Charleston

From opera to chamber music and Scottish ballet, this year’s Spoleto Festival USA includes more than 120 performances over 17 days.

Festival General Director Mena Mark Hanna shares about the staggering breadth and uniqueness of the 17-day performing arts festival, touching on a few of the experiences and themes audiences can expect from its 47th season.

George McDaniel served as the Executive Director of Drayton Hall, a mid-18th-century plantation located on the Ashley River near Charleston for more than 25 years. His new book, Drayton Hall Stories: A Place and Its People (2022, Evening Post Books) focuses on this historic site’s recent history, using interviews with descendants (both White and Black), board members, staff, donors, architects, historians, preservationists, tourism leaders, and more to create an engaging picture of this one place.McDaniel talks with Walter Edgar about the never-before-shared family moments, major decisions in preservation and site stewardship, and pioneering efforts to transform a Southern plantation into a site for racial conciliation.

George McDaniel served as the Executive Director of Drayton Hall, a mid-18th-century plantation located on the Ashley River near Charleston for more than 25 years. His new book, Drayton Hall Stories: A Place and Its People (2022, Evening Post Books) focuses on this historic site’s recent history, using interviews with descendants (both White and Black), board members, staff, donors, architects, historians, preservationists, tourism leaders, and more to create an engaging picture of this one place.McDaniel talks with Walter Edgar about the never-before-shared family moments, major decisions in preservation and site stewardship, and pioneering efforts to transform a Southern plantation into a site for racial conciliation.

Founder and Artistic Director Lee Pringle reflects on the growth of the performing arts organization that has platformed Black classical musicians since 2013 and previews the festival’s February concerts being given in Charleston.

Arthur Ravenel, the former congressman and South Carolina lawmaker who helped get the money for the graceful bridge that dominates the Charleston skyline and bears his name, has died at age 95. Ravenel's family announced in a short statement that he died Monday. Ravenel spent six decades in public service, elected to the state Senate, the state House and Congress.

Heating, cooling and humidity issues have forced officials to delay the scheduled January opening of the International African American Museum in Charleston. The Post and Courier quotes spokeswoman Keisha Kirkland as saying that while the museum and city of Charleston have been working with contractors to fix the problems, it's become clear over the past two weeks that they would not be resolved in time for the scheduled Jan. 21 festivities. Museum officials have said previously that environmental fluctuations could damage the art and artifacts planned for the space.

Born with a rare kidney disorder, 19-year-old Mary Ashley Barbot has been wishing for a kidney for as long as she can remember. This Christmas, she got it.

Organizers say the International African American Museum won't open in January as planned because of humidity and temperature issues with the building in Charleston, South Carolina. The museum said in a statement that environmental fluctuations could damage artifacts planned to be on display.

The signs are there: our coastal cities are increasingly susceptible to flooding as the climate changes. Charleston, South Carolina, is no exception, and is one of the American cities most vulnerable to rising sea levels. Lowcountry at High Tide: A History of Flooding, Drainage, and Reclamation in Charleston, South Carolina (USC Press, 2010) is the first book to deal with the topographic evolution of Charleston, its history of flooding from the seventeenth century to the present, and the efforts made to keep its populace high and dry, as well as safe and healthy.Author Christina Rae Butler talks with Walter Edgar about talk about Charleston’s topographic history and the challenges it faces in the 21st century.