I thought about this again a few days later as I spent the evening at Shelter Cove Harbour with my CH2 crew, capturing the first night of HarbourFest 2021. It was amazing to see how many people came out to watch Shannon Tanner and see the fireworks explode over the marina again after an almost two-year hiatus.
At an event that is primarily frequented by our visitors, I was shocked to see so many local faces. Their children were getting faces painted by Cappy the Clown, hats signed by Shannon and playing with their balloon animals and light-up swords and lightsabers as they waited for the big show.
As I watched the sun set over the crowd and I snapped photos of the children dancing and laughing in front of the stage, I felt a surge of warmth and appreciation for our island and its people. There was a boat sitting in the marina named “We Live Here,” and for the first time, maybe ever, that sentiment really hit home for me. I know it’s something we all say … but that night, in that moment, I FELT it.
In this issue, we salute our local docs, who should be saluted after the last year, don’t you think? Check them out on page 57. We also take a look at all the pretty (and delicious) things growing at Heritage Farms in Sea Pines. Barry Kaufman and I loved meeting these stewards of the land and learning about how they are supporting local food banks with their crops.
Our two covers have snaps from this lovely garden, but after a recent social media poll, these may be the last two covers you see without faces on them. In a not-so-surprising turn of events (well, not surprising to me at least) our followers weighed in on whether they like to see faces or things on the cover of this magazine. At press time, 100 percent of those answering our poll said they wanted people on the cover.
We also have something for our local music scene aficionados. Trevor Harden is back at it again with another passion project, a music video for Pretty Darn’s hit “Casual,” starring our very own Caroline Molloy with a lot of well-known places in the Lowcountry as a beautiful backdrop. See that story on page 96.
Enjoy your summer!
Mags
