Beyond the Gates

While we are gated, private and secure, Woodside residents are tightly linked with the cultural, charitable and recreational bonds they have formed in the intriguing town of Aiken.

Cultural

Prepare yourself to be surprised by the opportunity to enjoy a full range of the arts – performing, visual and literary.

The Washington Center for the Performing Arts, built downtown in 2002, is home to the Aiken Community Playhouse and other performing arts.

Artistic Community

The Aiken Civic Ballet, the Aiken Symphony Guild, the Aiken Opera Guild and the Aiken Community Band most often play at the modern Etherredge Center at the University of South Carolina Aiken.

The Aiken Center for the Arts is a busy downtown outlet for the fine arts that is complimented by several private galleries.

Aiken’s literary community includes two Pulitzer Prize winning authors and many other busy and successful writers.

Woodside Plantation’s residents are proud sponsors of many of the fine cultural activities found in Aiken. Whatever your artistic interest, it will find you as you wander the fascinating streets of Aiken.

Charitable

The many charities and not-for-profit organizations in Aiken owe much of their success to the volunteers who daily leave the gates of Woodside Plantation and demonstrate their true charity by giving of themselves in the service of others.
All the major national charities thrive on Woodside Volunteers: Habitat for Humanity, Special Olympics, Toys for Tots, the SPCA, the Heart Fund, the American Cancer Society and many more.

The residents of Woodside Plantation are also involved in many homegrown causes – Helping Hands for abused children, Starr Riding provides therapy on horseback and Partners in Friendship is a sister city triangle with Orvieto, Italy and Shoalhaven, Australia.

Recreational

There’s so much to do in Aiken, you might want to bring two pairs of sneakers!

Horses Everywhere! You can watch the experts train our next Kentucky Derby winner, or get into the saddle yourself. Any kind of equestrian activity is available in Aiken.

Aiken is surrounded by thousands of square miles of rural South, sporting many hunting preserves and immense tracts of undisturbed forestland many federally owned and all offering excellent hunting opportunities. Unspoiled rivers and huge lakes including the Savannah and Edisto Rivers and Thurmond Lake and Lake Murray are all located nearby offering boaters and fishermen an excellent outlet for their sport or relaxation.