Columbia County Magazine

Category: LIFE + STYLE

  • Golf, Music & Charity

    Golf, Music & Charity

    Golf, Music & CharityA trio of well-known brothers is joining forces with a local golf course, which was designed by the game’s Big Three – Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player – to bring a golf tournament and concert fundraiser to Evans.

    John, Josh and Charles Kelley are combining two of their favorite things – golf and music – to give back to the community where they grew up. The inaugural celebrity golf tournament will begin at Champions Retreat Golf Club at 10 a.m. Monday, October 27. Following the golf tournament, the Kelley brothers will join various musical guests on Josh Kelley Stage at Evans Towne Center Park’s Lady Antebellum Pavilion for a 7:30 p.m. concert.

    Charles is a member of the award-winning country rock band, Lady Antebellum; Josh has released a number of albums that have appeared on the charts; and John has spent the last 15 years running a construction and development company in North Carolina. John and Josh played college golf while Charles is an avid golfer as well.

    “We’re thrilled to be bringing this event to Augusta,” the brothers say. “This is our home, and we’re grateful to all the folks around here that helped each of us get to where we are today. We couldn’t be more excited to contribute to the community through this unique and exciting event.”

    The brothers are launching this endeavor to cater to area golf fans and music lovers while donating the proceeds from both events to charity. Beneficiaries will include St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the John W. Kelley, M.D., Cardiovascular Endowment at the University Health Care Foundation. A number of Augusta-based charities will benefit from the fundraisers as well.

    For more information about the golf tournament and concert, visit TheKelleyBrothers.com.

  • Guitar Heroes

    Guitar Heroes

    Guitar HeroesGet ready for jazz in overdrive. The Jabez S. Hardin Performing Arts Center will be filled with the sounds of steaming strings when acoustic guitarists Frank Vignola and Vinny Raniolo heat things up on Friday, September 5. 

    The two musicians mix original material with their own renditions of contemporary tunes to create a smoking hot blend of acoustic rock, gypsy jazz, bluegrass, swing and blues.

    Vignola has been the guitarist of choice for many of the world’s top musicians including Ringo Starr, Madonna, Wynton Marsalis, the Boston Pops and the late guitar legend Les Paul, who named Vignola to his “Five Most Admired Guitar List” for the Wall Street Journal. Team him with Vinny Raniolo and you can expect a high-energy show that’ll keep your toes tapping.

    If You Go:
    What: An Evening with Frank Vignola & Vinny Raniolo
    When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, September 5
    Where: Jabez S. Hardin Performing Arts Center
    How Much: $30 and $35
    For Info: augustaamusements.com or (706) 726-0366

  • Leave ’Em Laughing

    Leave ’Em Laughing

    Museum exteriorAny self-respecting Columbia County resident knows all about Harlem’s Oliver Hardy Festival, but how much do you know about the man himself?

    Comedic actor Oliver Hardy, who formed one of the world’s most beloved comedy duos with British actor Stan Laurel, was born Norvell Hardy on January 18,1892, at his mother’s parent’s home in Harlem, Georgia.

    Hardy’s father, Oliver senior, a Confederate veteran wounded at the Battle of Antietam, worked as a foreman for Georgia Southern Railroad and supervised the building of a rail line between Augusta and Madison, where he owned a hotel. He died less than a year after his son was born, and young Norvell was raised by his mother, Emily.

    Hardy spent most of his youth in Milledgeville, where his mother managed the Baldwin Hotel, and the lively teenager worked as a projectionist and ticket taker in the local movie theater. He soon changed his name to Oliver Norvell Hardy (Norvell was his mother’s maiden name) as a tribute to his father and began pursuing his passion for singing and performing. The versatile showman studied music, performed vaudeville and worked in the fledgling film colony of Jacksonville, Florida. In his 20s he headed to Hollywood to try his luck in showbiz. The rest, as they say, is history.

    Harlem’s all-day party to celebrate its native son has turned into a must-do favorite, and last year more than 40,000 people from across the world attended. This year the 26th annual Oliver Hardy Festival promises barrels of fun with a parade, numerous arts and crafts booths, a look-a-like contest, Ollie & Stan skits, Laurel & Hardy movies, kiddie rides and games, live entertainment, a barbecue chicken dinner, silent auction and more.

