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

Interested in adding an event to our calendar? Please click the green “Post Your Event” button below.

Friday, January 12, 2024
REDEMPTION/TIME
Jan 12 @ 7:30 pm
Gunter Theatre

A new performance work, titled “Redemption/TIME,” brings together acclaimed poet Jimmy Santiago Baca and jazz violin virtuoso Christian Howes in a unique multimedia collaboration under the direction of Dr. David Gonzalez. The project aims to inspire a new generation through the hard-won life lessons of Santiago-Baca and Howes, and to bring their powerful voices to a wide audience through live performances and streaming services.

 

In “Redemption/TIME,” Baca’s poetic genius intertwines with Howes’ soulful musicality, along with compelling video design, to create a performance work that aims to “inspire, educate, and motivate audiences across the country,” according to Gonzalez.

 

Both Baca and Howes have powerful stories to tell, with the former having overcome illiteracy and incarceration to become an award-winning poet, while the latter learned valuable life lessons during his time in prison. Their collaboration is a testament to the power of transformation, resilience, and art.

Tuesday, January 23, 2024
Virtual Writers Workshops
Jan 23 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
online w/ Carl Sandburg Home

Join writers and poets from across the country each month for a virtual writing workshop. A link will be added to their name when more details and sign-up information becomes available. These workshops are geared towards amateur writers, ages 16 and older recommended. Follow us on Facebook for notifications too.

2024 Virtual Writers Workshops

January 23 – Tony Robles
February 26 – Ruba Ahmed
March – Amber Rose Crowtree

2023 Workshop Writers : Angela Evans, Tom Tenbrunsel, Robert Edward Miss, Kenneth Chamblee, Yasmin Mays, Shannon Yong, Jennifer McGaha, Erica Reid, Raymond McNally, Jane Waldrop, Francis Pearce, Eric Nelson, Darren Todd.

Wednesday, January 24, 2024
Southern Author Expo
Jan 24 @ 10:00 am – 2:30 pm
Hughes Main Library

Each year, the Southern Author Expo offers the chance to meet and greet selected regional authors as well as listen to special featured speakers as they share information on their latest books, their writing process, and other literary themes.

Are you a local author interested in submitting your work for consideration for the next Southern Author Expo? See submission guidelines below and submit your application by August 25.

Saturday, February 3, 2024
The Feline Fix is a FREE TNR (trap-neuter-return)
Feb 3 @ 8:00 am
Greenville County Animal Care
We are looking for 100 outdoor community cats living in Greenville County to spay and neuter….for FREE! That’s right!
The Feline Fix is a FREE TNR (trap-neuter-return) event happening Saturday, February 3 at Greenville County Animal Care’s Clinic.
This is a first-come, first-served special so arrive early! Gate opens at 8am and will close at 10am.
REQUIREMENTS:
☑️ We will be spaying and neutering OUTDOOR cats living in GREENVILLE COUNTY ONLY at this event
☑️ Participating cats are required to be in a humane live trap.
☑️ Max 4 community cats per vehicle.
☑️ All cats will be spayed/neutered, ear-tipped, and vaccinated. No other medical services will be offered (No Felv/FIV testing).
Come be a part of this incredible event and help us reduce the population of community cats in Greenville County! Questions can be emailed to [email protected]. NO APPOINTMENTS NECESSARY.
Saturday, February 24, 2024
Virtual Workshop: Literary Journal Submission Strategies with Evelyn Berry
Feb 24 @ 1:00 pm
online

This workshop focuses on the basics of navigating literary journal submissions.

Publishing short stories, poems, creative nonfiction, and art in literary journals and magazines can feel like a byzantine process. There exist many rules, expectations, and guidelines, some of them explicit and others unspoken, that frame how and when to submit your work. This workshop focuses on the basics of navigating literary journal submissions, practical tips on formatting submissions, strategies for submissions, and more. Participants will come away with a knowledge of how to research literary journals, how to strategically submit to get their work published, how to write a professional cover letter, how to compose a professional bio, and more. Workshop instructor Evelyn Berry is happy to answer any questions you might have about the bewildering journey between a finished draft and a published piece.

