Editor's note: “We Are Aiken County” is a series of articles that will run through March 16th. This article celebrates the people, places, and events that shaped Aiken County.
For the past 15 years, some of the world's best performing artists have traveled to Aiken in early March to share their talents with the community as part of Joy in Aiken.
The annual week-long arts festival is “a non-profit organization dedicated to providing the best performing arts to the public, especially students,” according to its website.
Joy in Aiken takes its name from Joy Cottage, a former Winter Colony mansion owned by William C. Whitney in the early 20th century and restored and renovated in the 1980s by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Stephen Knaife and the late Gregory White Smith. I am.
But the festival's name borrows from Aiken's storied past as a winter playground for America's wealthiest families, who came to the city to enjoy polo, fox hunting, tennis and golf in the mild southern climate. It's not the only legacy.
“Founded in 2008, Joy in Aiken is the heir to and epitomizes Aiken's long tradition of fostering artistic excellence,” according to its website.
As a social center for members of Aiken's Winter Colony, Joy Cottage “hosted performances by some of the world's best artists,” according to the site.
But whereas these performances were only open to a “privileged few,” Joy at Aiken allows everyone in the community to enjoy world-class artists at low or no cost.
For 15 years, Joy in Aiken has featured performances by more than 600 musicians, actors and dancers who are “at the top of their fields.” Many of the performers are students or teachers at New York City's famous Juilliard School.
Founded in 2008 by Smith, Dr. Sandra Field, and Naifeh, Joy in Aiken began as a collaboration with the Juilliard School. The prestigious performing arts school sent students and faculty to Aiken to perform public concerts at venues throughout the city and to implement educational support programs at schools throughout the county.