Flowertown Festival returns to Summerville after more than two year hiatus

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCBD) – After more than two years, the Flowertown Festival is making its way back to Summerville!

The Flowertown Festival is the YMCA’s top fundraiser founded in 1973 to support health and wellness programs at the Y.

Typically held in the Spring, thousands of people visit Summerville to see nature’s bounty awash in color, from the hot pink azaleas to the delicate white dogwood.

After the COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of the 2020 festival, officials have taken extra precautions to ensure everyone’s safety this year.

The Summerville Family YMCA, along with DHEC, Dorchester County Government and the Town of Summerville used their facilities to get as many people vaccinated as possible.

The festival is a three-day long event running from Friday, October 8 to Sunday, October 10.

Throughout the weekend, Main St. from East Richardson Ave. to West Carolina Ave. will be closed from 7:30 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. South Magnolia St. will be southbound only with South Gum St. only open to northbound traffic.

Organizers say guests can expect the usual arts and crafts, as well as, business and civic vendors, a host of food and food trucks, and rides and games for kids.

This year’s event will also have Christmas related booths as the holidays are slowly approaching.

“It’s been such a long break. We missed it so much in 2020 and then the Spring of this year rescheduled to October really to do the responsible thing and give everybody a chance if they want to get the vaccine and be more comfortable in their surroundings,” said Kimberly Caughell, VP of Community Relations, YMCA. “We’re ready to get back to a little bit of normalcy.”

The festival will officially kick off Friday starting at 9:00 a.m. and end at 5:00 p.m. Saturday hours will be from 9:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. and on Sunday from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.