|
TODAY'S
FOCUS
Cruises will have ripple
effect on local economy, charities
By ROB HUFFMAN
Vice president of sales, Southeast region, Carnival Cruise Lines
Special to CharlestonCurrents.com
APRIL
19, 2010 -- When the Carnival Fantasy launches Charleston's first
year-round cruise schedule of five-, six- and seven-day Bahamas/Key
West voyages May 18, it will not only provide a convenient, high-quality,
affordable vacation option for thousands of Southeastern U.S. residents,
but will also make a significant impact on the local economy.
Huffman |
According
to the most recent study commissioned by the Cruise Lines International
Association, comprised of the top North American cruise operators,
the cruise industry accounted for $78 million in direct purchases
and nearly 1,600 jobs throughout South Carolina. Those numbers are
expected to increase with the 62 annual departures from Charleston
aboard the Carnival Fantasy, which is expected to carry some 140,000
passengers a year from the port.
In
addition to paying various port-related taxes and fees, Carnival
and its guests will contribute to the local economy by utilizing
the services of a variety of Charleston-area businesses and services,
including harbor pilots, stevedores, taxi drivers and embarkation
personnel, as well as a number of local vendors and suppliers. Guests
sailing aboard the Carnival Fantasy will also visit local restaurants,
stores and attractions. Additionally, many guests will opt to extend
their vacation in Charleston with pre- and post-cruise land stays,
further enhancing the economic benefit to the region.
Carnival
Fantasy also employs 920 crew members, who, according to a report
by the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association, on average each spend
approximately $75 per day in a ship's homeport on various goods
and services.
Carnival
Cruise Lines' Fantasy will offer 62 cruises out of Charleston
each year, beginning next month. The ship has ten decks, 1,026
staterooms and a passenger capacity of 2,056. (Photo provided
by Carnival Cruises) |
Carnival
Fantasy's new year-round schedule from Charleston dramatically expands
upon the line's decade-long relationship with the port. Carnival
has operated seasonal voyages from Charleston for a number of years,
including two five-day departures on the Carnival Triumph last year
and two on the Carnival Glory this year.
On
the Carnival Fantasy's new year-round program from Charleston, five-day
voyages will call at Nassau and Freeport; six-day voyages will visit
Freeport, Nassau and Key West; and seven-day voyages will feature
Grand Turk, the private Bahamian island of Half Moon Cay, and Nassau.
Voyages will depart from Charleston's historic downtown Passenger
Terminal, providing Carnival Fantasy guests an opportunity to experience
and explore all that this wonderful and charming city has to offer.
A
wide range of factors contributed to Carnival's decision to add
Charleston as its newest year-round homeport. Not only does Charleston's
centralized location provide Southeastern U.S. residents with an
easy and convenient means for getting to and from their cruise,
but the city is also a top tourist destination, offering guests
an attractive option for vacationing in the region before or after
their cruise. Cruising can also have a ripple effect on tourism,
as guests often return to the destination once they visit it for
the first time on a cruise.
Like
its other homeports, Carnival plans on being an active member of
the Charleston community. In fact, the line was involved with the
popular Cooper River Bridge Run, sponsoring a huge 40-foot-high
slide for the enjoyment of both spectators and participants. Carnival
pledged $1 per rider to Charleston's MUSC Children's Hospital and
will make a total donation of $5,000.
Carnival
also teamed up with its travel agent partners on a canned food drive
benefiting the Lowcountry Food Bank and participated in the BB&T
Charleston Wine + Food Festival, during which the line sold cookbooks
with proceeds benefiting Louie's Kids, a Charleston-based organization
that raises funds to treat childhood obesity.
Carnival
Cruise Lines is very pleased to launch year-round cruising from
Charleston and looks forward to becoming an even larger part of
the local community.
For
more information on Carnival Cruises out of Charleston, go
to this Web page.
CURRENTS
Weekend
provided "Great Time for Fun!"