Evelyn Berry is a trans, Southern writer, editor, and educator. She’s the author of Grief Slut (Sundress Publications, 2024) and Buggery (Bateau Press, 2020), winner of the BOOM Chapbook Prize. She’s a recipient of a 2023 National Endowment for the Arts Poetry Fellowship, 2022 Dr. Linda Veldheer Memorial Prize, 2019 Broad River Prize for Prose, and 2018 Emrys Poetry Prize, among other honors. Her work has appeared in Beloit Poetry Journal, South Carolina Review, Gigantic Sequins, Raleigh Review, Taco Bell Quarterly, and elsewhere. She lives in Columbia, South Carolina with her partner and their pets, working as a library communications strategist.

Monday, February 26, 2024
Virtual Writers Workshops
Feb 26 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
online w/ Carl Sandburg Home

Join writers and poets from across the country each month for a virtual writing workshop. A link will be added to their name when more details and sign-up information becomes available. These workshops are geared towards amateur writers, ages 16 and older recommended. Follow us on Facebook for notifications too.

2024 Virtual Writers Workshops

January 23 – Tony Robles
February 26 – Ruba Ahmed
March – Amber Rose Crowtree

2023 Workshop Writers : Angela Evans, Tom Tenbrunsel, Robert Edward Miss, Kenneth Chamblee, Yasmin Mays, Shannon Yong, Jennifer McGaha, Erica Reid, Raymond McNally, Jane Waldrop, Francis Pearce, Eric Nelson, Darren Todd.

Friday, March 8, 2024
Summer CAMP LOVE-A-PET CLASS REGISTRATION Open
Mar 8 all-day
Spartanburg Humane Society

ONE WEEK SESSION CLASS REGISTRATION

Camp Love-A-Pet is a one-week day camp for children entering grades 5-10. It is held from 8:00AM – 12:00PM Monday – Friday. Some days are slightly longer depending on field trips.

 

  • Camp Love-A-Pet Summer 2024 Registration

    A summer day camp for kids who love animals. Campers learn about basic dog obedience, pet care, and issues impacting the welfare of animals. Activities include guest speakers, arts and crafts, field trip, and more!
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  • Price: $245.00

MINI WEEK SESSION CLASS REGISTRATION

A shorter week-long session for younger pet lovers, Mini Camp is held from either 9-11am or 2:00PM to 4:00PM, Monday through Friday. Sessions are for children entering grades 3 and 4. Young campers are introduced to basic training techniques and enrichment projects used at Spartanburg Humane Society to keep the animals in our care comfortable.

  • Mini Camp Registration 2024

    A summer mini day camp for kids who love animals. Campers learn about basic dog obedience, pet care, and issues impacting the welfare of animals. Activities include guest speakers, arts and crafts, field trip, and more! You asked and we listened! We are now offering a morning time for this mini camp! Please note the camp session materials and lessons are exactly the same for the 9-11am camp and 2pm-4pm camp. We just wanted to offer kids a more versatile schedule for their camp time.
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  • Price: $100.00
Saturday, March 9, 2024
Paws in Landrum
Mar 9 @ 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Landrum Farmers Market

A Pet Expo with vendors selling food, animal themed crafts, pet products and pet services; nonprofit animal rescue groups and their adoptable animals; wildlife education programs with live animals; animal themed carnival games and more.

Spaygetti and No Balls Ball
Mar 9 @ 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
The Country Club of Spartnaburg

Join us for a night of delectable desserts, live music, exquisite food, and of course good company to raise money for spay or neuter surgery for our animals.

 

Thursday, April 11, 2024
POETRY WORKSHOP WITH GLENIS REDMOND
Apr 11 @ 6:00 pm
Ramsaur Studio

This National Poetry Month, turn your sparks of inspiration into beautiful poetry in an all-new poetry workshop led by Greenville Poet Laureate Glenis Redmond. Whether you’re just dipping your toes into the world of poetry or you’ve been penning verses for a while, this workshop is tailor-made for you. From brainstorming ideas to crafting captivating lines, Glenis will guide you every step of the way. Unleash your inner wordsmith and explore the magic of poetry with a true master.

