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

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Sunday, May 8, 2022
The Big Dog Show
May 8 all-day
Cleveland Park Stables and along Main Street in Downtown Greenville.

The Big Dog Show is a large-scale temporary art exhibition featuring artist Dale Rogers’ most beloved design, The American Dog. Since its original debut in 2009, this traveling public art collection has been featured in 22 shows in 11 different cities throughout the US.

LOCATION: The Big Dog Show will be located at the Cleveland Park Stables and along Main Street in Downtown Greenville.

SPECIAL EVENTS

March 11 – Press Conference

June 11 – Adoption Day – Greenville County Animal Care

June 11-19 – “Best in Show” Decorative Collars on Display

June 29 – K-9 Demonstration

July 25 – Dogs Depart

End of Exhibit (July TBD) – Artist Reception

Logo Big Dog Show
big dog statue in field
statue of a big dog with a cat sitting on its back in a field
four dogs sitting in front of big dog statue
VIRTUAL RAILFAN is live from the Hub City RR Museum in Spartanburg
May 8 all-day
online

Our annual Train Day event attracts hundreds of visitors

The Virtual Railfan cameras were installed on Tuesday, July 6th at the Hub City Railroad Museum. There is one camera looking north and one looking south. The Hub City RR Museum wants to thank the City of Spartanburg for allowing us to install the cameras, and to Virtual Railfan for the install. We have already seen over 300 railfans at one time watching the video feed.
Links to live feeds:
[North Camera feed]
[South Camera feed]

Thanks FLO: Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Frederick Law Olmsted
May 8 @ 8:00 am – 9:00 pm
The North Carolina Arboretum

Who was the visionary who designed some of America’s most iconic gardens and parks? Find out at an all-new  exhibit celebrating the life and work of Frederick Law Olmsted (FLO).

The exhibit on the man who planned both Central Park (his first major design) and Biltmore in Asheville (his final one), takes center stage in the Baker Visitor Center Exhibit Hall and at select locations in the landscape on the occasion of his 200th birthday. Thanks FLO features a retrospective of Olmsted’s life through landmarks and key moments and shows off a selection of his most iconic designs through vintage postcards, maps and green screen technology.

Step into the designing game and build a park using interactive tools and take a selfie that puts you front and center in iconic Olmsted parks. Outdoor exhibits await discovery and  illustrate the design principles Olmsted used while designing and building parks, greenways, campuses and private estates across the United States.

The exhibit is created in conjunction with the National Association for Olmsted Parks (NAOP) in celebration of Olmsted’s 200th birthday on April 26, 2022.

 

 

 

Thanks FLO:  Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Frederick Law Olmsted is presented in participation with Olmsted 200, a nationwide celebration taking place in parks and public spaces across the United States.

 

BBB OF THE UPSTATE: SHRED DAY
May 8 @ 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church

Take advantage of free document shredding in the Upstate. Better Business Bureau® of the Upstate & AARP® South Carolina are partnering together to host a FREE Secure Your ID “Shred Day,” a national event created to promote awareness about identity theft and fraud protection. AARP and Better Business Bureau Education Foundation will be providing educational handouts to prevent consumers and businesses from becoming victims of identity theft. Individuals and businesses can take advantage of FREE on-site document shredding and take home practical tips to prevent identity theft online and off. Consumers are allowed to bring 3 banker 10″ x 12″ x 15″ size boxes or 3 kitchen “13 gallon size” plastic bags per consumer or business. Maximum number per consumer or business is 3. Cardboard boxes will be emptied and returned to consumers. Please, DO NOT bring the following items: desktop computers, monitors, laptops, printers, or external hard drives. In an effort to shred your sensitive documents in a timely manner, there is no need to remove binders, binder clips, paper clips, staples, rubber bands, or CDs/DVDs prior to shredding. Due to safety concerns and to ensure that we are able to serve as many vehicles as possible, we are unable to accept attendees on foot or allow consumers to get out of their vehicle to watch their paper shredded. The complimentary shred event is first come, first serve or until the shred trucks fill up. REGISTER TO WIN A FREE $100 SHREDDER! The AARP South Carolina Sweepstakes takes place between April 1, 9:00 a.m. EST zone and May 31, 2022, 9:00 a.m. EST zone. Register here: aarp.cventevents.com/71G83Q

Biltmore Blooms Tour
May 8 @ 9:30 am – 6:00 pm
Biltmore

April 1st through May 26th, 2022

Escape to Biltmore for a unique spring getaway. Immerse yourself in waves of color as Biltmore Blooms transforms our gardens and grounds. Savor complimentary wine tastings at our Winery. All this and more—an array of outdoor activities, shops, and restaurants, and of course, the timeless beauty of Biltmore House—is yours this spring at Biltmore.

