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Happy Thursday, Charleston. On this day in 1861, Jefferson Davis sat down with his cabinet in Montgomery and made the call: take Fort Sumter before another Union supply ship could reach it. Three days later, Confederate guns opened fire across Charleston Harbor and the Civil War officially began.
It's easy to think of April 12 as the moment everything changed, but the decision that lit the fuse happened on this day â a meeting in a room hundreds of miles away that rearranged the country forever.
Are you planning any yard or landscaping work this year?
Downtown's back. So is Dinner Club.
May's Dinner Club is heading back downtown â Lower Peninsula, 6:45 PM, May 6th.
Six people. Matched by vibe. Seated at one table. No awkward intros, no boring small talk â just real conversations with people you probably should have already met.
This is the thing you'll tell someone about the next morning.
Spots are limited. Matches are curated. The energy? Proven.
If you've been on the fence â this is the one.
Congrats to Darren B. of West Ashley who guessed correctly in last weekâs âWhere Are We?â I was at Gold Bug Island in Mount Pleasant, an event venue and also home to the East Cooper Outboard Motor Club.
WEATHER
Thursday 70° / 54° âď¸ đ§3%
Friday 73° / 55° âď¸ đ§7%
Saturday 77° / 58° â đ§19%
Sunday 77° / 63° âď¸ đ§6%
Every headline satisfies an opinion. Except ours.
Remember when the news was about what happened, not how to feel about it? 1440's Daily Digest is bringing that back. Every morning, they sift through 100+ sources to deliver a concise, unbiased briefing â no pundits, no paywalls, no politics. Just the facts, all in five minutes. For free.
RESTAURANTS
The Lick, a new restaurant in West Ashley
West Ashley just got a restaurant worth booking. The Lick brings leather banquettes, a raw bar, and USDA Prime steaks to South Windermere â from an owner who actually lives here. Not a trend play. Not peninsula overflow. A bet that West Ashley is done waiting its turn.
WHERE ARE WE?
Just reply to this email, or if youâre reading on our website, email me here. The first person to guess correctly will get a shout-out at the top of our issue next week!
TOGETHER WITH OPT ALTERNATIVES
You didn't get into this to stare at spreadsheets.
You started your nonprofit â or your small business â because something in Charleston needed to exist. A gap to fill. A community to serve. A thing worth building.
The financial side? That was supposed to be the easy part.
Kait and the team at Opt Alternatives specialize in taking that weight off your plate. Clean books. Real-time cash flow visibility. Financial systems that actually make sense for how Lowcountry organizations operate.
Less time buried in QuickBooks. More time doing the work that actually matters.
HAPPENINGS
Thursday
Sean Brock x Daniel Humm | 5 - 10 PM | The Charleston Place, Downtown | Two legends. One kitchen. One night. Sean Brock returns to Charleston for a collab dinner with Daniel Humm you won't see again.
Barks & Bingo to benefit Charleston Animal Society | 6 - 8 PM | Mt. Pleasant Towne Centre | Get ready for a night of bingo, delicious food & drinks, and barking good fun-all to benefit Charleston Animal Society!
Blackbird Swings: The BEATLES In Jazz | 7 - 9 PM | Queen Street Playhouse, Downtown | Your favorite Beatles songs reimagined through a jazz lens â horns, brushed drums, smoky stage vibes. The Fab Four, but make it swing.
Friday
Workshop // Bookbinding: Leather and Gold Tooling | 9:30 AM - 1 PM | Charleston Library Society, Downtown | Learn to hand-bind a book, wrap it in leather, and finish it with real gold foil. No experience needed.
Sushi 101 | 5:30 - 8:30 PM | Chef's Collective, West Ashley | Learn to roll maki, nigiri, and hand rolls from scratch â then eat everything you make.
Come From Away | 7:30 - 9:30 PM I Dock Street Theatre, Downtown | The Broadway musical about 7,000 stranded 9/11 passengers and the small Canadian town that took them all in. Funny, devastating, and life-affirming all at once.
Jo Koy: Just Being Koy Tour I 8 PM | North Charleston Coliseum & Performing Arts Center | Stand-up from one of the biggest names in comedy right now â expect high-energy storytelling and zero chill.
Saturday
Charleston Farmers Market 2026 | 8 AM - 2 PM | Marion Square, Downtown | Fresh produce, local vendors, and the best people-watching in the city. Saturday morning, downtown Charleston. Go early.
Charleston Cougars Baseball vs. North Carolina A & T I 2 PM | College of Charleston Baseball Stadium, Mount Pleasant I College baseball on a perfect April afternoon. Cold drink, warm weather, live ball. That's the whole pitch.
CofC Wind Ensemble: "Rhythm and Shape" Interactive Concert | 5 - 6 PM | Simons Center Recital Hall, Downtown | CofC's Wind Ensemble takes you on a Saturday afternoon musical tour â Cajun, Turkish, Latin, East Asian. Free, live, and unexpectedly fun.
Sunday
2nd Sunday on King Street | 12 - 5 PM I King Street, Downtown | King Street, closed to cars, open to everything else. Live music, local vendors, and the best people-watching in the city. Free, outside, and very Charleston.
Tour de Earth Day '26 | 1:30 - 5 PM | Rose Pavilion at Hampton Park, Downtown | A free slow-roll bike tour of the peninsula, stopping at urban farms, green spaces, and local environmental orgs. Decorate your bike. Kids ride free.
Bingo Social Club | 6 - 9 PM | Holy City Brewing, Park Circle | Not your grandma's bingo. Drinks, strangers, and a room full of people desperately hoping their number gets called. Sunday night just got a lot more fun.
One Thing Weâre Seeing
Real Estate Desk
Where Activity Is Hiding
The most serious buyers aren't making noise right now â they're just watching and waiting. Prepared. Patient. Ready to move fast when the right home shows up. Those are exactly the buyers you want on the other side of your deal.
â Jimmy, The Farrell Group
ICYMI
The Mex 1 crew is trading margaritas for a music-driven tavern â and kegged wine is somehow part of the pitch.
Charleston's most contested parking lot is about to become 500 affordable homes â and not everyone is happy about it.
The chef who launched Marbled & Fin just opened something very different on Meeting Street.
A coffee shop tucked just off King Street has a whole other personality once the sun goes down.
LIVE MUSIC
Friday
Big Shows
Juvenile with The 400 Degreez Band at Charleston Music Hall â a full live band behind one of the most iconic voices in 90s hip-hop. This is a real show.
Gov't Mule at The Refinery â Warren Haynes bringing the kind of heavy, blues-soaked rock that earns its reputation every single night.
Late Night
United We Dance at Music Farm â a full rave experience built around one specific era. If that's your thing, you already know.
Saturday
Big Shows
The Earth Wind & Fire Tribute Band at Charleston Music Hall â horns, harmonies, and a catalog that still holds. One of the stronger tribute acts moving through Charleston right now.
Jackie Venson at The Charleston Pour House â Austin guitar virtuoso and songwriter on the deck stage. She's the real deal.
Something Different
Echoes of Ella with Alva Anderson at Forte Jazz Lounge â two sets, one of the greatest catalogs in jazz history, intimate room. Hard to pass up.
Sunday
Afternoon
New Ghost Town at Prohibition â bluegrass brunch, free with dining, zero-pressure call.
Motown Throwdown at The Charleston Pour House â soul music on the deck alongside the Farmers Market. About as good as a Sunday afternoon gets.
Evening
Extra Chill Presents: Girls to the Front at The Charleston Pour House â a curated showcase headlined by Maraluso and friends. Worth staying out for.
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