The Isle of Palms will be a co-sponsor of the Charleston area’s 2024 Martin Luther King celebration.
At a March 28 meeting, the IOP City Council voted unanimously to participate in the celebration. Plans, still in their early stages, call for the city to play a role in a Jan. 10 VIP reception, in cooperation with Wild Dunes Resort and the Charleston Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.
There are no estimates yet on how much the plan will cost the city. Council member Jan Anderson, who brought up the idea to the city’s governing body, said she is expecting the resort to provide the rooftop ballroom of the Sweetgrass Inn free of charge and that the YWCA of Greater Charleston would be responsible for the food and beverages.
The Jan. 10 VIP reception would be a new event for the MLK observance, which Anderson said could eventually be a week-long celebration that would attract overnight visitors to Isle of Palms during the slowest time of the year for tourism.
“This will be good for hotels and for short-term rentals outside the gates,” Anderson remarked. “Having the reception highlights Wild Dunes and the Isle of Palms as a place to stay.”
She said the VIP reception probably would be for the people who will attend the corporate breakfast in Charleston the following morning.
“We’ve been feuding among ourselves, but not on this,” Anderson commented. “This event is a great example of how the island can come together in supporting a common goal of creating a family-friendly environment.”
“I would like to see the city certainly do more than just pay lip service,” she added. “The level of what we do is what’s in question. I think we will be legitimate partners. With the African American Museum opening this summer, I’m anticipating that the MLK celebration is going to evolve into a week-long destination for Charleston. This event will put us right at the center of it. It will put a positive face forward for us.”
YWCA Executive Director LaVanda Brown addressed the Council March 28, pointing out that the mission of the organization is to eliminate racism and empower women. She said in the past, the YWCA has “largely done our work on the peninsula,” adding that “nothing would make me happier than to be able to bridge the gap between all these communities.”
“Thank you for the opportunity to not just write a check or write a letter,” she said. “We’re looking for a relationship. The relationship and the engagement are what’s really important.”