By
ANDY BRACK, publisher
APRIL
19, 2010 - It was a Dr. Seuss weekend - a pair of pleasant, temperate
days in which one gazed amazed at a dozen things to do. Instead
"Great Day for Up!" by Seuss, we marveled as the weekend
kept outdoing itself as a "Great Time for Fun!"
Brack |
Thousands
saw the Navy's Blue Angels perform pinpoint maneuvers around Charleston
harbor. From Thursday through Sunday, the roar of F/A-18 Hornets
dipping, diving, soaring and swooping thrilled young and old alike.
More than one time, we heard, "You'd never catch me doing that"
from an onlooker with stars of admiration in his eyes.
Almost
100,000 people attended the weeklong events for the Family Circle
Tennis Cup. Fun was had by all at the World Grits Festival in St.
George and at the Earth Day Festival in North Charleston. The list
of things to do amidst low-humidity spring days continued - a Civil
War battle to be reenacted, a loggerhead turtle to be released,
markets to be shopped, kayaks to be piloted.
The
main branch of the Charleston County Public Library featured Flowerfest,
a day celebrating gardens for children and adults. A couple of pairs
of young sisters listened to a story about a man who painted flowers,
followed by a talk about butterflies and bugs by Dwight Williams,
director of Cypress Gardens. (The two-foot plastic model of a cockroach
didn't go over too well, but the girls listened and probably will
always be able to name a cockroach's parts.)
Pineapple sage |
Outside
around home, people mowed and spruced up yards. We planted a bevy
of flowering plants, herbs and vegetables, including tomatoes, peppers,
beans, squash, basil, thyme and sage. We're real curious about "pineapple
sage," which is said to smell like the fruit and have red flowers.
The
clear weather, thankfully free of annoying pollen, found kids celebrating
birthdays, as in one party in Summerville where children frolicked
with baby dolls and soccer balls. They thoroughly enjoyed the out
of doors, which may not be the case in a few short weeks when humidity
attacks.
Overall,
Dr. Seuss would have been proud of all that went on throughout the
Lowcountry this weekend. Yes, indeed, it was a Great Time For Fun,
time for sun and time to run. It was a great time for young and
old, a great time for warm without the cold.
Andy
Brack is publisher of CharlestonCurrents. He can be reached at publisher@charlestoncurrents.com.
FEEDBACK
Send us
your thoughts
SPOTLIGHT
BB&T
The
public spiritedness of our underwriters allows us to bring CharlestonCurrents
to you at no cost. This issue's featured underwriter BB&T,
a regional bank that has built on a tradition of excellence in community
banking since 1872. BB&T is a mission-driven organization with
a clearly defined set of business principals and values. It encourages
employees to have a strong sense of purpose, a high level of self-esteem
and the capacity to think clearly and logically. BB&T offers
clients a complete range of financial services including banking,
lending, insurance, trust and wealth management solutions. To learn
more, visit BB&T
online or drop in to talk with its professionals at the main
branch office at 151 Meeting Street, Charleston. Phone: (843)720-5168.
GOOD
NEWS
Chamber
to offer workshop on recruiting, retention in downturn
Recruiting
and retention strategies in economically challenging times will
be the focus of an April 28 workshop offered by the Charleston Metro
Chamber of Commerce. The program will be held from noon to 4 p.m.
at the chamber offices, 4500 Leeds Ave., North Charleston.
Industry
experts and human-resources professionals will be discuss new legislation,
employment law, and general strategies for hiring and retaining
employees. Presenters include legal experts as well as officials
from the city of North Charleston, Santee Cooper and East Cooper
Medical Center.
The cost for the workshop is $55 for chamber members, $95 for nonmembers,
and lunch is included. For more information or to register, go to
http://www.charlestonchamber.net/orgcalendar.
Gibbes
party will 'Take it to the Street' to kick off exhibit
The
Gibbes Museum of Art will celebrate its newest exhibit, "Modern
Masters from the Ferguson Collection," by throwing a preview
party that will literally close down Meeting Street. The "Take
it to the Street" party will run from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
April 29 in front of the Gibbes, with the Beaux Arts façade
of the museum serving as a backdrop.
