Buy Local at the Daniel Island Farmers’ Market

The Daniel Island Farmers’ Market is back! Be sure to stop by every Thursday from 4:00 pm to dusk throughout the summer. The market is conveniently located at a new site this year: Directly on Island Park Drive across from the Publix shopping center. A wide variety of vendors will be offering farm-fresh produce and homemade bread as well as handcrafted jewelry and children’s clothing.  Load up on sugar snap peas, green beans, vine ripe tomatoes, corn, peppers, onions and much more!  Fresh lemonade and snow cones will also be available for purchase.  For more information click on the Daniel Island POA web site.

Charleston Named One of Three Finalists Vying for ‘Top Tennis Town’!

UPDATE: Charleston, SC has been chosen as one of the Top 3 Finalists for the Top Tennis Town! The Grand Prize winner will be named the “2010 Best Tennis Town” and will receive $100,000 to be used for tennis programming and facility enhancements. The announcement will be made at this year’s US Open (August 30 – September 12).

There’s never been any doubt that Charleston is an active, sports-loving city. Residents have easy access to golfing, water sports, professional sports teams and more. And now Charleston is being recognized as one of the top tennis destinations in the country!

The USTA has selected Charleston as a finalist in the “2010 Best Tennis Town” competition, and now it’s up to residents, visitors and friends of the ‘Holy City’ to help win the title!

The winner will be determined by a nationwide online vote at www.besttennistown.com that will be active until July 26th at 11:59 a.m. The Grand Prize, 2nd and 3rd place winners will be announced at this year’s US Open. The winning city will be awarded $100,000 to be used for tennis programming or facility enhancements community wide.

Daniel Island’s own Family Circle Tennis Center has played a large role in creating Charleston’s strong tennis reputation. Ten years ago, the Family Circle Cup made the move from Hilton Head Island to Daniel Island, bringing with it a staff of professional instructors, a new top-notch tennis facility and an annual professional women’s tournament that has brought the world’s top players and tennis fanatics to Charleston each spring.

Paint the Town Red, White & Blue at Daniel Island’s 4th of July Celebrations!

Looking for a fun, family-friendly way to celebrate the 4th of July? Look no further! Each year, the Daniel Island Property Owners Association and other island businesses and organizations host a huge, multi-day party and this year is no exception! Take a look below and start planning your July 4th weekend.

Island-Wide Block Party
Friday, July 2 | 6:00 – 9:00 pm
Daniel Island Grill
Sponsored by the Daniel Island POA, the Daniel Island Grill & Camp Bow Wow

Bring the entire family, including your favorite four-legged member, to Daniel Island Grill on Seven Farms Drive for a fun, island-wide block party featuring food, music, games for the kids and much much more!

Food will be available for purchase from the Daniel Island Grill but feel free to bring your favorite appetizer, salad or dessert to share. Et Cetera Gourmet will be selling their delicious gelato – a tasty treat to keep you cool!

It wouldn’t be a party without entertainment! Family-friendly Rick Hubbard will kick off the party with his guitar, banjo, steel drum and, best of all, his kazoo! Then Plane Jane, voted Charleston’s #1 party and cover band for 8 years, will keep the crowd dancing with an assortment of tunes ranging from shag and disco to funk and rock-n-roll favorites.

Other entertainment will include a “Splish-Splash Doggy Bath” hosted by Camp Bow Wow of Charleston, an inflatable water slide to keep the kids cool, face painting and a “Pride Your Ride” tent with patriotic decorations for your bikes, wagons, strollers and golf carts for the parade on Saturday.

Pancake Breakfast
Saturday, July 3 | 8:30 – 10:00 am
Family Circle Tennis Center
Sponsored by Jim N’ Nick’s Bar-B-Q, the Family Circle Tennis Center and the Daniel Island POA

On Saturday morning, head over to the Family Circle Tennis Center for the 2nd annual 4th of July Pancake Breakfast! The menu, provided by Jim N’ Nick’s Bar-B-Q, will feature buttermilk pancakes, hickory-smoked ham, cheese biscuits and watermelon.

Tickets are $5 per person if purchased in advance at the Daniel Island Property Owners Association office. Limited tickets will be available the day of the event for $7 per person.

Pre-Parade Festivities
Saturday, July 3 | 10:00 – 11:00 am
Family Circle Tennis Center

The Daniel Island Property Owners Association certainly has a “star spangled” day planned from start to finish! After the pancake breakfast, stick around the Family Circle Tennis Center to watch some amazing performances by local talent including the North Charleston High School Band, Broadway stars Brad and Jennifer Moranz, local singing sensation Caroline Rhett and family-favorite, Rick Hubbard!

