Events Calendar

Learn Electrical Safety while enjoying a Glass of Wine for the BYOB event
RSVP by Feb. 10th : Email Donella at [email protected]

Join us for this informal writing workshop. Registration required. Email [email protected] or call 864-963-9031 to register. Audience: Adults Category: Writing

“Spring Training” Workshop Series Introduces Women Candidates and Campaign Volunteers to What They Need to Know to Run for Office February 2, 2023 (Columbia, South Carolina) – SC Women in Leadership (WIL) is hosting their annual Spring Training multi-partisan campaign training for women as a four-workshop series in six locations around South Carolina, as well as virtually, beginning February 11, 2023. Multi-partisan presenters with extensive campaign experience will introduce women candidates and campaign volunteers to what they need to know to run for office including choosing your office, building a campaign team, finance and fundraising, messaging and the media, helping with a campaign, and practical advice from former and current female candidates and elected officials. WIL is a statewide multi-partisan organization working to increase the number of women in elected office and on public appointed boards and commissions in South Carolina. While women represent 51% of the population of South Carolina, the state dropped to 48th in the nation for the proportion of women in the state legislature after the November 2022 election, with only 14% of our General Assembly composed of women and only one woman elected to a statewide position. From the school board to the Governor’s Mansion, we need more qualified women to run for elected office in the 2023 and 2024 election cycles. “Women don’t run for a lot of reasons,” says S.C. State Senator Katrina Shealy. “Women don’t run because of the financial part. It’s hard to raise money. Women don’t run because of their family. … You know, they’re the ones who know what a budget is, buy the groceries, teach the kids. Why don’t you (men) go home and do that, and let your wife come up here?” Research also shows that women don’t run because no one asks them to. Women are less likely than men to be recruited to run for office, so WIL is asking and providing training, resources, and information to help women overcome real and perceived social and cultural barriers to leadership. WIL encourages all women who have thought about running for office to attend, even if a run is a ‘maybe’ in the distant future. Spring Training will help potential women candidates decide if a run for office is the right move and help them plan, if the answer is ‘yes.” Schedule Saturdays, 9 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. February 11, 2023 – Organizing Your Campaign: Choose Your Office & Build Your Team February 25, 2023 – Campaign Finance & Fundraising March 11, 2023 – Crafting & Managing Your Message March 18, 2022 – Panel Discussion with Former Women Candidates & Elected Officials Locations The workshops will be offered concurrently at multiple regional locations across South Carolina, as well as virtually. Participants are encouraged to attend in person to take advantage of the opportunity to network with other potential candidates and campaign volunteers in their geographic area. Columbia Cathy Novinger Girl Scout Leadership Center 1107 Williams St, Columbia, SC 29201 Charleston The Citadel – Bastin Hall 79 Hagood Ave, Charleston, SC 29403 PeeDee Area The Continuum 208 W. Main St, Lake City, SC 29560 Greenville Furman 101 101 N. Main St, Greenville, SC  29601 Greenwood Piedmont Technical College – James C. Self Conference Center 620 Emerald Rd N, Greenwood, SC 29646 Spartanburg One Spartanburg 105 N Pine St, Spartanburg, SC 29302 Registration is $25 per session, or bundle all four sessions for $100. Registration includes refreshments and a t-shirt. Some scholarships are available. Visit scwomenlead.net/event/spring-training-2023 for full session descriptions, presenter bios, and to register. Spring Training is made possible through the support of Duke Energy, BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Ready to Run at the Center for American Women in Politics, and Pivotal Ventures. About SC Women in Leadership SC Women in Leadership (WIL) is a statewide multi-partisan group of women working together across differences to move South Carolina forward by informing, inspiring, and involving women in leadership. WIL’s work sharing information about, making connections to, and encouraging women’s engagement in local and state civic leadership is moving South Carolina forward socially, economically, educationally, and environmentally.  SC WIL believes that as talented women with diverse and inclusive backgrounds step up to lead and to govern, gender and racial equality, as well as community equity can, at last, become a reality. SC WIL’s vision is for women to be represented at every level of leadership including elected officials, appointed government boards and commissions, and as active volunteers and advocates in the community. Visit scwomenlead.net to see how SC WIL is working to fill the pipeline with women, increase fair voting, and reduce polarization.

Join us for a book-inspired wine tasting!

We pair the qualities of each wine with a book that shares the same spirit. Your ticket to the tasting, apart from the tastes, includes your choice of one of the featured books. Bottles of the featured wines will be for sale at great prices, too.

