Category Archives: Myrtle Beach’s Best

Festivals, events, entertainment, attractions, shopping, dining and more in and around the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina area.

Gallery to present Setting the Mood, a group show of large format artworks

Sunset River Gallery in Calabash, NC will present a group show titled Setting the
Mood, running through Saturday, May 13. The exhibition will feature large format art pieces ranging from 30 by 30 inches to 48 by 60 inches.

Artist Connie Winters, Thinking About Fishing, oil, 24 x 48


Gallery director Samantha Spalti said, “We’ve had a growing number of clients
asking for large pieces to help them set the mood for a room, so this show is in
direct response to that. A large painting is often a centerpiece – above a sofa,
over a dining room table, anchoring a gallery wall. Indeed, it sets the mood. And
with our 10,000 square foot space of fine regional art, Sunset River Gallery is in a
unique position to showcase that art. The selection in this show offers a range of
both media and style, all to help our clients ‘set the mood.’”

Artist Rich Flanagan, Solitary Season, oil 40 x 30


Featured in the show are works by fine regional oil painters, Connie Winters, Pat
Puckett, Ruth Cox, Rich Flanagan, Nancy McClure, Bayou Gray, Mary Welch
Austin, Nancy Hughes Miller, Carol Iglesias; and acrylic artists, Ginny Lassiter,
Cristiana Rioli, Roberta Rotunda, and Sterling Edwards.

Artist Sterling Edwards, Ascribed, acrylic,38 x 50


Spalti adds, “The artists in the show represent a wonderful mix of style and genre
– representational to abstract, traditional to contemporary. We think visitors will
love this exhibit.”

Artist Pat Puckett, Palmettos Along the Bank, oil, 24 x 48


About Sunset River Marketplace
Located in coastal Brunswick County, Sunset River Gallery caters to both area
visitors and a growing local community of full-time residents seeking fine art for
their homes and businesses. Featuring work by over 100 fine North and South
Carolina artists, the gallery is well known in the area for its collection of oil
paintings, watermedia, pastels, photography, hand-blown glass, fused glass,
pottery, and clay sculptures, turned and carved wood, unique home décor items
and artisan jewelry.

There are two onsite kilns and five wheels used by the gallery’s pottery students.
Art classes and workshops are currently being offered on a limited basis. Current
class listings are on the gallery website, with frequent updates on the gallery
Facebook page.

The gallery address is: 10283 Beach Drive SW, Calabash, NC 28467. Hours are
Monday – Saturday, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. For more information, call 910.575.5999 or
visit the website at sunsetrivergallery.com. Daily updates are available on the
gallery’s Facebook and Instagram pages.

The FrameCenter, located within the gallery, is open Wednesday through Friday,
12 noon – 5 p.m. and by appointment. Call master framer Louis Aliotta directly at
910.368.7351.

Sea Turtle Nesting Season

The season opens May 1. Sea turtles are federally protected under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Turtle Protection Act.  The law states that “no person may take, possess, disturb, mutilate, destroy, cause to be destroyed, sell, offer for sale, transfer, molest or harass any marine sea turtle or its nests or eggs at any times.”  If you see a sea turtle in the ocean or on the beach, stay away from it.  Turtle hatchlings should not be picked up and placed in the ocean, as they need to crawl on their own to set their navigational compass and increase their chance of survival.  Do not harm, harass, pick up, ride, straddle, restrain, jump over, injure, kill or otherwise disturb sea turtles.  Feeding or touching turtles in any way, including shining a light on them, is considered a disturbance.  Federal penalties for disturbing sea turtles include jail time and fines up to $15,000 for each offense, with the maximum federal fine for harming a threatened species being $25,000.
 
Beachgoers, stay away from sand dunes, keep dogs on leashes at all times, put all trash and recyclables in solid waste containers, fill in beach holes and smash sand castles before leaving each day.  Fireworks, lights, flash photography, and noise will disturb sea turtles!  Disturbances can result in “false crawl,” meaning the mother returned to the ocean without leaving hatchlings on the beach.  If you spot nesting activity or a sick, injured, dead or disturbed turtle or nest, call South Carolina’s Department of Natural Resources at 1-800-922-5431.  If you see someone disturbing or harming a sea turtle or nest, call the Police Department for immediate assistance.

