Festival will showcase food, fun
The Blackville Downtown Development Association will host the third annual "Taste of Blackville Festival"¬ April 17 and 18.
The activities on Friday, April 17, include bingo night (for adults only)¬ and pick up for chicken dinner plates¬ at the Blackville Community Center on Solomon Blatt Avenue from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.¬ Dinner¬ plates are $6 a piece and include chicken, baked beans,¬ coleslaw and a roll.¬ Tickets are only available in advance and may be purchased at Enterprise Bank,¬ the Rivers, Rails and Crossroads Discovery Center, Willie's Hardware and from any member of the Blackville Downtown Development Association.
Festivities¬ on Saturday, April 18, begin¬ at 10 a.m.¬ with a taste from¬ the Blackville Downtown Farmer's Market and several food vendors selling¬ hot dogs, chicken wings, snow cones, ice cream, baked goods and more.¬ Other vendors and exhibitors include the Animal Advocates, Barnwell Hospital Health Screening, Savannah River Cancer Foundation's Can-Hope group, antique cars from Buck Guess, First Baptist¬ Church¬ of Blackville, Tabernacle Baptist Church, Blackville Garden Club, the Blackville Historical Society and many others.
Activities throughout the day will be¬ children's games, face-painting, a slide, storytime with "Granny,"¬ entertainment by local quartet "The Traveling Stars," the Blackville-Hilda High School¬ Step Team and a community yard sale on Main Street next to the Farmer's Market tents.¬ Tables are $5 a piece for the yard sale, and $15 to be a vendor.¬ Bring your own tables, chairs and/or tents.
In conjunction with the festival, the Discovery Center will host a book signing for "Stop Where the Parking Lot's Full" from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. The popular column by Sandlapper Magazine is now compiled into a quintessential guide to dining in more than 150 South Carolina restaurants. Authors AÃØda Rogers and Tim Driggers will be on hand to sign copies.¬ The Discovery Center is located at 87 Heritage Road (off Highway 78) between Blackville and Elko.¬ Admission is free and open to the public.¬
The Blackville Golf Course/Country Club and First Tee Program is hosting "A Community Gospel Sing-Out"¬ on Saturday at 6 p.m. The fundraising event will showcase appearances by Swan Silvertones of Pittsburgh, Pa., Might Gospel Saints of Norway, Blackville-Hilda High School chorus, Marla Jameson, Sons of Job of Denmark, Sunshine Baptist Church Mass Choir, Barnwell County Youth Crusade Choir and Flo Carter of WJBF Channel 6 Augusta.¬
Advanced donations are $10, $12 at the door, $5 for ages 13-16, $2 for ages 5-12 and free for ages 0-4.¬ Tickets¬ for children will be sold at the door only.
¬ For anyone interested in being a part of the yard sale or being a vendor for the festival, call Sylvia Quattlebaum at 284-2000 or e-mail sylviakq@yahoo.com. For more information on the book signing¬ event, call the¬ Discovery Center at 284-3976 or e-mail blackvilledc@scprt.com.