Planners thinking about giving delegates a take-home gift might consider filling a South Carolina-made Gullah sweet grass basket with goodies particular to the meetings-friendly destination the group is convening in.
According to the Hilton Head Island Visitor and Convention Bureau, one of these baskets is probably the most signature South Carolina item to give group attendees. Used traditionally to sift rice on working plantations, the baskets are hand-woven from coastal marsh grass cords by local Gullah people who have perfected the craft.
The sturdy baskets can be ordered and purchased at various outlets throughout the state, including the Hilton Head Island Welcome Center (843.785.3673; www.hiltonheadisland.org) and to the northwest of Myrtle Beach at the Conway-based Ultimate Gullah Gift Shop (843.488.4885; www.shop.ultimategullah.com).
As for filling the baskets, the options are seemingly endless, and often delectable.
Wine, salsa, syrups, jams and preserves are available from Conway-based Hyman Vineyards (843.397.2100; www.hymanvineyards.com), which has an on-site tasting room and gift shop.
Tasty gifts from the Charleston area include Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka (www.fireflyvodka.com), an increasingly popular Southern spirit made on Wadmalaw Island, south of Charleston, and Benne Wafers, traditional golden discs made with butter, sugar and sesame seeds that planners will find at Mount Pleasant-based Olde Colony Bakery (843.216.3232; www.oldecolonybakery.com).
Charleston-area cookbooks are also a fine idea and include Hoppin’ John’s Lowcountry Cooking (www.hoppinjohns.com), which features a lesson in preparing grits, and Charleston Receipts (843.763.5284; www.jlcharleston.org), the oldest Junior League cookbook still in print, containing 750 recipes, Gullah verses and sketches by Charleston artists.
In Columbia, Cromer’s (800.322.7688; www.cromers.com) sells tins filled with the tastes of a fair or amusement park. Gourmet peanuts and popcorn, cotton candy and candy apples are available.
In Greenville, Soby’s New South Cuisine Cookbook (864.232.7007; www.sobys.com/store) features 150 of the popular restaurant’s recipes, including crab cakes and white chocolate banana cream pie, as well as some stories about downtown Greenville over the past decade.
Among the array of delicious delights from Spartanburg are Dottie’s Toffee (864.680.5091; www.dottiestoffee.com), Blue Moon Sauces (864.266.2808; www.bluemoonsauces.com) and RJ Rockers (864.585.BEER; www.rjrockers.com) handcrafted beers.