The Moveable Feast during May

Luncheons with exciting authors, artists, musicians & historians at area eateries
For 25 years, the Moveable Feast, founded and managed by Linda Ketron, has been held at local restaurants throughout the year on Fridays (and some Tuesdays). Now, the Moveable Feasts are held on Tuesdays, unless the presenter or the preferred venue is unavailable. The presentation precedes the meal. For each Feast, the chef prepares a special menu, typically unavailable during the restaurant’s public hours. Food allergies are accommodated with advance notice; vegetarian option always available. Individuals, couples, friends, book clubs, and other small groups are assigned table seating. We will call to confirm your reservation 10 days prior to the event. *Each feast is $35 (or three for $100 paid in advance), unless additional expenses dictate a higher fee. The three-fer could be for future feasts, or for three guests at a single feast. After lunch, authors will adjourn to My Sister’s Books (13057 Ocean Hwy # C) to sign stock and chat with fans.

Tues., May 2 ~ Susan M. Boyer (Big Trouble on Sullivan’s Island) at The Village House ($35)

(13089 Ocean Hwy, Building E, Pawleys Island 29585)

After a dozen murders on fictional Stella Maris, author Boyer finds a real and bigger Lowcountry island on which to kill! Meet Hadley Cooper…some would say she’s the best private investigator in the state of South Carolina, albeit a tad eccentric. She drives a Ford Fairlane convertible that’s older than she is, listens to eighties Southern rock, refuses to carry a gun, and eats nothing but plants. Who knew there was such a thing as vegan pimento cheese? Eugenia Ladson’s husband—retired judge Everette Ladson—is engaging in marital misbehavior—she’s certain of it. But to activate the clause in her pre-nup, she needs proof, and is willing to pay for as many hours of surveillance as it takes. When Eugenia turns up dead, Hadley is in Greenville, South Carolina—three and a half hours away—where she’s followed Everette. Every instinct tells Hadley Everette is responsible for Eugenia’s death, but she is regrettably his alibi. Hadley reckons with the skeletons in her own closet as she races to find the truth about what happened to Eugenia and bring a killer to justice.


*WED., May 10 ~ Jennie Holton Fant (The Regions of the Rice Planter) at Ocean One ($35)

(1 Norris Drive, Pawleys Island, SC 29585)

Writer, editor, librarian Fant established her credibility as a charming traveling companion through the Charleston lowcountry with her prior books: The Travelers’ Charleston (Accounts of Charleston and Lowcountry, South Carolina, 1666-1861) and Sojourns in Charleston, South Carolina, 1865-1947 (From the Ruins of War to the Rise of Tourism). Here, she turns her attention to chronicling the impressions of travelers on historic journeys around Georgetown and the Waccamaw River Regions of South Carolina, from 1734 to 1875. These first-hand narratives of visiting clergy, statesmen, ladies companions, continental relatives, botanists, and adventurers reveal a South no longer noticed by its residents. The writers – each eloquent regardless of station in life – document the challenges posed by early geography and allow us to see old plantations, houses and buildings, churches and slave chapels. They reveal forgotten sights, old taverns, the food consumed, as well as encounters with early residents.
They allow us to witness slavery as they did, the day-to-day lives of the enslaved on the plantation, to experience their plight, to hear the haunting beauty of their songs. That said, some of these travelers are opposed to slavery, others are sympathetic to it, and many are downright offensive regarding the enslaved Africans. As the reader journeys via the travelers’ eyes, layer by layer, a larger history comes into focus, a window into time where Jennie’s footnoted comments bring people, places and events into their historical context with enlightening observations.

Tues., May 16 ~ Jackie Layton (A Killer Unleashed) at Hot Fish Club ($35)

(4911 US-17 Business, Murrells Inlet, SC 29576)

In Layton’s fifth cozy mystery (Bite the Dust, Dog-gone Dead, Bag of Bones, Caught and Collared), featuring adorable, resilient “investigator” Andi Grace Scott, there are puzzles, pretenses and possibilities when a client’s dog turns up missing and her husband turns up dead. Our Low Country dog walker will have to rely on dogged determination to track down the killer, amidst ransom demands, her own wedding plans, and a widow more upset about her missing puppy than her dead hubby. The trail of clues leads Andi Grace to a scheme more nefarious than her suspicion that the whole thing was a setup.

