HARVIN COLUMN: Join in an arts event or get your tickets for the new North Charleston Pops!

One of Spoleto Festival USA's popular art exhibits, “Return to the Sea: Saltworks” by Motoi Yamamoto, will be dismantled Saturday and the public is invited to help.

The huge work is a site-specific meditation using salt as the medium that has been on display at the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art at 161 Calhoun St. since May 25.

Yamamoto has been crafting his labyrinths, undulating forms, stairways and towers out of salt as a way to heal from his sister's death from cancer and to reconnect with his memories. Each work exists only for a time, and then the salt used to make the work is returned to the sea.

At 4 p.m. Saturday at the end of gallery hours and the official end of the exhibition, the public is invited to gather a small amount of the salt. Then, as a group, the Halsey staff and the community will return the salt to the sea at the Aquarium Wharf on Concord Street. There will be available containers for transporting the salt and guests are invited to bring their own bags, jars or bottles. It's a chance to participate in art, which is always instructive.

If you haven't had a chance to see this work, you need to do it this week or it will be just a memory, preserved only in photos and video. Better yet, go early Saturday and stay for the dismantling.

Take a bow
A new music organization burst onto the stage, literally, as back-up to Tuesday's Earth, Wind & Fire concert in North Charleston.

The North Charleston Pops! made its debut behind the legendary band, giving the new group a role in the city's 40th birthday celebration. Earth, Wind & Fire performed some of its biggest hits, including, “Boogie Wonderland,” “Shining Star,” “September” and many more.

On Wednesday, the Pops! announced its inaugural season of concerts, which start with a “Tribute to the Troops” Nov. 10, and include “A Lowcountry Christmas” in December.

It's high time North Charleston had its own musical ensemble. There are plenty of performance venues in the city that need to be developed, and having a concert group will make it happen quickly.

Season tickets start at $58 and are on sale now at the coliseum advance ticket office or online at www.NorthCharleston ColiseumPAC.com.

Individual show tickets will go on sale at a later date.

Reach Stephanie Harvin at sharvin@postand courier.com or 937-5557.