This event is a crowd favorite, serving as a great date, a perfect girls night out, or treat to yourself. Buy your ticket now and join us on Tuesday, February 28th!

We are so excited to spend an evening with NYT and USA Today bestselling author J.T. Ellison! With more than 20 novels, this EMMY-award winning co-host of Nashville’s premier literary show A WORD ON WORDS, has millions of books in print, critical acclaim, and several prestigious awards. We can’t wait to hear all about her writing process, especially on this newest novel It’s One of Us! This twisting, emotionally layered thriller explores the lies we tell to keep a marriage together—or break each other apart . . . and we’re pairing it with a killer cocktail. Join us for a night of convo and cocktails!

Your ticket includes admission, a cocktail, and a copy of the book.

BOOK SUMMARY

Everybody lies. Even the ones you think you know best of all . . .

Olivia Bender designs exquisite home interiors that satisfy the most demanding clients. But her own deepest desire can’t be fulfilled by marble counters or the perfect rug. She desperately wants to be a mother. Fertility treatments and IVF keep failing. And just when she feels she’s at her lowest point, the police deliver shocking news to Olivia and her husband, Park.

DNA results show that the prime suspect in a murder investigation is Park’s son. Olivia is relieved, knowing this is a mistake. Despite their desire, the Benders don’t have any children. Then comes the confession. Many years ago, Park donated sperm to a clinic. He has no idea how many times it was sold—or how many children he has sired.

As the murder investigation goes deeper, more terrible truths come to light. With every revelation, Olivia must face the unthinkable. The man she married has fathered a killer. But can she hold that against him when she keeps such dark secrets of her own?

This twisting, emotionally layered thriller explores the lies we tell to keep a marriage together—or break each other apart . . .

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

J.T. Ellison is the NYT and USA Today bestselling author of more than 20 novels, and the EMMY-award winning co-host of A WORD ON WORDS, Nashville’s premier literary show. With millions of books in print, her work has won critical acclaim, prestigious awards, and has been published in 26 countries. Ellison lives in Nashville with her husband and twin kittens.

REVIEWS

“J.T. Ellison is one of my favorite authors. I eagerly await everything she writes. And in IT’S ONE OF US she is at the very top of her formidable game. Don’t miss this layered, emotional, and twisting thrill ride.”
— Lisa Unger, New York Times bestselling author of SECLUDED CABIN SLEEPS SIX

“One of the most compelling psychological suspense stories I’ve read in years.” –Jacquelyn Mitchard, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Deep End of the Ocean

“It’s One of Us is an emotional and thrilling psychological journey through the shadows of the human heart. Just when you think you know what’s coming, prepare to gasp with each new revelation. Through multiple fascinating points of view, layers of secrets, lies, love and loss are revealed. I did not put this book down until the last unexpected and breathless page. Unpredictable, intense and riveting, J. T. Ellison is at her heart-stopping best.” —Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times bestselling author of Once Upon A Wardrobe

“The perfect mix of edge-of-your-seat tension, deep emotion, and impeccably developed characters, J.T. Ellison’s latest is a masterclass in storytelling. Secrets and lies, love and loss mix flawlessly to create a novel that touches every single emotion. Fans of Lisa Jewell and Ruth Ware will flock to IT’S ONE OF US, and book clubs won’t be able to stop talking about it. Five dazzling stars.” —Kristy Woodson Harvey, New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding Veil

“This gripping, breathless thriller, adds an incredibly unique premise and delivers a novel that’s also a deeply poignant story about our deepest desire for love, family and happiness.” –Hannah Mary McKinnon, internationally bestselling author of Never Coming Home

“An extraordinary, unpredictable, absolutely riveting thriller and a fiercely insightful, emotional journey, this is psychological suspense at its most enthralling and intense.” –Jayne Ann Krentz

“Secrets and lies abound, relationships are tested, and the twists keep coming. Ellison outdid herself, a master storyteller. This is a must read, especially the author’s note at the end, which gutted me.” –Kerry Lonsdale, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post & Amazon Charts Bestselling Author

Join us on Tuesday, March 7th at 5:30 pm for an In Conversation event with Dr. Terry Barr! He’ll be chatting about his newest essay collection The American Crisis Playlist: 2020 – 2021 alongside Dr. Phillip Perdue, assistant professor of communications at Presbyterian College.

This collection features ten songs per week that are based off a collection of essays that Barr wrote for The Riff during “that crisis year leading up to and in the aftermath of the 2020 election.” Come by and hear more about Barr’s journey in making this book and compiling these playlists.

