South Carolina Living January 2023

Raw talent

Chef Kevin Joseph serves oysters and seafood with a twist

SC RECIPE Cold-weather comfort food

HUMOR ME

Why the cat crossed the road

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THE MAGAZINE FOR COOPERATIVE MEMBERS

VOLUME 77 • NUMBER 1

(ISSN 0047-486X, USPS 316-240)

Read in more than 600,000 homes and businesses and published monthly except in December by

The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina, Inc.

808 Knox Abbott Drive

Cayce, SC 29033

Tel: (803) 926 -3175

Fax: (803) 796 - 6064

Email: letters@scliving.coop

EDITOR

Keith Phillips

Tel: (803) 739-3040

Email: Keith.Phillips@ecsc.org

FIELD EDITOR

Josh Crotzer

PUBLICATION COORDINATOR

Raphael Ofendo Reyes

ART DIRECTOR

Sharri Harris Wolfgang

DESIGNER

Trevor Bauknight

PRODUCTION

Andrew Chapman

WEB EDITOR

Chase Toler

COPY EDITORS

Jennifer Jas, Jim Poindexter

CONTRIBUTORS

Mike Couick, Hastings Hensel, Jan A. Igoe, L.A. Jackson, Belinda Smith-Sullivan, Paul Wesslund

PUBLISHER

Lou Green

ADVERTISING

Mary Watts

Tel: (803) 739-5074

Email: ads@scliving.coop

NATIONAL REPRESENTATION

American MainStreet Publications

Tel: (512) 441-5200

Paid advertisements are not endorsements by any electric cooperative or this publication. If you encounter a difficulty with an advertisement, inform the Editor.

ADDRESS CHANGES: Please send to your local co-op. Postmaster: Send Form 3579 to Address Change, c/o the address above. Periodicals postage paid at Columbia, S.C., and additional mailing offices.

© COPYRIGHT 2023. The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina, Inc. No portion of South Carolina Living may be reproduced without permission of the Editor.

SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING is brought to you by your member-owned, taxpaying, not-for-profit electric cooperative to inform you about your cooperative, wise energy use and the faces and places that identify the Palmetto State. Electric cooperatives are South Carolina’s — and America’s — largest utility network.

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS: $4.95 members, $8 nonmembers

14 Dinner and a show

What’s on the menu at Raw Lab? An 11-course dinner filled with food, fun, natural history and saltwater ecology.

22

The classic method of leading a congregation to sing hymns is a perfect metaphor for the way cooperatives share ideas and bring innovation to their communities.

Cold-weather comfort food made easy These quick and easy meals are guaranteed to please

Chalking up success

Sam Wickert and his colleagues at SOKRISPYMEDIA have taken YouTube, Hollywood and Silicon Valley by storm, but they’re happy to call Greenville home.

The early spring of wintersweet

Discover the joys of this unusual woody ornamental that bears flowers during the coldest times and offers a lemony sweet scent.

HUMOR ME

Why the cat crossed the road

Your mission, should you choose to accept it: Follow our humor columnist into the comical—if somewhat dark— secrets of 1960s espionage.

SC | agenda

Should I change my charging habits?

Four things to know about extending rechargeable battery life

MANY OF US are so connected to our phones, tablets and laptops that we panic when their batteries near the dreaded 0% mark. If you ever find yourself fretting over your device’s power levels, here are a few tips on striking the right balance between battery health and how you work and play.

1 Keep your battery about 40% to 80% charged. Modern rechargeable batteries contain two different materials that produce electricity when particles flow from one to the other. The flow reverses when being recharged. This process will degrade any battery over time, but keeping both sides of the battery in balance, with the device charged at about 50%, puts the least amount of stress on the battery. Of course, no one’s going to keep their phone half-charged all the time, so the experts advise a range of 40% to 80% or sometimes 20% to 80%.

2 Avoid overnight charging. Charging your device up to 100% or letting it drain to 0% puts extra stress on the battery and can shorten its life. Manufacturers

recommend charging your devices occasionally throughout the day rather than keeping them plugged in while you sleep. Newer electronics will actually stop charging at 100%, but each time the charge drops to 99%, charging will resume.

3Keep it cool, but not cold. One absolute in battery care is don’t let your device get warmer than 95 degrees. Keep it out of the sun, and never leave it in a hot vehicle. If the device does get hot, don’t go to the other extreme and put it in the freezer. Just place it in the shade or take the cover off for a while.

4 Use less power. The easiest way to put less stress on the battery is to use less power. Close energy-draining apps and functions when you’re not using them, and activate energy-saving settings like putting the device to sleep sooner during periods of inactivity. Another easy way to reduce battery use is to activate the “airplane mode” button every now and then. You may be inconvenienced by a temporary pause on receiving e-mails or phone calls, but it might help you focus on that movie you’re watching, the trail you’re hiking or the conversation with your dinner companions.

