Events Calendar

Red Carpet: 5:00 PM Gala Event: 6:30 PM Gala Party: 8:30 PM

Location: Chapman Cultural Center

Description:

Join us for an unforgettable evening at the Spartanburg Juneteenth BEC Gala, where we celebrate the spirit of Juneteenth while supporting and empowering the small businesses and non-profit organizations that help make our community thrive.

The festivities begin at 5:00 PM with a glamorous red-carpet event, followed by the main gala starting at 6:30 PM. The gala will feature an incredible lineup of live performances, lip sync contests, and award presentations. We will be granting seven deserving small businesses with essential funding, and five non-profit organizations will have the chance to perform in an entertaining lip-sync contest for an $800 grant.

After the main event, continue celebrating with us at the Gala Party at 8:30 PM, where you can mix and mingle with fellow attendees, awardees, and performers. Enjoy music from DJ Kurious George, dancing, and refreshments as we celebrate Juneteenth and the contributions of our community’s small businesses and non-profit organizations.

The Spartanburg Juneteenth BEC Gala is the perfect opportunity to show your support for the local community, learn about the importance of Juneteenth, and have an incredible time. Don’t miss out on this memorable evening!

Dress Code: Formal attire

Remember how great it was, a little money from mom and dad jingling in your pocket, when you waltzed into the school library to buy a Gremlins poster and a new Goosebumps book? Nothing was as captivating as the book you picked out for yourself, and that pencil with the fluffy top on it. Oh, to be a kid again.
We’re bringing that book fair feeling back: and this time, it’s for everyone! Join us from Thursday June 15 through Sunday June 18 in The Gallery at M. Judson on the 4th floor for Book Fair For All. We’ll have books you and your kids really want to read this summer, from their first chapter book to the latest DogMan, as well as great recommendations for beach reads, summer romcoms, thrillers you can’t put down, and a few goodies that will rival that Gremlins poster. (If you’re a school media specialist, be sure to stop by and see what we can do for your school!)

Best of all, this event is free! Register through the RSVP below.

Join Hub City Bookshop for a writing workshop with author Mickey Dubrow! Perfect for budding writers and those with experience. Open to all ages.

Please bring your own writing materials.

About the Workshop

Time travel doesn’t exist…yet. Until it does, it’s up to writers to explore how and why people travel through time. In this 90 minute hands-on workshop, participants will explore the elements of writing compelling time travel fiction for young adults.

Participants will:

-Learn the basic rules of time travel (there really are some)

-Generate new material

-Craft engaging scenes

-Engage in teamwork exercises

No prior writing experience required.

About the Author

Mickey Dubrow is the author of Always Agnes and American Judas. For over thirty years, he wrote television promos, marketing presentations, and scripts for various clients including Cartoon Network, TNT Latin America, and HGTV. His short stories and essays have appeared in Prime Number Magazine, The Good Men Project, The Signal Mountain Review, Full Grown People, and McSweeney’s Internet Tendency. His first novel, American Judas, was a Finalist for the 2020 Georgia Author of the Year Award in the category of First Novel. He lives in Atlanta with his wife, author Jessica Handler.

Join us on Thursday, June 22nd at 5:30 pm for an In Conversation event with poet Len Lawson. He’ll be chatting about his latest poetry collection Negro Asylum for the Lunatic Insane. We’re excited to have Len in store with us and can’t wait to hear all about his writing processes and inspirations. So don’t miss out on this free event!

