Whatever your artistic interests—music, theater, the visual arts—you’ll find something to satisfy your creative passions in North Augusta. This riverfront town is home to a theater company, an arts center, a crafts studio and a living history park offering demonstrations, reenactments and a variety of fun colonial-era events.
Here are some of the local offerings:
Arts & Heritage Center of North Augusta – Located on the ground floor of the North Augusta Municipal Building, the arts center features 7,500 square feet of exhibition space with three galleries and a gift shop filled with jewelry, paintings, photographs and food products created by regional artists.
Two of the galleries feature rotating exhibits, while the third is a permanent exhibit chronicling the history of the region from the early settlements to modern-day industries. It includes a model of North Augusta in 1910 and three trolley cars with touch-screen interactive kiosks that highlight local heritage sites.
North Augusta Cultural Arts Council – Each year, the council hosts an array of art shows, live theater productions, outdoor concerts and a student talent show.
Among the most popular events is Music in the Park, a free concert series presented May through July at Maude Edenfield Park. It covers a variety of musical genres, including beach music, bluegrass, big band, rhythm & blues, pop and jazz.
Savannah River Winds, an ensemble of woodwinds, trombones, trumpets and percussion, also offers two annual performances—The Prism Concert and Veteran’s Concert featuring patriotic music.
Add to that student talent and art shows and SpringFest, a visual arts competition on display from March through early May.
Riverfront Theatre Company – This company of regional actors has presented a wide array of shows, including the musical “Nunsense,” “Putnam County 25th Annual Spelling Bee,” “Steel Magnolias,” “James and the Giant Peach” and “Greater Tuna.”
AR Workshop – An Anders Ruff DIY studio, it offers to-go craft kits, workshops and custom products made by local artisans. Projects include clocks, trays, pet beds, blanket ladders, centerpiece wood boxes, porch signs, photo frames and canvas pillows and tote bags.
Living History Park – Once an abandoned waterworks, the 7.5-acre property was transformed into an educational park offering visitors a glimpse at life in North Augusta during colonial times. The former pumphouse is now the springhouse tavern featuring an in-ground cook pit and smokehouse. Free classes in the colonial crafts of cabinetmaking, chairmaking and coopering are offered in the cabinetmaker’s workshop.
In addition, there is a treenware maker, milliner, meeting house, blacksmith’s forge, a backwoods hunter’s cabin, a pottery house, corn crib, grist mill and military encampment with Colonial Militia and other period demonstrations. The park is also the setting for concerts, picnics, recreational activities, a two-day history encampment and an artisan’s fair.
