Stations, Dessert and much more.

2019 Charleston Christmas Parade

The holiday tradition is better than ever as miles of bands, floats, marchers, and performers parade through downtown Charleston.

2019 Charleston Tree Lighting

Join the holiday jubilee with a musical extravaganza featuring performances from musicians and arts organizations throughout Charleston. The celebration culminates in the lighting of the magnificent 64-foot Holiday Tree of Lights, the official City of Charleston Christmas tree in Marion Square.