ABOUT THE POETRY COLLECTION

Negro Asylum for the Lunatic Insane enters the maelstrom of institutionalized racism and cruelty to aim an unflinching gaze at the violence, neglect, and delusions borne of Southern race ritual. These poems wield knives against slavery’s tumultuous afterlife, cutting us free, guiding us through thickets of scar tissue and nightmare till we glean the brutal clarity of American sin and bear witness to the wondrous power of Len Lawson’s artistic and historical imagination. ~Herman Beavers

Len Lawson is, above all, a talented lyricist whose candid chronicles of working in the field of mental illness—the patients’ trauma caused largely by the institutions supposed to treat and protect them—provides an insight into a realm plagued by racism and abuse, one often ignored and silenced by the world at the large. We come to learn of Lawson’s speaker’s interactions with Brock Bridges who “loved butterflies” and often too tried to escape the establishment, “thinking like the statue/chewing petals off that flower.” Though the speaker tries to keep a line between him and his patients, dealing with his own issues concerning his own happiness and the weight of family memory and present circumstances, all their lives are intertwined even in times of doubt: “I didn’t trust those butterflies like Brock did…Matter of fact I hate butterflies//They give people false hope//Everything can’t have wings/Everybody wasn’t made to fly//Ask all them Africans that didn’t/grow wings still on the plantation.” Lawson explores the larger implications of historical violence and survival, never flinching away (” If you show me this box/hovering up and down/heaven and earth,/I will show you/a casket/lowered into/a world’s eye”) through a variety of many (often experimental) free verse possibilities, and I too can be candid, this is one of the best collections of poetry I’ve ever read. Get it now. Lawson is going places. ~Rose Ben-Oni

Lawson’s Negro Asylum for the Lunatic Insane constructs a fictional institution based on actual 20th century mental asylums for Black people. This haunting, stark series of vignettes of people who occupy such spaces traverse through surprising and dangerous spaces in the mind. History starts surrounding us as an eerie specter seeping into the present, where mental health is now a demand as part of freedom in America. ~Tara Betts, author of Refuse to Disappear

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Len Lawson is author of Chime (Get Fresh Books, 2019) and co-editor of The Future of Black: Afrofuturism, Black Comics, and Superhero Poetry (Blair Press, 2021). He received a 2022 Fresh Voices in the Humanities Governor’s Award from South Carolina Humanities. Len has earned fellowships from Tin House, Palm Beach Poetry Festival, Callaloo, Vermont Studio Center, and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts among others. His poetry appears in African American Review, Mississippi Review, Ninth Letter, Verse Daily, Poetry Northwest, and elsewhere. A South Carolina native, Len earned a PhD in English Literature and Criticism from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Join us for a Pop-Up with author Kate Miller and her book Annie Duck Just Can’t Land?

Annie and her best friend Grace can’t wait to migrate to the warmer southern ponds with their families and friends, but they both have a big problem that may make them unable to fly with the others. Despite all of their hard work in flight school, Grace can’t take off and Annie can’t land. Can these dear friends help each other and do this hard thing together?

A beautiful story of friendship and overcoming challenges that children (and the adults who read to them) will enjoy!

Come here more about it from the author Kate Saturday morning from 10am to noon!

Join us for an evening of cocktails and conversation with New York Times bestselling author Ashley Poston! In this witty and wise new novel, an overworked book publicist with a perfectly planned future hits a snag when she falls in love with her temporary roommate…only to discover he lives seven years in the past.

Your ticket includes admission, a cocktail in the spirit of the story, and a copy of the book, as well as an after-hours bookstore evening with Ashley.

BOOK SUMMARY

Sometimes, the worst day of your life happens, and you have to figure out how to live after it.
So Clementine forms a plan to keep her heart safe: work hard, find someone decent to love, and try to remember to chase the moon. The last one is silly and obviously metaphorical, but her aunt always told her that you needed at least one big dream to keep going. And for the last year, that plan has gone off without a hitch. Mostly. The love part is hard because she doesn’t want to get too close to anyone—she isn’t sure her heart can take it.
And then she finds a strange man standing in the kitchen of her late aunt’s apartment. A man with kind eyes and a Southern drawl and a taste for lemon pies. The kind of man that, before it all, she would’ve fallen head-over-heels for. And she might again.
Except, he exists in the past. Seven years ago, to be exact. And she, quite literally, lives seven years in his future.
Her aunt always said the apartment was a pinch in time, a place where moments blended together like watercolors. And Clementine knows that if she lets her heart fall, she’ll be doomed.
After all, love is never a matter of time—but a matter of timing.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ashley Poston writes stories about love and friendship and ever afters. A native to South Carolina, she now lives in a small grey house with her sassy cat and too many books. You can find her on the internet, somewhere, watching cat videos and reading fan-fiction.

