A month full of love and fun, February is one of the best times of the year to visit Charleston. New restaurants and coffee shops are constantly popping up throughout our beloved city, offering different tastes and experiences. There are plenty of events to keep you busy this month, including the much-anticipated Southeastern Wildlife Exposition. As the weather starts warming up, Charleston’s true form starts to shine. The early part of the year is a beautiful time in the Lowcountry – come enjoy it with us.
Combine Good Eats & Good Deeds at Many Events
10th annual Gourmet & Grapes: Feb. 1-4
Gourmet and Grapes couples local and regional culinary talent with award-winning wineries with a number of special events — barbecue and bourbon, black-tie private dinner, live and silent auction, lunch and wine seminar and much more.
Shell-ebrate the “good catch” with the South Carolina Aquarium. The Good Catch Oysterfest features some of Charleston’s best local cuisine and seafood fare. Dine on savory, sustainably-sourced oysters and small plates from the aquarium’s Good Catch partners: Fleet Landing Restaurant & Bar, The Boathouse at Breach Inlet and Acme Lowcountry Kitchen. Beer, wine, and entertainment also provided with purchase of your all-inclusive ticket.
Join Charleston Animal Society and Mount Pleasant Towne Centre for most cuteness than you can handle. The Pup Bowl is noon to 3 p.m. near Old Navy. Cheer on the cutest puppies available for adoption as they face off in a friendly “football” game. The event also includes a photo booth, bounce house, face painting, balloon animals, caricatures and more.
Camellia Walks: Feb. 6 to March 17
In the depths of winter, the beauty of camellias enhance the garden at Middleton Place with thousands of blossoms. Special tours given by expert guides focus on the historic camellias, including the 1786 Reine des Fleurs, one of the first camellias planted in America.
Miller Mae Designs Trunk Show: Feb. 8-9
Helena Fox Fine Art welcomes back Miller Mae Designs for a trunk show benefiting Hallie Hall Animal Sanctuary. Featured in both Vogue and Southern Living, Kim Walters unique designs inspire the Bohemian in all of us. Miller Mae Designs was built on the founding ideals of philanthropy and empowerment by creating designs using intricate beads and gems hand-molded by artisans across the world, including Nepal, Tibet, Ethiopia, India, Morocco and Mali.
Enjoy unlimited samples of bacon dishes from Charleston’s most renowned chefs and the new kids on the block. Try bourbon cocktails from 25 different distilleries and dance the night away with live music. Try your hand at in the bull riding championship and test your skills with Laser Skeet Shooting.
Lowcountry Irish Fest: Feb. 10 – 11
The Lowcountry Irish Festival is a musical and cultural Irish Festival celebrating all things uniquely Irish in the South Carolina Lowcountry. Head to Mount Pleasant for a weekend of family-friendly events, live music, and plenty of traditional cuisine and culture.
Southeastern Wildlife Exposition: Feb. 16-18
Conservationists and nature enthusiasts come from all over the country for this three-day celebration of art, animal 
demonstrations, environmental education and culinary events. This year, TV personality Jack Hanna will return for special events. Festival favorites include the retriever demos, birds of prey flight demonstrations and the high-flying DockDogs event at Brittlebank Park. Events take place at Marion Square, Brittlebank Park, Belmond at Charleston Place, and various other venues.
Carolina Challenge Cup: Feb. 17, 21 & 24
The Charleston Battery will welcome Major League Soccer’s Atlanta United, Columbus Crew SC, and Minnesota United FC to MUSC Health Stadium for the 2018 Carolina Challenge Cup. The Charleston Battery first held CCC in 2004, becoming one of the first lower-division American soccer clubs to host multiple MLS teams for preseason.
La Dolce Vita – Music of Italian Cinema: Feb. 22
“La Dolce Vita: Music of Italian Cinema” is a special evening of Italian movie music and film scenes made possible by a collaboration between the Nuovo Cinema Italiano Film Festival and the Charleston Symphony Orchestra with support from the Charleston Music Hall. The event raises funds for the Nuovo Cinema Italiano. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. and features Charleston Symphony Orchestra Principal Pops Conductor Yuriy Bekker on the podium. The orchestra will perform music from famous Italian films as scenes from those films are shown on a screen above the stage. Famed Neapolitan film editor Mario Crocetta prepared the clips for this special night of music and cinema.
Mardi-Crawl on Shem Creek: Feb. 26
The event takes revelers on a tour of a variety of locations on Shem Creek to collect stamps and prizes while raising money for Lowcountry Parrot Head Club charities, including Alzheimer’s Association of South Carolina and Pet Helpers. Over the past 11 years, this annual event has fulfilled its mission to “party with a purpose,” raising more than $90,000 for local charities. Registration and check-in begins at noon at three locations on Shem Creek: Red’s Ice House, The Shelter Kitchen & Bar and Vickery’s. After the crawl, Dave Landeo and Three Sheets Island Band will perform live at Red’s Ice House from 6:30-9 p.m.
New on the Charleston Menu
Tu: Located in a Charleston single, with a hip new addition in the back, Tu is the eclectic new restaurant from the co-owners of Xiao Bao Biscuit. The menu is full of varying influences from across the globe, like lamb with freekah and labneh or pastrami on a sauerkraut scallion pancake or a crudo with cheese ice. It’s like nothing else in Charleston right now. 430 Meeting St., Charleston
Basic Kitchen: Easy, breezy, beautiful eatery Basic Kitchen serves clean eats, such as grain bowls, seasonal soups, Little Gem lettuces with green goddess dressing, vegetable curries, and more. Stop by for brunch, lunch or dinner or simply saddle up to the bar for a juice or beet margarita. When the weather’s nice, head outside to the greenery-filled patio. 82 Wentworth St., Charleston
Welkin Coffee Shop: Filled with natural light, the relaxing setting at Welkin Coffee Shop is perfect for meeting friends, casual work meetings or an afternoon pick-me-up. With a location Market Street in downtown Charleston, this new Mount Pleasant stop near the Ravenel Bridge is already becoming a true hot spot. Welkin also has 15 beer taps along with rosé and prosecco on tap, and $5 mimosas are served all day every day. 320 Wingo Way, Mount Pleasant
Romance is in the Air
For the perfect Valentine’s Day date ideas, visit our recently updated blog post with some of the best romantic spots around Charleston.
