Shape-Note Summer Camp
Music
The age-old Southern tradition of shape-note singing is a full-throated, communal chorus characterized by four-part harmonies and guided by sight-reading basic “shapes” that represent different pitches. And according to enthusiast Jeannette De-Poy, it’s also “like pickup basketball: Whoever shows up, that’s who sings, whether they can or not.” Those looking for an all-star game head to the mountains for Camp FaSoLa (June 29–July 3) in Anniston for an immersive week of shape-note lessons. Singers of all ages and skill levels come from all over, including some from Ireland and Poland. The main songbook, The Sacred Harp, dates back to 1844 and features many well-known hymns, but its four-part arrangement provides minor renditions, scattered harmonies, and tenor-line melodies. “Amazing Grace” sounds entirely different in this style, DePoy says, “and this one is the original.” In shape-note singing, the cacophony of echoing voices fosters a kind of sonic transcendence. “It makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.”
Arkansas
Home to Roost
Food
Tom Lundstrum has his order down at AQ Chicken House: three-piece chicken over the coals, sweet potato casserole, and green beans. “I grew up about four blocks from AQ,” in Springdale, says the Northwest Arkansas entrepreneur. When the news came in 2023 that the dining mainstay, which has served fried chicken to the likes of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, would close down after seventy-five years, Lundstrum knew he had to act. “I can’t stand to see that old culture disappear, and I had a chance to stop this one from going away,” he says. This summer, he’s reopening in Springdale at 100 West Emma Avenue, right on the popular Razorback Greenway biking and walking trail. The culinary team is hard at work nailing the signature dish: “We want to produce the best bone-in fried chicken in America featuring our chicken over the coals,” Lundstrum says. “Nothing else matters until that is perfect.”
Flordia
A Putt Through Time
Golf
In Fort Walton Beach, a twenty-three-foot-tall Tyrannosaurus rex named Hammy lords over a classic remnant of Old Florida. A signature hazard at Goofy Golf, he’s one of the fantastical creatures you’ll encounter on the state’s Historic Mini Golf Trail, which honors courses that have operated for more than fifty years. “Our idea was to basically tell Florida’s history in a different way,” says Scott Edwards, a state historic preservationist. Sadly, some of that history has already been lost: Three years after the trail launched in 2019, Hurricane Ian destroyed the Polynesian Putter course in St. Pete Beach. Now the trail numbers just five: Goofy Golf locations in Fort Walton Beach, Panama City Beach, and Pensacola, as well as courses in Amelia Island and St. Augustine. Anna Calhoon and her husband recently bought and are refurbishing the Fort Walton Beach spot. “They don’t make courses like this anymore,” she says of the place where the couple’s grandparents and parents went on dates, and where a round still sets you back just six dollars.
floridahistoricgolftrail.com/mini
Georiga
A-Town’s A-Plus Eats
Openings
This summer looks to be a ball in Atlanta—and not just because the FIFA World Cup will host eight matches there. The city’s already buzzing restaurant scene is anticipating notable openings: In Old Fourth Ward, Sargent will serve American staples like prime rib with French flair. Like its sister spot, Lucian Books and Wine, Sargent will also encourage diners to linger, in this case over the drinks list: “In this restaurant, we will have a much larger spirits program,” says co-owner Katie Barringer, “with an emphasis on classic cocktails.” At Heritage in Summerhill, chef Demetrius Brown found a permanent home for his popular pop-up, Heritage Supper Club, where in a natural-light-filled space with exposed brick walls, he’ll turn out dishes rooted in the African diaspora. In Virginia-Highland, meanwhile, chef Myles Moody and his wife, sommelier Rachael Pack, honor the region at So. Fox, which Moody calls “a reflection of the South in its seasons.” Expect local produce and meat cut just steps away at the couple’s butcher shop, Kinship.
lucianbooksandwine.com; heritagesupperclub.com; kinshipbutcheratl.com
Kentucky
Brown-Water Bonanza
Bourbon
Every week could pass for bourbon week in Bardstown, but the Bourbon Capital of the World rolls out the amber carpet in an especially big way during National Bourbon Week (June 14–21). The celebration spans more than thirty events in tasting rooms and at the ten distilleries that make up the Bourbon Capital Alliance. Festivities kick off Sunday with a National Bourbon Day party at Heaven Hill, with highlights including a backyard dinner at the Beam family home, a bourbon soiree at Maker’s Mark, and the Bourbon Capital Mash Up, which pairs local restaurants and distillers for a spirited tasting. “You can build your ideal week,” says Bourbon Capital Alliance executive director Sam Lacy, “whether you want educational experiences, special dinners, or if you’re just hunting bottles.”
