Seashell Exhibit was Phenomenal

Over the weekend, the Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens hosted a seashell exhibit that rivaled a day at the Smithsonian.  The seashell collection, gathered from all over the world, was the passion of Mique Pinkerton and the late C.E. Pinkerton of Wilmington Island.  Mrs. Pinkerton was on hand to tell stories of the scuba, snorkeling, and reef adventures.  While her husband was busy diving, Mique added to the collection through snorkeling and beachcombing.  Following Navy assignments and personal travel, the Pinkertons experienced the oceans of Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela, Belize, Texas, Hawaii , and California.  In addition to collecting their own specimens, the Pinkertons continued to build the collection by good old fashioned horse trading as well as accepting shells as payment for services.

At 93, Mique kept my total attention as she recounted adventures such as nearly stepping on a moral eel and narrowly escaping its bite.  She was an animated host who could reel off facts about any kind of seashell you could imagine.  Mrs. Pinkerton has worked as a shell jewelry maker, published a shell-focused newsletter, was employed by the Smithsonian for a time, and has done paintings for a famous clientele.   In short, she was just as delightful as her seashell collection.








I took dozens more photos of the specimen, jewelry, shell art.  It was a fabulous way to spend some time.  Mrs. Pinkerton is considering establishing a seashell club in the Savannah area.  After all, you’re only as young as you feel!

Aire Flamenco Turns Up the Heat in Savannah–Part 2

For the benefit of those who weren’t able to attend the Flamenco exhibit at the Jepson, I wanted to share some of the dance:

The dancers were either from Spain or studied there

Speed and feeling are apparent in this demonstration

Aire Flamenco Turns Up the Heat in Savannah–Part 1

Aire Flamenco, a dance troupe from Atlanta, recently visited the Jepson Museum in conjunction with the focus on Spain this month and provided both flamenco lessons as well as a dance exhibition.  Woven in between the dances, a history of flamenco and the dance styles contained was given.  The exhibition was standing room only. 


The exhibition included dances from three different dancers, singing, and guitar solos.  I would make a bet that the steps were faster than those I saw in Riverdance.  Check out Part 2 for video to prove it.  Thanks to the Jepson for continuing to bring fascinating and entertaining programs and exhibits.

Savannah’s Best Christmas Event: The Journey

Who would have guessed that you could get to Bethlehem by way of Savannah GA?  Well, Savannah Christian Church has made that possible with a very life-like recreation of the little town where Christmas began.  The Journey is something that SCC has done for several years, but this year marks a first.  The new Bethlehem market place is phenomenal.  SCC event creators even got some pointers from Disney.

The Journey combines music (while you wait to leave for the Journey), a boat ride across the sea, encounters with Roman centurions, and multiple live-action drama vignettes that tell the story of Christmas. In addition, the kids will enjoy seeing camels, donkeys, goats, sheep, and more.  It is outside and there’s a lot of walking.  However, golf carts are on hand for special needs and elderly guests.  Over 1000 volunteers are needed to make The Journey a great experience.  My advice – Get there early!  Over 2000 guests enjoyed the opening night this week, including me!  SCC projects that as many as 20,000 people will make The Journey this year.   The cost is $5/person (or maximum of $20/family).  You can pay when you get there or buy tickets in advance from the SCC book store.  It's worth every penny and is guaranteed to get you ready for the holidays!


Photos taken by SCC Volunteers

Skidaway Marine Science Day

On October 26th, The University of Georgia Skidaway Institute of Oceanography hosted a free marine science day.  The community was invited to tour the aquarium, research labs, science vessels, and the enjoy exhibits and special events like a reptile show and fish feeding.

The aquarium is small, but has an interesting variety of aquatic life.  The reptile show lasted over an hour and was a standing room only event.  The instructor had a lively question and answer delivery throughout his presentation.  It was amazing to hear how much the children knew.  After the show and tell, guests were invited to come touch or get a closer look at the reptiles.


Stations were set up for games.  In addition, scientists had set up microscopes and exhibits outside so that visitors could view plankton under high power.  More interesting items awaited on the R/V Savannah, the Institute’s research vessel which travels as far north as the Chesapeake Bay and as far south as Curacao. 


