For Immediate Release, February 2012

A Festive Spring Atmosphere in Charleston, S.C.

With a legacy of decorative arts, singular architecture and passionate preservationists combined with the rich horticultural history associated with both the oldest public garden and oldest landscaped garden in America, the Charleston area is an incubator for design and style. Spring sets the stage for festivals, symposiums and special events that showcase the Lowcountry aesthetic and lifestyle.

Thousands of visitors return every spring for a sanctioned peek behind the garden gates and piazza doors of private residences with historic merit during Historic Charleston Foundation’s Festival of Houses and Gardens (March 22 – April 21), which is comprised of 13 different tours. Each self-guided walking tour features eight to ten address of note staffed by trained docents who shed light on the furniture collections, artwork, heirloom silver and curios contained in each home. Charlestonians embrace this annual house tour tradition as evidenced by the more than 700 docents who volunteer for this month-long festival.

The selection of rare maps, colonial era silver, estate jewelry and museum-quality furniture on exhibition during the Charleston International Antiques Show (March 23 – 25) draws curators and collectors from around the world. This year, esteemed designer David Easton serves as special guest and keynote speaker. Easton is the author of Timeless Elegance, was inducted into the Design Hall of Fame in 1992, has twice received the Classical America’s Arthur Ross Award and was included in the list of Top 100 Designers in the World published by Architectural Digest.

Another tastemaker adding cache to the Charleston area’s spring festival season is Carolyne Roehm, fashion designer and prolific author of design books. Roehm will headline the annual spring luncheon hosted by the Gibbes Museum of Art (March 30), a cultural institution with more than 10,000 principally American works of fine art in its permanent collection. The luncheon will be staged in the courtyard of the museum’s Beaux Arts building with event décor credited to Charlestonian Tara Guérard, named a “Top 25 Trendsetter” by Modern Bride.

Lending polish to spring soirees like the Gibbes’ luncheon and the finale party for Charleston Fashion Week (March 20 - 24) is The Peninsula Collection, a new luxury lip gloss line. Created by international make-up artist Andrew Petersen, who traveled with cosmetics entrepreneur Trish McEvoy for more than 15 years, the debut collection contains five shades each bearing a distinctively Charleston name—Rainbow Row, South of Broad, On the Battery, Too Meeting and Doing the Charleston.



ABOUT SPRING IN CHARLESTON:
At the peak of the Charleston area’s spring bloom season, delicate notes of Carolina Jessamine, honeysuckle and Lady Banksia rose mingle with briny Atlantic Ocean breezes. A pastel palette of azalea, camellia, Star magnolia and quince blooms pops against shutters painted in Charleston Green, a curious shade that dates back to the Civil War. All told, spring in the Lowcounty, with average temperatures between 70 and 80 degrees, is pleasant and picturesque—the perfect setting for festivals, symposiums and special events that showcase the local aesthetic and lifestyle.



FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Historic Charleston Foundation’s 65th annual Festival of Houses and Gardens
March 22 – April 21, 2012
(843) 722-3405, historiccharleston.org


Charleston Fashion Week
March 20 – 24, 2012
charlestonmag.com/fashionweek


Charleston International Antiques Show with Special Guest David Easton
March 23 – 25, 2012
(843) 722-3405, historiccharleston.org


Art of Design Luncheon with Special Guest Carolyn Roehm
March 30, 2012
(843) 722-2706, gibbesmuseum.org


The Peninsula Collection
Available at Cos Bar - 201 King Street, Charleston South Carolina 29401
(843) 817-0303, misiubeauty.com


Middleton Place - America's oldest landscaped gardens
4300 Ashley River Road, Charleston
(800) 782-3608, Middletonplace.org


Magnolia Plantation – America’s oldest public gardens
3550 Ashley River Road, Charleston
(843) 556-1012, magnoliaplantation.com


The mission of the Charleston Area Convention & Visitors Bureau is to unify and lead the local travel industry in marketing the Charleston area as an individual, meeting, incentive and group destination to both the domestic and international markets.

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For more information, contact the CVB Media Department at [email protected] or (843) 853-8000.

@explorechs
explorecharleston.com