It turns out, being crowned Bluffton’s ugliest dog isn’t an insult. Some might argue, it means their pooch is a champion.

“Ugliness is in the eye of the beholder,” said Richard Coffield, who’s run Bluffton’s Ugliest Dog Contest at Mayfest for over three decades. “The one that wins wouldn’t be able to get in the door at Westminster.”

Richard Coffield quips about the event with veteran ease, but his wife, Beth, is quick to add that the whole competition is a novelty.

“There are no ugly dogs,” Beth Coffield smiles, in between scrawling entries onto index cards.

The event began 34 years ago. But in the past two years it wasn’t held due to the coronavirus.

From the start, it was a contest made for Bluffton, Richard Coffield said. Back then, the town newspaper was called the Bluffton Eccentric, so really, Coffield surmised launching the event “wasn’t that crazy of an idea.”

Between the Coffields and judge Cheryl Wilkes-Berry, it’s hard to put a finger on what really makes a dog ugly. Scraggly fur? Maybe. Unbathed? Wilkes-Berry doesn’t think so. One breed doesn’t tend to defeat others year-to-year, Richard Coffield said. Though, he’s seen hairless dogs reign more often than not.

Sometimes, dogs will go on a winning streak. Other times, rules are bent. Such as the time an entrant brought a goat.

But none of the contestants were incognito Saturday afternoon, as a hearty crowd gathered around the Heyward House pavilion in Old Town Bluffton.

From a pooch called “Old Dirty Baxter” to those with green-dyed ears, ruffled tutus, flower crowns and floral bandannas, it was up to three judges to find a winner. At stake? Pottery pieces that could be displayed as vases, stamped with the winning title.

In what was simultaneously the cutest and ugliest showing of 16 canines, some sported tricks and their obedience (no, tricks didn’t count for points), judges were quick to label their No. 1 pick.

Ten-year-old Charlie, a scraggly nearly-black rescue with leaves stuck in his waves, stole their hearts. And the title of Bluffton’s ugliest dog.

Recently, Charlie’s DNA was sent out for testing. Broken down, he’s about a third pit bull and has some chow chow and Boykin spaniel in him.

Charlie was adopted from Brooke’s Bed and Biscuit after a stint at Beaufort County Animal Services. He was a sick, hairless puppy with little luck getting plucked up by a loving family.

For his owners, he’s the poster-pup for Beaufort County shelter, showing that even the dogs that may take a while to be adopted, are worthy.

Charlie’s kind of built for the competition. His Facebook page, Ugly Charlie, lauds his title. This year is his fifth win.

“He’s a champion,” Mimi Molina said of Charlie’s Ugly Dog Contest win. “We take it very seriously, people call him cute and we say, ‘How dare you.’ ”

At home, Charlie’s the leader of the pack, Steve Hale’s best bud and is just “full of goodness,” his owners said. The other rescue Charlie shares the house with, a Goldendoodle named Sampson, has been in several plays. The two couldn’t be more different.

Despite Charlie’s quirky title, he’s doing what dogs do best: Serving as man’s best friend.

“Ugly Charlie is my buddy,” Hale said.

Here are some upcoming arts and cultural events in Beaufort County to enjoy.

“In the Heights,” the Tony-winning best musical

When a winning lottery ticket, a power outage, and romantic tension shake up the neighborhood, the long-time friends and neighbors make discoveries about each other and themselves.

Featuring an exhilarating score by Lin Manuel-Miranda, this fresh and revolutionary musical combines Latin rhythms and dance to tell a captivating story about what it means to chase your dreams as you cling to your roots and to celebrate the community from which you grew.

Bluffton Village Festival, known as “Mayfest”

This is one of the area’s favorite festivals because it has something for everyone, such as food, arts and crafts, music, and entertainment.

Two stages — the main stage in Martin Family Park and a second on Bridge Street — will provide a variety of entertainment. Admission is free.

Look forward to the Derby Hat parade, the Country Project, the Pie-Eating Contest at Dubois Park and the infamous Ugliest Dog Contest starting at 1 p.m. at Heyward House.

Terpsichore by Hilton Head Dance Theatre

Don’t miss Hilton Head Dance Theatre’s annual production of both classical and contemporary dance. It’s always an audience favorite!

“The Versatile Jazz Band,” by the Lowcountry Jazz Band

The 17-member Lowcountry Jazz Band will present jazz favorites about love, standards arranged by the gifted composer Wally Menard and newer arrangements of jazz classics, all with engaging introductions.

The Jazz Band with vocalist Robin Lind is a subgroup of the Lowcountry Community Concert Band under the auspices of the Osher Life-Long Learning Institute and is directed by Mary Woodmansee Green. The concert is free; an offering will be taken to support the band’s purchase of music and equipment.

