Magician in Charleston

Charleston is a fly-in for me. I come out of Milwaukee, and the flight and any hotel are either built into the package or itemised on your quote, agreed before anything is booked.

It is a destination market. Most of what happens here involves people arriving from somewhere else for a wedding weekend, a client retreat or an incentive trip, and needing the evenings to justify the airfare. Close-up magic suits that, because it moves through a room instead of holding everyone still.

What gets booked in Charleston

Weddings drive the calendar, and the calendar has two peaks: March through May, then September into November. Summer is hot and hurricane-season quiet, and January is slow. Cocktail hour at a downtown venue or one of the plantation properties up the Ashley is the usual slot, the hour where guests are standing around and something has to fill it.

Corporate work here skews toward hospitality: incentive trips, board retreats and client dinners. North Charleston is the other half of the market, where the port and the aerospace and manufacturing plants book more conventional company events.

Getting there

A fly-in date from Milwaukee. Flights and time on the ground are either built into the package or shown as a separate line on your quote, agreed before anything is booked — never added afterwards.

Also covered nearby: Mount Pleasant, North Charleston, Summerville, Daniel Island, Isle of Palms.