festivals in charleston

Highly Anticipated Blessing of the Fleet This Weekend

The Annual Blessing of the Fleet and Seafood Festival is coming up this weekend in Mount Pleasant.

The event takes place every year and is a celebration of Mount Pleasant’s local shrimping and fishing industry. This year’s Blessing of the Fleet will take place on April 25th from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm at the Memorial Waterfront Park.

According to their website, “participants are treated to a boat parade and ceremonial blessing of the shrimp/fishing fleet, savory seafood samplings sold by some of Mount Pleasant’s best restaurants, live music, a craft show, Shag and shrimp-eating contests, and family-friendly activities.”

Admission to the festival is free for festival-goers. In addition to free admission, there will also be free shuttle buses running all day from various locations in Mount Pleasant to Memorial Waterfront Park.

Officials are encouraging attendees to engage in social distancing and wear face masks during the event.

Events

International Arts Festival Returning to Charleston in May

The 45th annual Spoleto Festival USA is returning to Charleston in May.The festival will take place from May 28 through June 13, 2021. For those seventeen days, artists, performers and musicians will be showcasing their skills in a variety of shows and performances.

Spoleto Festival USA is widely recognized as “America’s premier International Performing Arts Festival.” This year’s festival will have a variety of performances including A New Orleans Jazz Celebration, Ballet Under the Stars, Two Wings: The Music of Black America in Migration and The Wood Brothers.

According to a press release from Spoleto, “the 2021 season features a reduced number of venues and an overall capacity that is 25 percent of a typical season.” In addition, “all in-person performance tickets will be sold in safe seating pods—essentially “bubbles” of two and four seats. All seats within a pod must be purchased at the same time in the same order.”

Click here to view the full performance schedule and to purchase your tickets to this year’s festival.

Events

Annual Festival of Houses and Gardens Reimagined for 2021

2021 marks the 74th Annual Festival of Houses and Gardens. The festival celebrates the history, culture, beauty and architecture that Charleston boasts. Proceeds from the festival will benefit education and preservation efforts for the Historic Charleston Foundation.

In order to keep staff and festival-goers safe, this year’s festival will look a little different. Officials have made the difficult decision to cancel some annual events and have required that tours only feature private gardens and the exteriors of homes.

The festival will begin on March 11th with virtual Food for Thought Luncheon Lectures. In-person luncheon lectures will begin on April 5th at the Captain James Missroon House on East Bay Street.

Traditional events like the annual Sip and Stroll and Garden Splendor have been cancelled for the 2021 season. However, in place of those events, a new program will be held. Festival Fridays will start on April 23rd and take place every Friday through August 27th. Festival Fridays will include Morning History Walks and Food For Thought Lectures.The Glorious Gardens Tours will be also held on April 30th, May 14th, May 17th and May 21st.

Click here to learn more about the lineup of events taking place this year and see how you can celebrate this beautiful city.