<strong>Main Street Beaufort holds planning retreat</strong>
The staff and board of directors of Main Street Beaufort, USA would like to invite all downtown merchants, property owners, government officials, and interested residents to their annual board retreat Thursday, August 4  in the Dolphin Room at the Best Western Sea Island Inn on Bay Street from 4:30- 7 p.m. The board  would like to hear input on what stakeholders would like to see from the organization in the 2011-2012 fiscal year. There will be an overview of the National Main Street 4 Point Approach — Organization, Design, Promotion, and Economic Restructuring — and a more in-depth discussion of how Main Street Beaufort should work with each point will follow. If you would like to attend, please RSVP by Monday, August 1 by emailing director@downtownbeaufort.com or calling 525-6644.<!--more-->

<strong>Black chamber holds First Friday Networking</strong>
The Beaufort County Black Chamber of Commerce will have its First Friday Networking Event on Friday, August 5 at the chamber office located at 801 Bladen Street in Beaufort from 6 to 8 p.m.  There will be prizes, drawings, and light refreshments. The public is invited to attend. For details, call 843-986-1102.

<strong>Beaufort Pro Writers to meet Tuesday</strong>
Beaufort ProWriters meet next Tuesday, August 9, from 7 -8:30 p.m. at Common Grounds on Bay Street in Beaufort. The meeting is open to all professional writers and writers who strive to become pros on any level in any genre, whether that be magazine articles, fiction or nonfiction books, technical writing, et al. There is no membership charge. The only requirements are an open, engaged mind and an enthusiasm for your craft. For further information, contact Katherine Brown (859) 312-6706 or ktandybrown@gmail.com.

<strong>Beaufort Ski Club holds meeting</strong>
Beaufort Ski Club will meet on Tues., Aug. 9, 7 p.m., at Brick’s on Boundary outdoor patio. We will be discussing upcoming trips, activities, and elect officers.  Anyone with interest — with or without ability to ski/snowboard — is welcome. For additional information, contact Julie: tugboatjulie@yahoo.com.

<strong>SC Bar offers free legal clinic in Burton</strong>
The S.C. Bar Pro Bono Program will sponsor a free legal clinic in Burton on Aug. 10. The topic is elder abuse and fraud recovery, featuring attorney Diane P. DeWitt. The clinic will be held from 11 a.m. to noon at the Burton Wells Senior Center located at 1 Middleton Recreation Dr. The seminar is free for anyone who would like to attend. A schedule of other upcoming seminars throughout the state is available online at www.scbar.org/clinics. For more information, contact the S.C. Bar Pro Bono Program at (803) 799-6653, ext. 158. The South Carolina Bar, which has a membership of more than 13,500 lawyers, is dedicated to advancing justice, professionalism and understanding of the law.

<strong>Beer dinner benefits Independence Fund</strong>
Plum Restaurant and Terrapin Beer Company invite you to a beer dinner to benefit The Independence Fund on
Tuesday, August 16, at 7 p.m. The cost is $50 plus tax &amp; gratuity, Every $10 per paid customer will benefit The Independence Fund. Make reservations at (843) 986-5092 or plums@hargray.com. The menu will be available soon at  www.plumsrestaurant.com. Proceeds will help cover expenses for severely injured veterans and their caregivers during the Lieutenant Dan Weekend 2,
which will occur September 14-18 in downtown Beaufort.

<strong>Church holds nearly new clothing sale</strong>
The Women of the Parish Church of St. Helena will host their annual Nearly New Clothing Sale on Thursday, Aug. 18, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Friday, Aug. 19, from 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; and Saturday, Aug. 20, from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. it the church’s Parish Hall located at 507 Newcastle Street in downtown Beaufort. The sale features gently used clothing and accessories (and jewelry, too!) for men, women, and children. For information, please call the church office at 522-1712 or visit us online at www.sthelenas1712.org.

<strong>Lunch and learn series: Planting a fall garden</strong>
The Lowcountry Master Gardeners Association’s  Saturday “Lunch and Learn” classes will resume on August 20.  Our Clemson Extension Agent, Laura Lee Rose, will be teaching “Planting a Fall Garden”.  Here in the Lowcountry, we can get two, and sometimes three, crops of vegetables each year, and Laura Lee will tell you what to plant and how.  These free open air classes are held at the Port Royal Farmer’s Market on Saturdays at 11:30 a.m.  Bring a lawn chair and questions to the big oak tree behind the Master Gardener Information Table at the Market.  And be sure to visit the vendors for locally grown produce, fresh flowers and wonderful food.

<strong>Get tickets today for fall Auldbrass tour</strong>
Tickets are on sale now for the 2011 Auldbrass Plantation Tour in Yemassee held on November 5 and 6.. Tickets are $85 per person and there will also be a picnic lunch available at Tomotley Plantation for $15 per person. Although Frank Lloyd Wright designed more than 1,000 projects during his long and prolific career, Auldbrass in Yemassee is the only plantation among them. It is also one of the largest and most complex projects he ever undertook. Wright had an unusually intense commitment to Auldbrass, and worked on it, off and on, for over twenty years, from 1938 until his death in 1959. On Saturday, November 5, the Land Trust is excited to host Eric Lloyd Wright (the grandson of the famed Frank Lloyd Wright) during a Special Lecture Event at the USCB Performing Arts Center in Beaufort.  Tickets for the Lecture Event are $50 per person. All tickets can be purchase via our website at www.openlandtrust.org (80% of the ticket purchases are tax deductible.) Any questions, please call the Open Land Trust office at 843-521-2175.

<strong>Beaufort Women’s Center support group</strong>
If you are a post-abortion woman struggling through the pain of issues relating to an abortion experience, there is healing and hope! The Beaufort Women’s Center is offering abortion recovery assistance through “Healing Hearts”,  a 10-week support group that will meet at the Center on Thursday evenings from 6:30 – 9 p.m. beginning September 8.   All inquiries are confidential. Seating is limited. Call 843-525-0300 today and let the healing begin. Ask for Susanne or Donna for more details.

<strong>Save the date for upcoming Pet Fair</strong>
On September 17, at United Hospice of Beaufort, 1605 North Street, there will be an adoption fair, dog show, pet boutique, photos with your pet and more. Proceeds to benefit The United Hospice Foundation. For more information, call 843-522-0476.

<strong>Attend training clinic for LoCo Motion event</strong>
It’s crunch time, but there’s still time to train for LoCo Motion, a breast cancer walk/run fundraiser that is being held on the beaches of Hilton Head and in old town Bluffton from Sept. 30-Oct. 2.
LoCo Motion participants will walk or run a different 10-mile course each day for a total of 30 miles. While completing all three legs isn’t necessary, training is encouraged for all participants. To help make that training easier, organizers are offering a condensed training calendar, which can be found at www.dothelocomotion.org. For those who want a bit more motivation and/or accountability, group training sessions are also being offered twice a week.  Beaufort Memorial Hospital’s LifeFit Wellness Center is leading training walks and runs at 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays and 7:30 a.m. Saturdays. Registration for LoCo Motion is not necessary to participate in any of the free sessions. Proceeds will benefit several regional cancer organizations. For more information, visit www.dothelocomotion.org or call 843-868-1888.