Aiken Concert Band to honor City’s anniversary
The Aiken Concert Band, formerly the Aiken Community Band, will honor Aiken’s 175th anniversary with a free concert on Monday, May 3 at 7 p.m. at Hopelands Gardens.
The Aiken Concert Band under the direction of Col. Gary F. Lamb, retired commander and conductor of The U.S. Army Band in Washington, D.C., will be joined by The U.S. Army Herald Trumpets, the official ceremonial unit in Washington.
The Herald Trumpets will perform “Fanfare For the Common Man” by Aaron Copland, as well as selections they have performed around the country and at official ceremonies in Washington.
The Aiken Concert Band will be joined by The Herald Trumpets for “Pines of the Appian Way” by Ottorino Respighi. Other selections to be performed by the Aiken Concert Band include “English Folk Song Suite” by Ralph Vaughan Williams, a medley from “South Pacific” by Rodgers and Hammerstein and “Shenandoah” by Frank Ticheli. “Shenandoah” will be conducted by Lauren Meccia, director of bands at USC Aiken.
The concert will close with the Aiken Concert Band and The Herald Trumpets performing the finale of “Symphony No. 1 in G Minor” by Kalinnikov.
The May 3 concert kicks off the start of the 2010 Hopelands Summer Concert Series which continues each Monday night through the months of May, June, July and August. All concerts are offered free of charge and attendees are encouraged to bring blankets, chairs and picnics.
Handicap parking is available at the Rye Patch parking lot on Berrie Road and the Hopelands Gardens Parking Lot on Dupree Place. All other concert attendees should park at the Green Boundary on Whiskey Road.
In case of rain, the concerts will be held at the H. Odell Weeks Activities Center in Gym 2 whenever possible. Call 643-4661 for more information in the event of rain. For a complete listing of upcoming concerts, visit www.cityofaikensc.gov.
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Picnic planned to celebrate anniversary
In honor of the City of Aiken’s 175th anniversary celebration, “Remember When … A Picnic and Lawn Party” will be held on Tuesday, May 4 from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. at Rye Patch, 100 Berrie Road.
The idea for the period picnic came from reminiscing over the Sesquicentennial Anniversary picnic held in 1985. The picnic drew nearly 400 people, and a panoramic photograph taken at the event still adorns walls around town today and is featured on the cover of “The Aiken Historical Cookbook” by Kathy Huff.
The picnic created such fond memories that when plans to celebrate Aiken’s 175th anniversary began to form, Sissy Brodie, chairperson of the picnic 25 years ago, decided the 2010 celebration must have a picnic of its own. Joining Brodie in coordinating the picnic for the second quarter events of Celebrate Aiken are Suzanne Jackson and Marti Healy.
“I just felt like the picnic was enjoyed by so many people 25 years ago that we needed to do it again,” Brodie said. “Aiken is a party place, and it’s not hard to get a group of people together for good friends and good food. And there are so many newcomers who may not have ever experienced a Southern picnic. We are trying to duplicate the one from 25 years ago with music, antique cars and carriages.”
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Lawn concert returns to Aiken’s Joye Cottage
The centuries-old tradition of the “lawn concert” will come to life once again during the Juilliard in Aiken Festival this year.
The festival, which runs from March 8-2, will join in the celebration of Aiken’s 175th anniversary with a concert on the lawn of Joye Cottage, 129 First Ave. The concert will be held on Wednesday, March 10, at 2 p.m. at Joye Cottage and will feature music popular during the era in which Aiken was founded. Afterward, a “tea” will be served by ladies dressed in period attire.
Returning to Aiken for this special event will be the renowned American Brass Quintet, which is celebrating its own 50th anniversary this year. Hailed as “the high priests of brass” by Newsweek magazine and “positively breathtaking” by The New York Times, the American Brass Quintet is among the elite chamber ensembles on the world stage.