Annual Daniel Island 4th of July Parade
Saturday, July 3 | 11:00 am
Family Circle Tennis Center

Everyone is invited to join the parade, marching from the Family Circle Tennis Center to the Pierce Park Pool & Pavilion, on bikes, wagons, strollers and golf carts. (Don’t forget to get patriotic and decorate your ride at the Island-Wide Block Party on Friday night!)

Cookout & Poolside Celebration
Saturday, July 3 | 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
Pierce Park Pool & Pavilion
This event is for Daniel Island residents and their guests.

Once the parade is over, the party will keep going at the Pierce Park Pool & Pavilion for a cookout and games! The Daniel Island Grill will be serving up delicious food and cold drinks, and there’ll be a number of fun aquatic games for the kids and music provided by the ‘DJ Doctor’.

We look forward to seeing everyone next weekend to celebrate!

Celebrating the United States of Daniel Island

For Jann O’Toole, Marty Sena and their friends and neighbors on Daniel Island, planning for this year’s picnic contest at the annual “Concert in the Park” was a group effort. It all started when Jann, who teaches English as a second language to Russian women, proposed they name Trident Literacy Association, where she volunteers, as the beneficiary should their group win the grand prize of a $500 cash donation to the charity of their choice. From there, the wheels began to turn.

Marty came up with the theme: “The United States of Daniel Island.” An appropriate theme indeed, considering the group of about 16 couples represent 28 different states.

“I didn’t know one of these people six years ago – none of us did.  But this has really come to be a special group of friends,” says Marty. “The one thing that brings us together is Daniel Island.”

Once the idea was hatched, the planning took on a life of its own. A series of “meetings” were held in the weeks leading up to the event, and everyone chipped in. There were banners to be made (each participant wore a sash with the name of their home state printed on it), an interactive map to be assembled (with a ribbon pinned to the city and state where each person was from), decorations to buy, and more.

Each couple was required to bring a dish representing their home state. A table decorated in red, white and blue displayed an all-American feast featuring an eclectic mix of treats from around the country. Fried chicken from South Carolina and muffaletta sandwiches from New Orleans shared the table with guacamole, peach cobbler, popcorn (from Indiana, of course!) and more. A state flag was placed on each of the dishes.

The group proudly displayed their map and invited those walking by to become part of the “United States of Daniel Island” by placing a sticker on their hometown.

“Everyone really enjoyed seeing a visual representation of where their friends and neighbors came from,” said Madeline Cerrudo, who took the lead on organizing the interactive map. “It was a great conversation starter.”

Truly a creative bunch, the group held a “Best Hat” contest amongst themselves, with each friend wearing a hat decorated in a theme that represented their home town.

“Trident Literacy has an amazing capacity for changing people’s lives,” said Jann O’Toole, who previously served on the board and has been volunteering for the organization for almost eight years. “We had so much fun putting this event together in hopes of providing some financial assistance to this wonderful non-profit organization.”

Congratulations to this dedicated group on their hard work on behalf of Trident Literacy Association!

Show Your Support for the Charleston Symphony Orchestra

A group of Daniel Island residents is showing their support for the arts – specifically the Charleston Symphony Orchestra – by hosting “Standing Room Only,” an open house performance by members of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra to be held on Wednesday, March 10 at the Daniel Island Club. Proceeds from the admission fee will benefit the CSO. This open house event takes place from 6-8 pm.

This is a great opportunity to come out and enjoy the sounds of the Symphony in the Daniel Island Club’s beautiful clubhouse overlooking the marsh and Beresford Creek. Enjoy hors d’oeuvres and cocktails and mingle with friends and neighbors while supporting the CSO.

Tickets for the event are $50 if purchased by 4 pm on Monday, March 4, or $100 at the door on the evening of the event. The admission price is a donation to the CSO and will cover the concert and hors d’oeuvres. A cash bar will also be available.

Come out for a night of enchanting music and support the Charleston Symphony Orchestra!

Good Times & Great Food at the Daniel Island Oyster Roast

After a long awaited reprieve from “Old Man Winter”, more than 300 guests from Daniel Island and throughout the Lowcountry headed to the Pierce Park Pavilion for the annual Daniel Island Oyster Roast on Saturday, February 20. The afternoon boasted warm temperatures, and the evening could not have been more perfect as the temperatures slightly cooled and the sun set over the Wando River as guests enjoyed the beautiful river and marsh views from the Pavilion.

