Don't Miss the Cabaret on March 5th at the Black Creek Arts Center

On Saturday, March 5^th at the Black Creek Arts Center in downtown Hartsville, life truly will be a cabaret. Black Creek Arts Council will be hosting its 3^rd Annual Cabaret that evening, beginning at 8:00.

Several performing artists will be featured, including the Black Creek’s Leading Lady, Tracy Price, and Mr. Magic Fingers, Al Haynes. Together, Haynes and Price make up After Dark, a jazz group that has taken the Pee Dee by storm.

Among the other talent performing will be the Dixie Swim Club, Jim Money, Andy Locklear and Cal Wheeler. The evening will be filled with comedy, performances, singing and all the things that make a cabaret great.

There will also be stand-up comedy, dramatizations and special guests.

Saffron Catering will be providing the refreshments for the evening. To get your tickets, call 843.332.6234 now. Seating is limited, so act quickly or you’ll miss the Cabaret. And remember….

….Life is a Cabaret, Old Chum.

BCAC Home Page

Event Recap: The Darlington County Arts Awards 2011

Black Creek Arts Council recently hosted the first Darlington County Arts Awards. The Black Creek Arts Center in Hartsville was the site for the awards ceremony. Several people, including artists, educators, business people and community leaders, won a variety awards.

“This was a great night for the Arts in Darlington County,” said Tracy Price, a board member of BCAC. “Our community deserved to be showcased in this capacity. We have so many people, not just artists, who contribute to our thriving arts community. I feel honored to have been a part of this event.”

The first award handed out was the Frankie Bush Award for Leadership. Bush’s dedication to the Arts in our community directly resulted in the renovation of the Black Creek Arts Center, among many other things. The appropriately named award went to Judi Elvington. Elvington served as director of the Hartsville Downtown Development Association for 19 years and helped bring Jazz! Carolina and Renofest to the Hartsville Arts festival scene.

Jessie Smith of the Midnight Rooster took home the Rolfe Godshalk Arts in Business Award. Smith’s business hosts rotating visual arts exhibits, as well as being the site for jazz shows and other concerts.

The Patz Fowle Arts in Education Award was presented to Sissy Carroll. Carroll is the art teacher at both Cain and Brunson-Dargan Elementary Schools in Darlington. Carroll has been an educator in Darlington County for over a decade.

The McCall-Wiggins Award is for an individual who demonstrates an extraordinary level of support for the arts agencies in the community. For the award, support can be interpreted as volunteering, financial contributions and/or attendance at events. Named for Reaves McCall and Betty Wiggins, this award was presented to Clayton Richardson.

Hartsville High School graduate and current Coker College student Dustin Moree was named Darlington County’s Rising Young Artist. Moree has been involved with the Hartsville Community Players and was one of the central performers in ROTFL, an improv night held at the Black Creek Arts Center.

The awards for Visual and Performing Artists of the Year went to Mary Ellen Johnson and Al Haynes, respectively. Over the past year, Johnson has been shown in the OK Harris Gallery in New York and in the Watts Gallery of Indianapolis.

Haynes’ unmistakable jazz music has become a fixture at Saffron, a restaurant in Hartsville, as well as Florence’s Fountainhead. Haynes has also been an integral part of Black Creek Arts Council’s first two Cabarets. He is in the line-up for the third, which will be held on March 5th.

The Joan Coker Award was presented to Judy Haenni for her guidance and leadership as the President of Black Creek Arts Council from 2005-10. Haenni spearheaded many events and programs for BCAC, including the premier BBQ event in the Pee Dee, Black Creek, Blue Jeans & BBQ.

Anna Hill won the Willard Jacobs Award for Volunteerism. Hill, who is active in the Hartsville Civic Chorale, led the All-County Choir for over a decade and has directed Hartsville Presbyterian Church’s Christmas Play over 25 years.

At the end of the night, another honor was given out. The pottery studio at the Black Creek Arts Center was renamed the Willard Jacobs Pottery Studio. Jacobs was a leader with Kalmia Arts and the Hartsville Arts Council, the predecessors of Black Creek Arts Council. Jacobs, of Lydia, is also a very accomplished artist and art collector. Pieces of his work were displayed during the event.

“We’re calling this one the first annual, so look for it again next year,” said BCAC President Carolyn Atkinson.

Next up at the Black Creek Arts Center is the opening reception of the Pate Family Show on March 3rd at 5:30. The Cabaret will be held on Saturday, March 5th. Call 843.332.6234 or visit www.blackcreekarts.org for more information.

Save the Date: April 29th & 30th

Black Creek, Blue Jeans & BBQ

The 3rd Annual Black Creek Blue Jeans & BBQ will be held April 29th and 30th in Downtown Hartsville. Mark your calendars now!

For more information, visit the official site of the festival:

Black Creek, Blue Jeans & BBQ Home Page

The cook teams will compete for ceramic trophies made by Darlington County artist Patz Fowle.

Sneak Peek of the New Mural at the Darlington Library

Don't miss the official unveiling on Valentine's Day 2011.

Above: Darlington County artist Patz Fowle is works on a mural inside the Darlington Library.

Click here for more info.

Fowle, Darlington Library to Unveil Mural on Valentine's Day

Above: Patz Fowle with art students during a summer art camp.

News from the Darlington Library

Join us at the Darlington Library on Monday, February 14th @ 6:00 pm for the unveiling of our children's area mural by visual artist Patz Fowle. Evolve Into Someone/Something EXTRAOrdinary Through Reading! is the theme of the mural. Following the program, there will be a reception in the meeting room.

The Darlington Library is located at 204 North Main St. in Darlington, SC.

The mural was made possible through Black Creek Arts Council's Subgranting Program.

Black Creek Arts Council's Subgranting Program is funded in part by the Sonoco Foundation, South Carolina Arts Commission, the John & Susan Bennett memorial Arts Fund of the Coastal Community Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

New Exhibits to Debut at the Black Creek Arts Center during the Darlington County Arts Awards

When Black Creek Arts Council hosts the Darlington County Arts Awards on February 24th, there will be more going on throughout the Arts Center than just an awards ceremony. Six new exhibits will be shown throughout the Arts Center. That's in addition to the work by four artists already on display.


On the first floor of the Arts Center, work by Coker College Art Professor Jim Boden and one of the evening's honorees and award namesake Willard Jacobs will be displayed.

The upstairs will feature work by Carolyn Swallow, Pat Saad, the Darlington County Photography Club and students from Coker College's Art Department.

The artists with work already on display are William Mize, Derrick Wilson, Nate Gulledge and Dr. Shawn Lay.

The Darlington County Arts Awards will begin at 5:30 with a reception in the Upstairs Gallery. At 6pm, the awards presentations will begin in the Jean & James Fort Gallery. Admission is free and the public is invited to attend.

For more information, call 843.332.6234 or join the event's Facebook Page.

The Black Creek Arts Center is located at 116 West College Avenue in Hartsville, SC.

BCAC Home Page

Don't Miss the Darlington County Arts Awards on February 24th

Click here for details.