9760 Randall Rd
McClellanville, SC 29458
info@bluepearlfarms.com
third Sunday of every month, 3-7 pm
look for Blue Pearl Farms on Facebook and Youtube.
Sunday, April 21, CANCELLED due to an abundance of rainwater
The past couple of rains have brought the pond up. The last rain brought it over the edge. The entrance to the farm and the stage are underwater. We're sorry, but we have to cancel Sunday's Lowcountry Blueberry Jam.
Beginning later this month, we will be implementing a comprehensive irrigation plan that will require the main drive to be extensively trenched, and we will reopen to the public at the Blueberry Festival on June 23.
We celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with homegrown original and traditional music focused on the strings at the Lowcountry Blueberry Jam on Sunday, March 17. Conservation Theory opened the show at 3 pm with an acoustic mix that builds on familiar styles from blues to bluegrass. Then, roots music featuring the banjo, guitar, mandolin, bass, fiddle, and the vocal artistry of The Hungry Monks of Charleston filled the air.
January 20
Blues band Tommy Thunderfoot and the Accelerators started the new year off just right at January's Lowcountry Blueberry Jam. Great weather, kids running through the blueberry rows and hula hooping everywhere, and fantastic music from Jig Wiggler's One Man Band and his opening riff all the way to the moonlight on Tommy Thunderfoot's last notes. See you at jam soon, and practice up on the Blueberry Toss.
October 21
October brought cool weather and the return of Acoustic Muffin to the Pearl. Laura Thurston opened the show, with her lyrical original music and guitar, harmonica and percussive talents, and the dancing went on in the night.
Choose a partner. One catches, the other throws. The object of the Blueberry Toss is to achieve the longest distance throw with a successful mouth catch.
Each pair is allowed three tries at each chosen distance.
Opening distance for all contestants is a minimum of 3 feet.
You must move at least one foot further apart for each set of three throws, but you can choose to move a greater distance. Once you move, however, you cannot reduce the distance between you and your partner. All three throws must be at the same distance.
Jumps or dives to catch a berry will be measured by the point of return to the earth, not the departure point.
After a successful catch, your distance will be measured, from toe to toe, so do not change your position until you’ve been released by the judge.
All decisions by the judge are final. In the event of a tie,
everybody eats a blueberry.
The current record is 42 feet, so practice up!
Davis Coen and John Picard opened up the September show with their country-blues beat, followed up by Guilt Ridden Troubadour playing original ballads with a Southern rock twist, showcasing some of the area’s best Americana roots musicians. Reid Stone, Whitt Algar, John Picard and Wilson Pippin were joined by Ryan Bonner and Davis Coen for a few tunes before the end of the evening. Lots of fun--and congratulations to the winning Blueberry Toss team with their 30-foot win in a hotly contested event.
At July's Blueberry Jam, Thomas Champagne opened up a fine program of music with his island-inspired tunes. Jig Wiggler's One Man Band played some amazing renditions of classic rock and blues, and then we had a fine turnout for the Blueberry Toss: 32 feet was this month's record, and the winner was a dad-son team that took home one of our new t-shirts as a prize. Local favorites the Folly Beach Reggae All Stars (Rob Hogg, Derek Cribb and John Picard) had everyone dancing to their roots originals and original reggae. Blueberry pickers wandered through the bushes, and we all enjoyed a relaxing afternoon.
Thomas Champagne Jig Wiggler's One Man Band Todd Cole sitting in with Jig Wiggler
John Picard, Derek Cribb, and Rob Hogg of the Folly Beach Reggae All Stars
Thank you all for supporting with RCW Blueberry Festival of fine music, art, demonstrations, environment and ecology talks, blueberry picking, and great food from Roti Rolls and the Haynes brothers.
We started on Saturday night with a pre-festival concert by Glenn Racine and The Muddy Bay Boys, followed by the Sandinistas! playing classic Clash, and closing out the night with Campbell Brown and Gaslight Street. Sunday the festival opened up with singer/songwriter Bogan Mask, and included Phyllis Tannerfrye, Dustin Ashenfelder, and Brady Smith (some of our first Blueberry Jam artists last year), Harrison Ray, Dallas Corbett and Dan Rainey, the up and coming band Mad Crow, and Bare Knuckle Champions.
Demonstrations of spinning, ceramics, and an introduction to basic beekeeping by Don Graham, along with a description of the Coastal Conservation League and its work by Nancy Cave, and outstanding discussions of the life and habitat and forest management for the preservation of the red-cockaded woodpecker by Larry Wood and Mark Danaher (USFS wildlife biologist) drew people up to the market area. The music rolled on with Gaslight Street, The Jefferson Coker Band and Kevin Church, the Brady Smith Band, Sarah Cole & the Hawkes, and the Keith Patterson Band.
A very special thank you to Coastal Conservation League and The Nature Conservancy for all they do to protect our lowcountry environment and ecosystems, and for coming out to the RCW Blueberry Festival. Ticket proceeds after expenses will support efforts to protect RCW habitat and educate people about this endangered species.
As usual, our volunteers did an amazing job: thanks to Richard and Judy all the way from Austin, Todd, Stephanie, Melaney, Jessica, Sara, Kylie, James, Drew, Brandon, Bud, Jeremy, and photographer Julia Louise Mills. We also appreciate the creativity and engagement of our visiting artists, from weavers and sewing magicians to jewelers, funk art, honey, and delicious foods grown by farmers and also those served up by Roti Rolls. A few photographs are below; more can be found at our Facebook page. A big thank you to Dr. William F. Rinehart, DMD, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon of 1729 N Fraser St in Georgetown for helping us as an event sponsor!
