Thunder Over Evans, an Armed Forces Day celebration, kicks off at Evans Towne Center Park Saturday, May 18 at 6:15 p.m.
The free event includes food vendors, posting of the colors, musical performances by The Party Crashers and an extreme fireworks show featuring 200 illuminated drones by Verge Aero.
Bring chairs, blankets, ear protection and sunglasses to enjoy the event.
For more information, visit thunderoveraugusta.com.
The annual, award-winning Ag + Art Tour in South Carolina, which runs May 4 through June 30, is back, offering free, self-guided tours of farms, markets and other venues.
Local artisans and vendors will display their wares at hundreds of sites in 20 counties across the state on Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.
The event kicks off on Saturday, May 4 in McCormick County, which is participating in the tour for the first time, and continues in Aiken County on Saturday, May 11.
During the tour, visitors can see first-hand where their food comes from, watch artists in action, purchase artwork and fresh produce, enjoy the talents of local musicians and learn more about rural life.
For more information, visit agandarttour.com.
Women can be heroes. When 20-year-old nursing student Frankie McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing.
But in 1965 the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path. Each day is a gamble of life and death, hope and betrayal.
But war is just the beginning for Frankie and her veteran friends. The real battle lies in coming home to a changed and divided America, to angry protesters, and to a country that wants to forget Vietnam.
The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on all women who put themselves in harm’s way and whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has too often been forgotten. A novel about deep friendships and bold patriotism, it is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire will come to define an era.
Says Booklist, “It is a moving, gripping tale that pays tribute to the under-appreciated skill and courage of combat nurses.”
With the return of the Air Dot Show, Augusta will be in select company as one of six stops on the East Coast tour.
The show, which also entertained local audiences last year, will feature high-energy aerobatics on Memorial Day weekend.
The U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor Demo Team and the U.S. Navy E/A-18 Growler Demo Team are the featured headliners of the show.
Other performers include the Air Force Heritage Flight, Navy Legacy Flight, Remax Parachute Team and world-renowned aerobatic instructors Greg Koontz and Grant Nielsen.
A variety of aircraft also will be on display.
Visitors should bring sunscreen and ear protection. They also can bring a one-liter sealed bottle of water.
Seating options and prices vary, from VIP and flight line seating to lawn boxes and general admission. General admission ticketholders can bring their own chairs. No tents, awnings or canopies will be allowed.
All tickets must be purchased before arrival.
If You Go:
What: Air Dot Show Tour
When: Saturday, May 25 and Sunday, May 26; gates open 9 a.m.; air shows run from noon until 4 p.m. each day
Where: Augusta Regional Airport
How Much: Seating options and prices vary; children ages 5 and under are admitted for free
More Info: augustaairshow.com
Explore Harlem’s downtown district as the Harlem Merchants Association holds its annual Mimosas on Main Saturday, May 11 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
During the festivities, participating shops and businesses will be offering brunch, bubbly and giveaways. There is a one-time wristband charge of $5.
Registration and event guides are available at Reeves Realty and the Harlem Library plaza.
For more information, visit visitharlemga.com
Columbia County voters can cast their ballots in the general primary/nonpartisan general election on Tuesday, May 21.
State House of Representatives District 131 is up for grabs as Jodi Lott, who has held the seat since 2105, is not seeking a fifth two-year term.
Republican candidates for the seat include Evans resident Benjamin Cairns, a Georgia Military College professor and former Marine; Grovetown resident David Byrne, a former defense contractor who now works in cyber security at a hospital; Martinez educator and veteran Paul Abbott; Rob Clifton, CEO of Clifton Construction who was raised in Columbia County, and Russell Wilder, who owns Top Shelf Cigar and Tobacco Shoppe in Evans.
If none of the candidates receive more than 50% of votes, a runoff will be held on June 18. Democrat Heather White, a retired Evans military intelligence officer, is running for the seat as well.
Three candidates also are vying for the state House of Representatives District 125 seat. Currently, the seat is held by Republican Gary Richardson, a former county commissioner who was elected to complete the unexpired term of Barry Fleming in a runoff in March. Fleming vacated the seat after he was appointed as a Columbia County Superior Court judge.
In a repeat of the runoff, Richardson will face Republican CJ Pearson in the special election to appear on the ballot in November for the chance to serve a full term in District 125. Democrat Kay Turner also is running for the seat.
