Plus, learn about ways to volunteer this summer
 
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50º | Sunny | 0% chance of precipitation
Sunrise 7:38 a.m. | Sunset 5:31 p.m.
 

Arts

Celebrating 50 years of the arts in Greenville
Presented by a GVLtoday Partner
Artist and customer during Open Studios
Greenville Open Studios is just one of the vital and beloved programs offered by the Metropolitan Arts Council. | Photo provided by MAC
The Metropolitan Arts Council (MAC) was founded in 1973 to support our city’s vibrant arts scene. Its mission: To stimulate and support artistic expression and its appreciation + enjoyment in ways that enrich all citizens, artists, cultural organizations, and communities in Greenville County.

MAC accomplishes this by providing funding and other vital services that greatly impact the artistic and economic wellbeing of our community. As Greenville’s umbrella arts organization (and the largest arts council in South Carolina), MAC provides an avenue for arts supporters to contribute to a wide range of local artistic endeavors, from individual artists at the start of their careers to large performing arenas like the Peace Center.

Here’s a by-the-numbers look at MAC’s impact:
  • $2.1 million: MAC’s total endowment for its grants program
  • $510,455: Amount awarded in grants in 2022
  • 75: Average number of project grants awarded each year
  • 800: Number of arts-integrated units funded by SmartARTS in Greenville County Schools
  • 930: Artists and teachers trained through the SmartARTS Education Institute
  • 2,144: Number of individuals and organizations who donated to MAC in 2022
  • 1,600+: Number of MAC members (artists, arts organizations and galleries)
  • $678,950: COVID relief funds provided to 33 arts organizations in Greenville County
  • $3.445 million: MAC’s total assets
As part of its core mission, MAC created a vehicle for local philanthropists and corporations to support arts education. Enter: the SmartARTS program, founded in 2002 in partnership with Greenville County Schools. This program grew into the TD Center for Arts Integration, which is supported by organizations such as The Jolley Foundation and Duke Energy.

MAC’s arts integration work has expanded across 83 schools including 18 high-poverty schools in Greenville County. Through engaging artists in this meaningful work, MAC helps our city retain talent and empowers local creatives to make a living as artists.

How can locals help support MAC? Here are three ways to keep Greenville’s artbeat strong:
  1. Purchase a $50 ArtCard, which comes with buy-one-get-one-free tickets at Centre Stage, Greenville Chorale, Greenville Symphony Orchestra, Greenville Theatre, select shows at the Peace Center, South Carolina Children’s Theatre, and The Warehouse Theatre.
  2. Give to the Endowment, MAC’s fund to sustain its grants program for future generations.
  3. Support the SmartARTS program.
Learn more about MAC and the work it does to help Greenville’s arts scene thrive.*
Meet MAC
Asked

What’s your favorite way to experience the arts in Greenville?

A. Seeing a play or musical
B. Visiting a gallery
C. Attending a concert or poetry reading
D. Taking a class
Tell us here
Lowes Foods
 
Events
Monday, May 22
  • In Conversation with Lib Ramos | Monday, May 22 | 5:30-7 p.m. | M. Judson Booksellers, 130 S. Main St., Ste. 200, Greenville | Free | Local creative Lib Ramos will be chatting about the newest book from Good Printed Things, “Holding Patterns: A Collection of Words on Ritual.”
Tuesday, May 23
  • Networking Schmetworking | Tuesday, May 23 | 5:30-9 p.m. | Gather GVL, 126 Augusta St., Greenville | Free | Leave with a friend, not a business card at this gathering for young professionals in the Greenville area.
Wednesday, May 24
  • Farm to Table Chef’s Tasting Fundraiser | Wednesday, May 24 | 6:30-9 p.m. | Topsoil Kitchen and Market, 13 S. Main St., Travelers Rest | $130-$160 | Join Topsoil’s first-ever farm-to-table fundraiser, which will benefit the TR Farmers Market Farmer Fund.
Thursday, May 25
  • Piedmont Natural Gas Downtown Alive | Thursday, May 25 | 5:30-8:30 p.m. | NOMA Square, 220 N. Main St., Greenville | Free | Make up for last week’s cancellation by rocking out with Vera Soul.
Friday, May 26
  • Gallabrae Scottish Games | Friday, May 26-Saturday, May 27 | Times vary | Downtown Greenville & Furman University, 3300 Poinsett Hwy., Greenville | $20 | Be Scottish for a day and celebrate Celtic culture with bagpipes, heavy athletic competitions, a car show, and more at one of the biggest Scottish Games in the region.
Saturday, May 27
  • Palmetto Heroes Hike | Saturday, May 27 | 7 a.m.-3 p.m. | Bon Secours Wellness Arena, 650 N. Academy St., Greenville | $25-$50 | Join other patriots as they honor local military and first responders who paid the ultimate sacrifice — choose between a six-mile or 12-mile hike on the Prisma Health Swamp Rabbit Trail.
Sunday, May 28
  • Etching Copper with Electricity | Sunday, May 28 | 6 p.m. | The City Lights Collaborative, 112 Poinsett Hwy., Greenville | $25 | Learn how to design a piece of copper jewelry through electrolytic etching — RSVP at least two days before.
Make it a great week
Click here to have your event featured.
Endeavor Greenville
 
