🌴 The SWEETEST Week In Summerville is Here!

Hey there, Palmetto Parent!

Did you get to enjoy last week’s block party!? We were impressed with what a great job the Public Works Art Center did for it being their first annual block party. We spent some time at the farmer’s market getting our favorite items (blackberries and honey sticks) then popped over to see the event. We truly have such an amazing community and all the events downtown Summerville are unmatched.

With Summerville being the birthplace of sweet tea, we have a week full of events coming up to celebrate how very sweet our town is. Check out the events section for all the details of the events you don’t want to miss including the annual Sweet Tea Festival.

Make sure you read till the end to see how you can win $50 playing Palmetto Parents Bingo. 💸 

To Do: Visit Bee City Zoo & Honey Bee Farm

Thirty minutes outside of Summerville lies an adventure that transports you to continents all around the world. Bee City Zoo holds classic animals that we love to see like giraffes, zebras, kangaroos, and tigers but also lesser seen animals like the Patagonian cavy from Argentina, the Sitatunga from West-Central Africa, and the Southern cassowary from Australia. I’ve known about Bee City Zoo for a long time, but I didn’t know how much we’d be missing out.

The experience feels more intimate than other zoo experiences because of how close you can get to the animals, how you can interact with most of the animals, and how present and friendly the zoo staff are.

Admission to the zoo is $18/person. There is a $2 discount for seniors and military and kids two and under are free. You can add on to your admission small fees to hand feed kangaroos, giraffes, birds, tortoises, alpacas, monkeys, lemurs, and more.

The zoo has so many unique animals to enjoy that we had a great time walking around each corner wondering what we would see. You can also pay an additional $5/pp to enjoy a “safari ride” (shown above). This is a twenty-five minute tractor pulled ride where you are surrounded by a large variety of animals including camels, ostriches, water buffalo, highland cows, and much more.

These animals were jaw droopingly large and excitedly came up to wagon to eat.

My toddler had an absolute blast. We would definitely recommend paying the extra money for the safari ride. This time we didn’t buy feed for other animals around the zoo, but next time we will (at least for the kangaroos and monkeys).

At the zoo they have a small cafe with some food like pizza 🍕 , hot dogs, bbq, and ice cream. There’s many picnic tables throughout the zoo and a large picnic area next to the tigers where you can eat food from the cafe, or your packed lunch.

Bee City is also a Honeybee farm (hence the name, Bee City 😉). Our family loves raw local honey so I purchased 2.75lbs of honey for $19 and we’re excited to try it.

Bee City Zoo and Honeybee Farm is open Wednesday and Friday 9am to 5pm, Saturday 9am to 5pm, and Sunday 11am to 5pm. There are special times for certain animal encounters and the safari rides so be sure to check their website for more details.

Summerville’s Best Parent & Me Art Classes 

Abstract Adventures offers engaging, age appropriate art classes to help you bond with your toddler. Coming up this fall are themed classes like Pirates, Flowers, and Cute & Spooky.

Check out the class options and register here and follow Abstract Adventures on Instagram for more details.

Classes take place at Bold Academy in Nexton. 😄 I’ll be going with my toddler and can’t wait to tell you about it in the Palmetto Parents community!

An Event: The SWEETEST Week in Summerville

The Sweetest Sidewalk Sale: September 14th

From 10am-6pm, shop till you drop with the sweetest sidewalk sale. The graphic below shows the sixteen participating stores. We love trying the different oils and balsamic from Lowcountry Olive Oil and checking out all the fun house plants that Soil & Soul has to offer. All of the home decor shops have put out their new fall stock and are ready to meet all your fall decorating needs.

The Sweetest Third Thursday Ever: September 19th

Next Thursday be sure to stop by Summerville’s monthly Third Thursday event from 5:30-8:30pm in Hutchinson Square. As usual, there will be a large variety of vendors and food trucks. The Summerville Jazz Ensemble will be playing for all to enjoy.

The Sweet Tea Festival: September 21st

You don’t want to miss the annual sweet tea festival! From 2pm-7pm there will be lots of vendors, food options, and entertainment. There will be a free kid’s zone with lots of activities and games to enjoy, too. When you get to the festival, be sure to locate the Summerville Dream tent to pick up your ballot and participate in the sweet tea contest. You get to sample lots of different teas throughout the festival and vote for your favorite to decide who will win “Tea of the Year”.

Also don’t forget to buy your 2024 T-shirt. Find the Cotton Tea tent to get the shirt shown below.

Sweet Tea Cocktail Contest & Hold My Tea Bar Crawl:

From September 16th-22nd local restaurants will be featuring sweet tea inspired cocktails and they want you to vote on which is your favorite.

Participating locations include:

• Hilton Garden Inn

• Five Loaves Cafe

• The Azalea Bar & Garden

• Frothy Beard Off World

• Sweetwater One Twenty Three

• The Icehouse

• Godwin’s Beer Hall

See which sweet tea inspired cocktail each place is serving here.

Want to win a free T-shirt while trying cocktails and supporting local businesses? Download this bingo card and turn in your completed card for a free bar crawl shirt at the Summerville Visitor Center or Cotton-Tea booth at the Sweet Tea Festival (while supplies last). See more about the cocktail contest & bar crawl here.

Southern Songwriter Festival:

Between September 19-21 over forty different artists will be performing in downtown Summerville. Check the lists of artists and stages and enjoy some music from locals throughout the weekend and during the festival.

Restaurant: Hushpuppies Seafood Company

Convenient, delicious, and a great ambiance. Hushpuppies Seafood Company, “your neighborhood seafood spot” is becoming a family favorite for us. My go to order is the garlic butter grilled shrimp and my husband’s is the buffalo shrimp and grits. This order at the counter restaurant makes a delicious seafood meal available for quick dinners out and they have a kids menu that is toddler approved. And their hushpuppies are delicious, of course. Check out their menu featuring delicious entrees like lobster ravioli, crab grilled cheese, and mahi tacos here.

They have spacious indoor seating as well as a covered outdoor patio and more outdoor seating in the front. This past week we enjoyed sitting outside so we could worry less about having a noisy toddler and he could enjoy watching all the cars pass on Main Street.

Palmetto Piece: Win $50 for Budget Friendly Fall Family Fun

Fall is officially here. 🍁 

As I walked the aisles of Target, my head started spinning with all the the “fall” things I should be doing. But I reminded myself that enjoying fall and creating memories as a family does not mean trying to go to every pumpkin patch and orchard, going to all the festivals, or spending lots of money. It can be done right at home with spending little to no money.

We created this Bingo board for families to give you ideas of fall activities to do over the next couple months. But, we all like prizes right!?

Rules to play:

1. Join the new Palmetto Parents community: Click here to join.

2. Share picture proof of your Bingo board once complete

   1. Bingo = four squares in a row down, across, or diagonally

   2. Post your photo evidence in the Palmetto Parents community

3. First one to post their winning Bingo card in Palmetto Parents wins a $50 gift card to Coastal Coffee Shop in Summerville!

If you’d like to print your bingo board, click here.

Let the games begin 😏 

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