Summerville D.R.E.A.M. Third Thursday

Every month on the third Thursday, the restaurants, bars, storefronts and art galleries of Historic Summerville, South Carolina come to life for a street celebration and art walk known as Third Thursday. There are live entertainers in the form of musicians, street-actors and dancers performing at different spots throughout the district. Many of the stores and street-side vendors sponsor give-aways and provide complimentary wine, soda and goodies to the patrons.

This afternoon autumn arrived in earnest with a chilly Northeast wind and a cobalt blue sky. Perfect weather to spend a couple of hours browsing in Historic Downtown Summerville. The only problem? My wife had a meeting so I would have to go by myself. It's not that I have an aversion to going places without my wife, it's just not as much fun visiting the art galleries and strolling through town alone. I retrieved my son Noah from football practice and told him that we were going to stop off to take in some of the festivities downtown. I detected one of those "oh no I have to humor dad" kind of looks on his face, and off we went.

We began our excursion at the Art Central Gallery on Short Central in the heart of Historic Summerville. After spending a little bit of time admiring the fine watercolor originals that adorn the gallery walls, I had the extreme pleasure of meeting the enchanting Helen K. Beacham, one of the feature artists at Art Central. Mrs. Beacham was happy to answer my amateurish questions regarding several of her works and even explained to me her use of yupo paper as a media
allowing the artist to produce some remarkable effects with coloration and contrasts attributed to the translucent properties of the paper.

From there we visited with several vendors and artists occupying kiosks on Short Central. I stopped to buy a Georgia Pecan Pie candle at a booth occupied by my friend Danielle from The Ol' Tin Candle and Craft Co. Michelle loves scented candles and pecan pie is one of her favorites. Along the way I discovered the most unique birdhouses I have ever seen. Sea-Town Mosaics features true one-of-a-kind cedar birdhouses completely covered with cut mosaic glass tiles. Really, really neat stuff.

Four Green Fields Gallery & Gifts will definitely be on my Christmas Shopping itenarary, I found the perfect gift for my brother (not pictured) and the ultimate gift for the Lowcountry Barbecue Master who has it all (pictured). I also discovered that Four Green Fields sells my favorite store bought Bloody Mary Mix.

I had just about exhausted every ounce of patience and congeniality in my fifteen-year-old son so we made a token appearance on Hutchinson Square to watch the authentic German band perform a selection, and headed for the car. I am not sure how much enjoyment Noah gets out of little jaunts about town with his dad, but it sure does indulge el padre.