The
inspiration for the party is the monumental art installations of
Christo, who spoke at a Gibbes program earlier this month.
Party
guests will enjoy live entertainment, an open bar, and creative
"street food" crafted by the chefs from some of Charleston's
most celebrated restaurants, including Caviar and Bananas, Charleston
Grill, FIG, McCrady's, Palmetto Café, Slightly North of Broad,
Trattoria Lucca, Voysey's and the Tides of Kiawah Island Club. Tickets
are $75 for museum members, $100 for nonmembers, and are available
online at http://www.gibbesmuseum.org/events.
"Modern
Masters from the Ferguson Collection" opens in the Main Gallery
at the museum, 135 Meeting St., on April 30 and runs through Aug.
22. Selected from the private collection of local art enthusiasts
Esther and James Ferguson, this exhibition includes paintings, sculpture,
and works on paper by significant 20th-century artists such as Pablo
Picasso, Willem de Kooning, Robert Rauschenberg, and Christo. Cubism,
abstract expressionism, and pop art are among the many movements
represented by the exhibit.
Spoleto box
office opens today; no handling fees for tickets
Spoleto
Festival USA begins in a little over a month, and today is the opening
day for the festival box office at Gaillard Auditorium. The box
office lets patrons save a little cash on handling fees, because
no handing fees are charged when tickets are bought in person. The
annual arts festival runs from May 28 through June 13.
Box
office hours will be 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday from
today until May 26; from May 27 through June 12, box office hours
will be 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. ON the final day of the festival, June
13, box office hours will be 9 a.m. until 2 p.m.
To see the calendar for this year's festival, go to http://www.spoletousa.org.
Firefly
to offer cash for original songs to pair with its beverages
Wadmalaw
Island-based Firefly Vodka will give $1,000 to each of six undiscovered
musicians in the distillery's new "Flavor the Music" contest.
To qualify, musicians must upload
their original song here under one of six musical genre categories.
April 23 is the deadline to enter.
The
original songs should embody the Firefly brands and flavors as follows:
Sweet Tea Original Vodka, folk/country; Sweet Tea Bourbon, rock/blues;
Peach Tea, pop; Lemon Tea, jazz; Mint Tea, Latin/reggae; and Raspberry
Tea, hip-hop/R&B.
The
entries will be narrowed down to a few finalists in each category.
Online votes will be tabulated from April 30 through May 28. Voters
and musicians must be 21 or older.
RECOMMENDED
Send
us your reviews
HAVE
A REVIEW?
If you have a review or recommendation of a book, movie, restaurant
or local arts endeavor, please send no more than 150 words to
editor Ann Thrash.
Make sure to include your name and full contact information.
SC
ENCYCLOPEDIA
"New
Southern Cooking"
"New
Southern Cooking" is a culinary trend that developed during
the final three decades of the twentieth century in the American
South, and it continued to evolve in the early twenty-first century.
For the first time since the South became impoverished in the aftermath
of the Civil War, a new affluence provided the climate to experiment
with new foods or prepare traditional fare in new ways. An example
is grits, a breakfast food cooked for centuries with water, being
cooked instead with liquid substitutes such as milk, cream, or broth
and served as a delicious part of any meal.
 |
When
Jimmy Carter of Georgia was elected president in 1976, Southern
cuisine came to the forefront. Peanuts, tomatoes, pimentos, hot
and sweet multicolored peppers, grits, pecans, rice, greens, corn,
chicken, pork, pepper jelly, turnips, shrimp, grouper, flounder,
catfish, and other standbys of rural life were combined with newly
available foods such as zucchini and Cornish hens. Fresh herbs,
widely used in antebellum plantation cooking, reappeared, along
with other antebellum foods. There was a move away from frying to
techniques considered more healthy and easier for the busy cook.
