City Moving Forward With Airport Improvements

City Moving Forward With Airport Improvements

After considering various redevelopment and funding options over the past several years, the City of Spartanburg has entered into a $3.8 million financing agreement with Carolina First Community Development Corporation for improvements at the Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport.

Improvements will include renovation and expansion of the terminal building, parking and landscape improvements, and the construction of two T hangars.

The South Carolina Aeronautics Commission is providing $500,000 to complete project funding.

Airport Director Darwin Simpson said groundbreaking should begin in May. “The Airport is a critical part of this community’s economic engine. These improvements will position the Airport for continued future growth and continue to serve the general and corporate aviation needs in Spartanburg".

For additional information please contact Darwin Simpson, Airport Director at 574-8552.

2010 Spartanburg Visitors Guide Available Today!

2010 Spartanburg Visitors Guide Available
Highlights County Accommodations, Attractions and Restaurants


The newest edition of the highly-anticipated Spartanburg Visitors’ Guide is now available to travelers planning to visit the Upcountry region.

The 2010 edition features Spartanburg restaurants, accommodations, shopping, attractions, annual events, cultural venues, and includes a pull-out map with several points of interest in the county and city of Spartanburg. The Visitors’ Guide is the official tourism guide to Spartanburg County. This is now an annual publication with 50,000 copies printed, and is distributed to all nine official South Carolina Welcome Centers, at the Greenville-Spartanburg Airport, and at AAA offices throughout North and South Carolina, and Georgia.

“The Visitors’ Guide received rave reviews from the traveling public and our industry,” said Chris Jennings, Executive Director of the CVB. “This is a real Spartanburg product,” he said. “It had a local designer; photography was selected through local contest, and it was printed in Spartanburg-- we’re proud of our local partnerships.”

Dan Freeland General Manager of the Spartanburg Marriott at Renaissance Park, and chairman of the CVB Steering Committee also commended CVB staff members Amy Phillips and Lauren Ponder for their extraordinary work in producing the publication.

“On behalf of our Steering Committee,” he said, “I also want to thank the City Council of Spartanburg for helping to produce it with a grant from Accommodations Tax funds—it’s another great example of public-private partnerships.”

The Spartanburg Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) is hosting an event for the tourism industry on February 18 at Brasserie Ecosse restaurant on Daniel Morgan Avenue, to showcase the 2010 edition. Bulk quantities will be available to hotels, attractions and other tourism venues in the county.

The guide will also be distributed at trade shows and conferences attended by the CVB, convention and meeting attendees, sporting events in Spartanburg, and all hotels in the region. Additionally, it is sent to all visitor requests received from phone, the tourism website (www.VisitSpartanburg.com), and walk-ins to the Visitor Center at the Chamber of Commerce.


Please be sure to pick up your copy at the CVB’s office, located at 105 North Pine Street and “Be A Tourist In Your Own Town” -- support Spartanburg County’s local restaurants, attractions, artists and musicians.



ABOUT SPARTANBURG CVB:

The Spartanburg Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) is the official destination marketing organization for the City and County of Spartanburg, South Carolina. Located in the foothills of the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, the region is known for its beauty, quality of life and friendly people. Spartanburg is conveniently located at the junction of Interstates 26 and 85, making it easily accessible from Columbia, SC, Atlanta, GA, Asheville and Charlotte, NC.

For more information, call (800) 374-8326 or bookmark our website: www.VisitSpartanburg.com

Applications for Spring Fling 2010

APPLICATIONS FOR SPRING FLING 2010 BEING ACCEPTED

Plans are underway for the annual Spring Fling in downtown Spartanburg, scheduled for April 30 - May 2. This year’s festivities will include live music, an exciting Family Fun Zone with hands-on activities and stage performances, lots of taste-tempting foods, an arts and crafts marketplace, a professional bicycle race, and antique car show, and many other special events.

Organizers are currently accepting applications for arts and crafts exhibitors, community showcase (non-profits) booths, and commercial vendors. Please note that all food and beverage concessionaire spots are already filled. Those interested in participating in the festival can download an application from the Spring Fling website at www.spartanburgspringfling.com or by calling the City’s Parks, Recreation and Special Events Office at 864-596-3105. Applications will be accepted through March 12.

Spring Fling is a tremendous undertaking and can only happen by having tons of volunteers willing to help out. Over 300 volunteers are needed for the three-day event. If you are interested in volunteering with the festival, contact Darryl Goodwin at dgoodwin@cityofspartanburg.org.

2nd annual Artcycle event planned for downtown Spartanburg

The City of Spartanburg invites area artists to submit an application for Artcycle, an art project, scheduled for April 2010 in downtown Spartanburg. Regional artists will utilize recycled bicycle parts and the display is planned for April-September in Spartanburg’s downtown area. Artcycle is seeking artists to create outdoor sculptures that are made from a substantial amount of recycled bicycle parts. The sculptures need not be made only of bicycle parts, nor need they be made of a specific percentage of bicycle parts. However, the sculptures must be made of enough bicycle parts that the viewer readily sees that a significant portion of each sculpture contain parts that were formerly from of a bicycle. Artcycle will feature ten artists and is part of the City of Spartanburg’s Creative Energy campaign with the partnership of HUB-BUB, the Spartanburg Art Museum and Partners for Active Living.

