Short Takes: October 2016

FACES

She’s Patient With Pups

Patience Wildermuth is often spoken of in reverent tones among Augusta canine owners. Many call her the “dog whisperer” for her almost magical methods of training wayward pups.


 

Fourth Saturday Pairs Jazz With Wine

JazzSoiree is a pop-up jazz club hosted in non-traditional spaces, and Augustans can partake of
this monthly event in the Jessye Norman School of Arts every fourth Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Enjoy classic jazz music performed by the area’s top artists and various wines selected by the host.

Visit www.gardencityjazz.com/jazzsoiree

 


 

Yoga Takes Flight

Want to embrace your inner trapeze artist? Time to try the newest trend in yoga: aerial yoga. The practice use a hammock-like swing to aid in movement and inversion. Out of alignment? Aerial yoga gives you the chance to hang freely, allowing your spine to lengthen. You can also hold postures for longer without strain.

Two studios in Augusta offer classes in aerial yoga: www.spaceyogastudio.com, www.homedowntownyoga.com

 


 

What’s Brewing at the Augusta Museum of History

Heft a frosty one at the Augusta Museum of History during their second annual Southern Suds on October 21 at 6:30 p.m. Enjoy music, lectures on brewing, food and a sampling of craft brews from around Augusta and Georgia, including the museum’s very own historic brew produced by River Watch Brewery.

Tickets prices start at $20. Visit augustamuseum.org/SouthernSuds for more info.

 


 

A Blast from the Past

According to singer and guitarist Hillary Thompson, her first introduction to playing music was by learning clarinet in middle school. She didn’t feel like it was a good fit, so she moved on to piano. Even though she liked the piano, it just never felt quite right. It wasn’t until the past few years when she first picked up a guitar that she knew her true calling. She calls the guitar her  “soul instrument.”

A year ago she teamed up with mandolin player Taylor Swan to form The Shadow Pines, a bluegrass-inspired duo that plays Americana and old-time country music. The name of the band resulted by way of a happy accident. Thompson saw a street sign that read “Pine Shadow Lane” while she was out and about on her day job as a real estate agent. After switching the words around to sound a little more mysterious, the group’s name was born.

Thompson emphasizes that they eschew contemporary country pop and focus on the emotional themes in classic country and folk songs. They write original music in this  style, which she calls “Southern gothic country.” She cites Gillian Welch as a key influence on her own songwriting, along with songs that were popular during the Civil War.

Right now The Shadow Pines is working on recording a new EP with an extended band, and they are continually focusing on honing and refining their unique sound as a duet. You can catch The Shadow Pines out and about in Augusta at a variety of venues like Stillwater Taproom, Sky City, Southbound Smokehouse and Metro Coffeehouse.

 


 

Food for Thought

Want a side of technology with your farm-to-table feast? Join Augusta Locally Grown and the Clubhou.se for Harvest Bytes, a two-day event Oct. 28 and 29 that will explore ways in which sustainability and technology
intersect to improve our local food system overall.

Programming includes a Food Tech Hack-A-Thon, a Socratic-style cocktail hour, farm-to-
table dinner and a presentation on “Hacking the Microbiome.”

Awards will be given to best food tech hacks so bring your ingenuity along with your appetite.Net proceeds from this event will help create an “Incubator Kitchen” at the Clubhouse.se to support start-up chefs and local food businesses.

Visit HarvestBytes.org for more info.

 


 

GETAWAYS:
The Hilton Head Island Motoring Festival & Concours d’Elegance

Why Go: Imagine yourself behind the wheel of a vintage silver Alfa Romeo, the wind sifting through your hair as the car expertly hugs the road during hairpin turns. A visit to the Hilton Head Island Motoring Festival & Concours d’Elegance is the next best thing to driving a variety of sleek European sports cars from another age. The festival, which is held October 28–November 6, 2016 is one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing automotive and motorsports enthusiast events, and this year features European Classics cars from 1925–1948. The festival will also celebrate 1956 American cars, 60 years of Fiat 850 and 124 Spyder. It’s a great family friendly event with activities for children.