The result keeps and enhances the flavors and mood of traditional
southern cooking-less formal, family oriented, flavorful-and yet
encompasses the new.
Southern
Living Magazine, community cookbooks, and local newspaper food editors
such as Lillian Marshall of the Louisville Courier-Journal
and Anne Byrne of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution used recipes
from locals and professionals that reflected both the changing foods
available in the South and the new uses of traditional southern
ingredients. The result set a direction for a broadly rich cuisine
that is considered unique in America, documented in Nathalie Dupree's
1986 book New Southern Cooking, which coined the term. South
Carolina ETV joined in airing the fifty-two-part weekly public television
series of the same name, and the concept of "New Southern Cooking"
became accepted and expanded by chefs and home cooks in South Carolina.
Lowcountry
cuisine in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries has
added new dimensions to southern cuisine and continues to amplify
"New Southern Cooking" in an unprecedented way. R.W. Apple,
Jr., writing in The New York Times, credited Louis Osteen
as the leader of the South Carolina restaurateurs practicing "New
Southern Cooking." Other creative chefs of the era include
Philip Bardin in Edisto and Donald Barickman and Frank Lee, both
in Charleston. Cookbooks and articles using the term have now been
published.
--
Excerpted from the entry by Nathalie Dupree. To
read more about this or 2,000 other entries about South Carolina,
check out The
South Carolina Encyclopedia by USC Press. (Information used
by permission.)
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THE
LIST
Five really
bad guys
Kyle Barnette (left) and Jan Gilbert in the Charleston Stage
production of "Cabaret." (Photo courtesy of Charleston
Stage) |
Kyle Barnette,
the administrative director of the Charleston Ballet Theatre, is
an actor who's played a number of roles in local productions over
the years.
When he told
Charleston Currents that he particularly relished playing
bad guys, we asked him to share his five favorite villains of the
stage.
You can catch
Kyle currently in Charleston Stage's "Cabaret," playing
Ernst Ludwig; Kyle describes him as "the charming friend of
the lead character who basically tricks him into becoming a courier
for the Nazi party without ever revealing his own political persuasions
until it is too late" (click
here for tickets).
1) Iago from "Othello" -- "Iago is the prototypical
villain. He is driven by ambition, totally ruthless, and even though
he does not reach his intended goal, he makes certain those who
kept him from it are duly punished. Charming, loyal and totally
devious, Iago doesn't miss a beat."
2) Applegate
(the devil) from "Damn Yankees" -- "How often
does Satan get a funny, memorable, and hummable solo reminiscing
on the past years when people were so much easier to seduce into
doing his evil bidding. Applegate does just that with his song 'Those
Were the Good Ole Days.' A rare, hilarious and deliciously dark
comic musical theatre role."
3) Antonio
Salieri from "Amadeus" -- "This one is a doozy
because his commitment to his villainous ways is so devout, he basically
spends his entire lifetime living in the shadow of Amadeus and trying
to find ways to destroy him, only to fail miserably over and over
and over. Tragic, pathetic and incredibly exciting a role to play.
He makes Amadeus look like a total bore in comparison."
4) Edmund
from "King Lear" -- "This guy basically had no
choice but to be a villain from the day he was born. The bastard
son of the proud King Lear, he is reminded of that moniker ever
time his father introduces him to anyone. Motivated by his abuse
and driven by his ruthless ambition, he is such a marvel of a character
that even though he is pure evil you can't help but sympathize with
him just a bit."
5) Marquis
de Sade in "Quills" -- "This is a role I have
played before that many may not think of as a villain. But if you
really think about it, he basically is a complete lunatic who uses
his writings to incite readers into fulfilling their own murderous
and carnal desires. Yet at the same time he is charmingly hilarious,
incredibly intelligent and basically an early symbol of freedom
of speech. Contradictory, ambiguous, and totally manipulative --
really the perfect sort of villain in my opinion."
QUOTE
On
gardening
"Who has
learned to garden who did not at the same time learn to be patient?"
