by Lilla Folsom

      I don’t know if it’s true, but it seems that the Lowcountry has been hibernating through the record breaking heat of the summer. And now, if our September calendar is any indication, we are ready to come out and enjoy ourselves. Right off the bat, we have the Second Annual Lowcountry Jazz Festival on the 3rd-5th. The major stage will be the N.Chas Performing Arts Center, but plenty of smaller, more personal venues will be scattered throughout the area. More Info http://LowcountryJazz.com

     To help you celebrate the culinary traditions of the area, 50 local restaurants from high end to casual have joined forces for Charleston Restaurant Week. These great dining spots will offer either 3 courses for $20 or 3 courses for $30, September 8-19th. More info at  http://CharlestonRestaurantWeek.com

     Local hotels are teaming up with the 2011 BB&T Wine and Food Festival to create culinary hotel packages. The festival runs March 3-6 and packages will become available on 9/2.More at http://foodandwinepackages.com

    Remember to leave room on your plate for the Taste of Charleston at Boone Hall, October 8-10th, featuring an Iron Chef Competition. Also, these optimists will be trying to assemble the worlds largest snow cone for the Guinness Book of Records. www.CharlestonRestaurantAssociation.com

    Bon Voyage! The Sea Breeze Marina is the venue for a very special celebration on the 2nd. Brad Van Liew and his crew will be taking off for the VELUX 5 Oceans 2010-2011 Race in the La Pingouin, the only US entry in this 30,000 mile epic race. The big send off will feature live music, food, sign-asail and most importantly a chance to see the boat and visit with the crew. www.OceanRacing.org

     If this hot weather has made you thirsty, there’s the 4th Annual Festival of Wine and Beer heading your way on the 5th. Freshfields Village will be the venue and it’s all to aid the Barrier Island Free Medical Clinic. www.FreshfieldsVillage.com    Some folks say that beer and baseball are a match made in heaven. The Charleston River Dogs will test this theory at their 7th Annual Beer Fest on the 25th. www.Riverdogs.com

     Music will be in the air beginning this Labor Day. There’s shaggin’ going on at The Charleston Harbor Resort and Marina on the evening of the 3rd, on the Folly Pier on the 3rd and the 17th and Mt Pleasant Pier on the 11th. On a more serious note, the Chamber Music Charleston is gearing up for a big season. The Mozart in the South Festival kicks off the Fine Arts season with many interludes in locations throughout the area from the 9th-12th.  They will also start their House Concert Series. Building on historic tradition, they will present small concerts at some of the area’s most beautiful homes beginning on the 19th. Check out details at www.charlestonChamberMusic.org

     If you’re looking for a fun musical, the Charleston Stage Company will present Hairspray at the Dock Street Theatre on the 3rd- 19th. www.CharlestonStage.com The Black Crowes will bring their “Say Goodnight to the Bad Boys” 2010 Tour to the Family Circle Cup on the evening of the 10th. The concert will have an hour and a half set of acoustic music followed by an hour and a half of electric. Reggae Nights Summer Concerts continue at James Island and Wannamaker county parks evening of the 18th,

    There’s some fun coming up for our four legged friends. It’s the 2nd Dog Days Afternoon when Wannamaker Park goes to the dogs on the 12th from 12-5. The big pools are open, so if your dog has felt left out this summer, here’s the chance to show a little love. Then, there’s the Paws and Claws Pet Expo at Ladson Park on the 18th hosted by the Post Courier. And not to be missed, Yappy Hour at the James Island County Park Dog Park with live music will be held on the 23rd.

     The Moja Festival will celebrate African and Caribbean culture from the 23rd through October 3rd. Don’t miss Patti La Belle and Boys II Men on the 2nd. www.mojafestival.com

The 34th Annual Preservation Society’s Fall Tour of Homes and Gardens begins on the 23rd and runs throughout October. www.preservationsociety.org

     A single pass will get you in to 13 museums on the Museum Mile on the weekend of the 25th. What a great deal! But if you’d prefer an outdoor history lesson, hop the boat over to Morris Island on the 18th for the Morris Island/ North and South History Tour. www.SandlapperTours.com

     The 3rd Annual Charleston Green Fair will be held at Marion Square on the 26th. www.CharlestonGreenFair.com

     Here’s some good news. Inc Magazine has named five local companies to their fastest growing private company list. In all, 25 companies in the state made the list. Business Facilities Magazine has been giving SC some good business environment rankings lately. We were named #1 for economic growth potential, #3 nationally for auto manufacturing and #4 for the best business climate.

     Did you know that SC actually out ranks Georgia (the Peach State) in the production of peaches? During a normal year, we usually produce about 60,000 tons of the fruit.

     Remember Labor Day, the 6th, is a state and federal holiday and that the Autumnal Equinox is on Thursday, the 23rd at 11:09 pm.

     Looking for some extra excitement around the state? How about the Apple Festival in Westminster the 7-11th/ the SC Tobacco Festival in Lake City the 16th-19th/ the Yemassee Shrimp Festival also on the 16th-19th/ the Lee County Cotton Festival the 17th and 18th and the McCormick Gold Rush Festival and the Lexington Oktoberfest the same days/ the 19th brings the Aynor Harvest Hoe Down/ Don’t miss the Okra Strut in Irmo on the 24th and 25th/ Raylrode Daze Festivul (yes, it’s spelled correctly) will be in Branchville 24th-26th/Ridgeland’s Gopher Hill Fest is slated for the 30th-Oct 2nd. Don’t say there’s nothing to do!

