Penn Center launches new series celebrating South Carolina History through the arts

The York W. Bailey Museum at the historic Penn Center proudly presents the debut exhibition of “The Beaufort Basket” by sweetgrass basket maker Jery Bennett-Taylor. This is the first in a series of exhibits celebrating Gullah traditional art in South Carolina

This exhibition of ten original pieces is the first revival in Beaufort of the 300-year old native island coiled “work” basketry once practiced by generations of slaves who transported the craft from Africa.

A wise guy I know once quipped, “Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is knowing not to put one in a fruit salad.”   All quipping aside, this week, I got a chance to put my knowledge to the test.

As part of Baron Baptisite’s 40 Days to Personal Revolution plan, I committed to a Fruit Feast, three days on a fruit cleanse consisting solely of raw fruits, eliminating everything else, including caffeine, alcohol, and spices. Add in 20 minutes of meditation twice a day, at least one hour of yoga, and the results are amazing.

“Watermelon, watermelon, how it drips, how it drips
Up and down your elbows, up and down your elbows
Spit the pits! Spit the pits! “ -sung to “Frere Jacques”

It's as easy as 1, 2, 3! Look the watermelon over. You're looking for a firm, symmetrical watermelon that's free from bruises, cuts or dents. Lift it up. The watermelon should be heavy for it's size. Watermelon is 92% water, most of the weight is water. Turn it over. The underside of the watermelon should have a creamy yellow spot from where it sat on the ground and ripened in the sun.

The rising country superstar is headed to the Beaufort Water Festival

The rugged sound of steel guitar and fiddle, the images of fields and farms, allusions to heartbreak and hard work… You can’t miss the fact that Lee Brice is country all the way.

It’s in his voice – think of it as honey trickling through lines of melody etched in leather – and in the images it conjures, of “country girls and redneck boys” anticipating the night to come in the sunset glow of a Dairy Queen (“Sumter County”), of growing up “on the edge of a cornfield” (“Picture of Me”).