MONEY FOR COLLEGE

Women returning to school to earn college degrees may now apply for financial assistance from the 2023 Jenny Ballard Opportunity Scholarship program. Sponsored by Women Involved in Rural Electrification (WIRE), a service organization associated with South Carolina’s not for profit electric cooperatives, the scholarship is a one time award based on financial need and personal goals. For full details and to apply online, visit ecsc.org/wire

Backbypopulardemand

South Carolina

Living tips our camouflaged hat to all the readers who let us know how much they missed the old Vektor Fish & Game Forecast in the pages of the magazine. We stopped publishing the monthly charts in late 2021 after their creator, John Uldrich, passed away. With this issue, we are pleased to announce we’ve partnered with Solunar Services for a new series of S.C.‑specific charts. Turn to page 19 for their latest fish and game forecast, and enjoy your time in the great outdoors.

ONLY ON SCLiving.coop

PAUL WESSLUND

Comfort food

Chilly temperatures inspire the desire for warm, homey meals. Turn to page 10 for some of Chef Belinda’s favorite comfort foods, and go to SCLiving.coop/food/chefbelinda to find her recipe for Beef and Chorizo Meatballs over Bucatini plus Homemade Garlic Bread.

Charging your device up to 100% or letting it drain to 0% puts extra stress on the battery and can shorten its life.

i STOCK/PRYKHODOV

Lining out the tune

IN THE QUIET MOMENTS WHEN THE SERMON HAS ENDED and the worshippers have risen to their feet, a voice resonates from the front pew. It pierces through the thick air of the small, rural church, bouncing off its walls and moving with the Spirit to every soul in the sanctuary.

“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound,” the voice announces quickly and clearly.

The church’s congregants repeat the phrase in song but draw out the opening lyrics in their traditional, slower tempo way “A-ah-ma-zee-ing grace … how-ow sweet the-uh sound.” The back and forth continues without instrumentation or assistance from a songbook. Only that leading voice and the song’s familiarity provide a path to the proceeding verses and melody.

It’s called hymn lining, but in Clover, we always called it lining out the tune.

It’s a tradition that dates to 17th century Europe and was brought to our continent by English and Scottish immigrants, many of whom could not read a songbook and certainly did not have access to a piano. For those same reasons, African American churches took up the practice of lining out the tune, and it became most closely associated with their gospel singing traditions. Now that most of our places of worship have at least a piano and hymnals if not a five-piece band and a projected slideshow hymn lining is a rarity.

It exhibits dynamics of collaboration that are fascinating. The preceptor that person who calls out each stanza of the song before it is sung literally sets the tone for the rest of the congregation. He or she must be of strong voice, knowledgeable of the song’s lyrics, and possess proper timing to lead the fellowship without getting too far ahead. Having listened intently, the congregation is equipped to sing each stanza in the key or register that is most comfortable for them.

Cooperatives innovate and evolve in a similar fashion. Although each electric cooperative across South Carolina is autonomous and governed by its locally elected board of trustees, they often find that “singing” in unison is the most practical way to enact change or launch new initiatives. Sometimes, one or two co-ops whether by necessity or bold vision lead from the front and provide the rest an opportunity to listen before joining in.

We’ve seen this with cooperatives like Mid-Carolina Electric and Newberry Electric, which were the first to provide fiberoptic broadband to their members. Thanks in part to their early adoption, other electric cooperatives in South Carolina are offering broadband services to members.

In 2016, Laurens Electric began building a 100-kilowatt solar farm at their Mauldin office, allowing members to subscribe

to its energy production and reap benefits without the risk and hassle of rooftop installations. Now, every cooperative in South Carolina has a community solar array.

When COVID-19 suddenly disrupted the way cooperatives conducted their annual meetings, Blue Ridge Electric pivoted to drive-thru registration and a virtual business meeting. Notes were taken and best practices were shared with every other cooperative as their annual meeting dates approached that year. The exchange of information played an important role in those events being successful for co-ops and their members.

Perhaps the most well-known example of co-ops lining out the tune is that of Palmetto Electric and Operation Round Up. Launched in 1989, Operation Round Up allows members to round up their monthly bills so the collective extra change can fund community initiatives, support local charities and help neighbors in need. It’s been adopted by electric cooperatives and other industries across the nation.

Like the voices singing “Amazing Grace” in their own unique way, cooperatives collaborate but don’t carbon copy. They have the freedom and obligation to adopt, then adapt, the methods of others to fully benefit their members.

Whether co-ops are singing in different keys or even their own version of the lyrics, the cooperative song remains the same to empower and serve their communities.

It reminds me of a line from another favorite hymn, “Blessed Be the Tie That Binds.”

The fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above.

MIKE COUICK President and CEO, The Electric Cooperatives

of South Carolina

Perhaps the most well-known example of co-ops lining out the tune is that of Palmetto Electric and Operation Round Up. Launched in 1989, it’s been adopted by electric cooperatives and other industries across the nation.

