Savannah Vacation News

The Savannah Black Heritage Festival

The 23rd Annual Savannah Black Heritage Festival kicks off its celebration on February 1, 2012, and will continue through Thursday, February 16th with a smorgasbord of festival events. Each year, the festival presents programs and activities in the performing and visual arts for every age and every interest in school settings and in the public domain. A strong commitment to family and fun are featured in Low Country Savannah in the traditional Black History celebratory month of February.

This year’s event is no different with a strong emphasis on Black cultural activities including dance, music, visual art exhibitions international and local in scope, culinary arts activities, crafts workshops and much, much more. Plan to be in attendance on the gala Grand Festival Day on February 11th in Savannah’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Center from morning on into the evening. The theme of this year’s festival is Journey’s, Passages, and Transitions.

Attend the 23rd Annual Savannah Black Heritage Festival and enjoy the rich cultural contribution of Black Americans in Coastal Georgia’s Destination Savannah. Plan your trip around the posted schedule and secure your free tickets online as some events require these seating arrangements. The Festival is sponsored by the City of Savannah and Savannah State University.

Celebrate Black History, Winter 2012

If researching your West African roots is your idea of time well spent on a getaway road trip worth taking, the lowcountry roads that run through coastal Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina may provide just the fact filled glimpse into daily life in Colonial era America that will set you free. The 30 mile wide swath of the Gullah Geechee Corridor that extends from Wilmington, North Carolina all the way down to St. Augustine, Florida is the ticket. Visiting historic districts like those found on Daufuskie Island or Sapelo Island's Hog Hammock in Low Country Georgia alone features a weekend to "live like a local" in a rich cultural environment of living the unpretentious good life among nature's bounty.

Look in on the official website that points the way to the black history lover along the Heritage Corridor below:

Due to their isolation during the 17th-19th centuries, the population, known as Gullah in the Carolina's and Geechee in the Georgia, and their descendents, were able to develop distinctive speech, styles of dress, and architecture, in addition to self-sufficient farming and fishing traditions that distinguished them from other groups in the region.

Visit Historic Savannah in both January or February to take part in the Martin Luther King, Jr. celebrations during Dr. King's birthday and his National Day of commeration. Weekend dates are filling up fast during both months, so don't delay if booking your Historic Savannah Black History vacation rentals during the Annual Savannah Black Heritage Festival is something you had in mind.

The 23rd Annual Savannah Black Heritage Festival kicks off its celebration on February 1, 2012, and will continue through Thursday, February 16th with some pre- and post-festival events. Each year, the festival presents programs and activities in the performing and visual arts for every age and every interest in school settings and in the public domain. Fun and family are emphasized through out the celebration.

Savannah’s Best Haunted Restaurant!

I had forgotten how elegant The Olde Pink House could be until we staged a weekend Family Reunion last month to Destination Savannah and the exquisite cuisine was clearly everybody’s favorite. While I have blogged about the Pink House as far back as five years ago, this article I just came across put the Olde Pink House thing on my radar again. The below was written by Historic Savannah Tybee Georgia on Facebook and is also shared in it’s entirety in our Savannah Vacation News channel:

A Colonial Ghost at The Olde Pink House

One of the few 18th century homes to survive the Great Fire of 1796, The Olde Pink House is perhaps Savannah’s most elegant restaurant. It is also her most haunted. The mansion was built in 1771 for James Habersham Jr., a successful rice planter and shipping baron. Unlike his father James Habersham Sr. who remained loyal to the British Crown, Junior used his wealth to help finance the War for Independence. In fact secret meetings of the Sons of Liberty were held in his home here on Reynolds Square to plot the arrest of the Royal Governor.

Habersham lent his elegant home to the colonial freedom fighters much the way he still lends it to visitors today…presiding proudly as its gracious host. Witnesses have reported seeing an elegant looking man dressed in colonial attire in the downstairs tavern. His appearance being so clear that they merely thought him to be a staff member dressed in costume. Upon leaving the restaurant they notice the painting hanging in the foyer to be the same gentleman they just saw strolling about the tavern. Perplexed, they inquire about the gentleman’s identity only to be advised that the man in the painting, James Habersham Jr., has been dead for two hundred years.

Why is the house pink you might ask? It’s because the original bricks beneath the plaster facade, intended to make the house look more elegant, have bled through over time. And though we’re not sure the gracious Mr. Habersham would approve of the whimsical color, we Savannahians believe she is quite pretty in pink.

Dueling You Tube Videos for 15 G’s

A recent video created for You Tube by the Savannah Convention and Visitor’s Bureau does an excellent job of capturing the essence of our Top Ten Vacation Destination, Savannah’s Landmark Historic District. Typical of the Hostess City, some of our locals have a tendency to throw stones at those that are paid to promote Destination Savannah as doubtless some if these videographers believe they could create a better online offering here in the Creative Coast. As the Savannah Morning News reports in the excerpt below, a lot of fun was had by the cast during the production.

