Going Gaga 2011

Saturday we went Gaga in Charleston! In support of a good cause, The Cosmpoplitan Charlestonian donned its Gaga digs and went on over to the Joe Riley Stadium for a good old fashioned mass dance party. Some of you may ask...why? This past weekend we asked...why not?

Despite the fact that we neither worship Lady Gaga, nor personally know the College of Charleston student, Joe Quinn, creator of the event, we were interested to learn that Gaga Day was started by Quinn on a whim as a social networking event via Facebook. Obviously Quinn has a flare for cultural trends/icons and his Lady Gaga Day fund raiser has simply blown up! While enjoying one of his favorite musical artists, he simultaneously raises contributions for his favorite charities (so enterprising)! So now, Gaga Day, is a yearly thang - and don't we all just want to support a good cause? So, yeah, we went. And here it is. Gaga Day 2011. Joe's charitable cause this year was in support of the Trevor Project, which funds the only crisis and prevention hotline in our nation for gays, lesbian, transgender and youth questioning sexuality. For further information on the Trevor Project, see wikipedia, here.Although we feel Joe Riley stadium was a little impersonal as a cultural event venue, the day, the costumes, and the sheer fun still bubbled over in true Gaga style as the crowd poured onto the baseball field. Charleston Scene captured some of the goings-on in their video click here.Anyway, you may not think there's a whole lot going on in January, but if you want events, just come to Charleston....we've got plenty of causes and events going on right here, and if you like, you can even get your Gaga on...except now you gotta wait til 2012!

Christmas Spirit - Flash Mob

Recently I wrote about the "new thing" in Charleston, the closing of King Street on the Second Sunday of each month. Charleston's infamous, King Street, is open each second Sunday to pedestrian traffic only, and this temporary redirection of auto traffic has been a total hit. As far as shopping, lots of cool deals and specials are there to be found. The experience seems a bit more fulfilling when one does not have to contend with traffic. Best of all - you are able to walk the street without the foul smell of exhaust wafting up your nostrils. Trust me, that IS the best part! People are loving this and a lot of cool things appear to be happening.

I admit, I did not get out this past Sunday, and there is a small part of me that is devastated to have missed the Christmas party "flash mob." But I heard about it, and thankfully the moment was professionally captured in this beautiful video, made for the Charleston Symphony Orchestra whom, pardon the pun, orchestrated the flash mob scene. This little holiday gathering must have been a real treat to anyone that caught it, and was conceived as a "sneak peak" of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra's Holiday Celebration coming this Saturday night, December 18th, Gaillard Auditorium. The show begins at 7:00 p.m.

Merry Christmas from Charleston - enjoy!

Thanksgiving History

Here's a great little tidbit relevent to the Thanksgiving Holiday. I found this in The New York Times, the article, an expose on civil war era graphic artist, Winslow Homer, featuring his work, Thanksgiving Day, 1860, The Two Great Classes of Society from Harper's Weekly.

Click Here to View Thanksgiving Day, 1860.

Obviously, there's a lot going on here, but it's important to remember that in 1860 a war among the states was brewing and Thanksgiving was simply a regional holiday, celebrated mostly by Northern states and mandated by each state independently. Mr. Homer's artwork captures a snapshot of a moment in time, yet some may wonder how much has really changed, afterall. What I found intriguing is the short mention of the South (as usual) in a rebellious snubbing of the Thanksgiving Holiday back in 1860.

In 1860, South Carolina – perhaps in a show of secessionist defiance – carved its turkeys a week earlier than the rest of the country. (In 1863, Lincoln would issue a nationwide Thanksgiving proclamation, as would all his successors from that day to the present: yet another instance in which the war elevated a newly powerful Union over states’ rights.)