    If you go, be sure to visit Harlem’s Laurel and Hardy Museum in the former post office, where you’ll learn about Hardy’s youth, his rise to stardom and his illustrious — and lucky — pairing with his trusty sidekick.

     

    If You Go:
    What: 26th annual Oliver Hardy Festival
    When: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, October 4
    Where: Downtown Harlem
    How Much: Free admission
    More Info: (706) 556-0401 or harlemga.org

  • Deep Blue Sea

    Deep Blue Sea

    Buzz-Sea MonstersSome of the mysterious creatures of the sea have surfaced from the depths of the ocean at the Georgia Aquarium’s traveling exhibit, “Sea Monsters Revealed: Aquatic Bodies.” 

    The exhibit features more than 18 full-body sea creatures including a 6-foot-wide devil ray, a 15-foot-long mako shark and an 18-foot-long, 3,000-pound whale shark. Using a polymer preservation technique called plastination, the display animals give guests the opportunity to see the inside and outside of the sea creatures’ bodies. Called “sea monsters” by early oceanic explorers centuries ago, the aquatic life forms show how they were designed for the deep.

    The largest exhibit in the world of plastinated sea creatures, the display also includes more than 150 individual organs and smaller animals that inhabit the ocean. In addition, living examples of many of the sea monsters, including the ray and the whale shark, can be found in the aquarium’s permanent habitats.

    
“The oceans are Earth’s last frontier. Scientists have explored only 5 percent of its mysteries, leaving the remaining 95 percent to the imagination. This exhibition takes visitors on a journey of exploration in search of animals once considered to be sea monsters,” says the exhibition’s creator John Zaller. “The creatures in this exhibition are so massive, so impressive, and so magical, that you truly have to experience it to grasp its impact and importance.”

    If You Go
    What: Sea Monsters Revealed: Aquatic Bodies
    Where: Georgia Aquarium, Atlanta
    When: Through December
    How Much: Admission to exhibit is included in price of total ticket, which starts at $31.95 (ages 13 – 64), $25.95 (ages 3 – 12) and $27.95 (ages 65 and older)
    More Info: georgiaaquarium.org

  • A Pirate’s Life for You

    A Pirate’s Life for You

    pirate stickerDo you feel out of place in that computer-filled office, stifled in that suburban neighborhood? Know you were really meant for a rollicking life of adventure on the high seas, lying in wait for schooners overloaded with booty? Your time has almost come, matey. Talk Like a Pirate Day (TLAPD for short) is just over the horizon.

    The buccaneer holiday, celebrated on September 19, is the day that landlubbers everywhere can finally cut loose and let their inner scallywag shine. Expressions like Yo-ho-ho!, Sink Me! and Shiver Me Timbers! will be gliding off the lips of normally staid professionals, while the truly fanatical will be sprouting more obscure terms like Dance the Hempen Jig (to hang) and Splice the Main Brace (have a few drinks).

    If you want to expand your Salty Dog lingo, books are numerous, including The Pirate Dictionary and Pirattitude (written by the two friends who invented TLAPD), which guarantees that you’ll be pirate-savvy faster than you can say Walk the Plank. Or just dip into their website, talklikeapirate.com. If you want to spice up your day but you’re not ready to go all out, try sprinkling your sentences with the occasional Ahoy, Arrr or Har-har-har. That should get the job done, me hearty.

  • Dynamic Duo

    Dynamic Duo

    Coriander Blue
    Coriander Blue Photo courtesy of Leena Dennison

    Local talent was shining brightly at last month’s third annual Columbia County Amateur Series, and Coriander Blue was crowned the winner in the finale at the Columbia County Exhibition Center in Grovetown.

    The country duo, which also infuses rock and blues into its music, is made up of guitarist and songwriter Brian Pinkston and Donna Jo Carroll on vocals. For the finale Coriander Blue covered Martina McBride’s “Independence Day” and performed an original song called “Carolina.”

    “We love being able to share our original music with everybody. It’s humbling to know that people are connecting with our music, and we couldn’t have done it without our fans,” says Brian.

    The Top 8 performers from the Amateur Series preliminary rounds competed in the finale. Other finalists included solo vocalists Callie Adcox and Jamiah Hudson, solo musicians Brian Kaye and Davey Marana, spoken word artist Dedric Roberts and bands The Tandem, which finished in second place, and Grace Project.

