SCVB Blog

If you are looking for something different to do that will have everyone in your family entertained, you’ll definitely want to check out the Spartanburg Regional Classic.  The Spartanburg Regional Classic is a closed-circuit, multi-lap bicycling race.  It will be a featured event in Spartanburg’s largest annual festival, Spring Fling. In addition, it will be included in the USA CRITS Speed Week series, which is guaranteed to draw top national racing teams and international racers.

 The race has an officially sanctioned, half-mile course that is unique for its cobblestone start/finish line, open-air plaza center, and dangerously sharp right turns. This race is set on a half mile course and has been likened to Nascar or horseracing on two wheels. It is one of many cycling activities held in May as part of National Bike Month.

 The event is a major component of the Bike Town initiative, a collaborative campaign that earned the City of Spartanburg its national designation as a Bicycle Friendly Community. That effort is spearheaded by Partners for Active Living (PAL), a nonprofit, 501c3 organization dedicated to promoting active lifestyles in Spartanburg County.

 For additional information about the Spartanburg Regional classic, please visit www.BikeTownSpartanburg.org or call 864.598.9638

Landrum, South Carolina will be in full bloom May 11-13 as they kick off a weekend celebration of gardens and art. The weekend event called “Art in Bloom” will include garden and art bazaars along with tours on Saturday of five spectacular local gardens with local artists painting on site.

On Saturday, May 12th from 9am-5pm, you will be able to tour five notable private gardens in the foothills of the Carolinas. Master Gardeners will be available to answer your questions, point out items of interest, and share their knowledge of plants appropriate to our area. To immortalize these beautiful gardens some of the area’s most accomplished artists will be painting - what fun to watch their interpretations take form. The rain date for the garden tours is May 13th.

Also on Saturday, the downtowns of both Landrum and Tryon will come alive and will be converted into a garden and art bazaar on Saturday from 9am-5pm. Foothills gardeners are very fortunate to have wonderful garden centers and suppliers providing wonderful products and expert. Many of these suppliers will come together during Art-in-Bloom to present the Art & Garden Bazaars.  The bazaars in Tryon and Landrum will feature displays to stimulate your creative juices; along with plants, trees, art, outdoor furniture and more available for you to purchase.

While you are in Landrum, be sure to stop in their shops and restaurants. Landrum is known for its quaint downtown filled with antique shops, where you can find treasures of all kinds. There are also many great restaurants to choose from when you are ready to take a break from the bazaar and eat. There is even a wine bar if you are in the mood to relax with a glass of wine.   

The event wraps up on Sunday with a sculpture exhibit at the Tryon Fine Arts Center and a lecture by guest speaker Sally Spangler Barnett ay 4pm. Following the lecture at 5pm, there will be a wine and cheese reception along with a sale of works of arts celebrating the beauty of the Carolina Foothills. This is your chance to buy a beautiful work of art memorializing the uniqueness of the Foothills.

The cost for the garden tours is $20 per person and includes entrance to all gardens. The cost for both the garden tours and Sunday’s finale event is available for $35. There is no cost to attend the garden and art bazaars. Tickets may be purchased online on this website.

This 34-year Spartanburg tradition offers something for everyone. Festival goers can look forward to a professional bicycle race, a nationally sanctioned Cornhole Tournament, lots of great shopping in the arts and crafts marketplace, savory food, tons of family-friendly activities in the Family Fun Zone, world famous Frisbee dogs, a Cinco de Mayo celebration, the Sparkle City Antique Car Show, The Underground (an area for teens and twenty-something’s), an extensive lineup of great entertainment, an attempt to break a Guinness World Record, and a whole lot in between.  

