steady as she goes

It’s not uncommon for us at Charleston Waterkeeper to dream up some pretty crazy ideas.  That alone is not a problem; however, when you insist on following through with many these ideas, that’s where things get really fun (or dangerously agonizing – depending on your perspective!).

What you see above is one of those crazy ideas (well, sort of).  Slowly, this idea has manifested itself into reality (with a little help from some power tools and numerous trips to the hardware store).  Simply called “The Water Machine,” this beast will be revealed at the Water Ball for your eyes only (assuming your eyes will be at the Water Ball).  If you join us this upcoming Thursday, then you’ll have a chance to see the machine in action… you’ll even play a role in making it work!  So don’t delay.  Buy your tickets now…  We’ll see you soon!

a water machine?

So I don’t want to give too much away about this specific exhibition, but I do want to give you all a little teaser…  Based on a few sketches and a little mathematics, our buddy, Joey, threw together this mock-up earlier today.  For now, let’s just call it a “water machine.”  What exactly does it do?  You’ll have to buy a ticket to the Water Ball to find out first hand.

clean water = local libations

Here at Charleston Waterkeeper our goal is simple: to defend Charleston’s waterways from pollution.  This mission just so happens to benefit each and every person throughout the Lowcountry!

We truly believe that in order to effectively stand to protect something, it is first essential to care about that thing.  And so, in regards to protecting our right to clean water, it is first important to love our right to clean water.  Not a particularly difficult task; however, it’s always nice to provide additional reasons why folks should take a stand against sources of pollution.

One way to encourage folks to take an active role in protecting our waterways is to introduce a little bit of wine, a little bit of beer, and a little bit of vodka – local, of course!  In the spirit of protecting our local waterways, we are proud to announce that all of the drinking that will occur at the Water Ball will be somehow related to our local waterways.

For example, the great folks at Coast Brewing are donating a couple of kegs… kegs full of beer that was brewed with water originally from the Bushy Park Reservoir (off the Cooper River) and the Edisto River.  Granted, the water they used in their brewing process has gone through a few other processes, but it is still in all of our best interest to protect our water supply.  After all, clean rivers = good beer!

Next, Piggly Wiggly has recently launched a new label of wine to commemorate that rickety old bridge we all loved to drive over, Grace Bridge.  For years Grace Bridge valiantly stretched the length of the Cooper River serving as the gateway to and from the Charleston peninsula.  Though it is a California wine, Grace Bridge wine will be proudly poured at the Water Ball; we’ll certainly be recognizing an iconic figure of the past, while committing to protect our waterways for the future.

And finally, we all love sweet tea, and thanks to the team at Firefly Distillery on Wadmalaw Island, this southern tradition will be in full effect at the Water Ball.  Firefly has kindly donated some of their world-famous Sweet Tea Vodka to be enjoyed by all of you on the 25th of March.

Protecting our waterways provides the above-mentioned companies with a greater ability to create some of the most enjoyable libations known to man!  So, we’ll continue to protect our waterways, and these great companies will continue to pump out quality product.

invitations are in, but will soon go out

The amazing “print ladies” at Sideshow Press just finished up our invites for the Water Ball.  We’ll be busy over the next couple of days addressing, licking, and stamping these pieces of art, eventually sending them on their way to recipients around the world (OK, well maybe just the country…).

A big thanks to Virginia, Amy and Courtney for helping us out with these!  Also, an equally big thanks to Justin Harris for designing yet another incredible piece of beauty for us!

redefining "formal"

Many folks have approached us to ask what the feel of the Water Ball will be.  Well, we can safely say that you’re going to have to be there in order to truly figure that out.  As a philosophical note, our goal with this event is to redefine the perceived notion of how nonprofit organizations host events, raise awareness, raise funds, and educate you, the attendee!

We are lucky to live in a city that has defined itself on redefining things; we certainly intend to carry on this tradition.  Our goal with the Water Ball is to break the mold of traditional fundraisers.  Yes it will be “formal,” but we hope you’ll walk away with a new understanding of formality.  Remember, our good friends, Spaced Invaders, will be DJing throughout the evening, assuring that you have plenty of opportunity to show off your skills on the dance floor.

Not only do we intend to entertain, but we fully intend to inspire you!  Our goal of “measurably improving the quality of Charleston’s waterways” is an ambitious one, no doubt!  However, with your support and your involvement, this is a goal that we will certainly obtain!  We want attendees to leave the Water Ball armed with a classic sense of valor, making a strong declaration – “Don’t Tread on Us!” – to any threat infringing on their right to clean water.  We also want people leaving the event having just had one of the most incredible nights of their lives (yes, we understand that this may be a bit of an overstatement, but we’ll just have to see about that…)!

So, next time you ask yourself, “what type of event will this be?” consider this guy’s response.  For those of you who don’t know who that is, click here.

To buy your tickets now, click here.

do you have an iphone?

If you answered yes, then we highly recommend that you be at the Water Ball.  If you answered no,  we still highly recommend that you be at the Water Ball.  If you don’t know what an iPhone is, then you’re probably not reading this website right now…

We’ve got a few tricks up our sleeves for the night of March 25th… the device to the left has something to do with it.

Oh yeah, we also recommend that you buy your tickets now; you’ll be thanking us soon enough.  That’s all we’re saying… at least for now…

getting the kids involved

One exciting feature of the Water Ball will be to observe the limitless creativity of our future Waterkeepers. Students in grades K-12, from participating tri-county schools, will have the opportunity to voice their feelings about clean water . These students will share their thoughts and drawings on how to protect our waterways, the importance of water to our survival, and the future of our waterways and water supplies. In addition to their inspiring advice, a visual display will be present as well. Their creative, imaginative and often inventively hilarious solutions will be sure to make you laugh aloud, as well as feel hopeful and proud of our future leaders and Waterkeepers.

Are you a teacher?  Want your students involved?  Email us here.

OUR WEBSITE HAS MOVED

If you’re looking for Charleston Waterkeeper’s website (which you’ve sort of found), you’re going to have to click here to go to the new one. The new site URL is http://charlestonwaterkeeper.org and is an upgrade from this site… just a bit different in terms of some technical stuff, but we won’t bore you with those details.  Happy surfing!  If you’ve subscribed to this site, go on over to http://charlestonwaterkeeper.org to subscribe to the new RSS feed…

If you skipped over everything above, click here to visit the new site!

a visit to the venue

My apologies for the quality… BlackBerries have a little ways to go in terms of video capturing.

55-gallon drum

There are few things manlier than steel and rust.  What does this have to do with the Water Ball or clean water?  Not much at all.  However, we have been on the phone this morning with a number of local suppliers of 55-gallon steel drums, trying to sort out some details for our big night.

We’re hoping to create a number of enjoyable surprises surrounding our First Annual Water Ball, and we thought we’d shed a little light behind the scenes.

One component of the Water Ball will involve a 55-gallon drum and you.  Rest assure though, the drum we’ll be dealing with is a lot cleaner than the one you see here.