The Beaufort-based Luxe Lowcountry Travel is hosting its inaugural Lowcountry Literary and Leisure Getaway on March 9-13, as an opportunity for dozens of literary pilgrims to experience Pat Conroy’s beloved lowcountry through an inviting and immersive itinerary of special events and tours. Three of those special events will also be open to the public, presented as fundraisers for the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center.
Learn more and register to attend at https://luxelowcountrytravelconroycenterfundraiser.eventbrite.com.
Luxe Lowcountry Travel owner and virtual book club host Susie L. McMahon
envisioned the getaway weekend and its corresponding public events as a love letter to the literary lowcountry: “The Lowcountry Literary and Leisure Getaway is a passion project for me combining my love of reading and slow travel. Highlighting the writing of Pat Conroy along with authors featured as part of the Susie L. McMahon Virtual Book Club is the focus. And having the gem of Beaufort’s literary life, the Pat Conroy Literary Center, as the beneficiary of this inaugural venture is at the forefront of this homage and a way of giving back to the Center for all it does in support of readers and writers from near and far alike.”
SCHEDULE OF PUBLIC SPECIAL EVENTS
Wednesday, March 9, 5:00-7:00 p.m.
Meet & Greet Authors Reception, Sponsored by Luxe Lowcountry Travel
Beaufort Inn’s Craven Courtyard, 809 Port Republic St., $45/person
Beaufort Inn Craven Courtyard
(Reserve the March 9 Author Meet & Greet and the March 12 Lowcountry Boil for $90/person)
Includes appetizers, beer and wine, and the opportunity to meet nine authors representing an inviting mix of genres. Books will be available for sale and signing. Scheduled to appear: Cassandra King Conroy, Tell Me a Story: My Life with Pat Conroy; Donna Keel Armer, Solo in Salento; Rebecca Dwight Bruff, Trouble the Water; Estelle Ford-Williamson, Rising Fawn; Sally Handley, Second Bloom; David James Poissant, Lake Life; Dana Ridenour, Behind the Mask; Melissa St. Clair, Home Work; and Susan Beckham Zurenda, Bells for Eli.
Saturday, March 12, 2:00-3:30 p.m.
Friends of Pat Conroy Panel Discussion, Sponsored by the Beaufort Inn
Beaufort Inn’s Old Bay Marketplace Loft, 917 Bay St., second floor, FREE
Free and open to the public, this panel discussion will feature a lively exchange of stories shared by Pat Conroy’s widow and fellow author Cassandra King Conroy, his literary agent Marly Rusoff, his Citadel classmates Scott Graber and John Warley, and his Beaufort High School student Valerie Sayers. Light refreshments will be provided by Mary Martha Green, author of The Cheese Biscuit Queen Tells All. The conversation will be moderated by Donna Keel Armer, author of Solo in Salento. Books by Pat Conroy and the presenting authors will be available for sale and signing. Books sales and donations help support the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center.
Saturday, March 12, 6:00-8:00 p.m.
Lowcountry Boil Dinner, with a special presentation by the Conroy Center’s executive director Jonathan Haupt and Beaufort High School interns
Celadon Clubhouse
Celadon Clubhouse, 61 Celadon Drive, Beaufort, $55/person
Catering by Sea Eagle Market, includes sides, dessert, tea, and water
(Reserve the March 9 Author Meet & Greet and the March 12 Lowcountry Boil for $90/person)
“The great teachers of the world fill you up with hope and shower you with a thousand reasons to embrace all aspects of life.”—Pat Conroy, My Losing Season
Empowering themes of education permeate the beloved books of southern storyteller Pat Conroy (1945-2016), best remembered as the author of The Water Is Wide, The Great Santini, and The Prince of Tides. Jonathan Haupt’s discussion explores Conroy’s transformational years as a student at Beaufort High School and later as a teacher at BHS and on Daufuskie Island, as Conroy found the mentors and students who changed the course of his life. Included are both published and unpublished excerpts by and about Conroy. Presented with the assistance of the Conroy Center’s Beaufort High School student interns, this program also includes an overview of the ongoing work of the nonprofit Conroy Center in honoring and continuing Conroy’s legacy as an educator.
Lowcountry Literary and Leisure Getaway authors will also be on hand at the Lowcountry Boil with books available for sale and signing.
To learn more about the year-round educational mission of the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center, visit the Center in person at 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort (Thursday through Sunday, noon to 4:00 p.m.) or online at www.patconroyliterarycenter.org. And to learn more about Luxe Lowcountry Travel, please visit https://luxelowcountrytravel.com.
