photo by Jim Tatum

The Summerville Community Orchestra performed at the Woodlands’ July 4 event. The conductor is Alex Agrest.

Under clear skies and nearly perfect temperatures, more than 1,000 people rang in the glorious Fourth at a special celebration held at the Woodlands Inn.

Amid the sprawling, lush setting of the stately Woodlands Inn, people enjoyed food, arts and crafts, and musical performances highlighted by a special concert by the Summerville Community Orchestra.

The event was a first-ever collaboration between Woodlands, Summerville DREAM, the YMCA, and the Summerville Community Orchestra, which presented a program of popular, patriotic, and classical music, including a violin performance by conductor Alexander Agrest.

Organizers all agreed that for a first-time event, the celebration was quite successful.

“It went very well,” Susan Morris, DREAM Executive Director, said. “I was very pleased – it went very smoothly for a first-time event, and the turnout was excellent.”

Woodlands Inn General Manager Casey Lavin agreed, noting that the partnership between the entities, especially with SCO, was a good fit.

“From our perspective, it was a phenomenal event,” Lavin said. “With a first-year event, you never really know how people are going to respond. We really wanted people to feel comfortable here and celebrate all Summerville has to offer.”

More important, the event was an important step in the Woodlands’ effort to become more visible and give back to the Summerville community, Lavin said.  He noted that people in the area seem to have either forgotten or simply do not know anything about Woodlands, a situation he wants to change. In fact, some 70 percent of the 1,000 or so people who attended the event Sunday said they had never been on the Woodlands property before, he said.

“One of my goals is to find ways to get back out into and give back to the community,” Lavin said. “When I first came here, we had a booth at the Flowertown Festival. I think people were surprised to see us, and even more asked who we were. How can we give back if the community doesn’t know who we are?”

Lavin said he later met with SCO’s Jed Suddeth, who told him the orchestra was not doing its Fourth of July concert at The Ponds this year. Lavin suggested they do an event at Woodlands, and then they asked DREAM and others to partner with them.

The result was Sunday’s event, he said.

Lavin said Woodlands would continue to try to bring such events and opportunities to the area.

“We are passionate about celebrating what this town has to offer,” he said.

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