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“I wanted to hold something wild in my hands, something so ancient that it could force me to recognize my own insignificance.”
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Lolis Eric Elie with his son, Lolis Niriko, and his wife, Béa. (Photo by Pableaux Johnson)
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Letter to a Southern Father
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From Amanda Heckert, Deputy Editor
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A High Note
Next spring, Spoleto Festival USA here in Charleston will stage the world premiere of an opera the long-running arts fest commissioned by the uber-talented MacArthur genius Rhiannon Giddens, based on the 1831 autobiography of an enslaved African Muslim man named Omar Ibn Said. My friend in the Spoleto office tells me that an early preview of the songs moved the staff to tears. Tickets go on sale in January 2020, but in the meantime, look for a terrific interview with Giddens in Garden & Gun’s new book, Southern Women, out this October.
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Prose to Spare
I loved the Austin, Texas, writer Elizabeth McCracken’s sticky-sweet ode to the “too-muchness” of Galveston in our June/July Weekend Escapes feature so much that I’ve made her latest novel, Bowlaway, next on my to-read list. In his New York Times review, Dwight Garner calls it “a large and caterwauling sort of opera buffa, packed with outsize characters—some with recherché talents—and wild, often dreamlike events. If this novel were a bar, it would be the kind of joint where the Christmas lights are left on all year long.”
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Rainbow Connection
This summer marks the fortieth anniversary of The Muppet Movie, which begins with Kermit the Frog hanging out in a Deep South swamp, dreaming of going to Hollywood. That’s right, Kermit—just like his creator, Jim Henson, who grew up in Leland, Mississippi—is a Southerner. To commemorate the anniversary, the film will be re-released in theaters in July. I’m buying tickets now, and stocking up on Kleenex for when Kermit sings “Rainbow Connection.”
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From Haskell Harris, Style Director
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This is my favorite beach cart of all time, which is why I can’t stop recommending it. The sides fold down and snap back into place in under a minute, and the sturdy tires roll easily over sand, grass, and gravel. I keep it in the trunk of my car all summer long for beach days, picnics, and any other event that might involve schlepping. $105; amazon.com
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THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONCan You Caption This Photo?Atlanta-based photographer Kate T. Parker’s image of her nephew Luke appears in the June/July issue of Garden & Gun and is an outtake from Parker’s new book, The Heart of a Boy. Your job: Write a caption.
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June 14
Stable Soiree
Eat, drink, and dance at Nashville’s Cheekwood Estate & Gardens during the second annual Summer Stable Party. ( G&G is a media partner for the event.)
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Through June 15
Mountain Music
“The Crooked Road,” a 330-mile mountainous route that links nine heritage venues across Southwest Virginia, comes alive with bluegrass, gospel, and other traditional music during the Mountains of Music Homecoming.
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June 15
Florida Flowers
Stroll among the eighty varieties of water lilies growing at Vero Beach, Florida’s McKee Botanical Gardens during the fifteenth annual Waterlily Celebration. Chat with experts, explore the plant sale, and watch plein air artists create works of the beautiful surroundings.
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June 17 and 19
Remembering Emanuel
Emanuel, a documentary on the 2015 slaying of nine black churchgoers by a white supremacist at Charleston, South Carolina’s Mother Emanuel Church, will be shown in theaters across the country on Monday—the fourth anniversary of the shooting—and Wednesday.
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| Eat Like a Local
in Charlotte,
North Carolina | | |
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