IslandVibesIOP.com 10 COMMUNITY Good Tunes by the Dunes IOP Songwriters Festival to eclipse $10K donations By Sarah Rose Polar Plunge propels SC Special Olympics up to $685K donations statewide By Sarah Rose As an award-winning professional musician whose career has spanned 33 years, Dave Landeo has performed with many bands as a lead vocalist, bassist, rhythm and lead guitarist and drummer and has created a repertoire of over 500 cover songs, 10 albums and several digital singles, all of which he has written himself. With a twin passion for giving back to the community, Landeo conceptualized a fundraising festival that would bring local, regional and national songwriters together to benefit local charities. In 2023, he launched the first Isle of Palms Songwriters Festival with six musicians. Over the last three years, the event’s roster has more than doubled to 15 performers between the ages of 20 and 80 who represent a range of genres such as country, bluegrass, beach reggae, pop, hard rock, folk, alternative rock and funk. Landeo has also added a marketplace with several vendors. To date, the festival has raised $9,924.45 that’s been divided among three charitable groups, including Lowcountry Orphan Relief, Girls on the Run Coastal South Carolina and the Lowcountry Music Scholarship. This year's headliner is Matt Rogers, a country artist and songwriter from Landeo’s hometown of Nashville, Tennessee, who has opened for talent such as Chris Stapleton and Brothers Osborne. Additional artists in the line-up include Doug Walters, Dave Mauk, David Perry, Molly Durnin, Bob Tobin, Tim Styles, Ed Hunnicutt, Bob Bedell, Thomas Champagne, Danielle Howe, Isabella Colletta, Maralin Russell, The Fiori and Jaycob Kendrick. Landeo added that without his wife Christy, along with Greg Norton who coordinates all of the logistics including audio, engineering, lighting and staging, the show would not go on. He also credited event sponsors Bret Jones, owner of The Dinghy, Rusty’s Cool Guitars, MPS Construction, Andrea Rogers Realtor, Lauren Zurilla & Associates, HOMEstretch: Charleston, Smuggler’s, Landeo Music Productions, Magus Productions, Surfside, Seaside Surface Solutions, Charleston Apparel, The Windjammer and of course, Island Vibes, for their immense help behind the scenes. According to Landeo, the bulk of the fundraising comes from selling raffle tickets with prizes donated from local businesses. He expressed gratitude to The Windjammer, Red’s Icehouse, Legendary Outfitter LLC, Sunsets Waterside, Susan Matthews Realtor, D3 Dentistry, Jack’s Cosmic Dogs, M & N Stories, The Outpost, Charleston Fun Park, The Beach House and Mainland Container Co. for their contributions. This year’s celebration will be held on Saturday, April 11, in the parking lot at The Dinghy, located at 8 JC Long Blvd., from 2-9 p.m. The festival is free and open to the public and is children and dog-friendly. Food and beverages are available for purchase from The Dinghy. Landeo suggested bringing beach chairs and wearing dancing shoes. The event happens rain or shine. For updates, follow IOPSongwritersFestival on Facebook and @iopsongwritersfestival on Instagram. To inquire about becoming a vendor or to pre-purchase a collectable T-shirt or VIP tickets with access to special seating, call Landeo at (865) 414-8315, email ddlandeo@msn.com or visit the event website at isleofpalmssongwritersfestival.com. On Feb. 28, the Isle of Palms Police Department (IOPPD), along with the Mount Pleasant Police Department (MPPD), hosted the 11th annual Polar Plunge to benefit Special Olympics South Carolina (SOSC), the nonprofit that provides year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for more than 30,000 children and adults with intellectual disabilities. This year’s Polar Plunge raised $58,994 locally from the sale of Polar Plunge merchandise such as long-sleeved T-shirts and beanies, along with donations and a suggested $50 registration fee. The IOPPD was the top fundraising team on the island, contributing $6,715 of the profits. Officer Ned Donovan, who raised the bulk of those funds with $4,955, earned the “Coolest Cop Award.” Of the 1,000 community members who gathered on the beach to support the nonprofit, more than 100 brave individuals plunged into the wintry waters of the Atlantic. One such participant was Lt. Donald Calabrese of the MPPD, who reported that since the launch of the first Isle of Palms Polar Plunge in 2016, local law enforcement has raised $423,495 from this event. For 2026, the 14 participating police departments across the state brought in $684,993 collectively. One hundred percent of the proceeds are donated to the Special Olympics athletes. “We couldn’t do it without The Windjammer, the official home of the Isle of Palms Polar Plunge,” Calabrese said. He added that each year during the festivities, local, county and state police officers and sheriffs, veterans, as well as Special Olympics athletes come Continued on Page 11.
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