Republicans Michael Carraway and Rickey Merideth Sr. are vying to fill Richardson’s unexpired term as the District 3 representative on the county Board of Commissioners. Richardson had to resign from his position when he declared his candidacy for the state House seat.
Martinez residents Trey Allen and Mark Petersen are running for the District 2 seat on the Board of Commissioners.
For more information, visit columbiacountyga.gov.
It’s nearly halftime 2024 with a steady bloom and boom into hotter days. The anticipation of sultry destinations and backyard traditions drops the boogie into the yearly smorgasbord of fun, and there is nothing finer than a boppin’ soundtrack to usher in the good times.
An essential sonic treat to throw into the road trip duffle bag is Old School, by Britain’s own The New Mastersounds. Old School is a peanut butter and soul-jam sandwich slathered in the golden age of soul and funk, proving that sometimes the best way forward is to rewind in order to unwind.
The group drops a Slip-n-Slide groove to the classic sounds of the ’60s and ’70s with a cannonball splash of funky homage to the past while providing an ice cream truck full of astro-poppin’ futuristic cool.
The album is a stacked 10-pack of refreshing jams that melt into a box fan ice bowl of breezy soul sounds that bounce like a raft through rocky riffs and rolling torrents of sound – the perfect album to press repeat, get down and let the loop create the whoop.
As the May mood finds the day groove, grab a popsicle and some sweatbands, fill up the kiddie pool and crank up the hi-fi with this assorted cooler-than-cool flavors that bring the heat.
– Chris Rucker
A multi-phased process that could bring changes to Columbia County is underway but far from over.
Déjà vu, anyone? As it did in the early 2000s, Columbia County once again is exploring the possibility of forming a consolidated government.
This time, however, the county is following a different path. Under the current scenario, the unincorporated portions of the county first would incorporate into a city, and the initial phase of the process – a fiscal feasibility study – is complete.
The study found that it would be feasible fiscally for Columbia County to incorporate its entire land area, excluding the cities of Grovetown and Harlem, into a new city and then merge with the county to create a consolidated government.
“This is something we’ve talked about for a long time. When we look at the financial aspects of this, it just makes sense,” says Scott Johnson, county manager.
While the study found that incorporation and consolidation could be feasible fiscally, it did not address the social, political or governance aspects of the proposal.
Under incorporation and consolidation, the new municipality would become Georgia’s sixth largest city. However, voters will have the final say in the matter, which could take three years to decide.
Fiscal Feasibility
A feasibility study is required by the state House of Representatives before it can consider legislation that proposes incorporation. Now that the report is complete, legislation could be drafted this year and come up for a vote the following year. “It could go before the voters the year after that,” Johnson says.
However, he says the next step is to gather public input, which could begin in late spring or early summer.
“Some people are very excited about the possibility. Some people are very apprehensive about it,” Johnson says. “We’re gathering information, and we’re going to put it before the voters.”
Conducted by Valdosta State University, the study is available online at columbiacountyga.gov.
The report concludes, “Based on our analysis, we find existing revenues of $248 million exceed likely expenditures for the services identified to be provided, projected at $191 million, and therefore have concluded that the City of Columbia is likely fiscally feasible.”
According to the study, consolidation could provide the county with additional revenue streams such as franchise fees, which are paid by companies or utilities to operate within a county or municipality.
For the purpose of the study, Georgia Power fees were examined. As of March 2023, the county franchise fees were 1.1839% of usage cost, and Georgia Power’s municipal franchise fee rate was 3.0647% of usage cost.
“Franchise fees would go up if we were inside a city,” Johnson says. “We’re missing out on $8.4 million in revenue.”
While county residents’ power bills would increase annually by about $23, he continues, the new municipality could use the fees to reduce the current millage rate of 4.895 by 0.808 mills to 4.087.
Other potential revenue sources could include an increase in hotel/motel taxes, grants and expanded code enforcements.
What About Grovetown and Harlem?
“There are a lot of unanswered questions,” says Gary Jones, Grovetown’s mayor and a lifelong Columbia County resident. “From a personal standpoint, I like the aspect of having a rural area in the county.”
In addition, Grovetown and Harlem would be landlocked with no possibility of growth through annexation.
According to the county’s Geographic Information Systems Department, Grovetown has 556 acres of undeveloped land. However, Jones says, “Areas that are undeveloped are in the inner core. We need to spread out so we don’t have so much traffic congestion.”
