Alzheimer's Services 6th Annual Dinner Theater event a sell-out
By Susan Clark | The Alzheimer’s Family Services of Greater Beaufort held their sixth annual Dinner Theater event at The Shed in Port Royal on Saturday evening. The theme of the event was ‘Beaufort Stories Your Momma Never Told You’, and yes, we learned a lot. Walking into the Shed with its high ceilings and spacious floor it was easy to tell that the dinner theater drew quite a crowd. Over two dozen perfectly organized tables were spread around
the room, Carolina beach music flowed through, and people lined up for cocktails. Over eight food-stations were set up around the outer edge of the room offering a wide variety of Lowcountry staples such as gumbo and shrimp and grits.
After most everyone got a second helping of food and settled down, Ron Daise, local actor and writer,recited a Gullah story about Eddie Lee and the boo hag. He alsotaught the audience a few Gullah words and sung a traditional song.
A short intermission later, the three ‘unreliables’, Bernie Schein, Harry Chakides and Steven Keyserling shared their stories of growing up in Beaufort. Schein talked about his grandfather, the Russian emigrant, and his piano lessons as a kid. Chakides shared stories about his restaurant, Harry’s, on Bay Street which he had for 47 years, and the interesting customers that he met over the decades. Keyserling talked about growing up downtown with local family owned grocery stores and the telephone when it used to have an operator on the other end. After the performance, the floor was opened up to the audience to ask questions or share their own stories. You could tell that attendees loved the travel back in time; reminiscing old names and the way things use to be.
Arlene Heape Hull, executive director of the AFSGB said that the event went exactly how she wanted and shewas pleased with the outcome.
“It exceeded my expectations,” Hull said. Around 240 people were present this year, a sell-out for the event, sightly increasing the attendance numbers from last year. The dinner theater is one of two major events held by the AFSGB organization annually.
“We do this to raise funds and promote awareness,” Hull said. The AFSGB mission is to “provide guidance, information, and support for family members, caregivers, and individuals with Alzheimer’s disease or related disorders.
For tons of great photos of the Dinner Theatre event, click here.
Article written by Susan Clark. Photos courtesy of Eric R. Smith.
