Luxe Lowcountry Travel is hosting its inaugural Lowcountry Literary and Leisure Getaway, March 9-13, as an opportunity for travelers to experience Pat Conroy's beloved lowcountry through an inviting and immersive itinerary of special events and tours. Three of those events will also be open to the public, presented as fundraisers for the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center.

WEDNESDAY , March 9, 5:00-7:00 p.m.

Meet & Greet Authors Reception, Sponsored by Luxe Lowcountry Travel

Beaufort Inn's Craven Courtyard, 809 Port Republic St., $45/person

(Reserve the March 9 Author Meet & Greet and the March 12 Lowcountry Boil for $90/person)

Includes appetizers, beer and wine, and the opportunity to meet nine authors representing an inviting mix of genres. Books will be available for sale and signing. Scheduled to appear: Cassandra King Conroy, Tell Me a Story: My Life with Pat Conroy; Donna Keel Armer, Solo in Salento; Rebecca Dwight Bruff, Trouble the Water; Estelle Ford-Williamson, Rising Fawn; Sally Handley, Second Bloom; David James Poissant, Lake Life; Dana Ridenour, Behind the Mask; Melissa St. Clair, Home Work; and Susan Beckham Zurenda, Bells for Eli.

SATURDAY, MARCH 12, 2:00-3:30 p.m.

Friends of Pat Conroy Panel Discussion, Sponsored by the Beaufort Inn

Beaufort Inn's Old Bay Marketplace Loft, 917 Bay St., second floor, FREE

Free and open to the public, this panel discussion will feature a lively exchange of stories shared by Pat Conroy's widow and fellow author Cassandra King Conroy, his literary agent Marly Rusoff, his Citadel classmates Scott Graber and John Warley, and his Beaufort High School student Valerie Sayers. Light refreshments will be provided by Mary Martha Green, author of The Cheese Biscuit Queen Tells All. The conversation will be moderated by Donna Keel Armer, author of Solo In Salento. Books by Pat Conroy and all of the presenting authors will be available for sale and signing. Books sales and donations help support the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center.

SATURDAY, MARCH 12, 6:00-8:00 p.m.

Lowcountry Boil Dinner, with a special presentation by the Conroy Center executive director Jonathan Haupt and Beaufort High School interns Holland Perryman, Alisha Arora, and Millie Bennett

Celadon Clubhouse, 61 Celadon Drive, Beaufort, $55/person

Catering by Sea Eagle Market, includes sides, dessert, tea, and water

(Reserve the March 9 Author Meet & Greet and the March 12 Lowcountry Boil for $90/person)

“The great teachers of the world fill you up with hope and shower you with a thousand reasons to embrace all aspects of life.”—Pat Conroy

Empowering themes of education permeate the beloved books of southern storyteller Pat Conroy (1945-2016), best remembered as the author of The Water Is Wide, The Great Santini, and The Prince of Tides. Jonathan Haupt’s discussion explores Conroy’s transformational years as a student at Beaufort High School and later as a teacher at BHS and on Daufuskie Island, as Conroy found the mentors and students who changed the course of his life. Included are both published and unpublished excerpts by and about Conroy. Presented with the assistance of the Conroy Center's Beaufort High School student interns Holland Perryman, Alisha Arora, and Millie Bennett, this program also includes an overview of the ongoing work of the nonprofit Conroy Center in honoring and continuing Conroy’s legacy as an educator.

Lowcountry Literary and Leisure Getaway authors will also be on hand at the Lowcountry Boil with books available for sale and signing.

To learn more about the year-round educational mission of the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center, visit the Center in person at 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort (Thursday through Sunday, noon to 4:00 p.m.) or online at www.patconroyliterarycenter.org.

To learn more about Luxe Lowcountry Travel, please visit https://luxelowcountrytravel.com.