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Years of work by innovative engineers have resulted in a scooter that’s designed with seniors in mind. They created Electronic Stability Control (ESC) that makes it virtually impossible to tip over. If you try to turn too quickly, the scooter automatically slows down to prevent it from tipping over. The battery provides powerful energy at a fraction of the weight of most batteries. With its rugged yet lightweight aluminum frame, the So LiteTM Scooter is the most portable scooter ever—but it can

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Cold-weather comfort foods made easy

BLACK BEAN, CORN AND SHRIMP CHOWDER

SERVES 6–8

1½ tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, peeled and chopped

2 scallions, chopped

½ red bell pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 cups chicken stock

1 medium sweet potato, peeled and ½ inch cubed

3 cups corn kernels (canned or frozen)

2 cans black beans, well drained

1 small jar (4 ounces) pimentos, drained and chopped

½ cup half and half

Kosher salt

Fresh ground black pepper

Pinch, crushed red pepper

1 tablespoon arrowroot (or cornstarch)

1 pound large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (optional)

1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped (or parsley)

Additional chopped cilantro (or parsley), for garnish

BY BELINDA SMITH‑SULLIVAN

Bad weather got you homebound, or maybe you’re just returning home on a cold evening after a tough day at work? These quick and easy meals are guaranteed to please even the hungriest of chilled tummies. Serve alone or with a hearty salad for a complete meal. Oh, and don’t forget the crusty bread.

CHICKEN PASTA ALFREDO WITH ZUCCHINI AND CARROTS

SERVES 8

In a Dutch oven, over medium heat, heat olive oil. Sauté onions, scallions and peppers until soft. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute longer. Add stock and sweet potatoes and increase heat to medium high. Bring to a boil and simmer for 6 minutes until potatoes are tender. Stir in corn, beans, pimentos, half-and-half, salt and peppers and bring to a simmer. Mix arrowroot with 2 tablespoons of cold water and stir into hot mixture. Simmer for 3–4 minutes until mixture starts to thicken; add shrimp and cook for 2 minutes. Turn off heat, cover and let stand until shrimp are cooked, about 5 minutes. Stir in cilantro or parsley. Ladle into serving bowls and garnish with additional cilantro or parsley. Serve with crusty bread, if desired.

What’s cooking at SCLiving.coop/food/chefbelinda

MORE COMFORT Don’t miss Chef Belinda’s recipes for Beef and Chorizo Meatballs over Bucatini plus Homemade Garlic Bread.

1 pound rigatoni or rotini (or favorite pasta) cooked according to directions Alfredo Sauce (see recipe at right)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 small zucchini, halved and thinly sliced

1 carrot, thinly sliced

2 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite size pieces

2 cups grated/shredded mozzarella

¼ cup grated Parmesan, optional

Chopped fresh basil or parsley, for garnish

Preheat oven to 400 F. Drain pasta and add it to the Alfredo sauce and toss to thoroughly coat. Pour into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.

In a skillet over medium heat, heat oil. Sauté onions, peppers, zucchinis and carrots until tender but not mushy. Add chicken and onion zucchini mixture to pasta and toss gently. Top with cheeses and bake in preheated oven for 10–15 minutes or until cheese is melted. Remove from oven and garnish with chopped herbs.

POTATO, SAUSAGE AND PEPPERS CASSEROLE

SERVES 6

2 large russet potatoes, cut into ¼ inch slices (peeling is optional)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound spicy ground pork sausage (or links with casing removed)

Kosher salt

Fresh ground black pepper

ALFREDO SAUCE

1 pint (16 ounces) heavy cream

½ cup (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature

1½ cups grated Parmesan cheese

Kosher salt

White pepper, to taste

Heat heavy cream over low-medium heat in a deep sauté pan. Add butter and whisk gently to melt. Sprinkle in cheese and stir to incorporate. Season with salt and pepper.

1 medium onion, peeled, halved and sliced

1 cup mini sweet bell pepper rings (or 1 red bell pepper, roughly chopped)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 –2 cups grated/shredded cheddar cheese (depending on preference)

Preheat oven to 400 F. In a large pot of boiling water, over medium heat, boil potato slices until tender but not breaking apart, about 8–10 minutes. In a large skillet, over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon oil. Crumble sausage and cook until meat is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Remove cooked sausage to a plate and set aside. Drain potatoes, pat dry and arrange slices in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and season lightly with salt and pepper. In the same skillet, sauté the onions and peppers until tender, about 3–4 minutes. Add garlic and sauté an additional minute. Add sausage, onions and peppers over potatoes and toss gently. Drizzle lightly with remaining oil and top with cheese. Bake in preheated oven, uncovered, until cheese is melted, 6–8 minutes.

