Posted on May 06, 2010 - 11:30 AM

Out & About This Weekend: Money Shakin’ Up North, Butterflies to the South

By Lauren Poster

I’m just busting at the seams until Buzz Aldrin comes to Myrtle Beach for the Memorial Day Festivities the last weekend in May. A longtime lover of science fiction, I shied away from the golf and shag dancing traditions of the Grand Strand, dedicated to what I deemed loftier aspirations and far-flung dreamscapes. Now that the Buzzer is coming to Myrtle Beach, I can finally lay my soul to rest. On that day I will synthesize my secret love of the beach music, frozen in the amber amulet of time, and my pretentious need to continually thump forward-thinking. Until that weekend arrives, all else seems awash in a colorless unimportance ...

Or at least it did, until I heard that Eddie Money was playing Mayfest on Main!!! Sweet. North Myrtle Beach’s fifth annual street festival runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. this Saturday and will include vendors, activities and more. Main stage performances begin at 12:30, and the Money, the gold one, (“the doubloon,” as I like to call him) is scheduled to burn your pants up at 4:45 or thereabouts. Who could forget such hits as “Take Me Home Tonight,” “Two Tickets to Paradise,” “Baby Hold On,” and “Shakin’?” Shakin’, people. That’s what you’ll be doing. Sh-shakin’. I’m overcome, frankly, when I imagine the saxophone-blowing goodness that awaits.

Also this weekend, the Castaways Repertory Theatre Company does its last showing of Neil Simon’s “Plaza Suite” at the Senior Center on 21st Avenue North. The play features three vignette-style acts, taking place in different rooms in a large hotel. Tickets are $10 and performances start at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday night. Don’t let the smaller venue turn you off. The plays here are remarkably good, and you can never go wrong with the class and comedy of a Neil Simon piece. Call Jim DiLauro at 843-347-1828 for more information.

This is also a great weekend to take Mom out to Brookgreen Gardens for their continuing Butterfly Experience. If you shun the idea of buying meaningless jewelry, taking her to the most beautiful gem in town for some quality time should do the trick. The park is part sculpture garden, part nature conservatory, and has a shifting calendar of special events throughout the season. Times book quickly for the Butterfly Experience, so call ahead or run by the Visitors’ Center to schedule a time. Cost is additional to park entrance. Visit Brookgreen.org to learn more.

If she’s a jock, your mother (who does NOT wear army boots) may enjoy Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday’s recent announcement that at participating courses, moms will play free this Sunday in honor of Mother’s Day. Visit GolfHoliday.com to search participating courses and find out more. Click on the home page link for “Moms Golf Free.”