The 40th Annual Spring Water Festival will be held this Friday and Saturday, August 27 & 28 in Williamston’s Mineral Spring Park.

The two day festival will feature free kids activities, amusement rides, more than 50 vendors, antique and classic auto show, live music and other special attractions.

The festival will feature a variety of performers on the Park’s Center Stage and the Amphitheater Stage.

The 2021 Spring Water Festival will kick off on Friday evening with live music by Blue Sky Blues Band and the Carolina Coast Band.

The Carolina Coast Band features some of the Upstate’s most talented professional musicians. Included are Joey Werner, the band’s manager plays keyboards and is a lead vocalist having performed with many artists, including early stints as a drummer with the original members of the Swingin’ Medallions”. Frank Wilkie is bass guitarist and toured internationally with The Marshall Tucker Band, Rickey Godfrey Band, and Garfeel Ruff Band. Kym McKinnon is lead guitarist and lead vocalist and toured nationally with Nappy Brown. Big Tez Sherard is on drums and lead vocals and tours frequently with National Artist, Edwin McCain. Tez has worked with other artists such as Darius Rucker, and The Tams.
Alan Nowell is on saxes, woodwinds, and vocals. Rhonda McDaniel, Ten year CBMA Female Vocalist of the Year, and recording artist with several #1 Hits, adds talents of both vocals and keyboards to give the band a great shag and beach music show.
Rickey Godfrey of Nashville, TN, is on guitar, keyboards, and lead vocals. Rickey is an beach and blues artist and the recipient of many CBMA awards including a song of the year and male vocalist of the year. He took the Blues Artist award for the City of Nashville in 2018. Ron Davis will be on trumpet.

Ten special selected food vendors will offer a variety of delicious festival food items and specialties. Beer and wine will be available at this years festival.

On Saturday, activities will begin with an Opening Ceremony at 9:15 a.m. Music lovers are invited to bring a lawn chair or blanket and enjoy a day of music and other activities.

Slated to perform are Easton Gowan, Andrew Crawford, Marvin King Revue, Odyssey Band & Show and the Brooks Dixon Band. (See information and schedule below)

New this year will be a Golf Cart parade at 5 p.m. Carts will meet in the Town Square Center parking lot at 4:30 for staging. Carts will parade through downtown and West Main St. entering the park near the fire department and park near the Amphitheater Stage.

ABC Amusements will bring a variety of new rides. Wrist bands for unlimited rides will be sold Friday evening.

Alive Wesleyan Church will provide an expanded area of free children’s games and activities with a foam pit, golf course and games. Guthrie Grove Church will return with a puppet show, games and other activities for children.

Bob Seymore of Atlanta will bring the fantastic world of STATUARY back to Williamston depicting the town’s founder West Allen Williams.

Vendors from the Upstate and surrounding states will join local vendors to display and sell handmade items in the craft area while local and regional businesses and non-profits will provide information in the display section along the sidewalk.

The festival will again feature one of the Upstate’s largest antique and classic auto shows. There will be awards in a number of categories.

The Williamston Fire Department organizes the car show which features more than 100 vehicles and they will offer rides on the restored 1936 firetruck, a festival favorite.

Hours for the festival this year will be 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday followed by an After-Party from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Beer and wine will be available during the evening hours on both days of the festival.

Festival visitors are reminded to social distance.

Parking and admission is free. Additional details and entertainment schedules are included in a Special Program Tabloid in this week’s Journal and on the festival website at www.springwaterfestival.com.