Duck Decoys, Hot Mustard & Celebrity Chefs: Welcome to the Southeastern Wildlife Expo
In an exhibit hall at the Gaillard Center in Charleston—a ballroom sectioned into corridors by folding tables, cheered up by extravagant backdrops—I stood near the giraffe paintings, but I was eyeing the shotguns at Westley Richards.
A beautiful wooden display box held a seductive blued steel barrel with high-polished walnut stock complete with intricate filigree. Even from across the room, I knew it was out of my league (and price range), but I wanted a closer look. I was headed that way, when I heard the fellow manning the booth tell a potenial buyer that one of his shotguns cost $175,000. I’ve looked at houses selling for less than that. I turned on my heel and walked back out into town past the welcome table, with its complimentary dog treats.
Every year 45,000 people descend upon Charleston, South Carolina, for the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition (SEWE), and most of them, it seems, bring their dogs. If you are looking for a weekend getaway that involves socially acceptable day drinking, browsing around a beautiful and historic town, and more or less constantly booping dog noses, this is the place.