The 43rd Annual Spring Water Festival will be held August 23-24 in Williamston’s historic Mineral Spring Park.
It is one of the longest running festivals in the upstate.
The festival will kick off at 6 pm on Friday evening with live music by two local bands, the Blue Sky Blues Band and The Fortunate Sons. Music lovers are invited to bring a lawn chair or blanket and enjoy an evening of music. Twelve different food vendors will offer a variety of delicious festival food items and specialties.
Festival day activities will officially kick off at 9 a.m. Saturday with an antique and classic auto show, informative displays, children’s activities, historic displays, craft demonstrations, handmade crafts and festival food favorites.
More than 50 craft vendors, boutiques and local vendors will display and sell their items. Many offer handmade specialty items.
Approximately 50 business and non-profit organizations are expected to have informative displays about the goods and services they offer.
The Williamston Fire Department antique and classic auto show will have more than 100 antique autos, street rods, customs, trucks, jeeps and other special vehicles on display.
It is sponsored by Clinkscales Chevrolet in Belton, Kenneth Rhodes & Associates Insurance/Managing Partner Lauren Marvin and the Williamston Fire Department.
This year there will be a $500 Cash Give-a-Way to registered entries, $100 each hour. Registration will be $20 with awards to the top 25, plus six specialty awards.
Persons interested in displaying a customized vehicle, antique car or truck or tractor in the show can register between 8 am and noon on festival day.
Specialty awards include Best Original, Best GM, Best Ford, Best Truck, Best Street Rod, Best Rat Rod, Best Jeep, Mayor’s Choice, and The Will Drake Memorial Award. Trophies are a special design. A new award, the Steve Ellison Memorial Award was added in 2021.
The fire department will also offer $1 rides on the restored 1936 Chevrolet fire engine.
The 5k Spring Water Run will be held at 7:30 am on Saturday. There will be some temporary street closures during the race.
Advance online registration will be available until race day. Entry Fee is $25 and includes a race bib and timing chip. Spring Water Race shirts can be added to any registration for $12 each.
The race will be timed and the overall top three male and female winners will receive cash and gift card prizes.
The course includes city streets and country roads with rolling hills. Food and drink (bananas and bottled water) will be provided for runners. The Williamston Police Department will secure all major intersections and paramedics will be on site.
Packet Pickup and registration begins at 6:30 am on race day in the parking lot beside McDonald’s in downtown Williamston.
Registration information is available online at www.springwaterfestival.com or email: Kellylanemoon@gmail.com
The Spring Water Festival celebrates the founding of a town that was once a popular tourist destination, with the state’s largest hotel and drawing people from across the state to enjoy the benefits of a mineral spring which reportedly had medicinal qualities.
Today the spring around which the town was built still flows, offering visitors a cool, refreshing drink of spring water in Mineral Spring Park, one of the oldest public parks in the country.
The festival is organized by the Williamston Springwater Festival Committee, a 501 C3 non profit organization. Proceeds from the festival are used for improvements in the park and to help decorate the Christmas Park.
The 42nd Annual Spring Water Festival will be Aug. 25 & 26, 2023 in Williamston’s Mineral Spring Park
The Spring Water Festival Features:
Arts & Crafts – Live Music – 5K Run – Gospel Music Showcase – Free Children’s Activities – Amusement Rides – Antique Car Show – Festival Food – Exhibits – Souvenirs
80 Craft and Boutique Vendors – 50 plus Display Vendors – 17 Food Vendors Live Music on 2 stages 150 + Car Show entries & Jeeps – Fire Truck Rides
The 41st Annual Spring Water Festival will be Aug. 26 & 27, 2022 in Williamston’s Mineral Spring Park
The Spring Water Festival Features:
Arts & Crafts Live Music Gospel Music Showcase Free Children’s Activities Amusement Rides Antique Car Show Festival Food Exhibits Souvenirs 50 plus Crafters – 50 plus Display Vendors – 10 Food Vendors Live Music on 2 stages 125 + Car Show entries – Antique Fire Truck exhibit – Fire Truck Rides No Alcohol
The Upcoming Spring Water Festival will feature Bluegrass/Americana music headliner Kristi Stanley. Stanley has become well known for performing a diverse mix of Americana and Bluegrass music. Her shows also include Gospel, Traditional Country, and an occasional Classic Rock song. Stanley is the daughter-in-law of Bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley who was known for his distinctive singing and banjo playing as well as being the leader of his band The Clinch Mountain Boys.
