COASTAL OBSERVER

Eileen “Beans” Kelly, a longtime “Survivor” fan who has auditioned to be on the show three times, wasted no time in striking a deal with two strangers waiting in line with her to find a hidden “immunity idol” at Brookgreen Gardens.

Kelly, 67, tapped into the common strategy seen on the long-running CBS series where contestants form alliances to improve their chances of winning challenges and avoiding elimination. The North Litchfield resident said she has never missed a Wednesday night episode since the series began in 2000.

Brookgreen was the South Carolina location in a 50-state promotion to launch the 50th season of “Survivor.”

Kelly was the first person in line last week to see the initial clue unveiled and knew exactly where to look within the model of the sculpture gardens inside the Purdy Welcome Center.

“When I saw the first clue, I knew exactly to go to the miniature,” Kelly said. “With a lot of help from my A team, everything’s possible.”

“I’m retired and love a good riddle and a great challenge,” said Kenny Krause of Raleigh, N.C., who was a part of Kelly’s alliance.

The search for the idol was Kelly’s own way of being on the show, she said.

“It was just a thrill of a lifetime. I haven’t slept for two nights,” she said. “This is like a dream come true. This is like a monumental life achievement.”

“We could not have done it without her,” said Ed Sessions of Charleston. “We were up in the front with Beans. I was so lucky to find her at the beginning, and that was history from there.”

Lauren Joseph, Brookgreen’s vice president of marketing, estimated that the search for the idol drew a crowd of 300 fans in just the first hour last Thursday.

“We had to open the gates 30 minutes early because there were people out on Highway 17,” she said.

Joseph said CBS officials reached out to her about eight months ago to hide the idol at Brookgreen Gardens as a part of the Survivor 50 Challenge. The challenge gets fans to solve clues and find the hidden immunity idol in each state for a chance to win a trip to the live season 50 finale in Los Angeles. 

Ryan Lubaczewski of Columbia waited for the first clue with an outdoor bamboo torch in hand. The show hasn’t had a live audience for a season finale since 2019, which makes the chance of winning a trip to LA to watch the season finale live even more exciting, he said.

“Any fan in this line will tell you that the live finale is something that’s truly special. We’re so happy it’s getting brought back,” Lubaczewski said.

Each season of “Survivor” features a two or three tribes of people who inhabit an island where they are faced with challenges. Halfway through the season the tribes merge, Sessions said, where they begin to compete individually for the $1 million grand prize. 

The contestants also compete to secure the idol that grants them protection from being voted off the island by other players that episode.

“The immunity idol is really sacred for ‘Survivor’ players in general because that means they can kind of play willy-nilly or they can kind of be more aggressive in their strategy,” he said. “That’s why there’s all these people here because they covet that immunity idol.”

Joseph initially declined the invitation to host the scavenger hunt. She wasn’t sure Brookgreen’s mission alligned with the TV series.

“Brookgreen’s known for natural beauty and history and, you know, a sense of discovery. And really, that’s kind of ‘Survivor’ as well,” Joseph said. “It’s been a great opportunity. As I’ve talked to people in the line, so many people have never been to Brookgreen, so this is their first experience. I’m hoping that they’re going to explore and come back.”

It was the first Brookgreen visit for Rebekah Woodford of Columbia who left her home at 4 a.m. to wait in line to see the first clue. Woodford said she was in her late 20s when the first season premiered 25 years ago.

To her, Survivor is more than a reality TV show due to the strategic nature of the game.

“If I could go on the show, I would. I’ve watched them over, and over, and over again,” she said. “We have a little bit more insight than the actual player does when they’re in the game. I see some of the moves and I’m like, ‘that was a dumb move, why’d you do that?’”

Kelly said the appeal is to see how an average, diverse group of people work to be the individual to take home the grand prize.

“It takes people from all demographic walks of life, and everybody’s equal. It doesn’t matter what you do for a living, what education you have,” she said. “You’re just all going for the same common goal, and that is to outwit, outlast and outplay.”