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.

The Hostess City delivers Getty Up for Savannah Getaways

Savannah is a perennial favorite destination of all the savvy travel publications. U. S. News reports in their Travel Section references that the Hostess City is one of the best 11 Destinations for Relaxing Getaways and one of the Top Dozen Fall Getaway Locations in the United States. Today, we will let other experts gush about Historic Savannah for a change in the below excerpted article. We can’t all "Live like a Local" in Georgia's First City, after all.

Savannah offers attractions that will interest history and architecture buffs as well as those who just want to spend time outside and enjoy the pleasant views of nature. Renting or bringing a car could be helpful to explore the surrounding areas, but you'll only need your two feet to get around the Historic District.

Much of Savannah’s charm lies in meandering through the Historic District’s verdant squares -- all 23 of them. Along the way, you’ll happen on numerous historic homes like the Mercer Williams House, popularized by Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. There’s the famous Colonial Park Cemetery for a Spanish moss-canopied stroll, and there’s the City Market, which is an ideal place to pick up a few souvenirs. You can also take a quick car ride over to the beach at Tybee Island.

Savannah's Historic District is what keeps the city a tourist mainstay. Well-preserved antebellum architecture lines the streets, and recent visitors recommend the various walking tours. Individual tours are also available for some of the more prominent properties, like the Juliette Gordon Low House, preserved in honor of the Girl Scouts' founder. A centennial celebration will take place in all of 2012.

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.

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:

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.

Get you Mojo on at the month long MOJA Festival

Today’s MOJA Festival report courtesy of our  Carolina Lowcountry guest blogger based in The Holy City.

Charleston myths, architectural structure and color, art and music are heavily influenced by the Caribbean culture first introduced to the area hundreds of years ago. These traditions have continued to show their presence over the centuries and are recognized annually at the MOJA Festival. The Swahili term ‘moja’ means ‘one’. Moja is the perfect description for this event, which recognizes the many contributions of African-American and Caribbean culture in the Lowcountry. It’s one event that encompasses the visual arts, music, dance, poetry, narratives, theatre, food and crafts that these cultures have influenced. 

The 2010 MOJA Festival is celebrating 27 years of tradition, and the events schedule is packed with education and exciting events. The Southeast Tourism Society has recognized the festival as one of the top 20 events to attend for the past several years. It will run from Thursday, September 23 to Sunday, October 23. Events are sponsored by the City of Charleston Cultural Affairs Office and will be held at various locations in the downtown area.

While some may see the festival as solely for entertainment,
the sponsoring committee is using it as an opportunity to educate participants about the cultures and to promote harmony amongst all cultures. Workshops will be held in public school and through senior outreach programs to educate.

Over half of the events will be free of charge, and the remaining at reasonable costs for any attendee (ranging from $5-$35). Some of the festival’s highlights include an art exhibition and reception, a theatre performance of “Blues for an Alabama Sky”, art and poetry exhibit “I-8-Tee,”
sweetgrass basket competition and exhibit, Caribbean Street Parade, Reggae block dance, Heritage Day, jazz artist Jonathan Butler and many more.

Fall Into some Historic District Architecture next Weekend

Savannah’s annual Fall Tour of Homes and Gardens is upon us this coming weekend. Lovers of Savannah’s architectural delights get the opportunity to tour private homes and gardens in the landmark historic district. Each day of the tour a new neighborhood is featured for three hours, during which visitors enjoy self-guided tours in any order of their choosing at a comfortable individual pace. For 70+ years, this tradition is one of Savannah's most popular annual architectural events. The Savannah Tour of Homes and Gardens is a partnership of the Women of Christ Church and the Historic Savannah Foundation. 

Both Concerns have an excellent reputation as well as an impressive history that belie the good Savannah hosts they have become. Christ Church was founded in 1733 by Savannah’s founder, General James Oglethorpe. For more than 275 years, Christ Church has conducted worship services at its historic site on Johnson Square. The first Church sponsored Tour of Homes and Gardens was held in 1935. During the bicentennial, The Historic Savannah Foundation joined Christ Church as an equal partner in presenting these popular tours. 

Since its founding, The Historic Savannah Foundation formed in 1950’s has proven itself to be an organization has overseen the restoration of more than 1,200 buildings. There is a reason their efforts are recognized internationally. There are still available tickets for the 2009 October Tour of Homes. Book your last minute reservation today!

Savannah Vacation News – All the Savannah Tour of Homes News that is fit to print!

Psst, Need a Girl Friend Getaway? Savannah is the Place

For the past decade, Savannah Getaways has been providing upscale private Townhouses large enough to host any size gathering in the midst of a popular top 10 Tourist Destination in a variety of categories. Whether you are coming for a Girl Friend Getaway (we cut our teeth on these upbeat gatherings many years ago), a unique destination wedding experience of any size, a business retreat, a family reunion, or Girl Scout "camp out/sleep over townhouse" for your troop's pilgrimage to the Juliette Gordon Low Home, Savannah Getaways has your back.

Low Country Savannah is a city with a unique variety of museums, from a couple of highly recognized art museums, one of Georgia's oldest history museum's or even a popular eco-tourism all natural environment "museum" out on Oatland Island that is second to none. And if music is what you and your buds are after, The Historic District has that in spades with anything from outdoor concerts in Forsyth Park (don't forget the Jazz Festival at the end of this month) to your favorite ear candy in City Market and River Street as well as some of the hippest night clubs and assorted venues you are likely to find in such a concentrated 2.5 square mile district.

And what better way for your group to relax after a busy day of sightseeing than in Savannah's # 1 rated Vacation Rental Condominium, Townhouse, Mansion, or urban loft than Savannah Getaways as documented on Flip Key? So lets review, expansive upscale private homes, beautiful eclectic décor, off street parking (in many of these historic homes) along with courtyard for early breakfast chit chat over coffee (case by case basis) and all conveniently situated smack dab in the middle of all the attractions the Historic District has to offer. Oh did we mention that we have a Theatre District? Ladies start your engines, coastal Savannah will prove to be the place that you return to year after year with your future Girl Friend's Weekend Getaway.

Savannah Getaways - All the Girl Friend Getaway News that's fit to Print

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.