Swing into Summer concert

Hilton Head Big Band, under the direction of Pete Stephenson, will premiere “Where is Freedom?” by musical theater writers Luanne and Kristen Rosenfeld. The new song, arranged by Richard Orr and performed by Amber Thornburg, will be featured at the Swing Into Summer concert benefiting the Junior Jazz Foundation. The foundation helps ensure young music students get the instruments, lessons and opportunities they need to keep music alive on Hilton Head for the next generation.

“America Sings!” by the Hilton Head Choral Society

A celebration of the American spirit! Join the chorus, the Atlanta Symphony Brass Quintet, and a special guest speaker in an all-American musical program including a tribute to the men and women of our armed forces, current and past. Celebrate the Memorial Day weekend with the HHCS.

Artists of HOPE works on display

Artwork produced by The Artists of HOPE, a group of local cancer patients and survivors, is on display on Hilton Head. Many of the paintings are available as part of a silent auction to raise funds for the H.O.P.E. Life Cancer Recovery Fund which provided the art therapy to this group.

Looking ahead to summer

Ben Wolfe and his Southeastern Summer Theatre Institute have two amazing musicals planned at the Seahawk Cultural Center on Hilton Head. For more info, go to HHISummerMusicals.com or call 866-749-2228.

Nancy Wellard may be reached at coastalartnews@gmail.com.

Culinary instructors Eric Sayers of Beaufort-Jasper Academy and James Hill of Hilton Head High watched anxiously Friday as their students competed for a scholarship to attend the Technical College of the Lowcountry’s Culinary Institute of the South.

“These are my babies,” Sayers said. “It’s my first year teaching. I feel like a mother hen; they’re making me proud no matter what.”

In the competition, students were tasked with setting a three-course menu over the course of two months in order to win a $1,000 renewable scholarship from the Palmetto Bluff Club to attend TCL. The winners also received a professional chef’s knife kit embroidered with the school’s logo.

Teams comprised of four students from each school glided through the culinary school’s kitchen with surprising expertise, yelling, “hot, hot, hot,” to make sure no one was behind them when they turned around with a sizzling pan. Onlookers wouldn’t even have been able to tell that they were nervous, or that a scholarship was on the line, if not for one student locking himself in the kitchen’s freezer by accident.

“Nerves,” Sayers laughed after letting the student out.

The competition was first held in 2019 at BJ Ace, according to TCL culinary instructor Sam Carpenter, but was put on hold for the last two years during the pandemic. Friday was also the first time that the students were cooking in the culinary school’s state-of-the-art kitchen.

“They made their own menus, they portioned them out, practiced,” Carpenter said. “They came in with a game plan, ready to go. It really gives us a chance to see what these guys can do and how creative they are.”

Currently, tuition for the culinary school is covered by Gov. Henry McMaster’s multi-million-dollar workforce scholarship for South Carolina residents and will be through the summer, according to the college’s public relations specialist Mindy Lucas. No announcements have been made for an extension, she said.

Most students have been with their teachers for a year or two, Hill said, and some he has known even before they were his students. For Hill’s team, made up of students Tessa Marie Lathe Hutchinson, Dylan Magda, Allison Misko and Edward Thompson, the energy the morning of the competition was more excited than nervous, he said. At least until they saw the professional kitchen at the college, that is.

“We’re not allowed to give them advice,” Hill said. “Once the clock starts, it’s hands-off. That’s very hard for us.”

In the end, BJ Ace, made up of students Karla Fernandez, Brayden Garcia Perez, Jose Nava and Cristopher Sanchez, was the winner for their pork drizzled in a mushroom sauce. Miles Huff, the school’s dean, said he was proud of both teams that participated not just for their teamwork but also for their professional dishes.

“I’m not saying that the plates several years ago weren’t good, but these were superior from what I saw a few years ago,” Huff said. “You’re stepping up the game.”

After the award was announced, 16-year-old Fernandez was shaking. Cooking with her grandmother while visiting her in Galicia, Spain, spurred her interest in cooking.

“My dream is to open up a Spanish restaurant around here and introduce the South to Spanish culinary culture,” Fernandez said.

Tommy Winburn scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the eighth to lift Beaufort baseball team over West Florence, 5-4, on Tuesday in the first round of the SC High School League playoffs.

Beaufort heads to Aiken in a winner’s bracket game on Thursday.

Beaufort trailed 4-3 going into the sixth before Malcolm Webb tied it with an RBI double. Webb was 2-for-3 with 2 RBI. Winburn led the team with three hits and Zack Talbert had two RBI and picked up the win in relief.

Bluffton 6, North Augusta 4

Jackson Arseneau had a go-ahead two-run double in the top of the seventh to lift Bluffton over North Augusta in the Class 4A baseball playoffs.

The Bobcats will go to Hartsville in a winner’s bracket game on Thursday.

