The Grand Opening for the newly renovated Greer Center for the Arts is Saturday, September 21, 2019! Join us from 11am-4pm for tours of the newest arts center in the upstate. The free Grand Opening event will include inflatables, a magician, a balloon artist, pottery wheel demonstrations, origami demonstrations, resident artist open studios, and more! Food and beverage vendors will be on-site so you can purchase a meal while you enjoy the event!

Additional parking will be located at Victor Baptist Church.

Hub City Bookshop is thrilled to host author Jon Sealy “a significant new voice in Southern fiction” on October 3rd at 6PM!

His latest novel, The Edge of America, is set in 1984 Miami. Enter the high-stakes world of South Florida’s drug culture, where a businessman with CIA ties is about to risk it all.

Bobby West is on the edge. As chief financial officer for a Miami holding company and a CIA front, he has overleveraged his business in the go-go 1980s financial culture. He turns to a deal-with-the-devil money laundering operation with a local gangster, Alexander French—a deal which quickly goes south when $3 million goes missing. With echoes of Iran-Contra and the Orwellian surveillance state, The Edge of America is a stunning thriller about greed, power, and the limits of the American dream.

Jon Sealy is also the author of The Whiskey Baron (Hub City Press, 2014). His fiction has appeared widely in literary journals and magazines. He currently lives in Richmond, Virginia.

Sip a glass of complimentary wine with author and South Carolina native Andrea Bobotis at the Hub City Bookshop!

Her debut novel The Last List of Miss Judith Kratt, has received acclaim as The New York Post’s best books of the week, Library Journal’s Best Summer/Fall 2019 Debut Novels, BookBub’s 10 Debut Summer Books by Women Everyone Should Read, Coastal Living’s Best Beach Reads for Summer 2019, and Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance’s Summer 2019 Okra Pick.

It has also been a featured pick in Woman’s Day Magazine, on celebrity Molly Sims’s summer book list, on Deep South Magazine’s Summer Reading List, and as the most-anticipated summer read on Workingmother.com!

The Last List of Miss Judith Kratt follows a Southern woman as she untangles the dark legacy of her family's possessions in a South Carolina cotton town. It is a novel steeped in Southern lyricism, tragic family secrets, and suspenseful storytelling.

Join us at the bookshop on Tuesday, October 22nd for a discussion with former Kenyon Review editor David Lynn!

David Lynn recently resigned after 15 years as the editor of the Kenyon Review, an international journal of literature, culture and the arts.

As an author, he received a 2016 O. Henry Award for “Divergence.” His latest collection, Children of God: New & Selected Stories, has been published in 2019 by Braddock Avenue Books. An earlier volume, Year of Fire, was published in 2006 by Harcourt. In a review, Publisher’s Weekly said that “the stories of this collection occupy the gray borderland where betrayal mixes with trust, violence with affection, humiliation with lust. The effect is quietly haunting.” And the New York Times said, “feels his way toward tentative, glancing resolutions that avoid glib epiphanies and leave his characters, like the professor in ‘Life Sentences,’ ‘numb and sad and lonely . . . a still center as the emotional chaos of these people swirled about him, destroying so much.’”

David Lynn is the author of the novel Wrestling with Gabriel, an earlier collection of stories, Fortune Telling, and The Hero’s Tale: Narrators in the Early Modern Novel, a critical study. His stories and essays have appeared in magazines and journals in America, England, India, and Australia. Other awards include the Glimmer Train Short Story Prize 2015, the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award Finalist, and the Ohioana Library Association Award for Editorial Excellence.

David Lynn lives in Gambier, Ohio with his wife, Wendy Singer, a distinguished historian of India. He is also Professor of English at Kenyon College.

Hub City Bookshop will host New York Times bestselling author Patti Callahan Henry at the Piedmont Club for a literary luncheon on October 25th.

A ticket includes lunch with the author and a copy of her new book The Favorite Daughter!

Patti Callahan Henry is a New York Times bestselling author whose novels include The Bookshop at Water’s End, The Idea of Love, The Stories We Tell, and Driftwood Summer.