Tues., May 23 ~ Brian Livingston (The Habits of Squirrels) at Quigley’s Next Door ($35)

(251 Willbrook Blvd., Pawleys Island, SC 29585)

In this charming, thoughtful meditation on all of life’s journeys, Brian Livingston finds humor, grace, and sunburn on one of America’s great hikes. Gabe Jenkins spent his career driving in circles. For thirty years, his life revolved around his mail route. Upon retirement, this accumulated inertia steers Gabe onto the Great Eastern Trail, the meandering pathway running south to north through the sprawling Amicola Mountains. As he walks, he encounters the Trail’s eccentric inhabitants, who will help him, challenge him, and ultimately shape his journey. As a new Gabe ambles toward the Great Eastern Trail’s northern terminus, he is forced to reckon with how he has lived his life and to determine what kind of person he wants to be—as a husband, as a father, as a human being— and how he wants to spend his remaining years.

MILITARY APPRECIATION DAYS 2023

Please join the City of Myrtle Beach, Military Appreciation Committee and the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce as we collectively host a series of events this May to celebrate our military! To observe the city’s military history of nearly 50 years, Myrtle Beach Military Appreciation Days commends those who serve, or have served, our great nation.  In addition to the regularly scheduled annual events in our month-long celebration, we will also welcome the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall, Veterans Victory Walk and a Festive Brass concert performance to our 2023 line-up.  

As part of fundraising efforts for The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall, The Veterans Café and Grille is hosting a fundraiser from 12:00 to 3:00 p.m., Sunday, April 30.  All proceeds from the luncheon event will go towards The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall and Quilts of Valor.  The cost is $15 per person.  The menu includes hamburgers, hot dogs, coleslaw, potato salad and a drink.  Everyone is welcome.  The Veterans Café and Grille is located at 3544 Northgate Drive in Myrtle Beach.

Military Appreciation Days kicks-off at 9:00 a.m., Saturday, May 6, with the Horry County Junior ROTC Drill Meet at the Myrtle Beach Pelicans Stadium parking lot, 1251 21st Avenue North.  Ten area high schools are expected to participate this year in 10 different team and individual events including armed and unarmed versions of Regulation Squad and Platoon, Exhibition, Knockout and Color Guard.  Immediately following the Drill Meet, the Military Family Members Social will be hosted inside Pelicans Stadium at 12:00 p.m.  This lunch is for Drill Meet participants, plus anyone who has family preparing to enter the military or on active duty.

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans host Military Appreciation Night Saturday, May 20.  Gates open at 5:00 p.m., and the game begins at 6:05 p.m.  The Myrtle Beach Pelicans will face-off against the Augusta GreenJackets.  Military Appreciation Night features specialty jerseys worn by Pelicans players and then raffled-off to military members in attendance only.  Active or retired military personnel will receive a free raffle ticket for the chance to win a jersey.

The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall will be in Myrtle Beach from Thursday, May 25, through Sunday, May 28. The wall will be free and available to the public for visitation 24 hours a day.  It’s expected to arrive with an escort of up to a thousand motorcycles in the late afternoon of Thursday, May 25.  The wall is scheduled to depart Myrtle Beach after the Closing Ceremony, Sunday, May 28.

You can visit the wall at the field next to Crabtree Memorial Gym, 1004 Crabtree Lane.  Parking is along Forbus Court and Crabtree Lane.  The wall is six feet tall from its center, and spans nearly 300 feet. The wall’s visit is made possible by more than a hundred volunteers, partners and sponsors, including The Myrtle Beach Vet Center, The Veterans Café and Grille and the City of Myrtle Beach.

  • Opening Ceremony – 1:00 p.m., Friday, May 26, 2023
  • Remembrance Ceremony – 2:00 p.m., Saturday, May 27, 2023
  • Closing Ceremony – 1:00 p.m., Sunday, May 28, 2023

Calabash gallery adds to offering of investment-grade modern 20th century art

Artist Raimonds Staprans, Chinatown, oil, 20 x 16

Sunset River Gallery in Calabash, NC has recently added to its offering of fine 20th century art with two new pieces each by Raimonds Staprans (1926) and Wolf Kahn (1927 – 2020).

