BY HILARY KRAUS
Online Article Here
Happy birthday to our Prince of the Lowcountry. We're here to make your 70th birthday a royal occasion at a three-day Pat Conroy literary festival, capped by a community birthday bash.
The festival is Thursday through Saturday afternoon and features panel discussions and book signings with Conroy and various authors. Most events are at the University of South Carolina Beaufort Center for the Arts.
An evening featuring the screening of the movie based on Conroy's "The Great Santini," and a panel discussion is scheduled from 4 to 10 p.m. Thursday.
After filling your head with a sea of knowledge, dig into Lowcountry cuisine, spirits and birthday cake at a party for Conroy from 7:30 to 10 p.m. Saturday at the Beaufort History Museum.
WHEN: Festival is Thursday-Saturday; Birthday party is 7:30 to 10 p.m. Saturday.
WHERE: Festival is at USCB, 805 Carteret St.; Birthday party is at the Beaufort History Museum, 713 Craven St.
COST: See website for festival events; Birthday party is $30/members; $35/non-members.
DETAILS: For festival, go to www.uscbcenterforthearts.com and click on "Shows & Tickets." For birthday party tickets, go to www.beauforthistorymuseum.com, or call 843-379-3079.
FRIDAY/SATURDAY
There's no such thing as too much Halloween at Shelter Cove on Hilton Head. Start off from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at the Pumpkin Patch festival, hosted by the Island Recreation Association. Bounce houses, carnival games, a petting zoo and a costume contest is planned at Shelter Cove Community Park. Admission is $10 for children ages 2 to 15.
Replenish your sugar high from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday at the free Trunk-O-Ween celebration when the merchants of Shelter Cove Towne Centre team with the Hilton Head Island Motoring Festival & Concours d'Elegance. Car Club vehicles will line Towne Centre Drive with trunks open and full of candy. It doesn't stop there for the happy campers, who also can go store to stores to get their bag filled with candy.
FRIDAY/SUNDAY
Gear up to get a look at some gorgeous collectable cars at the 14th Hilton Head Island Motoring Festival & Concours d'Elegance.
The big weekend begins Friday with the inaugural Flights & Fancy Aeroport Gala at the Hilton Head Island Airport, followed by an Aero Expo on Saturday. Each vintage airplane will be paired with a Concours-caliber car from the same era.
Saturday's main events are an auction (1 to 4 p.m.) and a car club showcase (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.) at the Port Royal Golf Club. The Concours d'Elegance gathering of prestigious cars will take center stage from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.
For tickets, go to www.HHIMotoringFestival.com online.
Compiled by Hilary Kraus/ Special to The Island packet/ The Beaufort Gazette
WHY I CONNECT Harry Kotellos, volunteer at the Bargain Box electrical department
"It's known that volunteering makes you live longer. I have a lot of experience in building and remodeling and everything in here I pretty much owned at one time."
BE ACTIVE
Take a walk on the beach with a Coastal Discovery Museum naturalist at 2 p.m. on Tuesdays and learn about the creatures that inhabit our beautiful shores.
Learn about the ever-changing marine environment when walking the sand at Mitchelville Beach along Port Royal Sound. The mud flats and sandy areas make the beach the perfect spot to find beach sea shells and other marine collectables. The cost is $12 for adults and $7 child (ages 4-12). Reservations are required. Call 843-689-6767 ext. 223 or register online at www.coastaldiscovery.org.