    The winners received $1,000 and the chance to appear before the producers of “America’s Got Talent” or “The Voice.” 

    “We’re trying to get to Nashville to record some music,” Brian says. “We think this will help jumpstart our career and get our local fan base going to push us.”

    Coriander Blue, which has only been together since May, also won the 2014 Country Showdown in Lancaster, South Carolina in June.

  • Good Sports

    Good Sports

    Wildwood Games Columbia County GeorgiaRunners and cyclists will have a new way to test their mettle with Columbia County’s inaugural Wildwood Games sports festival on Saturday, August 23 and Sunday, August 24.

    The multi-sport event will feature marathon mountain bike races, trail running races and an outdoors expo. The bike races on Saturday will cover distances of 50 kilometers and 100 kilometers. The shorter race will take place primarily on Bartram Trail. It will start at Wildwood Park, head toward the West Dam area and end at Wildwood Park.

    The longer option will include Bartram and Keg Creek trails, Mistletoe State Park trails and some connector roads. This race will serve as a test run for the proposed route for the USA Cycling Marathon Mountain Bike National Championships, which will take place here in 2015 and in 2016.

    “The test event will help us make sure that the course is acceptable to the athletes and presents them with the right challenges, and it will give the agencies and groups that have to pull it together a chance to be sure it is successful, safe and well-organized,” says Randy DuTeau, the Columbia County Convention and Visitors Bureau executive director.

    Bartram Trail also will be the site of the trail running races, which will includes distances of 50 kilometers, 26.2 miles, 13.1 miles and 10 kilometers. The courses will feature a mix of single-track trails and jeep service roads.

    “It’s an opportunity to showcase what we have, and we want to make this a go-to annual event in the region for years to come,” DuTeau says.

    Next year the Wildwood Games potentially will add distance open-water swimming in Clarks Hill Lake, a disc golf tournament at the International Disc Golf Center and an expanded festival with live music and a larger outdoors expo.

    For more information visit choosecolumbiacounty.com.

  • Making Music

    Making Music

    Augusta Amusements New West Guitar TrioAugusta Amusements is bringing an abundance of talent to Columbia County with its lineup of performers for 2014-15. While some acts such as Lightwire Theater and Al Stewart are returning for repeat performances, others are visiting the area for the first time.

    The season kicks off Friday, August 8 with the classic jazz trio, New West Guitar Group. The group, which combines the acoustic and electric guitar to create its signature sound, will perform popular covers and original music. Tickets are $25 and $30.

    The Malpass Brothers will perform Saturday, August 23. Chris and Taylor started playing guitar as young boys when their grandfather taught them songs by country music legends such as Hank Williams Sr., Merle Haggard, Porter Wagoner, Kitty Wells and Ernest Tubb. They also have opened for famous musicians such as Haggard and Willie Nelson. Tickets cost $27.50 and $32.50.

    The entertainment continues in September with Frank Vignola on Friday, September 5 and Janis Siegel, An Evening of Ella Fitzgerald, on Thursday, September 11. Vignola has been the guitarist of choice for many of the world’s top musicians including Ringo Starr, Madonna, Wynton Marsalis, the Boston Pops and guitar legend Les Paul, who named Vignola to his “Five Most Admired Guitar List” for the Wall Street Journal. Tickets to  his performance are $30 and $35.

    Nine-time Grammy winner Janis Siegel sang lead on some of the biggest hits by Manhattan Transfer, and she still tours with the group and with her own band. Since 2003 she has appeared in a number of tributes to Fitzgerald, her music idol. Tickets to see her are $30 and $35.

    All performances begin at 7:30 p.m. at Jabez S. Hardin Performing Arts Center in Evans. Season packages for multiple shows are available. For more information visit augustaamusements.com or call 706-726-0366.

  • Bottoms Up

    Bottoms Up

    Buzz-Beerfest logoCraft beer lovers can tantalize their taste buds at the inaugural Augusta Beerfest this month. More than 30 of the Southeast’s most popular craft beer breweries will offer samples at the event. 

    Festival-goers must be at least 21 years old to attend, and the ticket price includes a souvenir cup as well as beer samples. Local food trucks also will provide food for purchase. The event will feature an afternoon and an evening session.