All in all, it was a great time.  Kids could crab off the dock.  Families learned about conservation.  And, of course, the weather was fabulous for walking the Institute grounds and learning about the great work they do there.

Telfair Sketch Crawl

It’s always possible to find something to do in Savannah.  The Jepson Museum hosted another Family Free day today and invited all participants to join the Sketch Crawl.  The newest exhibit is “Spirit of Spain”  featuring the works of Robert Henri.  Henri is a celebrated Spanish portrait painter whose exhibited works included renderings of Spanish dancers, matadors, gypsies, musicians, as well as a couple of landscapes and some sketches.  The purpose of the Sketch Crawl is to showcase that sketching is a way of developing visual literacy.  It helps in developing eye hand coordination and identification of patterns. 

Well, for me, the Sketch Crawl was all about noticing the details.  Certainly, no one could call me an artist.  I might be a half a bubble above stick figures and the last drawings I did probably had something to do with one of my children’s elementary school projects almost two decades ago.  However, I was game and wanted to give it a shot.  Instead of copying the portraits, I just honed in on a couple of details.  The time flew and I enjoyed the exhibit much more for having to look carefully.  Here are some excerpts from my little sketch book the museum provided.  No autographs, please!!

October Ushers in a Variety of Savannah Festivals

A lot of great festivals and events are coming up in the next few weeks.  Get out your calendar and make some plans.  Here are my favorites:


Oktoberfest on the River
10/4-6
Plan to spend all day on River Street.  The oompah bands are great, but the weiner dog races are adorable.  Shop, eat, drink, be entertained.  End the day with fireworks!
http://www.riverstreetsavannah.com/ai1ec_event/oktoberfest-on-the-river/?instance_id=150

Savannah Greek Festival
10/10-12
Got a baklava jones?  Want to see the REAL folks who break plates for fun?  The food is great and the dance demonstrations make you want to sign up for Dancing with the Stars!
http://www.savannahgreekfest.com/

Tybee Pirate Fest

10/10-13 Aargh!  Come in costume!  Attend the Buccaneer Ball if you dare.  Perhaps you’ll meet Jack Sparrow. http://tybeepiratefest.com/ Savannah Folk Music Festival 10/11-13 Savannah is gaining stature as a hub for great music.  We’ve just finished the Jazz Festival and now it’s time for folk music.  There will be great performances as well as a songwriter competition. http://www.savannahfolk.org/Portals/SavannahFolkMusic/Events/2013/2013%20Savannah%20Folk%20Music%20Festival%20-%20Press%20Release.pdf Shalom Y’all Jewish Food Festival 10/27 Grab some of the best food around!  Everything is delicious! http://mickveisrael.org/food-festival.html Halloween on the River 10/31 Dress in your costume and compete for prizes.  You won’t believe how imaginative people can be! http://www.riverstreetsavannah.com/ai1ec_event/halloween/?instance_id=116

Georgia Botanical Gardens at the Historic Bamboo Farm

Have you ever driven past a gate so often that, when you finally turned in to explore, you felt a little guilty for having waited so long?  That’s how I felt when I finally stopped in at the Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens.  The Gardens encompass 51 acres of plantings, ornamental gardens, lakes, and berry fields (where you can pick your fill in the season).  For the first half of the 1900’s, the property was used by the US Department of Agriculture to trial and evaluate Asian plants for use in American agriculture.  By the 1950’s, federal funding dried up and the acreage became somewhat neglected until the 1980’s when the University of Georgia acquired the site and revamped the Gardens as a plant research and education center.

Taking a walk around the Gardens will introduce you not only to bamboo and one of the world’s largest bamboo mazes, but it will also showcase plants that are not commonly seen in the area.  A variety of benches and picnicking areas exist so that you can stop as often as you like and just appreciate what’s around.  This would include a rose garden, fountains, as well as banana trees and other fun plants.  I had expected to enjoy the abundant greenery and peaceful lakeside vistas.  However, I was surprised to learn that a wide variety of events are held at the Gardens, including star-gazing evenings with local astronomy clubs, an upcoming Oktoberfest brew and dance bash with the appropriate Polka-style musicians, and an elaborate Christmas lighting spectacular.  Obviously, my visits may become frequent, especially since the Gardens are within two miles of my home.

Isn’t it lovely to be surprised by another Savannah treasure?