Hello and welcome to the beautiful month of May, which is Military Appreciation Month! Time to head outside and enjoy the mild spring weather before the heat of summer sets in! This month is brimming with all sorts of events that are perfect for soaking in the sun and enjoying time with friends and family, including the Lowcountry Strawberry Festival and the Spoleto Festival. The folk tradition of May Day and the Kentucky Derby ring in the month on the first. If you need a reason to sit back and sip on some lemonade with friends, May 2nd also happens to be National Lemonade Day and World Laughter Day! Celebrate Cinco de Mayo and African World Heritage Day on May 5th, and be sure to shower all the mother-figures in your life with love and gratitude on Sunday, May 9th, Mother's Day. May 12th marks the end of Ramadan with the Eid al-Fitr feast. Tune in to the Preakness Stakes on May 15 for more equestrian excitement. May 16th is the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, and it is also the perfect day to give thanks to any service members you know, as it is Armed Forces Day. If you don't have any plans on May 18th, head to any one of Charleston's amazing museums to celebrate International Museum Day! May 22nd is National Maritime Day, May 23rd is Pentecost, and May 25th is National Wine Day. Close out the month with Memorial Day on May 31st, where we honor those who have lost their lives while in military service. As you look through this month's events calendar, please be sure to confirm that each event has not been cancelled or altered via the links provided! We hope you have a great month!
Tuesdays: Mount Pleasant Farmers Market, Moultrie Middle School
Wednesdays: Holy City Farmers Market, Holy City Brewery, North Charleston
Wednesdays: Awendaw Green Barn Jams, Sewee Outpost, Awendaw
Wednesdays: Garden Strolls & Wine Tastings, Middleton Place, West Ashley
Wednesdays: Creative Flow: Yoga in the Gallery with Lauren Skinner, Redux Contemporary Art Center, downtown Charleston
Wednesdays: Brett Belanger Trio of instrumental jazz, Forte Jazz Lounge, downtown Charleston
Wednesdays & Saturdays: Early Morning Bird Walks, Caw Caw Interpretive Center, Ravenel
Thursdays: 4-Week Intro to Screen Printing Course with Todd Anderson, Redux Contemporary Art Center
Thursdays: Live Under The Oaks Concert Series, Mount Pleasant Towne Centre
Several Thursdays. Saturdays & Sundays: Spring Safe Sounds at Firefly, Park Circle, North Charleston
Saturdays: Charleston Farmers Market, Marion Square, downtown Charleston
Saturdays: Sea Island Farmers Market, Charleston Collegiate Campus, Johns Island
Sundays: Sunday Brunch Farmers Market, Charleston Pour House, James Island
Sundays (except holiday weekends): Sunday Figure Drawing, Redux Contemporary Art Center
For multiple organized Kayaking & Paddleboarding events, check out: Charleston County Parks & Recreation May Calendar
3/11-5/21: 74th Annual Festival of Houses & Gardens, multiple venues, downtown Charleston
4/28-5/2: North Charleston Arts Festival, North Charleston Coliseum & Performing Arts Center
4/29-5/2: Lowcountry Strawberry Festival, Boone Hall Plantation & Gardens, Mount Pleasant
5/1: Intro to Archery, Johns Island County Park
5/1: Counting On Nature, James Island County Park
5/1: Earth Explorers: Geology of Geodes, Caw Caw Interpretive Center
5/1: Low Country Southern Rock Featuring Eddie Bush & Macey Mac, Charleston Music Hall, downtown Charleston
5/1: Johns Island Concert Series: Vinyl Daze, Johns Island County Park
5/1: Warrick McZeke, The Windjammer, Isle of Palms
5/1-2: Museums on Us Weekend, Gibbes Museum of Art, downtown Charleston
5/1, 5/15: Open Archery, Johns Island County Park
5/1, 5/22: Historic Landscape & Lenhardt Garden Walks of Drayton Hall, Drayton Hall, West Ashley
5/2: Intergenerational Illustration Workshop with Clare Pernice, Gibbes Museum of Art
5/2: Baysik (Ryan Stasik and Brendan Bayliss of Umphrey's McGee), The Windjammer
5/4: Your Parks, Your Classroom: Sun, Sand & Science - Hidden Coastal Critters (virtual event), Charleston County Parks
5/4: Clothed Mother & Child Figure Drawing Session, Redux Contemporary Art Center
5/4-9, 5/18-23, 5/25-30: Charleston Riverdogs home baseball games, Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park, downtown Charleston
5/6: Black History All Year Long: Focus on Women (virtual event), Charleston County Parks
5/6: Lasting Impressions with Curator Sara Arnold (virtual event), Gibbes Museum of Art
5/6: Trey Lewis, The Windjammer
5/6: Safe Sounds 2.0 w/ Goose, Riverfront Park, North Charleston