Louisiana
Reverie Under the Oaks
Food
The James Beard Award–winning chef Melissa M. Martin is known for her cozy Mosquito Supper Club restaurant in New Orleans. But last year, she opened her country-French-by-way-of-Louisiana restaurant, Saint Claire, on a sprawling piece of land in what locals call West Bank (along the Mississippi River), an easy drive from downtown. Recently, the team added gourmet alfresco meals to the offerings. “Picnics are something I’ve always wanted to do,” Martin says. Guests book a time slot between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.—picnics are limited to eight daily, staggered at half-hour intervals to avoid crowding—and then collect a vintage picnic basket, blanket, and bucket of ice. Meals come artfully packed with antique plates and silverware, and feature seasonally appropriate fare, including cheeses, charcuterie, and perhaps a bean salad, along with homemade breads and crackers, plus dessert. Picnickers have their choice of shady spots beneath majestic oaks across four grassy acres, centered around a white colonnaded building that was once part of a naval base.
Maryland
Set Sail for the Semiquincentennial
Outdoors
In 1814, the bombardment of Baltimore by the British had gone on for more than twenty-four hours when national anthem writer Francis Scott Key peered through the morning mist and saw the American flag still flying above Fort McHenry. More than two centuries later, that same harbor takes on renewed significance during Sail250 Maryland & Airshow Baltimore (June 24–30), when the city’s waters become a stage for maritime spectacle yet again. As part of the nation’s semiquincentennial, more than thirty tall ships and naval vessels from around the world, including Britain, India, and Ecuador, will gather, forming one of the largest international flotillas ever assembled. “We’re bringing all of these vessels to the United States in the spirit of camaraderie and fellowship,” says Captain Chris Rowsom, the event’s director. Attendees will have the opportunity to board ships, and watch the Blue Angels, British Royal Air Force Red Arrows, and Patrouille de France fly overhead, turning a harbor that once steeled itself against siege into a flotilla of goodwill—with the banners of many nations gallantly streaming.
Mississippi
Gulf Coast Gathering Place
Openings
Saying that the Hattiesburg restaurateur Robert St. John has contributed to his Pine Belt hometown’s dining scene, with the Midtowner, Crescent City Grill, and Loblolly Bakery, is a serious understatement. He has revolutionized it. He’s also strongly connected to Mississippi’s Gulf Coast, having spent time at a fish camp there since childhood. So when the opportunity arose to turn Gulfport’s former Triplett-Day pharmacy and lunch counter into an eatery that extends his culinary reach while saluting the landmark’s past, he jumped. Opening in early summer, the Downtowner carries on the Midtowner’s emphasis on hearty breakfasts and blue-plate lunches served in a communal atmosphere, with coastal twists such as swapping grouper for catfish in the fish and grits. “I’ve been hearing stories about how people’s grandfathers ate here,” St. John says. “We’re honoring that with images of historic Gulfport on the walls. Like at the Midtowner, I hope to see the entire community sitting together and enjoying a meal. If that happens here, I’ll have done my job.”
North Carolina
Getting Tweetsie Back on Track
Traditions
Clanging bells and the steam whistle’s woo-woo echo through the mountains at Blowing Rock’s Tweetsie Railroad, a theme park fashioned after Wild West adventures. The park’s biggest project, however, is happening behind the scenes, as a team of dedicated, multigenerational mechanics works to restore Engine No. 12, the last remaining narrow-gauge locomotive from the region’s railroad system and the park’s signature attraction. (The train itself, built in 1917, earned a spot on the National Register of Historic Places.) In 2024, workers discovered issues in the firebox, where coal heats water into steam. The boiler had 750 bolts that needed to be removed and remade, and more than 180 flues required the same treatment—along with extensive testing and repairs to interior and cosmetic components. Rick Guy, who’s toiled in Tweetsie’s shop for a half century, emphasized that restoring No. 12 requires “information you cannot learn in a book or even by following the original drawings.” As the crew finalizes repairs for what it hopes will be a summer unveiling, the park makes for a delightful visit, especially during the K9s in Flight Frisbee Dog Show at the end of July.
tweetsie.com
South Carolina
Shagging’s Next Generation
Traditions
Along the South Carolina coastline, a stream of music and dancers drifting in and out of clubs was once as constant as the ocean breeze. Backed by what became known as beach music, upbeat tracks born in the Southern sunshine, the Carolina shag first flourished in the 1940s and ’50s on the Grand Strand. These days, few true shag clubs remain, but those that do—institutions like Fat Harold’s and the Spanish Galleon—along with organizations like the Junior Shag Association, are working to ensure the next generation can belly roll and boogie walk with the best of the old-timers. At the thirty-fifth annual Junior SOS (July 12–18) at the Ocean Drive Beach and Golf Resort in North Myrtle Beach, aspiring shaggers, ages three to twenty-one, meet on the dance floor to master the basics or hone new skills under the tutelage of professionals and semipros. The shag is both quick and smooth; the six-count, eight-step dance draws from the jitterbug, the Lindy Hop, and moves by Black dancers and musicians, but comes with its own beachy flair. “It’s a more male-dominated dance, showcasing the lead footwork,” says Garrett Humphries, the Junior Shag Association president. The summer seminar is a mix of instructional workshops, for-fun competitions, relaxed social gatherings, and plenty of free time to spend on the sand. “I love watching friendships grow out of Junior SOS,” says Jackie McGee, a ten-time National Shag Champion and longtime Junior SOS volunteer. “The kids that came to my first SOS are bringing their kids.”
