A candid interview with Water Festival Parade Grand Marshal, Pat Conroy, who says he's doing it to impress the grandkids...

The Grand Marshal for this year's Water Festival Parade is beloved best-selling author and long-time Beaufortonian Pat Conroy. The oldest of seven children born to a Marine Corps fighter pilot from Chicago and a southern beauty from Alabama, Pat landed in Beaufort at age 15 – after moving every year, all his life – and decided to call it home.

Saturday, July 26: Beaufort's Waterfront Park is a carnival. Tents are everywhere, with weird and wonderfully costumed teams itching to get out on the water and compete. The waiting dragonboat colors flash in the sun.

Explorations in Water Media with Mary Kelly & Mary Sullivan

Two artists, both with the same first name – and frequently mistaken for one another probably due to their Irish-looking faces and Irish-sounding last names – decided to take the bull by the horns in presenting a joint exhibit of their water media art works. The exhibit, "Mary & Mary! Splash! Explorations in Water Media" will run through August 22 at the Hilton Head Public Library on Beach City Road off Hwy. 278.

By Margaret Evans, Editor

This month marks a somewhat terrifying milestone in the life of my family. In a couple of weeks, our daughter will be a teenager. It's been coming on for a while now – the eye rolling, the constant texting, the bikini-clad beach walking – but I've been in denial.