Spoleto Festival USA 2008 kicked off Friday afternoon, with opening ceremonies held at City Hall downtown.

The Post and Courier reports on Spoleto Today:

Today’s noon opening of Spoleto Festival USA 2008 at Broad and Meeting was the usual great mix of Italian ices, paddle fans, St. Michael’s bell ringers watching from the steeple, speeches, horn fanfares and smiling (if sweaty) faces. The bell ringers and the presence of Mayor Riley’s mother’s blooming oleanders across the railing of City Hall’s balcony are only a couple of the Opening Ceremonies traditions.

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SpoletoToday was right a couple of posts ago about confetti replacing balloons this year. After Riley made his “let the dancers dance, the singers sing, the children play …” proclamation of the opening of festivities, the all-white confetti shot out of a gun very near me and scared me half to death.

Check out video of the event on Charleston.net.

Spoleto Buzz also had a take on the opening ceremonies:

The two Spoletos have reunited. That’s the message received today during the opening ceremonies of the 32nd Spoleto Festival USA. Mayor Joe Riley and Mayor Massimo Brunini, of Spoleto, Italy … made it crystal clear — they were on message, as they say — that the two cities were reunited, and that the two festivals — Spoleto and the Festival of Two Worlds, both founded by Gian Carlos Menotti — are reunited.

Spoleto Buzz goes on to discuss the potential tourism and commerce impact of a partnership between the two cities’ governments.

There’s an abundance of Spoleto coverage here in Charleston, so visit our Spoleto page for more on that. Also, you can find all of our Spoleto-related coverage here.

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More coverage

• Spoleto Buzz: Opening ceremonies
• Spoleto Today: Cominciare il festival !!!
• WCIV: Spoleto Festival U.S.A. Kicks Off
• The State: Spoleto Festival reunites two cities
• The New York Times: Spoleto Festival U.S.A.: Italians Looking to Welcome a Prodigal Offspring