Tennessee
Forces for Good
Openings
In Memphis, at the National Civil Rights Museum’s new Legacy Experience, a 1990 photograph of disability right activists leaving their wheelchairs behind and dragging themselves up the U.S. Capitol Building’s seventy-eight steps to demand more accessibility underscores the human rights work that continues decades after Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination. “I hope our visitors, especially young people, see this and realize they too can be the spark that makes a difference,” says museum president Russ Wigginton. To house the Experience, the museum renovated its Legacy Building, formerly the boardinghouse where James Earl Ray fired the shot that killed King across the street at the Lorraine Motel, which is the museum’s main site. While the Experience tells tough stories, it ends with optimism. “Before they exit, people write down the change they’re hopeful for, and we’re displaying those responses,” Wigginton says. “My personal hope is they leave wanting to be part of the solution.”
Texas
Austin Classic, Swaggified
Openings
The Driskill hotel’s grand windows overlooking Brazos and Sixth Streets have seen horse-drawn carriages and streetcars give way to electric SUVs as Austin has evolved into the tech hub it is today. In 1934, Lyndon Baines Johnson brought Lady Bird Taylor to the on-site Driskill Grill for breakfast on their first date. The latest iteration of the Driskill Grill, a new steak house from McGuire Moorman Lambert Hospitality, leans in to all the lore. The soaring space channels the ghost of the original owner—cattle baron Colonel Jesse Driskill—and Austin’s Wild West past with unlacquered brass, walnut burl paneling, a pewter bar, and a palette of earthy greens and merlot red. Executive chef April Bloomfield, a James Beard Award winner celebrated for her nose-to-tail butchery and command of seasonal produce, anchors the menu in classic American steak-house fare backed by an in-house aging and butchery program. Bloomfield’s bar menu at the Victorian, the hotel’s Western-style pub that opened last year, has offered something of a preview—food rooted in Southern flavors but shaped by her British background and gastropub sensibility. The Victorian burger and fish and chips hold down the menu, while Texas Twinkies (jalapeños stuffed with bacon jam, then fried) add a little swagger.
Virginia
The Big Botanical Bang
Gardens
After years of cultivation and construction, two of Virginia’s most spectacular botanical gardens are bursting forth with bold new expansions. In Richmond, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden has nearly doubled the size of its conservatory, incorporating four climate zones (tropical, subtropical, Mediterranean, and desert) along with a permanent home for its butterfly exhibit, a longtime visitor favorite. The $30 million addition also adds seven acres of gardens, walking trails, and an extension of its demonstration kitchen garden. “There is something for everyone here,” says the garden’s CEO and president, Brian Trader. At Norfolk Botanical Garden, the new $50 million Garden of Tomorrow, opening late this summer, centers on a 26,000-square-foot glasshouse. Its second-story skywalk rambles indoors and out and provides views of endangered trees and plants from around the globe, along with one of the largest rose gardens on the East Coast. There’s also a permanent exhibit of Dale Chihuly glass art. “Wherever you look,” says CEO and president Peter Schmidt, “there are just beautiful, stunning things.”
lewisginter.org; norfolkbotanicalgarden.org
West Virginia
Dialing for Blueberries
Outdoors
As the warmest days arrive, it’s time once again for Jim Beha to revive the twenty-four-hour blueberry hotline, which updates callers with a live chat (or recorded message) on the latest picking conditions at his Blueberry Hill farm. The berries usually ripen in late June and don’t peter out until the end of July, but the hotline helps visitors avoid disappointment. “There’s nothing worse than opening the gate and inviting people in to pick something you don’t have,” Beha says. He started the Mercer County farm in 1989 after his father noted that the acidic soil that makes rhododendrons thrive in the area would probably also support blueberries—both belong to the Ericaceae family. Beha, his wife, and their three children planted three hundred bushes and were astonished by how they flourished. “They were waving at us, they were so happy. It was like a blueberry wonderland.” The farm has since exploded to nearly twelve thousand fruitful plants.
—Larry Bleiberg, Stacy Conde, Wayne Curtis, Kinsey Gidick, Robert Alan Grand, Elizabeth Hutchison Hicklin, Jennifer Stewart Kornegay, Lindsey Liles, Lia Picard, Steve Russell, and Tom Wilmes
