From Spoleto's final curtain to a new farmers market in Hampton Park, here's every Charleston place that made news this month.
Spoleto Festival USA dominated the press cycle through early June, but the city's wider conversation ranged from Vern's James Beard semifinalist nod to Rodney Scott's abrupt King Street closure, a 25th-anniversary milestone at Rue de Jean, and a brand-new Wednesday farmers market opening at Hampton Park on June 10. This is the month in Charleston, compressed.
The City Paper ran more than thirty pieces on Spoleto and Piccolo Spoleto this season — covering Scottish Ballet's North American premiere of 'Mary, Queen of Scots,' Denis O'Hare's dystopian 'The Duchy' receiving its first public reading anywhere, and the festival orchestra dedicating performances to the late chamber music director Geoff Nuttall. The operas sold out opening weekend; the City Paper called it 'a boon for humanity.'
Two pieces of news landed in the same week: the City Paper reported that Piccolo Spoleto closed its 2026 season with a Women in Rock finale here on June 6, and separately announced a new farmers market pilot launching Wednesday, June 10 (3:30–7 p.m.), running through July. Early attendance, as the City Paper noted, is what turns a pilot into a fixture.
The City Paper's Briefing reported the King Street flagship closed abruptly on a Sunday in early May with no reopening timeline — a closure the paper said 'blindsided regulars and rattled Charleston's barbecue community.' Check Scott's social channels before making the trip.
The City Paper marked Rue de Jean's 25th anniversary with a reported piece noting that the King Street French brasserie opened in 2001 — before Charleston had arrived on the national restaurant map — and has outlasted dozens of trendier successors since. The paper called it a good excuse to return, 'or to go for the first time without feeling like a tourist.'
The Post & Courier reviewed the newly reformatted Daniel Humm restaurant inside the hotel, reporting the kitchen has dropped its tasting menu in favor of à la carte and pivoted heavily toward Lowcountry sourcing. The paper framed the shift as the move that finally makes one of Charleston's most high-profile hotel dining rooms accessible for a spontaneous dinner.
The Post & Courier reported that aspireTV's 'City Eats: Charleston' — hosted by G. Garvin — features King BBQ as part of a curated tour of the city's restaurant landscape, premiering in June. The paper's advice was characteristically blunt: get there before out-of-towners take the cue.
Eater Charleston reported a second Sorelle location quietly opened inside the old Macintosh space on upper King, with an identical pasta menu and a bar program leaning heavier on amaro. The Indigo Road group also threw a sold-out late-night pasta party as part of Spoleto's pre-party economy, which the City Paper noted now stretches the festival two weeks earlier than its official start.
The City Paper's Briefing confirmed that Shovels & Rope's High Water Festival will return to Riverfront Park in spring 2027 after sitting out 2026, with lineup hints pointing toward a North Charleston-leaning bill. The paper's read: the festival's return signals the mid-size venue scene is healthy enough to host it again.