CAMDEN’S ING COASTAL

created a “Take a slice out of hunger” program whereby they donate pizzas to the needy. And they offer their venue for free to organizations to host events on-premises.

Good old family values are at the core of this visionary couple with three kids of their own and a strong foundation of faith. Their initial business began in Camden County as Headline Hair Designers (14 years ago) which has segued into Headline Salon and Spa, sharing space in the old post office building with Yankee Pie Apizza.

And you don’t have to worry about the wait anymore as their in-house facility can churn out 24 apizzas in just two minutes. And you can order online as well with no waiting upon arrival.

For more information, visit www.yankeepieapizza.com.

Filmmaking continues to thrive in St. Marys and Coastal Georgia with a recent premiere of Success Camp starring former Superman Dean Cain and an upcoming film series produced by Studio 425 Productions for Dads 4 Life.

Dads 4 Life is a 501 (c) 3 organization dedicated to “enhancing, enriching and encouraging Dads to invest in their greatest asset on Earth...their children.” Keith Jowers, founder of Dads 4 Life, believes that “If you go through life only helping yourself, you go through life alone.” That thought remains the anchor of what the organization continues to accomplish.

Celebrating their 20th year in 2024, Dads 4 Life has entered into a new way to support parents, especially dads by creating Studio 425 Productions to focus on helping families through film production.

St. Marys will play host to Dads 4 Life’s first big project, a film series called “Crossroads” that deals with the many decisions parents face in life and the effects of their decisions. Many of the series episodes are based on true stories. Having had a great experience with his involvement in the locally-filmed Success Camp project, Jowers plans to film several episodes in St. Marys and will be tapping locals to participate in the filming. Camden County Film Commissioner Doug Vaught is working to secure locations and is reaching out to residents to see who might have a nice porch with porch swing for one location shot. (contact info at CoastalGeorgiaFilm.org).

Jowers understands the value of a community that roles out the red carpet for filmmakers and a city whose leadership appreciates the economic contributions that filmmaking can make to a community.

To help fund its film project, Dads 4 Life is hosting a Family Fun Night of Comedy featuring Rik Roberts and Allan Newsome. Barney Fife and Floyd the barber from Mayberry will be there also. continued ...

“If Laughter does good like a medicine as written in the good book then these two together dispense enough to fill a pharmacy,” said Jowers.

This “Barney and Floyd” event is scheduled for November 18, 2023 at 6 pm at Parkwood Church, 7900 Lone Star Road, Jacksonville, FL. More details on tickets can be found on the Dads 4 Life Facebook page or their website, Dads4life.com.

Stephen King Story To Be Reprised In St. Marys

For the second time, local filmmaker Brandon Herron is producing a film based on a Stephen King short story. It’s all part of Stephen King’s “”Dollar Babies” program whereby King offers aspiring filmmakers a chance to make a non-commercial movie based on one of his short stories and only charges one dollar for that privilege. Herron has chosen The Man Who Loved Flowers for his Dollar Baby project. He has to transpose the short story into a script suitable for the big screen, of course, and envisions the resulting film being featured in film festivals around the country.

Having made films in St. Marys several times before, Herron is grateful for all the resources the Coastal Georgia Film Alliance offers filmmakers and St. Marys’ film-friendly city leadership. He plans to film The Man Who Loved Flowers in St. Marys and through the Film Alliance will be asking locals to participate as actors.

Rising Star On The Way To Discovery

Eleven-year-old Collin Galvin is no stranger to the big screen or the stage. He’s been performing with the St. Marys Little Theatre at Theater by the Trax for several years and his on-screen acting career has picked up steam in the last few months.

Collin’s film portfolio would be envied even by a seasoned performer and includes Disney films and appearances with A- list actors. He appeared along with Scarlett Johannson, Ray Romano, and Channing Tatum in Project Artemis; in May to December with Julianna Moore and Natalie Portman; in a kids fantasy series teaser by the creator of Barney & Friends, as well as in the aforementioned Success Camp. Collin’s television portfolio includes Clean Slate, directed by Norman Lear.