Spring Water Festival to feature Gospel, Beach, Bluegrass/Americana
The 41st Annual Spring Water Festival, slated for August 26 and 27 in Williamston’s Mineral Spring Park, will feature a variety of music including Beach, Americana, Bluegrass, Country, Blues Rock and Gospel.
Saturday’s entertainment will feature Bluegrass/Americana music with headliner Kristi Stanley. Her shows include an array of Americana, Bluegrass, Gospel, Traditional Country, and even an occasional Classic Rock song. Kristi Ison Stanley is the daughter-in-law of Bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley who was known for his distinctive singing and banjo playing as well as being the leader of his band The Clinch Mountain Boys. She is from Coeburn, VA. Born and raised in Pikeville, KY, Kristi was brought up among a rich history of bluegrass and country music, immortalized along the famous “Country Music Highway”. She spent hours singing along with the legendary Dolly Parton and dreaming of becoming a big star. She recorded her own renditions of Dolly’s songs, singing them over and over again until every note was perfect, and then garnered the nerve to let her parents listen in. Her Mom convinced Kristi that she was good enough to consider singing for a bigger audience. At 15, Kristi performed on the live radio show, Home Spun Country. The DJ, Tim Michaels, a musician as well, was quite impressed with her talent. It wasn’t long before Tim and Kristi formed the band Sandy River, opening for National acts including Kenny Chesney, Billy Ray Cyrus, and Ricochet. Kristi continued to perform with her band throughout high school at music festivals, weddings, talent shows, and radio stations, as well as the VA/KY Opry and The Mountain Arts Center. The highlight of her career came when she was asked by Dr. Ralph Stanley to be a part of the Grammy-nominated album “Clinch Mountain Sweethearts”. She joined not only her hero, Dolly Parton, but other stars including Pam Tillis, Sara Evans, and Chely Wright on the project. Kristi, at the time 18 years old, sang “I’ll Never Grow Tired of You” with the bluegrass legend himself, and was both honored and humbled by the experience. She met her husband, Ralph Stanley II, while on vacation with her family in Nashville, sitting in at a taping of Prime Time Country, with then host Gary Chapman. Ralph II spotted Kristi in the audience while performing on stage with Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys, and they later met at the meet and greet following the show. Two years later, the couple was married and they now have two children Taylor Stanley and Ralph Stanley III. While staying home full time with her family was a blessing, Kristi felt it was time to start performing again and has had great success with her first studio venture “Heart Wide Open”, released in 2018. After marriage and two children, she returned to performing. Kristi began to find herself as an artist, and realized the kind of music she truly wanted to make and the sound she desired to establish herself as a creative force in the music industry. She teamed up with engineer and producer, Steve Wilson, of Westminster and Bonfire Recording Studio in Greenville, and they got to work on pre-production for her next project in 2019. Unfortunately, when the Covid shutdown occurred, things were put on hold. Kristi was scheduled to perform at the Spring Water Festival in 2020, however it too was canceled due to the shutdown. The album is now finished and Kristi has recently been signed to the 615 Hideaway Record label to release her self-titled album in 2022. Kristi said her new music release “is the music I’ve wanted to make, it’s me.” Stanley loves to combine her love of Classic country, bluegrass, gospel and even some rock and roll into her unique flavor of Americana. Her new album truly has something for everyone.
Also performing will be local Bluegrass and Americana groups Angela Easterling and the Beguilers and Crawford Colt.
Angela Easterling & The Beguilers Singer/Songwriter Angela Easterling performs rootsy, refreshing, homespun tunes with her backing band, The Beguilers. The Beguilers feature complex styles, with instrumentation that fleshes out the stories in Angela’s songs, and adds some rocking fun. Their act is not quite country, not quite folk, but all together unique and engaging. Angela lives with her musical partner and their three young sons on the Greer, SC farm that has been in her family since 1791. Her most recent release, “Common Law Wife”, went all the way to number 1 on the Roots Music Report Americana Country Airplay Chart, and remained in the top five on that chart for over 2 months, garnishing much praise in the press. Her album, “BlackTop Road”, produced by Will Kimbrough, was on the Americana top 40 airplay chart for 7 weeks. It was chosen as a top pick in both Oxford American and Country Weekly. She was selected for an official Americana Convention Showcase, official showcases at both NERFA and SERFA (Folk Alliance) and is also a four-time Kerrville New Folk Finalist, a Telluride Troubadour and a two-time Wildflower Performing Songwriter Top 10 Finalist. In 2019, Angela had the distinct honor of performing her song, “Isaac Woodard’s Eyes” at the unveiling ceremony of an historical marker in honor of the late civil rights hero, Sgt. Isaac Woodard. Angela has toured the U.S., both solo and duo with Brandon Turner, and has appeared with her crowd-pleasing band The Beguilers at numerous concert series and music festivals throughout the Southeast, including Shakori Hills, Fall for Greenville, NC Apple Festival, Strawberry Festival, Albino Skunkfest, Spring Water Festival and more. She has opened for or appeared with Ray Price, Suzy Bogguss, Radney Foster, Will Kimbrough, The Oak Ridge Boys, and others. In 2020, Angela and Brandon released several singles from Angela’s upcoming album. While COVID stalled her plans for a 2020 release and tour, she got busy recording a handful of new songs, written during quarantine, and plans to release her new album, “Witness”, soon. Advance copies of the new CD will be available at the Spring Water Festival and they will be playing lots of the new songs.