    If You Go:
    What: Augusta Beerfest
    When: Noon – 3 p.m. or 4 p.m. – 7 p.m. Saturday, August 16
    Where: Bell Auditorium
    How Much: $30 in advance (available at georgialinatix.com); $35 at the door
    More Info: augustaentertainmentcomplex.com

  • Live from Columbia County. . . .

    Live from Columbia County. . . .

    Amateur Series Logo

    The Columbia County Amateur Series is returning to the Columbia County Exhibition Center in Grovetown this month, and performers will vie for the grand prize of $1,000 and the chance to appear before the producers of “America’s Got Talent” or “The Voice.” The Top 8 from the preliminary rounds will compete in the finale, which will be recorded live. The shows begin at 7 p.m. each night, and there is no charge to attend. 

    Thursday, July 10

    First session (singers)

    Michael Adams
    Holly Turner
    Bettina Johnson
    Jamiah Hudson
    William Combs
    Jada Turner 

    Second session (solo musicians)

    Brian Kaye
    Davey Marana
    James Randall
    Jasmine Williams
    Callie Adcox
    Sam Adams
    (Two performers from each session will advance to the finale)

     

    Friday, July 11

    First session (variety)

    Daniel Browning – dance
    Dedric Roberts – spoken word
    (One will advance to the finale)
    Wayne Burnett – duo
    Coriander Blue – duo
    (One will advance to the finale)

    Second session (bands)

    Tandem
    Livingroom Legends
    Double Diamond
    Grace Project
    (Two will advance to the finale) 

    If You Go:
    What: Columbia County Amateur Series
    When: 7 p.m. July 10 – 12
    Where: Columbia County Exhibition Center, Grovetown
    How Much: Free
    More Info: ccamateurseries.com

  • Teen Town Reunion

    Teen Town Reunion

    Concession counterThe Twist, the Mashed Potato, the Pony, the Watusi. Who can forget the dance crazes of the 1960s? 

    Certainly not the teenagers who populated Teen Town in Martinez during those years. They will have a chance to resurrect the dance moves of their youth at a Teen Town Reunion this month.

    Teen Town met off of Old Petersburg Road at Martinez Community Center, which currently is occupied by a tae kwon do studio, in the 1960s and early 1970s.

    Teenagers would go to the popular hangout to see their friends and dance to live music or records played by DJs such as Handsome Harley Drew. A jukebox provided music on opening night, and The Dynamics entertained the teens the next two Saturday evenings.

    “We paid 50 cents to get in every Saturday night. We just danced all night long,” says Susan Agner, a Martinez resident who is on the Reunion Committee. “People came from all over the area. It was open to anybody that wanted to come and behave themselves and have fun.”

    Her mother, Nadine Moore, was one of the directors of Teen Town, which celebrated its grand opening in September 1963. “We had a cool mom, and she wanted to keep us out of trouble,” Susan says.

    Teen Town also had a mayor, a clerk and a council, which was made up of five males and five females. The original office holders were Tommy Martin, mayor; Donna McGill, clerk; Brenda Mills, Gloria Coleman, Becky Yarbrough, Priscilla Shelton and Peggy Lamm, girls’ council; and Jack Fair, Sammy Jones, Bill Murphey, Chris Hand and Danny Newman, boys’ council.

    “We ran the council like a business,” says Martin, who served as mayor from 1963 until 1965. “We had meetings about bands and DJs, and we made plans for what we were going to do.”

    Concessions were sold to pay for the DJs, and of course, chaperones kept a close eye on the teens – even if “all of the guys just stood around,” as Martin, who lives in Appling, says.

    “We liked having a place to go and something to do,” he says. “It was something to look forward to on a Saturday night.”

    The Reunion Committee members hope their old friends are looking forward to the chance to get together again as well. People are coming from as far away as Arizona to attend.

    “It’s a very important part of my life because back in the ’60s, we were a small community. It was like everyone was family,” Agner says.

    If You Go:
    What: Teen Town Reunion
    When: 7 p.m. – 11 p.m. Saturday, June 21
    Where: Elks Lodge, 205 Elkdom Court, Augusta
    How Much: $25; all remaining proceeds will be donated to the Wounded Warrior Project
    More Info: Call Susan Agner at (706) 833-6752 or visit the Martinez Teentown Reunion
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