Hilton Head Monthly Voice Voice of the Lowcountry 
COME SEE HOW HILTON HEAD ISLAND COMMEMORATES FREEDOM
In June of 1865, freedom came to the then-Confederate South when the detestable practice of slavery was put to an end. For a people who had struggled for centuries, it was a day of tremendous joy. On Hilton Head Island and in Bluffton, special celebrations this month will mark the occasion with live music, authentic Gullah cuisine and a remembrance of the day the march to freedom began.
Tickets are on sale for the inaugural Hilton Head Island Music Festival, to be held June 22-23 at the Coastal Discovery Museum.
The two-day festival, organized by Bear Foot Sports, will feature 16 performances by local, state and regional acts.
KENDRA NATTER PRESENTS “THROUGH MY EYES II”: The Society of Bluffton Artists welcomes featured artist Kendra Natter’s photography. Free. Opening reception June 9, 3-5 p.m. SoBA gallery, 6 Church St., Bluffton. sobagallery.com.
Spring is in the air, and there’s no better way to see the season’s beauty than the All Saints Episcopal Church Garden Tour. The 32nd annual event will be 10 a.m.-4 p.m. May 18 and will feature seven private gardens in Spanish Wells, Hilton Head Plantation, Windmill Harbour, Belfair and Old Town Bluffton, as well as at Waddell Mariculture Center. Tickets are $35 and include lunch from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at All Saints Church. The church also will host a boutique and items for sale by Taylors Quality Landscape Supply & Nursery. Local artisans and Master Gardeners also will be on hand to answer questions.
The May River Theatre Co. opens its 17th season with A.R. Gurney’s “Love Letters,” taking the stage May 2-5 to tug at the funny bone and the heartstrings. The play follows two childhood friends and their life-long correspondence. It’s full of shared nostalgia, missed opportunities and deep closeness.
“Love Letters” establishes the characters without the aid of set, costume or movement. It stars Daniel and Debbie Cort, who headlined May River Theatre’s productions of “The Pajama Game,” “Man of La Mancha” and “The Addams Family.”
CHRIST-DRIVEN
“You belong” is the mantra at Church of the Palms, as it is with intention that this body of believers aims to make all who visit feel welcome, regardless of where they come from, what they believe, or what race, creed, orientation or denomination they are — “...for all are welcome in God's house.” And so it is with this purpose and the newly constructed Christian Life Center, which nearly doubled the church’s footprint, that Church of the Palms serves as an outreach center for the Okatie community. Each week the church hosts several groups and organizations including Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, the Lowcountry Youth Wind Symphony, Al-Anon, Koinonia Caps (caps handsewn for people living with cancer) and, of course, our weekly Bible studies, which include Sisters at 2 p.m. Tuesdays and 8:30 a.m. Wednesdays and Brothers at 8 a.m. Thursdays and 7:30 a.m. every other Saturday.
MAYFEST’S FAMED UGLY DOG CONTEST PAYS TRIBUTE TO MAN’S BEST FRIEND
There’s been a tasteful, yet undeniably transformative, change happening in Bluffton in recent years. Sophisticated fine art galleries have sprung up among Old Town’s eclectic shops. Upscale dining has found a seat at the table next to stick-to-your-ribs barbecue and freshly shucked oysters. And it’s not unusual to find a sparkling new Bugatti parked alongside the beat-up old pickups and golf carts.