Crawford Colt Crawford Colt features a mix of the mountain sounds of Appalachia and the spirit of traditional country music. Brandi Colt and Andrew Crawford began as two songwriters getting together to swap songs and collaborate as writers. They had so many requests for duo performances that they formed Crawford Colt. Andrew Crawford is a career guitarist, instructor, singer, song writer, and producer. He has shared the stage and performed on albums with multiple Grammy Winning and well known artists in the Bluegrass, Americana, and country genres including Vince Gill, Jim Lauderdale, Dale Ann Bradley, Rhonda Vincent, Randy Kohrs. He is also a multi-instrumentalist with a reputation for skillful guitar playing and song writing. Andrew is from the Williamston area. Brandi Colt is a songwriter and artist from Upstate South Carolina. After the success of her debut album, “Appalachian Hearts”, she released “Unbreak a Heart” as the first single from her two volume sophomore album in December 2021. Currently she performs as a duo in Crawford Colt. Crawford Colt performs regionally in the south East and all over the US. They have opened shows for Sunny Sweeney, Josh Morningstar, Clint Park, 49 Winchester, Creed Fisher, Little Texas, Alex Williams, Billy Don Burns, Kayla Ray, and more.
The 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 who plays keyboards and is lead vocalist. He has performed with many artists, including early stints as a drummer with the original members of the “Swingin’ Medallions”. Bass guitarist Frank Wilkie has toured internationally with The Marshall Tucker Band, Rickey Godfrey Band, and Garfeel Ruff Band.
Lead guitarist and vocalist Kym McKinnon has toured nationally with Nappy Brown. Drummer and vocalist Big Tez Sherard tours frequently with national artist Edwin McCain and has worked with other artists including Darius Rucker, and The Tams.
The band also features Rhonda McDaniel, ten year CBMA Female Vocalist of the Year, a recording artist with several number 1 hits. Rhonda also plays keyboards. Rickey Godfrey, of Nashville, TN, is on guitar, keyboards, and lead vocals. Rickey is a 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. Alan Nowell is on saxes, woodwinds, and vocals. Blue Sky Blues is a local blues/rock band from Piedmont that includes Ian Alerre on drums, Steve Myers on bass and Adam Lindsley on guitar and vocals. They will perform a variety of classic blues and rock songs with a few originals mixed in.
Gospel Stage On Saturday, the park’s Center Stages, also known as the Gospel Stage, will feature The Maples, New Beginnings, Living Truth, All for Him, Jennifer Phillips, Catlin Tierce, Trevor Thomas, New Day, Talya Starrett, Singing Tornadoes, The Other Side and Revealed. The festival will also feature free kids activities, amusement rides, more than 50 vendors, antique and classic auto show, fire truck rides, festival food and other special attractions.
The 41st Annual Spring Water Festival will be held August 26 and 27 in Williamston’s Mineral Spring Park.
New this year will be will be axe throwing. Blade and Bull Mobile Axe Throwing will bring a 25 feet long, 8 feet wide trailer for willing participants looking for an exciting activity. The object is to throw a small axe (hatchet) down a designated lane into a wooden target. Points are scored based on sticking the axe into painted rings on a target board. Come compete with your friends.
501st Legion Canceled – Also appearing at the festival will be characters from The 501st Legion, an international costuming organization dedicated to celebrating STAR WARS™ through the creation and use of quality costumes that portray the villainous, morally ambiguous, or non-partisan characters from the STAR WARS™ universe.
