Featured Press Releases

Use this library of press releases written by the Charleston Area CVB media relations department to mine for story ideas, stay abreast of what is new in the destination and learn about the special events that take place throughout the year.

For additional story ideas, we invite you to visit our blog.

For Immediate Release, June 2010
WHAT’S NEW IN THE CHARLESTON, SC AREA: SUMMER 2010

NEW PROMOTION DEADLINE

• The deadline to submit videos for the Rediscover the Family Vacation has been extended to midnight, EST on Wednesday, June 30th. Up for grabs are five outstanding vacation packages like the Urban Fork Safari, which includes five nights accommodations at the Fulton Lane Inn; dinners at Halls Chophouse, Il Cortile Del Re, Maverick Southern Kitchens, McCrady's and Circa 1886; and tickets to the Gibbes Museum of Art, Have Nots comedy improv, Magnolia Plantation, Palmetto Islands County Park and Charleston Strolls’ culinary tour. In addition, one lucky family will receive a $2,000 Visa gift card. www.charlestonvacationgiveaway.com

• On May 11, 2010, Southwest Airlines announced it would launch service to the Charleston International Airport within a year. The announcement was the culmination of 42 months of strategic efforts to attract a new air carrier. www.ExploreCharleston.com

NEW PACKAGES

• Making it even easier for families to visit Charleston this summer, more than 20 area hotels are offering packages that combine both leisure with learning! A complete listing of hotel packages can be found at www.ExploreCharleston.com.

• The Ocean Sailing Academy recently debuted several one- and two-night packages aboard its 42-foot vessel. Anchorages range from Price Inlet (50 miles north of Charleston) to the North Edisto River (south of Charleston) in addition to custom destinations. Passengers are encouraged to have a hands-on sailing experience, but the crew prepares the meals. www.osasailing.com

• Stay and Cruise packages are now offered by many area lodging properties in response to Carnival Cruise Line’s new year-round embarkation schedule from the port of Charleston. The packages are geared for the 2,056 passengers booked on Carnival Fantasy’s five-, six- and seven-day voyages to The Bahamas and Key West, Fla. www.ExploreCharleston.com

NEW LINKS

• The Charleston Area Convention and Visitors Bureau is now using social media to tap into the steadily growing destination weddings industry. Using the handle ChsWedding, the media relations staff posts information to www.facebook.com/ChsWedding and www.twitter.com/ChsWedding. General tourism and destination-related information is disseminated via www.facebook.com/ExploreChs and www.twitter.com/ExploreChs.

• The PGA Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island (October 25 – 31, 2010) has re-launched its web site at www.NationwideTourChampionship.com, offering improved content and streamlined access to its TICKETS Fore CHARITY™ program.

NEW HONORS & AWARDS

• Chef Sean Brock of McCrady’s restaurant was the third consecutive Charleston chef to win the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef in the Southeast award. Brock joined Hominy Grill’s Robert Stehling and FIG’s Mike Lata, with whom he shares his “farm to fork” approach to locavore cuisine. New York City is the only other city to produce three consecutive winners between 2008-2010. www.mccradysrestaurant.com

• Dr. Stephen Leatherman, director of Florida International University's Laboratory for Coastal Research, ranked Kiawah Island’s Beachwalker Park as the seventh best beach in America. This is the 20th year that Leatherman, who is also known by the moniker Dr. Beach, has compiled a list of the country's top 10 beaches. www.drbeach.org

• On June 7, the Charleston Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (CACVB) presented Golden Pineapple Awards to seven members of the local hospitality industry, including S.C. Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell, Bob Moran (Family Circle Cup), John Brumgardt (Charleston Museum), Kelly Pickhardt-Linder (Charleston Area Hospitality Association), Gloria Clarke (CACVB sales manager), Angelique Butler (CACVB’s visitor inquiry service manager), and Marilyn Buist (CACVB sales manager). www.ExploreCharleston.com

NEW DEVELOPMENTS

• The Holiday Inn Folly Beach will end its affiliation with Holiday Inn Hotels and change its
name to The Tides Folly Beach in November 2010. The beachfront hotel recently
completed a $5.5 million renovation that included the launch of Blu, the Platinum-Certified Sustainable Seafood restaurant. www.FollyBeachHotel.net

• Charleston’s tradition of tracing ancestry will come into play when it hosts the National
Genealogical Society’s "Where Past is Still Present" 2011 conference at the Charleston Area Convention Center (May 11 – 14, 2011). www.ngsgenealogy.org

• Bulldog Tours will donate $1 for each mile walked by its guides this the summer to Hugs for Harper, a charity set up on behalf of nine-year-old Harper Drolet, who was diagnosed with soft tissue cancer in October 2009. The company, which specializes in haunted themed walking tours, previously raised $2,776 for Family Connection South Carolina. www.bulldogtours.com

NEW EVENTS

• Middleton Place will host a Naturalization Ceremony for 60+ candidates on behalf of the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services on July 2. www.middletonplace.org

• Patriots Point will host its 14th annual 4th of July Blast starting at 5 p.m. with discounted admission. The fireworks show—launched from the flightdeck of the USS Yorktown—will commence at sunset. www.patriotspoint.org

• The S.C. Aquarium will host a 4th of July celebration with catered food and live music. www.scaquarium.org

NEW EXHIBITS

• “Carolina Gold: From Rice to Riches,” an exhibit of jewelry and miniatures collected during the 18th and 19th centuries, is on display at Middleton Place, a National Historical Landmark, through August 30. www.middletonplace.org

• The S.C. Aquarium recently opened a 4-D theater, a multi-sensory experience that combines 3-D imagery with interactive seating and special effects such as gusts of wind, splashes of water and movement. www.scaquarium.org

NEW FOOD NEWS

• The 30th annual Taste of Charleston will take place October 8-10, 2010. More than 10,000 guests are expected to participate in the festival’s food-related events, which include an iron chef-style competition, a sampler of local culinary arts hosted by area art galleries and the finale showcase of 50 Lowcountry restaurants. www.charlestonrestaurantassociation.com

• More than 40 restaurants will offer special meal deals during Charleston’s second restaurant week: September 8 – 19, 2010. www.restaurantweekcharleston.com

• Guy Harvey’s Island Grill opens a 10,000 square foot restaurant and art gallery at Mt. Pleasant’s Towne Center this month. This is the sixth location for the restaurant-retail concept that specializes in seafood and Harvey’s marine life paintings. www.ExploreCharleston.com

• Ted’s Butcherblock, the popular gourmet market located in downtown Charleston, has opened Ted’s Dockside at the Isle of Palms Marina. www.tedsbutcherblock.com

NEW TOURS

• The Buccaneer Restaurant and Charleston Pirate Tours have teamed up to offer an exciting walking tour with Charleston’s most recognizable costumed guide followed by an incredible dining experience amid authentic pirate artifacts. www.CharlestonPirateTour.com

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