Myrtle Beach Sun News Logo

Take a day trip to Florence for arts, culture and cuisine | Myrtle Beach Sun News

×
  • E-edition
  • Home
    • Customer Service
    • Subscribe
    • Activate Your Account
    • Account Support
    • Mobile Apps
    • Newsletters
    • The Sun News Store
    • FAQ
    • Cancel SunValues Delivery
    • Plan
    • All Tourist Info
    • Vacation Planner
    • Calendar
    • Where to Stay
    • Ask a Local
    • Festivals Guide
    • Best of the Area
    • Play
    • Nightlife
    • Golf
    • Shopping
    • Shows
    • Myrtle Beach Blog
    • Restaurants

  • Obituaries
    • All News
    • Local News
    • Crime/Courts
    • Business
    • State News
    • Nation/World
    • Weird News
    • More News
    • Politics
    • Myrtle Beach Bike Rallies
    • Submit A News Tip
    • Tourism News
    • Real Estate News
    • All Sports
    • High Schools
    • Coastal Carolina
    • Recreation
    • Golf
    • MB Pelicans
    • Auto Racing
    • More Sports
    • College Sports
    • NFL
    • MLB
    • MB Marathon
    • Toast Of The Coast
    • Green Reading Blog
    • The Roost Blog
    • All Opinion
    • Letters To The Editor
    • Submit A Letter
    • Editorial
    • Cartoons
    • Columns & Blogs
    • Bob Bestler
    • All Living
    • Coasting
    • Neighbors
    • Food
    • Best Of The Beach
    • Announcements
    • Religion
    • Travel
    • Pets
    • Home & Garden
    • All Entertainment
    • Kicks!
    • Best Of The Beach
    • Movies
    • Calendar
    • Contests
    • More Entertainment
    • Comics
    • Puzzles & Games
    • Horoscopes
    • Celebrities
    • Music
    • TV

  • Legals
  • Cars
  • Jobs
  • Moonlighting
  • Homes
  • Classifieds
  • Classified Ads

  • About Us
  • Mobile & Apps

Entertainment

Take a day trip to Florence for arts, culture and cuisine

By Jennie Peze - Eastern S.C. Heritage Region staff

    ORDER REPRINT →

October 30, 2014 12:00 AM

Although October is chock full of events and festivals, one thing you don’t get every year is a brand new Florence County Museum grand opening.

By the time you read this article, the museum’s ribbon-cutting festivities will be complete. Make plans to visit the museum in its new home at the corner of Cheves and Dargan streets in downtown Florence. The first among the museum’s succession of changing exhibits will include “William H. Johnson-New Beginnings and Selections” from the Wright Collection of Southern Art.

You will be right in the heart of the Arts Corridor. Take a stroll across Cheves to see the Francis Marion University Performing Arts Center, which opened in 2011. This is a $34 million facility, featuring a main stage to entertain 850, an amphitheatre and a flexible black box space.

The exterior is constructed of Winnsboro granite and Georgia White Cherokee marble, while the interior lobby design calls to mind the signature trumpet horn of Pee Dee jazz musician Dizzy Gillespie. Mary Chapin Carpenter is among the great performers this season and will be in Florence November 13.

SIGN UP

Sign Up and Save

Get six months of free digital access to The Sun News

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

#ReadLocal

Just beyond the Performing Arts Center, you’ll notice the Drs. Bruce & Lee Foundation Library, an impressive 83,000-square-foot building that features classical columns, etched windows and a marble exterior. The library, a $17 million project, completed in 2004, initiated the revitalization of downtown Florence. Ongoing art exhibits are held in the Dr. N. Lee Morris Gallery of the library, and the library’s South Carolina Room contains an excellent collection of rare maps and genealogical documents.

Continuing along Dargan Street, you’ll find the beloved Florence Little Theatre’s new building, which holds seasonal productions in its $10 million facility and provides live entertainment by local thespians. In November, you won’t want to miss “Christmas Belles,” best described as a hilarious holiday journey through a misadventure-filled Christmas Eve.