Applications can be found on the Spartanburg Creative Energy website at www.spartanburgcreativeenergy.com and they are due to the City of Spartanburg by March 1, 2010. The winning artist will be revealed at the Spartanburg Artwalk event on April 15, 2010.
For additional information please contact Amanda Mathis, Economic Development, at 864-596-3068 or amathis@cityofspartanburg.org.

The West Main Artists Cooperative

The West Main Artists Cooperative is a non-profit initiative that houses thirty-five artists. Howard Solomon purchased the 20,000 square foot West Main Baptist church a few months back with the notion of giving artists an affordable place to work, providing a diverse group to learn from and forming a catalyst which would both pull the Spartanburg community together with fine art and help revitalize the downtown area. All aspect of the arts is produced here: painting, drawing, printmaking, graphic design, writing, music, performing arts are in the works, ceramics, jewelry making, and creative thinking in general. Plenty of exhibition space is here to hang, view, and sell work.

This new group cannot wait to work with other local art groups for future projects that will push Spartanburg into that huge art scene like Greenville, Asheville, Columbia and Charlotte have. Great ideas for community functions that focus on the fine arts are on the table now! Never before has Spartanburg had such a diverse collection of artists in one spot. This is a place where people can learn from others and apply that knowledge to her/his work. Each will push another to a new level of clarity that will expand their art. Growth as an artist from a collective seems to be the theme here. Over all, it is a new foundation of creativity where individuals become stronger through their peers.
The artists come from all over the county to unite the town during hard economic times, proving the upstate will rise and usher in a new sense of place for artists to work for years to come.

The co-op has the Main Street Trolley for three months, so getting here will not be a problem during each and every Art Walk.

The Cooperative hopes to see as many new faces as they will the old on December 17th for their first Art Walk. Come explore all mediums of art at 578 West Main Street.

Police, Victim Advocates and Wal-Mart Provide Christmas Gifts for Children

Police, Victim Advocates and Wal-Mart Provide Christmas Gifts for Children

The Spartanburg Public Safety Department; Office of Victim Assistance, Wal-Mart Super Centers, Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System Foundation, United Way of the Piedmont, Weed & Seed, Integral Solutions, 911 Communications, FRED’S, Converse Fire Department, The Church of Latter Day Saints – Spartanburg First Ward and area High Schools have teamed up to sponsor “Shop with a Cop”. Officers and Victim Advocates will kick off this year’s event for the first time at the Dorman Centre Wal-Mart Super Center on Tuesday, December 15, 2009 at 10:00am. The event will then make its’ annual occurrence on Wednesday, December 16, 2009 at Wal-Mart Super Center at 2151 E. Main St. in Spartanburg at 10:00am and the Wal-Mart Super Center at 4000 Hwy 9 in Boiling Springs at 2:00pm to give children an opportunity to fulfill their Christmas wishes. The event will begin with a meeting with Santa Claus and then the children are paired with an officer who will assist them with their Christmas shopping for that special gift.

The children benefiting from this event may not otherwise experience the joy of Christmas from a child’s perspective. Needy children from the Spartanburg area, as well as children who are victim/survivors of crime, have been invited to participate in this year’s “Shop with a Cop”. Spartanburg Public Safety Department Victim Advocate, Marla Drummond states that, “We are grateful for the opportunity to provide our community’s youngest citizens a memorable holiday experience that truly exhibits the sincere caring of the Spartanburg community".

ROAD CLOSINGS FOR DICKENS OF A CHRISTMAS

ROAD CLOSINGS FOR DICKENS OF A CHRISTMAS

The 16th annual A Dickens of a Christmas is planned for Tuesday, December 1 from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. in downtown Spartanburg. Due to the event the following streets will be closed starting at 3 p.m.

• Converse Street from Dunbar Street to Broad Street
• Main Street from Converse Street to Spring Street
• Magnolia Street at the Magnolia Parking Garage to Dunbar Street
• Wall Street from Main Street to Broad Street
• Broad Street from Church Street to Converse Street

The following will close at 5 p.m.
• Church Street from St. John Street to Broad Street

The Victorian-era celebration complete with horse drawn carriage rides, roasted chestnuts, hand bell choirs, ballet dancers, characters from the Charles Dickens novel, living windows, holiday choirs, and the magical Denny’s Tree Lighting Ceremony has drawn tens of thousands of attendees for the last 15 years. The Tree Lighting Ceremony will begin at 8:00 p.m. with a community sing-along of favorite Christmas songs, led by the Spartanburg Community Band, University of South Carolina Upstate Gospel Choir and Park Hills Elementary School Chorus.

To learn more details about the celebration visit http://www.spartanburgdickens.org/