A City of Great Style...

Charleston, South Carolina, in every aspect, is a feast for the senses. Church bells still toll the hours, whether you are shopping in the great public market for the native sweet grass baskets, looking for bargain antiques, or quietly strolling tree-shaded streets. Where merchant princes vied with a planter "aristocracy" in the building of the great homes that still stand as monuments to these men who helped mold a nation. Whatever your pleasure, you will find a mode of transportation- bus, carriage, bicycle- and private guides to show you the secret corners and tuck-aways of a city that can never be known completely. Close by are antebellum plantations world famous gardens. History? It's around the corner.

Join us Friday evening for a Caribbean reception at the South Carolina Aquarium. Enjoy local and Caribbean fare while you take in the amzaing sights of the South Carolina Aquarium. The Island Trio will provide our authentic steel drum entertainment. A limbo contest may be in your future! Casual attire is suggested.

During the Symposium, the City of Charleston will be hosting Spoleto Festival USA. Since 1977, Charleston has been the site of the Spoleto Festival USA...the world's most comprehensive arts festival. Spoleto, Italy was selected as the European site for the original festival due to the historic and aesthetic richness of its architecture, the suitability of its facilities, its unique geographical setting, and its accessibility. Charleston was chosen as the festival’s American home for many of the same reasons. Traditional, contemporary, and experimental forms of theater, dance, music, and visual arts are represented throughout the festival by local, national and international artists. The entire city of Charleston becomes a stage as historic churches, parks, beaches, schools, streets, restaurants and even boats in the harbor are performance venues for Spoleto USA marathon programming.

For further information or tickets call 843-579-3100 or visit www.spoletousa.org