Staprans is a Latvian American artist and playwright. He immigrated to the US in 1947. One of the artists he studied under was Hans Hofmann. Staprans, who is still living but no longer paints, was known for examining the architecture of everyday objects using color and flattened compositions. His subject matter was always an important component of his work where he explored the formal devices of abstract expressionism.

Artist Raimonds Staprans, Cathedral, oil, 25 x 22

The two new pieces at Sunset River Gallery are both early examples of his work and depict bustling city scenes. Unlike his later paintings these two are highly textured but employ his distinctive simplicity of shape (noted particularly in both his trees and structures in these cityscapes). Typically, Staprans’ earlier pieces command lower prices, so, according to gallery director Samantha Spalti, these are ideal for entry level collectors. Chinatown, oil on canvas, 20” x 16” and Cathedral, oil on canvas 25 ¼” x 22 ¼”, were both painted in the 1950s.

Artist Wolf Kahn, Near the Potomac in Spring, oil, 28 x 66

German-born Wolf Kahn also studied under Hans Hofmann and later became his assistant. He immigrated to the U.S. by way of England. After enrolling in the University of Chicago, he completed his degree in a single year and established, with other Hofmann students, the Hansa Gallery in CITY. Kahn received numerous awards including the Fulbright Scholarship, a John Simson Guggenheim Fellowship, an Award in Art from the Academy of Arts and Letters, and a Medal of Arts from the U.S. State Department.

His work was a unique blend of realism combined with the formal discipline of color field painting. The fusion of color, spontaneity, and representation produced a rich and expressive body of work.

The two new pieces include Fall Maples, oil, 18 ¼” x 44 ¼” (1986) and Near the Potomac in Spring, oil on canvas, 28” x 66” (1987).

Artist Wolf Kahn, Fall Maples, oil, 28 ¼ x 44 ¼

Spalti says that Sunset River Gallery is in a unique position to offer clients rare and high-quality investment-grade art at better-than-expected pricing due to the gallery’s cost-efficient location and the gallery owner’s buying expertise. “If we were located in a busy metropolitan area, it just wouldn’t be possible,” she adds. “We hope art lovers, collectors, and students will all take advantage of the opportunity to view this museum-quality art right here in Calabash or at sunsetrivergallery.com.”

About Sunset River Gallery

Located in coastal Brunswick County, NC, Sunset River Gallery caters to both area visitors and a growing local community of full-time residents seeking fine art for their homes and businesses. Featuring works by over 100 fine regional artists including Betty Anglin Smith, Marcus McClanahan, Pat Puckett, and Angie Sinclair, among others, the gallery is well known in the area for its selection of oil paintings; watermedia; pastels; photography; hand-blown, stained, and fused glass; pottery and clay sculpture; turned and carved wood; unique home décor items; and artisan jewelry.

There are two onsite kilns and five wheels used by the gallery’s pottery students. The gallery also offers ongoing oil/acrylic and watercolor classes as well as workshops by nationally known instructors.

The gallery’s carefully curated selection of investment-grade 20th century fine art is the largest in the Carolinas. Current inventory can be found on Artsy and the gallery website’s 20th Century Artists section. It includes works by Wolf Kahn (1927-2020), Ed Mell (1942), Raimonds Staprans (1926), Angell Botello (1913-1986), Jean Xceron (1890-1967), Emile Gruppe (1896-1998), identical twins Raphael Soyer (1899 -1987) and Moses Soyer (1899 – 1974), Rolph Scarlett (1889 – 1984), Vladimir Cora (1951), Hunt Slonam (1951), Ginny Crouch Stanford (1950), Tadashi Asoma (1923 – 2017), Robert Natkin (1930 – 2010), and Ida Rittenberg Kohlmeyer (1912 – 1997). Also included are two folk art pieces by Mose Tolliver (1925 – 2006), a bronze sculpture by Glenna GoodAcre (1939 – 2020) and two bronzes by Millton Hebald (1930 – 2010).

