By Lolita Huckaby
BEAUFORT
The 19th annual Beaufort International Film Festival began this week and once again, the community is asked to support a wonderful event in a town that has no film theater.
It’s been six years since the Beaufort Plaza closed its doors after 44 years in business, making way for a second Publix grocery store in Beaufort on Robert Smalls Parkway.
And the closest theater is the Cinemax Sea Turtle, 24 miles south, across the Broad River, in the ever-expanding limits of Bluffton.
True, we have one of the three drive-in theaters in South Carolina, the Highway 21 Drive-In, which has a long and “rich” history and, thanks to the owners, now is able to offer first-run movies on THREE screens. Hooray for them!
But for those movie theater aficionados, who love sitting in the dark for their mental escape, with a bag of popcorn and perhaps a soda, there is no theater.
Bonnie Hargrove and the folks at USCB’s Center for the Arts experimented with a series of weekly movie offerings but response was limited, costs to rent a film were prohibitive and that alternative has gone by the wayside.
Ironically, hundreds will occupy the CFA this week to view cinematic wonders offered by the BIFF. There will be popcorn, of course, and the opportunity to shake hands with those involved with making these productions.
BIFF is a blessing, to be sure, for the economy of this community. Last year, according to reports, attendees from 37 states and nine countries were present and that means, in tourism-industry lingo, “heads in beds,” not to mention additional diners in local restaurants. (Good luck getting a table – locals know all about that!)
There are apparently 12,000 film festivals in the world, Publisher Margaret Evans told readers last week, and BIFF ranks near the top by a rating service, Film Freeway.
Wonder how many of those festivals don’t have a hometown movie theater?
Drama of Port Royal waterfront gets new chapter
PORT ROYAL – The citizens of Port Royal – who also don’t have a hometown movie theater – got some good news last week, hopefully.
After months of discussion, it appears the town council and representatives of Safe Harbor, the international marina development company which purchased 300 acres of waterfront property in 2021, have reached an agreement on development plans.
At least that’s what Mayor Kevin Phillips announced at last week’s monthly council meeting. The two parties have agreed residential section of the property will include only 15 percent rental homes, rather than under some kind of rent-to-own agreement the Safe Harbor folks initially proposed. And the popular Spanish Moss Trail will finally be allowed to cross Ribaut Road through the development.
An official masterplan to reflect all the agreements must be prepared by Safe Harbor and accepted by the town. In the meantime, it appears the two parties have managed to stay out of the courts, which is better than the county or other municipal leaders can claim.
If all goes as outlined, those who have been waiting years for Port Royal to change even more have their fingers crossed.
Oh yes, both sides agreed they have agreed to “keep talking.” Which we’ve also heard before.
City moving forward with waterfront panel
BEAUFORT – Speaking of waterfront developments with Safe Harbor, city of Beaufort leaders are slowly moving forward with plans to create a seven-member advisory panel to work on matters of the waterfront.
The panel, created last year when questions rose about the legality of the city’s 40-year contract with Safe Harbor, will include three full-time residents, a member of City Council, a member of the Historic District Review board (Chairman Mike Sutton has been recommended for the seat), a member of the city planning commission (Bill Suter has been recommended for the seat) and a member of County Council.
Eighteen citizens have volunteered for three citizens at-large seats and they were interviewed by the council last week. A second round of interviews is scheduled for March with completion of the selection process by April.
The panel faces a pretty stiff mission: come up with recommendations on how to proceed with repairs to the waterfront park which has major infrastructure needs.
They’ll probably be asked for input on the future of cruise ships using the seawall, cruise ships which have been stopping in Port Royal for the past months, and taking private busses into downtown Beaufort.
Whether the panel will be involved in the legalities of the five-year-old city lease contract with Safe Harbor, operators of the city-owned Downtown Marina, is to be seen. The nonprofit Protect Beaufort Foundation, Inc., which includes Graham Trask, George Trask, Catherine Scarborough, Paul Trask and Will Cook, as some of its founding members, is suing the city and challenging the lease.
Citizens asked to give their two cents
BEAUFORT – Another reminder: county officials are currently asking the public to help plan for the future.
Beaufort County’s recycling division is asking residents and business owners to complete a survey outlining their thoughts on the 2018 plastic bag ban and the future efforts to reduce plastic pollution. The Council rejected a proposal to expand the ban last year to include plastic straws but supporters, including the Coastal Conservation League, are hoping that effort will be renewed this year.
Deadline for the survey, Help Reduce Plastic Pollution in Beaufort County; Survey Now Open for Comment Until March 1 is March 1 so you’ve got time to respond…and share it with your neighbors.
Lolita Huckaby Watson is a community volunteer and newspaper columnist. In her former role as a reporter with The Beaufort Gazette, The Savannah Morning News, Bluffton Today and Beaufort Today, she prided herself in trying to stay neutral and unbiased. As a columnist, these are her opinions. Her goal is to be factual but opinionated, based on her own observations. Feel free to contact her at bftbay@gmail.com.