Local artist Thomas Addison will display drawings and an oil painting of his interpretation of a mythical creature called a “Williamston Naiad”. In classical mythology, a Naiad is a water nymph or fairy, said to inhabit a river, spring, or waterfall. Inspiration came from Lander College, which had its beginnings in Williamston as the Williamston Female College and named their yearbook “Naiad” as a tribute to the college’s early days (in Williamston) and being located near the historic mineral spring. A real Naiad (character) is expected and there will be a fun activity for kids to look for Naiad fairys in the park on festival day. Bob Seymore of Atlanta will bring the fantastic world of STATUARY back to Spring Water Festival depicting the character of West Allen Williams. Seymore will have a story board with history about the town.
The festival will kick off at 6 p.m. Friday evening with live beach music featuring the Carolina Coast Band and blues rock with the Blue Sky Band.
There will be festival food, amusement rides and craft vendors with handmade items for sale.
ABC Party Rentals and Amusements will be selling $20 wrist bands for unlimited rides from 6 to 10 pm. Tickets on Saturday will be $1 each.
The 5K Spring Water Run is returning on Saturday morning. Advance registration deadline has passed, however runners can still register on the day of the race. Registration fee is $35 and includes a race shirt (limited supply on day of race), bib, and timing chip. Packet Pickup and registration begins at 6:30 am on race day in the parking lot beside McDonald’s in downtown Williamston. The 5K open race will begin at 7:30 a.m. The race will be timed and the overall top three male and female winners will receive prizes.
On Saturday, festival activities will begin with 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.
This year’s festival will feature a variety of music including Beach, Americana, Bluegrass, Country, Blues Rock and Gospel.
The Amphitheater Stage will feature country and bluegrass beginning at 9 a.m. with Kendall Lanford, followed by Crawford-Colt at 11 a.m., Angela Easterling and the Beguilers at 1 p.m., and headliner Kristi Stanley at 3 p.m.
Kristi is making a name for herself in the bluegrass music world and is releasing a new album. Several years ago, at the age of 18, she was asked by Dr. Ralph Stanley, to be a part of the Grammy-nominated album “Clinch Mountain Sweethearts”. She joined not only her hero, Dolly Parton, but other stars including Pam Tillis, Sara Evans, and Chely Wright on the project. Kristi sang “I’ll Never Grow Tired of You” with the bluegrass legend himself.
The Gospel Stage, will feature The Maples, New Beginnings, Living Truth, All for Him, Jennifer Phillips, Catlin Tierce, Trevor Thomas, New Day, Talya Starrett, Singing Tornadoes, The Other Side and Revealed.
The Spring Water Festival Car Show, organized by the Williamston Fire Department and will feature more than 100 vehicles. There will also be rides on the restored 1936 fire truck. Alive Wesleyan Church and Guthrie Grove Church of Abrahamic Faith will offer free kids games and activities.
Sponsors for the 2022 Spring Water Festival include the Town of Williamston, Cristina Ortiz State Farm Agency, Clinkscales Chevrolet, and The Journal.
The Spring Water Festival was organized in 1981 as a funding source for the town’s winter holiday attraction, the Christmas Park in December. The Spring Water Festival is held in Mineral Spring Park, State Highway 20, downtown Williamston.
Parking and admission is free. Additional information and entertainment schedules are available at www.springwaterfestival.com.
The Williamston Police Dept. recommends the following locations when looking for parking at this year’s festival. Main St. in front of the Park will be blocked from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 27 with detours on Ida Tucker, Cherokee Rd. and Mauldin or Academy, Broad, Gossett, Williams and Mill Streets. No streets will be closed on Friday, Aug. 26. PUBLIC PARKING Behind Soccer Fields – Limited parking will be available in front of (from Main St.) and behind the soccer fields with access from Mauldin St. Festival goers parking in this area can easily walk under the Main Street bridge to the craft and food area. The Armory Fitness (old Armory) on Gossett Dr. – Public Parking is available in the field area adjacent to the Armory which how houses Armory Fitness, with short walk to craft and food area of the festival. Municipal Center – Limited parking will be available in the parking lot located behind town hall. HANDICAP PARKING Handicap parking will be available with decal beside the Historic Depot on Main St. and in front of the Municipal Center from Minor St. and Main St. CRAFT VENDORS Crafters will have designated parking at the corner of Gossett Dr. and West Main and with public parking at the Armory on Gossett Dr. BUSINESS/DISPLAY VENDORS Business and Display vendors will be given a parking pass during registration and will be allowed to park in designated parking just outside the rear gate entrance/exit with pass. VENDOR SETUP Friday, Aug. 26 – Set up for craft, food and display vendors will be held prior to the festival start at 6 p.m. Vehicles leaving the park must be out by 5:45 p.m. The Park will be closed to traffic from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27 – No vehicles will be allowed in the park after 8:30 a.m. and any vehicle that is leaving the park must be out by 8:45 am officials said. Main St. will be closed to all traffic except auto show entries at 8 a.m. Main St. will reopen at 4 p.m. The park will remain closed to traffic until the festival ends at 4 p.m. Business/Display and Non-Profit Vendors are asked to leave their displays set up until 4 p.m. when they will be allowed back into the park area behind the Amphitheater to pack up their display items and leave. The festival officially ends at 4 p.m. this year. OTHER NOTES Visitors are reminded not to park on private property or block entrances to homes or businesses in the area. All vendors may set up on Thursday evening with festival representative approval or until 6 p.m. on Friday. Craft Vendors may begin unloading at 6 a.m. Saturday on Gossett Dr. Signs will direct crafters to Gossett St. for unloading and parking on festival day. Registration will be in the Gazebo. Business/Display and NonProfits who set up Saturday must register at the shelter in the center of the park.
