Explore family friendly events, theatres, galleries, concerts, nightlife, things to do, and more in the Greenville, SC and Upstate areas.

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Wednesday, February 28, 2024
2024 Carl Sandburg Poetry Contest is open with a theme of “Memory”
Feb 28 all-day
online w/ Carl Sandburg Home

Carl Sandburg wrote countless words in an array of different genres, including poetry, children’s stories, journal articles, as well as a biography and autobiography! He wrote of love and nature, dreams and struggles. This year’s theme of “Memory” is echoed in much of his works. ““Under the summer roses, when the flagrant crimson, lurks in the dusk, Of the wild red leaves, Love, with little hands, comes and touches you with a thousand memories, and asks you beautiful, unanswerable questions.” Carl Sandburg

Poems submitted for the 2024 contest should reflect the theme of “Memory.” By definition, “the process or power of recallling something learned or experienced from the past” Note: Poems do NOT need to be titled Memory, as long as the poem itself relates to the theme.

Students are invited to submit a poem to Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site’s annual Student Poetry Contest. The contest encourages youth to explore writing their own poetry and is open to students nationwide!

  • Submissions are accepted from grades 3-12 and must be submitted by email by Monday March 4, 2024. See below for submission rules.
  • Winners will be notified by April 7, 2024, and will be invited to participate in a virtual celebration program on Sunday, April 28.
Clemson Career Workshop applications open
Feb 28 all-day
online

Clemson Career Workshop (CCW) aims to expose high-achieving, underrepresented high school students to higher education, specifically Clemson University. They are recruiting high school sophomores who will be juniors after this summer to participate in the two-year program. Scholarships to CCW students who complete the program and attend Clemson! To learn more and complete the application visit here. Applications are due March 8th*.

For questions contact Christian Barrientos, [email protected]

Welcome to the Office of College Preparation & Outreach.
We have several programs and initiatives at Clemson University that illuminate pathways to college, bridge the opportunity gap, and create a college-going culture for K-12 students in South Carolina and beyond. Here, you will find our three signature programs (Clemson Career WorkshopEmerging Scholars, and Tiger Alliance) and their eligibility requirements. Please read through each program carefully as you seek to apply, as we only consider eligible students during the acceptance process.
Ten at the Top Resource Maps: Food Access Resource Map
Feb 28 all-day
online
Curious about what organizations are helping Upstate veterans? Maybe you need a some info on schools in your area. Whatever resource you’re looking for, TATT has a map for that!
Each month we’ll be highlighting one of our interactive resource maps, connecting you to the Upstate community more than ever before!
As the weather gets colder, access to food resources becomes more crucial than ever. Whether you’re looking to volunteer your time, assist a friend in need, or find resources for you and your family, the interactive food access resource map has plenty of information to get you on the right track!
Thursday, February 29, 2024
2024 Carl Sandburg Poetry Contest is open with a theme of “Memory”
Feb 29 all-day
online w/ Carl Sandburg Home

Carl Sandburg wrote countless words in an array of different genres, including poetry, children’s stories, journal articles, as well as a biography and autobiography! He wrote of love and nature, dreams and struggles. This year’s theme of “Memory” is echoed in much of his works. ““Under the summer roses, when the flagrant crimson, lurks in the dusk, Of the wild red leaves, Love, with little hands, comes and touches you with a thousand memories, and asks you beautiful, unanswerable questions.” Carl Sandburg

Poems submitted for the 2024 contest should reflect the theme of “Memory.” By definition, “the process or power of recallling something learned or experienced from the past” Note: Poems do NOT need to be titled Memory, as long as the poem itself relates to the theme.

Students are invited to submit a poem to Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site’s annual Student Poetry Contest. The contest encourages youth to explore writing their own poetry and is open to students nationwide!

  • Submissions are accepted from grades 3-12 and must be submitted by email by Monday March 4, 2024. See below for submission rules.
  • Winners will be notified by April 7, 2024, and will be invited to participate in a virtual celebration program on Sunday, April 28.
Clemson Career Workshop applications open
Feb 29 all-day
online

Clemson Career Workshop (CCW) aims to expose high-achieving, underrepresented high school students to higher education, specifically Clemson University. They are recruiting high school sophomores who will be juniors after this summer to participate in the two-year program. Scholarships to CCW students who complete the program and attend Clemson! To learn more and complete the application visit here. Applications are due March 8th*.

