Mount Pleasant Magazine Jan/Feb 2015

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Spoleto FeStival USa
“In the early days of the festival, Charleston was not as
burnished as it is now,” said Nigel Redden, general director
of Spoleto Festival USA. “One of the
things that attracted Gian Carlo Menot-
ti, who founded the Festival in Spoleto,
Italy, was that the Festival could be an
economic engine here, just as it was for
Spoleto, Italy. The idea of going to a
relatively poor town in the South made
an enormous amount of sense just in
terms of replicating the Italian Festival
in America.”
Redden pointed out that the beauty
of the city and the fact that it had good theaters made
Charleston the perfect place to grow an arts festival. Visi-
tors, as well as many Spoleto performers, soon discovered
the area’s beaches, making their way to
Sullivan’s Island and the Isle of Palms to
spend their downtime enjoying the sun
and sand.
Almost four decades after its birth,
Spoleto Festival USA is internationally
recognized as America’s premier perform-
ing arts festival. For 17 days and nights
each spring, it fills Charleston’s historic
theaters, churches and outdoor spaces
with performances by renowned art-
When Spoleto Festival USA trumpets in its 39th season in May, the focus
of the art world, both nationally and internationally, will fall directly on
Charleston. From its humble beginnings to becoming what many consider
the premier event in the top-ranked tourist city in America – and number
two in the world – is a breathtaking rags-to-riches transformation.
Almost four decades after its birth, Spoleto Festival USA is internation-
ally recognized as America’s premier performing arts festival.
BY THE NUMBERS
• Inaugural year: 1977
• Number of years in Existence: 38
• First year attendance: Not available
• Attendance in 2014: 65,000
• Local economic impact in 2014: $85 million
(last studied in 2008)
• Date(s) of 2015 event: May 22-June 7
• Length of event: 17 days
• Website:
Photo courtesy of Spoleto Festival USA.