Barbara McLaughlin, Manager of Community Services for the Daniel Island POA and event organizer, came away extremely pleased. “It was apparent that oysters were the main draw to the event, where Southern charm and gentility were pervasive! It was great seeing all of those die-hard oyster lovers jockeying themselves to find that open niche at the Oyster Roast tables that were full from start to finish.”

The event was catered by Dixieland Delights Catering, who prepared delicious local oysters and old favorites like macaroni-and-cheese, homemade chili and hot dogs. Local Band, Just Doesn’t Matter, rocked the stage and entertained the crowd by playing everyone’s favorite party music!

And to top it all off, for the first time, the event benefited East Cooper Community Outreach (ECCO) so organizers were able to help ECCO’s cause while also offering guests an affordable “one price covers all” oyster roast. The partnership between the Daniel Island Property Owners Association and ECCO proved to be a win-win for event organizers and guests!

“ECCO was honored to be a part of an event like this and grateful for the growing relationship with Daniel Island. Not only do we receive the generosity of the Daniel Island POA, but we were able to introduce so many new people to ECCO,” said Ann Ward, Director of Development for ECCO. “When I checked the weather report earlier in the week, I was astounded to see that Saturday was going to be sunny, in the 60s with 0% chance of rain! I called Barbara and we agreed this could be the best event ever!”

“There was just such a happy and light atmosphere to the whole event. Everyone loved the food and the music, and people seemed to be engrossed in joyful conversations all over the place,” said Ann. “While I was weaving in and out of the crowds, people kept stopping me and saying, ‘I’ve been meaning to come volunteer at ECCO, I am coming by this week.’ Sharing our mission with the community is what allows us to continue and grow our programs.”

“Everything worked our perfectly,” agreed Barbara and Ann. They were both extremely happy with the results of the partnership. They felt in the end that the oyster roast was a success – “a fun event with an incredible price for an outstanding cause!”

It's Oyster Time – Get Schuckin'!

Oyster roasts are a staple of life here in the Lowcountry during the fall and winter months. The standard rule for eating oysters is to only eat them when the waters have cooled down, or, as many locals will tell you, only during months that include the letter ‘R’. That includes February, when the Daniel Island Property Owners’ Association hosts its annual Oyster Roast. It’s an island tradition that residents look forward to all year long.

Hundreds of Daniel Island families will descend upon Pierce Park Pavilion on Saturday, February 20 with their oyster knives and gloves in hand, ready to schuck and eat! The event will feature delicious steamed local oysters, chili, hot dogs, macaroni and cheese, and other scrumptious treats. Beer, wine and soft drinks are also included with a ticket. Entertainment will include a live band, and fun games for all ages.

If you purchase your Oyster Roast tickets by January 31st you’ll save $5 on each adult ticket — adults are $27 each (includes beer and wine), kids are $10 each, and ages three and under are FREE. As of February 1st, ticket prices go up to $32 for adults, but kids will remain at $10. There are a limited number of tickets available, and the event has sold out in previous years. Take advantage of the great ticket prices and get your tickets now!

To purchase tickets, either visit www.dicommunity.org or call the Property Owners’ Association at (843) 971-9200.

Grab a Buddy & Start Walkin' for a Good Cause!

Each year, the Down Syndrome Association of the Lowcountry (DSAL) holds its annual event to raise awareness and support for individuals living with Down Syndrome. This year’s 6th Annual Buddy Walk will take place on Sunday, October 4 in Etiwan Park on Daniel Island from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm. The actual walk will take place at 3:00 pm.

The much-needed support received at the Buddy Walk each year helps the DSAL’s volunteer-driven parent support group provide a wide variety of programs and services, including:

• New Parent / New Baby Packages
• Regular Social Events and Guest Speakers
• Advocacy Training for young adults
• Down Syndrome Center at MUSC
• Best Practice information for Teachers and Medical Professionals

The DSAL is a non-profit organization serving eastern South Carolina, whose purpose is to promote an environment which fosters the growth and development of people with Down syndrome to enable them to achieve their full potential.

For more information or to get involved with the Down Syndrome Association of the Lowcountry, visit www.dsalowcountry.org. To register for the 6th Annual Buddy Walk, click HERE.

A Bashin' Good Time: Recap of the 2009 Bocce Bash

Approximately 500 players competed in the 9th Annual Marino Family Bocce Bash at Blackbaud Stadium on Saturday, April 25, helping to raise tens of thousands of dollars for Special Olympics of South Carolina.

This popular island event has grown by leaps and bounds since it first started, and now takes nearly 100 volunteers and dozens of sponsors to pull off. This year the defending champions, Ted’s Butcherblock, held onto their title after ten hours of competition on a gorgeous spring day on Daniel Island.

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