MOVEABLE FEASTS

Mostly Tuesdays, 11 AM-1 PM, Mostly $30*

Luncheons with exciting authors, artists, musicians & historians at area eateries
For 25 years, the Moveable Feast, founded and managed by Linda Ketron, has been held at local restaurants throughout the year on Fridays (and some Tuesdays). Going forward, Moveable Feasts are scheduled for mostly Tuesday unless the presenter or the preferred venue is unavailable. In addition to authors, the Moveable Feasts will feature artists and musicians, historians and folks of interest! The presentation precedes the meal. For each Feast, the chef prepares a special menu, typically unavailable during the restaurant’s public hours. Food allergies are accommodated with advance notice; vegetarian option always available. Individuals, couples, friends, book clubs, and other small groups are assigned table seating. We will call to confirm your reservation 10 days prior to the event. *Each Feast is $30 unless additional expenses dictate higher. For reservations, 843.235.9600 or visit www.ClassAtPawleys.com.

Tues., Feb. 14 ~ Jill Trinka (Appalachian Songs of Love) at Litchfield Country Club

(619 Country Club Drive, Pawleys Island 29585)

Love songs come in all manner of styles – ballads, lyric songs, and “just for fun” pieces – encompassing the myriad facets of love: courtship, coquettish, mysterious, teasing, true, absent, unrequited, lost, false, and old. Don’t miss this Musical Moveable Feast with Jill’s selection of love songs from Appalachia (and somewhat beyond). Jill’s performances and recordings are beloved around the world and especially in the United States, where she researches, records, and teaches teachers, children, and people just like you!

Tues., Feb. 21 ~ John Cribb (The Rail Splitter) at Pawleys Tap & Pour

(13089 Ocean Hwy, Pawleys Island 29585)

The author of the acclaimed novel Old Abe has penned a new work of historical fiction that brings Abraham Lincoln to life as never before. The Rail Splitter tells the story of Abraham Lincoln’s remarkable journey from a log cabin to the threshold of the White House—a journey that turns him into one of America’s most beloved heroes. We walk beside him on every page of this spellbinding novel and come to know his hopes and struggles on his winding path to greatness. John’s previous work includes coauthoring The American Patriot’s Almanac and The Educated Child, both New York Times bestsellers; co-editing The Human Odyssey, a 3-volume world history text; and developing on- line history courses. John also worked as former US Secretary of Education Bill Bennett’s collaborator on the New York Times #1 bestseller The Book of Virtues. He has appeared on numerous TV, radio, and podcast shows such as
C-SPAN’s Washington Journal and Fox News’s Fox & Friends, and his writing has been published in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, FoxNews.com, The Hill, Real Clear Politics, and several other publications.

Tues., Feb. 28 ~ Ron Daise (Geechee Literature Series) at The Village House

(13089 Ocean Hwy, Building E, Pawleys Island 29585)

Not one to rest on his laurels, Ron Daise has authored two new books. He is the former Vice President for
Creative Education at Brookgreen Gardens, the former star of Nick Jr. TV’s “Gullah Gullah Island,” a former
chairman of the federal Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission, a recipient of The Palmetto Award of SC, The Governor’s Award, and the Jean Lacey Harris Heritage Award. Experience from each of these affiliations are echoed in We Wear the Mask – Unraveled Truths in a Pre-Gullah Community and Turtle Dove Done Drooped His Wings – A Gullah Tale of Flight or Fight, the first two novellas of his “Geechee Literature Series.” The books showcase Gullah Geechee culture as contemporary through historical and literary fiction. Each story connects the past, present, and future. Rest assured that a “talk” by Ron is going to be a riveting “performance.”

Tues., March 7 ~ Laurie Loewenstein (Unmentionables) at Inlet Affairs

Loewenstein applies her brilliant journalistic research to an award-winning historical fiction account of the dress reform advocate who shocked Chatauqua audiences a century ago in the midwest, inspiring young women to fight for the vote and equal opportunities, to leave the prejudicial expectations of their small-town society and find their way in big-city Chicago and war-torn France. A vivid tale of different times and issues, many of which are still unresolved today.


