south carolina events

Greenville’s Euphoria Festival Set For September

Celebrate the 16th anniversary of Greenville’s Euphoria festival this September.

Euphoria is a four-day festival filled with delicious food, flavorful wine and entertaining concerts. This year’s event will feature seven different Michelin-starred chefs.

In a statement on the upcoming festival, Euphoria’s Executive Director Morgan Allen said, “We are really proud of our Michelin-starred chef lineup this year, particularly when it comes to the diversity they bring to the table.”

Some of the chefs that will be featured at Euphoria include Chef Val Cantu of Californios, Chef Simon Kim of COTE and Chef Ryan Ratino of Bresca. In addition to the mouth-watering meals that festival-goers will be able to enjoy, there will also be a Euphoria cookbook available for purchase that will feature recipes from over 60 chefs.

The festival will take place September 16 through September 19. Tickets to some of the festival’s events range in price from as low as $45 to as much as $400.

Click here to learn more about this year’s festival and to purchase your tickets.

News

Cook Your Heart Out at the 11th Annual SC State Chili Cook-Off

It’s not too late to sign up for South Carolina’s 11th Annual Chili Cook-Off!

The Chili Cook-Off will take place on Saturday, May 15, 2021 at the Belton Community Center and is sanctioned by the International Chili Society. On Sunday, May 16, the Belton Community Center will also host the 4th Annual Kegs and Eggs Chili Cook-Off.

Officials are encouraging both amateurs and professionals to participate in both events.

According to their social media, “there are three requirements for competition:

Membership in the International Chili Society (memberships are $10 for one

competition; $25 for three competitions; and $45 for a year’s membership)

Chili Verde; and $20 Salsa). You can compete in all categories or only one and for

both days or choose a day.

Participation and cooperation with all rules and regulations the day of the events.”

While the public is not able to attend this year’s events, it is a great opportunity for cooks around the state to show off their skills in the kitchen.

Click here to learn how you can participate!

Featured

Hold Your Horses! The Carolina Cup Is Coming in May

The 86th Annual Carolina Cup is coming up on May 22, 2021.

Carolina Cup is an annual horse race in Camden, South Carolina, where friends and family gather to enjoy a fun-filled day in the infield. A variety of local vendors are also present for racegoers to explore.

The race takes place at the Springdale Race Course at 200 Knights Hill Road. “Springdale Race Course is situated just on the outskirts of town, and hosts two of the most important steeplechases on the yearly calendar, the extremely popular Carolina Cup in the spring and the prestigious Colonial Cup in the autumn.”

The gates open at 9:00 am and the race begins at 1:00 pm. General Admission tickets are currently $45 and can be purchased online. Racegoers can also purchase tickets for a package or to one of the individual luncheons taking place on race day.

To keep both attendees and staff safe, the Cup will enforce a variety of COVID-19 safety protocols including social distancing and requiring everyone to wear face masks.

News

Spring to the Annual Pickens Azalea Festival This April

Spring has sprung, which means the Pickens Azalea Festival is just around the corner. This annual festival has taken place for over 30 years and is not only a way to celebrate the blooming flowers, but also to bring together friends and family.

According to the event website, the festival first began “in the spring of 1983 as a small, juried show called the Mountain Arts & Crafts Show and organized by the Pickens Civitan Club was held in the north end of Pickens.”

The festival allows people to admire the beauty of the azaleas “while strolling the streets of Pickens that are filled with artists offering a variety of their work and crafts, local organizations handing out important information on a series of topics, and an assortment of food that will entice even the pickiest of eaters.”

This year’s festival will take place on April 16th and 17th. It kicks off with a Cruise-in on Friday night, where a variety of classic cars will take the streets to welcome everyone to Pickens.

The Azalea Festival 5K will take place on the morning of Saturday, April 17 at the Doodle Park. You can register online to participate in the race. The remainder of the day will be full of family-friendly events.

Click here to learn more about the festival and what you can expect at this year’s event!

News

Famous Columbia Crawfish Festival Taking Place in May

Mark your calendars! The annual Rosewood Crawfish Festival will be returning this year on May 1st.

The festival, which had to cancel their 2020 event, will take place at the South Carolina State Fairgrounds. It will be the first festival to take place in Columbia since the onset of the pandemic and will include a plethora of delicious crawfish, local vendors and live music.

On the decision to move forward with the festival, Dave Britt, one of the event’s promoters and event planners, said “I think that in order to find our way back in events someone’s got to do it, and start putting the model together….We just felt like with the pushing of the vaccine, the timing, it seems like we would probably be able to do it safely, and we just wanted to get some people back to Rosewood and get involved with events again.

To protect staff and patrons, the festival will require everyone to wear masks when they are not eating or drinking and will limit the number of people allowed in the venue.

News

Popular Arts Festival Returning to Greenville in May

Artisphere, a popular arts festival, is returning to Greenville in the spring of 2021.

This year’s festival will take place from May 7th through May 9th. Artisphere usually attracts thousands of patrons and provides a large economic impact to the city of Greenville.

While last year’s event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, officials are hopeful that, with the addition of new safety measures, this year’s festival will go off without a hitch. In an effort to provide a safe environment for patrons, the event will be gated around the West End area and will require everyone to wear face masks.

Kerry Murphy, Artisphere executive director, highlighted the impact of the pandemic on the arts saying, “The creative industry — artists, musicians, performers alike — their livelihoods came to a crashing halt last spring. And by the time we reconnected with them in the fall for our virtual experience, they had lost upwards of 75 to 80 percent of their annual revenue. While it is our hope that we can help them get back on their feet, it is not without an uncompromising commitment to public safety.”

Click here to purchase your tickets for this year’s festival and to learn more about what you can expect at this year’s event.

News

South Carolina State Parks Offering Virtual Field Trips

In an effort to uphold their values of providing stewardship and service to all South Carolinians, South Carolina State Parks are providing students with the opportunity to experience the great outdoors within the comfort of their own home.

The state agency is providing a variety of different tools for elementary school students – from videos to interactive exhibits to live virtual events.

The famous Discover Carolina program is also starting up with in-person field trips again. According to South Carolina State Parks, Discover Carolina merges statewide resources with state academic standards to combine “rare opportunities with classroom lessons, making for an exciting and memorable learning experience.”

On January 27th, South Carolina State Parks will host a Virtual Animal Encounter, where students will be virtually guided through different animal habitats and adaptations by zoo staff. Students will also be provided a worksheet to help them follow along.

To learn more about the events and virtual learning opportunities being provided by South Carolina State Parks officials, click here.

News

Special Olympics South Carolina Hosting First-Ever Online Auction

Special Olympics South Carolina is hosting their first-ever Virtual Statewide Auction.

This virtual auction will take the place of three different gala events that can no longer be held due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The auction will kick off with a virtual party on Thursday, November 19th at 8:00 PM. The kick-off party will include special messages from the President and CEO of Special Olympics South Carolina, athletes and more!

With over 135 silent auction packages available for bidding, there’s something for everyone. Some of the standout items include a Cock-A-Boose tailgating spot for the USC vs. Georgia football game, a round of golf for four at Bulls Bay Golf Club, a four-night stay at a beautiful farmhouse on Lake Keowee, and an African safari trip for two.

The silent auction will continue until Tuesday, November 24th at 9:00 PM.

The money raised through the auction will benefit the over 30,000 Special Olympic athletes in South Carolina.