Ring in the New Year at Pretty Place

New Year's Family Camp is December 31 - January 2 at YMCA Camp Greenville. This is one of our most exciting Family Camps! Join us as we ring in the New Year at Pretty Place. We'll have hikes, crafts, archery, riflery and many more camp activities planned. Of course, there will be plenty of hot cocoa as well. Play games, see an incredible display of fireworks and enjoy the Camp atmosphere at our end-of-the-year Family Camp.

For more information, call Taylor Fay at 864.836.3291, ext. 108 or email tfay@ymcagreenville.org

Painting of Pretty Place by John Neil

Here is a lovely painting of Pretty Place by John Neil of Greenville, SC. John is a self-taught artist who comes from two amazing grandparents that were accomplished painters themselves. He originally delved into oils but was inspired by his mother-in-law to do landscapes with watercolor and has not left this medium.

As a realtor, he will often give an original painting to his client for the home they have just purchased. John has taken quite a few trips to Camp Greenville and Pretty Place with the 6th grade Confirmation class at BSUMC. They have a Sunday worship service there each time, and often times, that is when his inspiration comes.

If you would like John to create a painting for you, you can contact him at:

Buffican Studios
864-918-7129
john.neil@allentate.com

Pretty Place at Sunrise

Here's a beautiful photograph of Pretty Place at sunrise taken by Joey Jarrell, Project Worth Coordinator at YMCA Camp Greenville.

Pretty Place Mentioned in Web Site

Pretty Place is mentioned in this site and there are some lovely photos as well.

http://www.landscape-solutions-for-you.com/Pretty.html

Beautiful Stained Glass Suncatcher/Ornament of Pretty Place available at Greenville County Historical Society

The Greenville County Historical Society has a collection of beautiful stained glass suncatchers/

ornaments, which includes Pretty Place, for sale in their office. Created by local artist Tina Steenerson, these stained glass items are great for a window, storm door or your Christmas tree. The price is only $20 per suncatcher/ornament.

For more information, call 864-233-4103. The Greenville County Historical Society is open Monday - Wednesday, 9:00 am to 12:00 noon and on Thursday, 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Their address is 211 East Washington Street, Suite C, downtown Greenville, one block from the intersection of Washington and Church Street. You can park free on East Washington Street right in front of their office.

Panoramic View of Pretty Place

Here is a panoramic view of Pretty Place from the Gigapan web site. There are six snapshots that you can zoom into. Click HERE to see this remarkable photo.

From the Gigapan web site:

The Gigapan system was developed by Carnegie Mellon University in collaboration with NASA Ames Intelligent Robotics Group, with support from Google.

Photo of Pretty Place

Take a look at this beautiful photo of Pretty Place from Dave Allen Photography in Hendersonville, NC. Click HERE to see the photo on his blog.

Record Crowd Attends Father's Day Concert at Pretty Place

A record crowd attended the Keowee Chamber concert at YMCA Camp Greenville’s Pretty Place chapel on Sunday afternoon, June 21. The concert generated over $700 in donations to the Keowee Chamber Music group. $250 of the funds will be donated back to Camp Greenville for Open Doors scholarships. Liz Austin, cellist for the group, said people were much more generous than usual with donations, especially after learning about the scholarship fund at the Camp.

Keowee Chamber Music, a professional ensemble and a non-profit organization, enlivens communities in Western North Carolina and the Upstate of South Carolina with eclectic chamber music offerings in historic and unusual settings.

For more information about Open Doors scholarships, contact Jeanette Watkins at jwatkins@ymcagreenville.org or call 864.242.1111, ext. 36.

Slide Show of Pretty Place

We found an abolutely gorgeous slide show of Pretty Place from a photographer on Webshots.com. Frames 1 through 38 are of Pretty Place, and you can place a delay on the frames up to 9 seconds, giving you more time to see each shot.

Click HERE to see this slide show.

The photography is breathtaking. Enjoy!

Don't Miss the June 21st Concert at Pretty Place!

June 21st is Father's Day, the first day of Summer AND a great time to come to Pretty Place for an incredible concert, so bring the entire family!

Keowee Chamber Music will hold a Family Concert at Pretty Place Chapel at YMCA Camp Greenville in Cedar Mountain, NC on Sunday, June 21 at 3:30 pm. This concert is free; however, donations will be accepted, which benefit the Keowee Chamber Music group.

Keowee Chamber Music, a professional ensemble and a non-profit organization, enlivens communities in Western North Carolina and the Upstate of South Carolina with eclectic chamber music offerings in historic and unusual settings. For more information and to learn more about this ensemble, visit http://www.keoweechambermusic.org/index.htm.

Pretty Place is one of the most beautiful places in the Upstate. We invite you to join us as we listen to the beautiful Keowee Chamber Music in this magnificent, peaceful setting. For directions, contact 864.836.3291, ext 100 or visit Camp Greenville's web site:http://www.campgreenville.org/directions.php .

See you there!

Camp Greenville Day Worship Service at Pretty Place, Sunday, May 24.

Reverend Johnny Rogers will be the keynote speaker at the worship service at Pretty Place chapel on YMCA Camp Greenville Day, Sunday, May 24, 2009 at 10:00 am. Rev. Rogers spent ten years (1949 to 1959) as a camper and counselor at YMCA Camp Greenville. He is a graduate of Davidson College and Union Theological Seminary, with a masters in Biblical Studies. He also has a DMin degree from Union Seminary.

Rev. Rodgers is an outstanding author, preacher and teacher, so you won't want to miss the service at Pretty Place Chapel on Sunday morning, May 24th. For more information about the the worship service at Pretty Place, contact Jeanette at 864.242.1111, ext. 36 or email jwatkins@ymcagreenville.org.

