This is our second time to host a wedding at Arran Farm. It is such a pretty place for a wedding…read moreand the chapel is just beautiful!

Everything was perfect. Delicious food and wonderful view. Beautiful wedding on a perfect fall day.read more

Wonderful new art gallery with a beautiful and varied collection of well curated work from a…read morevariety of different artists working in a variety of mediums. They also offer a variety of different kinds of classes with instruction- tonight I took a fun class on silk scarf painting. For a very reasonable price they provided a beautiful silk scarf, all the paints and other supplies needed and instructions to help create a beautiful scarf! Such nice people and so much fun! No experience (or talent, in my case! ) required- they help you every step of the way so that you go home with a beautiful creation! Highly recommended! So much fun!

What a gem! This old Elementary school retains the charm with original hardwood floors in the once…read moreclassrooms, with murals on the walls, both inside and out. They offer classes in art, guitar, theatre. pottery, voice lessons, and wood carving, Friendly, helpful staff showed us around the building and sold us tickets to an upcoming concert. I was delighted to see a "little free library" in the parking lot!

Came for the Friday Night Beachin' concert. I loved the wholesome family atmosphere and music by…read moreThe Hot Notes and the Elvis impersonator. Great dancing music. We picked up dinner at the Bosco's Baby's Catering food stand. I had the tasty pulled buffalo chicken sandwich only, $8. My friend had the Philly cheesesteak platter, $10. The cheese steak sandwich is probably a better value since it was a heartier sandwich than the pulled chicken. But really, both were very good. The platter comes with two sides (choice of slaw, fries or baked beans). My friend loved the french fries. Sodas were $2/can, I think the hot dog place across the way was charging $1/can. As an option beer and wine are sold at another stand. The Friday night concerts are a great low key opportunity to relax with friends after a long work week. So glad that Mauldin offers community events like these.

I came here for a baby shower. It's a little hidden but I kind of like that. I didn't have issues…read morewith parking but the baby shower wasn't a huge crowd. The whole place is updated inside and out. Bathrooms were very clean. The inside is nice and spacious and the owner was the sweetest.

Excellent venue! Not only is it perfect for a wedding but also any of your other events. We have…read morehosted a few parties here now and it's just perfect!

Surprisingly intriguing museum with a wide variety of art which is presented in a gorgeous,…read morewell-lit space and organized well. Excellent staff who were cordial and knowledgeable. Highly recommend! It would be nice to provide a bit more info about each painting beyond the donor info.

The Art Museum was easy to find and is one of several museums all near each other, The Children's…read moremuseum, The Music Museum and The History museum as well as a Library and Theatre. We were greeted at the entrance and they explained about standing 3 feet back from the art on the wall. I was given a sheet of paper explaining what exhibits were on each level. The works of art were displayed nicely with cards listening Artist, title and mediums used. Also on the walls were interesting facts about the featured artist and their works. The Andrew Wyeth pictures were a beautiful representation of his work spanning several decades of his life. There was also a wonderful exhibit of American artist Bob Ray's work. I was not familiar with his work but it was lovely and intriguing. There are elevators and stairs and ramps making transitions to each floor very easy for all. We went to the top floor and a wonderful gentleman who works there, John , told us quite a bit about the mixed media bird sculptures that were made by Grainger McKoy and and featured at the museum. Gravity defying and extremely detailed we were in awe. John was enthusiastic and knowledgeable and we had a wonderful time. There was a delightful group of young children on a school trip, that were at the museum and were incredibly well behaved. They were listening to their guide and I was smiling as they were told to discuss with their partners different aspects of the works..... their sweet voices sounded like music as I was behind a wall. The gift shop was small but lovely and I bought some cards and beautiful paper masks. There is no admission fee, so we took an envelope to send in well deserved donation.

It was a fun interactive rainy day activity to do with friends (that have little one's) that were…read morevisiting. I look forward to taking advantage of various events they host throughout the year!