Mother’s Day Brunch at Village Kitchen
May 8 @ 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Village Kitchen

Join us on Mother’s Day for a special brunch menu by Executive Chef Tanner Marino, live music with acoustic guitarist Tim White and a bloody mary, mimosa, and bellini bar! Kindly note Village Kitchen is counter-service only and does not take reservations. Indoor and outdoor patio dining is available.

Mother’s Day Brunch
May 8 @ 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Rivers End Restaurant

waffles-sausage-and-mimosa-brunch

River's End Restaurant exterior

Join us at Rivers End Restaurant for Mother’s Day Brunch for an extensive gourmet brunch menu and cocktails. No reservations needed, just stop in!

Mother’s Day Brunch Menu:

  • Passed Selection of Hot Appetizers
  • Omelet Station
  • Fresh Garden Greens with Toppings & Dressings
  • Seasonal Fruit Display with Dipping Sauce
  • Fresh Bread, Muffins, and Scones
  • Scrambled Eggs with Chives
  • Housemade Granola with Yogurt and Berries
  • Breakfast Potatoes with a Melody of Peppers & Onions
  • Southern Grits & Cheddar Grits
  • Applewood Smoked Bacon & Sage Sausage
  • Buttered Biscuits with Peppered Gravy & Sausage Gravy
  • Chicken Provençale
  • Mountain Trout with Pecan Maple Glaze
  • Seasonal Garden Vegetables
  • Oven Roasted Garlic Smashed Potatoes
  • Sherpa Rice
  • Slow Roasted Rosemary & Garlic Prime Rib served with Creamy Horseradish & Aus Jus
  • Trio of Passed Chef’s Selection of Desserts like NOC Chocolate Cake & Key Lime Tort

Mimosas and A Build Your Own Bloody Mary Bar:

*priced separately

  • Choice of Vodka – Cucumber Infused, Bacon Infused, Plain (Our Infused Vodkas are made in house)
  • Choice of Seasoned Rim – Old Bay, Smoked Salt, Kosher Salt
  • Selection of Clamato, Tomato, or Spicy V8
  • Toppings like Candied Bacon, Celery Sticks, Marinated Green Beans, Slim Jims
  • Tabasco, Horseradish, Worcestershire, Ground Pepper
  • Skewers of –
      • Gherkin Pickles & Cucumber
      • Pepperoni & Black Olive
      • Summer Sausage & Pepperoncini
      • Shrimp & Cucumber & Jalapeno
      • Selection of all Vegetable

Mimosas, Beer, Wine, and Cocktails Available- priced separately

Volunteer with Flat Rock Playhouse
May 8 @ 10:00 am – 8:00 pm
Flat Rock Playhouse
Flat Rock Playhouse Supporting
            Players

Flat Rock Playhouse believes in the power of collaboration, community, and connection. Over the years, volunteers have made it possible for our production seasons to thrive and grow.

Volunteers are deeply valued team members that support the arts at Flat Rock Playhouse on a powerful and poignant level by:

Maintaining and developing our beautiful gardens and grounds

Welcoming or sending off actors at the airport

Guiding guests and supporting FRP staff members as parkers

Preparing food for college-age apprentices

Attending to patrons as ushers at each performance

As we return to a full season of live productions, we want YOU to be a part of the magic.

Volunteers support the arts at Flat Rock Playhouse through gifts of time and resources, and they have the incredible opportunity to peek behind-the-scenes, learn more about how our hand-crafted productions come together, and connect with artists, staff members, and fellow volunteers. We hope you’ll join the team at Flat Rock Playhouse this season as a part of our volunteer community, Supporting Players!

Know someone who might be interested? Feel free to forward this email to your friends and family!

To learn more about how to get involved, visit our website or contact us at [email protected].