General James Oglethorpe’s statue in Chippewa Square faces south in tribute to his prowess in defending the new colony of Georgia from the Spanish. On Wednesday, Oglethorpe took an extended break from guard duty, at least on YouTube. Visit Savannah brought the statue “to life” for its first promotional film developed exclusively for the video-sharing website. The clip portrays Oglethorpe coming down from his pedestal to lead a dancing Conga line of tourists and locals through the Historic District he designed.

More than 100 locals appear in the video, which was shot in one day earlier this year. “It’s very clever because some see history as boring, and Savannah is not boring. It’s a living history museum,” Wood said. “The video shows off how fun the town is without sacrificing our dignity. We’re not a theme park, and we don’t want to be. The video strikes a balance.”

But the locals didn’t think so much of the video and as a result, you too can receive a grand prize of $15,000 if your Destination Savannah Video does as well as the one paid for by the Savannah CVB based on a recent television news report.

Paula Deen’s Dinner Theatre?

Yo, Dinner Theatre enthusiasts, Listen Up! Savannah Vacation News announces an interesting new concept in Destination Travel Entertainment to the Low Country’s Favorite Landmark Historic District. Sorry Charleston with your The Holy City branding but this announcement would be for The Hostess City in coastal Georgia’s First City, Destination Historic Savannah.

Savannah’s Foody Diva, Paula Deen has combined with the ensemble cast at Hard Hearted Hannah’s Playhouse to deliver Paula's highly trafficked Lady & Son's venue where dinner guests can be forewarned about Savannah’s worst Tour Guide in their tongue in cheek, “There’s a Bomb on Trolley 409” play. While Savannah Getaways will readily admit some of our off Broadway creations will never make it to The Big Apple, would not be confused with some of our other Savannah Playbill Shows, we also recognize that here in the magnificent land of Magnolias, we southerner's wrote the book about marching to our own drummer as millions of annual visitors prove year after year by happily marching along with us as well.

So leave your sensibilities at the door, bring your plastic pink flamingo yard ornament inside with you while “styling” on your next downtown Savannah getaway down south. Snag your online reservation right’cheer despite the mixed reviews of famous Savannahian’s through the ages.

There's a Bomb On Trolley 409! from Thunderfuel on Vimeo.

A Taste of Lady Chablis?

Okay, I freely admit to posting controversial titles in this blog. And I promise I will do better in my next Savannah Vacation News post. But I simply couldn’t resist combining two events that fall on the same day later this week that the gourmet visitors among you may want to take in. That would be the 11th annual Taste of Savannah Foody event AND an encore performance at Club One of Midnight in the Garden of Good and evil star, Lady Chablis on Friday September 9th.

From 7:00 PM until 10:00 PM, sample the latest low country “coastal cuisine” purveyors of delicious delights at the Savannah International Trade and Convention Center on Hutchinson Island Georgia. Returning attendees know the drill, for just $60 per ticket per person, you can sample a wide variety of lowcountry comfort eating at this unique smorgasbord provided by Destination Savannah's best restaurateurs.

Don’t miss this always anticipated event for your sampling of outstanding cuisine from some of Savannah’s finest restaurants, Vic’s on the River, Rock’s on the Roof, Uncle Bubba’s Oyster House, and our renowned The Olde Pink House to name but a few of Savannah’s best eateries.

And after eating your fill, take a free ferry ride back across the Savannah River to River Street, walk a few blocks to Club One on Jefferson Street, and catch the outrageous Lady Chablis. Watch the Good Morning America Destination Savannah segment in the excerpted video below to get an idea of how it is that Savannah’s Blue Lady came to be courtesy of author John Berendt. Shows run at 8:00 PM and 10:30 PM on this command performance.

Destination Savannah Tourism Surging

Travel to Destination Savannah (that would be the Landmark Historic District for you rookie travelers who are prone to take the bait by reserving week end accommodations in the Victorian District or midtown Savannah) continues to grow from one year to the next. According to a recent article in the Savannah Morning News, Savannah CVB president Joseph Marinelli who represents Visit Savannah released information documenting that travelers come to the Landmark Historic District to, among other things, shop, to take in a foody friendly culinary weekend, and dive right in to our Low Country History.

With categories as diverse as antiquing, eating at Lady & Son’s, or taking in all the opportunities to learn about our black history heritage, Savannah continues to lead the way as a top ten tourist destination according to Conde Nast. Below are just a few of the excerpted reasons you may want to consider Savannah on your next getaway visit to low country coastal Georgia. Follow the clickable link to find the most budget friendly Savannah Vacation Rentals available with seven upscale categories featuring 72 inexpensive Savannah Weekend Rentals to choose from if shopping cheap room rates is important to your family travel plans.

