Spoleto Festival 2022--Don't Miss the Finale

The name Spoleto comes from an ancient city situated in the province of Perugia in east-central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines in Italy, 131 miles southeast of Florence and 78 miles north of Rome.

Spoleto is home to the "Festival dei Due Mondi," also known as the "Festival of the Two Worlds," first organized and founded by Gian Carlo Menotti. The festival has developed into one of the most important cultural manifestations with a three-week schedule of music, theater, and dance performances.

Gian Carlo Menotti wanted to establish a counterpart of the festival in the USA. So, the organizers searched the US for a city that would offer the same charm and hospitality as Spoleto, Italy, and a wealth of theaters, churches, and other performance spaces. Charleston was rightly selected, and held its first festival in 1977. Spoleto Festival USA produces its own operas, which are rarely performed masterpieces by well-known composers, and also presents theater, dance, and music ranging from classical to jazz. It is now one of the world's major performing arts festivals. This year it begins May 27.

One of my regularly attended events of the festival is the finale with its impressive fireworks display. In previous years, the Spoleto Finale was always scheduled at Middleton Place. This is my favorite fireworks show in 2014 paired with a song performed by Pink Floyd called On The Turning Away. This year the Wells Fargo Spoleto Finale will held at the Firefly Distillery with Shakey Graves.

Shakey Graves is a Texas theater-kid-turned-Americana-rocker. He will bring to the event his unique "distinct stage presence, strong vocals, insightful lyricism, and melodies that linger." (The Post and Courier) Check out one of his sessions.

Pack a picnic, gather your blankets and chairs, and head to the new Firefly Distillery grounds in North Charleston on Sunday, June 12, with gates opening at 5:00pm. Adult beverages will be sold on site, so do not bring any alcohol in from the outside. Performances will begin at 6:00pm. The rousing fireworks display closes out the affair. You don't want to miss it.

Click on for complete Spoleto schedule.

Spoleto Finale At Middleton Place June 9, 2013-Live Music And A Dazzling Fireworks Display

The day's forecast was calling for a 60% chance of rain. It was Spoleto Finale day at Middleton Place. I had been looking forward to this day since Spoleto began on May 24th. The Red Stick Ramblers were the featured band due to take stage at 8:30 pm followed by the traditional fireworks. Rain could change everything. The main venue was an open-air stage and water does not react well with electronics. I would be keeping my eyes on the sky.

The day was shaping up to be a hot one. I started it off at the pool. Even at that early time of the day the skies were looking threatening, but as of yet no rain. I bumped into a friend and got into a conversation about Middleton Place and the fireworks. I expressed my concern about the potential for storms and what that could mean for the days planned events. A heavy downpour at the wrong time could alter expectations.

She looked at the weather radar on her IPhone and it was looking pretty ominous. Oranges and reds were surrounding the Lowcountry. Even as we spoke, dark clouds were building in the distance, but time and the prevailing winds would prove favorable for the moment. Even after leaving the pool, I kept a weary eye on any potential development. As the day progressed through the afternoon hours the skies brightened and the dark clouds dispersed.

We arrived at Middleton Place around 7 pm and parked the truck. On the short walk through the tall trees to the ticket table and will call, I could here the music of a live band. One of the days scheduled bands were entertaining the late afternoon crowd scattered around the historic Middleton Place grounds. Our first objective was to check out the menu and purchase food tickets. A three piece chicken dinner with a biscuit was available and cost $6. For refreshments, we chose wine for $6 and a soda for $2. A fruit salad for $2 was an after thought. Picnic tables were available, but all were occupied. So, we sat in the indoor dinning area, which was thankfully air-conditioned.

So far pretty much a seemingly ordinary experience, but this was Middleton Place, a National Historic Landmark. Nothing ordinary about that fact. Notably, its owners played an important role in American history. The main family residence was constructed in 1705. It no longer exists. Burned by Union troops in 1865 and destroyed by the earthquake of 1886, it is now just a pile of bricks overlooking the Ashley River. The remaining building that survived, called South Flankers, was restored and now serves as the House Museum. Middleton Place has been honored with the designation of being America’s oldest landscaped gardens and a rejuvenated 18th and 19th-century plantation stableyards that offers carriage tours to remote parts of the plantation not seen by visitors. It has a restaurant on the grounds as well as an inn.

After finishing off the food, we headed out onto the grounds to take in the extraordinary history. Gnarled and sprawling oak trees, as old as the plantation, stood like guardians in the retreating sun. The Belgian draft horses used on the plantation could still be viewed, so a few moments were spent observing these magnificent animals and peppering one of the stable workers with questions. Peacocks strutted around the stable fencing and a bird called a guinea squawked frantically when we got too close.

With the time nearing 8:30 pm, I headed towards the main stage to photograph the band making final preparations. A boisterous party crowd scattered around on blankets and fold-up chairs waited patiently for the Red Stick Ramblers to kick-off the festival finale and highly anticipated closing fireworks. Behind the stage, the original house's ruins laid seemingly frozen in time. Beyond the terraced landscape, the old Ashley River wound through the marshy landscape, once the watery highway that transported plantation residents into Charleston on the outgoing high tides and back again on incoming high tides.

The Louisiana based band began and a hearty bunch of festival goers gathered in a roped off area in front of the stage to dance. They cranked out their Cajun, country, stringband and swing style music. It was interesting music, not what I generally listen too, and if you do not know French, sometimes quite foreign. Still, the catchy beat lured you in and the desire to dance was irresistible.

In conclusion, the fireworks were spectacular. The crowd cheered with every explosion as the dazzling array of colors lighted the darkened skies. It was a great final tribute to the Spoleto Festival.


For a complete list of events at the plantation, go to Middleton Place Events.