Happy Friday morning, Charleston! Tomorrow is National Margarita Day, and we’ve got a few great local spots in town to help you celebrate. Check out Taco Boy and Mex 1 Coastal Cantina, where you’ll be sure to find some great specials.

Congrats to David B. of Mount Pleasant and Sonya H. of Johns Island , who guessed correctly in our “Where Are We” segment last week! Our photo was of Philadelphia Alley downtown. Here’s a take on its historical significance.

Please follow us on Instagram. When we get to 1,000 followers, we’ll do a $50 giveaway to a local restaurant!

In today’s newsletter:

• Can there ever be enough pizza in CHS? My answer is no, and there’s another joint coming from NYC. 🍕

• We reveal the winners of last week’s “Guess The Location Of This REALLY Expensive Home”. You can throw in an offer ‘cause it’s still on the market. 🏡

• ICYMI. Hollywood celebs opening stores, a gator the color of a certain university’s sports teams, and great sushi in town . 🐊

Friday 47° / 32° ☀️ 💧2%

Saturday 54° / 39° ☀️ 💧2%

Sunday 59° / 44° ☀️ 💧7%

Friday, February 21

• Celebrate 82 Queen's 43rd Anniversary with Half-Priced Wine Through | 11 AM - 9 PM | 82 Queen, Charleston | In celebration of their 43rd anniversary, 82 Queen is offering half-off all bottles of wine from now until Sunday, Feb. 23! Guests can take their pick at half-priced bottles from 82 Queen’s extensive wine list (excluding bottles from the Queen’s reserve) to pair with a quintessential Lowcountry meal. Proudly serving Charleston since 1982, 82 Queen represents the past, present and future of the city’s bustling culinary scene and is excited to see what the next 43 years will bring for guests, staff and the larger community.

• Gator Walk | 11:15 AM - 12:15 PM | Sanctuary Hotel, One Sanctuary Beach Drive, Kiawah Island | The American Alligator is a guest favorite and one of our most intriguing wildlife species. Join a naturalist as we visit some gator habitats and learn how these prehistoric creatures survive on Kiawah. Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. Recommended for ages 4 and up. Reservations are required, call 843.768.6001.

• Camp Happy Days Annual Gala | 6 - 11 PM | Festival Hall, 56 Beaufain Street, Charleston | Camp Happy Days invites you to experience magic come to life at our 34th Annual Gala, “Wild Things”! This extraordinary event will benefit children diagnosed with cancer and their families. Step right up to enjoy delicious food catered by Kickin’ Chicken and Swig & Swine, drinks provided by Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Beyond Distilling Company and Breakthru Beverage, entertainment from DJ Natty Heavy and enticing auctions and raffles.

Saturday, February 22

• Sea & Sand Festival | 10 AM - 4 PM I Folly River Park, 50 Center Street, Folly Beach | The annual Sea & Sand Festival, Folly's longest-running festival at 33 years, returns to Folly Beach with a weekend full of family-friendly events…From the Folly River Park straight to the beach, the Sea & Sand weekend will include an artisan street closure event and some healthy competition in the sand on Sunday.

• Join Team Taco's Free Run Club hosted by Orangetheory | 10:15 - 11:30 AM | Taco Boy Downtown Charleston, 217 Huger St, Charleston | Join us for a free, 6-week training series designed to help runners of all skill levels build stamina and confidence as they work toward completing a 10K! Whether you're a walker, jogger, or experienced runner, there’s a group for you—so grab your friends and get ready to hit the pavement. Here’s how it works:

  Runs begin and end at Taco Boy Downtown Charleston, which opens at 11 am. Arrive by 10 am to warm up on the patio turf area.

• Black Artisan Market | 11 AM - 2 PM I Navy Yard, 2154 Noisette Blvd, Charleston | Event Details Quintin Middleton of Middleton Made Knives is thrilled to welcome celebrated local artisans for his inaugural Black Artisan Market on Saturday, February 22, 2025 from 11am-2pm. In celebration of Black History Month, Middleton will transform his Navy Yard showroom into a specialty market, welcoming some of Charleston's top small businesses and food & beverage talent.

• Home Team BBQ - Rock the Block | 11 AM - 5 PM | 126 Williman Street, Downtown I ROCK THE BLOCK is Home Team BBQ's annual block party and flagship fundraiser at Downtown Home Team BBQ benefiting Hogs for the Cause and the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Charleston. Not only are we raising funds for a great cause, but this event is a heck of a lot of fun...featuring award-winning guest chefs, cold beers, craft cocktails, and a VIP lounge area with additional chefs and VIP bar.