For questions contact Christian Barrientos, [email protected]

Welcome to the Office of College Preparation & Outreach.
We have several programs and initiatives at Clemson University that illuminate pathways to college, bridge the opportunity gap, and create a college-going culture for K-12 students in South Carolina and beyond. Here, you will find our three signature programs (Clemson Career WorkshopEmerging Scholars, and Tiger Alliance) and their eligibility requirements. Please read through each program carefully as you seek to apply, as we only consider eligible students during the acceptance process.
Ten at the Top Resource Maps: Food Access Resource Map
Feb 29 all-day
online
Curious about what organizations are helping Upstate veterans? Maybe you need a some info on schools in your area. Whatever resource you’re looking for, TATT has a map for that!
Each month we’ll be highlighting one of our interactive resource maps, connecting you to the Upstate community more than ever before!
As the weather gets colder, access to food resources becomes more crucial than ever. Whether you’re looking to volunteer your time, assist a friend in need, or find resources for you and your family, the interactive food access resource map has plenty of information to get you on the right track!
VITA Greeter Volunteer
Feb 29 all-day
Greer Relief & Resources Agency, Inc.

Could this be you?

*At least 18 years old, friendly, outgoing, flexible and a good problem solver.

*Have the ability to respond to neighbors in a supportive and empathic manner.

*Be able to respect the confidential nature of the paperwork involved.

If so, this may be your calling. Our VITA Greeters welcome the neighbors upon their arrival. During check-in, you will make sure they have the needed and completed documents for our tax preparers. You do NOT need to have any knowledge of taxes to participate in this activity.

We offer this assistance from the end of January to mid April. The weekly shifts are Tuesday and Thursday from 5pm to 8pm and Saturday from 8:30am to 1:30pm. We are asking that volunteers can do at least one shift most weeks.

For more information, contact Yvonne at 864.334.3493 or email her at [email protected] She will connect with you.

Thank you for the support and supporting the neighbors in the community!!

Storytime at Fiction Addiction
Feb 29 @ 11:30 am
Fiction Addiction

Fiction Addiction Storytime

Fiction Addiction hosts a free children’s storytime at our shop at 1175 Woods Crossing Rd. #5 every Thursday morning at 10:30am.

Bring your preschool children to Fiction Addiction for a free weekly storytime reading. Call us at 864-675-0540 or email us at [email protected] for the name of the book we will be reading each week. Children will also receive a coloring page associated with the story.

Visit : fictionaddiction.com

Nature’s Blueprints: Biomimicry in Art and Design
Feb 29 @ 8:00 am – 7:00 pm
NC Arboretum

Baker Exhibit Center

In an age of complex environmental challenges, why not look to the ingenuity of nature for solutions? The forms, patterns, and processes found in the natural world—refined by 3.8 billion years of evolution—can inspire our design of everything from clothing to skyscrapers. This approach to innovation, called biomimicry, is becoming increasingly popular.

Nature’s Blueprints is supported in part by The North Carolina Arboretum Society, The Laurel of Asheville, RomanticAsheville.com Travel Guide, and Smoky Mountain Living Magazine.

Art Exhibition: Long Overdue
Feb 29 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Greenville Center for Creative Arts

TUESDAY – FRIDAY 9 AM – 5 PM
SATURDAY 11 AM – 3 PM

Long Overdue, Traci Wright Martin and Michelle Radford underscore the importance of recognizing and acknowledging women’s contributions. Traci Wright Martin’s charcoal and mixed media series, “Art Herstory and the Moth,” focuses on underrepresented women in art history, paying tribute to them through visual quotations and symbolism. Michelle Radford highlights the historical oversight of women’s textile work and aims to bring recognition to their innovative designs as valuable artistic expressions.

