The Warhol of Walmart. A masquerade meander. An idea palooza.
Maura's Three for the Week in Charleston, 10/28 - 11/3
With today’s dip in the temperature, I can finally say with a tad more confidence that fall has arrived. There are other clues, too. Even with recent balmy climes, the landscape is settling into its moodier hues. The talk around town is turning all the more ardently to fall books. Here are but a few possibilities for the week ahead. Enjoy!
Make it to Middleton for a masquerade stroll
Middleton Place Landmark, 4300 Ashley River Rd., Charleston, Wed., Oct. 30, 5 - 7:30 p.m.
I’ve always had a soft spot for autumn in the Lowcountry, with its subtle, seductive mellowing of the Southern landscape. Middleton Place gets it, too, scheduling its annual Masquerade Stroll and Wine Tasting to take it all in. Wander through America’s oldest landscaped gardens with a glass of wine in hand and bask in Ashley River views as you take part in wine-tasting stations in the gardens and enjoy light hors d’oeuvres. You can culminate the stroll with a dinner reservation at the Middleton Place Restaurant, or even make it a staycation with a stay at The Inn at Middleton Place. Whether you’re seeking a romantic night in the country or an opportunity to celebrate fall with friends, you’ll find a stylish Halloween here.
Tickets are $35 online, $40 in-person (non-members), $30 online, $35 in-person (Foundation members). For information and to purchase them, click here.
Find your way to “Fluff Life”
Stevenson & Co., 50 Queen St., downtown Charleston; opening reception on Fri., Nov. 1, 5 - 8 p.m.
Attention Walmart shoppers. Stevenson & Co., a contemporary fine art gallery with a eclectic roster of featured artists and exhibitions, opens Fluff Life, which spotlights works by acclaimed American artist Brendan O’Connell, aka the “Warhol of Walmart.” Running through Nov. 29, the solo show includes numerous pieces from two of his ongoing series "Walmart” and “Te Quiero Verde,” as well as new figural paintings mixed with abstraction. The artist, who has been profiled in The New Yorker, and has appeared on CBS News Sunday Morning and The Colbert Report, is known for his playful, yet painterly aesthetic that captures moments of transition from everyday life and the often-overlooked moments within consumer spaces.
For more information on Stevenson & Co., click here.
Read them and reap at Charleston Literary Festival
Charleston Literary Festival, Dock Street Theatre, 135 Church St., downtown Charleston, Fri., Nov. 1 - Sun., Nov. 10, various times
Just in time to revel in some cool-weather reads, you’ll find boundless inspiration from today’s literary luminaries at the annual Charleston Literary Festival. I’m feeling particularly enthused by this year’s lineup, with so many personal connections across state lines and oceans, too.
The first weekend brims with top authors including Andre Aciman (I had the pleasure of interviewing him for the festival previously); Irish novelist Paul Murray (in conversation with my former New York Times colleague and book guru Bill Goldstein); Maurice Samuels, author of Alfred Dreyfus: The Man at the Center of the Affair, in conversation with Adam Gopnik of The New Yorker (where I was promotion director in a former life). There are so many others I’m keen to meet, among them Eddie S. Glaude Jr., who will talk about his book We Are the Leaders We Have Been Looking For.
Later in the 10-day program, look for heavy hitters including the inimitable Colm Toibin, whose new novel Long Island is a sequel to the acclaimed Brooklyn (and with whom I’ve had the pleasure of sharing a pint or two during my Trinity College Dublin days). I’ll be heading to the talk with Ilyon Woo, author of Master Slave Husband Wife, in conversation with Dr. Kim Cliett Long (who is just back from our meaningful, related trip to Liverpool and London). There’s also the return of Patrick Bringley to star in a one-man-show directed by Dominic Dromgoole that is based on Bringley’s book All the Beauty in the World (here's my past festival interview with him).
Enough name-dropping? Further your own cultural connections in one fell, phenomenal swoop. For the full program and to get tickets, visit charlestonliteraryfestival.com.