Photographers Choice

January 12th, 2008 Events Jason No Comments

Come see seven local photographers exhibit a few of their favorite photos at the McClellanville Town Hall. Featured photographers are William Baldwin, Sharon Cumbee, Vennie Deas-Moore, Selden B. Hill, Bernadette Humphrey, Sylvan Racine, and Hailey Russell.

Second Saturday Sale

January 12th, 2008 Events Jason No Comments

Group Yard Sale at McClellanville Arts Council. Call 887-3157 to reserve a space.

McClellanville Goes Hollywood Again?

January 9th, 2008 Buyers Jason 1 Comment

Update: The New Daughter Released: Shots from Around McClellanville

The Post and Courier reported today that McClellanville may be the new site for the filming of a horror movie called The New Daughter starring Kevin Costner. The article reports that McClellanville and Edisto Island are two possible locations for the filming and that a production studio has made its home in Charleston. The film is based on a story by John Connolly which takes place in rural Illinois. This leads one to wonder what McClellanville and Illinois share visually, but I guess thats where they say a film is loosely based on a novel.

Of course this isnt the first time McClellanville has attracted the attention of Hollywood. Much of the movie Paradise, starring the then-married Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith and a young Elijah Wood, was filmed in McClellanville in 1991. I remember it well because we got to get out of school to go watch them film and then we played football with Elijah Wood who was our age. You can recognize T.W. Grahams restaurant in the scene near the beginning when Elijah arrives in town on bus. As I recall the name and appearance of the restaurant were changed and there was a large fake red building facade that was built next to it as part of the scene. My memory is a little fuzzy due to the fact that I was only 11.

A few scenes from Forest Gump were also filmed in McClellanville a few years later in 1994. When Forrest (Tom Hanks) jumps off his shrimp boat to go see Lieutenant Dan (Gary Sinise) was filmed on the Intracoastal Waterway and the footage of the shrimp boat fleet after the storm was news footage taken after Hurricane Hugo.

(Copyright 1994 Paramount Pictures – All rights reserved.)

There have also been quite a few articles written about McClellanville published in various national and local magazines and publications over the past few years if youd like to read some unbiased reviews of the area.

UPDATE: The New Daughter will indeed be filmed in McClellanville.

UPDATE: New Daughter Movie Update

Tags: The+New+Daughter, McClellanville+SC, McClellanville+Movies, McClellanville+Magazines

A McClellanville Year in Review: Saying Goodbye to 2007

January 1st, 2008 Uncategorized Jason No Comments

2008 came quietly at the Bates house.  Noah, my son, was visiting with his grandparents and Josie and I were in bed well before midnight.  I was actually asleep when the ball dropped, a nice change from my old policing days when I seemed to always being working on New Years Eve (probably the worst night of the year to work) and arresting drunks and drunken drivers until daybreak.

Looking back on the year it has been full of many great events for me.  I became a father and have learned more about myself through that process than I ever thought possible.  We built our first new home in McClellanville and are still unpacking boxes after almost 6 months being here (a newborn tends to slow things down).  I started this blog (website) and continue to learn more and more about web design, writing, marketing, and the people and places of McClellanville.  I repaired and began managing a vacation rental property that has so far been successful.

It was a slow year for real estate in McClellanville with only 11 homes and 20 lots sold.  This compared to the record 2005 and 2006 years where 18 homes sold each year and 32 and 34 lots sold respectively.  The national news is saying that the “experts” predict a slow real estate market until 2009.  I think if they were really experts, they wouldn’t be making blanket statements about something as localized as real estate and that the media is warping the general population’s attitude toward buying (but that’s another story).  Prices had risen quite high in the years prior and we have witnessed a moderate correction in those prices this year.  I don’t feel that we will experience any more reduction in price and that buyers that have been waiting for things to stabilize will soon recognize the deals that can be found in McClellanville when compared to other coastal areas.

In the new year, I plan to continue to cover many of the local McClellanville events, but I’d also like to go into detail about some of the things you hear about around town (breaking down the gossip and reporting the truth) and read about in the town newsletter.  I am going to do more background articles about some of the local attractions and finish my neighborhood spotlight series.  I’m also going to roll out a new interactive map and put together some great new contest to reward my loyal readers out there.

All in all it was a great year and with any luck 2008 will be ever better.

PS – Don’t forget to pick up a new 2008 boat landing launch sticker at the town hall.