Remember when you were a child and got your first bicycle? I do. It gave me a sense of independence . . . I felt like I could go anywhere, and it was so much easier and more enjoyable than walking. Well, at my age, that bike wouldn’t do me much good. Fortunately, there’s a new invention that gives me the freedom and independence to go wherever I want . . . safely and easily. It’s called the Zoomer, and it’s changed my life. My Zoomer is a delight to ride! It has increased my mobility in my apartment, my opportunities to enjoy the out-of-doors, and enabled me to visit the homes of my children for longer periods of time. The various speeds of it match my need for safety, it is easy to turn, and I am most pleased with the freedom of movement it gives me.

Sincerely, A. Macon, Williamsburg, VA

After just one trip around your home in the Zoomer, you’ll marvel at how easy it is to navigate. It is designed to maneuver in tight spaces like doorways, between furniture, and around corners. It can go over thresholds and works great on any kind of floor or carpet. It’s not bulky or cumbersome, so it can roll right up to a table or desk– there’s no need to transfer to a chair. Its sturdy yet lightweight aluminum frame makes it durable and comfortable. Its dual motors power it at up to 3.7 miles per hour and its automatic electromagnetic brakes

stop on a dime. The rechargeable battery powers it for up to 8 miles on a single charge. Plus, its exclusive foldable design enables you to transport it easily and even store it in a closet or under a bed when it’s not in use.

Why spend another day letting mobility issues hamper your lifestyle? Call now and find out how you can have your very own Zoomer.

Chalking up success

Greenville native Sam Wickert is stoked about being back in his hometown. After working in Southern California for almost a decade, Wickert recently moved the company he started with childhood friend Eric Leigh to downtown Greenville.

SOKRISPYMEDIA is a production company that produces in house visual effects for their own films and for clients in film, television, commercials, video games and virtual reality. The team’s YouTube channel has more than 2.3 million subscribers, where SOKRISPY is best known for its four part video series Chalk Warfare, which has more than 250 million views.

Wickert and Leigh created the original Chalk Warfare while they were in high school. Wickert attended J.L. Mann in Greenville, while Leigh went to Mauldin High. The two minute video features two teams that battle with weapons scribbled into existence with colored sidewalk chalk. Since it went live on YouTube in May 2012, the video has more than 56 million views. Wickert and Leigh produced Chalk Warfare 2.0 and 3.0 before graduating in 2015 and moving to California to attend film school at Chapman University.

“After two years, we decided to take a leave of absence to work on a project with Google Daydream,” Wickert says. “My leave of absence wound up being extended indefinitely.”

When the team began work on Chalk Warfare 4.0, Wickert says it was important to return to South Carolina.

“I wanted the series to feel cohesive. So, we decided to shoot half in California and half in Greenville,” he says. “We had to bring the team to Greenville for an extended period for production. That was the kickstart of our company moving.”

Wickert says it’s exciting to be part of the growing creative community in the Upstate.

“It is easier for us to create a successful product here,” Wickert says. “We have more space to be creative and there is less red tape. There is also a growing talent pool, and the support of the community is unbelievable.”

—JIM POINDEXTER | PHOTO BY NATHAN BINGLE

Sam Wickert

CLAIM TO FAME: Co-founder and director of SOKRISPYMEDIA.

ORIGIN STORY: Wickert met creative partner Eric Leigh in fifth grade. The pair created their own YouTube channel while in high school.

CLIENT LIST: The company has created visual effects for HBO, Epic Games, Google Daydream, Universal Orlando Resorts, Red Bull, Intel and the band Twenty One Pilots.

GONE VIRAL: Released in July 2020, the team’s 16-minute video Chalk Warfare 4.0 has chalked up 112 million views (and counting).

QUOTABLE: “We considered other cities like Austin and Charlotte,” Wickert says. “But everyone on the team who visited Greenville loved it, so we decided to make the move.”

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DINNER and

SHARP SHELLED BIVALVE. Pearl-bearing mollusk. Delicious slimeball. The Eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, is a little creature for whom it’s easy to wax rhapsodic. Gastronomically, they’re the raison d'être of raw bars and the soul of seafood joints. Ecologically, they’re the keystone species of the South Carolina salt marsh filter feeders who keep the water clean, the kidneys of the coast.

show a

What’s on the menu at Raw Lab? An 11-course dinner filled with food, fun, natural history and saltwater ecology

BY HASTINGS HENSEL PHOTOS BY MIC SMITH

“Not just ecologically important but also metaphysically important,” explains Kevin Joseph one evening at his Charleston restaurant, Raw Lab. “The reason we eat slimy, cold things that look like giant boogers is that Homo sapiens as a species got pushed further and further south to the Indian Ocean, where they discovered, for the first time, the tide going out. Once they started eating oysters, their bodies grew, their heads grew, their brains grew, they got more body fat, and they expanded back north.”

As he’s sermonizing on the oyster, he’s also shucking one, prying it open at the hinge with his flat-bladed oyster knife and laying it down on a bed of ice. Then he’s grating fresh wasabi root over the oyster and denouncing the “wasabi” of most sushi places as “dehydrated and pulverized horseradish, rehydrated with green food coloring.”