What to Eat: The Savannah event will feature a food truck alley but if you’re craving something more formal you can attend the Flights & Fancy Aeroport Gala on Nov. 4. There’s a special VIPPriority Boarding cocktail hour to include food, full bar, award-winning chefs selected by The Local Palate and a selection of handcrafted cocktails. Later on at the gala there’ll be food and a full bar.

What to Explore: For decades, man has motored on water, in air and on the open road, and the festival pays homage to vintage vehicles in all categories. The 10-day event begins in Savannah with pre-war car races, Porsche IROC/RS race cars of the 1970s and the Savannah Speed Classic from Oct. 28-Oct. 30. The festival moves to Hilton Head Island Nov. 5-6 and features  an Aero Expo with Vintage and Warbird Aircraft, classic car showcase and an auction of 100 blue-chip collector cars.  Other exhibits include a display of classic cars from your favorite films and the Concours d’Elegance with dozens of glamorous European cars The kids can enjoy a movie night with Disney Pixar Cars.

For a full schedule of events visit www.hhiconcours.com 

Where to Stay: The hotel closet to the action in Savannah is The Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa, which is on the Savannah River. Rooms start at $259.  Most convenient to the activities in Hilton Head Island is the Westin Hilton Head Island Resort and Spa. Guests also have access to the Port Royal Golf & Racquet Club.

An event rate begins at $179. Distance from Augusta to Hilton Head or Savannah is similar about 132 miles or 2 hours and 24 minutes. 

 


 

Spirited Adventures

What’s Halloween without a haunting or two? Historic Augusta’s Walk with the Spirits will take place Oct. 15-16 at the Summerville Cemetery, 2301 Cumming Road at Johns Road. Costumed guides lead the way while discussing the history of the cemetery and interesting facts about the “spirit” that they are portraying.

 For tickets and additional information, contact Historic Augusta at 706-724-0436.

 


 

Southern Cooking With Humor

Getting dinner on the table every day is no joke, so why not add a little levity to the chore? Hungry Is a Mighty Fine Sauce Cookbook: Recipes and Ramblings from the Belle of All Things Southern (Shiloh Run Press, $11.89) by Shellie Rushing Tomlinson features 125 uncomplicated, delicious Southern recipes including Bodacious Black Bean Salad and Spicy Sausage and Crawfish Spread. They fall into different categories including Feeding the Funny Farm, Carnivores Are Us, Holidays in Dixie, and Watching the Curves.

 


 

All-Star Author Events

Three mega-bestselling authors are coming to the Columbia County Library in October.

Oct 6: Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild and first selection for Oprah’s Book Club 2.0, which was adapted into a movie starring Reese Witherspoon.

Oct 20: Garth Stein, author of The Art of Racing in the Rain which was on The New York Times best-sellers list for more than 156 weeks.

Oct 27: Anne Perry, a prolific author of primarily historical detective fiction, with 80+ books to her name.

All events are free and start at 7 p.m.

This article appears in the October 2016 issue of Augusta Magazine.

Have feedback or a story idea? Our publisher would love to hear from you!

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RSS Augusta Magazine’s Front Porch

  • Episode 11: Jay Jefferies
    Jay Jefferies stops by to deliver the weather and much more!
  • Episode 10 - Nesia Wright
    We had the pleasure of sitting down with Nesia Wright, owner and CEO of the Georgia Soul Basketball Team. Ashlee and Nesia discuss life as the owner of a basketball team, retirement and more.
  • Episode 9: Venus Morris Griffin
    Venus Morris Griffin, one of the top real estate agents in the Augusta area, stops by our front porch to talk about her success and her upcoming book. This episode is sure to set a fire in you to go for your dreams!
  • Episode 8: Michael Romano
    Michael Romano, self-proclaimed carbohydrate king and executive pastry chef for Edgar's Hospitality Group stopped by our front porch to chat with Ashlee.

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