With more than $4.4 billion having been spent in the state of Georgia in 2022 alone (a record-breaking year according to Governor Brian Kemp), clearly filmmaking is going strong and Coastal Georgia continues to court location managers, producers, and other powers-that-be to make sure the region is “top of mind” for the film industry long into the future.

To Inspire, nurture, amaze, and educate—that has been the driving force of St. Marys Little Theatre’s (SMLT) mission of “Enriching lives through performing Arts” for nearly years.

When the lights go down and a metaphorical curtain rises on the stage at Theatre by the Trax where SMLT makes its home, there is an anticipation of magic in the air.

The St. Marys Little Theatre (SMLT) performing troupe made its debut in fall 2011 with the ambitious “Man of La Mancha.” A Navy chaplain, a retired colonel, a fireman, and a city mayor were among the 35 individuals that comprised the cast and crew of the premier production. Five shows. Five sellouts. Five standing ovations. Live theatre had returned in full to downtown St. Marys, Georgia.

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And now, 13 seasons later, SMLT continues to bring the community together—writers, actors, costume designers, lighting pros, stage techs, prop managers, set designers, carpenters, electricians, musicians, vocalists, artists, and supporters—all for the good cause of entertainment and learning through the cultural arts.

“It is something of a feat to put on a theatre production,” said SMLT Founder and Chair Barbara Ryan-Harris. “Much like film, it requires writers, actors, directors, etc., and the chemistry that’s produced by the fusion of these elements. But unlike film, it’s all live—no editing, no retakes, no room for error.”

She continued, “The subtle tension produced by the shared knowledge, on all sides of the stage, that at any moment one or more elements could fail—while simultaneously suspending disbelief so that what is happening on stage appears ‘real’—puts a charge in the air, something visceral and intangible yet permanent in its effect.”

This, Ryan-Harris says, is the magic of theatre.

SMLT’s most recent productions included the annual “Evening with the Stars” and “Savannah Sipping Society” held their own magic.

With sound- and look-alike talents that included Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, Shania Twain, Adele, Whitney

Houston, Kenny Chesney and 26 other acts, “Evening with the Stars” was met with resounding applause and kudos galore.

“People thought the performers were lip-syncing— that’s how good they were,” Ryan-Harris said. “But Coastal Georgia has some awesome talent and we love showcasing it. One audience member remarked that if ‘America’s Got Talent’ held their auditions in St. Marys, they could fill up their entire season.’”

Ryan-Harris said her biggest rewards come from witnessing transformations that take people from where they were hoping they could go to far beyond where they ever thought they would go.

“We especially love seeing families and young people participate in our theatre group,” she said. “Evening with the Stars, with a cast and crew of 50, was filled with familial groups that included children, parents, grandparents, and cousins. Their involvement gave them an opportunity to spend quality time with each other several times a week.”

“We’ve seen these amazing transformations that happen when young people are exposed to theatre, and the impact on these young lives has been both inspiring and daunting because we know there is so much possibility but limited resources to fulfill those possibilities.” continued ...

SMLT is enjoying more and more the effects of cultural tourism. Recently, audiences were made up of more than 50% of people from out of town.

“The potential for cultural heritage tourism is vast,” said Ryan-Harris. “This contributes to the vibrancy of our economy when people come and eat in our restaurants, shop in our stores, and stay in our hotels and bed and breakfasts.”

SMLT’S 2023 production of “Savannah Sipping Society” brought in groups of women who made it a weekend girls getaway.

The hilarity of four aging southern belles sharing their angsts, their triumphs, and their sovereignty made for great entertainment as evidenced by the audiences’ response.

“We are growing into a vibrant and stalwart theatre community,” Ryan-Harris said. “And our pledge is to continue to serve up delicious and soul-nourishing performances—some time-tested classics, family-friendly musical theatre, lots of humor, and a salting of dance from time to time.”

