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A Handbook to Being Southern

Table of Contents

the southerners handbookLet’s face it some things are just “southern.” There are skills and situations that require a distinct southern touch, like how to shuck an oyster, cook grits or throw a football tailgate party.

The editors of Garden & Gun, an award-winning magazine about the South headquartered in Charleston, have created a guidebook for Southerners (and would-be Southerners).

Garden & Gun, which covers food, fashion, sports and traditions of the South, published this fall, “The Southerner’s Handbook: A Guide to Living the Good Life” (HarperWave, $27.99). It’s a “compendium of essential Southern skills, straight from the mouths of the region’s leading experts and writers.”

The illustrated anthology-style manual is organized similar to the magazine, focusing on Food & Drink, Style, Entertaining, Home, Gardening, Sporting and The Outdoors, and Southern Tradition.

“The Southerner’s Handbook” provides instruction on such tasks as:

  • How to season grits, fry okra, and clean a blue crab.
  • How to drink bourbon, make homemade bitters, and mix the perfect Bloody Mary.
  • How to fly fish, shoot a dove, and bet on a horse.
  • How to set a sideboard, polish silver, and be a proper houseguest.
  • How to break in Western boots, fold a pocket square, and pull off seersucker.
  • How to give a memorable toast, throw a crawfish boil, and host a killer tailgate .
  • How to write the “great Southern novel,” play a blues song, and plan a road trip.

Read more about the handbook and get details on how to order a copy of your own.

Also, check out this Made in the South event put on by Garden & Gun on Dec. 6-8 in Charleston. The Jubilee is a weekend festival combining sporting, shopping, food, music and art, as well as special dinners and live entertainment on the grounds of the historic Charles Towne Landing.

Among the many features of the weekend:

  • The Made in the South Marketplace featuring goods for sale from Southern tastemakers.
  • Meet the Makers Trunk Show offering both men’s and women’s apparel and sporting gear from leading Southern designers.
  • The Ultimate Oyster Roast as well as a Pit Master’s Pig Roast.
  • The BoBo Intriguing Objects antiques tent from design guru Mark Sage and his team.
  • The Southern Pantry food tent filled with purveyors and their small-batch, big-batch, and hard-to-find food and drink items.
  • A Garden & Gun Club exclusive dinner and show featuring James Beard Award–winning chef Mike Lata, who will prepare a one-of-a-kind food/drink experience followed up by music from the legendary Junior Brown.

Get tickets and more information on Jubilee at gardenandgunjubilee.com.

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Charleston FAQ's

Choosing a hotel and where to stay in Charleston all depends on your budget and goals. Do you want to stay Downtown, at the beach or in the outer areas such as North Charleston where you have to drive to get everywhere? For more help on deciding: https://travelerofcharleston.com/articles/hotels/

Charleston has 3 main public beaches which are: Folly, Isle of Palms and Sullivans. Each beach has it’s own atmosphere. The most common beach that people visit is Folly Beach and then Isle of Palms followed by Sullivans Island. For more info on Charleston’s beaches visit: https://travelerofcharleston.com/guide-charlestons-beaches/

Charleston, SC is full of historical things to do. Everything from museums, to public sites and free landmark sites such as Rainbow Row and the Battery can be seen. For more info on Charleston’s top historical sites visit: https://travelerofcharleston.com/places-to-learn-about-charleston-sc-history/

There are many things that will keep the kids and family entertained and educated in Charleston. There are historic sites such as Fort Sumter, a Children’s Museum, Aquarium and the USS Yorktown…a WWII era aircraft carrier you can tour. For more info visit: https://travelerofcharleston.com/charleston-family-fun-activities/

There’s so many  things you could do in Charleston it can be overwhelming. We recommend that first time visitors, checkout the ultimate first-time visitor guide here: https://travelerofcharleston.com/charleston-first-time-visitors-guide/

Spring in Charleston, SC is an amazing time of year to visit. The flowers are blooming and the weather is mild and sunny. For more info, check-out our spring guide to Charleston here: https://travelerofcharleston.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-springtime-in-charleston/

Summer in Charleston is a great time to visit. There’s plenty of things to keep you busy and visiting the beach will probably….or should be on your short-list. Also water-based activities and tours are popular. Checkout this summer guide to Charleston for more info: 

Our 10 Favorite Summer Activities in Charleston

Fall is one of the best times to visit. The weather cools down a bit and the skies are typically blue and clear. In addition there are many great events, festivals and the large crowds of summer have gone back to school or work. For more info on visiting in the fall, checkout this article: https://travelerofcharleston.com/charleston-12-things-to-do-fall/

There are so many great things to do that it’s difficult to narrow the list down. This article does a great job with figuring out the must do things to do in Charleston

7 Can’t Miss Reasons to Visit Charleston, SC Now

The consensus is a minimum of 3-days is needed to settle in and experience Charleston. For instance, many people take 2 days exploring downtown and another day visiting sites outside of downtown such as the plantations, Angel Oak Tree or beaches. Checkout this page for a list of tours and attractions: 

Charleston’s Top Tours & Attractions | Things to do

Downtown Charleston was made for walking and for sure one of the best way to soak up and experience the history first-hand. This article goes over getting around Charleston with and without a car as well: 

Getting Around Charleston, SC

We’re of course partial to Charleston, but here’s the truth. There are many similarities however there are some differences in our opinion: 

  • Both cities are historic and beautiful. 
  • Both cities are extremely walkable. Savannah, with it’s park-like squares maybe more walkable than Charleston. 
  • Charleston has a more established and food scene with many more options. 
  • Charleston has better hotels and shopping.
  • Both cities have equally good tours.
  • Charleston has better beach options. Savannah has Tybee which is great, however it’s 1 beach vibe versus Charleston which has 3 beaches with different vibes. Checkout this Charleston beach guide article: https://travelerofcharleston.com/guide-charlestons-beaches/
  • In Savannah you can walk with alcoholic beverages on the street. This is not allowed in Charleston. This can be good or bad depending on your stance. 
  • Savannah is more affordable.
  • TourPass offers all-inclusive passes in both cities: https://tourpass.com

There are always great and world-class events happening in Charleston. For a calendar of events and things to do in Charleston, checkout our online calendar of events: https://travelerofcharleston.com/events/

Of course there are free money-saving coupons that you can use. Visit the coupons page for a bunch of ways to save: https://travelerofcharleston.com/coupon/

Charleston has some fantastic can’t miss tours such as Fort Sumter, carriage, ghost, harbor, historic and culinary tours. For a full list with more info visit: https://travelerofcharleston.com/attractions/

Checkout the Charleston Relocation Guide page which will guide you during your move: https://travelerofcharleston.com/charleston-sc-relocation-guide/

Additional Places to Explore

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