Tues., March 14 ~ Stephanie Alexander (Tipsy Collins Trilogy) at Pawleys Plantation (Sawgrass)
The trilogy – Charleston Green, Haint Blue, and Palmetto Rose – is an exploration of women’s everyday trials and tribulations, with a hefty dose of southern charm and supernatural intrigue. New York Times bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand praises Charleston Green as “skillful and clever and funny.” Kirkus Reviews calls it “an enchanting novel of a woman finding her way out of a midlife (and mid-death) crisis.”

Tues., March 21 ~ C. Hope Clark (Edisto Island Mysteries) at Hot Fish Club

A decade after her first Moveable Feast and more than that many new mysteries under her pen, Hope Clark returns with the 9th book (Badge of Edisto) in her third mystery series (preceded by the Carolina Slade and Craven County series). Retired Police Chief Callie Jean Morgan is having second thoughts about her half-assed “good ol’ boy” replacement in the town of Edisto – with lethal cause. Hope Clark’s books have been honored as winners of the Epic Award, Silver Falchion Award, the Imaginarium Award, and the Daphne du Maurier Award.

Tues., April 11 ~ Teri M. Brown (Sunflowers Beneath the Snow and An Enemy Like Me)

at Pawleys Tap & Pour

After garnering six awards in 2022 for her first historical fiction, Teri Brown has written a compelling second novel. In Sunflowers Beneath the Snow, she explored the tenacity of women, showing that even in grueling circumstances (i.e., Ukraine under Soviet control), they can, and do, experience all the good things life has to offer – compassion, joy, love, faith, and wonder. Now, in An Enemy Like Me, Brown uses the backdrop of World War II to show the angst experienced by her first-generation American protagonist, his wife, and his four-year-old son as he left for and fought in a war he did not create. Here, she explores the concepts of xenophobia, intrafamily dynamics, and the recognition that war is not won and lost by nations, but by ordinary men and women and the families who support them. We are watching this drama play out again.

Tues., April 18 ~ Liz Newall (You Don’t Have to Tell Everything You Know)

at Quigley’s Next Door

Liz Newall grew up in the tiny cotton town of Starr in upstate South Carolina where she heard many a-story, some joyfully repeated, others barely whispered. She’s been a teacher, peach picker, freelance writer, and longtime managing editor of Clemson World alumni magazine. Now retired, she lives on the family farm in the Wild Hog community of Pendleton, S.C., with her husband, Billy, and their dogs, King and Jessi. Her first work of historical fiction tracks the life of Isamar Woods Jones McGee, born in upstate South Carolina into a second family in 1865, one month after the Civil War ended. Her life is a product of unsettled times, family dynamics, and the human condition. She tells her story and those of the people around her through journal entries, which she annotates and amends in her final days. Her travels take her down the Savannah River and to the 1901 Charleston Exposition where she meets Beautiful Jim Key, billed as the world’s smartest horse, and a young Nancy Columbia, the Inuit star of stage and screen in the early 1900s. Isamar’s life and times offer a fascinating, often funny, sometimes complex testament to the joys and sorrows of the human heart — regardless of era.


*Tues., April 25 ~ Patricia Kolencik & Jane Petrone (Wachesaw & Richmond Hill Plantations:

A Short History) at Kimbel’s, Wachesaw ($50 incl. signed book)

After several years researching, fact checking, writing, editing, polishing and proofing, Patty & Jane are ready to share the fascinating history of their community. Step back in time as these two lifelong educators take you on a captivating journey through the centuries to reveal the complex historical account of two intertwined antebellum rice plantations, Wachesaw and Richmond Hill. This intriguing trek through the passage of time will take the reader through the early Native American settlements to colonization, the rice culture, the Civil War and Reconstruction, northern investment, and southern development, highlighting the families whose lives revolved around the two estates. Whether a history buff or just a curious reader, this short history brings the whispers from the past alive as one journeys through the victories and struggles of these plantations, which are now recognized in the National Register of Historic Places. (Registration priority granted to WPC members and Wachesaw
residents.)

Orthopedic surgeon/author Tom Kelso to speak at Sunset River Gallery Feb. 9

Thomas Kelso will speak at Sunset River Gallery on Thursday, Feb. 9 from 11 a.m. to 12 noon as part of its monthly Coffee With the Authors program. The event is free, but seating is limited so the gallery requests reservations. Coffee, tea, and breakfast treats will be served.

