Charleston magazine Society blog

Last Thursday, The Galliard Auditorium was transformed to “A Night on the Red Carpet” for Charleston Stage’s 13th Annual Dinner and Gala. The evening started out with cocktails and a silent auction upstairs where master of ceremony Greg Tavares of The Have Nots! and auctioneer Ken French were playfully heckling guests to increase their bids on a few of the auction items. They convinced one woman to increase her bid by $200 for the Berlin’s gift certificate.  

After the cocktail reception, guests were escorted into the exhibition hall for a three course dinner where a true transformation had occurred. If you are familiar with the Galliard, you know that it is a very hard venue to decorate. Mitchell Crosby of JMC Charleston, once again created a masterpiece. The entire room was softly-lit by candlelight with white chiffon draping throughout. The tables were picture perfect with hundreds of vibrant roses cascading from a variety of distressed finished and ceramic tall floor vases.  

Fourteen chefs from local restaurants, including Jacques Larson of Mercato, who fed the Charleston magazine table where I was seated, prepared a three-course meal to die for. Chef Jacques Larson started us with butternut squash ravioli with dried orange and sage, braised beef short ribs with horseradish mashed potatoes with toasted pine nut gremolata, and for dessert a chocolate hazelnut duo with vanilla ice cream on top. Let me tell you, by the end of the evening, all the magazine staffers were happily sedated in a major food coma.  
 

During dinner, we were all entertained by the Charleston Stage resident actors and young performers from Charleston Stage Education Programs. They performed a sparkling array of hit musical numbers from My Fair Lady to Mamma Mia. The most memorable moment was when proud mother and Charleston magazine style editor Ayoka Lucas’s son Khari graced the stage with his troop and performed a number from High School Musical.  Khari was singing and dancing like a pro.
 

The night ended with a live auction and money raised will provide critical funding for Charleston Stage’s extensive education programs which bring live theatre, acting classes, enriching in-school workshops and high school apprenticeships to more than 20,000 Lowcountry students each year.

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On Friday, September 20, throngs of supporters of local nonprofits gathered at Hibernian Hall for Charleston Magazine’s annual Giving Back Awards to celebrate the charitable contributions of five deserving award recipients:  Louis Yuhasz (Benevolent Spirit), Denise Barto (Creative Spirit), Blackbaud, Inc. (Philanthropic Spirit), Hope Haven of the Lowcountry (Community Spirit), and Thomasena Stokes-Marshall (Reader’s Choice).
 

Duvall Catering & Event Design did an amazing job with the décor and food. The white contemporary furniture with bold flower accents was a perfect complement to this National Historic Landmark. Guests were served a variety of hors d’oeuvres, including Thai oyster shooters served in shot glasses, petite lump crab cakes with Cajun caper remoulade, and  dark chocolate snobinettes filled with red wine gellée.
 

I had the opportunity to speak with a few of the award recipients and they were all in good spirits, but a bit nervous. Thomasena Stokes-Marshall, accompanied by her niece Peggy Mazyck, was very excited. Peggy said that she was so proud of her aunt and was not surprised that she was receiving this prestigious award with everything that she does in the community.
 

Master of ceremonies Charleston magazine editor-in-chief Darcy Shankland took to the stage, welcoming the crowd and introducing each award category presented via video clips by generous sponsors. All of the recipients accepted their awards with inspiring word about how so important it is to give back to their community. All in all, a great time for great causes.
 

Saturday morning, I headed to Folly Beach for the annual Waves and Wishes 5K Run/Walk. Hundreds of runners and walkers endured the 90 degree heat to raise money for the Make a Wish Foundation. The official after party was hosted at Edwin S. Taylor Pier where a Southern-style breakfast was served to all participants. Race Director, Allison Wilder, thanked everyone for taking part in the event and gave a few of the Wish Kids an opportunity to share with the audience a few wishes that have been granted to them. A truly heartfelt moment came from two little boys who described their trip to Disney World.  One raved about the Spiderman roller coaster and the other about meeting Mickey Mouse.

An estimated $18,000 for Make a Wish Foundation of South Carolina was raised by this year’s run.
 

On Sunday, I spent the afternoon downtown at Marion Square attending Charleston’s first ever Green Fair.  I did not realize that Charleston had so many businesses committed to the green movement. More than 75 exhibitors were on hand, demonstrating the best in sustainability in South Carolina. Guests enjoyed an 85 percent waste-free event with bike valet service, a working solar display, and a rock climbing wall for the kids. One of the events main attractions was the stepper bike called ‘The Hammer.” The concept behind this fitness machine is to provide a total body workout while enjoying a simple bike ride.  Of course I had to try it out.  The bike was a little difficult to maneuver at first because of the wood deck petal, but once I got the hang of it, I was on a roll. However, my glutes were hurting for hours afterwards.

Although hundreds of people were walking through the square, the grounds were impeccably clean. Recycle bins were everywhere, and volunteers were staked out at each recycle station making sure you put the right recyclable in the right bin.  

One of the great things about this event is that people attending really wanted to learn what they can do to live a sustainable lifestyle.  Exhibitors were offering great tips on how to do just that.
 

Monies raised will benefit the Lowcountry Earth Force and the S.C. Aquarium’s Sustainable Seafood Initiative.

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Friday, September 19^th, the Charleston Breast Center partnered with the Daniel lsland Club to host the first annual tennis tournament and celebration party: Raise a Racquet for the Charleston Breast Center. Festivities officially started out on Friday night with singles and doubles matches and a complimentary cookout for players at the Daniel Island Park Club cabana bar. Samplings of silent auction items were on display so guests could get a sneak peek before Saturday night’s event.

On Saturday, guests got to enjoy a pink-themed celebration party and silent auction at the Three Lions Pub at Blackbaud Stadium. Tennis enthusiasts showed up to this casual affair, some of whom were exhausted from playing earlier that day, but were ready to bid and eat. Conversation was all about the matches from earlier that day: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

During the party, I had the opportunity to speak with CBC co-founder Lisa Baron, and I must say she changed my life during our brief conversation. I did not realize that breast cancer many young women. She also saw that the process women had to go through to receive care was very disjointed and hard to coordinate and that was the main reason she and her husband started the CBC.

All of the money raised from this event stays right here in Charleston to expand both outreach programs and the technologies the center provides. The CBC will have a number of events throughout the year to continue the fight against breast cancer.

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