Wanna see a nuclear reactor Upclose and Personal? Take the self-guided tour at Duke's World of…read moreEnergy to learn how electricity is generated using water, coal and uranium. Oconee was the first nuclear station built by Duke Energy. Operating since 1973 it has produced more than 500 million megawatt-hours of electricity, 1st in the country to do so. Fun things to do: * Kids love pushing (our) buttons! Luckily the World of Energy is filled with interactive exhibits, games and videos, all with buttons waiting to be pressed. * Explore a full size nuclear reactor replica and test your knowledge at the computer games * Get a kick seeing the 1930s small home-appliances invented by Duke's engineers, like the electric toaster and the iron machine! * Enjoy a 0.25 mile nature trail and a colorful butterfly garden (however we only saw one butterfly, maybe they were all hiding because of the heat) More FREE attractions in the area: * Walhalla Fish Hatchery - feed, fish and see all the life stages of trout * Historic Oconee Station (former Indian trading post) and Hagood Mill (still operating grist mill, site to live demos, blue grass and folk tales festivals) * Legendary Issaqueena and Whitewater waterfalls * Admire country's largest collection of nature-based sculptures at SC Botanical Garden (on the Clemson campus)

Im writing this from a handful of recent visits as a member in the dining room, not the golf…read morecourse. Today we got to sample the new lunch menu. In a word, great. I had the gazpacho topped with crepe fraiche (photo). It was chunky and spicy Not hot but just the right amount of zing. I had a second appetizer from the new menu as my main course. Called the Crab Tower. Innovative dish (photos) with lump crabmeat stacked on chopped mango and cucumbers with an avocado sauce drizzled around it. What a cool combination of tastes. Service from Rob was very good as was the view. My only complaint is when it a buffet (e.g., Sunday brunch) and you instead order from the menu the kitchen is very slow. And of course, we will return regularly regardless, due to the "minimum".

Brunch at Thornblade never disappoints. From the service and spreads of gourmet treats to the live…read moremusic and views, Thornblade is our go-to choice for special occasions with friends and family. Bottomless mimosas Multiple serving stations Gourmet desserts, teas and coffee Family friendly Great service

We held our wedding ceremony and reception at Essentia in April and had around 150 guests. We were…read morelooking for an affordable venue with amenities, but couldn't find any we liked until we found Essentia. With the price, we also got dance lessons which were a BIG help for our 1st dance! Starlina was so helpful and professional before and during the wedding! She made the whole wedding planning process so much easier. Choosing this venue for my big day was the best decision I made. Essentia was absolutely perfect and I would recommend Essentia to ANYONE for ANY occasion. The staff is amazing, the atmosphere is wonderful, and the decor is breath-taking.

I did not even want to give 1 star and this is why!:…read more The only things that this vendor provided were the two dance lessons included with the wedding contract and the initial consultation! When trying to pay for this venue, we hit some snags financially since I was in between jobs. I would call at least a week in advance to let her know if a payment would be delayed. (This only occurred twice) Even with the notice Starlina was very rude and not flexible at all. We tried to let that go, and we did. We did notice that she only seemed concerned after we paid. She was not friendly at all until she was paid in full. Then we wanted more dance lessons to show off. We forked out for those lessons too! When we realized our budget was getting out of hand we tried to reason with her. Now full disclosure here, yes in the venue contract it says no refunds. But here is our problem with that. We just let her know yesterday about our change in plans because of budget. Our wedding was not even going to be until October 2016 and we booked her in August of 2015. Well over a year in advance and we cancelled well in advance as well. She did not even want to do a refund even on the dance lessons, which no contract was ever signed saying we could not get our money back. (We only did 3 out of 10 lessons) What seemed so outrageous is that anytime we tried to schedule lessons, she was ALWAYS BOOKED!!! I would get off work at 5pm but we had our dances at 7:30pm. Then every time we talked to her or other customers it seemed she always had some kind of event going on almost all week! So we knew she had plenty of time to fill the day with another event and fill our unused lesson days with other people. The thing about all of this is that we were not even asking for all of it back, at the very least we only wanted half back. Plus, the 2 times I met her mother she would be rude to her in front of me. Be family and do what you do, but be professional in front of customers, no speaking down to your mother! Now she is mad about the review on Wedding wire and disputed it. Good luck because I will just do this every where else! Oh and before she tries to say she offered to help us with the dance lesson money back, she only did so after I told her I would post a review and let people know our experience! (I have the email to prove it!)