♪ opening music ♪ ♪ Beryl Dakers>> Hello, I'm Beryl Dakers.

Welcome to Palmetto Scene.

We'll start off with a face familiar to Palmetto Scene viewers from our coverage of ArtFields in Lake City, South Carolina.

In addition to her program manager duties, Carla Angus makes time to commit to her passion, serving the youth of the community as the founder of Dramatic Coffee Beans.

Let's take a look.

♪ guitar music ♪ ♪ Carla>> As a mother of two teenage boys, a business owner, and a nonprofit director, it often times gets challenging balancing it all.

I just feel torn of who gets the most time, and I used to beat myself up a lot.

And then I recognized that I can only do the best that I can do.

I had the opportunity of landing a contract with the ArtFields Collective.

And I've been with that organization for 10 years, and they do this phenomenal event called ArtFields, and I've served in several capacities with the organization.

But one in particular, that I kind of initiated the second year of ArtFields was ArtFields Jr, which is the youth, of course, my background in education.

So I felt like it was important to give the students an outleash to prior to this to get into this contract, I started Dramatic Coffee Beans, Dramatic Coffee Beans has been brewing since 2011, I heard this story called a carrot and egg and a coffee bean.

And it kind of inspired the name Dramatic Coffee Beans.

The story goes like this.

Whenever you're faced with challenges, you can act like a carrot, and a carrot starts off strong and hard, but as soon as it's faced with hot bubbled water, it becomes mushy and soft.

Or you can be like an egg, an egg, if you look at it is kind of fragile, but it's also kind of fluid and golden on the inside.

But as soon as it hits that hot water it becomes hard, almost like angry.

Or you can be like that coffee bean.

And when the hot water makes that coffee bean, the coffee bean doesn't allow the water to change it, but it changes the water.

When I work with Dramatic Coffee Beans, that's the thing we want these kids to be.

We want them to not let the outside influences impact them, we want them to impact those outside influences.

Taylor>> The only thing I can change is my reaction to life, and that's what changes my surroundings.

Once you see something in a positive way, things start to get better.

Carla>> Growing up, I struggle with my self-esteem.

I was picked at because of my complexion.

So I never felt like the pretty girl or fit in.

And there was a point there in middle school that I felt like one way to escape it all, is to just end it all.

And the way that I was approaching it was to take pills.

And I felt like if I can just vanish, it would make life easier for everybody.

And it was a loud voice telling me this.

But when I got - when I started taking the pills, all of a sudden, I heard another voice that...helped me to stop those thoughts.

And I was able to close those pills, and I didn't share that with a lot of people, but it could have turned out another way.

And I recognize now that other way would have not been the right way.

I became determined to empower young people to not feel the way that I did, and that they could get further in life quicker than I did.

If they were empowered to know that they are somebody.

Sta'asia Vu>> Without Dramatic Coffees Beans, I feel like I would still be this little shy girl who didn't know her purpose, but now with this group, I've learned that I can really do things that I put my mind to, I can meet new people.

I can do new things, and I can just express myself by acting.

I really like acting.

Carla>> One of our things that we're most known for is using improvisation and drama to address the social dilemmas that... they may face.

So although we incorporate a large portion of the arts and we want them to be able to use their creative side, Dramatic Coffee Beans is known for its improvisational team.

Student 1>> I really been like stressed about it.

Can you just talk to me for one minute?

Student 2>>Girl, what do you have to be stressed about?

You're in high school.

You have no, you have no job, no bills, no anything?

Student 1>> Well, it's a lot going in high school.

It's a lot of school work.

Student 2>> All you have to do is go to school, make good grades, and that's it, I'll take care of the rest.

♪ Conner>> With support in life, and in the world, You can do anything you have, as long as you have somebody behind you, urging you to go forward.

Conner>> As I looked at the outer structure around this, I noticed there was less support.

In life, if you have support, you can do anything that's impossible.

So as you see for yourself support, you can reach higher things.

You can reach altitudes.

You can reach the sky.

It's over.

It's done with.

We won.

Thank you.

(laughter) Charlee>> Have you ever wanted to like go back in time and see yourself doing something.

That's why I came back to the DCB is I wanted to go back in time and watch myself change, and that's definitely what DCB did for me.

Shadrea>> My name is Shadrea McKnight.

I currently attend the University of South Carolina where I'm majoring in political science with a minor in law in society, and I was a part of DCB for three years.

There are certain aspects of me that I need to grow out of and step into something new, which I was very thankful for, because it helped set me up coming here.

