Commodore Dan Thompson and his wife Bonnie, both former marines living in Beaufort since 1987, have been volunteering with the Water Festival for 13 years. Dan has worked for Hargray for 22 years and is their Central Office Manager. He spends his "free time" working as a reserve police officer for Beaufort City, "making sure everybody's safe." Communications and safety? Seems like a pretty good background for a Water Festival Commodore. We spoke to him about the festival, the role of Commodore, and a desert tortoise named Elvis.

"Eighteen years ago I picked up my first paint brush and have yet to set it down," says local artist, Mary Thibault, when asked about how she became an artist. This summer Thibault is excited to see her second Water Festival t-shirt and bumper sticker design come to life.

Countdown to the 2014 Beaufort International Film Festival

Each July Ron and Rebecca Tucker get the jitters. Six months after the curtain drops on the 2013 Beaufort International Film Festival, the two principal organizers are invariably afflicted with a case of the "What Ifs?" Even though the festival continues to grow in both size and quality, each year the same nagging doubts come scratching at the door: What if we don't get enough submissions? What if no one comes? What if ticket sales are off? What if, what if, what if?

Sonny and Georgia Phillips established their gallery in downtown Beaufort fifteen years ago this month, after raising their family on Hilton Head Island, running an oyster factory, and renovating an 1850s church in Bluffton, among quite a few other adventures. Their gallery anchors the cultural scene and keeps standards high. Here are a few testimonials . . .