-- H.L.V.
Fletcher, British novelist (1902-1974)
CALENDAR:
THIS WEEK
Dropout
Prevention Benefit Lunch: 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 21,
High Cotton, 199 East Bay St., downtown. Lunch event will offer
local business professionals a way to honor employees on Administrative
Professionals' Day while supporting Communities In Schools, which
will get 100 percent of the proceeds. CIS is a nonprofit dropout
prevention agency. Cost: $25 per person plus tax and gratuity. Reservations
(required): 724-3815. To see the menu, go
here.
Sustainable
Seafood Dinner: 6:30 p.m. April 22, Sea Island Grill,
Wild Dunes Resort. Five-course wine dinner to promote the South
Carolina Aquarium's Sustainable Seafood Initiative. Menu includes
local shrimp ceviche; seared sea scallops; tempura soft shell crab;
pan-seared Pacific halibut; black pepper-peach sorbet. Cost: $60
per person (not including tax and gratuity); 10 percent of the total
will go to the Sustainable Seafood Initiative. Reservations (required
by April 20): 886-2214.
Festival
of Choirs: April 22 to April 25, various venues. The
Second Annual Charleston International Festival of Choirs will showcase
nine local and national choral groups performing in historic Charleston
in addition to opportunities for master classes and choral clinics
with renowned guest conductor and festival director Dr. Andre Thomas.
More
info/detailed schedule.
Tricounty
Youth Service Day: 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. April 24,
various locations. The event is part of Global Youth Service Day,
a worldwide event engaging millions of children and youth in more
than 115 countries to address unmet needs in their communities.
Locally, more than 600 youths are expected to take part in service
projects such as neighborhood beautification, school cleanups, senior
services and environmental issues. A celebration rally will be held
to wrap up the event from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at North Charleston
High School. More
info.
CALENDAR:
ONGOING AND SOON
(NEW)
Osteoporosis
Screenings: 9:30 a.m. to noon April 26, East Cooper Medical
Center, 2000 Hospital Drive, Mount Pleasant. Osteoporosis affects
55 percent of those 50 and older; women are more likely than men
to develop the disease, but men can also be risk. Screenings are
free, but those interested should schedule an appointment by calling
884-7031.
(NEW)
Hearing on Drainage: 6:30 p.m. April 27, Council Chambers,
Lonnie Hamilton III Public Services Building, 4045 Bridge View Drive,
North Charleston. Charleston County Council will hold a public hearing
to encourage citizen comments on drainage concerns in the unincorporated
portions of the county. Those wishing to make comments during the
meeting should list their name on a sign-up sheet that will be available
beginning at 6 p.m. at the meeting location. More info: Charleston
County Clerk of Council's Office, 958-4030, or online.
Flower Workshops: 6 p.m. April 27 and 6 p.m. April
29, Stems, 208 Coming St., downtown. The Charleston Museum and
Stems are offering flower workshops for those planning a wedding
or anyone who wants to learn how to arrange flowers at home. The
April 27 class is Centerpieces 101 (choosing sizes and shapes for
different settings, as well as materials, colors, containers; students
will make an arrangement in floral foam to take home); cost is $100
museum members, $110 nonmembers. The April 29 class is Hand-tied
Bouquets (bouquet shapes, spiral work and practice in executing
arrangements). Cost is $80 members, $90 nonmembers for a wrapped
arrangement; add $15 for a hand-tied bouquet in a vase. Materials
and refreshments provided. Advance reservations (required): Online
or 722-2996, ext. 235.
