Daniel Prince
Events at fairgrounds, in communities also spotlighted
At the Union Events Committee meeting last week, Mark Cathcart promoted Union County 4-H clubs and events coming up. He noted they have several activities that bring in people from other parts of the state, including the dairy heifer project kickoff, livestock showmanship clinic, and several others that are hosted at the fairgrounds.
Paul Winters, executive director of the Union County Agricultural Fair, started his presentation with the question, how many days do you think something was going on at the fairgrounds? After receiving a number of low guesses, he said the answer was over 200 days last year. He noted this will be year 115 of the Union County Agricultural Fair, which is scheduled for October 17-21 this year.
John Glenn told attendees about the Carlisle Homecoming event that was held last year, noting that it will be an annual event that he hopes will grow each year as folks who were born or grew up in Carlisle are invited back over the Memorial Day weekend for a tailgate-style fellowship. He said this year’s event will be May 27. He said as it grows, he hopes that they can bring back the Piggie on the Rock Festival that the town used to host years ago.
Sherrie Callahan attended the event on behalf of her son Mikey, who owns an equestrian center in the Sonoco area. He has 12 barrel racing shows scheduled in the coming weeks, and Callahan said she would provide that schedule for the events calendar.
Uniquely Union is scheduled for September 15-16 this year in downtown Union. The Downtown Christmas Open House event will be held Thursday, November 16, on Main Street, starting and ending a little earlier this year in case the weather is cold like it was this past year. Rebecca Rochester with the Downtown Merchants Association also mentioned that the merchants would like to put on an old-fashioned Easter parade on Main Street the Saturday before Easter this year, which would be April 8. She also noted that the Friends of the Library will be involved in helping USC Union with their Upcountry Literary Festival March 17-18. The library will host several events, and the Friends of the Library will hold a costume party at Main Street Junction during that time. They will invite people to dress up as their favorite fictional characters. It will be a fundraiser to help the library raise money to fix one of their windows that is broken.
Mayor Harold Thompson thanked everyone for the work they do in making these events happen. He said the city tries to financially support as many as it can, especially those that can demonstrate that it brings in people from out of town. He said the city earmarks its hospitality money for those purposes. He noted the upcoming budget hearings will begin in the next few months, so event organizers can plan on presenting to council at that time.
Jonesville Mayor Ernest Moore said his town is not planning any major events this year, as they are getting ready to undergo a couple of major projects. The town’s Streetscape Project is going out to bid soon, and they are in the process of cleaning up the old mill site and putting in a nice park in that area. In addition, he said he is meeting with the SCDOT to try and come up with a truck bypass for Jonesville, so that 18-wheelers won’t be coming up and down Main Street while the streetscape construction is going on.
Sheriff Jeff Bailey said he is proud of the direction the county is heading. He noted his office handles the majority of security for events, and he informed everyone that the process for booking off-duty officers has changed. They are now using an online service to book officers for those events. There is a link on the county’s website on the Union County Sheriff’s Office page to book online, or you can call Off Duty Management toll-free at 1-877-636-8300.
Helen McFalls, a member of Lockhart Town Council, said the town tries to have an annual Put the Heart Back in Lockhart day each year. She said the date for this year has not yet been set, but the town will announce it.
Supervisor Phillip Russell said having a centralized calendar with all these events is extremely important for planning and to help people, both local and from out-of-town, to know at a glance what is going on in Union County.