The $125 registration fee is for admission to the three-part workshop taking place at 6:00 PM on April 11, 18 and 25. Please bring paper and your preferred writing tool with you. The workshop culminates in a reading during the final session where participants can invite a guest to enjoy their poetry progress.

Tuesday, April 16, 2024
Teens Meet: Furry Friends
Apr 16 @ 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm
Middle Tyger Library

Meet adoptable animals from the Spartanburg Humane Society to pet and love. For teens ages 12-18 or in grades 7-12.

Saturday, May 11, 2024
Prime Paws Fun Dog Walk
May 11 @ 8:00 am – 9:00 am
Lyman Methodist Church,

Join us Lyman Methodist Church for their third annual Prime Paws Dog Fun Walk! Saturday, May 11, 2024 Money raised will benefit Lyman MC Prime Time Group and the animals at the Spartanburg Humane Society! The fun will be had on the walking track located beside Lyman Methodist Church, directly across the street from the former back entrance to the Mill. This event is rain or shine! 8:00am registration, 9:00am start time Registration includes: T-Shirt & Doggie Bandana Deadline to register and guarantee your shirt is April 24.

The registration fee is $25 per dog and each participant will receive a Prime Paws T-Shirt , 1 bandana, and a picture with their canine friend.

Deadline to register and guarantee a shirt is April 24!

The fun will be had on the walking track located beside Lyman Methodist Church, directly across the street from the former back entrance to the Mill.

Come out and have a fun time with your canine friend as the two of you walk for exercise while raising money for good causes.

 

 

 

Celebrate National Pet Week: Yappy Hour
May 11 @ 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
The Unleashed Dog Bar

🐾 Happy National Pet Week!

Wednesday, May 15, 2024
Hump Day Yappy Hour
May 15 @ 6:00 pm
FR8yard

The doggos are taking over the Yard! Dog parents, dog-friendly business owners, dog-based non-profits–basically dog enthusiasts of every stripe–are descending on FR8yard every 1st and 3rd Wednesday this Spring for live music, awesome eats & drinks, and more! We’ll issue you a $5 PUP BUCK just for bringing out your four-legged-friends … and proceeds from our special Pooch Hooch Cocktails, courtesy of Tito’s, will be benefitting the Spartanburg Humane Society. Did we mention free dog treats??? So, come join us for our Hump Day Yappy Hours and don’t forget to bring your fur babies!

Tuesday, May 21, 2024
Virtual Writers Workshop Greg Lobas
May 21 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
online

Greg Lobas will lead a virtual writer’s workshop titled: “Writing Your Life into Poetry.”

“Write what you know” is one of the first and best maxims for the aspiring writer. But what if “what you know” is ordinary, even mundane? This workshop will look at ways to mine the gold that is in everyone’s life and turn it into poetry. It may take some digging. It may take a little change in perspective. But it is there, and it is material only you can use. We will focus on the narrative poem as a means of story-telling but will consider the lyric poem as well.

This workshop is open to writers of all skill levels and is a fun way to find inspiration from a new prompt or revise current work. It is hosted by the Friends of Carl Sandburg at Connemara and will Zoom for the virtual connection. Sign up to attend the workshop at workshop here:

Greg Lobas has been published extensively as both an outdoor writer and a poet. His debut book, Left of Center, won the 2022 Dogfish Head Poetry Prize, and placed second in the Delaware State Press Association awards. The book deals with his real life experiences as a fire captain and paramedic. His poems have been published in many journals. He is an experienced poetry workshop facilitator at Isothermal Community College.
Greg lives with his wife Meg and his dog Sophie in Polk County North Carolina.

Saturday, May 25, 2024
Arts Jam: Art Vendors + Music, Dance, and Poetry Show
May 25 @ 12:00 pm
The Artistry Gallery

Music, poetry, art, and dance collide for Carolina Muse: Arts Jam, a celebration of our multimedia literary & arts magazine’s published creators based in the Carolinas.

