DATE: November 06, 2007
CONTACT:
Rusty Guill (wedding re-enactment), (864) 656-0935
grussel@clemson.edu
CONTACT:
Rick Goodstein (Brooks Center), (864) 656-3043
regst@clemson.edu
WRITER:
Angela Nixon, (864) 656-0382
anixon@clemson.edu
Thomas Green Clemson celebration ends with wedding reenactment, special Brooks Center event
CLEMSON — Many weddings have been held on Clemson’s campus over the years, but none more important than the one held at Fort Hill Nov. 13, 1838, when Thomas Green Clemson married Anna Calhoun.
Clemson University will wrap up its year-long celebration of Thomas Green Clemson’s 200th birthday with a re-enactment of his wedding at 3 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9, on the lawn of Fort Hill. Actors in period dress will re-enact an Episcopal wedding ceremony, much like the one Clemson had. The wedding will be complete with period music played by a string quartet, a reception with food from the period and favors for all the wedding guests. The event is free and open to the public. In the event of rain, the event will be held in the Holmes Ballroom of Clemson House.
“Mr. Clemson’s ideas about education, in conjunction with his money and the land that he inherited from Anna Calhoun, brought Clemson University into existence,” said university historian Jerry Reel. “If not for that marriage, 137,000 people who have received degrees from Clemson University, the majority of whom still live in South Carolina, would not have been able to get their education here.”
The celebration continues at 8 p.m. at the Brooks Center with a special event featuring music and dramatic vignettes that tell the story of Clemson’s life. Clemson students will perform a series of five vignettes, written by performing arts professor Mark Charney, which depict different stages of Clemson’s life. They will be interspersed with musical performances by the Clemson Symphonic Band, the Clemson Symphony Orchestra, the Clemson University Singers and performing arts faculty.
The musical performances will include pieces from the period when Clemson lived, as well as a piece he wrote titled “Carolina Forever,” arranged by music professor Andrew Levin.
“The vignettes show what Thomas Clemson experienced during the formation of this university, and what a political struggle it was,” said performing arts director Rick Goodstein. “It’s very illuminating as to how Clemson University came to be.”
Tickets for the show are $12 for adults and $5 for students and all proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the performing arts department's scholarship fund. Tickets and information are available at www.clemson.edu/Brooks or by calling (864) 656-7787 from 1 to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday.
For more information about Clemson's Thomas Green Clemson Bicentennial celebration, visit www.clemson.edu/tgc200.