The dog days of summer are here. The Upstate has served up really steamy days lately and walking into a cool, comfortable home after time spent outdoors is always a welcome relief. Preferred Home Services keeps your air conditioning running smoothly when it is needed most.
No matter how many trips to the pool or mad dashes to the neighborhood ice cream truck a family makes, few things replace the special burst of relief that comes from a well-air-conditioned home during a swampy South Carolina summer. A/C units are the real heroes of summer!
If you are looking for something fun to do this week with the kids, check out the production of October’s Quest at South Carolina Children’s Theatre. The outdoor production is organized with both health and safety precautions and wiggly young children in mind. Kidding Around’s India brought her family to check out the show. Here’s her review and information on how you can get tickets for this fun family event complete with a candy sweet treat perfect for Halloween week.
Did you know you can run a virtual race in the Greenville area? If you’re feeling a little cooped up or have some energy to burn, consider doing a virtual race! Whether you run, walk, or stroll, it’s a good way for you or your kids to try something new, move your body, and, in some cases, support a good cause!
If you’re wondering about non-virtual races in the Upstate that are good for families, most have been cancelled or postponed. But, you can check out our recommendations for family-friendly races in the Greenville area and plan for next year!
Tired of cooking? Greenville is home to more than a thousand restaurants. There is something for everyone and, despite the challenges our communities have faced lately, the restaurant industry is adapting remarkably. In an attempt to keep up with some of the changes to where and how we “dine out,” we asked Kidding Around Greenville readers to recommend their favorite restaurants for delivery or curbside pick-up, and they delivered!
If you need an escape, SCCT’s performance of Amazing
Grace will take you away! Amazing Grace will make you chuckle while
reminding you of the comforts of family and the power of imaginative
storytelling. Adapted from the 1991 book by British author Mary Hoffman, Amazing
Grace highlights themes that are just as relevant now as they were almost
three decades ago. Whimsical storytelling along with some toe-tapping calypso
music will keep everyone in your family engaged in this rich tale.
Special thanks are extended to SCCT for providing two tickets so we could review the show for readers.
About Amazing Grace
Amazing Grace is the first in a series of books about
Grace, her ma and her nana. Grace is “a girl who loved stories.” Books. Movies.
Or stories from her vivacious Trinidadian nana. All of these are fodder for
Grace–and her love of acting. In Amazing Grace, Grace takes on Joan of
Arc, Anansi the Spider, the Trojan Horse, Hiawatha, and Mowgli from the Jungle
Book, to name a few.
When Grace’s teacher announces that the class will perform Peter
Pan, Grace sets her sites on playing the lead role. However, classmates
tell her that she can’t be Peter Pan. She’s a girl. And she’s black. However,
her family inspires and supports her: “You can be anything you want, Grace, if
you put your mind to it.” Grace wows her classmates at auditions and expertly
handles the role of Peter Pan.
This book was forward-thinking for the time in which it was
published. By all accounts, Hoffman saw a need for more diversity in children’s
literature and intentionally crafted a black female child as a heroine. Hoffman
went on to author six more books about Grace.
SCCT Gives Amazing Grace’s Stories Life
What this performance does that the book can not do is allow
Grace and Nana’s storytelling abilities to shine! Nana’s rhythmic
clap-clap-clapping draws in the audience’s attention and her vivacious
character keeps you hanging on to tidbits from The Jungle Book, the West
African folktale Anansi the Spider, and Joan of Arc, to name a few. Grace
expertly acts out her Nana’s tales with the whimsy that only a child can
possess, using common household items as props and costumes.
The depiction of stories within the Amazing Grace
story serves a purpose. When Grace and her “army” of friends take on the
special mission of going to the market for a loaf of bread and facing the
grumpy shopkeeper, Grace reminds us that “You don’t win a war with guns.”
Rather, Grace’s secret weapon is a special combo of imagination, storytelling,
and spunky charm. Grace and her army are victorious, returning home unscathed
and with a loaf of bread. Stories and imagination can make something mundane
(or even scary) fun and joyous.
My five-year old son, who was sluggish due to a sleepover
the night prior, found the calypso music upbeat. The steel drums had him
bopping in his seat. I also caught him chuckling at the one-liners (“I’m making
a pepper pot. It’s going to be hot, hot, hot!”). We’re still chuckling about the
scene when Grace and her army of friends hide under a blanket to disguise
themselves as a horse: someone gives away their hiding spot by proclaiming “I
have to go to the bathroom!”
After a few stressful days spent with worrisome and
relentless news headlines, I needed an escape and Amazing Grace provided
just that. Fabulous storytelling, upbeat calypso music, and—one of my
favorites—a captivating dance solo by the character of Rosalie were just what I
needed. I also really enjoyed the playful kitchen scene between the three
generations of Grace’s family. It reminded me of time spent with my own mother
and grandmother when I was Grace’s age. All in all, this performance is
heartwarming and uplifting.
Who is Amazing Grace for?
Amazing Grace, with a run time of about 45 minutes,
moves quickly and captures a lot in that short period. The play’s music and
dance scene will keep younger audience members engaged. The whimsical
storytelling and themes of Amazing Grace will surely resonate with older
kids and adults, as well.
Want to Go?
Amazing Grace is staged at the Kroc Center. The remaining performances of this production have been cancelled.
Tickets are priced at $10.50 each and are general admission.
You can purchase tickets
on-line through 5 pm the Friday prior to the performance or they may
be purchased at the door.