He says he would like to negotiate with county officials in the near future about letting the city accumulate more land through annexation.
According to the county GIS department, Harlem has 1,843 acres of undeveloped land.
“We have at least two active developments with a third having started with their infrastructure and one more development that will be a combination of commercial and residential to start in the coming months,” says Debra Moore, Harlem city manager. “These are all within what I would call Harlem proper, with areas out toward the actual city limits to still be developed on both the north side and east side of the city.”
In the study, Harlem mayor Roxanne Whitaker and Elaine Matthews, Grovetown city administrator, raised other issues as well. They included sales tax distribution, intergovernmental agreements, public safety, the organizational structure of the new government and community identity.
“We have been told that there will be no changes, that all will continue to work as it is now,” Moore says.
Johnson also says that residents would be able to keep their current mailing addresses.
“The county has always given us a voice and a seat at the table, but it is still something to consider and think about. There has been some discussion with the mayor and council, but we have no concrete comments pertaining to being in support of or not in support of this move by the county,” Moore says. “We are waiting and watching to see what the next step is and will go from there. We understand that, as a city, our residents who live within our city limits will not have a vote in this matter as it impacts those who live in the unincorporated area more directly.”
The Columbia County Spring Fair returns this year April 19-28 with fan favorites and new attractions.
Returning entertainment includes midway rides and games from Drew Expositions, a demolition derby, magician T.J. Hill, Lew-E the Clown, Wardrobe of Wishes, a petting zoo and a 4-H pollinator garden. New acts include Falcon Crest, Lady Houdini and Stone Age.
Parking is free, and children ages 6 and under are admitted free with a ticketed adult. After 7 p.m. ages 17 and under must be accompanied by a parent.
For more information and details on admission and ride specials, visit columbiacountyfair.net.
Photos and recipe courtesy of the Masters Tournament
Throw a Masters party with Augusta National concessions delivered straight to your doorstep.
Even if you don’t have tickets to this year’s Masters, you still can tee up a green jacket-worthy watch party at home with an authentic tournament menu. This year Augusta National is offering two Taste of the Masters hosting kits – without the concession stand lines.
The large hosting kit, which costs $179.99 and serves 12 to 14 guests, includes:
• Egg Salad (24 ounces)
• Pimento Cheese (24 ounces)
• Pork Bar-B-Que (24 ounces)
• Plain Potato Chips (6)
• Bar-B-Que Potato Chips (6)
• Chocolate Chip Cookies (6)
• Georgia Pecan Caramel Popcorn (6)
• Masters Branded Souvenir Cups (sleeve of 25)
• Masters Branded Wax Paper (sleeve of 12 sheets)
• Masters Coasters (pack of 12)
• Hosting Kit Materials
The classic kit, which costs $99.95 and serves four to six people, includes:
• Pimento Cheese (24 ounces)
• Plain Potato Chips (6)
• MoonPies (6)
• Masters Branded Souvenir Cups (sleeve of 12)
• Masters Branded Wax Paper (sleeve of 12 sheets)
• Masters Coasters (pack of 12)
• Hosting Kit Materials
Bread and buns are not included with either kit. Kits will be delivered between Friday, April 5 and Saturday, April 13, and shipping is free. For more information, visit masters.com.
Signature Cocktail of the Masters
Of course, you’ll want to toast great golf with an Azalea. To make the tournament’s signature cocktail, mix together:
Pour over ice cubes and garnish with a cherry and an orange slice.
For the first time, Gordon Hobson tells the story of Calvin Peete, an overlooked PGA star and one of the best black golfers in history.
Born to a family of migrant laborers, he dropped out of school in eighth grade, went to work picking crops, first swung a golf club at age 23 — and rose to the top of the PGA.
When Peete joined the lily-white PGA Tour in 1976, he stood out from the competition in more ways than one. He sported a huge Fu Manchu, cowboy boots and had diamonds embedded in his teeth.
Despite a permanently bent left elbow, he practiced endless hours in a public park to develop one of the most accurate swings in golf history.
After years of futility and despair, he emerged as the best player on the Tour from 1982-86. He won 12 championships, played on the U.S. Ryder Cup team twice and won the prestigious Vardon Award.
Peete’s story reveals the struggles many black golfers endured even after the PGA removed the Caucasian-only clause from its bylaws. The biography shows how, even without advantages from birth, success is possible through hard work, determination and fortitude.
An award-winning country artist will headline a longstanding Masters Week concert.
