Events Calendar

Join the magical fairies at Bullington Gardens for a special Fairy Tea Party. Start your journey with a guided walk through the Fairy Trail. Your child will make their own wand followed by tea and cookies in the pavilion. This event is for children ages 7 and up. Each child must be accompanied by an adult.

Three different dates to choose from!

June 10th, June 24th, or July 12th at 10:00AM, $28.00/per child, $21 for Friends of Bullington Gardens. Limit of 12 children per event.

Date: Sunday, July 13, 2025
Location: Croft State Park SHELTER #1
Address: 450 Croft State Park Rd, Spartanburg, SC 29302
Time: 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM (this time frame is extended to allow everyone to complete a basket. You may finish much earlier based on your skill set).
Note: Camp Croft State Park’s Shelter #1 has tire swings, an open area for exploring and restrooms within walking distance.
Cost: $50 per participant (recommended ages 8+)
Purchase your tickets here: https://carolinabamboo.org/product/tickets-basket-weaving-workshop-bamboo-kudzu-kuboo-baskets-july-13-2025/?preview=true

Get wild and “embrace the invase” in this kudzu/bamboo= “KuBoo” Basket Weaving class! Get to know split bamboo and kudzu as weaving materials. Learn how to harvest and strip a kudzu vine. Engage with refined, hand-crafted split bamboo. Weave the Kudzu and Bamboo together to create your own personalized and unique KuBoo basket!

We will provide baubles and decorations for you to choose from to make your basket unique. Many of these embellishments will be made of bamboo, including beads and buttons made from canes and rhizomes.
We will also provide all weaving materials, including split bamboo that has been “defanged”, meaning: The edges of all split bamboo materials will be processed beforehand using the traditional Japanese habatori, mentori and senbiki methods. These techniques remove the sharp edges and splinters from split bamboo. Our refined split bamboo will make weaving with bamboo more enjoyable, manageable and easier on the hands. Watch our YouTube video for a quick visual overview of these three processes here: https://youtu.be/omEk3KkTLFk

While we weave, Aaron will be available for a Q&A session about bamboo. Bamboo is a mysterious plant to many. Ask Aaron questions to learn more about bamboo while you weave.

What to bring:
A water bottle
A “Can-do” attitude!

We will provide:
Electric industrial fans
All crafting and weaving materials and tools

Camp Croft State Park’s Shelter #1 has tire swings, an open area for exploring and restrooms within walking distance.

Additional Cost: Croft State Park is over 7000 acres and offers everything from a playground to hiking and biking trails. As a state park, there is an admission fee: $3 for adults over the age of 15, $1.50 for seniors, $1 for kids ages 6-15, and free for children age 5 and under. This admission fee is NOT included in your ticket price and must be paid separately upon entry into Croft State Park. Note: You may choose to avoid this fee by requesting a SC State Parks Passport from your local library. If you choose this option, we recommend making a request for this item a few weeks in advance before the class, due to possible high demand and low availability.

Does your child say they’ve got it—then nothing gets done?

If you’ve been navigating the ups and downs of routines, reminders, and motivation, this free 90-minute workshop offers tools and encouragement to help you support your child with more ease.

We’ll Cover:
– What executive function really is (and why so many teens struggle with it).
– 5 practical tools to boost independence, motivation, and focus.
– How to reduce conflict without just “getting tougher.”
– Access to our Executive Function Toolkit.
– A simple plan you can actually stick to this semester.

Perfect for parents of kids ages 10 to early 20s navigating ADHD, executive function challenges, or focus issues.

This is a supportive, skill-building workshop rooted in coaching—not therapy or diagnosis. Just real tools for real life.

Hosted by Carolina ADHD Coaching

Does your child say they’ve got it—then nothing gets done?

If you’ve been navigating the ups and downs of routines, reminders, and motivation, this free 90-minute workshop offers tools and encouragement to help you support your child with more ease.

We’ll Cover:
– What executive function really is (and why so many teens struggle with it).
– 5 practical tools to boost independence, motivation, and focus.
– How to reduce conflict without just “getting tougher.”
– Access to our Executive Function Toolkit.
– A simple plan you can actually stick to this semester.

Perfect for parents of kids ages 10 to early 20s navigating ADHD, executive function challenges, or focus issues.

This is a supportive, skill-building workshop rooted in coaching—not therapy or diagnosis. Just real tools for real life.

Hosted by Carolina ADHD Coaching

Date: Saturday, August 9, 2025
Location: Croft State Park SHELTER #3
Address: 450 Croft State Park Rd, Spartanburg, SC 29302
Time: 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM (this time frame is extended to allow everyone to complete a basket. You may finish much earlier based on your skill set).
Note: Camp Croft State Park’s Shelter #3 has restrooms within walking distance and a hilltop view of the forest overlooking Lake Craig.
Cost: $50 per participant (recommended ages 8+)
Purchase your tickets here: https://carolinabamboo.org/product/kuboo-basket-weaving-saturday-august-9-2025/
Get wild and “embrace the invase” in this kudzu/bamboo= “KuBoo” Basket Weaving class! Get to know split bamboo and kudzu as weaving materials. Learn how to harvest and strip a kudzu vine. Engage with refined, hand-crafted split bamboo. Weave the Kudzu and Bamboo together to create your own personalized and unique KuBoo basket!