As Patti Callahan, she’s the author of the USA Today bestseller Becoming Mrs. Lewis. Short-listed for the Townsend Prize for Fiction, and nominated multiple times for the Southern Inde¬pendent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) Book Award for Fiction, Patti is a frequent speaker at luncheons, book clubs, and women’s groups.

As a former nurse, much of Henry’s graduate work focused on injuries of the brain and memory, leading her to deep reflection on what it means for families who must learn to cope with what medical professionals refer to as “ambiguous loss.” How does one grieve for a loved one that still lives on but no longer seems to be the same person? Inspired by her professional experiences with memory loss, Henry wanted to explore the concept further as a novelist, resulting in her new book, The Favorite Daughter—a heart-rending story about a broken family that is forced to rally when tragedy strikes.

The Artisan Makers Market: Craft, Food, and Music

ar·ti·san (ˈärdəzən)
noun
*a worker in a skilled trade, especially one that involves making things by hand.
*(of food or drink) made in a traditional or non-mechanized way using high-quality ingredients.

The Artisan Makers Market and Greer Farmers Market will host up to 25 makers at Greer City Park; Makers who have worked to perfect their craft and brand themselves well will be chosen to participate in the event.

Food and beverages will be available for purchase onsite.

Celebrate the start of the weekend with Food & Drink at Greer City Park. Food Trucks, tailgating games, and music. Follow the event for Food Truck announcements and more information.

Thank you to our Food Truck Rollout Series Sponsor Greer CPW

Children under 16 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian at all times.

What is self-publishing? How does one self-publish a book? This three hour course will serve as an overview of the different methods of self-publishing, updated for the 2019 publishing landscape. It will be facilitated by Meg Reid, director of Hub City Press.

It will cover the process and costs of hiring a designer and editor, printing the actual books and getting them into stores, and how to avoid the many scams and predatory printers that are present in the marketplace. A Q&A period will close out the seminar.

Please reserve your seat early as attendance is capped at 30.

The worst thing writers do is censor themselves. It takes courage to put words on paper. It’s time to lose your writing inhibitions. As you enjoy a cup of Waller’s coffee, we will discuss what it takes to tell a good story. The class will focus on ways to get started, stay motivated, and be true to your creative voice. We’ll have tips and writing prompts for fiction, essays, and poetry. The class will be facilitated by local author Nicki Salcedo.

Nicki Salcedo is a novelist and freelance writer. She is a regular contributor to Decaturish.com. She has judged the annual Creative Loafing Fiction Contest. Nicki has been on stage in Write Club Atlanta and Bleux Stocking Society. Her book “All Beautiful Things” is a romantic suspense set in Atlanta. She is also the author three collections of essays about life in the South, through grief, and while creating goodness.

This literary placemaking workshop is aimed at helping both beginners and established writers tell their stories. The idea is to capture a diverse range of voices and memories that capture the essence of the places we are from.

Hannah Palmer works as an urban designer in Atlanta. She writes about the intersection of southern stories and urban landscapes for venues like CNN, Art Papers, Atlanta Magazine, ATL Studies, and for urban design and planning projects around the world. A graduate of Agnes Scott College, she earned an MFA in creative writing from Sewanee: The University of the South. She lives near the Atlanta Airport with her husband and sons. Her first book, Flight Path: A Search for Roots beneath the World's Busiest Airport, was published in 2017 by Hub City Press.

Coming up with creative ideas is one thing, but the ability to pitch your concept in a captivating way is another. That’s why Denny’s partnered with the Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce to offer an EmpowerPitch SPEECHCRAFT program (presented by experienced members of Spartanburg Toastmasters) to all underrepresented entrepreneurs and small business owners in Spartanburg County including graduates of the City of Spartanburg’s Amplify program and the Northside Development Group’s StartME initiative.

The EmpowerPitch SPEECHCRAFT program teaches the art of storytelling to capture an audience during six bi-weekly, two-hour sessions. Nine entrepreneurs are graduating from the program after learning public speaking fundamentals through the Toastmasters curriculum, and we’d like to celebrate them.

We are unique in that we have our beautiful local folks and also those who come to us as a destination to enjoy the mountains that cradle us.

