Piccolo Spoleto Festival entertains and even changes lives

My life changed in 1979 as I stood on the empty lot that would become Charleston Place Hotel and hollered over my shoulder, “OK, parade, follow me!”

 

A cheer went up, and hundreds of colorful characters snaked behind me down King Street.

 

I actually don’t know how it happened. Seems like divine providence because I wasn’t even part of the arts community in those days. I was an elementary school teacher. Most likely, I was not the first person the Office of Cultural Affairs had asked to organize the Piccolo Spoleto parade, just the first one that said yes.

 

I recruited my eccentric friend, Jules Garvin, who lived in a jam-packed costume shop on the corner of King and Calhoun streets. Volunteers raided his racks and became an instant circus troupe; art teachers made two-story-tall puppets, and a high school band showed up. The jolt of excitement I felt when the parade started marching super-changed me into the rest of my creative life.

 

When I moved to Charleston from Ann Arbor, Michigan, I was shocked by the relative lack of cultural activities. But the Spoleto and Piccolo festivals changed everything. In my subsequent career as the founder and director of the art center Creative Spark, we had several roles with Piccolo Spoleto.

 

For many years, we produced the children’s festival in Marion Square, where multiple stages of local talent delighted crowds of families. In partnership with the Charleston Housing Authority, we ran Storefront School for the Arts in several locations. Kids painted, danced, wrote, and sang under the guidance of local teaching artists.

 

This year, I will perform again with my eight-hand piano ensemble, The Top Notes, at the noontime concert series at Circular Church on Meeting Street. We look forward to this show all year. For several years, I’ve written about the festivals for local newspapers. I’ve also attended countless performances and heard many people tell of how it’s affected them.

 

Madeline Hershenson talks about her 19 years directing the Jewish Choral Society as being about more than the music. The choir was composed of people from various religions and musical experiences. The diverse repertoire ranged from sacred hymns to show tunes by Jewish composers. They sang exotic songs in Hebrew, English, Aramaic, and Ladino.

 

“What is Jewish music anyway?” she asked.

 

The singers became a close-knit group, and their joy and enthusiasm radiated to the audiences. Friendships formed across age differences and backgrounds. “Peace was created,” Madeline said.

 

Greg Tavares credits Piccolo Spoleto with changing his life’s trajectory. “I would never have moved to Charleston in 1995 if I had not spent the few summers before working at StoreFront School for the Arts. I was 24 years old when I first came to town. I knew right away that I had to move here. I credit Piccolo Spoleto with why I live and work here today.”

 

Along with Brandy Sullivan and Timmy Finch, Greg founded Theatre 99 in 2000, which presents improv comedy all year, five days a week. His troupe, The Have Nots, is frequently on stage. In 2001, they began producing Piccolo Fringe, a comedy series for the festival.

 

“Local groups, like Mary Kay Has a Posse, play on the same stage as the national acts we bring in,” Greg described, to emphasize the valuable opportunities for local talent. Now, Theatre 99 is one of our city’s cultural mainstays.

 

Tate Nation, Piccolo’s only three-time poster artist, appreciates the advantage his paintings in marketing and on merchandise have had. 

 

“My involvement with Piccolo Spoleto has had, and continues to have, a tremendous impact on my life and career as an artist. This year’s festival will mark my 25th year as an exhibitor in the Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Art Exhibition.

 

“Much of my focus throughout the entire year is aimed towards creating new paintings in preparation for my exhibit,” he said. “I’ve met and become good friends with many of the region’s most incredible and prominent creatives, and a large part of my business throughout the entire year results from customers and clients who I’ve met while exhibiting there.”

 

The festivals run concurrently, but unlike Spoleto, all of Piccolo’s performances are either free or low-cost, and the talent is drawn from the Southeastern region. It’s also much bigger, with over 700 performances in 17 days. Like Spoleto, though, it’s highly curated and spans the literary, visual, and performing arts.

 

As our city fills with the vibrancy of the festivals, it’s worth taking a moment to consider how they’ve enriched our cultural landscape. They’ve brought entertainment, broadened our horizons, and provided opportunities for creativity to flourish.

 

Piccolo Spoleto runs from May 23 to June 8. For a complete schedule, visit piccolospoleto.com.