The 40th Annual Spring Water Festival will be held August 27 & 28 in Williamston’s Mineral Spring Park.
The event celebrates the founding of the town that was once a popular tourist destination, with the state’s largest hotel, drawing people from across the state to enjoy the benefits of a mineral spring which reportedly had medicinal qualities. The spring around which the town was built still flows, offering visitors a cool, refreshing drink of spring water in Mineral Spring Park, one of the oldest public parks in the country.
The two day festival, after taking a year off during COVID, will feature free kids activities, amusement rides, more than 70 business and craft vendors, antique and classic auto show, live music and other special attractions.
The festival features 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. Ten special selected food vendors will offer a variety of delicious festival food items and specialties.
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, Odyssey Band and Show and the Brooks Dixon Band.
New this year will be a Golf Cart parade. ABC Amusements will bring a variety of new rides. Alive Wesleyan Church will provide an expanded area of free children’s games and activities. 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.
Clinkscales Chevrolet in Belton is a sponsor of the car show.
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.
The Spring Water Festival was organized in 1981 as a funding source for the town’s winter holiday attraction, the Christmas Park in December. Parking and admission is free. Additional details and entertainment schedules will be announced soon.
The 40th Annual Spring Water Festival will be Aug. 27 & 28, 2021 in Williamston’s
Mineral Spring Park. The Springwater Committee is excited that our two day outdoor festival will take place in August and in addition to celebrating our 40th year, this year’s festival will include new and exciting attractions, extended hours on Saturday and more entertainment.
Announcements will be coming soon!
The Spring Water Festival Features:
Arts & Crafts Live Music Gospel Music Showcase
Free Children’s Activities Amusement Rides
Antique Car Show Festival Food Exhibits Souvenirs
50 plus Crafters – 50 plus Display Vendors – 10 Food Vendors
Live Music on 2 stages
125 + Car Show entries – Antique Fire Truck exhibit – Fire Truck Rides
Mineral Spring Park – Williamston, SC
State Hwy. 20 just off I-85 between Anderson and Greenville, SC
Arts & Crafts 5K Spring Water Run Mineral Spring Trail Walk (New)
Health Fair Live Music Gospel music showcase
Free Children’s Activities Amusement Rides
Antique Car Show Festival Food Exhibits Souvenirs
Directions to Festival
From I-85 or Hwy. 29, exit onto Hwy.8 to Pelzer.
Right on Hwy. 20 into downtown Williamston
THANKS FOR MAKING THE 2017
SPRING WATER FESTIVAL A SUCCESS!!!
SEE YOU NEXT YEAR AUGUST 24 & 25, 2018
August 25 & 26 – 2017
Mineral Spring Park – Williamston, SC
State Hwy. 20 just off I-85 between Anderson and Greenville, SC
Arts & Crafts 5K Spring Water Run Mineral Spring Trail Walk (New) Health Fair Live Music Gospel music showcase Free Children’s Activities Amusement Rides Antique Car Show Festival Food Exhibits Souvenirs
Directions to Festival
From I-85 or Hwy. 29, exit onto Hwy.8 to Pelzer.
Right on Hwy. 20 into downtown Williamston
50 plus Crafters – 50 plus Display Vendors – 11 Food Vendors Live Bands – 17+ Gospel groups 125 + Car Show entries – Antique Fire Truck exhibit – Fire Truck Rides FREE ADMISSION – FREE PARKING All Events – Rain or Shine
No alcohol – No coolers – No Pets – No bicycles, No Skate Boards