Bluffton trailed 4-3 going into the top of the seventh before scoring three runs. Cody Bradt led Bluffton with three hits. Nate Hoyt was 1-for-4 with two RBI.

Miles Frye went the distance to pick up the win.

Hartsville 11, Hilton Head Island 1

Jackson Moore had three hits and two RBI as Hartsville beat Hilton Head Island in first round of Class 4A playoffs.

The Seahawks are at North Augusta in an elimination game on Thursday. Christian Stratis was 1-for-3 with an RBI for HHI.

Williamsburg 10, Hilton Head Christian 0

Williamsburg scored nine runs in the third for a win in the SCISA 2A playoffs.

HHCA, which won 15-1 on Monday over Greenwood Christian, faces Greenwood Christian/Thomas Heyward winner on Friday in an elimination game.

Games rained out

The May River-South Florence and Hilton Head Prep-Laurence Manning playoff baseball games were rained out Tuesday and will be made up Wednesday.

Hilton Head Island 6, North Augusta 2

The Seahawks began the postseason with a win over North Augusta and will travel to West Florence in a second-round 4A matchup.

Bluffton 7, North Myrtle Beach 0

The Bobcats won their 4A playoff opener and will be at Aiken in the second round on Thursday.

Hilton Head Prep 5, Hilton Head Christian 0

Bryn Miller scored twice as the Dolphins won their regular-season finale on Tuesday.

The SCISA playoffs will begin on Monday.

Katie and Courtney Campbell and Averi Alton also scored for HHP.

BLUFFTON, S.C. (WSAV) – The Bluffton Bobcats baseball team will wrap up its regular season next week before embarking on their postseason journey.

One player that Bluffton will need at his best to advance far in those playoffs is pitcher and third baseman Nico Martucci, a threat at the plate and on the mound.

Martucci, who has dreams of playing college baseball, sat down with WSAV for our weekly Recruiting Spotlight. The following transcript is lightly edited for grammar and syntax.

Q: How did you kind of choose the positions that you chose? What was it about pitching and playing third base for you?

A: I always played third and first growing up. During 12 and 13U, I started pitching and really fell in love with it. When I’m pitching, I just have a lot of confidence up there and I really think I can do my best on the mound.

Q: In terms of your recruiting, are you allowed to have contact with other schools yet?

A: The rule for sophomores is that a college cannot contact you, but you can contact them.

Q: What kinds of schools have you reached out to?

A: I’ve reached out to a couple of schools in South Carolina like College of Charleston, Charleston Southern, but I haven’t really reached out to any other schools. I’m looking to do that this summer.

Q: When you reach out to a school, what does that actually mean? Is there a questionnaire that you fill out?

A: No, when you reach out, you usually go to a prospect camp and then you would email them after and then you email them your schedule. I sent our schedule out to College of Charleston and come to Shipyard, which is close to them, and give them times and dates and everything to make sure it doesn’t mess up their schedule.

Q: I’ve talked to one or two other baseball and softball players and they described that process of sending out the schedule. Since the college cannot actually talk to you, do they just sit in the stands and observe?

A: Yes, sir. They kind of just show up, you don’t know if they’re there or not so you always just have to play well.

Q: When you think about what you want to improve on over the summer, is there anything that stands out?

A: It’s a combination of velocity and accuracy. Obviously, you want to throw harder than most kids but you also have to be accurate. I really want to increase my velocity this summer. My top velocity last summer was 84, so I’m probably sitting at the low-80s. I’d like to be sitting at mid-80s this summer.

Q: What is your pitch repertoire like? You have the four-seam fastball it sounds like, what else do you have?

A: I have a four-seam fastball, a slider and a changeup. I’m trying to work on my curveball right now, trying to get it like more of a 12-to-6 motion.

Q: You hear a lot in the MLB about advanced pitching stats like revolutions per minute. How much do colleges get into that?

A: It’s mostly velocity and accuracy. They also look at spin rates, though. Like on a curveball, that’s obviously going to have a higher spin rate than a fastball.

Q: When you think about your relatively short time in high school so far, do you have a favorite moment or accomplishment that stands out?

A: Last year as a freshman, I pitched against Beaufort’s varsity and pitched eight innings and a hundred-something pitches. That stands out to me because I really proved to myself that I could sit up there and grind with a good team.

Q: What is your schedule like this summer? I know travel baseball can get pretty hectic.

A: We have six tournaments this summer and half of them are at colleges. We’ve got one at Coastal Carolina and one at Gardner-Webb and then some in the Atlanta area.

Q: You said you’re looking to reach out to some more schools this summer. Any in particular that you have in mind?

A: My dream would honestly be just to play Division I baseball, just to get to that level and experience it. I don’t have a certain team right now that I’d want to play for. I’m open to anyone.

PERFECT GAME: https://www.perfectgame.org/Players/Playerprofile.aspx?ID=702479TWITTER: https://twitter.com/martucci_nico