It started, of course, with The Book.
The first-ever Savannah Book Festival drew about 2,600 people and kicked off with an inaugural address by “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” author John Berendt. His lightly veiled account of Savannah’s social elite amid a murder trial became a sensation that enraptured readers (and scandalized certain denizens of the patrician Oglethorpe Club, who still won’t abide it in their Spanish moss-draped homes). About 700 people came to hear Berendt introduce keynote speaker and Georgia author Terry Kay.
Fast-forward to this year’s fifth annual festival, which will feature Walter Isaacson, author of the acclaimed new biography of Steve Jobs, along with Stephen King as the closing act. Pat Conroy will deliver the keynote address for the five-day festival, set for Feb. 15-19. Organizers expect this year’s book fest to draw a record crowd of 10,000.
“We’ve gotten stronger and stronger,” said festival executive director Robin Gold. “As we’ve grown, we’ve been able to attract national authors.”
Stephanie Duttenhaver, president of the Savannah Book Festival, said the festival may serve to attract writers to the colorful coastal city for sabbaticals, enhancing the city’s burgeoning reputation as a destination for persons of letters.
“There’s some inspiration to be had from the architecture, the marsh lands, the quirkiness of a small town,” Duttenhaver said. “I do believe, to some degree, the Savannah Book Festival has been responsible for making Savannah the literary capital of the Southeast.”
But the book festival is just one of several cultural events happening in the genteelly nicknamed Hostess City of the South this spring.
The Savannah Music Festival, planned for March 22 through April 7, will showcase a variety of genres with folk, gospel, bluegrass, jazz and classical performances. Highlights include a March 22 performance by Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, a March 27 celebration of Louis Armstrong featuring Wycliffe Gordon and other artists and an April 7 performance by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.
It is not to be confused with the Savannah Stopover Music Festival March 7-10, which is billed as a warm-up for alt-rock bands headed to the SXSW Music Festival in Austin, Texas.
Other events this spring include the Savannah Tall Ships Challenge May 3-7 and a 100th anniversary celebration of the Girl Scouts May 4-6.
Erica Backus, director of public relations with Visit Savannah, said the city is stretching itself culturally to welcome a wide range of visitors.
“The Stopover Festival especially is very young and hip,” said Backus. “We’ve got everything from Paula Deen to Civil War [sites] to ghost hunters.”
Backus said Savannah received 11 million tourists last year — a good number of them from metro Atlanta.
“Atlanta is our No. 1 feeder market,” she said, thanks to the relatively short drive down 1-75 and I-16 and the smaller city’s more tranquil vibe.
Rob Gibson, the executive and artistic director of the Savannah Music Festival, is an Atlanta native.
A University of Georgia graduate, he spent a decade in New York. He was the founding director of Jazz at Lincoln Center featuring trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, who will perform March 1 as part of SMF Live, an off-season concert series affiliated with the Savannah Music Festival.
While Gibson enjoyed his time in New York, he started looking to come back South after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, both because he felt unsettled and because he’d had it with cold weather.
“We thought about moving back to Atlanta,” Gibson said. “My wife is from there. We both grew up in Buckhead. A friend of mine told me there was a broke-down music festival that needed to be turned around [in Savannah].”
In his 10 years running one of the state’s largest music festivals, he said Savannah has become a different place.
“How many Savannahnians does it take to change a light bulb? Eighteen. One to change it, and 17 to talk about how good the old one was,” he quipped, quoting an old chestnut reflecting the city’s historically elite ways.
“Savannah’s a lot less provincial than it used to be. It’s gotten a lot hipper. We’re kind of funky in Savannah. We like that.”
If you go
For more complete details on the festivals, visit these websites:
● Savannah Book Festival: www.savannahbookfestival.org
● Savannah Music Festival: www.savannahmusicfestival.org
● Savannah Tall Ships Challenge: www.savannahtallships challenge.com
● Savannah Stopover Music Festival: www.savannahstopover.com
● Girl Scouts 100th Anniversary: www.juliettegordonlow birthplace.org
Where to stay
Savannah lodging includes a number of gracious bed-and-breakfasts and a range of hotels to suit any budget. For unique digs downtown, check out the Avia Savannah, 14 Barnard St., 912-233-2116, www.aviasavannah.hyatt.com; the Bohemian Hotel Savannah Riverfront, 102 W. Bay St., www.bohemianhotelsavannah.com; or Kehoe House, 123 Habersham St., 1-866-599-6674, www.kehoehouse.com.
For easy proximity to Forsyth Park, try the Mansion on Forsyth Park, 700 Drayton St., 1-866-599-6674, www. mansiononforsythpark.com or The Gastonian, 220 E. Gaston St., 1-866-599-6674, www.gastonian.com. For historic accommodations, try the Planters Inn, 29 Abercorn St., 912-232-5678, www.plantersinnsavannah.com.
Where to eat
700 Drayton is the elegant restaurant at the Mansion on Forsyth. 700 Drayton St., 912-721-5002, www.mansion onforsythpark.com.
The Olde Pink House is a spot in a historic building downtown. 23 Abercorn St., 912-232-4286.
For a more casual meal in a location with lots of quirky, local flavor, try the Crystal Beer Parlor, 301 W. Jones St., 912-349-1000, www.crystalbeerparlor.com. If you just need a cold PBR, seek out Pinkie Master’s, 318 Drayton St., 912-238-0447.
See savannahvisit.com for a comprehensive list of hotels and restaurants.
Where to stop
The only downside for metro Atlantans visiting Savannah is the trip down I-16, east from Macon. Exit 51 in Dublin and Exit 104 in Metter are pretty good bets for a convenient clutch of places to stop for gas, a bathroom break or to grab a quick bite.
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