Piccolo Spoleto will kick off its annual festival May 23 outside Charleston City Hall with the usual music, speeches and special performances. But this year, the annual arts celebration offers something extra special that people won’t want to miss, said Scott Watson, director of the Office of Cultural Affairs, which produces the festival.
“It’s not about opening day. It’s about opening weekend,” he said. “We have a lot of traditions that take place opening weekend, but a lot of really great exhibits and other pop-ups people will want to see, too.”
One of the traditions is the Sunset Serenade, which takes place at 8 p.m.
May 23. This year, the Charleston Symphony Orchestra will perform with multiple guest soloists including Kyaunnee Richardson, a celebrated opera singer. The program features works by George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein, Andrew Lloyd Webber and more.
Another returning favorite is the Pajama March, featuring Atlanta-based community band Seed and Feed Marching Abominable. It’s a raucous event under colorful lighting late at night — it will take place from 10:30 p.m. to midnight May 24 outside the U.S. Custom House on East Bay Street. The band also has performances set for 11 a.m. Saturday at Marion Square and 11 a.m. Sunday at the Custom House.
Other opening weekend highlights include the festival’s 3 p.m. Memorial Day concert at Hampton Park, a Gullah Geechee Angel Network presentation from noon to 3 p.m. on May 24 at the Cannon Street Arts Center and “Connections” by Lowcountry Voices at Morris Street Baptist Church at 5 p.m. May 25.
“We really want people to just walk down the street and see something and stop to watch or participate in what’s going on,” said Watson. “That is what’s so cool about Piccolo Spoleto.”
Festival connects people
Charleston Mayor William Cogswell says the festival transforms Charleston’s streets, parks and stages.
“This festival is a true celebration of the arts — from jazz and theater to poetry, painting, dance and everything in between,” he said in a recent letter welcoming guests to the area. “You’ll see work from incredibly talented local artists alongside emerging and established creatives from across the country. It’s a reminder that Charleston is not just a backdrop for great art — it’s a place where creativity thrives.”
The mayor said what he enjoys most about the Piccolo Spoleto Festival is how it brings people together.
“Whether you’re a lifelong Charlestonian or here for your very first visit, the festival offers something that will move you, make you think or simply make you smile,” he said. “It’s in the moments of connection — in the audience, on stage, and out in the community — that this festival really shines.”
17 days of family-friendly fun and performances
Piccolo Spoleto runs for 17 days each year, and the opening weekend previews the program. The planning committee never picks a theme, but they often end up finding one as the festival goes on.
“We are always trying to be supportive of new artists and new ventures in the community,” Watson said. “We have artists participating for the first time and doing something new and novel and different, and that’s great because it brings a new energy in and gets people to come out who haven’t before.”
While the focus is on the local arts scene in Charleston, the larger mission is on building and fostering community through the arts; bridging gaps between generations and other potential divides.
“We have people coming with their grandkids who came when they were young. It’s really great to see,” said Watson.
Some more coming highlights of the city-backed festival:
- Sundown Poetry Series. Greenville, S.C., Poet Laureate Glenis Redmond is one of nine poets who will recite works as part of a weekday evening poetry series in Washington Park starting May 27.
- Noon concerts at Circular. Every Monday to Friday starting May 26, creative musicians will offer free midday concerts at Circular Congregational Church, including Charleston stalwarts Peter Kfoury, Ann Caldwell, Mike Fritz and Leah Suarez.
- Early Music Series. If you have a penchant for early classical music, don’t miss a May 24-31 series at 3 p.m. at St. Mary’s Catholic Church on Hasell Street that features composers from Mozart and Vivaldi to Handel and Bach.
- Young artists. And if you’re into emerging artists, check out a series where College of Charleston students showcase various musical disciplines in the Recital Hall of the Simons Center for the Arts on St. Philip Street.
- Piccolo Fringe. You can get your fill of rib-tickling improvisational comedy at more than a dozen shows at Theatre 99 on Meeting Street.
- Theatre. There are lots of theatre offerings throughout the festival including four performances of La serva padrona by the Charleston Opera Theater. The Threshold Repertory Theatre presents six plays, including the popular A Yank in Scotland, with four shows from May 25 to June 3. And the students at the College of Charleston offer seven performances of plays and staged readings at three sites.
- Piccolo Fiction. Meet authors Laurie Devore, Julia Elliott, Patti Callahan Henry and Finn Merritt during a 5 p.m. May 31 reading event at Blue Bicycle Books,
420 King St. - Sand-sculpting competition. Head over to the beach at Isle of Palms 9 a.m. June 7
to enjoy the festival’s grittiest challenge — the annual sand-sculpting competition. You’ll be amazed how artists take raw water and sand to create fantastic castles and more.
The festival wraps up 5 p.m. June 7 with a free finale at Hampton Park. It features a surprise lineup of musical artists and food vendors, and it serves as a much-anticipated highlight of the season.
Madey Lynch is is an arts journalism graduate student at Syracuse University.
Editor Andy Brack contributed to this story.
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