And being on my own for the first time having that grounded foundation that was given to me by DCB through leadership and not just leadership, but learning how to effectively communicate and effectively listen, all of those set me up for success so far here at the university.

Carla>> I tried my best to get into the schools and meet with the kids to see the kids.

We tracked their report cards The parents give us permission to check them with the guidance counselors.

So, it's a lot of interaction with the young people to make sure that they are on the right path.

Taylor>> Now, I think of myself as the Coffee Bean because when I look at it, I plan now and I have a specific plan and I talk to people like my mentors, and they give me - they give me great advice Like Ms. Carla.

She's - I call her mama Carla.

I try to do exactly what they tell me and it usually works out.

Beryl>> And now for a look at a very interesting community of hobbyist in our state.

Here's Brittney Bracket Brittney Bracket>> Thanks Beryl.

Cosplay is the art of dressing up like fictional characters, often characters from anime.

It's a hobby that requires passion, time and skill as cosplayers often spend hours designing and creating their costumes.

Their preparation starts with researching the most minute of character details and ends with some truly amazing creations.

♪ techno music ♪ ♪ Marcus>> So we're here at 2021 Banzaicon here in the video game room.

The energy is great.

Everyone's really positive.

When I heard about Banzaicon, I think it was like maybe three years ago I came and checked it out for the first time and just loved the atmosphere and all the people that came here and I loved to dress up as you can see.

So, I was like this is a perfect time to get back into it.

♪ Cam>> My cursor is Kohaku from Dr. Stone.

This is my katana.

It gave the blade of science and I'm very proud of it just took about three days to make.

I painted it with metallic paints and I gave it a blue hue because I thought it would look kind of cool.

♪ and it can go in and out of this sheath or whatever it's called right here.

Both the shield and the katana are made of EVA foam.

I heated it up with a heat gun, shaped it, sanded it and then painted it.

My wig is actually two different wigs.

They're kind of fastened together.

So the inside of this is made out of insulation foam and then I airbrushed it so it would have a bit of a radiance.

♪ Marcus>> Another great aspect here at the con is they have a cosplay repair station.

So if you come in and you have patches falling off, or any of your pieces are broken, you can go and they've got super glue and E6000.

They can sew.

I got a lot of super glue on my hands, so they gave me some nail polish remover.

So shout out to them.

A lot of these people spend (I mean) months and months in preparation for their outfits and building different attachments, and if it's a passion, you can really take the time to create your costumes and, you know, do color contacts and makeup and dye your hair and things like that.

♪ Brandy>> We've done a couple of presentations this weekend, but the one we just got finished with was called cosplay materials and where to find them.

We basically talk through our process of how we find the objects that go into our costumes, because we use a lot of found materials, and a lot of things that aren't necessarily how you would envision them working.

So we've used everything from like googly eyes to metal water bottles that people have donated to Goodwill.

We use the water bottles, to make air tanks for an attack on titan costume.

We kind of come up with these ideas, and we sort of will all go to the thrift store, And we'll all be individually flipping through, you know, three or four of us.

So we do a lot of sustainable cosplay, where we use a lot of a lot of things over and over again, and do a lot of what we call variant costumes, so that your - it's sort of an original design on it.

So sometimes I'll take pieces and I'll like sew new things on them.

I'll take them apart, reassemble them to kind of make it my own...thing because I love costume design.

So that's one thing that cosplay really does for me.

It lets me put my own spin on the characters.

So it lets me express myself not just as the characters but also like my sense of style and my sense of creative costume designing.

Marcus>> Just a little bit ago, I saw someone in like a full like armor suit.

It's a character from a game called Overwatch called Reinhardt.

Anyone who makes their own weapons, I think that's so cool.

And it is not easy.

♪ Jessica>> It was really fun doing it with my dad.

We started playing the game together for a while.

And then he sort of got connected to the characters and we figured it'd be fun to go ahead and make a cosplay out of it, and so we just started making it and now we're here.

It took us about two months to make the cosplay.

We started out with the boots with a wooden structure and then started adding on the different EVA foams with heat guns to like to mold it to where it needed to be, and then we worked up to the chest plate.

It's made from football pads at the beginning, and then we added on more foam and the hands are hockey gloves and we painted over them and then the shield is from a different kind of shield and we cut it out of it and we sanded down the edges and we painted over to look like the character's outfit.

He's going to be on the stage at six o'clock.

Marcus>> The cosplay contest is later.

We're doing a performance at it actually, a dance performance, so we're really excited.