This real wasabi right here, he promises, will change

When the Gingered Salmon Belly Tower comes out, Kevin Joseph likes to play “2001: A Space Odyssey” to heighten the experience. “Just a little theatrics,” he says with a grin, and all the Gamecocks fans in the house go wild. “This is the best meal I’ve ever had,” says Caitlin Ball of Walterboro, reaching to the sky with glee. “And it’s only course five!”

your life. And knowing how to chew an oyster to move it around in your mouth and taste the complex layers of flavor, and not just swallow it whole will change your life, too. And this homemade American mignonette sauce (apple cider vinegar, shallots, green apple peel and green pepper) drizzled atop an oyster? Life-changing.

You get the sense that when Kevin Joseph was told the world was his oyster, he took it to mean the oyster was also his world. And he wants nothing more than to convert us all into oysterheads.

“We’re still in the beginning stage of how to eat oysters, where to find oysters, how to appreciate oysters, what sauces to use, what not to do,” Joseph says. “I think we’re in the beginning of an oyster revolution.”

Four evenings a week at Raw Lab, Joseph orchestrates a three-hour, 11-course dining experience that’s part TED Talk, part science experiment, part party. On the night I visited, in early September, electronic Caribbean dance music played in the intimately dim barroom for diners making their way through an omakase menu (a Japanese term for dishes selected by the chef) “from the bottom of the seafood chain.” It’s what Joseph has dubbed “Marine Cuisine” dishes like Crab Gazpacho, Shrimp Ceviche, Lobster Salad, Cubed Salmon,

and, of course, oysters. Most of it is local; all of it is raw.

“I felt like there was nobody in the world who was the oyster aficionado, so I set out to become that person. I coined the phrase mermellier, which means: to be the sommelier of seafood,” he says.

He does not, however, remember his first oyster. He says it must have been when he was growing up in Long Island, New York, in a family of restaurateurs. And unlike the oyster itself, which stays put in one spot, Joseph has bounced all over. Stints in event marketing in Denver, as a private chef

in Florida and New York, as a world traveler all of it seems to have cultivated his unique blend of entrepreneur, foodie, professor and showman.

When he arrived in Charleston, he began cold-calling every oyster farm on the South Carolina coast to buy their oysters for his pop-up Shuck Truck. That’s how he got hooked up with Tom Bierce, the owner of Charleston Oyster Farm and someone whose love and knowledge of oysters equals Joseph’s.

“I could talk oysters literally all day,” Bierce says one fine Thursday in mid-September, two weeks after my visit to Raw

At Raw Lab, between the oysters and the gazpacho comes the Royal Ossetra Caviar, a dollop-full of sturgeon roe spooned between your thumb and forefinger so that you can literally eat off your hands. Kevin Joseph tells you to chew it slowly so as to taste the complex layers of flavors—bold, briny, savory, mineral, oceanic— that evolve on your palate.

When in Rome, they say, do as the Romans do. When at Raw Lab, drink from the porron pitcher of Txakolina wine as the Basques do. Here, Joseph cheers on John Dodds of Charleston as he partakes in the ritual. “It pairs perfectly with the gazpacho,” Joseph says. “Plus, it’s fun!”

“I felt like there was nobody in the world who was the oyster aficionado, so I set out to become that person.”

—KEVIN JOSEPH

Lab, when I meet Bierce and Joseph and their crew to take stock of the farm and the work they’re doing to ensure oysters keep arriving on our plates.

When we arrive by boat at the farm in Green Creek, off the Stono River, all I see are long lines of floating buoys and cages. Bierce, who was a commercial diver before he became an oyster farmer, stops the boat and slips on his gloves and boots. He reaches with a gaff to grab hold of one of the cages, and with the help of his crew and a winch, he brings the cage into the boat.

Inside the cage are some of the finest oysters I’ve ever seen. Throughout the year, Bierce continually flips the cages and knocks off the “spat” the tiny oyster larvae attached to the shells. This is what normally causes wild oysters to grow in clusters, but here, Bierce concentrates on harvesting “marketready” single selects.

“We’ve gotten really lucky,” Bierce says. “We are cultivating and pruning these oysters

to a perfect shape, but mother nature gets all the credit in the flavor.”

Demand for farm-raised singles is so high that the Charleston Oyster Farm will scale up from taking 80,000 oysters to market in 2022, to over 400,000 oysters in 2023. And it’s also why both men feel a responsibility to protect and sustain the fishery.

“If we want to keep the tradition of oyster roasting alive in the Lowcountry,” Bierce says, “we have to take the pressure off our wild oysters.”

GET THERE Raw Lab, located at 99 S. Market Street in Charleston, is open Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. The dining experience begins at 6 p.m. Reservations are required through Resy.com or by calling (843) 580-7729.

