Downtown, an Art Festival, and Spring... FUN!

With the arrival of Spring, most Upstate residents have instinctively learned that it is time once again for several months of fun annual outdoor events. Several events have already come and gone, while several weekly events are well underway, yet there is one event that many have come to recognize as the "main" festival of the Spring season in the Upstate. Artisphere is highly acclaimed as Greenville's "international festival of the arts," and it certainly lives up to its descriptive title. Artists from across the United States and even from other countries overseas make their way to Greenville's downtown for this three day weekend festival celebrating life through all forms of Art.
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A recent announcement from the Metropolitan Arts Council stated that the organization plans to help Greenville become a top 25 small arts destination city by 2013. It will take enthusiastic public support to achieve this goal, but I am confident in our community's ability to work together and make this happen. Many visitors already consider this city a "hidden gem" that very few people talk about beyond the state of South Carolina. If those words are any indication of the pure potential which already exists, the future will be even brighter for Greenville's thriving arts community.

"In Tune With Greenville"

Magnificent... Dramatic... Rich... Romantic... These are all words that I could use to describe Greenville's own beloved symphony orchestra, an organization which has impressively improved over the later part of its 60-year history. Most of that improvement is attributed to its current music director, Maestro Edvard Tchivzhel, known as a master musician who, according to the great cellist Yo-Yo Ma, displays "an authority and authenticity ... that is indisputably commanding and communicative." I have been a huge fan of the Greenville Symphony Orchestra (GSO) for many years now, strengthened by the additions of both the Peace Center for the Performing Arts in 1990 and Maestro Tchivzhel in 1999. There are many enjoyable opportunities available to patronize the orchestra and help it continue to grow in prominence regionally and nationally.

For more information and a glimpse at the symphony from the director himself, click here.


For more information about detailed the concert this weekend, click here.


For more information about the GSO's delightful CD recordings, click here.

The second Masterworks Concert of the current season for the Greenville Symphony Orchestra will be performed this weekend - Saturday at 8:00pm and Sunday at 3:00pm.

Autumn Enhances Upstate's Regional Beauty

It is that time of year again! Leaves are changing color and turning trees into unmatchable works of natural art right before our eyes. October is annually my favorite month in the Upstate because of perfect weather and impressive natural beauty. This also means that it is time to take a drive to the nearby Blue Ridge Mountains to see the greatest scenery on display in the South.

McBee Avenue Residential - Part II

Recent growth in appeal for residential units along McBee Avenue in downtown Greenville has helped to bring other commercial and business space simultaneously. Many of these places are located at McBee Station, an attractive large scale mixed-use development just a few blocks east of Main Street. This new center has several apartments, luxury condominiums, a Publix supermarket, a Staples office supply store, and lots of smaller spaces for shops and cafés. Most of the project is still under construction, but the two main retail anchors have opened to the public and are very welcome additions to the thousands of citizens downtown during the daytime and evening hours. I have enjoyed the deli at Publix and have bought needed supplies at Staples. I am also very excited about seeing the other shops and cafés open up soon. The separate apartments are currently being leased, and the condos over the shops are being sold.

Stay tuned for Part III...

Annual Event Provides Opportunity to Meet Local Artists

It is nearly that time of year once again. The annual event called, Greenville Open Studios, will take place on the weekend of November 3 & 4. To view an extensive list of the participating artists, click here. The Arts are thriving in Greenville and this event is a unique way to learn more about the people behind the beautiful work.
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I will continue the "McBee Avenue Residential" series soon, but need to take a few updated photos to post now that the work is nearing completion on McBee Station.

McBee Avenue Gaining in Residential Appeal

McBee Avenue in downtown Greenville is becoming a new hot spot for residential developers. The various projects being built are unique and range in price from relatively affordable apartments to high dollar luxury condos. This post will be the first in a short series showing a few of the new developments helping to shape this street's future.

This photo shows the corner of McBee Avenue and Spring Street, where the recent addition of Jimmy John's sub shop to phase one of The Bookends development has been successful in attracting pedestrians further off of Main Street. A future phase called The Washington, is expected to be announced soon.

Quality Produces Quantity in Greenville

Every week in Greenville, visitors come to the city to see what it has to offer. Quite often these visitors are here for more than a time of pleasure and refreshment. Instead they are in town seeking a new place for themselves and their families to call "home." They are here looking for a new life, whether because they are unhappy with their current lives, or because they may be facing other uncontrollable challenges such as rising taxes and cost of living surpassing their budget. It may even be something completely different, which they are unwilling to share with others at this point in time. What initially brings these people here is not as important to me as what they discover once they have arrived here, and it appears that Greenville is proving to be a rewarding surprise for most of them.

There is a great article on the front page of this week's Greenville Journal, written by my favorite staff writer, John Boyanoski. It is titled, "Bound for Greenville and a new home," and has the heading, "It's quality of life and not just jobs that draws people here." Throughout the entire article, Mr. Boyanoski provides several quotes from newcomers who love their new lives in Greenville and also shares interesting population statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau. This evidence clearly indicates that Greenville has become a more attractive place for people of all ages to live, work, and play - not just a good place to do business.

Greenville's high quality of life has begun to produce a larger quantity of new citizens. That is what every growing city should hope to accomplish.