Spoleto Festival USA
June 1-4, 2012
Check out the itinerary.
Tell a friend about this tour.
Join UW-Madison for an extraordinary weekend of performances by some of the world’s most accomplished musicians, actors, dancers and artists. Unlike any other destination in the USA, Charleston, South Carolina comes alive for three weeks every summer for Spoleto Festival and we’ll be there for an entire weekend of the best that the festival has to offer!
We’re staying at a new hotel this year, the gracious and welcoming Embassy Suites Hotel in the original Citadel building, 
where you’ll enjoy a wonderful History of Charleston lecture on the afternoon of our arrival. We do this every time we go toSpoleto and it’s always an interesting and entertaining 90-minutes of information and insights, as well as a relaxed opportunity for getting to know your fellow group members.
Later that evening you’ll attend a performance by Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet. We saw them perform at Spoleto a few years ago and they were the highlight of the weekend. Don’t miss this opportunity to see one of the most unique and innovative dance companies in the world.
Saturday morning begins with an enlightening Walking Tour of a historic Charleston neighborhood, full of anecdotes, historyand humor, ending at the historic Dock Street Theatre for a performance of the popular Chamber Music series. Violinistextraordinaire Geoff Nuttall is joined by an ever-changing cast of musicians for this Spoleto tradition which is, essentially, the heart and soul of the festival.
That afternoon you are free to explore this fascinating city on your own. There are art museums, history museums, historical buildings, beautiful churches, lovely homes, Civil War memorials, Revolutionary War memorials, shopping opportunities,lovely parks, and world-class restaurants all easily reached in this pedestrian friendly town.
Saturday evening you rejoin the group for a performance of the opera, Kepler, a new opera by minimalist pioneer Philip Glass that explores the dreams of the great astronomer and mathematician, Johannes Kepler.
Sunday morning is free for you to do with as you wish, but at noon we gather again to attend the play The Animals and Children Took To The Streets, performed by the award-winning theater company, 1927. Synchronizing live music, performance, film, animation and storytelling, this is sure to be a matinee that you will not soon forget.
Sunday night you attend the final performance of your weekend, the comic masterpiece, Hay Fever, by Noël Coward, Performed by Dublin’s Gate Theater.
Sound good?
Join us in June for Spoleto Festival USA! You’ll love it!
Itinerary:
June 1
Fly to Charleston, SC, and check-in to the Embassy Suites Hotel.
- 3:00 pm
History of Charleston Lecture - 8:00pm
Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet
June 2
- 9:00 am
Walking Tour - 11:00 am
Chamber Music Concert - Afternoon Free
- 8:00 pm
The opera, Kepler.
June 3
- 12:00pm
The Animals and Children Took To The Streets - 8:30 pm
Hay Fever
June 4
- Fly home
Traveler comments
“The Charleston guides were excellent. I have a better appreciation of the city now.”
“I loved the walking tour – wonderful guide.”
“We really enjoyed Martha’s lecture and being on her walking tour. She was a delight and very knowledgeable”
"Having organized a few trips and many outings and conferences, I know how much work there is to make such a complicated trip run smoothly and be such a success. Please accept my compliments and also my thanks for all the work you did to make the weekend so very, very enjoyable. And I recommend YOUR trips to anyone I think might be interested."
"Can’t think of a thing (that could be improved). It was a most enjoyable experience for me, and I hope to be able to travel with UW-Madison again!"
"I thought that everything about this experience was wonderful, and I’m definitely looking forward to another trip in the future."
General information
Everyone is welcome to join us. We will have comfortable private transportation whenever it is necessary, but please understand that there will also be some walking, too; especially if you want to really explore Charleston on your own. All of the performance venues are very close to the hotel, and there are many rickshaws available to whisk you away to wherever you want to go otherwise.
As with all of our trips there will be ample free time so that you can craft your weekend to suit your own interests. Daily breakfasts are included in this package, as is the hotel’s afternoon cocktail hour, but dinners will be on your own as, historically, our travelers have preferred to make their own dining arrangements at some of the many outstanding restaurants in Charleston. The hotel concierge is expert at assisting you with these, and any other, arrangements.
Price
$1449 includes 3-nights lodging, ground transportation, lectures, tours and all performance tickets and university staff services. Airfare is extra.
This price is based upon double occupancy; single supplement is $374 extra.
Accommodations
Your lodging will be at the gracious and hospitable Embassy Suites Historic Charleston
Your travel director
Doug Whittle is the UW-Madison director of educational travel. He served for two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Zaire and has traveled independently in Asia, Africa, Europe and throughout Central and North America. In the past 6 years he has led trips on five continents for UW-Madison.
Contact information:
For information contact Doug Whittle, 608-263-7787, dwhittle@dcs.wisc.edu, or Kim Seymour, 608-262-3731, kseymour@dcs.wisc.edu.
How to register
To register, download and complete the registration form and mail it to:
Kim Seymour
Educational Travel Program
21 N Park St., 7th Floor
Madison, WI 53715
Also of interest
For further festival and performance information: