Category: Press Release

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Participating artists have been announced for the 13th Annual Indie Craft Parade, Greenville’s celebration of handmade art. This juried festival recognizes excellence in handcrafted goods and will feature the work of 118 artists during a two-day event this fall. Set for September 15-16, the 2023 Indie Craft Parade will be held at Timmons Arena on the campus of Furman University.

This year’s event will be the largest yet, featuring 47 new and 71 returning artists and makers. Admission is $8 at the door and children 16 and under are free.

Showcasing craftsmanship across a variety of mediums, Indie Craft Parade has become one of the premier craft shows in the South. Handmade goods from the following categories will be featured at the event: Apparel & Accessories, Bath, Body & Candles, Ceramics, Fine Art, Food & Kitchen, Home Goods & Decor, Jewelry, Kids, and Stationery. A full list of participating artists can be viewed at www.indiecraftparade.com.

In addition to standard artist booths, the event features an expanded Emerging Artist Section to highlight talent new to the craft show scene. Indie Craft Parade is an annual initiative of the Greenville-based non-profit, Makers Collective, whose mission is to empower creative entrepreneurs while cultivating a supportive community around them.

GREENVILLE, S.C. (June 17, 2023) – YMCA of Greenville announced today the promotion of leadership team members Sam Franklin, Barbie Jefferson, Diana Watson and MaryEllis Petrosian as they accept additional responsibilities in association strategic initiatives and broader staff and board leadership roles.

Sam Franklin is promoted to the position of executive vice-president and chief operating officer for the YMCA of Greenville. Franklin will continue to lead day-to-day operations at nine locations, focusing on membership and program service development. In his new capacity, Franklin will also serve as key facilitator and liaison with volunteer board members in the Y’s growth and strategic planning initiatives, as well as corporate partnership development.

Barbie Jefferson is promoted to the position of executive vice-president and chief financial officer. Jefferson will continue to oversee association financial performance matters, serving as the liaison to the board of directors’ finance committee, supporting YMCA of Greenville Foundation investment initiatives and human resources. Jefferson will also lead as the staff facilitator and liaison to the board of directors’ Christian mission committee, focusing on lifting the Y’s Christian mission, principles, and practices.

Diana Watson is promoted to the position of senior vice-president and chief philanthropy officer. Watson will continue to provide strategic leadership for the Y’s Annual Campaign, facilitate grant applications, major gifts, and capital campaign initiatives. Additionally, Watson will serve as staff liaison to the board of directors’ governance and recruitment committee, focusing on board member recruitment, board self-assessments and leading ongoing board training.

MaryEllis Petrosian is promoted to the position of executive director of foundation and fundraising innovation. Petrosian will continue to manage the day-to-day operations of the YMCA of Greenville Foundation. Petrosian will also work with the chief philanthropy officer on donor research, grant development and general strategic advancement of the association’s development initiatives.

YMCA of Greenville offers professional growth opportunities to its high-achieving leadership. With a long-standing policy of promoting from within whenever possible, the organization will continue to benefit from the staff’s years of experience and knowledge, helping the YMCA of Greenville advance its mission and improve the overall impact the Y has on all communities it serves.

To learn more about the YMCA of Greenville and the projects, programs, and services it supports, visit https://www.ymcagreenville.org/.

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About the YMCA of Greenville, SC

The YMCA of Greenville is a cause-driven non-profit organization. Our mission is, following the example of Christ, to build a healthy spirit, mind, and body for all. With a focus on youth development, healthy living and social responsibility, the Y nurtures the potential of every youth and teen, improves the health and well-being of our community and provides opportunities to give back and help support our neighbors. Founded in 1876, the Y serves more than 70,000 people annually through programs that include afterschool care, resident and day camps, aquatics, youth and adult sports, and health and wellness. Programs are offered though four family branches, as well as the Verdae YMCA, Y Camp Greenville, YMCA Judson Community Center, the YMCA Program Center and Hollingsworth Outdoor Center. The Y is also home to Y Teen Services and the SC Youth in Government programs.

For more information about the YMCA of Greenville, visit ymcagreenville.org, or call (864) 412-0288.