So don’t miss out on this free event!

SUMMARY

Barr has been writing for over thirty years. He believes American Crisis Playlist (2020-2021) will appeal to readers interested in rock, soul, country, and hip-hop music in its “golden oldie” past as well as today’s top artists. Barr states, “The American Crisis Playlist will also appeal to anyone who has followed the political news over the past few years, while having their
lives impacted by the COVID-19 virus. I hope the readers will appreciate my effort to keep myself sane and in good health during the trauma of these past few years.”
Barr comments, “This is the most political book I’ve ever written. Others I have written have included stories about Race and Religion, and though Secrets I’m Dying to Tell You had several stories focused on the #MeToo movement, The American Crisis Playlist addresses my fears related to the 2020 election, attempts by the former President to overturn our republic, and the continuous violence against people of color. But in the process, I also use one of my great loves—popular music—to help me and, hopefully my readers, cope with our ongoing political upheaval. Music, as Don McLean once said, can “save our mortal souls.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Terry Barr’s The American Crisis Playlist (2020-2021) is his fourth essay collection, along with Don’t Date Baptists and Other Warnings From My Alabama Mother (2016); We Might As Well Eat: How To Survive Tornadoes, Alabama Football, and Your Southern Family (2018); and Secrets I’m Dying To Tell You (2020). He is a three-time Pushcart nominee, and his essays have been widely published in national literary journals. His most recent work, “Greyhound Seats,” won first place in Tell Your Story’s Spring 2022 Nonfiction contest. He writes regularly about music and culture at medium.com/@terrybarr, and teaches Creative Nonfiction at Presbyterian College. Barr lives in Greenville, SC, with his family.

ABOUT THE CONVERSATION PARTNER

Dr. Phillip Perdue, is an Assistant Professor of Communications at Presbyterian College. He got his doctorate from Indiana University and has been teaching full time at PC since 2019.

REVIEWS

“2021 is perhaps a year best forgotten. From a pandemic to political strife, we were a nation at war-with an unseen virus and with ourselves. We were, in short, a nation in crisis. Terry Barr chronicled it all with his weekly American Crisis dispatches. Weaving together playlists with his heartfelt writing, this was more than simple reporting. Each of these posts served as a light guiding the way, helping us remember that even in the darkest hour, there is always hope. Terry Barr’s heartfelt writing beautifully meshes current events with the healing power of music. In an era many of us spent in isolation, Barr’s American Crisis series reminded us that our story is one written collectively. In an era where music consumption is fueled by soulless algorithms, and bots pour fuel on the fire of social discourse, Terry Barr offers a refreshing antidote; writing that is straight from the heart. Weaving remarkable music playlists with his weekly take on the day’s issues, he’s not afraid to share his fears, rage, and joy. He cuts through white noise, reminding us that in the end, all we have is each other.”

-Kevin Alexander, author, Managing Editor of the online music publication, The Riff

“As both a music lover and a human being who was deeply affected by the various American crises in 2020 and 2021, I found a lot to enjoy and relate to in this excellent book by Terry Barr. Not only does Terry share his own experiences and feelings from those challenging times, but he also shares music that helped him, and I’m sure many others, through those very dark days. It’s often been said that the music each person listens to is the personal soundtrack for their own life. If this is true, and I believe it is, Terry Barr’s music playlists in this book have provided each of us with hundreds of wonderful additions to our own personal soundtracks. Music to help make our dark days brighter and our light days even lighter.”

-Pierce McIntyre, Founder and Chief Editor of Plethora of Pop on Medium.com

“Terry Barr’s American Crisis Playlist masterfully weaves memoir with the collective cultural narrative of music to mitigate terrifying, polarizing shifts in the political landscape that obliquely whisper all the way back to his young years in the South. You can pick thread’s of Terry Barr’s life in recurring characters and forgotten faces that come back to haunt like a song. American Crisis Playlist holds vigil through music to cope with the Orange Plague, the ultimate guise of emerging violence, hate, intolerance and fear. Barr offers refuge and a place to relate where music becomes a lens for literature, culture, politics and personal growth. The 520+ song playlist contains decades of eclectic tunes with deep cuts, concert trips, music history and narratives of growing up through music. His playlist sustains, gives us pause and feels as warmly relatable as his voice. Reading Dr. Barr will feel like sharing records in his living room. I can’t think of memoir or diary writing that has the same fidelity.”

-Jessica Lee McMillan, author, What You Exceed