Today we want to tell you about an event that honors the life of SCAD student, Alex Townsend, a junior at Savannah College of Art and Design who passed away in a car accident on Valentine’s Day 2010. In memory of his life, his family began the A-Town Get Down Music Festival last year, and it was an instant success. This year’s event will be held Saturday, February 25 at the Charles H. Morris Center located at 10 East Broad Street in downtown Savannah.

To tell you more about the event, the A-Town Get Down is a public music festival that features local, regional and national touring bands. In his name, Alex’s friends and family use the A-Town Get Down to celebrate his love of Savannah, music and the arts for hundreds of people each year. All net proceeds from the event will go to Savannah-based non-profit organizations.

This year’s event will feature Devon Allman, son of Southern rock legend and Savannah resident Gregg Allman, national touring reggae-jam band Passafire, ever-popular local hip-hop group, Word of Mouth, renown stencil artist Peat Wollaeger, and DJ, composer and performer Sean “Unda” Carter as MC.

Concert tickets are available for purchase at www.a-towngetdown.com or by visiting the Savannah Box Office. Ticket prices are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. We hope to see you there!

If there’s one event Savannah-area boaters circle on their calendars each year, it’s the Savannah Boat & Outdoor Show. Now in its 10th year, the show attracts thousands of current and would-be boat owners and outdoor enthusiasts with its extensive displays of the latest in watercraft lines, marine equipment, accessories and services. It all takes place March 2 – 4 at the Savannah International Trade & Convention Center on Hutchinson Island across the Savannah River, and more than 30 exhibitors will be present. In addition to the boats and outdoor equipment, this year’s show features some interesting exhibitions including the Swampmaster alligator show, Twiggy the Water Skiing Squirrel, the Coastal Fishing Expo and more. Live music, fishing clinics and simulations, kids’ activities and great food make this a family-friendly event. Admissions prices vary, but you can download a coupon straight from the show’s website!

Join the Savannah Theatre cast and crew for a two-hour musical explosion of your favorite 60′s, 70′s and 80′s music. You’ll travel back in time with hits from three generations of American pop and rock music as the cast sings its way along the musical highway with songs like Carolina Girls, Staying Alive and the Heart of Rock and Roll. This show is a standard at the theatre and a favorite for many, as you’re invited to sing along with the cast. The show kicks off on March 1 and will run on various days until May 26. With rave reviews from Savannahians and visitors alike, it’s truly a “must-see” if you’re in Savannah. Get your tickets online or at the door!

Stay in Savannah would like to welcome the Georgia Music Educators Association who are in Savannah for their annual conference. Many of them are staying at our preferred hotel, the SpringHill Suites Historic District because of its close proximity to the Civic Center where the conference is being held. We hope you enjoy your stay in Savannah!

Savannah is proud to be a thriving arts city with museums and local exhibitors in abundance along the streets of our Historic District. That’s why we are very excited to welcome PULSE, a ten-day arts/tech festival presented by the Telfair Museums. An artist and techie’s dream, the festival features an array of visual and musical arts, robotics, lectures from the art world’s elite, highly specialized art fabrications and technologies, sound installations, circuitry and multimedia mastery. Celebrating technology and creative innovation, all exhibitions, performances, lectures, workshops and events are free and open to the public thanks to funding provided by the City of Savannah, although reservations are required to attend workshops.

This year’s featured exhibition will be a 10-year survey of work by renowned light sculptor Leo Villareal, organized by the San Jose Museum of Art. In addition, the festival will feature an exhibition and programs by artists working within the medium of videogames, performances by national and local electronic music groups, an evening of projections and light installations and a “Green Machine” Art Bike Ride, coordinated with the Savannah Bicycle Campaign. PULSE truly meshes with Savannah’s unique spirit, and we encourage you to take advantage of it by attending at least one of the events. For the full line-up please see the Telfair Museums’ website.

The Savannah Theatre crew is staying busy. Earlier this month we told you about “Grease” and “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change”, both in February. Now we want to tell you about a third show they are putting on called “The Great American Songbook”.  Featuring the greatest jazz singer ever to live and perform in the Savannah area, Huxsie Scott, “The Great American Songbook” highlights some of the best American songs of the 20th century. Huxsie Scott and your favorite Savannah Theatre cast members will sing classics from Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Cole Porter and Savannah’s own Johnny Mercer. Join them as they go through the many memorial moments with the cast and band, and you’re invited to sing along. The show is Friday, February 24 – Sunday, February 26. And with only three performances, you don’t want to miss it! Buy your tickets online or at the box office!

His movies leave audiences in stitches from laughter, and now, you can see why Tyler Perry is considered a comedic genius both on the silver screen and on stage with his celebrated musical, “The Haves and the Have Nots”. Playing on Tuesday, February 21 at the Johnny Mercer Theatre in the Savannah Civic Center, Perry brings his incredible screenplay to life with original music and a talented, hilarious all-star cast of characters. “The Haves and the Have Nots” tells a powerful story of love and honor told with honesty and brutal truth. Audiences will fall in love with Hattie, played by Patrice Lovely, and Palmer Williams Jr. as Floyd and their cast mates. Tyler Perry explores the heavy subject of class and poverty while keeping the storylines light and comical as only he can do. Tickets can be purchased online or at the Civic Center box office. See you at the show!