Both artists challenge traditional perceptions of gender norms, albeit in different contexts. Wright Martin challenges the overshadowing of female artists in art history by drawing a parallel to imagery of moths. Often an overlooked organism, the moth in Martin’s work symbolizes the need for representation of the feminine art experience. Meanwhile, Radford challenges distinctions between art and craft, conceptual and decorative, urging viewers to reconsider their attitudes toward women’s stitchwork and handicrafts.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

michelle berg radford

MICHELLE BERG RADFORD

Michelle Berg Radford is a multi-disciplinary artist working at the intersection of women’s craft and what is considered “fine art painting.” Michelle earned an MFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design where she studied landscape painting and fiber arts. Michelle is also an educator with 16 years of teaching experience in higher education.

For millennia, women have expressed their creativity and skill in clothing their families and
caring for their private spaces through textiles. Their innovative designs have often been
overlooked as art, but are now slowly being recognized for the innovative and insightful
works that they are.

In this work, I join women’s handicrafts with landscape painting, a well-trodden genre in art, to introduce a new way of looking at both. These pieces begin as flat canvas studio paintings which I then fold and stitch to create dimensional smocked paintings. I borrow a time-honored heirloom sewing technique traditionally employed by women to construct garments and translate it through scale into contemporary sculptural paintings. By
presenting these works in a gallery setting in which fine art is viewed, the viewer is called to
acknowledge women’s stitch-work as valuable expressions of the maker and to question their own attitudes about the common distinctions between art versus craft, skilled versus
unskilled, conceptual versus decorative, and fine versus ordinary.

In the process a substantial portion of the painting is hidden, an apt metaphor for the
hiddenness of much of women’s valuable work of caring.

traci Wright Martin

TRACI WRIGHT MARTIN

Traci Wright Martin is an award-winning charcoal and mixed media artist. The overall narrative in her portrait and figurative work addresses the idea of representation, weaving contemporary realism with abstract design elements. Her pioneering approach to mixed media utilizes charcoal as the foundation and brings in various combinations of paint, patterned paper collage and other experimental techniques to the finished design. The primary thematic focus in Martin’s work is the legacy and evolution of the female experience and its influence on artmaking and cultural traditions. She ties an autobiographical visual philosophy to the broader, shared human experience through symbolic elements of nature in a unique, yet relatable style.

After graduating with a BA in Art from Southeastern Oklahoma State University, she spent her early career showing extensively in the Oklahoma and Texas art scenes, with artist teaching residencies in Oklahoma, Arizona and Alaska. Solo and group shows have included the Oklahoma State Capitol gallery, Oklahoma Contemporary, The Charles B. Goddard Center, IAO Gallery, 33 Contemporary Gallery in Chicago, the Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art, Brookgreen Gardens Museum, The Grand Bohemian Gallery, and both the Equity Gallery and the Salmagundi Club in New York City. She has received numerous awards and top accolades in international, national and regional juried shows, claiming multiple “Best in Show” titles. Her work has been featured in a number of publications including Fine Art Connoisseur, Artist’s Network: Best of Drawing, American Art Collector, International Artist, Pastel Journal, New Visionary Artist Magazine, and a selection of titles for PoetsArtists. Martin’s first book, a retrospective of her work entitled “North/South”, is being published in 2024 by Snap Collective in Copenhagen, Denmark.

GENEROUS SUPPORT PROVIDED BY MEDIA SPONSOR

For any artwork purchase inquiries, please visit the gallery during regular business hours or contact Gallery Director, Ben Tarcson for more information.

NC Arboretum Hiking Trails
Feb 29 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
NC Arboretum

Located within the wildly-popular and botanically beautiful Southern Appalachian Mountains, The North Carolina Arboretum offers more than 10 miles of hiking trails that connect to many other area attractions such as Lake Powhatan, the Pisgah National Forest and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Visitors of all ages and abilities can enjoy their hiking experience at the Arboretum as trail options include easy, moderate, and difficult challenge levels. All trails are dog-friendly and visitors are asked to adhere to the proper waste disposing procedures for pets.

Part of a running group that would like to use the Arboretum as a starting point or parking location? Please review our Running Group Guidance and email [email protected] with any questions.

“Chips Off the Old Block: A Retrospective of Roscoe Conn’s Art”
Feb 29 @ 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Artists Collective | Spartanburg
Chips off the Old Block

Upstate collage artist and teacher Roscoe Conn describes his artwork and art career as “chunks” of himself that do not fall far from his personality and approach to life. He will share himself and his collage and mixed media art in his solo exhibition, “Chips Off the Old Block: A Retrospective of Roscoe Conn’s Art,” Jan. 2 through March 2, 2024, in the Solomon Gallery of the Artists Collective | Spartanburg.