Sigal Music Museum is proud to announce the upcoming exhibit Out of the Hills: The Birth of Country Music, opening on April 14, 2023. This exhibit will feature “A Cardboard History of Blue Ridge Music,” a vintage collection of country music posters from collector Tom Murphy, covering acts from the 1950s to the 1980s. Out of the Hills will mark the first collaboration between the Sigal Music Museum and the Earl Scruggs
Center in Shelby, NC. Several of Scruggs’ items will be on display, helping to tell the story of The Grand Ole Opry, Bill Monroe, Flat & Scruggs, and many more. As with past exhibits, Out of the Hills will also feature dozens of musical instruments from the Sigal Collection, including vintage banjos, guitars, mandolins, and recordings. Another exciting feature will be Marty Robbins’ guitar, used on the famous recording of “El Paso.”

Out of the Hills: the Birth of Country Music opens on Friday, April 14 and runs until Friday, October 13, 2023.

Tickets are $7.00 for Adults, $6.00 for Seniors/Military/College Students, and $4.00 for Students. Children under 5 are free.

Greenville, South Carolina, March 17, 2023— Red Oak Developers, a leading multi-purpose developer in South and North Carolina, has recently brought Jamie McCutchen and Bradley Smith on board. McCutchen will be working as a Project Manager in all areas including single family residential, both retail and build-for-rent, multifamily, industrial, and commercial developments. Smith will be working as an entitlement consultant with Red Oak Developers while maintaining his status with Cross Creek Realty.
“We are very excited to welcome Jamie and Bradley on board! As a professional engineer, Jamie has established relationships in the market that will be vital for our continued growth. Bradley brings vast technology experience to our team and his efforts will allow our project managers to focus more on final deliverables and offer entitlement services to our client base”, said Owner, Brad Skelton.
McCutchen brings over 30 years of land development experience to the Red Oak Developers team as a professional engineer. He owned his own engineering firm for 20 years and his expertise will prove invaluable as a project manager.
With over 25 years in the technology industry, Smith brings a wealth of knowledge in land acquisition for commercial and residential development projects. He is a member of the Urban Land Institute, the Greenville Home Builders Association, and is a certified, licensed drone pilot. With the addition of both McCutchen and Smith, Red Oak Developers looks forward to providing the highest quality of service and expertise to their clients.

About Red Oak Developers
Red Oak Developers is a full-service developer with a mission to design and create residential communities and commercial developments that promote a healthy lifestyle and the preservation of the natural environment. A veteran-owned company, Red Oak Developers achieves goals by combining vast experience with a long-standing network of professional relationships. With a full-service approach, Red Oak Developers can rapidly move a project from site selection to acquisition/entitlement and project management/construction to delivered product.
For more information, visit https://www.redoakdevelopers.com/

Greenville Music Preservation is proud to announce the debut of our new mobile exhibit, currently located at the Greenville County Fine Arts Center. This six-panel exhibit covers the development of music in Greenville County over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries. Major artists, venues, and organizations are explored by looking at the development of each major genre of music. QR codes are used
throughout the exhibit for viewers to hear samples of music, along with GMP podcast episodes. This display will go on to visit schools and businesses all over Greenville County for the coming years.
Greenville Music Preservation would like to thank the Metropolitan Arts Council for providing key funding for the project.
Greenville Music Preservation is a 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to collect, archive, and present the music history of Greenville, SC – revealing our community’s unique cultural heritage.

It is a very special day for children and adults alike as the unique, one-of-a-kind “Very Eric Carle: A Very Hungry, Quiet, Lonely, Clumsy, Busy Exhibit” is now open at the Upcountry History Museum – Greenville County, a Smithsonian Affiliate!

Making its Southeastern debut, the “Very Eric Carle” exhibition creates a play-and-learn environment where visitors step into the pages of the renowned children’s author and illustrator’s colorful picture books. Illustrated in his hand-painted tissue paper collage technique, this re-imagining of his classic “Very” book series introduces a variety of interactive experiences that offer children opportunities to:

• Become the Very Hungry Caterpillar
• Weave a web with the Very Busy Spider
• Make the Very Clumsy Click Beetle flip and jump
• Compose a night symphony with the Very Quiet Cricket
• Explore all the stories in the “Reading Zone” through words, pictures, and videos

Though best known for his popular book, “The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” each story in the “Very” series is a testament to Eric Carle’s love of nature, his respect for the emotional lives of children, and his recurring themes of friendship, creativity, and the power of imagination.