We will provide baubles and decorations for you to choose from to make your basket unique. Many of these embellishments will be made of bamboo, including beads and buttons made from canes and rhizomes.
We will also provide all weaving materials, including split bamboo that has been “defanged”, meaning: The edges of all split bamboo materials will be processed beforehand using the traditional Japanese habatori, mentori and senbiki methods. These techniques remove the sharp edges and splinters from split bamboo. Our refined split bamboo will make weaving with bamboo more enjoyable, manageable and easier on the hands. Watch our YouTube video for a quick visual overview of these three processes here: https://youtu.be/omEk3KkTLFk

While we weave, Aaron will be available for a Q&A session about bamboo. Bamboo is a mysterious plant to many. Ask Aaron questions to learn more about bamboo while you weave.

What to bring:
A water bottle
A “Can-do” attitude!

We will provide:
Electric industrial fans
All crafting and weaving materials and tools

Camp Croft State Park’s Shelter #3 has restrooms within walking distance and a hilltop view of the forest overlooking Lake Craig.

Additional Cost: Croft State Park is over 7000 acres and offers everything from a playground to hiking and biking trails. As a state park, there is an admission fee: $3 for adults over the age of 15, $1.50 for seniors, $1 for kids ages 6-15, and free for children age 5 and under. This admission fee is NOT included in your ticket price and must be paid separately upon entry into Croft State Park. Note: You may choose to avoid this fee by requesting a SC State Parks Passport from your local library. If you choose this option, we recommend making a request for this item a few weeks in advance before the class, due to possible high demand and low availability.

Friday, August 22 at 12:30

Chapman Cultural Center

The Last Train Robber

Did You Know America’s Last Train Robber Lived Out His Years in Spartanburg, SC?

He never meant to rob a moving train—or get caught in a shootout just blocks from the White House. But it really happened.

Climb aboard with author Wilson Casey to hear the firsthand account of the last moving train robbery in American history. In Bedlam on the W. Virginia Rails, Casey shares the incredible true story of Luman “Lu” Ramsdell, as told by the train robber himself. Dubbed “The B&O Zoot Suit Bandits” by the national press, Lu and his gang became infamous for their violent 1949 heist.

Lunch and Learn is sponsored by the Chapman Cultural Center

There are a limited number of seats, be sure to register in advance (even members!)

Admission: $5 for non-members / Free for SCHA members.

Don’t forget to bring your lunch!

Did you miss our first Awe Walk on Sunday, August 4? Our next walk will be Sunday September 7th from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. and we will continue to meet on the first Sunday of each month for the following two months (last day is November 2 – don’t forget to turn your clocks back the night before!). The walks will begin at the Garden Entry at Hatcher Garden, located beside the Jess Taylor Pavilion, and will move about the garden to experience the feeling of awe in nature.

Each month, we’ll explore one of the five key processes associated with the experience of awe, which support overall well-being:

1. Shifts in neurophysiology

2. A diminished focus on the self

3. Increased prosocial behavior and relational connection

4. Greater sense of social integration

5. A heightened sense of meaning

Led by Executive Director Dan Shook and his wife and yoga instructor Kristin Shook, each walk will offer time for reflection, connection with nature, and insights into how the Garden supports these powerful emotional and psychological benefits.

Come walk with us—and discover the wonder.

Hatcher Garden and Woodland Preserve is hosting a symposium this autumn, which is the perfect time to plant for spring. The three 40-minute workshops will be led by local certified Master Gardeners. Jeannette Bull Robinson (who taught at our Inaugural Gardening Day back in May) will speak on Landscape Design; author and former board member Mary Snoddy will expound on the subject of Growing a Pollinator Garden; and finally Joyce Cooper Coggins will address the important issue of “Gardening Smarter. Not Harder”. Locations (Jess Taylor Pavilion, Overlook Terrace and the Activity Deck) and times of the individual workshops within the garden will be announced as the event draws near. Be prompt!

A donation based entry fee of $10.00 is suggested which benefits Hatcher Garden. You can attend one or all three workshops for $10.00! You can register online now or in person at 8:00 a.m on Saturday, September 27, the last day of our Fall Plant Sale.

Come join us on this informative Saturday morning.

Arts in the Garden celebrates the vibrant art culture in Spartanburg and in our region. This year, 35 artists will be demonstrating their craft and selling works from 10 am-4 pm.

Saturday October 11 is Dog Adoption Day at Hatcher Garden’s Strutt Your Mutt event.

Join us on Thursday, October 24 at 1800 Drayton for Bacon & Barrel — a lively evening of bourbon tastings, bacon-inspired bites from local restaurants, live music, and a curated silent auction, all in support of St. Luke’s Free Medical Clinic. This beloved annual fundraiser helps provide free, high-quality healthcare to uninsured residents of Spartanburg County.

Tickets include access to bourbon samples, food tastings, and entertainment. Proceeds go directly toward sustaining our clinic’s mission of compassionate care for those who need it most.

To learn more or purchase tickets, visit: https://slfmc.networkforgood.com/events/88843-bacon-and-barrel

Something extraordinary is coming to Asheville this winter! The North Carolina Arboretum and Explore Asheville are elated to announce the arrival of Trolls: A Field Study. Visiting on their first North American excursion, these twelve interactive troll sculptures will explore the Arboretum, embarking on a curious journey to learn about humankind.

Produced by Imagine in collaboration with Danish artist Thomas Dambo, these friendly and fanciful sculptures evoke a sense of wonder and intrigue as they study our small, intricate and inventive ways of life in Western North Carolina. Standing seven to nine feet tall and lovingly described by the artist as “Baby Trolls”, the creatures are crafted from materials like fallen branches, wooden pallets and twigs.

Through their observations, the trolls reveal a fresh perspective on what makes us human, sparking curiosity and laughter in visitors of all ages.

Only cost is the parking fee. No other admission fees.