This intimate, immersive arts event features local musicians, dancers, writers, and visual artists all in one show. Shop art pieces & crafts made by local artists and enjoy performances & readings from talented creators of several styles & genres. We’re excited to build community with fellow artists & arts-lovers of several creative mediums.

– Music & dance performances
– Poetry readings
– Art & crafts for sale
– Raffle tickets!

📆 Saturday, May 25, 2024
🕰️ 1pm-4pm (art sale starts at 12pm)
📍 The Artistry Gallery, GVL, SC
💵 $15

Wednesday, June 5, 2024
Hump Day Yappy Hour
Jun 5 @ 6:00 pm
FR8yard

The doggos are taking over the Yard! Dog parents, dog-friendly business owners, dog-based non-profits–basically dog enthusiasts of every stripe–are descending on FR8yard every 1st and 3rd Wednesday this Spring for live music, awesome eats & drinks, and more! We’ll issue you a $5 PUP BUCK just for bringing out your four-legged-friends … and proceeds from our special Pooch Hooch Cocktails, courtesy of Tito’s, will be benefitting the Spartanburg Humane Society. Did we mention free dog treats??? So, come join us for our Hump Day Yappy Hours and don’t forget to bring your fur babies!

SESSION 1: Virtual Workshop: A Four-Week Generative Workshop with Libby Flores
Jun 5 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
online

How can a writer begin a story or get unstuck when they are in the middle of a draft? In this workshop, we will look specifically at (very short) stories to discover what captivates and arrests our attention and what resonates with a reader long after the last line is read. After we discuss examples in class you will be then given a series of writing prompts. Come ready to write and be inspired! Students will produce writing to start a new story or find fresh avenues into a work already in progress. You will receive in-class feedback from the instructor and your classmates. This class can work for fiction and non-fiction writers.

This virtual workshop will be held on Zoom on Wednesdays, June 5, 12, 19, & 26 at 6:00 ET.

Libby Flores‘s writing has appeared in One Story Magazine, The Kenyon Review, Gagosian Quarterly, American Short FictionPloughshares, Post Road Magazine, McSweeney’sTin House /The Open Bar, The Guardian, and The Los Angeles Review of Books. She is the Associate Publisher at BOMB Magazine and the 2024 guest fiction editor of the Bennington Review. She has taught creative writing workshops for the Sackett Writing Workshop, Tin House, One Story, Hub City Writers Project, Bennington Collegeand PEN America. She is currently a visiting faculty member at Bennington College. She lives in Brooklyn, but will always be a Texan. Libby is represented by Sarah Bowlin at Aevitas Creative Management. You can find her at libbyflores.com.

Saturday, June 8, 2024
Adventure Day
Jun 8 @ 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Safe Haven & Educational Adventures

June 8th, 2024
10am-5pm

Come join us for Adventure Day it will be a wild family fun time!! We are only open to the public a couple times a year, you won’t want to miss out. Come meet the animals, see our facility updates & make life long memories!

By joining us you will be helping the animals —they rely on your support!

💠Meet the animals
💠raffles
💠games
💠food
💠music
& much more!

Bring your family and tell your friends, it’s going to be wild time!

FREE to enter.
$5 wrist bands to pet animals that are able to be pet.

Take 183 to Easley
Turn on Thomas mill rd by the Spinx
Follow the signs to Safe Haven & Educational Adventures, Inc.

(Our sanctuary is located at a private residence, for privacy we put the signs out the night before the event and we post the address only on our website the day before the event.)

www.rescueexotics.org

Adventure Day
Jun 8 @ 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Safe Haven & Educational Adventures

Adventure Day is around the corner- June 8th!!
Bring your family & tell your friends about this exciting fun day! You get to see our facility, meet all the animals, play games, enjoy some food & more!!
FREE to enter.
$5 to pet the animals that can safely be pet. Tickets sold 6 for $5 for food and activities.
All raised funds goes directly to the care of our rescued animals. We hope to see you here, June 8th!
Our exact address will be posted on our website the day before the event for your traveling needs. https://rescueexotics.org/adventure-day