This weekend, flowers, vendors, food trucks and thousands of people are expected to fill Summerville's downtown for the annual Flowertown Festival.
Traditionally held every year in the spring when the flowers are in bloom, Flowertown serves as the biggest fundraiser for the Summerville Family YMCA, which collects about $250,000 annually from the festival to put toward its programming. This is the festival's 49th year.
It's also the first time since 2019 that the festival has been held in the spring. Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival was canceled in 2020 and postponed to October in 2021.
"We're very excited to have a normal festival," YMCA marketing director Erika Stubbs said. "...A lot of the flowers, with the seasonal changes, have already come and gone, but we're hopeful that we'll have some new blooms and definitely excited to get back to the roots of the festival, which is in the spring."
This year's festival will feature more than 200 jury-selected arts and crafts vendors, in addition to numerous business and civic booths and food vendors. Stubbs said the event normally draws more than 230,000 people.
Because those people stay in the area's hotels, eat at local restaurants and are walking through Summerville's downtown, the town sees an estimated $49 million in economic impact every year, Stubbs said.
The Journal Scene has provided a special section with further information on the festival, including a map and information on first-time vendors, as well as programs and events supported by the Y. Stubbs said to get updates and other information, community members can download the Flowertown Festival app to their phones from the Apple Store or Google Play Store, or they can visit the YMCA's Facebook page.
The festival runs April 1, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; April 2, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; and April 3, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Admission and parking are both free.
During the festival, Main Street will be closed to all vehicle traffic from the intersection with East Richardson Avenue to Joyce Lane. West Fifth Street will also be blocked off from Main Street to Sumter Avenue.
