Carol Antman — Charleston, 1979
For five decades, Spoleto Festival USA has brought artists and audiences together in Charleston for unforgettable performances, unexpected discoveries, and lifelong memories. As we get ready to celebrate the Festival’s 50th Anniversary in 2027, we’re inviting our community to help tell the story of those first 50 years — and the stories are already finding their way to us.
This is one of them.
My life changed in 1979 as I stood on the empty lot that would become Charleston Place Hotel and hollered over my shoulder, “OK parade, follow me!” A cheer went up and hundreds of colorful characters snaked behind me down King Street. I actually don’t know how it happened. Seems like divine providence because I wasn’t even part of the arts community in those days. I was an elementary school teacher. Most likely I was not the first person that the Office of Cultural Affairs had asked to organize the Spoleto parade, just the first one that said yes. I recruited my eccentric friend Jules Garvin who lived in a jam-packed costume shop on the corner of King and Calhoun Streets. Volunteers raided his racks and became an instant circus troupe; art teachers made two-story tall puppets and a high school band showed up. The jolt of excitement I felt when the parade started marching super changed me into the rest of my creative life.
–Carol Antman