Tag Archive

Podcast Uprising! HubCast Pops Onto The Spartanburg Scene

By Steve Shanafelt

Local blogger and occasional Spark contributor David Smith recently decided to start a new online media project, tentatively titled HubCast. Smith has been talking about the idea of putting together a local podcast for at least several months, and it’s fantastic to see him finally start the ball rolling on it without having to... »

Sparkle City Headlines: City Council Weighs Bookstore-Cafe Grant

By Steve Shanafelt

Back in January, HubCulture (the parent organization of the Hub City Writers Project and the HUB-BUB) announced it would be opening a new downtown bookstore in the ground floor of the Masonic Temple on Morgan Square. Since that initial announcement, progress on the site has clipped along, and the current plan now includes an... »

HUB-BUB’s Refshauge Wins National Arts Leadership Award

By Steve Shanafelt

While many people in the Spartanburg area are at least aware of the HUB-BUB as local arts organization, relatively few people seem to realize just how rare and unique the project and its goals actually are. Not only is the HUB-BUB a rare thing for Spartanburg — or even South Carolina — it’s actually... »

Listening Party: More Local Music Videos, You Say?

By Steve Shanafelt

In sticking with the Spark’s recent appeal for more people to participate in local video-making and video blogging, this week we’re highlighting a few local musicians who have already made the leap to video. If you think about it for a moment, online videos are actually a big leap forward for local talent in... »

Weekend Whatnot

By Steve Shanafelt

It’s Thursday! And, as we all know, Thursday is the day when most of us stop dreading the rest of the work week and start looking forward to the weekend. Given that weekends are generally a good thing — at least for those of us not in the hospitality industry — it’s about time... »

New Year, New Logo

By Steve Shanafelt

As many of you will have noticed, SpartanburgSpark.com has a spiffy new logo created by local artist/designer/mastermind Stephen Long. What’s awesome about this is that he decided to create this entirely on his own initiative, just because he thought it would be a good addition to the site. And boy, was he right. This is... »

Sparkle City Headlines: SH-J Gets Optimistic About Downtown

By Steve Shanafelt

When the Spartanburg Herald-Journal published their story on the “new vibrancy” of downtown yesterday, my interest was definitely piqued. Downtown’s revitalization is a major topic here on the Spark, but the main reason I was interested in reading the story had to do with who the local newspaper felt was deserving of the credit... »

Listening Party: Regional Holiday Music Bonanza

By Steve Shanafelt

Rules are made to be broken, particularly when it comes to the holidays. Sure, you know that everyone agreed to cap off their gifts at $20 this year because of the economy, but — gosh darn it — your mom would really like that MacGyver box set on DVD, and it’s only $35 bucks,... »

It Came Upon A Weekend Clear

By Steve Shanafelt

It’s Thursday. It’s also the very last weekend before Christmas, meaning that most of you already have your preferred weekend plans trumped by the more urgent need to prepare for the pressure cooker of family togetherness that happens on these final December days. And, if you’re like me, you’ll probably want a place to... »

Listening Party: Favorite Local Music Moment Of 2009

By Steve Shanafelt

Each week on Listening Party, I find some element of Spartanburg’s musical culture to explore. Usually, this takes the form of music reviews focusing on the work of local bands, but I’ve also tried to keep the format fresh and change things up regularly, the larger goal being to get people thinking about the... »

Weekending: License To Ill

By Steve Shanafelt

It’s probably not going to surprise too many people to know that writing this column about sharing weekend plans is actually one of the main reason I bother to have weekend plans in the first place. After all, most people don’t plan their weekend out in advance unless there’s something fairly exceptional happening,... »

Crescent Gallery To Close

By Steve Shanafelt

Rogers Brandt, Director of The Crescent Gallery in downtown Spartanburg, recently announced via e-mail that the gallery will be closing for good at the end of December. Brandt citing the poor local economy as the reason, something that surely impacts a business selling mid-to-high end art pieces. The gallery has been a substantial force... »

Weekend w00t!

By Steve Shanafelt

It’s Thursday again! And that can only mean one thing! No, no … I’m not talking about garbage day in Hampton Heights! I’m talking about the weekend. Can I get a w00t? Of course, since we’re all going to having weekends at the same time — marvelous coincidence, when you think about it —... »

Gifts, trees and science all found at The Chapman Cultural Center

By Sylvie Galloway

If you are looking for ideas for the holiday then a stop by the Chapman Culteral Center may have just what are are looking for. There are things for the shopper as well as activities to keep the kids entertained. If you are looking for that special gift for that person on your list... »

Chapman Cultural Center hosts holiday performances

By Sylvie Galloway

The Christmas season may be a busy one for shoppers but it is also a very busy one for those performing under the lights as well. There are four major productions in Spartanburg in the next few weeks all with a holiday theme. The first is the Spartanburg Youth Theater’s production of The Best Christmas... »