One of the Little Theatre’s longtime actors has an antique store in an antique house. Stop in at Hamilton House Antiques on Dargan Street and say hello to David Hamilton, a gracious host who knows almost all there is to know about Florence’s history and the arts. Of course, you can also shop for beautiful furniture while you’re there. Look for the distinctive, pink Victorian-style house with a turret.

All that walking might make you hungry, and you have a variety of restaurants to choose from. There are longtime Florence institutions like the 301 Drive-In, Townhouse and Venus Pancake House, as well as downtown’s newest restaurants: the Clay Pot with a menu highlighting local produce and 1031 Grill’s “Best in the South” hamburgers. You might also want to try the noodles at Thai House or a specialty tea at Top Hat. Coming soon is one of the BBQ Trail’s standout restaurants — Wholly Smokin’ Barbecue plans to move to Dargan Street this month.

Stay into the evening for wine and chocolate at Dolce Vita, then treat yourself to a night in the lovely Hotel Florence, a new boutique hotel on Evans Street, where the vibrant history of Florence surrounds you in pictures and paintings. The Portuguese soup and broccoli cornbread at Victor’s Restaurant, inside the hotel, are not to be missed.

If you need a complete soup-to-nuts experience, head north on Highway 52 (Irby Street/Lucas Street). You’ll find ice cream at the Pee Dee State Farmers’ Market, and you can sample delicious salty or sweet pecans at Young Plantations.

  Comments  

Videos

Conway’s Theatre of the Republic celebrates 50th anniversary

Old 2001 nightclub to reopen as Status

View More Video

Trending Stories

Two grocery stores on the Grand Strand are shutting down

February 21, 2019 05:22 PM

Shots fired, barricaded suspect lead to heavy police response near Coastal Carolina

February 21, 2019 08:37 PM

See a sneak peek of Topgolf Myrtle Beach, which is expected to open within a few weeks

February 20, 2019 10:39 PM

Tammy, Sidney Moorer working on civil suit over Elvis disappearance case, attorney says

February 21, 2019 02:39 PM

See the beard in real life: Duck Dynasty stars coming to SC for event that helps homeless

February 21, 2019 11:47 AM

things to do

Read Next

Chicago’s vast camera network helped Smollett investigation

Entertainment

Chicago’s vast camera network helped Smollett investigation

By TAMMY WEBBER Associated Press

    ORDER REPRINT →

February 22, 2019 08:58 AM

Chicago's vast network of surveillance cameras helped track down brothers who discredited Smollett attack.

KEEP READING

Sign Up and Save

#ReadLocal

Get six months of free digital access to The Sun News

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

MORE ENTERTAINMENT

Wintour honors Lagerfeld; Bottega Veneta shows new direction

Entertainment

Wintour honors Lagerfeld; Bottega Veneta shows new direction

February 22, 2019 08:39 AM

Entertainment

Mo Willems named Kennedy Center artist-in-residence

February 22, 2019 08:13 AM
Smollett reactions epitomize polarized state of US politics

Entertainment

Smollett reactions epitomize polarized state of US politics

February 22, 2019 08:07 AM
Allegations against son led to Time’s Up CEO’s resignation

Entertainment

Allegations against son led to Time’s Up CEO’s resignation

February 22, 2019 07:27 AM

Entertainment

YouTube walks a tightrope with its video makers, advertisers

February 22, 2019 06:16 AM

Entertainment

Prosecutors seek 3-year sentence in ‘celebgate’ hacking case

February 22, 2019 06:00 AM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Icon for mobile apps

Myrtle Beach Sun News App

View Newsletters

Subscriptions
  • Start a Subscription
  • Customer Service
  • eEdition
  • Vacation Hold
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Rewards
Learn More
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters
  • News in Education
Advertising
  • Place a Classified
  • Advertise
  • Rates
  • Contests & Promotions
  • Local Deals
Copyright
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service


Back to Story