     Here’s a great way to honor the memory of our beloved chef, Brett Maynard. Join the fun! The 2nd Annual Brett Maynard Foundation Fishing Tournament on the 25th will benefit the Foundation’s Trident Tech Scholarship. Based out of the Sunset Marina, Folly Beach

    Tune up at the Folly Pier Fishing Tournament on the 11th. 6am-4pm. Ages 3 and up. www.ccprc.com

   Golf anyone?

 The Wando Band Annual Fund Raising Golf Tournament is at River Towne Country Club course on the 11th

The Rally for the Cure Golf Event will be held at the Stono Ferry Golf Course on the 16th.

The 15th Annual Sea Island Habitat for Humanity Golf Benefit will be held at the Cassique Course on Kiawah Island on the 19th.

 Need to flex those muscles? The Caber Toss at the Scottish Games might be just the thing on the 18th at Boone Hall.

 The 2nd Annual Fit for Families 5K Run/Walk to benefit Hollings Cancer Center will be at Tanger Mall starting at 8:30 on the 18th.

Waves and Wishes, a 5K event will be on the 25th, starting and ending at the Folly Pier to benefit Make a Wish.

Also on the 25th is the Marine Corps Ultimate Challenge Mud Run in Sandy Run, four person teams and a kid’s course.

 On September 19th, the Goodwill Undy 500 Motorcycle Charity Ride will take place. 100% of the proceeds of this event will go towards Operation Stand Down and Operation Independence, two programs aimed at helping homeless veterans. Stand Down is a two day resource event and Independence is a skill training program for jobs.

There’s always something outstanding to do in the Lowcountry, so get out and be a Local!

School is back in session and the crowds at the College of Charleston this morning were something, so was the line of cars heading to Folly. I did see a great bumper sticker, I’d love to have one…it said “Only idiots litter”. Now I dare someone to put the matter more succinctly.

I was at the Framers Market with my friend, Bev, from the Half Moon Cafe days. We loaded up on heirloom tomatoes from Fields Farm, grass fed hot dogs from the Meathouse and beautiful brown eggs from Chucktown Chicken. Then, it was off to the Glass Onion for grilled pimento cheese and tomato sandwiches with iced tea and mint syrup. Then…that was it for me…siesta time. 

      On the whole, we live in a pretty special place.  According to CNN.com, Mount Pleasant is in the Top 100 Best Places to live in the US, coming in at number 100.

     Charleston has made it to the Top Three Best Tennis Towns, the winner will be announced at the US Open.  At stake is a cash prize to add to tennis programs in the area.

     Charleston has moved up from number 18 to number 4 in the Most Vibrant Metro Areas for businesses with 99 employees or less, according to online magazine Portfolio.com. Columbia at #12 is up from 59, Greenville #16 up from 28. To compare, Atlanta dropped from 31 to 60. Kind of puts what’s happening in perspective, huh?

    When looking at the density and growth of the 65+ population, Hilton Head /Beaufort is in the Top Ten of the Retirement sector. I guess Sun City helped that figure along. This was a Portfolio.com statistic also.

     I’m sure you’ve heard by now that Mt Pleasant has scored the Top Ten All American Cities honor. The other nine named are: Chandler, AZ; Lynwood,CA; Rancho Cordova, CA; North Miami, FL; Acworth, GA; Des Moines,IA; Salisbury, MD; Gastonia, NC; and El Paso, Tx.

     Congratulations to all of our fine towns!

It’s heartening to see how many people came out for the various meet and greet events. The evening debate at Fort Johnson auditorium moderated by Warren Peper was packed!

I ran into neighbor Jimmy Dowds who had just finished voting and JoAnne Fosberg (I’ve known her from the bus going to kindergatern all the way to college). She was a poll watcher, checking my creds so I could cast my vote.

Remember…if you don’t vote…you can’t complain.

The Roebling heir, his wife and son, moved to an island outside of Savannah called Modena during the fear following the Charles Lindbergh baby’s kidnapping. I lived in the Modena ferry keeper’s house at Isle of Hope for a few years. And I have seen the photograph of Charles Lindbergh when he landed his airplane on the Charleston City Golf Course in Riverland Terrace.  It’s a small world after all, Walt Disney.

Highlighting this week: Kate Rothra Fleming and her beautiful hand spun glass jewelry. Intricate and in the most wonderful colors!! It’s a must visit.

Then there’s Thackeray Farms from Wadmalaw Island. I couldn’t resist their Fugly Tomato t-shirt. The baskets of peppers and tomatoes win the beauty pick of the week!

It’s hard to believe it’s as hot as it is and we’re only at the beginning of August. But with August comes the inevitable…first day of school. Students can take solace in the fact that some Georgia schools reopened in July.      

     We are scheduled in the Lowcountry to return on the 16th in Dorchester County, the 17th in Berkeley County and on the 18th in Charleston County.

     To help with the burden of purchasing items needed for the school year, we’re having another Tax-Free Weekend.  Beginning at 12:01 am on the 6th and ending at midnight on Sunday, the 8th, clothing, shoes, school supplies, computers and some bed and bath items will be sold without tax. This doesn’t apply if you are using layaway or planning to resell the items.

So here’s to celebrating the last few weeks of summer vacation. Even for those of us not going to school, it’s a vacation from the rush hour traffic.