Festivals and Events
The following are guidelines for the inclusion of festivals and events on the Official Tourism Website for the State of South Carolina. The South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism developed these guidelines to better facilitate the listing of festivals and events pertinent to the promotion of travel and tourism for the state of South Carolina. To submit a NEW event, download and complete an events form and return it to Chaunte McClure. Please review the guidelines below prior to submitting the form.
For the purpose of these guidelines, the term “events” is to include:
• Events that appeal to tourists. Usually major events such as Sun Fun and the Heritage of Golf, but also could include cultural or “southern” events – tours of major historic sites, tours of homes, and food festivals).
• National sports events. (e.g. Darlington races, PGA tournaments, Bass Master tournaments, sanctioned national softball tournaments, little league tournaments, bike races).
• Statewide sports events. Governor’s Billfishing series.
• Events that draw more than 100,000 people. (e.g. the State Fair or Freedom Weekend Aloft).
• Events that showcase a small town. (e.g. Springfield’s Governor’s Frog Jump and Egg Striking Contest; Edgefield’s Ten Governor’s Pig Pickin’, Latta’s Spring Fest).
• Fourth of July events.
• New Year events
• Christmas events. (e.g. Craft shows, main street open houses, historic home tours, tree festivals).
• Ethnic festivals. (e.g. Oktoberfest, Moja Arts Festival, Scottish Games and Highlands Gathering).
For inclusion in the South Carolina Calendar of Events, all events:
• Must be located within the borders of the state of South Carolina and have a South Carolina site or street mailing address.
• Admission must be available to the general public without discrimination on the basis of race, creed, age, sex, or nationality according to South Carolina law.
• Cannot promote gaming/gambling, nudity, drunkenness or lewd behavior.
All tourism events must have specific dates and public contact information. Events that do not include start and end dates will not be published.
All tourism event organizers/promoters, with existing listings, may update their entries 24/7 in the electronic marketing database. All updates will be reviewed by the appropriate Data Editor before publication. If inclusion of the event is denied, the respective organizer/promoter may submit an appeal, in writing, to the Sales and Marketing Office of the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism. When the appeal has been processed, action will be taken as to the inclusion status of the event in question.
Events seeking a NEW listing must contact the appropriate Data Editor. Submission of an event does not guarantee a listing in a published calendar.
It is the express responsibility of the tourism event organizer/promoter to provide complete and accurate information of their event. The tourism event organizer/promoter is also responsible for updating this information on an annual basis.
Any event meeting the guidelines listed herein is eligible for inclusion in South Carolina Calendar of Events. Membership with any private organization or association is not required for inclusion.
Examples of events not eligible for inclusion:
• Music concerts, nightclub performances, local theater’s calendar (unless one of the plays features a nationally renowned performer).
• Civic club and community meetings, conference dates.
• Symposiums, lectures, seminars, educational classes.
• Local art gallery, museum, or attraction special events or exhibits
• Family or class reunions.
• High school or college sports schedules or graduations.
• Regional sports or team schedules
• Church bazaars, picnics, and special events.
• Retail sales events (i.e. for-profit events at private business that call themselves ‘festivals,’ such as a spring garden festival at a nursery which is intended to boost sales of their gardens items; an ‘inventory’ festival at a car dealership.
• Summer camp schedules, local recitals.
• Fundraising events.
• Beauty Pageants.
• Exceedingly localized events.
Approval/disapproval for inclusion of events into Calendar of Events, The Official South Carolina Vacation Guide and the Official Tourism Website for the State of South Carolina is at the sole discretion of the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism. SCPRT reserves all rights for final editing of tourism event listings.
Last Updated: February 27, 2006