Kelso is a practicing local orthopedic physician who is also well known for his thrillers, which are based on current innovations in medicine and science. His current novel is Stability Island, third in his Mark Thurman series. It’s an ordinary day in the ER for orthopedic surgeon Thurman until he finds a mysterious sphere that defies gravity. Excitement and danger build in a race against time as Thurman once again joins forces with his former Naval Special Warfare Development Group to prevent one of modern history’s most significant scientific discoveries from falling into the wrong hands.

Previous medical thrillers in the Mark Furman books include Fractured and Hyperion’s Fracture. All three are available at the gallery for book-signing.

Art Under the Oaks at Litchfield Village Commons

Saturday, Oct. 22, 9 AM-4 PM

Sixty vendors (art, crafts, books, food and music) will stretch around the oak-covered corner of Willbrook Blvd. and Ocean Highway. A great day for browsing, noshing, shopping and just welcoming the fall.

Visit CLASS Publishing’s tent where a dozen authors will be available to chat and sign their books – thoughtful and appreciated choices for the gift giving season!

Moveable Feast Events Announced

The Moveable Feast offers monthly luncheons in the Myrtle Beach area featuring presenters on a broad range of cultural topics (music, art, drama, history, and some literature, mostly by local and CLASS-published authors). Each is individually priced.

Friday, Oct. 7 ~ John Lane & Phil Wilkinson (Seven Days on the Santee Delta) at Inlet Affairs ($30)
A richly embroidered coastal South Carolina tapestry of three strands: Philip Wilkinson’s stunning photos of people, wildlife and weather; his homespun stories of the place and its conservation history; and a seven-part narrative by award-winning environmental writer and Wofford College professor John Lane who shares what he has learned firsthand in the field with Phil. With publication of this remarkable coffee-table book, the Lord Berkeley Conservation Trust, Evening Post Books and a generous group of conservation-minded sponsors brings Wilkinson’s legacy to a wider public and celebrates the beauty and value of a remarkably wild and vital place. Enjoy a narrated slide presentation of this remarkable
publication.

Tuesday, Oct. 11 ~ at Caffe Piccolo ($25)

South Carolina poet Libby Bernardin is the author of Stones Ripe for Sowing (Press 53, 2018) and two chapbooks, The Book of Myth (SC Poetry Initiative, 2009) and Layers of Song (Finishing Line Press, 2011). Journal publications include The Asheville Poetry Review, Southern Poetry Review, Kakalak. She has won poetry awards from the Poetry Society of South Carolina and the North Carolina Poetry Society, and has served as co-director of the highly respected Litchfield Tea & Poetry Series for the past 16 years. A retired English teacher from the University of South Carolina, she has conducted poetry workshops for Coastal Carolina University’s OLLI program, as well as for Georgetown County Library. Libby is a lifetime member of the Board of Governors of the SC Academy of Authors. Her new book, House in Need of Mooring
(Press 53, 2022) is yet another testament to the silver lining of the pandemic.

Tues., Oct. 18 ~ FOWL Annual Luncheon & Auction “Together Again …with Friends,” Pawleys Plantation
11 AM-1:30 PM, $38, tickets available at the Friends Center in Waccamaw Library or from Linda Ketron!

Tuesday, Oct. 25 ~ Robin Salmon (Brookgreen 101: A Curator’s Legacy) at Ocean One, Litchfield ($30)
For two of her nearly five decades at Brookgreen Gardens, Vice President of Historical and Art Collections and Curator of Sculpture Robin Salmon has delivered monthly lectures affectionately known as “Brookgreen 101.” Begun in 2006 as an offshoot of public lectures she had given through the years, the series was drawn from books and articles she’d written, as well as from her vast knowledge of the history of the property, collections, and the lives of the founders. Intended as an ongoing informational seminar to augment staff and volunteer training, the program was an informal hour of shared facts and insights that became a popular public series in 2018. This first collection of essays features favorite topics with
illustrations where available. It is our hope that future volumes will preserve and make accessible the deep treasure chest of knowledge that is Robin Salmon.