Mother’s Day Brunch
May 8 @ 10:30 am
Eighteen Hundred Drayton Catering & Events

Mother's Day Brunch

Don’t make mom cook this Mother’s Day…treat her to a delicious and relaxing brunch buffet from Dray Catering & Events. With multiple buffet and station options, it’s sure to please everyone in the family! And if the family is happy, mom is happy!

Brunch will take place in the Eighteen Hundred Drayton venue located within the Drayton Mills Marketplace. Mutliple reservation times available. Ticket price includes buffet and non-alcoholic beverages. A cash bar will be available

ART LAB: FREE hands-on, artist-led demonstrations with the Art Center of Clemson
May 8 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
online

BRASS AND HAMMERED STAMPED PENDANT
Create a one of a kind brass pendant with a hammer and a stamp.

NEEDLE FELTING
Feel the fun of needle felting! It is an art form that has been around for generations. Poke fluffy wool fibers with needles to create a mini 3D sculpture.

INSTALLATION ART: KNITIFITI/WEAVING
The Arts Center of Clemson and The City of Clemson Parks and Recreation Department are teaming up to create a month long public yarn tagging art installation in Gateway Park in Clemson. During this workshop create a round weaving to be included in the installation and receive a weaving kit to take home with you.

PRINTMAKING: LINO-CUTS WITH A MINI PRESS
Here you will carve a design into the linoleum block, ink the parts that weren’t cut out, and print your block with a press. Your print will not disappoint!

WHEEL THROWING
Ever wonder how a potter creates a bowl, tall vase or plate? In this demonstration come and watch our experienced clay artist throw on the wheel and then give it a spin yourself.

INSTALLATION ART: METAMORPHOSIS
Paint a clay butterfly to be included in The Arts Center of Clemson traveling installation, Metamorphosis. You will paint a clay butterfly to leave with us for the installation and receive a clay butterfly kit so you can paint your own butterfly to hang at home.

Artisphere
May 8 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Downtown Greenville SC
Rocky Cove Railroad Exhibit
May 8 @ 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm
NC Arboretum

On exhibit Saturdays and Sundays from 12 – 4 p.m., Rocky Cove Railroad is a G-Scale (garden scale) model train that demonstrates the coming of trains to western North Carolina at the turn of the 20th century. The exhibit is located below the Grand Promenade. Please note, Rocky Cove Railroad will not operate in rainy or wet conditions.

Pointes, Pirouettes and Plies: Carolina Ballet Theatre Turns 50
May 8 @ 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Upcountry History Museum

Carolina Ballet Theatre – Raising the Barre in Greenville

For more than six centuries, ballet has graced royal courts and stages across the globe, and for 50 years, Greenville’s own Carolina Ballet Theatre has been bringing this timeless performance art to the Upstate.

From that first day in 1972 until now, CBT has been guided by the prospect of what could be. Its evolutionary, enlightened and engaging approach has ensured that this powerful performance art remains true to its origins while continuing to push the boundaries of this dynamic dance medium.

An artistic vision with hundreds of dancers, hundreds of hours of training and practicing, and countless performances have all culminated into a legacy of bringing world-class productions to the Greenville stage.

This exhibition celebrates an incredible 50-year journey that has encountered notable high points, as well as unimaginable setbacks, but still managing to raise the barre on entertainment excellence, engaged outreach, and unity through performance arts.

The Art of Warner Bros. Cartoons
May 8 @ 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Upcountry History Museum

For more than 90 years, Warner Bros. animation has been bringing joy to all ages. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies produced some to the most iconic animated characters – Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, Tweety Bird, Wile E. Coyote, Road Runner, Elmer Fudd, and more.

The classic Warner Bros. short animations were different from any other in that they were made with an adult audience in mind. The funny, exuberant stories with a breath-taking pace were peppered with sharp satire and references to topical matters and real-life phenomena as well as endless verbal fireworks. Six to seven minutes long, the cartoons were originally screened in film theatres before the feature film.

THE ART OF WARNER BROS. CARTOONS, an international traveling exhibition, includes 160 objects and film clips that invite visitors of all ages to explore the history of the legendary Warner animation studio. The exhibition includes production artwork, including drawings, paintings, and transparent celluloids used to create some of Warner Studios’ classic cartoon shorts from their 1930 debut through the early 1960s.

Visitors explore the elaborate process that went into the making of the classic Warner Bros. cartoons, considered to be among the finest, funniest, and most inventive animated shorts ever made. Vivacious, colorful and highly animated, the exhibition traces the development of all of Warner’s cartoon stars and gives a step-by-step breakdown of how animated films are made.