We have great vendors both local foods, plants & crafts but we always need more growers. People who want to grow clean, local food and sell their extras with the community.

Join us for the documentary screening on Sunday, August 25th. Enjoy an evening filled with sweet & savory Jewish delights, music by Greenville County Youth Orchestra as well as Bandana Klezmer, and our guest speaker Dr. Jim Dant, Senior Minister at First Baptist Greenville, who will highlight the diverse impact of this film.

Have you defined your personal brand?   Are you consistently living your personal brand every day? Most people would answer no to those questions, but personal branding is the means by which people remember you. It's more than a business card; it is how you present yourself online and offline to potential clients, customers and future employers. Your personal brand can build your business, but it still centers around you as an individual. This presentation will offer useful tips and stories on how personal branding can be a key part of your success, in leadership and in life.

An evening of traditional Irish music, Americana and contemporary songs. Admission is free.

Which Home Cook has got what it takes to bake? Plate 108 and I are partnering to raise money for Make A Wish charity. On September 21st, teams of two will compete head to head to see who can make the best cupcake. Bring the kids, cheer on your favorite team, and be taste testers of the cupcakes. Judges will pick the winner and you will be crowned The Greatest Greer Baker.
Team fee $45
Audience fee $10 purchase at the door or through eventbrite

A charity concert event at the Younts Center for Performing Arts in Fountain Inn, SC to benefit Prisma Health Children’s Hospital Upstate. Be a part of a great night of fun and music and help support the everyday miracles occurring at Prisma Health Children’s Hospital Upstate. Your tax deductible sponsorship will go directly to our local Hospital. Checks payable to Prisma Health Children’s Hospital Upstate – tax information available.

A culinary tour of Turkey, right here in the Upstate! Check back to the Facebook event page as details will be added.

The Greenville Zoo will be here for the August Family Fun Day as we explore the animals of Wonderland! Meet the "Mock Turtle" and "Frog Footman" from 10am - Noon. Throughout Family Fun Day enjoy games, craft stations, story times, and play time in our other summer exhibit, "Thomas & Friends: Explore the Rails."

GREENVILLE ZOO: 10:00 a.m. - NOON

ADMISSION:
$10 - Adults
$9 - Senior Adults & College Students
$8 - Kids (ages 4-18)

Join author Marie Benedict as she discusses her acclaimed new novel, The Only Woman in the Room. She will also explore the common theme throughout all her books – women who play pivotal roles in history but go unnoticed. A reception and book-signing will immediately follow the event.

In her most recent work of historical fiction, Benedict looks at the remarkable life of Austrian-born American film actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr. The New York Times raves, “ a novelist who’s made a career writing about ‘the only woman in the room’… In Benedict’s telling, the story is a ready-made thriller as well as a feminist parable.”

Bring a friend, daughter, or niece and join us for a delicious brunch and a program guaranteed to inspire and unite!

Thanks to the generosity of Denny’s Corporation this event is free! Pre-registration via Eventbrite is required for admission**. Meet on the ground floor for check in. The event will be held on Denny’s beautiful 17th floor with a soaring view of the upstate.

Attendees MUST register through the Eventbrite link provided.

Go Over the Edge for Cancer Association of Spartanburg and Cherokee Counties!

What is Over the Edge?
Friday, October 18th join 100 “Edgers” who are brave enough to raise a minimum of $1,000 to rappel over the edge of a 10 story building for the Cancer Association.

Who:

100 participants (men, women, children; 100 to 300 lbs)

What:

Raise a minimum of $1,000 for the chance to rappel down a 10 story building

When:

Friday, October 18, 2019

Where:

AC Hotel and Level 10

Why:

To raise funds to support services for local cancer patients in our area.

Holidays are times to celebrate with friends and family. However, they also bring increased danger to our roads. To show our commitment to preventing DUIs and the resulting accidents, injuries, and deaths, the Peace Law Firm is offering free rides home on specific holidays. The program is simple. All you have to do is make the right choice to take a taxi or use a ride sharing service to get home if you’ve been drinking, pay for it up front, and we’ll reimburse you for it via PayPal.