Eat

Small Business

Support local by eating local with this subscription box
Presented by a GVLtoday Partner
A Carolina Crate box from Lowes Foods being carried on a man's shoulder through a field of crops
Subscribing to The Carolina Crate helps support farms in the Carolinas. | Photo provided by Lowes Foods
Looking for a way to support local farms and farmers? Here’s one: Subscribe to a CSA (read: Community Supported Agriculture) box, like The Carolina Crate from Lowes Foods, filled every week with an assortment of fresh, local fruits and vegetables.

Each crate feeds a household of 2 to 4 people and contains 6 to 8 varieties of produce selected based on what’s at its peak each week. You can’t request what you receive — and that’s part of the fun. Subscribers also receive a weekly email with recipe ideas and info about the farms they have supported.

Subscriptions for this summer are open now.*
Learn more and sign up
News Notes
Cause
  • Looking for opportunities to give back? RSVP to attend its Mill Village Ministries’ Volunteer Interest Night on Tuesday, May 23 from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Village Wrench Warehouse at 1186 Pendleton St. to learn about the work it does in the community and hear from its four social enterprises.
Plan Ahead
  • Greenville Downtown Airport’s 10th Annual Take Flight 5k is Saturday, May 27 from 7 to 10 a.m. Funds raised — $89,000 is the goal — will go towards new playground equipment in Runway Park, including new swing sets and an aviation-themed play structure.
  • Grab your best Hawaiian shirt for Southernside Brewing Co.’s second annual Summer Luau and pig roast on Saturday, June 17 from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. This year’s family-friendly event will feature live music, a slip-and-slide, a mechanical shark, snow cones, and drink specials. RSVP and get tickets for the pig roast.
Community
  • The Upcountry History Museum has joined museums nationwide in the Blue Star Museums program, a collaboration that provides free admission to the nation’s active-duty military personnel and their families to museums throughout the summer. The program runs from Armed Forces Day on Saturday, May 20 through Labor Day on Monday, September 4, 2023.
Family
  • This activity is sure to be a slam dunk. Registration for the YMCA of Greenville’s summer basketball is now open. The season starts June 26 and runs through Aug. 12 for this developmental league. Fun fact: Basketball was invented at the YMCA.*
Finance
  • $200 welcome bonus — check. Unlimited cash back — check. 0% interest into 2024 — check. This card checks all our boxes.*
The Word
Travel
 
Outdoors

🐝 What’s a-buzz at Conestee Nature Preserve?

The Henderson Meadow Interpretative Pollinator Garden opens in Conestee Nature Preserve
gvl_Henderson Meadow Interpretative Pollinator garden conestee nature preserve_may 23
Isn’t it bee-utiful? | Photos via @conesteepreserve
Conestee Nature Preserve’s newest garden is the bees knees. The Henderson Meadow Interpretative Pollinator (HIP) Garden is now open.

The space, peppered with pollinating flowers donated by the SC Native Plant Society, is located near the preserve’s Shortleaf Shelter (No. 7 on this map). It was created in partnership with The Bee Cause Project, an organization that protects pollinators, and South Carolina 4-H.

Patricia Whitener, leader of the 4-H Natural Resources Programs in SC, says in a blog post that the garden is “designed to provide habitat and educational opportunities for the public” and that it “will enable 4-H youth to participate in the development, presentation, construction, and on-going maintenance.”

Click below to learn more about how the HIP Garden helps The Bee Cause Project achieve its mission and how it will be utilized within Conestee Nature Preserve.
For the bees
 
The Wrap
 
Kyle Steadings in a gray shirt

Today’s edition by:
Kyle
From the editor
I’m a big bee-liever in doing everything I can to protect our pollinators. If you’re with me, check out this list of native SC pollinator plants you can grow right in your yard. Don’t know where to begin? Start with milkweed.
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