The worship service is open to the public.

Weekend Weddings at Pretty Place

Spring is the time of year when weddings may be scheduled at Pretty Place on the weekend. If you would like to visit Pretty Place on a Saturday or Sunday, please call Patti at 864.836.3291, ext. 100 ahead of time to find out if a wedding is scheduled at the time you want to visit.

A sign will always be posted after you enter Camp Greenville on the road to Pretty Place to let you know that the road is closed due to a wedding.

Thank you and have an enjoyable visit!

Record Attendance at Easter Sunrise Service

Close to 500 people attended the Easter Sunrise Service at Pretty Place Chapel on Sunday, April 12. According to YMCA Camp Greenville's Executive Director Doug Gregory, this was the largest group of people to attend the service in the past 3 or 4 years! After the service, about 300 of the attendees stayed for breakfast in Camp Greenville's Dining Hall.

The weather was cold and windy (typical for a very early morning in April) on the mountaintop; however that did not deter people from driving up the mountain to attend this beautiful service. Approximately 30 people were already at Camp on Saturday night (Easter Family Camp). Everyone took the shuttle from Camp to Pretty Place to attend the service.

It was an awesome service with an awesome view!

Easter Sunrise Service Open to the Public

You don't have to be attending Easter Family Camp to attend the Easter Sunrise Service at Pretty Place on Easter Sunday, April 12. All are welcome!

Rocky Hill Baptist Church will be conducting the service at the chapel which will start approximately 45 minutes before sunrise. The approximate sunrise for April 12 is 6:55 am, so the service should start around 6:10 am.

It's best to arrive about an hour before the service to allow time for parking and catching the shuttle to the chapel.

If you are not part of Easter Family Camp and would like to stay for breakfast at Camp Greenville after the service, the cost is $6.00 per person.

Reservations are not necessary for the service or breakfast. Also, it could be windy or cool at the chapel, so you may want to dress in layers and bring a jacket.

For more information, call Patti at 864.836.3291, ext. 100 or email prettyplace@ymcagreenville.org. We look forward to seeing you at Pretty Place Easter Sunday!

Pretty Place Gets Face Lift

Beginning Monday, March 30 (weather permitting), Camp Greenville's maintenance department will be working on scraping and painting the Symmes Chapel ceiling, re-doing the landscaping, and getting the chapel and nearby grounds ready for opening on Friday, April 3rd. During this time, the chapel will be closed to visitors. The maintenance department will be working in the chapel from 8 am until 5 pm on these days.

For more information, please contact Patti at 864.836.3291, ext 100 or email prettyplace@ymcagreenville.org

Video of Pretty Place

Here is a video of Pretty Place from YouTube.com. It's wintertime in this video (January 2009), but the views are still spectacular!

Keowee Chamber Music Coming to Pretty Place

On Sunday, June 21, 3:30 pm, Keowee Chamber Music will hold a Family Concert at Pretty Place Chapel at YMCA Camp Greenville in Cedar Mountain, NC. The suggested donation is $15.
Keowee Chamber Music, a professional ensemble and a non-profit organization, enlivens communities in Western North Carolina and the Upstate of South Carolina with eclectic chamber music offerings in historic and unusual settings.

For more information and to learn more about this ensemble, visit http://www.keoweechambermusic.org/index.htm.

Pretty Place is one of the most beautiful places in the Upstate. We invite you to join us as we listen to the beautiful Keowee Chamber Music in this magnificent, peaceful setting.

For directions, contact 864.836.3291, ext 100 or visit Camp Greenville's web site:

http://www.campgreenville.org/directions.php

Come to Family Camp & Enjoy the Beautiful Sunrise Easter Service at Pretty Place

Do you need something fun and family-oriented to do over Easter weekend? YMCA Camp Greenville is offering a fabulous Family Camp adventure on Easter weekend, April 11 and 12. The activities begin at 10:00 am Saturday morning. Some of the choices will be archery, riflery, hill skills (arts and crafts), climbing, bouldering room, animal center, hikes to our beautiful Rainbow Falls and Showerbath Falls, and much more. The day will end with a rip-roaring square dance and campfire.

Early Sunday morning, we'll offer our one-of-a-kind sunrise Easter service at Pretty Place. You'll never forget it! There is a hot breakfast afterwards in the dining hall to warm everyone up, which is included in the Family Camp price.

For more information, please call Susan Huter at 864.836.3291, ext 106 or email shuter@ymcagreenville.org. We hope to see you there!

Slide Show of Pretty Place on YouTube.com

This is a fabulous slide show of Pretty Place with great classical music in the background. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWFK4Rtpdsk

Pretty Place Mentioned on PBS Series, Making it Grow!

YMCA Camp Greenville and Pretty Place were mentioned on the award-winning gardening show, Making it Grow, on January 27 on PBS. They also had some nice footage of the entire chapel, showing the view of the mountains as well as the building itself.

To view this show, go to Making it Grow and click on STREAMING VIDEO for the show on 01-27-09. The Camp Greenville segment is about 3/4 of the way into the show.

We'd like to thank everyone at Team Making it Grow for the fantastic segment on Pretty Place and Camp Greenville!

Pretty Place Mentioned on Carolina Getaways Web Site

Pretty Place Chapel is mentioned on the Carolina Getaways web site. Here is the link:

www.carolinagetaways.net. Just type in "Pretty Place" in the SEARCH box on their Home Page.

Carolina Getaways provides a comprehensive Visitor’s Guide to the North and South Carolina mountains.