Williamsburg County is teeming with artists and history and a two-day event is going to serve as the stage to showoff both. Hosted by the Williamsburg Tourism Board, “The Arts Festival” is part of a “Come See Me Weekend” and certain to captivate art lovers and historians alike.
Artists will house their works in the Williamsburgh Historical Society Museum,135 Hampton Avenue on March 21. The festival will coincide with the Revolutionary War reenactment of the Battle of the Lower Bridge that will take place the day before on March 20, at Union Presbyterian Church in Salters. The 229th anniversary of the battle will include the Hugh Giles Regiment.
The art festival will boast the varied works of local and distant artists and Georgetown native Bruce Chandler will be the featured artist. Chandler is a graduate of the Maryland School of Art and Design. She is an established painter, teacher, muralist, illustrator of books and magazines, and an artist that is selected for exhibits locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally. She also had a three-year run teaching art on a program for ETV and writes a newspaper column about art.
On a more local venue, Kingstree resident Sheryl McCutchen, a seasoned painter who has captured the rich beauty of Williamsburg County will show alongside Kelly Atkinson who specializes in oils, watercolors and pastel. The acrylic images of Lake City art teacher Sarah Helen Mishoe will provide for interesting conversations against Francis Marion art student Crystalyn Watford’s works created in the same medium.
For the reader, landscape painter Ellen Bass has recently published her book, In a Garden. She incorporated her reflective paintings into its pages, which discuss the gardens of the Bible and how to apply scripture to the garden of our lives. Bass will be available to sign and discuss the inspirational gem.
Craftsman Tommy Boyd of Salters will have a selection of his hand crafted Windsor Chairs and Stuckey artist Buddy Davis will display his hand carved Tupelo dough bowls and trays. What was once a southern staple for biscuit making, this dying art form is kept alive through Davis’ skilled hands.
Other artists attending the festival are seasoned photographers Michaele Duke and Jim Ellis, portraitist Krystin Green, Moncks Corner’s jewelry artist Lynda Monnig, landscape painter June Stuckey and sketch artist Linda Brown Tisdale. Peggy McGill will display her print of Francis Marion. The print is part of 300 prints that were recently donated to the Francis Marion Trail Commission.
In addition, the festival will include the unveiling of the winner of the Williamsburg County School District Superintendent’s Art Gallery and Thorntree House will be open for touring. Built in 1749 by James Witherspoon, the house and grounds served as an encampment for British dragoons and Tories.
On Friday, March 26, the Williams Muscadine Vineyard and Farm will host School Children Day with farm tours, planting activities, and an Easter Egg Hunt (each child will take their potted plant/vegetable with them.) Church youth groups, Girl and Boy Scouts, and organizations are invited to attend on March 27. The Williams Muscadine Vineyard was derived from the Williams Farm which was established in Nesmith during the early 1930s by the Rev. Gabriel Williams (born 1882), and Mary Pressley Nesmith Williams (born 1882), after their marriage on April 10, 1926. They were the first generation out of slavery. 
For further information on these events, contact the HomeTown Chamber at 355-6431 or the museum at 355-3306.