Charleston is famous for its unique
culture, which blends traditional Southern U.S., English, French, and West
African elements. The downtown peninsula is well known for its art, music,
local cuisine, and fashion. Spoleto Festival USA, held annually in late spring,
is one of the world's major performing arts festivals. It was founded in 1977
by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Gian Carlo Menotti, who sought to establish
a counterpart to the Festival dei Due
Mondi (the Festival of Two Worlds) in Spoleto, Italy. Charleston's
oldest community theater