Witness to History: Selma Photography of Stephen Somerstein
May 8 @ 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Upcountry History Museum

Two thousand marchers set out March 21 along Route 80, known as the “Jefferson Davis Highway.” After two failed attempts to complete the march, President Lyndon B. Johnson dispatched federal and state troops to guard the demonstrators along the way to the state capitol, 54 miles away. By the time the marchers reached Montgomery, their number had grown to 25,000.

 

Hearing of the events, 24-year-old student photographer Stephen Somerstein jumped on a bus in New York City and headed to Alabama. He arrived on March 25, in time for the final march to the state capitol. With five cameras around his neck and only 15 rolls of film, Somerstein seemed to be everywhere at once documenting this pivotal moment in the civil rights movement. He captured photographs of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other prominent activists such as Rosa Parks, James Baldwin, Bayard Rustin, John Lewis, and Joan Baez. Somerstein also took poignant portraits of his fellow demonstrators, as well as the anonymous bystanders who had gathered along the route to observe the civil action in progress.

 

The exhibition explores the historic 1965 Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, civil rights march – a turning point in the civil rights movement that led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The exhibition, guest curated by Farrah Spott, presents 55 of the black and white photographs taken through the lens of photographer Stephen Somerstein on March 25, 1965, accompanied by his commentary of the day’s events.

 

In addition to hosting this national traveling exhibition, the Upcountry History Museum will include an in-house companion exhibition exploring the reaction and impact of the Selma to Montgomery march on the Upstate, SC’s civil rights movement

Catch Me If You Can
May 8 @ 2:00 pm
Flat Rock Playhouse
Catch Me If You Can. April 28 -
                May 14

This comedy thriller is a classic gem with exciting twists and turns from beginning to end. Overflowing with hilarity, this Broadway whodunit will have you guessing and laughing from start to finish. An advertising man who has brought his bride to the boss’ mountain lodge for a honeymoon calls in the local police to investigate her sudden disappearance. Enter a pretty young girl who insists over his protests that she is the missing wife. A priest backs up her story. A funny little man who owns a delicatessen enters and before you know it there are two murders at the isolated lodge. Can Inspector Levine riddle out the truth? Can you? Join us for a night of mystery and amusement!

“The final 15 minutes will reward you as a murder mystery should.” The New York Times

*This is not the Frank Abagnale Jr. stor

The Sound of Music
May 8 @ 2:00 pm
South Carolina Children’s Theatre

Rodgers & Hammerstein’s final work is one of their most treasured. THE SOUND OF MUSIC paints a musical picture of a young, free-spirited Maria who serves as the governess for the widower Von Trapp’s seven children. Joy and laughter fill the scenes and songs. We’ve all grown up with this story of overcoming obstacles, changing for the better, and following your dreams.

Carolina Youth Symphony Senior Honors Concert
May 8 @ 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
McAlister Auditorium (Furman University)

Conducted by Dr. Leslie W. Hicken, James F. Kilgus, and Ginger R. Greer, the Senior Honors Concert will feature the Symphony, Concert and Repertory Orchestras performing works by Tchaikovsky, John Williams, Saint-Saëns, Ponchielli, Strauss, Bottesini, Fauré, and more.
Senior Soloists will include Charlie VanAtter (horn) and Alexandra Jennings (double bass).

Tickets and audio/video recordings may be purchased at the door (cash/check) or online via Eventbrite.

Celebrate 96
May 8 @ 3:00 pm
Greenville Theatre

Celebrate 96 is a great musical revue celebrating 96 years of Greenville Theatre hits with a selection of Broadway songs featuring talented local performers.

*There are no group rates for this show.
*Children under the age of four are not permitted in this show.

Event image

The Converse Trio
May 8 @ 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm
Daniel Recital Hall at Converse University

Join us for a concert by The Converse Trio, performing works by Arvo Pärt, Dmitri Shostakovich and Sergei Rachmaninoff. Featuring professors Courtney Elise LeBauer, violin; Kathy Foster, cello; and Steven Graff, piano. Sunday, May 8 at 4:00PM in Daniel Recital Hall. This event is free and open to the public, and also available by livestream at https://www.converse.edu/daniel-live
.