Tours of Charleston Oyster Farm can be booked online at charlestonoysterfarm.com.

On the boat, Bierce hands Joseph an oyster from the cage and a shucking knife. Like he does countless times each week at Raw Lab, Joseph shucks open the freshly plucked oyster and detaches it from the shell by scraping the adductor muscle. He proffers one to each person onboard, like a perfect gift, and we all do as he instructs us chew slowly and thoroughly, move it around in our palate, and taste the taste of our local waters.

t Tom Bierce, left, owner of Charleston Oyster Farm, and Kevin Joseph scrutinize some of the crop as Whit Hathaway pilots the boat.

u Joseph deftly shucks oysters for each person onboard to sample and savor.

“We are cultivating and pruning these oysters to a perfect shape, but mother nature gets all the credit in the flavor.”

—TOM BIERCE

SC | calendar JAN 15–FEB 15

Upstate

JANUARY

12–22 Restaurant Week South Carolina, various restaurants, greater Greenville area. restaurantweeksouthcarolina.com.

19–Feb. 5 Once, Centre Stage, Greenville. (864) 233‑6733 or centrestage.org.

26–29 Upstate Boat Show, Greenville Convention Center, Green ville. (864) 233‑2562 or meetgcc.com.

27–Feb. 5 The 39 Steps, The Clemson Little Theatre, Clemson. (864) 646‑8100.

28 Winter Bluegrass Jubilee, Pickens High School Fine Arts Center, Pickens. winterbluegrassjubilee.com.

FEBRUARY

4 The SteelDrivers, Chapman Cultural Center, Spartanburg. (864) 948‑9020 or spartanburgphilharmonic.org.

10 George Frein portrays Mark Twain, Simpsonville Arts Center, Simpsonville. (864) 967‑9526.

10–19 The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Greenwood Community Theatre, Greenwood. (864) 229‑5704.

11 George Frein portrays Mark Twain, Greenville Theatre, Greenville. (864) 233‑6238.

11 Heart, Soul & Cello, Twichell Auditorium at Converse College, Spartanburg. (864) 948‑9020 or spartanburgphilharmonic.org.

12 George Frein portrays Mark Twain, Pickens Performance Arts Center, Liberty. (864) 734‑1466.

17–19 Reedy Reels Film Festival, South Carolina Children’s Theatre, Greenville. reedyreels.com.

Midlands

JANUARY

12–22 Restaurant Week South Carolina, various restaurants, greater Columbia area. restaurantweeksouthcarolina.com.

13–15 Columbia Home Building & Remodeling Expo, Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center, Columbia. (803) 545‑0181.

27–28 Newberry Ballet Guild presents The Secret Garden, Newberry Opera House, Newberry. (803) 276‑6264 or newberryoperahouse.com.

FEBRUARY

1–5 The Beverly Hillbillies, USC Lancaster Bundy Auditorium, Lancaster. (803) 416‑6183 or lancasterplayhouse.com.

3–5 2023 Aiken Antique Show, Aiken Center for the Arts, Aiken. aikenantiqueshow.com.

9, 12, 16, 19 God of Carnage, Sumter Little Theatre, Sumter. (803) 775‑2150 or sumterlittletheatre.com.

10–19 The Dining Room, Rock Hill Theatre, Rock Hill. (803) 326‑7428 or rockhilltheatre.org.

17–25 The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, Aiken Community Theatre, Aiken. (803) 648‑1438.

24–26 Battle of Aiken, 1210 Powell Pond Road, Aiken. battleofaiken.com.

25 17th Annual Joy of Gardening Symposium, Gateway Conference Center, Rock Hill. symposium@yorkmg.org.

Lowcountry

JANUARY

12–22 Charleston Restaurant Week, various restaurants, greater Charleston area. lowcountryhospitalityassociation.com.

SCLiving.coop/calendar

Our mobile friendly site lists even more festivals, shows and events. You’ll also find instructions on submitting your event. Please confirm information with the hosting event before attending.

21–22 Beaufort Oyster Festival, Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park, Beaufort. beaufortsc.org.

27–29 Charleston Boat Show, Charleston Area Convention Center, North Charleston. thecharlestonboatshow.com.

28 Hilton Head Snow Day, Shelter Cove Park, Hilton Head Island. (843) 341‑4600 or sheltercovetownecentre.com.

29 Lowcountry Oyster Festival, Boone Hall Plantation, Charleston. (843) 853‑8000.

FEBRUARY

1–4 Colour of Music Festival, various venues, Charleston. colourofmusic.org.

3 Cross that River, USC Beaufort Center for the Arts, Beaufort. (843) 521‑4145 or uscbcenterforthearts.com.

4 Bluegrass Concert, Grand Old Post Office, Darlington. (843) 496‑4088 or sebga.org.

17–18 Palmetto Destruction Demolition Derby, Florence Center, Florence. (864) 679‑4525 or florencecenter.com.