Conn says his “vision and spirit are evident in the collection’s style, content and form. Ranging from meditations on politics and identity to landscapes of my environment, the exhibit showcases a consistent appreciation and appraisal of the things in life we often take for

Artists’ Guild | Mary Verrandeaux – Faces + Places
Feb 29 @ 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
The Guild Gallery • Chapman Cultural Center

Artists’ Guild | Mary Verrandeaux – Faces & Places

Feb 3, 6-10, 13-17, 20-24, and 27-29, 2024 / 10am – 4 pm

 

The Guild Gallery • Chapman Cultural Center

Heart + Soul: A Celebration of Love and Spirit
Feb 29 @ 10:00 am – 10:15 am
Artists Collective | Spartanburg

The heart and soul are two “essential aspects of humanity,” says Upstate mixed media artist Robyn Crawford. That’s why she and artist Lady Pluuto came together to present a joint exhibition, “Heart & Soul: A Celebration of Love and Spirit,” Feb. 6 through March 2 in Gallery II of the Artists Collective | Spartanburg.

Shaped by Clay: Clayshaper Jim Weber
Feb 29 @ 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Artists Collective | Spartanburg

Upstate potter Jim Weber doesn’t consider himself an artist, but many of those who own some of his works may disagree, choosing to display their pieces in their homes or offices as decorative art. Weber will exhibit his “traditional utilitarian and decorative” pottery Feb. 6 through March 2.

Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred
Feb 29 @ 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Sigal Music Museum
Sigal Music Museum’s current special exhibition, Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred, highlights items from the JoAnn and Frank Edwinn Collection, which hails from all over the world. Showing November 2023 – May 2024, Worlds Apart uses a diverse range of historical instruments, objects, and visuals to bring together musical narratives from seemingly disparate parts of the globe.

 

Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred aims to increase public access to historical instruments from around the world and improve visitors’ understanding of musical traditions at the global level. Expanding beyond the typical parameters of the Western musical canon, Worlds Apart seeks to expose audiences to musical instruments and customs that are often overlooked or exotified. The instruments and other exhibit materials will offer visitors new perspectives on global music and a chance to consider how music is used for prayer and leisure in cultures around the world. By celebrating these stories, the museum intends to further its mission to collect and preserve historical musical instruments, objects, and information, which engage and enrich people of all ages through exhibits, performances, and experiential programs.

 

Displaying various objects from the JoAnn and Frank Edwinn Collection, Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred focuses on international musical instruments and cultures, celebrating rites and traditions with ancient histories and contemporary legacies. Frank Edwinn, a successful basso in the mid-20th century, studied and toured internationally, eventually settling in North Carolina, where he taught music at the University of North Carolina Asheville. Throughout his life, he purchased various objects from around the world, aiming to expose students, and himself, to the wide and wonderful world of musical instruments. This impressive collection occupies a unique position for educating audiences unfamiliar with the vast scope of global music.

And, UNCA’s Ramsey Library Special Collections is now processing the Edwinn’s papers and a few recordings that will be accessible next semester!

Teen Homeschooled: Origami
Feb 29 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Middle Tyger Library

Learn the history of origami and try your hand at a hobby practiced for centuries. For teens ages 12-18 or in grades 7-12.

Speed Networking
Feb 29 @ 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Park 37 Executive Park

Speed Networking, back by popular demand! Join entrepreneur service organizations for some fun speed networking to learn about resources for small businesses and entrepreneurs in the Upstate. Reception to follow.

3pm-4pm: Speed Networking

4pm-5pm: Reception

Teen Art Club: Figure Drawing
Feb 29 @ 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm
Boiling Springs Library

Think anatomy is too hard? This crash course on figure drawing will include live models, wooden figures, and anatomical illustrations. For teens ages 12-18 or in grades 7-12.

Teen Spark Space: Buttons
Feb 29 @ 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Woodruff Library

Create custom buttons of everything you love with our button maker. For teens ages 12-18 or in grades 7-12.