Entertainment is always a highlight of Spring Fling and 2012 is no exception.  “We have nearly 100 acts scheduled during the three-day festival,” said Festival Coordinator Jane Warner. “There should be music and entertainment to suit everyone’s taste – whether it’s rock, jazz, country, or pop.” Festival organizers are excited to bring to Spartanburg an up and coming act that will be performing on the Van’s Warped Tour this summer – Ballyhoo, out of Aberdeen, MD. They will be performing at 8 pm on Friday. One of the brightest stars from last season’s X Factor show – Chris Renee, will also take the Spring Fling stage - performing Saturday at 8 pm. Additionally, some of the best local and regional acts will be appearing throughout the weekend on 5 festival stages.

If you have a craving for food, you’re just about assured to have it satisfied at Spring Fling. Food vendors will be offering a little bit of everything – turkey legs, gyros, blooming onions, strawberry shortcake, pizza, burgers, fajitas, apple beignets, Cajun Gumbo, funnel cakes, cotton candy, and more.

Admission is FREE to the festival. Spring Fling is produced by the City of Spartanburg’s Special Events Office.  Please visit the festival website at www.spartanburgspringfling.com a complete schedule of events or for more information.

Mark your calendar and get your tickets for your opportunity to see golf professionals and celebrities up close and personal during the BMW Charity Pro-Am. This celebrity golf fundraiser has hosted 96 celebrities since it started in 2001. The tournament will return to the Carolina Country Club May 17-20 for its fifth year. It is certain to satisfy your celebrity sightings wish list with star athletes, actors from popular TV shows and movies, and musicians.

Making their debut this year are actors Anthony Anderson, Danny Masterson and Grant Show along with Rascal Flatts bassist Jay DeMarcus and Golf Channel morning host Holly Sonders. Returning celebs include Steve Azar, Greg Kinnear, Cheech Marin, Gary Valentine, Kevin Sorbo, Mark Bryan, Javier Colon, Lucas Black, Rob Morrow, Terry O'Quinn, Josh Kelley, David James Elliott, Bruce Greenwood, Oliver Hudson, Patrick Warburton, Dean Felber and Jeffrey Donovan.

This event not only gives fans the opportunity to get up close and personal with celebrities, but is also raises money for local charities. The event has generated $8.6 million for a wide variety of charities over the first 11 years.

Tickets can be purchased at buybmwtickets.com and military members and those 14-and-under with an adult ticket-buyer get in free.

ATLANTA, Ga. (March 27, 2012)  Amy Phillips, Marketing & Communications Manager for the Spartanburg Convention & Visitors Bureau (SCVB) has earned certification as a “Travel Marketing Professional” (TMP) after completing the three-year program of the Southeast Tourism Society (STS) Marketing College.

 Phillips was one of 78 new TMPs recognized at the STS spring meeting in Tunica, Miss.  STS Marketing College started in 1992, and 706 people have earned TMP certification.

 The STS Marketing College is a professional development program that for one week each summer turns the facilities of North Georgia College and State University in Dahlonega, Ga., into a laboratory to teach tourism marketing.

 Instructors are working professionals in the travel industry such as convention and visitors bureau executives, public relations practitioners, sales and marketing consultants and research experts.

 “This is not another program like ours in the country; we are the envy of travel professionals in other regions,” said Bill Hardman, president and chief executive officer of STS.

 Tourism ranks at the first, second or third-largest industry in the 12 STS states that stretch from Virginia to Louisiana.

 Course topics include special events marketing, media relations, tourism advertising, vacation research, crisis management, heritage tourism and community/rural tourism. After the classroom work, students also must complete a project that relates to their employment.

 “We are very proud of Amy’s achievement,” said Chris Jennings, executive director of the SCVB.  “Her marketing and communications work is being recognized by one of the top tourism groups in the U.S.  And now Amy is making Spartanburg a revolutionary tourism destination!”

 

Mark your calendar for the official storytelling festival of South Carolina, held each year in Woodruff, SC. We all love a good story. As children, we are read stories before bed time and later as we grow older we begin to create our own stories and share them aloud with others. Storytelling allows our minds to enter another world and get lost in the tale.