18–19 American Heritage Festival, Graham’s Farm, Lake City. theamericanheritagefestival.com.

19 Gullah Market: Arts, Crafts, Music and Food, Coastal Discovery Museum, Hilton Head Island. (843) 255‑7303 or gullahcelebration.com.

20–26 Hilton Head Island Seafood Festival, multiple sites, Hilton Head Island. hiltonheadseafoodfestival.com.

21–26 Beaufort International Film Festival, The Beaufort Inn, Beaufort. (843) 522‑3196 or beaufortfilmfestival.com.

25 American Legion Post 42 Oyster Roast, Jarvis Creek Park, Hilton Head Island. (404) 784‑2077.

25 Sea & Sand Festival, Center Street, Folly Beach. visitfolly.com.

PANAMA

8 DAYS $ 995

Fully guided tour. Includes all meals, all activities, all hotels. Tax and fees extra.

COSTA RICA

9 DAYS $ 995

Fully guided tour. Includes all meals, all activities, all hotels. Tax and fees extra.

9 DAYS $ 995

Fully guided tour. Includes all meals, all activities, all hotels. Tax and fees extra.

JANUARY IN THE GARDEN

n Did you build a compost pile last fall? If so, on a mild day, get some midwinter exercise by thoroughly turning the pile over to keep the decomposition process going strong, helping it become the “black gold” that will enrich spring planting sites. n Fertilizer salts can take the “pretty” away from decorative clay pots that cuddle your indoor plants by besmirching their rims with a leaching white residue. However, such a mess can be cleaned by wiping with a solution of equal parts water and vinegar, using a plastic scrubber such as an old toothbrush to help remove any stubborn stains.

The early spring of wintersweet

BY L.A. JACKSON

My spring begins sooner than yours does. No, I don’t “snow bird” down to a condo in Miami, nor do I book an extended Caribbean cruise for January. Instead, I have wintersweet.

Wintersweet (Chimonanthus praecox) is an unusual woody ornamental that bears its brave flowers during the coldest times of the year. Shaped like small, butter-colored bells, they are, indeed, a welcome sight in the winter garden, but, as a bonus, these blossoms are a veritable feast for the nose. Their pleasant scent which, to me, can best be described as “lemony sweet” fills the chilled air, amazing visitors not expecting such an olfactory indulgence until spring treats like roses, gardenias, magnolias and other similarly fragrant flowers begin to perfume the garden.

TIP OF

THE

MONTH Common camellias (Camellia japonica) will also start their early spring with cheerful flowers that begin to bloom during the chilliest days and become more numerous as the weather warms. But with this pretty sight comes a pretty important chore: Fallen blossoms are prime breeding grounds for camellia petal blight, a fungal disease that misshapes and discolors future flowers with ugly splotches of brown. This nasty’s annual development cycle can be disrupted if spent blossoms are gathered up and tossed in the trash, so be sure to rake underneath your bushes about once a week during their winter/spring flower show.

Depending on your point of view, wintersweet is either a large shrub or small tree, growing around 12 feet high and just about as wide if not pruned regularly. It has an open, multibranched habit with deciduous, glossygreen, lance-shaped leaves that turn a modest light yellow in autumn. It is not particularly a growing-season specimen plant, but wintersweet will still make an interesting addition to the garden, especially close to paths, entryways and other frequently visited areas, to take advantage of its surprisingly aromatic winter flowers.

Wintersweet deer-resistant, by the way can adapt to many soil types but does best in well-draining sites. For maximum cold-season flower power, plant this pretty in full sun. A pruning every few years after the blossoms are spent will encourage more branching, thus more blooms in the winters to come.

And do try forcing snipped branches into blooming indoors. Just cut a few

shoots about 18 inches long and place in a vase of warm water. Then, set them away from direct sunlight and change the water weekly, and when the buds begin to swell, move the branches to a prime spot inside where the bursting blooms can be a treat for both the eyes and nose.

Wintersweet is a native of China but was introduced to American gardens in the early 1800s, meaning it is an established nursery plant and shouldn’t be too hard to find at area garden shops or online sites. Luteus, the most common cultivar offered today, has medium-yellow blooms. Another selection, Grandiflorus, lives up to its name with larger flowers that are dipped in a deeper yellow hue.

L.A. JACKSON is the former editor of Carolina Gardener magazine. Contact him at lajackson1@gmail.com.

L.A. JACKSON

TOUCH OF SPRING Wintersweet bears brave flowers and offers a sweet citrus scent during the coldest months.

OUT WITH THE OLD Rake up spent camellia blooms to help prevent petal blight on future flowers.

PHOTOS BY L.A. JACKSON

Why the cat crossed the road

BY JAN A. IGOE

WHEN I WAS GROWING UP, we were surrounded by G-men posing as neighbors. My siblings and I knew they worked for the FBI, but we didn’t know what their actual jobs were, and our parents made us promise not to ask. They seemed more like your regular lawn-mowing dads in Bermuda shorts than special agents, but it takes more than hairy legs to be sure.