The ABQ has performed in all 50 states and in countries around the globe.¬ ¬
Musicians Kevin Cobb and Raymond Mase on trumpet, David Wakefield on horn, Michael Powell on trombone and John D. Rojak on bass trombone have been in residence at Juilliard since 1978 and at the Aspen Music Festival since 1970.¬
As members of the Juilliard faculty, the ABQ players are committed to the promotion of brass chamber music through education as well as performance. In their roles as teachers, they will also present an Outreach Performance in North Augusta for area high schools and middle schools as part of the festival’s outreach program.
The concert setting will be the lawn of Joye Cottage, the former Whitney-Vanderbilt estate at the heart of Aiken’s historic Winter Colony district. With 60 rooms, Joye Cottage is the largest survivor among the many winter homes built by wealthy Northerners during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
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Speaker to discuss design behind roads in downtown Aiken
Have you ever wondered why Aiken’s streets were designed with circles and squares? If so, find out why next Sunday.
The Historic Aiken Foundation and the Aiken County Historical Society will host a joint meeting on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. in the Aiken Municipal Building. The meeting coincides with the celebration of Aiken’s 175th anniversary.
During the joint meeting, special guest speaker Dr. Stanford Anderson, history and architecture professor from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) architecture department, will speak on the topic of Aiken’s uniquely designed streets and other topics of interest. His speech is entitled “Jefferson, Railroad Towns and the Singular Plan of Aiken.”
Also during the meeting, the Historic Aiken Foundation will make awards presentations to historically-minded Aiken homeowners and businesses who have upheld the ideal of historic preservation. Among the winners are several familiar landmarks as well as less familiar structures.
Membership in both the HAF and the ACHS is available. Contact the HAF at www.historicaikenfoundation.com or by calling 502-1400.
The ACHS may be reached online at www.aikencountyhistoricalsociety.org or by mail at Aiken County Historical Society, P.O. Box 1775, Aiken, SC 29802.
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Celebrate Aiken at kickoff event
Grab your confetti, the City of Aiken is turning 175.
Saturday marks the kickoff of the City’s yearlong birthday celebration.
The event, called “Sights, Sounds and Tastes of 1835,” celebrates the year the City was founded. It will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. in various locations on Newberry Street, including Newberry Hall, the Washington Center for the Performing Arts, the Municipal Building, Aiken Center for the Arts and The Alley.
Those who plan to attend the event are encouraged to dress the part by wearing period costumes, however, it is not required to attend.
“Sights,” will be held rain or shine and is free of charge. Guests will also have a change to taste foods and beverages at the event for a small fee.
A few weeks ago, the City launched its website, began airing commercials and began offering brochures on its Celebrate Aiken campaign.
On the Celebrate Aiken website, “Sights,” is described as a family event designed to entertain and educate people on the history of Aiken.
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Historic water trough will be back in action
An object that has played a significant role in Aiken’s history and at one time helped to hydrate what was once the city’s preferred mode of transportation was moved June 16 and will once again serve the purpose it was meant for.
A horse trough that had previously been behind the County courthouse not only has a new home but will also be part of Aiken’s 175th anniversary celebration in 2010.
Fox and Hound Realty’s broker Billy Benton told Elliott Levy, Aiken County Historical Museum executive director, about the horse watering trough that was behind the courthouse, mentioned that it wasn’t in use and suggested that it would be a nice idea to move it to a location where it could be used, just outside Banksia.
Levy played an integral role in helping with the project, working with both City and County officials, and making it come to fruition, said Benton, in an e-mail. A number of organizations have been involved with the project, including the Aiken County Public Works department and the Friends of the Aiken County Historical Museum.
“Billy, myself and Tom Cofer (a project member of the Equine Hydrology Feature Working Group) feel that the horse community that will be using the horse trough will also be supportive of the project,” said Levy. “The labor will be provided by the County and City, but the materials like the recirculating pump costs money, and hopefully the horse community will come to our assistance.” Full Details.
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