A number of overnight visitors make last-minute decisions to come to Savannah, and one of their favorite activities is shopping. “We have a bit of a hidden gem here in terms of our shopping and antiquing and the impact of that on tourism,” said Joe Marinelli, president of Visit Savannah.

Numbers released Thursday indicate the number of visitors and the amount of money they spent in the Savannah area grew slightly in 2010 to 11.4 million visitors spending $1.7 billion. Another top reason for coming to Savannah would be Food. Thirty percent of the overnight visitors and 21 percent of day trippers said they came for fine dining. African-American overnight visitors made up 9 percent of the visitors in 2009 and 12 percent in 2010. Read the rest of the story here:

50 Lady & Son Vacation Rental homes to choose from

Listen up Paula Deen fans! Here is a geography lesson about where our Savannah First Lady’s famed restaurant can be found on our popular Savannah Getaways Historic Map and exactly where it is located in proximity to our many Paula Deen Vacation Rental options in Savannah’s Landmark Historic District.

Now that you have checked out our highly detailed “what to do map” of the 2.5 square mile “District” of downtown Savannah that is laid out in nine different quadrants above, keep in mind that Lady & Son’s Restaurant is located in map section 1.

Savannah Getaways is pleased to offer over 50 different "Paula Deen Vacation Rental homes" all within a 10 minute walk of Savannah’s most popular restaurant from historic district map section quadrants 1 – 6. Check it out to find where your southern fried Paula Deen Vacation Tour begins: To book your Paula Deen Tour with tour partner Old Savannah Tours while staying in your alternative Lady & Son vacation getaway to a Bed & Breakfast Suite, click here to find out more (make sure you reference Paula Deen Tour in the vacation rentals comments section).

 

Sea Island Lowcountry Tours, one up-load at a time

As many of our tech savvy customer base here at Savannah Getaways continue to educate us, your basic Smart Phone Ipod, Ipad, Droid or Blackberry is an affordable supplemental resource to your basic Guided Travel Tour here in the Lowcountry. This method of touring has become the alternative platform of choice for our guests along that proverbial road less traveled on their self guided travel tours in Destination Lowcountry.

What could be easier? Not only can you now hop on and off of an Old Savannah Tour Trolley on River Street
in historic Savannah, you can walk around free lancing before hopping back on the next trolley.  Discovering the Gullah tradition on St. Helena Island in Beaufort County or exploring old forts, or strolling
 through the French Quarter in Historic Charleston  becomes even better with both touring options. Just download a tour, and off you go at your own leisurely pace while your low country history lesson unfolds.

As City Trex founder and our Travel Pro partner Burton Sauls says on his award winning website:

"Skilled use of new media is affordable, effective, and rewarding, CityTrex has produced and distributed modern mobile media for museums, tourism, events, and resorts. We use the Internet as a mobile publishing platform and are among the best in the world” in providing this service to the traveling public.

Given City Trex's strategic mobile media coupled with Burton's native connection to a wide assortment of low country resources worth discovering at your leisure, Savannah Getaways enthusiastically recommends their “flagship products iTours” for an enhanced Savannah day trip experience. From covering book festivals, to spreading the tales of local islander Roger Pinckney on Radio Free Daufuskie, to sharing the compelling Gullah Geechee Sea Island history, City Trex enhances the format in a colorful  fashion.

Paula Deen on Ga. Travel Guide Cover

The Governor's office announced in late January that Food Network mega-star Paula Deen will be the official face of Destination Georgia this year by virtue of her visage along with her son's gracing the cover of the Georgia State Travel Guide.
Savannah native (born in Albany, Georgia but moved to Savannah in 1987) Deen has parlayed her distinct brand of down home southern cooking along with her "sassy Southern flare" into a Foody Empire based in Georgia's First City on the banks of the Savannah River, the Landmark Historic District.

The full-color travel guide is traditionally distributed and promoted by the Georgia Department of Economic Development to help promote tourism to the state of Georgia. Arguably there is no other Georgia family like Paula, along with her two sons, Jamie Deen and Bobby Deen who are better positioned to promote tourism to not only coastal Georgia but the entire state.

With over 750,000 copies of this full color guide printed each year, your free copy can be picked up any of the Visitor's Centers across the state of Georgia. When visiting Paula's crown jewel, Lady & Son's Restaurant on Congress Street just off Ellis Square, make it a point to find the right historic district lodging for your party. Booking most any of our "Paula Deen Vacation Rentals"
will not only save you money over costly hotels, inns or Bed and Breakfast suites as spoken of on Trip Advisor in a 4 and 5 star manner but we will have you just steps away from Paula’s famous restaurant.