Happy Flowertown Festival Weekend to all who celebrate. 🌸

For those of you who clear your weekend calendar the moment festival traffic starts and don't look back, we respect that too. Flowertown is one of those uniquely Summerville things where half the town is counting down the days and the other half is scheduling grocery runs for Thursday night. If you do want to head downtown this weekend with the kids, last week's article has some tips on navigating it as a family. It also had a round up of some great events coming up to celebrate Easter.

This weekend also kicks off spring break for a lot of your families, which feels well-earned after the cold stretch we just had. And the timing is good: the splash pad at Ashley River Park reopens for the season this Saturday, March 28th at 9am. The Doty Park splash pad (formally known as the First Citizen’s Splash Pad) will also be open March 28th to April 12th from 10am-6pm for all the spring breakers.

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If you've been reading with us through more than one spring, this won't surprise you. Strawberry picking at Westbury Farms is one of our absolute favorite activities this time of year, and after a cold March that had no business being this long, it is finally back!

Head out to the farm right off Berlin Myers in the heart of Summerville and grab a bucket. You can pick your own or buy pre-picked berries from the market, whatever you're up for that day. The farm has yard games out, and the giant sand hill with toys is there waiting. Fair warning: the sand hill will almost certainly become the main event over the actual strawberries as this happens every year with my boys! Something new this season is that you can also feed their cows while you're there. A cup of feed is $2, and the reaction from the kids is worth every penny.

The farm is typically open daily from 10am-5pm (with last picking starting at 4:30pm). Before you go, check their Facebook page. That's where they post closures, whether it's weather holding things back or the fields needing a rest day after a big crowd. It’s definitely a necessity before you head over just to make sure they’re open. The season just started, and typically runs till the end of May/early June so there’s still a lot of time to go and pick!

Also save the date for Westbury Farms Easter on the Farm event next weekend, Friday April 4th and Saturday April 5th, with egg hunts, train rides, and the Easter bunny alongside all the regular farm fun. Check their Facebook event page for more details and egg hunt times. They will also be releasing more details soon about their annual Strawberry Festival!

Spring doesn’t just change the weather—it changes behavior. And in real estate, behavior creates opportunity.

If you’re thinking about selling, spring brings the largest pool of motivated buyers into the market. Families want to move before the next school year, the weather makes homes show better, and longer days mean more showings. More eyes on your home often leads to stronger offers—and sometimes, better terms.

If you’re thinking about buying, here’s the part most people miss: yes, there’s more competition, but there’s also more choice. Inventory typically expands in the spring, giving you a better chance of finding the right home instead of settling for what’s available. And when you have options, you make better decisions.

Now, you might be wondering, “Isn’t everyone waiting for the perfect time?” The truth is, the perfect time is when preparation meets opportunity. Spring simply gives you more of both.

So perhaps the better question is—would you rather be early to the opportunity, or reacting after it passes?

Either way, understanding how to use this season to your advantage is what separates a good move from a great one. And if it would be helpful to simply talk through what this spring could look like for you—no pressure, just clarity—I’m always here to help you think it through.

Contact me today to talk!

-Ernest Govan, The Dream Maker Agent

Easter weekend is coming up fast, and there are two local options that are genuinely worth your time if you want to make this Easter extra special! One option is right in the heart of Summerville and the other about 20 minutes out in Cottageville. They couldn't be more different in format, which is exactly why it's worth knowing about both, especially if your kids are animal lovers!

Flowertown Charm Farm Easter Egg Hunt 225 Stallsville Rd, Summerville | Multiple sessions through this weekend and Easter weekend | Tickets required — book here.

The Easter egg hunt at Flowertown Charm is like nothing else in the Lowcountry. At this 1870s historic farmhouse tucked in the middle of Summerville, the eggs aren't filled with candy for the kids. Instead, they're filled with treats for the animals. Your family hunts for the eggs together in the farmyard, and then gets to feed the collected treats directly to the goats, mini donkey, Highland cattle, bunnies, and whatever other critters are free-ranging around you that day. There are no fences between the animals and the kids. That's kind of the whole point and why Flowertown Charm is one of our favorite places to go as a family!

Flowertown Charm keeps their sessions small and sells out quickly every year, so if this sounds like your kind of Easter, do not wait on tickets. Head to flowertowncharm.com to see the exact dates and available time slots — there are multiple sessions through this weekend and Easter weekend.

Bee City Zoo Easter Egg Hunt 1066 Holly Ridge Ln, Cottageville | (843) 835-5912 | beecityzoo.com

If your crew wants something bigger with more room to roam, Bee City Zoo in Cottageville runs their Easter Egg Hunt across three days: Saturday March 28th, Sunday March 29th, and Saturday April 4th. The zoo organizes hunts by age group so nobody is competing with a seven-year-old for the same eggs. On Saturdays, the hunts run at 9:30am (ages 0–3), 10:30am (ages 4–8), and 11:30am (ages 8 and up). Sunday times shift a bit later: 11:30am for ages 0–3, 12:30pm for ages 4–8, and 1:30pm for ages 8 and up. We love Bee City Zoo and this is a way to enjoy some Easter magic alongside the zoo.

Easter Bunny photo sessions are available alongside the hunts each day. Check the image above for the full picture time windows. General admission runs $17–19 per person, with ages 2 and under free. One important heads up: the zoo is closed on Easter Sunday, April 5th, so plan accordingly!

Fu-O BBQ is one of the restaurants that’s towards the top of our list to try after we’ve heard great things about it from fellow Summervillians! It opened up a few months ago in the downtown Nexton area and we’ve heard it’s a delicious and unique experience. Fu-O BBQ is the kind of restaurant that makes kids feel like they're actually doing something at dinner, because they are. The concept is Japanese yakiniku, a tradition where a smokeless grill is built right into your table, and your family cooks the food together as it comes out. You order the cuts you want, the meat arrives raw, and everyone takes turns cooking it to their liking. It's loud, it's interactive, and it's about as far from a quiet sit-down meal as you can get. For the right family, that's the whole appeal.

The menu is built around a la carte grilling with options like short rib, ribeye, pork belly, chicken, shrimp, scallop and with shareable combo platters that make ordering easier for a group. Appetizers like gyoza, spicy chicken wings, and rock shrimp round things out while you get the grill going. There's also a raw oyster bar if that's your thing, and a full drink menu for the adults at the table.

It is worth being upfront: this is a splurge. A la carte cuts run $16–$34, and the combo platters start around $80. The reviews online are genuinely mixed. People who love it really love the experience, while others have found the portions small for the price and the service slow on busier nights. If you go, a reservation through Resy is the move, and bringing kids who are old enough to be mindful of a hot grill at the table will make the evening more enjoyable for everyone.

Fu-O BBQ is located at 448 Sigma Dr, Summerville and is open daily from 11am-10pm.

Our family fun Bingo board is back for this spring!

If you’re new here, here are the rules:

Choose which activities from the board your family wants to do to complete a “bingo” (across, down, diagonal). Take pictures when your family completes each activity. When you’ve finished your four activities, email your photo evidence to [email protected] to win.

The first family to complete four in a row wins! This time the winner will receive a $50 gift card to Odd Duck Market.

Love,

Courtney, Daniel, and the Berk Boys

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