Pawley's Island Festival of Music

The Pawley's Island Festival of Music & Art is held at Brookgreen Gardens, just south of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The festival has evolved from a one show musical performance in 1991 to an annual event today featuring well-known musicians from across the country. In 1992, the festival was renamed the Autumn Music festival and increased to two programs.

In 1993 this event grew to include six musical programs, an art exhibit, a theatrical performance and the premiere of a documentary film. The film was a documentary of Miss Ruby Forsythe, a noted educator in The African American Registry. "In 1938 she taught in a one-room school on Pawley's Island, the only educational facility available to Black people on the island." At this time, the festival was once again renamed as the Festival of Music and Art at Pawleys Island.

1994 brought another showing of the documentary, an art exhibit, a theatrical performance, and three musical programs and in 1995, five musical programs with the spring bringing the beginnings of Youth Music Fest.

From 1995 the festival has grown nonstop branching out into many avenues. It has become primarily a music festival that incorporates everything from classical music to African American Spirituals. It has moved from locating two of the programs to hosting the entire festival at Brookgreen Gardens, home to some of the most renowned sculpture in the world.

The turning point came in 2003 when The Festival started hosting performances by Grammy Award winners such as jazz legend Chuck Nangione and The Nashville Bluegrass Band. The nationally acclaimed Richmond Ballet and the Long Bay Symphony Orchestra were also notable additions to the month long event and the next year was when the festival moved to the beautiful Brookgreen Gardens.

For more information about the Pawley's Island Festival of Music & Art visit:
www.pawleysmusic.org or www.brookgreen.org.