🌴 Summerville’s Public Works Block Party

In partnership with

Good morning, Palmetto Parent!

Palmetto Parents is now a village of over 2,000 parents. 🥳 

Thanks so much for taking the time to read our newsletter; it’s truly a labor of love for our fellow parents. This week’s newsletter was mostly written with one hand on a phone because many hours of my life were spent #naptrapped. Here’s to celebrating all we do through the curveballs of parenthood! 🥂 

Summerville Parks & Rec has three things to keep on the radar for the month of September:

• In addition to the Sat./Sun. 10am-6pm hours, the Doty Park splash pad will also be open on Mondays from 10am-12pm for tot time and on Wednesdays from 10am-12pm for homeschoolers. The splash pad will be open for these hours through September 29th.

• On September 17th and 20th the Rollins Edwards Community Center will host Cook-A-Book play dates for kids ages 2-5. These playdates include a song, story time, and food craft to go along with the book. These sessions run from 10:30-11:15am and cost $20/child. Click here to register.

• Summerville Parks & Rec Volunteer Program is running a toy drive to benefit MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital through the end of the month. Toys can be dropped off at the Rollins Edwards Community Center. See the flyer below with more info.

Your Dream Maker Real Estate Agent

When we moved to Summerville from Chicago in 2021, we had no idea which area of Charleston we wanted to live in long term, or when, or why.

We started by renting a house in White Gables (Knightsville). We liked it, but eventually we wanted somewhere that was our own, to put down roots, to really build a house we could call home.

Ernest Govan, the Dream Maker Agent was the realtor we chose to use, and we’ve recommended him dozens of time over the last 2 years.

We were in no rush to buy a house, so we told Ernest early on what type of home we were looking for, some “need to haves” and some “nice to haves”, and gave a very vague timeline (e.g. “We’ll buy when the time is right”).

Over about 9 months of time, we passively looked at houses through Ernest’s home recommendation portal (and Zillow and Redfin when we were bored). Ernest would check in with us periodically, but wasn’t pushy at all (exactly what we wanted!). Maybe once a month he’d say “Hey Daniel, checking in to see if there are any updates on your home search? I’m here if you ever need anything.” It was a friendly reminder that he was there to answer questions, but not breathing down our neck.

Then, one day, about 9 months after we connected with Ernest, only 3 weeks after our first son was born (lol), a house came on the market that we fell in love with.

We texted Ernest: “Hey… it’s a crazy season of life for us right now, but that house you sent over… can we go check it out?”

The rest is history.

Ernest was an A+ realtor from our passive search to active search to offer, negotiations, paperwork, and closing. I’ve since recommended Ernest to my family (twice) and any friends that ask for realtor recommendations.

Ernest, the Dream Maker Agent, is now a Palmetto Parents partner and our preferred realtor. He uses a seamless approach to help young families buy, sell, and invest in homes. We can attest to his seamless approach and recommend him to anyone looking for their next realtor.

Interested in chatting with Ernest about your next home adventure? Look no further.

To Do: Visit Herbert H. Jessen Public Boat Landing

Besides being the obvious… a public boat landing… the Herbert H. Jessen Public Boat Landing is a beautiful location to have a picnic, take a walk, or do some family fishing. At the entrance of the park they have a pavilion with picnic tables and swinging benches right along the Ashley River. The boat landing is taken care of by Summerville Parks & Rec and has beautiful landscaping.

I took my baby on a morning walk on the trail there and it was very peaceful, although I admittedly was a little on edge knowing some type of wildlife encounter might happen, which it did in the form of the largest grasshopper I’ve ever seen. I carefully passed by, not wanting it to hop on us. But all that effort was for nothing because when I parked at my next stop and went to get the stroller from the trunk, one of his buddies was sitting right on top of the stroller. Somehow I had put it in the car without noticing. I had a slight panic and quickly asked the kind gentlemen parked next to me to help me remove it before it jumped closer to my baby. Overdramatic? Absolutely. Necessary? For me, yes. But we truly enjoyed our peaceful nature walk and look forward to going back with the whole family.

Summerville Parks & Rec will be hosting a family fishing night at the Jensen Boat Landing on October 11th. So if that is your family’s vibe, save the date!