Sunday, February 23

• Boozy Brunch at Bal Harbour Shops Pop-up | 11 AM - 3 PM | The Whitman at Bal Harbour Shops Pop-up, 101 Ferry Wharf Rd, Mount Pleasant | Join us for Boozy Brunch every Sunday at The Whitman at Bal Harbour Shops, featuring a high-energy, bubbly brunch with a rotating lineup of DJs.

• Charleston Jazz Jam I 5 PM | Charleston Jazz Academy, 3005 W Montague Ave, North, Charleston | The Charleston Jazz Jam Session is a free monthly session open to musicians of all ages. We invite students, adult learners, and professionals alike to hang together and perform in a welcoming, encouraging environment. There will be a signup list posted for each jam online along with 'Community Tunes' for everyone to check out.

  With local professional rhythm section players ready to lay it down, we invite all Charleston area musicians to come and share in this great tradition of the music. Non-musicians that love a good jazz hang are also welcome, but space will be limited!

• Little Feat: Cant Be Satisfied Tour I 8 PM | Charleston Music Hall, 37 John St, Charleston | Doors at 7:00 pm | Show at 8:00 pm. ACCESSIBILITY - Accessible seating is available online through Ticketmaster by filtering on the ADA Icon and selecting Accessible Seats or in person or over the phone via The Charleston Music Hall box office during business hours. The Charleston Music Hall does NOT have an elevator.

For a COMPLETE list of events in the Charleston area, bookmark the site below!

RESTAURANTS

We Don’t Have Enough Pizza Requiring 10 Napkins

Writes the guy who LOVES New York-style pizza. Where slices are generally huge, kind of “drippy”, and damn tasty.

Prince Street Pizza, whose credo is “If you can put it on pasta, you can put it on pizza”, is opening on King Street this fall.

Founded in New York in 2012, Prince Street Pizza has developed quite a following. Enough to expand nationally.

They’re taking over the spot that used to be Tasty Thai & Sushi at 350 King Street.

WHERE ARE WE?

Each week, watch this space for a random snap from somewhere in Charleston. Where are we? Only true locals will know. DM your guess on Instagram, or email me here. The first person to guess correctly will get a shout-out at the top of our issue next week!

SPONSORED BY LEVELING THE FIELDS

When our now 26 and 28-year old daughters were verging on 6, I started coaching their soccer teams. I quickly learned you don’t really “coach” 6-year olds. It’s more like herding cats.

It was one of the most impactful periods of my life. I did it for both girls’ teams for 6 years—Fall and Spring, back-to-backs twice a week for 75 minutes each. I absolutely loved it.

Our girls and their teammates got a ton out of it, too: camaraderie, accountability, losing and winning with grace.

A few weeks ago, I was very excited to meet Melyssa Jaskiewicz, Founder of the non-profit, Leveling The Fields.

Leveling The Fields is dedicated to empowering young girls through sports, providing them with the tools and opportunities to grow into confident leaders.

Its programs focus on engaging girls in a variety of sports activities, fostering not only physical strength but also mental resilience and teamwork skills.

Please consider supporting this amazing organization that’s doing great work building Charleston’s next great leaders.

And do it today because it’s Five Dollar Friday! I know you’ll spend more than that buying a latte today. Or a margarita tomorrow. 😉

REAL ESTATE

Last week I quizzed y’all on where the latest uber-expensive Charleston-area home to be listed was located.

Congrats to the following folks who guessed correctly that the above beauty—priced at $11,875,000—is in the Old Vilage.

• Jim D. of Summerville

• David B. of Mount Pleasant

• Scott McElhaney of Mount Pleasant

They earned a $10 gift card to their favorite local coffee shop.

And by the way, it’s still on the market if you’d like to take a look. But you’ll need to provide proof of funds.

HELP ME SPREAD THE WORD!

If you like what you’ve been reading, I’d be SUPER grateful if you click the button below and leave a testimonial. Make it as long or short as you’d like.

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I’ll add your testimonial to my subscription page. Think of it like a Yelp review which lets newbies know “This is definitely worth your time”.

It’ll help me grow CHS Happenings and keep bringing you cool new perks like our events calendar. 🙏🏼

ICYMI

🏬 Reese Witherspoon’s new store opened on Upper King. You can combine celeb-inspired shopping trips since Draper James is next to Craig-from-Southern-Charm’s store.

🥘 Charleston has some beautifully-designed restaurants. One downtown spot’s been recognized by a national style magazine.

🐊 If you thought all alligators were green, you’d be wrong. One was spotted in South Carolina recently and it was sporting Clemson’s colors.

🍣 Sushi’s sometimes tough to find in CHS. Here’s the best spots.

🗡️ Quintin Middleton is an expert knife-maker with a new workshop in the Navy Yard Charleston project. Now he’s bringing together other talented African-American entrepreneurs.

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FEEDBACK

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