The producers, directors, actors, continued ...

SPECTACULAR! St. Marys Little Theatre Presents

Jekyll & Hyde, The Musical

October 13-22, 2023

Tickets Available in August writers, and tech crew of St. Marys Little Theatre invite the public to “drink up” and enjoy the upcoming productions, and to get involved.

“The smell of the greasepaint and the roar of the crowd can be addictive,” Ryan-Harris warns. “It is that passion that lives within us all to bring joy to others that really makes up the magic of the theatre.”

Editor’s Note: St. Marys Little Theatre, a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization, is totally funded by its board of directors, members, and contributors. To get involved or to learn how you can support the performing arts in Coastal Georgia, visit www.stmaryslittletheatre.com.

Evening With The Stars

ANTONIO MERRICK

ANGELA BUREAU

BARBARA RYAN HARRIS

BETTY KING

BONNIE CRAIGMILES

BROOKS NETTUM

CAROL MOORE

CRAIG & MAUREEN MILLER

DAVE REILLY

DEBORAH BAUER

DEBRA PARSONS

DOUG VAUGHT

GENE AND NATALIE MORRIS

GLORIA HURLEY

JEFF SCHULTZ

JENNIFER MILLE

JOHN AND ROZ TOSHACH

KATHLEEN CONSTABLE

KEEGAN & REBECCA FEDERAL

KEN & PAT RICHIE

LARRY RATLIFF

LESLIE SANDERS

LYNN SCHULTZ

MARDJA GRAY

PAM SIKES

PJ AND LISA FIELDS

SKIP HARRIS

STEVE ROYER

TAMMY BRADLEY

Savannah Sipping Society

CAROL MOORE

SUE AND ARCHIE ARCHAMBEAULT KEN AND PAT RICHIE

PAT BARNETT

SUSANNAH HOLMES

LARRY RATLIFF

DOUG VAUGHT elegant architecture of a bygone era. (Samuel H. Kress would be proud.)

Who remembers the Kress Five & Dime Stores that operated across America up to 1981?

From 1896, generations “came to town” to shop in their local Kress store for ordinary necessities. These iconic stores remain an important part of retail history and, thankfully, those who revere history have repurposed these important structures into significant businesses that play an important role in the success of a downtown. Brunswick, Georgia, is no exception.

In 1958, S. H. Kress Company purchased the former First National Bank Building in Downtown Brunswick to expand their adjacent Five and Dime. Ultimately both structures were demolished and replaced by a single modern two-story building that pays homage to the two monuments of its past.

Tommy McGraw, a native of Glynn County, had a vision to contribute to Downtown Brunswick’s major renovation. Set at 1505 Newcastle Street in the very heart of Brunswick’s revitalized downtown, the brand new Kress Hotel is an extraordinary testament to how well yesterday and tomorrow can meld into a work of art and beauty.

The new structure features a colorful porcelain enamel facing and large windows that reflect the continued ...

The Kress Suites are decorated with intricate, historical elements and vintage accents that create an inviting atmosphere. With large windows throughout and balconies, guests can experience the illumination from the natural light and the golden hour views.

Each suite is unique and reflects the character of a well-loved private home. With features like exposed brick, vaulted skylights, luxurious rugs, gleaming hardwood floors, and gourmet kitchens, staying in a Kress Suite is luxury personified. And the congenial professional staff makes sure every guest feels like the VIP he or she really is.

For superb dining, one only has to take the elevator to the rooftop restaurant –1509. Sweeping views await you adding to the ambience of a supreme dining experience. Succulent seafood, sublime steaks, savory small plates all add up to a culinary sojourn of the highest order. An impressive wine list, handcrafted cocktails, beers, and ciders from around the world complete your dining joy. Tastefully secluded from the remainder of the restaurant is 1509’s elegant cigar lounge continued ...