While strolling the banks of the Cooper River in North Charleston’s Riverfront Park, visitors also are treated to an outstanding sculpture exhibition and an educational look back at the history of the park’s grounds.

As part of the North Charleston Arts Festival, artists from around the nation competed to be a part of the 5th Annual National Outdoor Sculpture Competition and Exhibition, now on view in Riverfront Park.

The works of art, chosen by juror Stuart Horodner, Artistic Director of the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center in Georgia, run the gamut from the humorous to the political. Built from metal, wood, plastic and stone, the pieces cut an impressive silhouette across the backdrop of North Charleston’s waterfront. 

Click here to learn more about the competition and see Horodner’s picks for Best in Show, 2nd Place, and Honorable Mention.
 
Riverfront Park is on the site of a former Naval base and also is home to the Greater Charleston Naval Base Memorial. Planned by the city with the help of veterans, the memorial honors the work of all of the men and women who worked on the base for its almost 100 years of operation before it closed in 1996.

The monument is a graceful combination of elements. A sweeping wall tells the base’s story in historical panels. A water feature flows through the memorial, meant to remind the visitor of the gangways sailors would cross from ship to shore. Finally, two elegant bronze statues by sculptor Stanley Bleifeld immortalize the sailor. “The Lone Sailor” looks plaintively out at the water and in the emotional piece “The Homecoming,” we see a sailor finally reunited with his family.

If you want to find a picnic spot where you will be surrounded by great art, history and nature, you can’t beat Riverfront Park. The park is easily accessible from Interstates 526 and 26. Enter the former Charleston Naval Base by the McMillan Avenue gate or the Virginia Avenue gate and turn onto Hobson Avenue. Riverfront Park signs are visible for easy to follow directions.