Cam>> I've only entered around like, I want to say three or four cosplay contests, but I'm really excited to see how this one turns out.

♪ techno music ♪ ♪ Brittney>> We're now here with expert cosplayer and designer, Andrew Davis.

Andrew>> Thank you for having me.

Brittney Bracket>> Of course.

So I'm over here fan girling with all the cool props that you have, but I want to know more about how cosplay originated.

Where did it start?

Andrew>> Well, in the United States, it started about 1939 with the world's first science fiction convention called Worldcon.

and ever since it started in 1939, they've been holding, the one main event that's called Masquerades, and where people would create their own costumes and show them off.

There was dancing social interaction, and there would even be contests.

And the movement in Japan didn't really start until about the late 60s, early 70s when youth would dress up as their favorite anime characters and comic characters.

Brittney Bracket>> So, of all the different costumes that you've made, do you have any favorites?

Andrew>> I would probably say my Iron Man Mark Three suit from the first Iron Man film, Brittney>> Iron Man, Tony Stark, I can see that.

How did you get into designing?

And where did that passion come from?

Andrew>> I just felt, is there an opportunity for me to do this more than just once a year?

- because don't get me wrong.

I don't know anybody who doesn't love Halloween, But I'd like to be able to do it more than once a year, and then when comic conventions came over to South Carolina, and that popularity just grew, I thought I could get into this.

Brittney>> So Andrew, I know that you have all these different costumes, but you also have this interesting mat here, this foam.

What is this about?

Andrew>> This is EVA foam, you can get this at either like sports shops or hardware stores.

Brittney>> Okay.

>> But what if I told you that you can build a suit of armor like this, out of this.

Brittney>> No way.

>> Way.

>> How?

Walk me through how you do that.

Andrew>> The method is called pepakura, and how it originated was is that people would make 3-D models out of hard like cardstock paper like really thick kind and you would cut out the shapes and fold them and glue them together.

You actually trace out the shapes, cut them out with a box cutter, fold them and glue them together with a hot glue gun and just do it piece by piece one at a time until you get a full suit.

Think of it like a giant puzzle.

Brittney>> Andrew, this whole cosplay world has blown my mind.

I hope one day that you might be able to make me one of those proton packs.

Andrew>> We'll see.

Brittney>> Thank you so much for joining us.

We've been here with Andrew Davis, cosplayer expert and designer.

Back to you, Beryl.

Beryl>> Thanks Brittany and thank you Andrew for sharing.

Hope Baker's rescue is a nonprofit located in Berkeley County.

Their mission is to rescue and rehabilitate abused horses, and to educate the public on how to better care for these large animals.

A Medicine Hat paint was one of their rescues several years ago, this horse now renamed Hope has become the riding companion for the youngest member of the Johnson family who uses horseback riding as therapy for her condition.

(rooster crows, chicken clucks) ♪ calming music ♪ Alethia>> I got Hope because I have low tone and I needed it for the strength in my legs.

Low tone is where my muscles in my legs are too long, and exercising in the pool or on Hope shrinks them down to where it is easier to walk and run and do everyday things.

Lisa>> Both of our daughters have wanted horses since they were little, and our oldest just enjoys horses for all the wonderful aspects and smells and activities, and our youngest needed a horse for the aspect of physical therapy.

Her physical therapist said for low tone that riding a horse or being in a swimming pool throughout her life would be a great way to strengthen her, and so we decided to get horses.

We found Hope Acres online.

Some of the closer rescue places here in South Carolina we came across Hope Acres just outside of Charleston.

When we first saw Hope online, she had crystal blue eyes with dark eyeliner, she was just stunning.

She was beautiful.

And I don't know sometimes I think with a horse, you can just kind of look at them and feel a connection, and she stood out to us.

We weren't necessarily looking for a white Medicine Hat paint, but it was the horse that kind of spoke to us.

Alethia>> When mommy found Hope online.

She told me to come in, and I immediately fell in love.

She's a beautiful horse.

I liked that she was white with black on her that she had a few spots, but she wasn't a full paint.

Lisa>> When we called and inquired about her specifically she had actually already been spoken for, but something happened and that was not a suitable situation.

And they called us up and said that she was available and so we got to go down and we met her and met with the trainer and just got to try our personalities with hers and see if we were a good fit or not, and then we made a second trip down to actually bring her home.

Alethia>> The rescue story.

I thought it was really amazing, and really cool that we could do that for an animal.

Lisa>> We did not see Hope in poor condition.