The town of Woodruff knows the importance of a good story. Woodruff is a small town of about 5,000 people and is located in Spartanburg County. In 1985, two Woodruff natives attended the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, TN and came back inspired with a dream in their hearts to have a storytelling festival in their own town. And that is where the story begins. The first Stone Soup Storytelling Festival was held in 1986 and only two years later in 1988, it was recognized as the official storytelling festival of South Carolina by the General Assembly.

The 2012 Stone Soup Storytelling Festival will be held April 20-21. Friday evening you won’t want to miss the traditional stone soup supper (stone soup and cornbread), which will be followed by an evening of ghost stories. The agenda for Saturday is full of storytelling fun, so you may want to purchase a special all day ticket for all the storytelling events (workshops are extra). The cost is $10 for individuals or $20 for families. The day will kick off with a 5k run and a cycling event that will take you to Walnut Grove Plantation and the Price House. Following the run, stick around for breakfast, workshops, storytelling, a youth theater production, a story slam competition, and the grand finale concert Saturday evening. Throughout the weekend, local Woodruff restaurants will be serving up “Stone Soup Specials.

For a complete list of all of the activities during the festival, visit www.stonesoupsc.com or call the Woodruff Library at 864-476-8770. Make sure you make plans to be there, so you will have your own story to tell!  

 

Though Hollywild prefers to have people recognize it as an Animal Park, the rhyme “new at the zoo” works; so here’s a glimpse at what’s new and exciting for 2012. For those of you who have visited the Park before, you know that each year brings new faces and new features in the animal habitats. For those who haven’t been before, Hollywild gets visitors closer to the animals and creating memories that can’t be made elsewhere. Many of the animals have been featured in movies and national advertising campaigns, hence the reference to Hollywood in the park’s name. Here’s a glimpse at some of the new amazing Hollywild family members you’ll get to meet:

The park’s triplet Syrian Brown Bears have caused ‘oohs’ and ‘ahh’s already as many visitors have fallen in love with the little girls born January 7^th. They’ll be part of the Creature Feature shows, included with admission, for a while longer until they (and their gnawing teeth) are too big for safe handling. Visitors will get to watch them as they grow throughout the year. Having these extremely rare cubs born here, highlights the park’s educational focus on conservation. “If people had been more careful with how they treated the environment, these little girls wouldn’t be so rare and nearly extinct. We hope all of our animals encourage our visitors to be more conservation minded,” said Program Director Linda M. Poole.

Special breeds of Antelopes have joined the Hollywild family, including the Gemsbok Addax, and Eland antelope. Native to Asia, India, and Africa, these distant relatives of sheep, cattle, and goats have very unique characteristics. Hollow horns grace the heads of males and females. Gemsbok horns are more delicate than other species’ horns and are easily knocked off or broken.  It is said that the unicorn myth came from early sightings of these stately animals. The Gemsbok’s won’t be roaming the safari near the feeding buses but can be seen from the buses in their own safari area with our new Ostrich. 

A pair of Snow Monkeys (Japanese Macaques), native to Japan, has also joined the family this year. They can be seen in the primate area of the park near the longtime favorites Rosie, Sammy, and Charlie, chimpanzees who delight visitors with their antics, ranging from dressing themselves to blowing ‘raspberries’ and sticking their tongue out in playful fun. 

When coming to see what’s new at the ‘zoo’ this year, consider bringing a fun new perspective with you, courtesy of Hollywild’s executive director, David Meeks.  “People often come here for family fun and entertainment, but what they don’t realize is that they are just as much an entertainment source for the animals. We’re like their Reality TV all the time, and they love it!” 

To find out more about how you can give and receive a great day of entertainment at Hollywild, you can visit the park online at www.hollywild.comand their Facebook Page. To reach the park office directly, call 864-472-2038,

The full 2012 season opens April 1^st.  Admission for adults is $12; Students and members of the Military with ID $10; Seniors (65+), Handicapped, and Children (2-14) $8.  Group rates, special programming, birthday parties, and corporate event bookings are available. 

