Savannah Vacation News

Savannah Getaways has your Culinary Arts itinerary covered - savor the flavor in your own upscale getaway home

Savannah Getaways is pleased to announce private chef services inside your own upscale Savannah Historic District Town Home with your own personal chef, cooking star Sallie Ann Robinson. Sallie Ann is an accomplished chef specializing in the very best Lowcountry fare to be found in the Gullah tradition that she was raised on. Our Savannah based celebrity chef, television personality, and cookbook author Ms. Robinson is a sixth-generation native of Daufuskie Island, South Carolina. She is renowned for her culinary expertise, entertaining presentations, and knowledge of southeastern United States Gullah culture.

Robinson has maintained a notable presence on national television and in popular magazines for more than a decade. Her television appearances have been many and include the December 2008 pilot for Georgia Public Broadcasting’s Dixie Divas in the Kitchen. She has also made guest appearances on such noted programs as The QVC Show, The 700 Club, CN8’s Your Morning Show, and The Food Network.

In addition to her high visibility as a recognized television personality, Robinson has been a frequent favorite subject of magazine and newspaper journalists. Some have profiled her as an author while others have focused on her ongoing efforts to preserve the legacy of Gullah culture. Ironically, Robinson first attained national prominence as a character named Ethel, one of only fourteen students that studied under Conroy on that well documented year portrayed in famed author Pat Conroy’s novel, The Water Is Wide. Since its publication in 1972, the novel has inspired stage adaptations as well as two major movie productions, all of them helping to introduce the world to Robinson via her fictional alter ego.

To customize your own in house cooking experience, be it an exquisitely catered meal or your very own personal chef school, call our reservation desk or contact Sallie Ann Robinson directly and we will hook you up with Ms. Robinson herself. Come to Savannah and take the Foody Tour with Hollywood Ron and return home later that night for very own taste of the south experience prepared by Ms. Robinson in Keeping with that whole Southern Culinary Arts Thingy!

Friends of the Gullah Geechee Heritage – Resident Daufuskie Blacksmith Chase Allen

Accomplished artist, Chase Allen has lived in the historic district of Daufuskie Island for the past eight years where he has managed to make a living doing what he loves best in an environment that he has no intention of leaving any time soon. Chase shares this common bond with the folks that resettled this island many generations ago post indigenous Amerindian removal, the Gullah/Geechee People who's own arrival generations ago from West Africa is another American saga within a saga itself. Their mutually connected story is an inspirational one to the rest of us mainlanders that can only dream of living the good life afforded on this sea island paradise by those visionary enough to make that lifestyle happen where economic opportunities are few and far between the residents.

“I am a blacksmith/metal artist who has found a niche in the world of art buyers who collect and decorate with vintage decor. I specialize in forging limited numbers of fish, mermaid, and crab wall hanging sculptures out of sheets of steel.” I have developed a finishing process which on completion makes newly created works of art appear to be weathered. “What is left are vintage finished sculptures that look as if they had been found on the beach or on the side of an old barn.”

"My gallery/studio is on an island named Daufuskie which is between but can only be reached by boat. My website has served me well over the past four years, thanks to the guidance of Mark O’Brien, President and Owner of Newfangled Web Factory. This collaboration has helped connect me to customers and collectors from approximately 8 different countries and nearly 50 states. “Again, let me re-state that I live on Daufuskie, population 235!”

Ever evolving Daufuskie Island is about the writers, artists, lovers of God’s Green Earth and Blue Waters, savvy tour guides to points of interest off the beaten path, the historic district, and above all else one of the island homes of the Gullah/Geechee people in the lowcountry. The restricted resort areas are located elsewhere on the island. Parts of the above edited blog have been provided courtesy of Chase Allen originally posted on his Iron Fish Art website.

Eco-Friendly BLUE Ocean Film Festival plans June Debut in the Disrict

Breaking News regarding the Savannah College of Art and Design sponsored BLUE Ocean Film Festival that came across our radar this morning for the first time. As we were arranging lodging for some of the film makers to be in attendance at our private housing, we were told just enough to pique our interest for this four day event. This important festival is predictably in the Savannah tradition of multiple “value added” film viewings in Savannah’s Historic District.  As usual it promises to be an event the savvy traveler will not wish to miss. Slated to start mid week of June 10th, it will run right through the weekend. Check out the press release below for details:

March 27, 2009 (Savannah, Georgia) —BLUE, a global film and conservation event, will launch its first Industry Film Festival June 11-14, 2009 in Savannah. The purpose of the event is to honor, promote and share films that inspire people to protect our oceans and the life within. BLUE will provide an intimate venue where ocean filmmakers can interact with leaders in the oceans conservation, broadcasting and research fields, lending support to the filmmakers, who provide a critical role in educating and empowering the public. All film offerings to be judged will be shown at two separate SCAD Theaters, Trustees Theater and The Lucas.

