83 Robert Smalls Parkway – 843-233-9258
APRIL 3–9, 2025
THANKS BEAUFORT!
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LOWCOUNTRY LOWDOWN
COVERING BEAUFORT COUNTY
CHALK IT UP!
LOLITA HUCKABY
We love our festivals but beware ‘killing’ that golden goose
The People’s Choice first-place adult winner, Nicole Von Kuhl from Alexandria, Va., works to complete her chalk art at the Tabby Place on Port Republic Street during the second annual Chalk It Up! Festival hosted by the Freedman Arts District on March 28-30, 2025. Amber Hewitt/The Island News
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BEAUFORT nce upon a time this community had the annual Water Festival to look forward to, breaking up the long, hot Lowcountry summer. And there was the Lions Club Christmas parade in December. But like so many things — my, my, have times changed. The Water Festival, begun in 1956, has grown to a full two-week schedule requiring almost 500 volunteers and a team that plans for the event all year long. We have the Beaufort Gullah Festival, begun in the 1980’s by the late Rosalie Pazant, her friends and family, including singer Marlena McGhee, as a tribute to “Decoration Day.” Held in May on Memorial Day weekend, the weekend event includes crafts, music and dance activities plus a heavy dose of Gullah culture history. There’s the Taste of Beaufort in early May which is going to be expanded in 2026 to include an arts festival. We have the weekend Shrimp Festival in October, timed for the local shrimp season, the relatively new Oyster Festival in January and the Beaufort International Film Festival which celebrates it’s 19th anniversary this year. There’s the monthly “First Friday” events that began in 2017 as expansion of the early-December “Night on the Town” activities, a creative schedule that has been sponsored by the Downtown Merchants Association. Because of the success of those events, the merchants association, again, made up of volunteers, has asked the City’s Downtown Management to take over the events. Just this past weekend, Beaufort hosted the second annual
SEE LOWDOWN PAGE A4
Just like they drew it up
Freedman Arts District’s 2nd Chalk It Up! festival a success that can’t be erased By Mike McCombs The Island News Mother Nature played nice, the rain held off until after the final awards were announced by Aunt Pearlie Sue, and the second annual Chalk It Up! Festival in Beau-
M
fort was an amazing success. The sidewalk art, fundraising event for the Freedman Arts District saw more than twice the number of artists participate this year over last year’s inaugural event. Forty-four artists from all
over the country, including one from the Dominican Republic, chalked it up in the parking lot behind downtown Beaufort’s Tabby Place.
SEE SUCCESS PAGE A6
Freedman Arts District here to stay, impact positive change
y article often stumbles and staggers out of my brain onto my keyboard with the hesitancy of fear mangled by judgment, misinterpretation, and the ripples it may cause toward those I love — but not this time. My fingers can barely contain the energy from this weekend's experience, and my words flow more freely than any other recent memory. Almost a year ago, I accepted a position so out of my comfort zone that I even thought I had lost my mind. I ran full speed
CHERIMIE CRANE WEATHERFORD
into the world of nonprofits, community activism, and the power of art. For the first time in more than 20 years, I was a beginner.
A gentleman whom I deeply respect — a visionary whose fearless dedication to the arts leaves me in perpetual awe — shoved me as gently as a steamroller toward expanding my expectations, both of others and of myself. My self-doubt ricocheted off him, falling on deaf ears, met with his unwavering, unamused gaze. I kept retreating to the familiar excuse of “I am not an artist,” but he remained unbothered, his irritation clear at my reluctance to embrace the unfamiliar. Days turned into weeks,
weeks into months, and I found myself in the final hours of a weekend-long event that changed my life. Chalk it Up Beaufort 2025 moved at the speed of light from our first meeting to the last table folded and returned. Our opening ceremony exceeded our expectations as Tabby Place came to life with artists, sponsors, community leaders, and residents wanting to know more. During Aunt Pearlie Sue and The Gullah Kinfolks' performance, I knew I
SEE CHANGE PAGE A5
NEWS
ARTS
SPORTS
INSIDE
Beaufort inmates temporarily moved to Charleston due to plumbing issues.
Beaufort Middle’s musical theatre performers present “Newsies, Jr.!”
Beaufort sweeps Hilton Head to open region play.
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Lowcountry Life A2 News A2–6 Legals A6 Obituaries A7 Arts A8 Sports A9
Faith A11 Health A12–13 Voices A14–15 Military A16–17 Directory A18 Classifieds A19
Hundreds of Native Plants for sale!
Native Plant Sale AT THE MARITIME CENTER
30+ Species of Grasses Trees
Flowers
Saturday, April 12 10am - 2pm GREAT VARIETY OF PLANTS & EDUCATIONAL VENDORS
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