 

Beginning April 1st, one of Spartanburg’s most popular historic sites will re-open for season and offer public tours. Walnut Grove Plantation tells the stories of the free and enslaved people who settled South Carolina and the rest of Britain's American colonies, fought for independence, and, in the end, built a new nation.

Charles & Mary Moore established Walnut Grove on a 550-acre land grant about 1765.  These Scots-Irish immigrants raised ten children in the house they built and lived in for 40 years.  Mr. Moore relied on a dozen enslaved African Americans and his own large family to work his sizable farm.  During the American Revolution, the Moore family, including eldest daughter Kate Moore Barry, actively supported the Patriot cause and the militia even mustered at Walnut Grove.  Loyalist William "Bloody Bill" Cunningham killed three Patriot soldiers sheltered at the plantation in 1781.  

Walnut Grove offers hourly guided tours of the site's 250-year-old buildings. Regular programs examine Colonial & Revolutionary Era history and often feature reenactors portraying people of the time.

Groups of 10 or more people from schools, churches, scout troops, senior citizen groups, and other community organizations can schedule, a minimum of 14 days in advance, group tours and living history activities year-round.  Schools may schedule activities both on-site and in-school.

For costs, hours, and directions, click here, and for more information about visiting or scheduling group visits, click here.

The Spartanburg Convention and Visitors Bureau (SCVB) proudly announces Spartanburg as host of the Teach Them Diligently Convention on March 15-17, 2012. The convention will be held at the Spartanburg Expo & Event Center off I-26 at New Cut Road.

 According to the event’s organizer, David Nunnery, this will be the first year the convention has been held. The Teach Them Diligently Convention came from a recognized need for more events celebrating the focus of Christian home school families.  The convention will focus on missions, discipleship, and parenting, as well as the normal home school focus on teaching techniques and use of curriculum.

 “Our company has an international platform and voice, and we chose Spartanburg for several reasons:  a nice concentration of homeschooling families in the area, plus ideal weather in March, and also because Spartanburg has really opened their arms to our convention.  Spartanburg has made it known that they want us here,” said Nunnery.  He said they are expecting over 2,000 homeschooling families from all over the country to attend.

 The convention will bring noted speakers such as Ken Ham of Answer in Genesis, Voddie Baucham, Jr., of Voddie Baucham Ministries, Doug Phillips of Vision Forum, Stephen Kendrick, writer and producer of such films as Fireproof, Facing the Giants, and Courageous, as well as notable legislative leaders on the local, state, and federal level.

 “We are excited to have the opportunity to host this inaugural convention here in Spartanburg,” said Patricia Byrd, Sales Manager for the SCVB.  “We expect more than 900 room nights from this convention, and we look forward to welcoming people from across the country to our community.”

 If you are interested in attending the event, becoming a vendor, or for more information, visit www.teachthemdiligently.net.

 

 

Whether you’re a longtime local, recent transplant or just in town for a few days, The Underground Guide reveals a side of Spartanburg you probably didn’t know existed. The new 100-page guidebook, compiled by Hub City Press, has just been released, revealing “the authentic, gritty, strange, exhilarating and soulful side of Spartanburg.”

From jam nights to bike trails, from obscure eateries to dive bars, this little book has the lowdown on the Hub City’s often-overlooked attractions.

More than two dozen writers and photographers, led by editor Joe C. Mullinax, helped create the guidebook, funded by the Spartanburg Convention and Visitors Bureau as part of the County Tourism Action Plan. The $6.95 book will be for sale at the Hub City Bookshop, online, and retailers around the county. An E-book also will be available in late February.

If you’re looking for late-night music, anti-gravity yoga, international groceries, oddball yard art, funky coffeehouses or flea markets, this guidebook is for you. The book tells you where to find your music gear, get a tattoo, rent a kayak, and chow down after midnight.

You haven’t experienced all that Spartanburg has to offer until you’ve gone underground!