Many years ago I interviewed the peerless Julie Andrews. It was over the phone, so I could make all the silent, joyful screaming faces I wanted. I asked her something about singing, and I’ll remember her next words forever: “There is nothing like singing in front of a live symphony orchestra.” As a classical music fan, I was in the clouds. Now, another living icon is lending her voice to symphony halls. But first, a sigh of relief for a Southern treasure.
CONSERVATION GROUP SAVES OKEFENOKEE SWAMP FROM MINING THREAT
Credit: Public Domain/NASA
Credit: Public Domain/NASA
The Conservation Fund just bought a proposed mining site next to Georgia’s Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, saving the fragile wetlands from serious environmental threats.
- Conservationists have railed against what seemed like an imminent deal to allow Twin Pines Minerals to mine titanium dioxide less than three miles from the edge of the refuge.
- The project paused when Twin Pines was ordered to pay $2 million for a permit.
- The Conservation Fund swooped in and bought the land for a cool $60 million instead.
Georgia's Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is a special place and one of the most important natural treasures in Georgia. It's the kind of place that sticks with us and sustains us — a destination for nature lovers and home to unique plants and wildlife like alligators, wood storks and bald eagles."
🐊 What’s a blackwater swamp? The Okefenokee is North America’s largest blackwater swamp, which means its waters are darkened by plant deposits and peat matter. More from the River Basin Center at the University of Georgia.
SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAS WITH A SOUTHERN TWANG
Credit: Jason Kempin/Getty Images/TNS
Credit: Jason Kempin/Getty Images/TNS
Did you know Dolly Parton has a whole orchestra show? “Dolly Parton’s Threads: My Songs in Symphony” features orchestral versions of Parton’s most loved works, performed by a roster of vocalists and musicians with diverse backgrounds and specialties. Parton’s on-screen presence guides the audience through the stories behind the music.
After a tough post-pandemic run, Southern symphonies are having a real moment. Some of my favorite AJC writers talked to symphony orchestras around Georgia, who say ticket sales and public interest are finally trending up again.
That’s thanks to refreshing strategies like free concerts, themed events and more music from living, female and non-white composers and artists.
A lot of symphonies do super fun outdoor concerts during the summer, too. You should go. Julie and Dolly agree.
SOMETHING NO ONE ASKED FOR
I’m a chronic Googler. I love to Google stuff. The sillier the better, in fact. So, for no reason at all, here are the zodiac signs of Southern states according to their founding dates.
♑ 🐐 Georgia: Capricorn (January 2)
♓ 🐟 Florida: Pisces (March 3)
♉ 🐂 Louisiana: Taurus (April 30)
♊ 👯 South Carolina: Gemini (May 23)
♊ 👯 Kentucky: Gemini (June 1)
♊ 👯 Tennessee: Gemini (June 1)
♊ 👯 Arkansas: Gemini (June 15)
♊ 👯 West Virginia: Gemini (June 20)
♋ 🦀 Virginia: Cancer (June 25)
♏ 🦂 Oklahoma: Scorpio (November 16)
♏ 🦂 North Carolina: Scorpio (November 21)
♐ 🏹 Mississippi: Sagittarius (December 10)
♐ 🏹 Alabama: Sagittarius (December 14)
♑ 🐐 Texas: Capricorn (December 29)
Why are there so many Geminis? What does it mean?
SIPS FROM THE SOUTH
📚 North Charleston, SC: Landmarks for Families, a nonprofit that provides housing for foster children, is getting their own in-house library for kids and teens thanks to a partnership with the Charleston County Public Library. More from WCSC.
🧖🏽♂️ Bowling Green, KY: Local firefighters have found a relaxing way to fight off heart disease and chemical contamination with sauna therapy. More from WBKO.
☀️ Atlanta, GA: Some Georgia churches are installing solar panels, and its directly tied to their faith. One church leader called it “creation stewardship.” More from the AJC.
🌱 Volusia County, FL: Inmates at the Volusia County jail plant mangroves to protect Florida’s coastline from hurricanes. It’s part of a larger inmate rehabilitation project that also includes growing fresh produce from hydroponic towers. The idea is to give back to the community while providing therapeutic, fulfilling work. More from Click Orlando.
🐝 Memphis, TN: Thistle & Bee is a community-based program that helps survivors of prostitution, sex trafficking and addiction rebuild their lives. Yes, honey plays a big part: Women in the program care for beehives, bake granola and craft the food and bath products Thistle & Bee sells. More from their website.
By the time of the Olympics, when I got to town, you couldn't convince me that Atlanta wasn't the queerest place on Earth.
🌈 How did Atlanta become the LGBTQ+ epicenter of the South? Big dreams, drag shows, and the spirit of social activism the city’s so well-known for. More from the AJC.
LORE: MOON PIES
Credit: Courtesy of Chattanooga Bakery
Credit: Courtesy of Chattanooga Bakery
When it comes to dessert innovation, nobody does it better than the South. Take Moon Pies, the chocolatey marshmallowy sandwich thing that somehow tastes best when plucked from a half-crushed cardboard box at the gas station.
According to the Chattanooga Bakery, which started making Moon Pies in 1917, a Kentucky miner asked a traveling bakery salesman for a snack “as big as the moon” that combined marshmallows with graham crackers. Apparently, Moon Pies also went to war, becoming a favorite snack of U.S. soldiers during World War II.
Today, June 21, the annual Moon Pie and RC Cola Festival graces Bell Buckle, Tennessee.
Somewhere along the line, Moon Pies and RC Cola became, as Tracy Byrd once sang, the working person’s “champagne and caviar.” No one really knows why, though.
TELL US SOMETHING GOOD
Is there a cool event we need to know about? Something great happening in your town? Let us know. This is your space!
SOUTHERN WISDOM
There's a sense of a rootedness, a legacy of place that is both expansive and inspiring.
The Southern Review of Books talked to seven poets in the South about how their home inspires their work.
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