Drive for Show, Rock Fore! Dough is turning 20 this year, and country music superstar Cole Swindell is making his first appearance at the concert.
“We’re very excited to have Cole perform. He’s a huge golf fan, and he’s from Georgia. He’ll be a great addition,” says Gluestick Music’s Emily Stevenson, event producer.
Augusta’s own Black Dawg, a Led Zeppelin-inspired band featuring John Kelley – brother of country music sensations Josh and Charles Kelley, will open the show. DJ Rock, Luke Bryan’s tour DJ, is returning to spin tunes throughout the evening.
Additional performers include country singer/songwriters Randy Houser and Tyler Reeve.
Proceeds from the annual fundraiser benefit First Tee – Augusta. In the past two decades, the concert has raised more than $1.7 million for the organization.
“We’ve always had artists who care about golf, and people that support golf want to support youth golf,” Stevenson says. “Having an event that is still successful after 20 years is such an accomplishment. From the First Tee board and staff to our sponsors and fans, it takes everyone. It’s fun to be in Augusta during Masters Week, and we want this concert to be our biggest and best.”
If You Go:
What: Drive For Show, Rock Fore! Dough concert
When: 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 9
Where: Evans Towne Center Park
How Much: $40 in advance; $50 day of; free for children ages 5 and under with ticketed adult
More Info: rockforedough.com
A concoction of sonic fizz and Southern mystique always is brewing in the music laboratories of Athens, Georgia – a scene that has pioneered legends like R.E.M., Widespread Panic, the B-52s and Pylon Reenactment Society.
Pylon’s latest album, Magnet Factory, is a testament to the awesomeness that bridges past and present with a kaleidoscope of sound and emotion. Original member Vanessa Briscoe Hay is the vocal thunder and driving creative force behind its undeniable energy and appeal.
Her lyrics are at once poetic and deeply introspective, inviting listeners to reflect on their own experiences and drawing them into a world where boundaries between reality and imagination blur.
Tracks like “3X3” and “Flowers Everywhere” showcase the band’s ability to create atmosphere and tension, while “Spiral” and “I’ll Let You Know” offer moments of intimacy and mystery.
But perhaps the true genius of Magnet Factory lies in its ability to surprise and delight at every turn. Just when you think you have the band figured out, they throw a curveball like “No Worries” or the uber catchy “Fix It,” which features the equally legendary Kate Pierson of the B52’s leaving you breathless and hungry for more.
Pylon dares to be different and has created a masterpiece that defies easy categorization. Let yourself be swept away this spring by the magnetic pull of Southern charm and creative energy — and, of course, pimento cheese sandwiches.
– Chris Rucker
From the author of The Secret Society of Salzburg comes a powerful and moving story of bravery and resilience in World War II Paris.
As German tanks rumble through the streets of Paris in 1940, frightened citizens are forced to flee. But not everyone has the luxury to leave. Camille Lacroix, a chambermaid at the world-famous Hôtel Ritz, must stay to support her family back home in Brittany.
Desperate to earn money, Camille also acts as a lady’s maid for longtime guest Vivian Miller, a glamorous American widow who she suspects is a Nazi sympathizer.
Despite her distrust of the woman, Camille turns to Vivian when a friend and fellow hotel maid, Rachel Berman, needs help getting out of Paris. It’s then that Camille discovers that Vivian is not what she seems — the American has been using her wealth and connections to secretly obtain travel papers for Jewish refugees.
While they’re hiding Rachel in an underground bunker under a Nazi’s nose, a daring escape plan is hatched. But as the net grows tighter and the Germans more ruthless, Camille’s courage will be tested to the extreme.
Photos courtesy of Michelle Scarborough Johnson
From fairies to potheads (literally), this yard art is an expression of personality and playfulness.
There’s no rest for makers like Michelle Scarborough Johnson, who has been creating yard art and garden sculptures for the past 10 years.
Her creative juices never stop flowing – even in her sleep.
“I’ll wake up in the morning with an idea and think, ‘I could do this,’” Michelle says.
The retired critical care nurse makes her pieces out of hypertufa, which is a lightweight, porous, manmade rock consisting of Portland cement and aggregates such as vermiculite, perlite, peat moss or sand. She mixes up the cement-based substance, which is a substitute for a porous type of limestone called tufa, herself using a recipe she found online.
“I honestly don’t remember where I saw it, but I taught myself,” Michelle says.
