Kids get comfortable on the ledge of Carolina First Bank Building during Friday's ceremony. The "best seat in town" - under shade and out of traffic. photo by Gazie Nagle, with credits to Marguerite Getz.
Dancers from Emio Greco/PC entertain the crowd after the speeches. Too bad they didn't have more money for costumes --
Carol Furtwangler, one of the P&C's favorite reviewers, attended Friday's event in a handmade Spoleto T-shirt. Daniel Conover photo.
Marie Jacinto, the face behind the press coverage at the festival. Daniel Conover photo.
Here's the stock look at the opening ceremony. I didn't even put up the shot with the balloons. Daniel Conover photo.
We typically shoot the opening ceremony from behind, so that you see the banner and the balloons, yada yada, but this gives you a nice look at the crowd. Daniel Conover photo.
South Carolina First Lady Jenny Sanford praises the value of Spoleto, while Mayor Joe Riley looks on. Daniel Conover photo.
How is attending the opening ceremonies like attending a bullfight? Shade is at a premium. Festival fans back up Broad Street in the scant shade of the noonday sun. Daniel Conover photo.
Spoleto fans get a nice seat by hiring bicycle rickshaws, turning the 2005 opening ceremony into something like a drive-in movie. Daniel Conover photo.
Maistro David Stahl, Charleston Symphony Orchestra conductor, leads the CSO's brass ensemble just before noon on Friday. The group played a piece dedicated to P&C Spoleto critic Bob Jones, who died in November. Daniel Conover photo.