The arrival of spring in the Lowcountry means riotous blooms of jasmine, entertaining under the stars and the return of the city’s most prestigious cultural event, The Spoleto Festival USA, a month-spanning series of artistic performances started in 1977 by pulitzer-prize winning composer Gian Carlo Menotti. Nearly two years ago, Charleston-born, San Francisco-based designer Palmer Weiss, who serves on the organization’s board of directors, had the idea of celebrating her hometown and shining a light on the festival, long heralded for its ability to attract artists of all disciplines, by bringing together a legion of top design talent from across the country to participate in the annual occasion first-hand including Mark Sikes, Mary McDonald, Peter Webster, Sheila Bridges, Young Huh, Suysel Cunningham and Anne Foster, Danielle Colding, Jean Liu, Barrie Benson and Elizabeth Georgantas.
With an overflowing agenda that blended elements of both the performing and decorative arts, highlights of the three-day excursion ranged from the premiere of Omar, the highly anticipated opera by Rhiannon Giddens, to a private tour and dinner in the formal garden of The Nathaniel Russell House, one of the country’s most significant neoclassical structures. A champagne brunch at the recently renovated 18th-century home of local decorator Ceara Donnelley was followed by chamber music performed by a string quartet at the Dock Street Theater, America’s first cultural institution of its kind. And because no trip to Charleston is complete without experiencing the work of our own in-house artisans, a visit to the Urban Electric factory plus cocktails at the home of company founders Dave and Jen Dawson.
It was a whirlwind weekend many months in the making, but looking back at the immersive experience that was the catalyst for bringing such an esteemed group of creatives together, one thing is sure: it was well worth the wait. Thank you to all the partners who helped us pull off the week's events, especially: Winslow Hastie and the Historic Charleston Foundation, Mena Mark Hanna and Spoleto Festival USA, Harvest Catering and Sara York Grimshaw.