Details below:

Rides must be in Greenville County.
Rides must be taken between 5PM on a holiday listed above and 10AM the next day.
You must be of legal drinking age to qualify (21 and over).
Valid for one, one-way ride to a safe destination.
Limit one reimbursement per household.
Maximum value of $25.00.
Participation in this promotion is limited to the first 100 submissions per year.
Within 7 days of the end date, a Receipt, Photocopy of Valid Driver’s License, and email address associated with a PayPal account must be sent to:
Sober Rides
1225 South Church Street
Greenville,SC 29605

Come meet your local farmers and buy local farm products, see live farm animals, touch a tractor, drive a combine simulator, and see craft vendors! Eat some ice cream or a snow cone and enjoy the restaurants and stores in downtown West Pelzer!

These two country music legends will give yoi an experience to remember as they bring back some of their chart-topping songs complete with memories of the 1980 hit movie, Urban Cowboy. Gilley and Lee have earned an outstanding 38 chart singles with 20 #1 hits, including Room Full of Roses, Don't the Girls All Get Prettier at Closing Time, and Lookin' for Love.

Sharing 10 years of their musical career together, these two are sure to put on an evening of great music, fun memories, and incredible entertainment!

Grab a beer and learn about local history at Keowee Brewing Company! Oconee History Museum Assistant Curator Jennifer Moss will chronicle the history of the Keowee River Valley, which would eventually become the lake we all know and love!

Program is FREE, but donations to OHM are gladly accepted.

Rodney Atkins charted his first single on the Billboard country chart in 1997, but did not release an album until 2003's Honesty, which included the hit "Honesty (Write Me a List)." His second album, If You're Going Through Hell, has been certified platinum, with two #1 songs, "If You're Going Through Hell" and "Watching You." Other albums include It's America and Take a Back Road. Atkins has received 6 nominations from the ACM and two from the CMA, winning Top New Male Vocalist from the former in 2006.

Come out for a sweet afternoon at Oconee History Museum! The museum will be a-buzz with local beekeepers sampling their delicious honey!! Beekeepers will also have their honey available to purchase during this time.

September is National Honey Month! Support local beekeepers just BEE-cause they are so sweet!!

Join us Saturday, September 21st for a demonstration with Amber Shehan from Pixie's Pocket as she guides you through the steps it takes to start a small batch of mead & cider how to know when it is ready to bottle, and the bottling process. This demonstration is great for anyone interested in learning to brew mead, from beginners to advanced.

As we brew a batch of mead together, Amber will go in-depth into the main ingredients to make a simple mead: honey, water, and yeast. We'll also cover yeast nutrients, how to add fruit and herbs to the process, and other things that sound more complex than they are. Don't worry! It's easy. We'll have you brewing in no time!

$25 per person in advance and $30 at the door. Tickets can be purchased at Earth's Elements in Walhalla, SC and at the Oconee History Museum.

There is limited seating available.

AMBER SHEHAN is an herbalist and the creator of Pixie’s Pocket. She lives in the Appalachian Mountains near Asheville, North Carolina, with her husband and daughter, a dog, a cat and a few chickens. Their yard, full of herbs, weeds and wildflowers, gets turned into medicines, meads and other wonderfully weird brews.

Upstate International offers the chance to learn one of thirteen different languages starting at beginner’s level up to advanced conversational level. Regular classes are 60 minutes and meet once a week for 12 weeks. Intensive classes are 90 minutes long and meet twice a week for 10 weeks. Class fees are $95 for Regular, $310 for intensive. Classes will generally have 3-15 students. To register you must be a member of Upstate International. Register early to guarantee a spot! Please understand, classes are dependent on registrations and we cannot offer refunds.

Classes begin the week of September 9th and will be completed by December 20th. Please visit our website to view which classes will work best with your schedule.

Join us every Friday in September for a brand new music series in downtown Spartanburg! Live on the Square will be held each Friday in September from 5:30 to 8:00 pm.

September 6: The Shag Doctorz—Carolina Beach/Shag Lessons

September 13: Outshyne—Country/Line Dancing Lessons

September 20: Son del Callao—Latin/Salsa Lessons

September 27th: Reggaeinfinity—Roots/Reggae