She had been rehabbed and restored back to health by the time we got to see her and meet her.

But they did show us pictures that the Humane Society that had helped rescue her took on location.

Sophia>> She was in horrible shape.

I just couldn't imagine anyone letting an animal get to that point and not taking care of her, whether that be just body weight or hooves or anything.

Just the sheer neglect was appalling.

Lisa>> You could see all of her bones.

She was standing on a dirty muddy field with nothing but a small bucket of water and just horrific conditions.

Sophia>> I'm very thankful that they were able to get her and bring her back to health and get her the care that she needed to live a good happy life.

Tracey>> Hope came to us after some rehabilitation with the Humane Society, and we were able to find her a permanent home with a young lady and her family and she rides her you know quite frequently and offers some therapy for her.

So Hope Acres Rescue is a federally recognized nonprofit horse rescue in Berkeley County, South Carolina.

We started up about 12 years ago in April of 2010.

And we take in abused, neglected and abandoned horses with a combined effort with local and state alliances, our local sheriff's office and animal control agencies.

Occasionally we work with owners who have fallen on hard times or have gotten in over their head, and we take in the horses, we rehabilitate them physically and mentally if need be.

And then our goal is to re-home those horses to approved families that are suitable for horse ownership.

We're an all volunteer organization.

So we have no paid positions.

Everyone that is out here holds a full time job and helps take care of the horses in their free time.

We have a feed team that helps us feed the horses and volunteers that help us with vet visits and our farrier visits and de-worming and pasture maintenance and stall cleanup and grooming and all of those things.

Judy>> I've been working with Hope Acres since 2012, I met Tracey and her gang at a activity that was going on in Goose Creek and they had a booth there and I was looking for something to do because I'd lost my husband and I'd retired from work.

So I had no idea how to do anything with horses.

When I came out here, they've taught me everything.

Tracey>> Even myself growing up as a child, I wasn't exposed to horses.

So, the thought of a horse being in neglect never came to my mind, but now here I am, and with that platform and the ability to go out to some of our vendors and some of our community events and talk to people and just say, Hey, this is this is real.

This is an issue.

This is a problem.

And this is what you can do.

And this is what we can do.

So if you don't know what to do pick up the phone and call us because we have a partnership with all of our local agencies.

...We can make sure that someone goes out and checks on these animals and if need be, we can step in.

Judy>> ...Then what we do is we try to get them back to the point where they're in good health again.

And if they can be adopted, then we try to have them adopted out to other people.

Tracey>> We also offer sanctuary out on the farm, some of the horses that come in are elderly and are not as appealing.

So we also offer sanctuary to some of the animals that come in that for one reason or another be it health or age aren't suitable for adoption.

So we offer that to some of the animals out here.

Judy>> They're just so full of life, even still at this age, I mean these, these two horses.

One, I think is 27 and the other's 29.

So that's the other thing about owning a horse.

A lot of people think it's like having a dog that's 10 or 12 years.

Horses can last.

I mean, I've known some that have been 34 years old.

So the good part about Hope is, especially if they're not adoptable anymore, if they have health issues like some of our horses do have, they can stay here until they pass.

Tracey>> At any given time, we could have between 20 and 25 animals on site.

Judy>> We have accepted animals from across the state.

That's just what we do.

You know, we're here for them.

We're here to help save their life and to give them a good life toward the end of whatever life they have left.

Tracey>> I hope that we always have a facility that continues to grow, and volunteers that continue to come out and assist us, and then we can always offer a safe space to land for the next horse until there isn't a need.

I feel like they're worth it and as one of in my opinion, one of God's most amazing creations, they have worked their whole lives, to provide for us, to farm for us, to deliver for us so that we can live and be happy, and we owe it to them to give them what they need to live a full, fulfilling life, healthy life, and...provide them as much love as we possibly can in support of what they've done for us.

Judy>> They're just like people.

They need love.

They need understanding.

They just want to be with us, and...this one especially she's a - she's a hoot.

♪ Sophia>> Having Hope has been a blessing for our family and enjoyed it and very thankful for what Hope Acres has done to help us get her and take care of her and bring her back to what she was and her full potential.

I just, I love looking out in the pasture and just seeing them going through and having them around and out there.

Beryl>> Wow.

For more stories about our state and of course more details on the stories you just seen, do visit our website at palmettoscene.org and don't forget to follow us on social media, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, @SCETV #palmettoscene.

For all of us here at ETV and Palmetto Scene.

I'm Beryl Dakers.

Good night and thanks for watching.

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