Events Calendar

Join us for a Pop-Up with Miracle Hill Ministries and their first children’s book Isabelle’s Invisible Neighbor written by Sandy Furnell and illustrated by Amanda Ravensdale. People from Miracle Hill will be there to talk about the book, their ministry, and have books on hand to sell. Come say hello, hear more about their book, and get a signed copy!

Book Summary

Who is your invisible neighbor? When Mrs. Johnson gives her fourth grade class this new riddle to solve, Isabelle can’t wait to take on the challenge. She’s a smart, curious girl who loves competition and hopes to be a veterinarian someday. But this riddle is the most difficult one she’s ever had to solve. Before she can unravel the mystery, Isabelle will need a few more clues. Join her on the journey as she meets a stranger, takes a surprise field trip, and hears a most unusual secret. Along the way, Isabelle learns to see things she’s never seen before.

About Miracle Hill Ministries:

Miracle Hill Ministries is a nonprofit organization in the Upstate of South Carolina dedicated to providing extensive services to adults in the form of food, shelter, clothing, counseling, personal development, and addiction recovery. We also serve children who have been removed from their families through our foster home community and residential foster care program. As an evangelical, gospel-infused mercy ministry, Jesus Christ is at the center of all that we do.

“Hats and headdresses are a unique and powerful lens through which one can view the human experience.”

The Global Language of Headwear: Cultural Identity, Rites of Passage, and Spirituality, a national traveling exhibition, organized by International Arts and Artists, Washington, DC, will make its only Southeastern United States stop in Greenville, SC, at the Upcountry History Museum.

Developed by independent ethnographic curator Stacey W. Miller, the exhibition explores the vital role of ceremonial headwear throughout diverse cultural customs, beliefs, and rituals.  The exhibition features approximately 89 hats and headdresses from 43 different countries spanning Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and North and South America.

Organized in five distinct categories – Cultural Identity; Power, Prestige, and Status; Ceremonies and Celebrations; Spiritual Beliefs; and Protection – the exhibition showcases these mutual themes amid a range of traditions.

The exhibition pays tribute to the stunning diversity of the world’s cultures.  The hats and headdresses are part of a private collection of 1300 extraordinary pieces of international headwear that date from the mid to late 20^th century.

From headdresses and helmets to turbans and crowns, visitors will explore the vital role of ceremonial headwear throughout diverse cultural customs, beliefs and rituals.  Transcending utilitarian purposes, each head covering is a work of art – not merely because of the skill required to make it, but also as a singular expression of creativity and cultural meaning.  The profusion of shapes, styles, and materials, as well as the ingenious use of embellishments to decorate the hats, are limited only by imagination.

The beliefs and rituals of these many cultures, and the ceremonial objects that accompany them, ultimately unite an international community.  Comparatively, both the Plains Indian feathered war bonnet and the Congolese Misango MaPende crown, both featured in the exhibition, though from vastly different regions and civilizations, represent a position of leadership and status, and only those who have earned the right to wear one may do so.

The Global Language of Headwear exhibition colorfully demonstrates that each distinct society can be viewed through a similar lens of rites of passage, heritage, and identity.

United Way’s VITA program provides free income tax assistance to individuals and families with a household income of $60,000 or less. IRS-trained and certified volunteers help participants receive all eligible tax credits and deductions.

“The idea is not to live forever; it is to create something that will.”

Andy Warhol

One of the 20^th century’s best-known artists, Andy Warhol (1928-1987) made his name in the early 1960s with paintings and prints of brand celebrities and foods ranging from Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor to Coca-Cola and Campbell’s Soup.  These brash, innovative works are considered icons of Pop Art, a movement that both critiqued and celebrated postwar American consumer culture.  By the end of the decade, Warhol had become a celebrity in his own right, equally famous for his platinum wig and the star-studded parties he threw in his studio, the Factory, as he was for his paintings, drawings, sculpture, and films.

Before spearheading the Pop Art movement, in the 1950s Warhol achieved success on Madison Avenue as one of New York’s most popular advertising artists.  A skilled and inventive illustrator, Warhol won several Art Director’s Club awards for his work on Columbia records LP cover designs, I. Miller shoe drawings, and additional advertising work for Martini & Rossi, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue magazines.

Once his Pop art career exploded in 1962, Warhol focused on silkscreen painting and filmmaking.  He based his paintings on imagery he found in the American mass media: news photos, celebrity head shots, film stills, comics, logos, and advertisements. To convert his source images into paintings, Warhol made them into photo silkscreens and printed them on canvas.  Smudges, misalignments, and inconsistencies were accepted, giving the paintings a handmade appearance.  Sometimes the paintings included a single image, as in John Wayne (1986) and the Endangered Species series (1983).  These became larger-than-life iconic portraits, while those printed in grids, suggested the way that repetition can simultaneously embed an image in one’s memory and deaden its effect.