Join us for an evening of cocktails and conversation with New York Times bestselling author Beatriz Williams talking about her ravishing summer read, The Beach at Summerly, taking readers back to a mid-century New England rich with secrets and Cold War intrigue.

Your ticket includes admission, a cocktail in the spirit of the story, and a copy of the book, as well as an after-hours bookstore evening with Ashley.

BOOK SUMMARY

June 1946. As the residents of Winthrop Island prepare for the first summer season after the sacrifice of war, a glamorous new figure moves into the guest cottage at Summerly, the idyllic seaside estate of the wealthy Peabody family. To Emilia Winthrop, daughter of Summerly’s year-round caretaker and a descendant of the island’s settlers, Olive Rainsford opens a window into a world of shining possibility. While Emilia spent the war years caring for her incapacitated mother, Olive traveled the world, married fascinating men, and involved herself in political causes. She’s also the beloved aunt of the two surviving Peabody sons, Amory and Shep, with whom Emilia has a tangled romantic history.As the summer wears on, Emilia develops a deep rapport with Olive, who urges her to leave the island for a life of adventure, while romance blossoms with the sturdy and honorable Shep. But the heady promise of Peabody patronage is blown apart by the arrival of Sumner Fox, an FBI agent who demands Emilia’s help to capture a Soviet agent who’s transmitting vital intelligence on the West’s atomic weapon program from somewhere inside the Summerly estate.
April 1954. Eight years later, Summerly is boarded up and Emilia has rebuilt her shattered life as a professor at Wellesley College, when shocking news arrives from Washington—the traitor she helped convict is about to be swapped for an American spy imprisoned in the Soviet Union, but with a mysterious condition only Emilia can fulfill. A reluctant Emilia is summoned to CIA headquarters, where she’s forced to confront the harrowing consequences of her actions that fateful summer, and a choice that could destroy the Peabody family—and Emilia’s chance for redemption—all over again.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Beatriz Williams is the bestselling author of thirteen novels, including Her Last Flight, The Summer Wives, and The Golden Hour, as well as All the Ways We Said Goodbye, cowritten with Lauren Willig and Karen White. A native of Seattle, she graduated from Stanford University and earned an MBA in finance from Columbia University. She lives with her husband and four children near the Connecticut shore, where she divides her time between writing and laundry.

Join us for a Pop-Up with author Martha LaGuardia-Kotite and her book Changing the Rules of Engagement!

Changing the Rules of Engagement brings to life the authentic, vivid stories of leadership from inspiring and adventurous women who achieved the extraordinary by serving their country in the U.S. military. These women shattered the glass ceiling and performed extraordinary feats by refusing to take “no” for an answer and learning how to lead in traditionally male-dominated environments. Martha LaGuardia-Kotite skillfully captures their leadership lessons, struggles, and successes—showing how courageous and tenacious women can achieve their goals and help change policy, insights also applicable to today’s leaders in corporate and business boardrooms.

Whether soaring into outer space with the second woman to command a space shuttle or plunging to the depths of the Atlantic Ocean with a combat veteran special operations diver, these profiles in leadership highlight a range of powerful examples: from Vivien Crea, a vice commandant of the Coast Guard, who rose to the highest position of any woman in the history of the U.S. military, to Tammy Duckworth, who demonstrated her resilience after being shot down while piloting a helicopter in Iraq and went on to serve as a U.S. senator. Also included are the inspirational stories of women Marines and the first women members of the military service academies’ gender-integrated classes, who recall the highs and lows of their trailblazing journey.