Recycled and Refurbished
Yard art is just the latest creative endeavor for this self-taught artist.
“I sew a lot. I paint. I quilt,” Michelle says. “I always wanted to make pottery, but you need a kiln. I love gardening.”
When Michelle was 10 years old, her grandmother taught her how to sew. Otherwise, however, she taught herself the other crafts.
“It’s very fulfilling for me to be making something all the time,” says Michelle, a mother of six who earned her nursing degree at age 42.
She makes hats out of refurbished materials, and for every hat she sells, she donates one to someone in need.
She also incorporates discarded and recyclable materials such as wine bottles, plastics, metal hardware, balloons, ice cream containers, milk jugs and strips of fabric into her hypertufa projects.
“I wrap the bottles in old clothes that can’t be donated,” says Michelle. “I dip the fabric in cement. As it dries, I build it on top of the mixture.”
Her tools include old screwdrivers, picks, a drill and paintbrushes. “I just make do with what I have,” she says.
Fairies and Potheads
Michelle hand-molds her pieces, and she works in her outdoor studio on her 2-acre property in Blythe. Some of her favorite things to make are fairies and “potheads,” which are head-shaped planters.
“I talk to them while I’m making them,” Michelle says. “Some of them are kind of flirtatious. They have smoochy lips. The snarky ones have sly smiles. They develop a personality as I’m making them. I feel like people want to buy them when they see something in them. I don’t make their personality. I just let it evolve.”
Although each fairy and pothead has its own personality, they have a lot of similarities in their faces because of the way Michelle molds them. In addition, they generally have one characteristic in common. Most of them have their eyes closed.
“They look peaceful to me,” Michelle says. “I’ve done them with their eyes open, but they don’t look as happy.”
She rarely names her creations, either. “I let everybody choose what they want to call their pothead,” she says.
One of her fairies, which has rosy cheeks and wings, a blue dress and hair made of bed springs, has been selected for inclusion in the Greater Augusta Arts Council’s WetPaint Party & Art Sale on Friday, March 8.
To make fairy wings, she casts elephant ears or various leaves that she finds in her garden. “I use old jewelry on the fairies,” Michelle says. “I used to make jewelry, so I have a lot of jewelry supplies.”
To make a pothead, she starts with a balloon that she wraps in strips of cement-dipped fabric. Once it dries, she turns it upside down to drill a hole in the bottom.
While Michelle can shape a piece in an hour or two, it can take a few days to finish the yard art because the work has to be done in stages. However, she says she can spend a month making a garden fairy.
Texture and Color
Michelle also paints her hypertufa pieces with acrylics, and after drying and curing them, she seals them with concrete so they can withstand the elements.
“I love texture and color,” she says. “They’re just so natural and pretty.”
She likes secondary colors such as purple, teal and orange, and she highlights textures with off-white paint. However, she tries to make her pieces look natural in their outdoor setting.
“I want them to look like they belong there, but I also want them to stand out,” Michelle says.
She paints the elephant ears, which she also uses to make yard art such as birdbaths, a different color from the grass to make them stand out. In addition, she makes totem poles by putting a piece of rebar in the ground and stacking it with hypertufa pieces that she makes one at a time.
Six years ago, she spent the entire summer building a pathway with pavers she made out of cement to connect the greenhouses in her garden.
Although she doesn’t use her nursing skills in her craft, she has found that it takes a combination of art and science to create a piece.
She needs to use the correct proportions of aggregates when she mixes the hypertufa so it doesn’t crumble. Anatomy also comes into play when she makes fairies and potheads because “the ears need to be equal with the eyes.”
In addition, she says, “My pieces are not anatomically correct, but that’s part of the fun of it.”
Creativity and Connection
Michelle started a Facebook page called Hypertufa Heffas, which is named after the heifers that graze in a field behind her property. She sells most of her work on various Facebook sites or by word-of-mouth.
“It’s fun when somebody really loves a face and they connect with it somehow,” Michelle says. “Sometimes the personality speaks to them. I love that somebody loves a piece.”
She teaches group and private classes and hosts parties at her outdoor studio when the weather is warm. She also loves the creative process and the ability to bring joy to others with her work.
“Being able to create something frees up your mind. You can get lost in it. When you’re gone, you have something to leave behind. Something you make by hand is more important than a piece of furniture,” says Michelle. “It’s good for my spirit to be creative. I think artists just have this need to always be making something.”
By Leigh Howard