Works by Warhol, at the Upcountry History Museum, on loan from The Cochran Collection, LaGrange, GA, will feature 36 iconic masterworks by Warhol, dating from 1968 through his last series done in 1986. This once-in-a- lifetime exhibition includes a broad cross-section of examples from Warhol’s storied career.

The exhibit explores Warhol’s responses to major moments in U.S. history, including the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Neil Armstrong’s moon landing, and the perception of Native Americans in the aftermath of the bicentennial of the United States. Also included is Warhol’s entire series of “Myths”.  This body of work was completed in 1981 and showcases Warhol’s lifetime fascination with Hollywood imagery.  “Myths” marks a return to Warhol’s formative encounters with figures such as Howdy Doody, the Wicked Witch of the West, Superman, Mickey Mouse and many more.

March 16 – May 31 2023 | tues wed fri 10am – 5pm thurs 10am – 7pm sat 11am – 4pm sun + mon closed

The world of textiles is vast. Every day, we touch dozens of types of fabrics, from our car interiors, to our office chairs, our couches, and our own clothing. Through construction, deconstruction, and exaggeration, these artists explore textiles as a departure point to reach new levels of understanding of fabric, garments, and our relationships with them.

This exhibition is generously sponsored by Davis + Walker Barnes, Michele + Halsey Cook, Gibbs International Inc, Misti + Kevin Hudson, Susu + George Dean Johnson, Jr., Tina + David Lyon, Vicki + Tom Nederostek, and Margaret + George Nixon.

opening reception 3.16.2023 | 5-8PM

Join Kristin Shook for Yoga in the Garden each Saturday beginning April 1st through June 17th. The natural setting of Hatcher Garden is the perfect place for this practice. A suggested donation of $15 can be paid online during registration each week or you may bring it to class. All donations directly benefit Hatcher Garden.

Join us in the Maker Space to paint your very own wooden standing Easter
egg for FREE. This is a drop in event from 10AM-1PM or until supplies run
out (first 25 guests).

Join us in the Maker Space on April 8th from 10:30-11:00 for a fun morning
of Easter celebration! Create your very own wooden bunny wall hanging,
enjoy an Easter egg hunt with prizes, and meet the Easter bunny! Please
feel free to take photos with the Easter bunny on your personal camera or
device. Recommended for ages 18 months-4 years. $15 per child.

Learn how to make superior cocktails at home from one of the best bar programs in America. Alley Twenty Six Cocktail Syrups’ Joseph Gailes will be doing a cocktail demo at Swamp Rabbit Cafe and Grocery from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, April 8. The Durham, N.C. company sells a line of award-winning, all-natural, clean label syrup cocktail syrups. Alley Twenty Six, a Durham, N.C. bar, was a 2022 finalist for the James Beard Foundations’s Oustanding Bar Program award. Info: alleytwentysixsyrups.com

🎉 F R E E to the public! 🎉
** Eventbrite tickets not required 🙂 **

Add your own special touch to this year’s Easter baskets with one-of-a-kind gifts by local creators and curators.

📍focus.upstate – 371 Successful Drive, Spartanburg, SC 29651
🗓Saturday, April 8, 2023 11 AM to 2 PM
Event is rain or shine!

VENDORS
Apply here: https://forms.gle/MoGfCNFLePCD7Fcb7

If you missed your chance last month don’t stress because Carolina Barbie Dolls will be back this month!

APRIL 8TH 11AM – 3PM
371 SUCCESSFUL DRIVE SPARTANBURG
(less than 10 minutes from downtown)

Get deals on body sculpting, facials, massages, lashes, and waxing. To book your spot in advance text / call Shari at (864) 453-2889 or (516) 423-9291

www.carolinabarbiedollsllc.org

Included with admission

Back by popular demand, The Vanderbilts at Home and Abroad exhibition offers guests:

• An opportunity to view rarely-seen treasures from the Biltmore collection
• A first-hand look at the Vanderbilts’ lifestyle
• Deeper insights into George, Edith, and Cornelia’s personalities, both at home and on their extensive travels

Access to exhibitions at The Biltmore Legacy is included with Biltmore daytime admission.

Join Chef Teryi Youngblood Musolf on Saturday, April 8th at 12 PM for a Cook The Book cooking class. We’ll be working from Vietnam: Morning to Midnight by Jerry Mai.

Here’s your chance to learn from one of the biggest culinary talents around as Chef Teryi gives us the inside scoop on a brand new or beloved cookbook, and the confidence to crack into it ourselves once we get home.