Representative of a widely diverse group of enlisted women and officers of different races and cultures, these women have succeeded since the mid-1970s at combating prejudices and aiding change in the military culture with grit, intelligence, leadership, and honor.

Come here more about it from the author Martha Saturday morning from 10am to noon!

Hartness Family, Fun & Fireworks presented by Hartness Builder Guild
Saturday, July 1st
6:30-9:30 pm
Visit the HartnessLiving.com for details and event registration.

Presenting Sponsors who are in the Hartness Builder Guild include:
• Milestone Custom Homes
• Hollison Homes
• J. Francis Builders
• Dillard-Jones Builders
• Cottage Group
• Sexton Griffith Custom Home Builders
• Hartness Construction

Other Supporting Sponsors include:
• Pepsi of Greenville
• Strange Bros. Grading Co.
• Ameris Bank
• Sunbelt Rentals
• Greenville Water
• GBS Building Supply

Music, Games, and Food & Beverage Trucks

Food Trucks: Sonny’s Grill, Lobster Dogs, Highway 301, Cluk Truck, A Taste of Detroit, Frescoluna Tacos, Aspen Street Sweets, Sky Cream Ice Cream, Fleur’s Fairy Floss
Beer & Wine: Community Tap, Traveling Taps, The One 5

Celebrate Independence Day with Patriotic Pops at Brevard Music Center. Hear the Brevard Symphonic Winds joined by the Seraph Brass as they perform inspirational American music, traditional Sousa marches, and Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture complete with the sounds of live cannon!

PERFORMANCE & ARTIST DETAILS
Brevard Symphonic Winds
Kraig Alan Williams, conductor
Seraph Brass

PIOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY 1812 Overture
Program to include traditional patriotic favorites

Auditorium seating is reserved.  Lawn seating is general admission.

Spartanburg’s favorite way to celebrate Independence Day!

Barnet Park is the perfect setting for Spartanburg’s Independence Day celebration. On July 4, come hungry and enjoy great food and a spectacular fireworks show presented by Zambelli Fireworks!

Note: Parking will not be available in the First Baptist Church parking lot this year. Parking garages will be open with plenty of free parking. Learn more about our parking options throughout downtown on our Downtown Parking page.

• When: Tuesday, July 4, 5:30 to 10 pm. The Fireworks display will begin around 9:30 pm.
• Admission: Free admission!

A FEW THINGS TO REMEMBER

Do

• Get your patriotic spirit on
• Bring cash and ID
• Bring the family
• Bring lawn chair or blanket

Don’t

• Smoke at this event
• Bring your Pets (wagging tails and crowds just don’t mix!)
• Forget Sunscreen

Fireworks will go off at 9:30 p.m.

We are thrilled to welcome Greenville back to Unity Park to celebrate another wonderful year under the bright lights at Clemson MBA Fireworks on the Fourth! We invite the community to join us for this spectacular fireworks show in our beautiful 60-acre park on Tuesday, July 4, from 6 to 10 p.m. Come early, bring a blanket and picnic dinner, and enjoy a memorable evening as we honor our great country.

LIVE MUSIC

Live music will be located at the Prisma Green at Unity Park

The Company Band – 6 p.m.

246 Army Band – 7:30 p.m.

FOOD TRUCKS

J and S Wings 2 Go  |  Larkin’s  |  The Noodle Lady  |  Spinx Cluk Truk  |  Honest Scoop  |

Aspen Street Sweets  |  HipTruck  |  The Pound Cake Man  |  Local Pie Pizza  |  Kona Ice | Common Pops

Join us for an informal writing workshop. Registration required. Email [email protected] or call 864-963-9031.

Join us on Wednesday, August 9th at 5:30 pm for a special In Conversation event with playwright and author Vichet Chum! He’ll be chatting about his play Kween, which will be included in the South Carolina New Play Festival, and about the novel version of Kween coming out in October.