During BLUE Ocean Film Festival we will film our own documentary—speaking with leading filmmakers, researchers and other industry partners about their personal insights, concerns, hopes and fears regarding the state of our oceans. This “State of Our Oceans” documentary will provide a traveling communication that will help put key issues into perspective and will offer real, individual solutions. Clips from the documentary will be posted online as well.

One of the fondest hope's is that one of the main component of BLUE Ocean Film Festival's outreach will be a traveling film festival that will take a selection of award winners to targeted locations where films can create awareness and impact the local community.

As usual we have your lodging options covered at Savannah Getaways if you plan to be in attendance at this uplifting event.

The Water out to Daufuskie Island isn’t that wide

With apologies to a youthful long ago Daufuskie Denizen, Pat Conroy who wrote his break out book “The Water is Wide” about his year on Daufuskie, the Ferry Boat Ride out to our sea island paradise is less than an hour away from all embarkation points. Our modern day author in residence, Roger Pinckney, explains why it is you would want to spend some time in Daufuskie’s Historic District in today’s blog.

"Visit mysterious, beautiful and historic Daufuskie Island, a hour by boat from the nearest traffic light, a world away from everything you ever thought was real."

Take the insider's tour with Roger Pinckney, celebrated author, environmentalist and gifted storyteller. Visit historic sites, hear tales of Indians, wars, hurricanes, romance and island voodoo. Learn about efforts to preserve this very special place, visit galleries run by local artisans.

Roger's tours are limited to 15 persons Tuesday-Thursday weekly. If you are traveling with a group of 20 or more, or wish a tour on another day, contact Calibogue Cruises to make arrangements. Self-guided golf cart tours are also available daily. Reservations required.

Leave Broad Creek Marina on Hilton Head Island aboard a comfortable Coast Guard certified passenger ferry. Enjoy stunning views of river and marsh, watch Atlantic bottlenosed dolphin at play. Arrive at Freeport Marina on Daufuskie, enjoy an authentic Gullah buffet at the Old Daufuskie Crab Company, where African recipes have been passed down the generations since slave times. After a three hour tour, return to Freeport where Roger will be happy to sign copies of his many books. You'll still have time for cocktails, beer or wine before boarding your ferry back to civilization....if you really want to leave.

If you wish to tarry with us awhile, overnight accommodations are available in a number of comfortable river front cabins. Many visitors leave saying Roger Pinckney's Daufuskie Tour was the highlight of their vacation.

Support Live Music – Savannah Free Style Performing Arts

Savannah’s many indoor and outdoor venues have been supplying the very best live music to be found, whatever your listening pleasure. Be it a ten - fourteen day long Savannah Music Festival indoors and outdoors, two different seasonal jazz festivals, historic district street musicians, club band, concert, or show band, you can find it in Savannah. The Performing Arts are a live, well, and flourishing in coastal Georgia’s favorite travel destination. Find out what six million Americans are raving about every travel season, Mr. & Mrs. Music Lover.

Folk Music every first Friday of the month, virtually every weekend features a band in City Market, and the list goes on and on folks. From Rap to Rockabilly, Blues to Blue Grass, from Hank to Hendrix …. You get the picture. Savannah’s Landmark Historic District or the music venues out on Tybee Island has your very favorite kind of ear candy you can be sure. Just schedule your getaway trip to Georgia’s First City around the night scene. You will be rewarded for coming to Savannah and partying like a local.

Mother’s Day Weekend Eco-Tourism Paddle in the Lowcountry

Our Eco-Tourism associates at Wilderness Southeast are sponsoring a nature filled Mother’s Day down river canoe trip on Ebenezer Creek. Enjoy your day paddling past 1000 year old Cypress and Tupelo that abound on this thirteen mile tributary of the Savannah River.

As one eco-tourism writer Kelli Nottingham reports, this National Natural Landmark River has become one of her “favorite kayaking spots.” Read Kelli’s whole article on the Savannah’s Best website and view the impressive photographs along this important river just half an hour out of Savannah's historic district:

“Ebenezer Creek, a tributary to the Savannah River, is made up of 13 miles of enchanting forests, murky water, and mysterious wildlife. This winding creek possesses an impressive resume. It is one of only four waterways designated as a Georgia Scenic River, and is also named a National Natural Landmark. The best way to view the majestic cypress forests is by water, preferably by canoe or kayak. While some small fishing boats run on Ebenezer Creek, it is by paddling that one can appreciate the music of the forest and the peace of the water. Listen carefully for wild fowl, watch for turtles sunning themselves on exposed rock, and enjoy the sights of fish leaping for insects on the top of the water. Even alligators, while elusive, occasionally make an appearance.”

Read enough?  So make your plans with the guide to participate on this Mother’s Day Weekend Adventure Excursion up this tributary to Old Man River Savannah. Wilderness Southeast will hook you up on a guided tour for just $40 per person from 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM on Saturday May 9, 2009.