Choose Charleston

In my last post about gas prices and what people in Charleston are doing to combat them, I got a comment from a lady about a new website.  The name of the website is LowCountryYardSales.com.  Essentially, this is a page for people to buy and sell personal treasures.  How does this save gas?  You can drive to one location directly and buy what you want rather than driving to 15 and maybe not finding it?  I know most enjoy going from spot to spot but if gas prices are a concern, I would strongly suggest using LowCountryYardSales.com as a place for you to go and look for some bargains! 

It’s here!

The 25th annual Friends of the Library book sale “BookFest 2007” is at the Gaillard Auditorium this weekend. The event kicked off with a catered pre-sale on Thursday and continues through 3 pm on Sunday.

This is the chance to browse through tens of thousands of books donated to support the Charleston County Public Library.

Whether you forgot to pick up the latest thriller when it was on the shelf last summer or are looking for an elusive art catalog, rubbing shoulders with fellow local book lovers at this family-friendly event always makes for a good time.

Award-winning food writer Holly Herrick, perhaps best known locally for her work with The Post & Courier, has long been an advocate for local, seasonal food choices - fresh from the farm fare that only travels a few miles down the road from where it was grown to where it is sold at farmers’ markets.

Those interested in hands-on, close up and personal, instruction in the art of orchestrating showstopper meals from ingredients selected at the Charleston Farmers’ Market on Marion Square can now sign up for small (limited to four students) Saturday morning classes with Holly.

Now only do students get a slow walk through the entire process, from choosing the freshest in-season products to top flight cooking techniques, the class culminates in a savory meal complete with wine pairings.

Information on registration for classes is available online or by calling (843) 720-3109.

Every year the list of required school supplies gets longer and, tax holiday or no, that can bring a lot of hardship to low income families.

Come on, Lowcountry - we like to talk the talk about caring for the children of our community and the importance of education, right? Here’s a small something that those of us who are doing a little better can do to help:

Today, August 2, at 4 p.m. Steve Waters, a.k.a. “Steve the Guy” of the 95SX Two Girls and a Guy morning show, will be at the Summerville Publix on Central Avenue collecting school supply donations for local families in need.

Number 2 pencils are always in season. Notebooks? Needed. Paper towels? Probably so.

If you can imagine it, chances are the kids and teachers need it, and it doesn’t have to be much. Just a little something-something, one starfish tossed back in the sea makes a difference, at least to that one starfish, and all that good stuff.

Besides, drop something off and you get to groove with Steve, easily one of the coolest cats in the Lowcountry. Hey, not only does this guy gets to start every morning with Tanya Brown and Brooke Ryan, but he also puts a smile on the faces of a whole lot of folks who are stuck in the slow ooze of local traffic every weekday morning. He makes us laugh, lightens the load just a wee bit at the very start of the day.

Makes you feel better, makes you wanna do something good for someone else, makes you wanna pay that karma forward.

It’s the big two-double-oh for the City Market, one of the top destinations in town for tourists.

To say that Market Street has a storied past is an understatement.

Longtime Charlestonians recall the days when wandering into the Market was a rather dicey proposition. When the chain supermarkets first hit the area, the former go-to place for fresh food withered and went wild with weeds, so to speak. Lots of flies and buzzards circling in the skies are some of the visuals with which oral historians pepper their tales of those days.

Luckily, King Joe and like-minded preservationists were coming into power back then. The Market did an about face in step with the rest of the slightly North of Broad Street area.

Today, it is vibrant and bustling with activity. Everything from artisan sweetgrass baskets to art prints, kitschy t-shirts, candy, and keepsakes are sold in the Market these days.

Market Street is also a good jumping-off point for just about anything else you might choose to do while touring the peninsula.

Wild Wing Cafe and Tristan are just two of the many eateries on Market Street. Charleston Legends and Lore Ghost Theatre is a short walk down Church Street from the Market. The Shops at Charleston Place are just across Meeting Street, FIG and Jestine’s Kitchen are within walking distance, as is King Street shopping.

From Friday, August 3 to Sunday, August 5, the South Carolina sales tax holiday will help back-to-school shoppers stock up on clothing, calculators, computers, and comforters as well as pens, pencils, printers, and pillows.

Wallets, watches, and World of Warcraft gold will not be eligible, sad to say.

The idea is to help working folks out with paying for the ever-expanding list of must-have supplies that school age ch’urns bring home when they receive their homeroom assignments. Whippersnappers grown high enough to head off to college rack up even more expenses for the ‘rents, best you believe, so the tax free weekend helps there also.

Need a nearly exhaustive list of what may or may not qualify? The good folks at the South Carolina Department of Revenue have been kind enough to post exactly that as well as a sales tax holiday faq.