Tuesday, Nov. 1 ~ Laurie Loewenstein (Funeral Train) at Pawleys Plantation’s Sawgrass Room ($30)
In her gripping follow-up to the widely acclaimed Dust Bowl Mystery Death of a Rainmaker, Laurie Loewenstein brings 1930s Oklahoma evocatively to life. Already suffering the privations of the 1930s Dust Bowl, an Oklahoma town is further devastated when a passenger train derails—flooding its hospital with the dead and maimed. Among the seriously wounded is Etha, wife of Sheriff Temple Jennings. Overwhelmed by worry for her, the sheriff must regain his footing to investigate the derailment, which rapidly develops into a case of sabotage. The following night, a local recluse is murdered. Temple has a hunch that this death is connected to the train wreck. But as he dissects the victim’s life with help
from the recuperating and resourceful Etha, he discovers a tangle of records that make a number of townsfolk suspects in the murder. Temple’s investigations take place against the backdrop of the Great Depression—where bootlegging, petty extortion, courage, and bravado play out in equal measure. Death of a Rainmaker was named one of the Best Books of 2018 by both the Library Journal and NPR which characterized it as “a striking historical mystery…that is brooding and gritty and graced with authenticity.” It was a finalist for the 2019 Oklahoma Book Awards Laurie is on the fiction faculty of Wilkes University’s graduate level Creative Writing Program.


Saturday, Nov. 26 ~ Six Children’s Authors at Pawleys Tap & Pour ($30)

On Shop Small Saturday, The Moveable Feast and My Sister’s Books partner for a fabulous presentation by six area authors of works for “small readers,” followed by a delightful lunch at a fast-rising favorite among Pawleys eateries. Join us to hear Millie Doud (beloved author/illustrator of Caretta’s Great Adventure and of many Brookgreen Gardens’ books for children), Christine Thomas Doran (author of the Flash & Fancy books about playful otters on the Waccamaw River), Cindy Hedrick (champion of rescued animals recounted in her Tails from SC-Cares and Love at First Sight), Maura & Alyson Kenny (mother-/daughter-in-law team behind Mindful Santa), and … two more to be announced! The
Moveable Feast is a “grown-ups” event (for parents, aunts and uncles, grands and even great-grands), then after the feast, the authors will migrate next door to the book store for sales and signing (kids are welcome there!!). Shop Small for Small Readers is a great opportunity to start a child’s library of autographed books.

Sunset River features group show, Beach Dreaming

Artist Nancy Hughes Miller, Beach Cloud Colors, oil, 40×40

Sunset River Marketplace, the eclectic art gallery in Calabash, NC will feature Beach Dreaming, a group exhibition of Summer-themed paintings from Wednesday, July 13 through Saturday, August 6. The show includes works by oil painters Connie Winters, Janet Sessoms, Carol Iglesias, Sharon C. Jones, Ruth Cox, and Nancy Hughes Miller; acrylic artists Rachel Sunnell, R.L. Thomas, Vicki Neilon, Ortrud Tyler and Linda Karaskevicus; and watercolorist William West.

Artist Connie Winters, Sunny Day At the Beach, oil, 24×30

Located in coastal Brunswick County, Sunset River Marketplace caters to both area visitors and a growing local community of full-time residents seeking fine art for their homes and businesses. Featuring work by approximately 150 North and South Carolina artists, the gallery is well known in the area for its collection of oil paintings, watermedia, pastels, photography, hand-blown glass, fused glass, pottery and clay sculptures, turned and carved wood, unique home décor items and artisan jewelry.

Artist Sharon C. Jones, Beach Passage, oil, 18×24

There are two onsite kilns and five wheels used by the gallery’s pottery students. Art classes and workshops are currently being offered on a limited basis. Call the gallery for details.

The gallery address is: 10283 Beach Drive SW, Calabash, NC 28467.  Hours are Monday – Saturday, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. For more information, call 910.575.5999 or visit the website at www.sunsetrivermarketplace.com. Daily updates are available on the gallery’s Facebook and Instagram pages.

The FrameCenter, located within the gallery, is open Wednesday through Friday, 12 noon – 5 p.m. and by appointment. Call framer Louis Aliotta directly at 910.368.7351.