5/7: Ramble and Row, Caw Caw Interpretive Center
5/7: Wet on Wet (Alla Prima) Oil Painting Workshop, Redux Contemporary Art Center
5/7: Kids In America, The Windjammer
5/7: Alva Anderson Jazz, Forte Jazz Lounge
5/7: Charlton Singleton & Friends Present: The Sizzling 70s, The Bend, North Charleston
5/7: Yappy Hour with music by The Honeymeads, Wannamaker County Park's dog park, North Charleston
5/8: Alligator Adventure, James Island County Park
5/8: Counting On Nature, Palmetto Islands County Park, Mount Pleasant
5/8: Give Me Shelter Color 5K, Moncks Corner Regional Recreation Complex
5/8: Prosecco on the Portico, Drayton Hall
5/8: Punch Needle Workshop, Gibbes Museum of Art
5/8: Indigo Dye Workshop: Robes and Kaftans w/ Daisy McClellan, Redux Contemporary Art Center
5/8: Zac Deputy, The Windjammer
5/8: A Tribute to Lilith Fair, Charleston Music Hall
5/10: Beautiful - The Carol King Musical (virtual event), Charleston Gaillard Center, downtown Charleston
5/11: Your Parks, Your Classroom: Creatures & Cribs - Wonderful Wetlands (virtual event), Charleston County Parks
5/11: Dierks Bentley: High Times & Hangovers, The Windjammer
5/11-12, 5/26, 5/28-29: SC Stingrays home hockey games, North Charleston Coliseum & Performing Arts Center
5/13: Nature's Soundscape: How to Really Tune In, Caw Caw Interpretive Center
5/13: Blackberry Smoke w/ Special Guest JB Strauss, The Bend
5/14: Lighthouse Inlet Bird Walk, Lighthouse Inlet Heritage Preserve, Folly Beach
5/14: Literary Gibbes Book Club Discussion - An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro (virtual event), Gibbes Museum of Art
5/14: Yonder Mountain String Band, The Windjammer
5/14: Yacht Rock Revue, The Bend
5/14-7/31: Stayin' Alive, Thirty-Four West Theater Co., downtown Charleston
5/15: Counting On Nature, Wannamaker County Park
5/15: Color Theory 101: Acrylic Painting, Gibbes Museum of Art
5/15: Charleston Renaissance Walking Tour, Gibbes Museum of Art
5/15: 11th Annual Dancing with the ARK's Stars, Lowcountry Conference Center, Summerville Hilton
5/15: Whiskey Run, The Windjammer
5/15: The Patti O'Furniture Drag Spectacular: "Shantay, It's May", Charleston Music Hall
5/15-16: Relief Block Printmaking Workshop with Susan Vitali, Gibbes Museum of Art
5/15-16: Wilderness First Aid, James Island County Park
5/16, 5/18-19: Mt. Joy, The Windjammer
5/17: Beginner Sprint Triathlon Swim Tune Up, James Island County Park
5/17: Intermediate Sprint Triathlon Swim Tune Up, James Island County Park
5/17-23: 2021 PGA Championship, The Ocean Course, Kiawah Island Golf Resort
5/18: Your Parks, Your Classroom: Plants & Pollinators - Flowers & Friends (virtual event), Charleston County Parks
5/19: Arts Integration Professional Development: The Value of Primary Sources (virtual event), Gibbes Museum of Art
5/21: Scanning the Sand, Kiawah Beachwalker Park, Kiawah Island
5/21: Society 1858 Garden Party, Gibbes Museum of Art
5/21: Live At Firefly: Symphonic Swing - Jazz Meets the Classics, Firefly Distillery, North Charleston
5/21: Zoso - The Ultimate Led Zeppelin Experience, The Windjammer
5/21: Women of Country, Charleston Music Hall
5/22: Alligator Adventure, Palmetto Islands County Park
5/22: Counting On Nature, James Island County Park
5/22: For Which it Stands: Landscapes of the Japanese American Experience (virtual event), Gibbes Museum of Art
5/22: Fine Arts Professional Development: Collagraphs (virtual event), Gibbes Museum of Art
5/22: Muscadine Bloodline, The Windjammer
5/22: Symphonic Swing Jazz Meets the Classics, Charleston Music Hall
5/22: Old Crow Medicine Show, The Bend
5/22-23, Symphony Tour of Homes, multiple venues, downtown Charleston
5/23: Everclear, The Windjammer
5/25: Your Parks, Your Classroom: Sun, Sand & Science - Something Fishy (virtual event), Charleston County Parks
5/27: Indigo Girls w/ Special Guest Danielle Howle, The Bend
5/27-28: The Futurebirds, The Windjammer
5/27-6/13: Spoleto Festival USA, multiple venues, downtown Charleston
5/28: Fondness for Fungi, Caw Caw Interpretive Center
5/28-30: That BIG Book Sale 2021, Omar Shrine Auditorium, Mount Pleasant
5/29: Alligator Adventure, Wannamaker County Park
5/29: Counting On Nature, Palmetto Islands County Park
5/29: Love Italian Style, North Charleston POPS!, North Charleston Performing Arts Center
5/29: Fitz and the Tantrums, The Bend
5/29: Poetry at McLeod: Teri Ellen Cross Davis, McLeod Plantation, James Island
5/30: Weird Science, Flash Mob & Tba, The Windjammer
5/30: Tell Me Your Names: Poetry Workshop with Teri Davis, McLeod Plantation
5/30: Smith & Myers w/ Special Guests J.R. Moore + Zack Mack, The Bend