Meanwhile, down the street, there was a dad who worked for the CIA who did not seem regular at all. He mowed his lawn in a long, dark trenchcoat, black hat and opaque shades your standard suburban spy uniform. My mom always suspected his next mission might be to steal her family’s chocolate cupcake recipe, so she cautioned us not to utter the secret ingredient, even under torture.

I knew we weren’t in any danger because, between you and me, those cupcakes were dreadful. She added a pound of “secret mayonnaise” to every batch, so no one wanted to eat them, let alone steal them. Not even the CIA dad. He never once tried to capture her baked goods, no matter how hard we prayed he would. He didn’t realize how Mom’s cupcakes could revolutionize the agency’s interrogation techniques. Forget waterboarding. Just dangle one over a high-value target and watch those national secrets come spilling out.

But the CIA missed the mark on cupcakes. And also cats. During last century’s hippie era, they did some pretty weird things, from experimenting with mind control and LSD, to

tracking enemy troop movements with transmitters buried in tiger poop. No kidding: their exploits are all over the web.

Their craziest experiment was probably the cat. Out of zillions of cats in the world, one unfortunate, nameless beast was deemed (or doomed) the first feline secret agent. I’m fairly certain the cat did not volunteer.

At that time, the thinking was that nobody would pay much attention to a random cat strutting by a foreign embassy or wandering through an

enemy compound. No one would stop to ask, “Hey Boris, is this ‘bring your cat to work day?’ ”

So, the CIA folks surgically implanted a tiny transmitter in the cat’s skull and placed a battery pack in its chest. They hid a microphone in the cat’s ear canal and wired an antenna into its fur from neck to tail. Then, all they had to do was tell the cat where to go. (The cat probably wanted to tell them where to go, too.)

By the time the CIA realized that cats, even bionic ones, don’t follow orders, their Acoustic Kitty was worth $20 million.

When actor Lee Majors played the bionic man in a popular TV series from that era, he was only worth $6 million (and he took direction).

When the spy cat finally made its debut near the Soviet compound in Washington, DC, it got about 10 feet before being hit by a car. Some say it was a taxi. I firmly believe the cat was either hailing that cab or made an intentional decision to commit suicide.

Since then, the CIA has given up training feline spies. But if there are any more Acoustic Kitties running around, it will probably take us a few decades to find out. Meanwhile, if you happen to strike up a conversation with an unfamiliar cat, please don’t let on about the mayonnaise.

JAN A. IGOE is allergic to cats, mayonnaise and possibly the CIA. She wishes everyone wonderful health and joy in 2023. Please drop by HumorMe@SCLiving.coop to say hi.

By the time the CIA realized that cats, even bionic ones, don’t follow orders, their Acoustic Kitty was worth $20 million.

The brightly-painted

houses on Burano Island in Venice are the inspiration behind The Murano Rainbow Necklace

FREE Matching Bracelet Send Her Over The Rainbow

NowI know how that little farm girl from Kansas felt when she went over the rainbow and awoke in a land of spectacular color. Look what I found in the land of ahhs!

Approaching Burano Island off of northern Venice was like being swept away in a dream. Known for its brightly-painted fisherman houses that line the canals, I was greeted with every color of the rainbow. Since before the Venetian Republic, Burano was home to fishermen and legend says that the houses were painted in bright hues so they could see their way home when fog blanketed the lagoon.

Inspiration struck. I wanted to capture this historical beauty in the centuries old art form of Murano. Still regarded as being the finest form craftsmanship in the world, Murano has evolved into modern day fashion statements.

So I hopped on a vaporetto for a forty minute ride to Venice and sought out the impeccable talents of one of Venice’s finest Murano artisans. They’ve captured the vibrant colors of the iconic fisherman houses in the perfect hand-formed beads of The Rainbow Murano Necklace. To own a piece of authentic Murano is to own a piece of fine art steeped in history. Each and every piece is a one-of-a-kind masterpiece.

I want to make it easy for you to send her over the rainbow. That’s why for a limited time you can treat her to the The Murano Rainbow

Necklace for only $39. And, to help you double down on romance, I’ll throw in the matching bracelet absolutely FREE! As one of the largest importers of handcrafted Italian jewelry, we have a way of making dreams that you dare to dream come true.

Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back. Enjoy the Murano Rainbow Necklace for 30 days. If it doesn’t pass with flying colors, send it back for a full refund of the item price. You can even keep the bracelet for your trouble.

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Jewelry Specifications:

•Made in Italy of genuine Murano

•Necklace: 23”L; Bracelet: 7”L; Lobster clasps

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“In recent years, a group of international designers and artists has rediscovered the innate modernity of Italian blown glass, turning to Murano as inspiration…” — New York Times, 2020

fisherman