Choose Charleston

The play’s the thing this time of year in Charleston.

Music, theatre, dance, and comedy performances are happening all over the peninsula proper as well as in several areas outside the city.

Spoleto Festival USA dates back to 1977 and is recognized as a major world arts festival featuring opera, chamber and choral music, and ballet from the finest artists.

Piccolo Spoleto, founded in 1979 by the City of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs, runs alongside Spoleto as an outreach arm, embracing local and regional performers.

Between Spoleto and Piccolo Spoleto, there are literally shows for everyone. Visual art, poetry, song and dance in the park; the list is exhausting. There are even some free shows if ticket price is an issue.

I’ve been reviewing several shows for Charleston City Paper as well as catching a few just for myself. It can be a bit of whirlwind downtown during the festival, traffic tied up in knots (especially with today’s rain) and everybody moving between venues, but it’s worth it.

Why fuss over some dark, blustery skies or the slow molasses ooze of commuting  while there’s fun to be had? Like Johnny Mercer wrote, “…ac-cent-tch-uate the positive.”

You have the whole rest of the year to worry over the negative, right?