(NEW)
Chefs' Pot Luck: 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. May 2, Middleton
Place, 4300 Ashley River Road. Third annual celebration will feature
food from some of Charleston's top chefs preparing dishes using
local ingredients from area farmers and fishermen. Restaurants include
Alluette's Café, Blossoms, BBQ Joint, Clammer Dave's Sustainable
Seafood, Closed for Business, Coast Bar and Grill, Cru Café,
Cypress, Duvall Events and Catering, Fish, Glass Onion, Maverick
Southern Kitchens and Middleton Place. Live music from Elise Testone
and Friends, beer from Coast and Palmetto breweries, wine, ice cream,
handmade chocolates, silent auction and a farmer's market tent as
well. Sponsored by Lowcountry Local First. Tickets: $45 LLF members,
$50 nonmembers; available
online here.
FOCUS
ARCHIVES
7/1:
Shaffer:
Picky Eaters Group
6/28: Bender:
Fishy Fourth
6/24: Belden:
Society 1858
6/21: Stevenson:
Summer reading
6/17: Handel:
On Jim Fisher
6/14: Reeves:
Summer dress
6/10:Martin:
Garden tips
6/7: Dubrofsky:
Green homes
6/3: McCutcheon:
Young pros
5/31: McFaddlin:
Health benefits
5/27: Ledbetter:
Senior riders
5/24: Myers:
Microloan's impact
5/20: Gadson:
Rural Mission's needs
5/17: Bender:
Bocce bashing
5/13: DeMarco:
Homeless help
5/10: Spencer:
Ending violence
5/6: Westmeyer:
Fish to buy
5/3: Maas:
Spoleto tips
THRASH
ARCHIVES
7/1:
Lots
to do on 4th
6/24: Ways
to nab skeeters
6/17: Dump
the Pump, more
6/10: Lots
to do locally
6/3: Dancin'
for dollars
5/27: Locals'
15 minutes
5/20: Strawberry
season
5/13: New
for foodies
5/6: Poll
managing
4/29: Adopt
a Duck
4/22: Indelible
ink
4/15: Grab-bag
of items
4/1: In
jingle semifinals
3/25: Blues
and birds
3/18: Recalling
"The Charleston"
3/11: East
Cooper hospital
3/4: Green
mowers
2/25: Get
outdoors
2/18: Local
guide book for kids
2/11: Reviewing
Jenny's book
2/4: MSNBC
looks at success
1/21: Tell
Mt. Pleasant
1/14: Winter
plant tips
1/7: New
books
BRACK
ARCHIVES
6/28:
Impatient
electorate
6/21: Haley's
thin record
6/14: Daddy-daughter
trip
6/7: Gulf
spill report
5/31: New
SC poll flummoxes
5/24: BBQ
should be state meat
5/17: Advice
to new grads
5/10: Bad
Spoleto poster
5/3: First
District candidates
4/26: Don't
veto cigarette tax
4/19: Great
weekend of fun
4/12: Remembering
Civil War
4/6: Be
counted in Census
3/29: SC
economy is recovering
3/22: Meeting
Turkish neighbors
3/15: Clyburn
whips up support
3/8: The
Wreck rec
3/1: Cut
all of the cuts
2/22: A
look at summer camps
2/15: School
district Einsteins
2/8: About
mules
2/1: Bauer
should get out
1/28: Gibbs
at White House
1/25: Friend's
new show
1/18: Rockwell
painting
1/11: Palmetto
Priorities
1/4/10: Piggly
Wiggly visit
BUSINESS
INDIGO
4/1:
Encouraging
biz signs
3/18: Biz
fair, CED venture
3/4: Lowcountry
tech hub
2/4: Advice
on working with Boeing
1/21: Co-working
group
1/7: Free
library text questions
LIST
ARCHIVES
7/1:
Keeping
cool
6/28: LinkedIn
tips
6/24: Be
an Angel
6/21: CFW
finances
6/17: Pirate
facts
6/14: Gadsden
Flag
6/10: Butterfly
tips
6/7: 1773
awards
6/3: Good
reads
5/31: 5
Southern artists
5/27: Local
jazz legends
5/24: Piccolo
for kids
5/20: Pats
on back
5/17: Tea
tips
5/13: PeaceLoveHipHop
5/10: Myth
detector
5/6: Cooking
with Mom
5/3: Turtle
tales
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