Kween is a searing, joyful play about a queer Cambodian American teen’s journey to find her voice and step into her legacy. Following her Dad’s deportation, everything has changed for Soma. Her Mom is away, helping her husband adjust to his new life, while her older sister, Dahvy, is preparing for her quickly unravelling wedding. Through poetry, Soma finds the words to not only save the day, but more importantly, to express exactly what she’s feeling.

Find out more and don’t miss this free event!

SC NEW PLAY FESTIVAL

The second SC New Play Festival will celebrate engaging and dynamic new plays and musicals from across the United States. This year’s festival will feature a variety presentation, 2 staged readings of new plays, a staged reading of a show for young audiences, a staged reading of a new musical, and a cabaret featuring a Broadway star. Learn more here: https://www.southcarolinanewplayfestival.org.

BOOK SUMMARY

Soma Kear’s verses have gone viral. Trouble is, she didn’t exactly think her slam poetry video through. All she knew was that her rhymes were urgent. On fire. An expression of where she was, and that place…was a hot mess.
Following her Ba’s deportation back to Cambodia, everything’s changed. Her Ma is away trying to help Ba adjust to his new life, and her older sister has taken charge with a new authoritarian tone. Meanwhile, Soma’s trending video pushes her to ask if it’s time to level up. With her school’s spoken word contest looming, Soma must decide: Is she brave enough to put herself out there? To publicly reveal her fears of Ba not returning? To admit that things may never be the same?

With every line she spits, Soma searches for a way to make sense of the world around her. The answers are at the mic.

From debut author Vichet Chum comes a celebration of Khmer identity, queerness, and embracing the complicated histories that shape who we are and want to be.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

VICHET CHUM (he/him) is a Cambodian American writer originally from Carrollton, TX. He graduated from the University of Evansville and received an MFA from Brown University. He currently lives in New York City. Kween is his debut novel, and you can visit Vichet at vichetchum.com.

Join us for a Pop-Up with YA author Kailey Bright! UNRAVEL—Book #2 in the UN Series—is a story of conflicting identity, forged in deception, and perfect for fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender and Kate Chopin’s The Awakening.

Come meet Kailey, hear more about her book, and get a copy Saturday morning from 10am to noon!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Nora is her country’s first Unfortunate soldier—born without any powers and the only one of her kind still serving the Gifted elite. At the hem of a hesitant princess-turned-queen, Nora struggles to keep her fallen lover’s promise with the country’s growing instability.

Cassius, the disregarded prince Nora came to love, has revealed himself as the most powerful Gifted in existence—capable of taking any Gifted’s power for himself. He’s now hailed as a dark messiah for the Unfortunate revolution. After taking what he believes rightfully belongs to him, Cassius haunts Nora in her mind and toys with her emotions and allegiance alike. While Nora seeks to stop his rising influence, it’s hard for her to ignore that they both seek the same result: equity for her people.

Caught between her status as an Unfortunate, her newfound title alongside Gifted friends, and an inner light that could be further deceit, Nora must decide where her loyalty lies and face the embedding consequences.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kailey Bright is a contemporary YA fiction author and computer scientist, which means she writes code during daylight and writes about fantastical worlds under starlight.

Tired of YA stories where protagonists suddenly get secret, plot-helpful powers, Bright seeks to write powerful and ambitious stories about characters who persevere with and through disadvantages. Her books are meant to positively impact readers who struggle with challenging societal norms and cultivating inner growth.

When she’s not tanning under her computer screen’s glow, Kailey enjoys winning at mediocre bowling and drinking tea on cool mornings.

Edvard Tchivzhel, conductor

You’ll be brimming with holiday cheer when you leave this annual seasonal celebration! Gather your family and friends for Greenville’s favorite Christmas spectacular, which always features your favorites combined with fresh, new themes. Whether you’re carrying on a yuletide tradition or feeling inspired to start a new one, this concert is the perfect way to get into the spirit of the holidays.