French Quarter District

A Gift from the City of Charleston: Free Parking for the 2011 Holiday Season!

From Black Friday through New Year's, park in City Garages downtown for two hours free! Click here to download 2011 Holiday Magic in Downtown Charleston Parking Voucher, print as many as you like and bring them with you each time you come downtown for shopping, dining and holiday fun. There's more! Many merchants offer parking stamps with your purchase or service:

Bits of Lace | Bob Ellis Shoes | Brooks Brothers | Caviar & Bananas | Christophe Chocolatier | Croghan's Jewel Box | Hampden Clothing | Lacoste | Phillips Shoes | Roberto Coin | Sugar Snap Pea | Sweet 185 and more.

Butterfly Women's Consignment Boutique and Cos Bar have onsite free parking for their customers.

Here's another parking tip: if you're visiting the Upper King Design District for evening shopping and dining, the Visitors Center Garage is just $2 for the whole evening after 5:00 PM. You'll also find valet parking at John and King, Radcliffe and King, Broad Street and East Bay and Cumberland Street just east of East Bay. 

You can ride the Carta DASH Trolleys all around downtown for free. It's just too easy to enjoy beautiful downtown Charleston this holiday season. Join us for the best shopping, the best dining, the best salons and spas, and Charleston WreathFest!

Prepare to Be Dazzled at Paulo Geiss Jewelers' Unveiling of Forevermark Diamonds

 Paulo Geiss Jewelers cordially invites you to be dazzled on Saturday, November 26th from 10AM-5PM. Join them as they unveil Forevermark™, the world's most carefully selected diamonds, and the incredible journey through which these beautiful diamonds are brought to life. Preview gorgeous diamond designs in bridal, fashion and red carpet collections from A. Link diamonds for Forevermark. Champagne and light hors d’oeuvres will be served at this event. Kindly RSVP to Sharon Boudreau by calling 843.577.4497 or by  e-mailing sharon@geissjewelers.com.

 Paulo Geiss Jewelers I 116 East Bay Street I Charleston, SC 

Introducing Charleston WreathFest!

CHARLESTON, SC --- The Charleston Peninsula Preservation Trust (CPPT) announced Charleston WreathFest, a community business development project to make downtown attractive and festive for holiday shoppers and visitors. Businesses will hang live wreaths on their doors or windows during the season in an expression of holiday hospitality and welcome. This project is coordinated by the CPPT and Thackeray Farms, a locally-owned small farm on Wadmalaw Island.

Thackeray Farms will offer special pricing and free Wednesday delivery on Holiday Wreaths and other greenery to any Charleston peninsula business from November 23 through December 21.

 

The Fraser Fir wreaths, available in three sizes, match the wreaths the City of Charleston will install on lamp posts throughout the downtown area. The wreaths arrive unadorned so each business can apply their personal touch, whether it's a red bow, holiday decor, or something totally individual and creative.

 

There will be a wreath design contest where the most imaginative, beautiful and spirited entries will receive media attention and can win valuable prizes including advertising, sidewalk and window cleaning, gift certificates and meals at local restaurants.

 

The Wreath Order Form, contest information and additional greenery can be found at www.charlestonwreathfest.com.

 

Judges for the wreath contest include David Harrison, Interior Design Department Chair, The Art Institute of Charleston; Artist Carolyn Epperly, President of the South Carolina Watermedia Society and owner of Lowcountry Artists Gallery; Rosanna Giacalone Krekel, Regional Director of the Fashion Group International of Charleston; Melissa Bigner, Editor of Charleston Weddings Magazine and author of Southern Bouquets, Olivia Pool, Publisher of Art Mag Charleston, and other members of Charleston's art and media communities.

Redux Presents the 9th Annual Art Auction Fundraiser

 Redux Contemporary Art Center is excited to announce its ninth annual art auction fundraiser! Join them on Saturday, November 19th from 6:30 pm until 10:00 pm in the Mark Clark Hall Auditorium at The Citadel to celebrate nine years of promoting the production, presentation and education of contemporary visual art. Over 50 original works by Charleston's finest artists and dozens of art related goods and services will be available for bidding during this exciting live and silent auction.

This year's auction will be the biggest and best one yet! Guests will enjoy festive food and fun drinks as they peruse the diverse work available for bid. Bidding will then start promptly at 8PM. The exceptional quality and variety of work featured in this auction ensure that there is something for everyone. This is also a great opportunity to find the perfect gift to complete your holiday shopping!

Join the City Gallery This Weekend for a Special Lecture by Carolyn Epperly

Join the City Gallery at Waterfront Park this Sunday, November 13th from 4:30-5PM for a lecture by SC Watermedia Society Artist, Carolyn Epperly.

After teaching art on Prince Island, Canada for two years, Carolyn visited Charleston and fell in love with its beauty. Upon moving to Charleston, she taught Latin at a private school and took a watercolor class from Virginia Fouche Bolton. Watercolor became Carolyn's passion. She married a Charleston native and upon having her daughters, painting became a second career. Carolyn has studied watercolor and oil painting under nationally known artists such as Glenn Bradshaw, Katherine Chang Liu, and Ralph Smith.

She earned signature status in the National Watercolor Society, Watercolor USA Honor Society, and the South Carolina Watermedia Society. Carolyn now serves as the President of the South Carolina Watermedia Society.

These lectures are free and open to the public so drop by the City Gallery at 34 Prioleau Street to hear from watercolor artist Caroyln Epperly. 

In Memoriam: Jack Arthur McCray (1948-2011)

Charleston has lost both a jazz legend and a friend with the passing of Jack Arthur McCray. Below, Charleston Magazine shares their sentiments in regards to McCray's passing:

"Jack made innumerable contributions to the city, among them his book Charleston Jazz (Arcadia, 2007) and his cofounding of the Charleston Jazz Initiative, Jazz Artists of Charleston, and Charleston Jazz Orchestra. The epitome of cool, the model of kindness, he shared his expansive knowledge of and infectious love for the genre with anyone who’d listen. I remember him speaking to my son’s Buist Academy class (the very school where Jack first learned to play trumpet) about the incorporation of jazz in their summer reading book, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. Jack talked with these then-seventh graders about jazz as music, but more importantly as a way of life—interacting, improvising, improving, and taking leaps of faith. In everything he did, Jack had a special way of imparting knowledge without making it feel like a lesson. 

For me, this gorgeous day is not feeling particularly “jazzy” knowing I won’t catch Jack cruising down King Street, heading to a show. But I am heartened by the fact that through his great works, Charleston jazz and his spirit will live on. Rest in peace, friend."

Source: Charleston Magazine- "In Memoriam: Jack Arthur McCray (1948-2011)"

THUNDER AND LIGHTNING 48x48 Acrylic on Canvas Painting by Denise Athanas

Artist Denise Athanas does it again with another eye-captivating painting entitled "Thunder and Lightning". This work of art beautifully captures the artist's signature bold brush strokes,  sharp lines, smooth curves and bright colors. Stop by the  Lowcountry Artists Gallery at 148 East Bay Street in downtown Charleston to admire Denise Athanas's works as well as other featured artists.