An Event: Block Party at the Public Works Art Center

Summerville’s Public Works Art Center offers a lot to our community. With free admission from Tuesday-Saturday from 10am-5pm, you can go see rotating art galleries. This fall they will feature the Spark Community Exhibition. Last month, locals (adults and children) were able to submit one piece of art with the theme of “Joy” to be displayed throughout the fall. Tomorrow, the PWAC’s Block Party will kick off this exhibition and it will be available for viewing through November 2nd. Some pieces are available for purchase, so be sure to stop in to check out any you may be interested in if you want to add some local art to your home.

The Block Party this Saturday from 10am-1pm is the large fundraising event for PWAC. West Richardson Ave. will be blocked off for the event. Consider stopping by along with a trip to the farmer’s market one block away.

The block party will include:

• art themed games

• an artisan market

• live mural painting

• face painting

• colorful treats

• jugglers and other performers

• Dorchester paws adoption event

The money fundraised will go towards continuing to provide free admission, accessible art classes and studios, and partnering with nonprofits to provide art opportunities for the community. PWAC also offers classes and camps for all age ranges, including preschool, homeschool, and after school options.

Restaurant: Low Country Public House

Low Country Public House is one of Summerville’s most kid-friendly restaurants. With an outdoor space that includes a playground, corn hole sets, and open grass it’s the perfect place to gather with friends and get a bite to eat while the kids play together. They have a nice outdoor patio where the adults can sit (dogs, too) and the kids can enjoy the open space. However, it’s not just for family night. The decor and set up inside also features a quaint bar in the “Prohibition Room” that would be perfect for parent’s night out or date night.

Low Country Public House is owned by the same person who brought us Low Country Fish Camp, a Summerville favorite. It’s relatively new to the scene, having opened in 2023. They feature upscale pub food and we enjoyed our fried pickles, fish and chips, pork belly taco special, and $2 margaritas. You can read more details about the owners and their menu here.

Some of their fall drink specials include a pumpkin spice margarita and a cranberry pomegranate sangria, and their dessert menu is featuring an apple blackberry cobbler and a bourbon chocolate pecan sundae.

On September 28th they will be hosting an Oktoberfest event with games, raffles, music, and food/beer.

Low Country Public House is located off of Central Ave. next to Luxe Wine Bar. On the weekends, Luxe often has live music so you can enjoy that while you’re eating outside at the Public House. They’re open 11am-9pm Tuesday-Saturday and 11am-3pm on Sunday.

Also, if you’re interested in a healthy snack for the little bellies in your family, check out Little Bellies!

• Our snacks for 7+ months babies introduce subtle flavors and new texture experiences to support palate development and aid motor skill progression.

• Quick to melt in the little mouth, they are safe for self-feeding and perfect for stage 1 snacking.

Learn more about Little Bellies

Palmetto Piece: Mental Health & Family Dinners

Over the last 20 years there have been numerous studies that show the benefit of families sharing meals at home together.

In a Harvard Podcast, EdCast, family therapist Anne Fishel said “I sort of half joke that I could be out of business if more families had regular family dinners, because so many of the things that I try to do in family therapy actually get accomplished by regular dinners.” Eating together as a family is good for physical, mental, and emotional health. Dinners at home typically are healthier for you — promoting the physical benefits — and studies have shown eating meals together help lower depression and anxiety rates, which raise resilience and self esteem.

One notable nonprofit, The Family Dinner Project, provides families amazing resources like quick and nutritious recipes, family games and conversation starters. They also write advice blogs on how to make dinnertime work for you as a family.

In the podcast, Fishel notes too that it doesn’t have to be dinner. Especially in the fall season with school, sports, and different work schedules, it can feel impossible to sit at the table together. Even if it’s breakfast, weekend lunches, late night snacks, etc. there are great benefits for your family. Some research shows that eating together five times a week is the point where you really start to see benefits, but set a goal that is realistic for your family. Even if that’s once a week, that’s a great starting point. The main idea is to prioritize and be intentional about those meal times because it really pays off.

To read the transcript or listen to the full podcast on family mealtimes, click here.

Growing up, we would talk about the high and low of our day at the dinner table. This gave an easy way for us to share a bit about what went on in our life that day in a way that wasn’t overwhelming. Some families call this sharing their “roses and thorns.” Traditions like this are great for connection.

Does your family share mealtime habits that help you connect? If you have some good ideas, reply to this email and we will share them next week!

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