IslandVibesIOP.com 12 There’s something about the Fourth of July on the Isle of Palms that feels like coming home. This year carries even more meaning. In 2026, America celebrates its 250th anniversary. This is a milestone that feels almost impossible to fully grasp. Two hundred and fifty years of history, struggle, freedom, change, resilience and hope. Here on the Isle of Palms, the community is marking the occasion in a way that feels uniquely local. Flags for Heroes Along Hamlin Creek Some of the most meaningful moments this Fourth of July probably won’t happen during the fireworks or the parade. They’ll happen quietly, along Hamlin Creek, where more than 90 American flags will once again line the walkway and pier at the Isle of Palms Exchange Club. From June 28 through July 12, the club’s “Flags for Heroes” display will honor veterans, service members and local heroes as part of the island’s 250th anniversary celebration. If you’ve ever seen the flags at sunset, you already know this is a beautiful and awe-inspiring spectacle. The Exchange Club has been creating these displays for several years now, and they’ve become one of those traditions that locals genuinely look forward to because it feels sincere and personal. This year, the organization is also helping showcase 250 years of American history through a display featuring 26 historic versions of the American flag. The exhibit has traveled through schools and community spaces across the area, including Sullivan’s Island, Mount Pleasant and the Isle of Palms Recreation Center. It’s currently COMMUNITY 250Years Later, the Fourth of July By Cari Lawson Isle of Palms Cleanup Crew Where Community Meets the Tide By Cari Lawson There is a moment at the beginning of every Isle of Palms Cleanup Crew sweep where the beach feels completely ordinary. Families are packing up chairs. Tourists are shaking sand out of towels. Kids are chasing waves at the shoreline while the sky starts turning gold over the water. Then you notice the volunteers. They gather quietly near the beach access on Ocean Boulevard with some carrying coffee cups from a long workday, some with children tugging at their hands, some still wearing name tags from jobs they rushed from just to make it in time. There is nothing flashy about it. Someone hands out gloves. Someone else opens trash bags. People smile at strangers like they have known each other for years. Then they spread out across the sand. At first glance, the beach still looks beautiful. If you slow down and look, you will quickly see why they are there. Tiny bits of plastic tucked into the tide line. Bottle caps buried halfway into the sand. Cigarette butts scattered near the dunes where children are digging holes and building castles. Fishing line tangled around shells. Susan Hill Smith started the Isle of Palms Cleanup Crew alongside island business owner Katrina Limbach back in 2018 because they wanted people to slow down enough to care for this place together. What they built became more than a cleanup group. It became a community ritual. Over the years, thousands of people have joined them. Some volunteers come every single week. Others only once during a summer vacation. But almost everyone has changed a little. The crew works closely with the South Carolina Aquarium’s conservation team, documenting every piece of litter collected through the aquarium’s Litter Journal program. Together, volunteers have removed more than 270,000 pieces of debris from the beach. But Smith will tell you the heart of it is not the numbers. It is the little boy proudly holding up a handful of bottle caps like buried treasure. It is the retired couple who never miss a Monday cleanup because it has become part of their routine together. It is the exhausted teacher who comes straight from school and says this hour on the beach feels better than therapy. Volunteers know every piece of plastic left behind could become a danger to sea turtles, birds, fish or dolphins. They know wildlife is already struggling against so many human impacts, but instead of giving in to hopelessness, they choose to show up. Week after week. Summer after summer. And maybe that is the most human part of all. The Isle of Palms Cleanup Crew meets Mondays from 6-7 p.m. through Labor Day, with additional Thursday evening sweeps in July. Volunteers meet at the 1100 block of Ocean Boulevard near the city restroom building by Smugglers and Coconut Joe’s. No registration is needed, supplies are provided and everyone is welcome. More information and schedule updates can be found on the Isle of Palms Cleanup Crew Facebook page. Isle of Palms Cleanup Crew with South Carolina Aquarium conservation team. Photo by Mic Smith Photography LLC Continued on Page 13.
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