Happy Friday!

There’s so much fun happening over the next couple of weeks, and we’re excited to share a few things our family is especially looking forward to. In this issue, you’ll find details about Katie’s Krops Spring Fest happening tomorrow, along with an update on the upgraded Doty Park playground and its exciting grand opening next weekend.

We know this might sound cliché, but truly—every time someone signs up as a Palmetto Parents supporter, it makes Daniel and me so grateful. Just $5/month or $40/year shows us that you value what we’re building and that it’s helping your family connect with each other and with the Summerville community. That kind of support is exactly what keeps us going.

Our “to-do” this week doubles as both an activity and an event to add to your calendar!

The splash pad at Doty Park has already become a favorite for our family. It has so many fun features, but it’s also manageable with littles (no chasing them in every direction), which makes a big difference. Plus, Doty Park already offers beautiful landscaping, picnic shelters, tennis courts, and public bathrooms—and it’s right next to the community center, which is so convenient.

We were especially excited this spring to hear the playground was getting an upgrade! We’ve already peeked at it, and our kids can’t wait to jump in and play. A few things we love: it includes accessible features for kids of all abilities, there are plenty of shade canopies, and it’s fully fenced in. The rock climbing wall especially caught our eye—it looks like so much fun!

The new playground will officially open on Saturday, May 2, with a ribbon cutting at 10am. Afterward, there will be games, crafts, snow cones, and face painting available until 12pm. It’s such a fun (and free!) way to spend the morning as a family.

And since it’s the weekend, the splash pad will be running too! We already feel so lucky to have amazing parks around Summerville, and this is definitely one we’ll be adding to our regular rotation.

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If you've never heard of Katie's Krops, here's the quick version: it started in 2009 when a Summerville third-grader named Katie Stagliano grew a 40-pound cabbage for a school project and donated it to a local soup kitchen, where it helped feed 275 people. She couldn't stop there. What followed was a nonprofit that now runs over 100 youth-led gardens across 33 states and has donated more than 800,000 pounds of fresh produce to people in need. The flagship garden — the one that started it all — is right here in Summerville, and once a year they open the gates and invite the whole community in.

That day is this Saturday. The 4th Annual Katie's Krops Springfest runs from 9am to noon at 505 Gahagan Road on the campus of Crossroads Community Church. It's free, no registration required, and genuinely one of the more unique events our area puts on all year. Families can walk the garden paths, take part in hands-on activities, meet the community partners who support Katie's Krops year-round, enjoy live music and food, and get a real look at where thousands of pounds of fresh produce are grown and donated every season. Past years have included a garden scavenger hunt, tie-dye, making bookmarks and necklaces with dried flowers, holding baby chicks, tours led by youth volunteers, and giveaways — this year's lineup promises the same energy with some new additions. We know there will a feature on beeswax candle rolling, piecing together pottery like an archaeologist, and making garden fresh salads as some of the new adittions.

It's a great event to take kids to, not just because it's a fun morning outside, but because it's one of those rare chances to show them something genuinely good happening in their own backyard. Katie started this when she was eight years old. That tends to land with kids in a way that not much else does.

We wrote about Shawerma House sometime last year after trying it as a food truck at Third Thursday—and we were seriously impressed. But since then, we’ll be honest… we’ve been a little confused about where to find them and what their hours are. So we’re here to remind you they exist—and to say: you need to try them.

We kept seeing people rave about them in local food Facebook groups, and the other day when lunchtime hit (and our fridge was completely empty after several days of traveling), I knew exactly where I was headed. I ordered a chicken gyro for Daniel, cheese pastries for the boys, a side of grape leaves (if you haven’t tried them yet, you’re missing out!), and a mixed lamb/shawarma plate for myself. Everyone loved their food. There’s just something about lamb, rice, and tzatziki sauce that always hits the spot for me. My picture above is not a great one because I already started devouring the food and didn’t have the patience for a good picture.

Their menu offers a wide variety of options—wraps, plates with rice and salad, and even family-style meals with different meats, sides, rice, and drinks, which is perfect for sharing. They also offer half portions of their wraps and plates for kids, which come with a drink for $6.99. We opted for the pastries for our boys (choices like cheese, meat, hot dog, or pizza-filled dough), which were affordable and a big hit.

Shawerma House is a permanent food truck located at 416 Old Trolley Rd. in Summerville. It’s set up in its own parking lot, so it’s easy to access, and they’ve added a tent with tables and chairs if you want to enjoy your meal right there. We took ours to go, but we’ve also heard it’s become a regular DoorDash go-to for a lot of local families.

Love,

Courtney, Daniel, and the Berk Boys

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