You’ll have the chance to work alongside Chef Teryi on two different recipes, asking questions and taking notes on techniques and tips of the trade. You’ll get to hear what makes a good recipe great, and get some background on what this cookbook is doing like no other. At the end of the class, you’ll have a glass of wine and sample what you’ve made, and maybe get to take home a little something special too. It’s an afternoon of delicious education.
Your ticket covers the cost of ingredients and instruction, with the option to add on the featured cookbook.
ABOUT THE BOOK
From dawn to dusk, enjoy Vietnamese cuisine at its best.

Join chef and author Jerry Mai as she shares the iconic dishes and street-food eats that are enjoyed throughout Vietnam, from morning to midnight.

As the sun rises, mornings start early in Vietnam: locals perch on plastic stools, slurping large bowls of beef pho, while others grab a crispy pork banh mi for breakfast on the go. Lunch might include delicious grilled meats piled high onto rice, or a cold noodle salad to help stay cool in the midday heat.

Weaving through the bustling streets, snacks are all around: rice paper rolls, savoury pancakes, sweet treats, drinks and more. At the end of the day, grilled or barbecued savoury snacks are the perfect foil for freshly brewed beer and are the best prelude to dinner – a communal feast of shared dishes.

This is how Vietnam eats, and you’ll find it all here in Vietnam: Morning to Midnight.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jerry Mai is a Vietnamese-Australian chef and restauranteur. She owns and runs two Melbourne restaurants offering different Vietnamese food experiences – the cool, casual street-food of Pho Nom, and Annam, Jerry’s pimped-up Vietnamese restaurant showcasing her mother’s recipes, all intertwined with her own unique food experiences.

Jerry visits Vietnam annually in order to to showcase new flavour experiments at both venues.

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.

Hit the trails and learn more about The North Carolina Arboretum’s botanically diverse forest with a guided trail walk! April through October, this free hiking program is led by trained volunteer guides who take small groups of participants along woodland trails and through a variety of forest types. Depending on the season and each guide’s area of expertise, topics of discussion may include wildflowers, plant and tree identification, natural history and more.

Guided trail walks are limited to 15 people, including the guide, and are not recommended for guests under 16 years of age. Groups depart from the Baker Visitor Center Lobby on Tuesdays at 1 p.m. and Saturdays at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m..

Walks last 1.5 – 2.5 hours, are approximately one to two miles in length. As this program is held rain or shine, all participants should dress appropriately for the weather.

There is no pre-registration; walks are first-come first served and sign up sheets are located in the Baker Visitors Center.

Walks are FREE; however, donations to The North Carolina Arboretum Society are appreciated. Regular parking fees apply. Arboretum Society Members always park free.

Know Before You Go

• Guided Trail Walks are not recommended for guests under 16 years of age.
• Guided Trail Walks are rain or shine and all participants should be dressed comfortably and for the weather.
• Hikes cover 1-2 miles and last 1.5-2 hours.
• Well-behaved leashed pets are welcome to accompany their owners. In the rare case that a pet is disruptive or negatively impacts the experience, the pet and its owner may be asked to excuse themselves from the guided walk.
• COVID-19 Safety: In order to hear the guide and fully participate in the trail walk, participants will be in close proximity to one another for extended periods of time. While face coverings are not required, participants should use their best judgement to keep themselves and others safe while enjoying the trails. Individuals who are experiencing flu-like symptoms or suspect they may have been exposed to COVID-19 should not participate.
• At this time, no more than 6 spaces may be filled by a single family/group through pre-registration for any one Guided Trail Walk. If additional spaces are available on the day of the Walk, additional members of the family/group may participate. We apologize for any inconvenience and look forward to welcoming larger groups in the future.

steamWORKS

“ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER’S MEGAHIT. THIS IS THE CATS YOU KNOW AND LOVE!” – The New York Times

CATS, the record-breaking musical spectacular by Andrew Lloyd Webber that has captivated audiences in over 30 countries and 15 languages, is now on tour across North America! Audiences and critics alike are rediscovering this beloved musical with breathtaking music, including one of the most treasured songs in musical theater—”Memory.” Winner of seven Tony Awards®, including BEST MUSICAL, CATS tells the story of one magical night when an extraordinary tribe of cats gathers for its annual ball to rejoice and decide which cat will be reborn.

The original score by Andrew Lloyd Webber (The Phantom of the Opera, School of Rock, Sunset Boulevard), original scenic and costume design by John Napier (Les Misérables), all-new lighting design by Natasha Katz (Aladdin), all-new sound design by Mick Potter, new choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler (Hamilton) based on the original choreography by Gillian Lynne (Phantom) and direction by Trevor Nunn (Les Misérables) make this production a new CATS for a new generation!

Eat, drink and be merry! Join us this Saturday (and every Saturday) from 7pm to 10pm as we host live local talent! The talent in our beautiful city is incredible, so come out for dinner and live music. Saturday, February 3rd we will have the acoustic sounds of Katie D. Check out our website for a list of all artists that will be playing!