On display through Sunday, September 10, 2023, “Very Eric Carle” was co-organized by Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh and The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, MA. It is the first North American traveling exhibit for children inspired by the art of this acclaimed creator of brilliantly illustrated and innovatively designed picture books.

The Upcountry History Museum is located at 540 Buncombe St., in Greenville, S.C. Hours of operation are Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.; Sunday from 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. For more information, call 864-467-3100 or visit www.upcountryhistory.org.

We watch the news with a sense of disbelief yet can’t seem to pull ourselves away even as the screen fills with image after image of raging wildfires. In its newest exhibition, “Facing the Inferno: The Wildfire Photography of Kari Greer,” opening Saturday, July 1, 2023, the Upcountry History Museum – Greenville County, a Smithsonian Affiliate, presents a rare opportunity to experience a “day-in-the-life” of those who face these growing challenges while feeling like you’re beside them attacking the infernos.

Kari Greer is a wildland firefighter and documentary style photographer who specializes in wildland fire photography. Throughout her 20-year career, she has driven hundreds of miles, endured 130-degree heat, dodged falling trees and electric lines, fought side-by-side with fellow fire crews, and turned her trained eye toward capturing the complexities, anxieties, and insights of these events and the people who try to harness them.

From blazing flames, plumes of blinding smoke, planes attacking with fire retardant, light against dark, and firefighters braving it all, “Facing the Inferno” is an illustrative story of the paradoxical phenomenon that wildfires represent. And taking visitors visually into the middle of these raging wildfires are 64 powerful images by Greer that not only show the effects in a very real and up-close presentation, but also provide an intensely dramatic connection to that which draws viewers into the unimaginable.

Organized by the Moscow Contemporary Art Gallery in Moscow, Idaho, this exhibition, on display through Sunday, October 22, 2023, has been designed to increase public conversation and understanding of the volatile occurrence of wildfires, their increasing severity, and the experiences of the fire crews who fight these extreme situations.

In a connection to Upstate history, UHM is including a companion exhibition focused on the wildfires and wildland firefighting in the Carolinas. Through artifacts and archival materials, visitors can examine the history, significant events, and growing number of “Red Flag Alerts” in the Upstate and Western North Carolina.

The Upcountry History Museum is located at 540 Buncombe St., in Greenville, S.C. Hours of operation are Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.; Sunday from 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. For more information, call 864-467-3100 or visit www.upcountryhistory.org.

Anderson, SC—-The Greater Anderson Musical Arts Consortium (GAMAC) Chorale under the direction of Dr. Don R. Campbell will hold auditions for new members on Wednesday, July 12 and Thursday, July 13, 2023 beginning at 4:00pm. Auditions will be held in the choir room at Trinity United Methodist Church, 1809 North Main Street, Anderson, SC—directly across from Ingles Supermarket. Signs will direct you to the choir room. Singers should come with their voices warmed up. All materials will be provided. Auditions are by appointment only. To schedule an appointment, please call the GAMAC office at (864) 231-6147.
The Chorale will perform three times this year as part of GAMAC’s annual concert season. Performances will include an opening performance titled How the West was Sung as well as GAMAC’s annual Christmas concert featuring favorite carols performed with the Anderson Symphony Orchestra. A third performance is scheduled for Spring 2024. Additional activities will include a Messiah Sing-Along, Christmas caroling in downtown Anderson in early December and social gatherings. Rehearsals will be held on Monday nights from August through April.
Renamed the GAMAC Chorale in 1990, the ensemble began in 1970 as the Anderson Civic Chorale. The ensemble continues to be a civic ensemble comprised of talented singers from all areas of the Upstate and neighboring Georgia. The mission of the group is to provide singers and audiences the opportunity to experience quality choral music performances of all genres and styles. Dr. Don R. Campbell was named conductor of the Chorale in 2010.
GAMAC Chorale auditions and membership are open to all talented adult singers regardless of race, religion, gender, or orientation. New members will find a diverse and welcoming community of singers dedicated to great music with a big dash of fun! The GAMAC Chorale is funded in part by generous contributions from individuals and businesses in addition to funding from the South Carolina Arts Commission which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts.