- Come See Me Festival
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The Come See Me festival is an annual Spring festival hosted in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
Contents
About the Festival
Come See Me was originally founded to be a way for neighbors in the Rock Hill community to get to know one another.[1] The event was first held in 1962 and the citizens of Rock Hill were encouraged to invite people to see the city at the peak of its Spring beauty.[2]
The Festival was the idea of its first chairman C. H. "Ickey" Albright, former Rock Hill Mayor and State Senator, and was nurtured by nationally acclaimed illustrator Vernon Grant, a Rock Hill resident who created cereal's celebrated gnomes, "Snap, Crackle, and Pop".[3]
The festival centers on Rock Hill's historic, Glencairn Garden which is in full bloom each year during the festival. The Garden is where the name for the Come See Me mascot, Glen, comes from.
Come See Me is the largest festival in South Carolina, and is in the Top 20 Southeast Spring Festivals.
Each year the festival ends with a city-wide tailgate party and fireworks extravaganza hosted at Winthrop Lake.[4]
Highlight Activities
- Come See Me Parade
- Come-See-Me Decorating Contest
- Beach Bash
- Mayor’s Frog Jump
- Gourmet Gardens
- Moonlight Jazz & Blues
- Tailgate Party[5]
The Come-See-Me Festival was first held in 1962 as a community project to invite visitors, relatives and friends to see Rock Hill during its most beautiful season. It started as a weekend event and has expanded to 10 days. The Festival was the idea of its first chairman C. H. “Ickey” Albright, former Rock Hill Mayor and State Senator, and was nurtured by nationally acclaimed illustrator Vernon Grant, a Rock Hill resident who created cereal's celebrated gnomes, “Snap, Crackle, and Pop”. The Festival's mascot, “Glen the Frog”, was also created by Mr. Grant, who designed over 30 different “Glens”. A new logo representing each new festival is selected yearly with an updated design and new colors. A central focus of the Festival has always been the historic, award-winning Glencairn Garden, created by Dr. David A. Bigger and given to the City of Rock Hill in 1958. Over 3,500 azaleas are surrounded by camellias, dogwood, wisteria and a variety of flowers and trees. The Come-See-Me Festival is considered the largest, all-volunteer festival in South Carolina and attracts over 125,000 participants and visitors each year. The festival has been ranked in the Southeast's Top 20 Spring Festivals.
Organizers
The festival is put on officially by the City of Rock Hill, via the Board Of Governors for the Come See me Festival.
References
- ^ Come-See-Me Rock Hill & York County, SC Visitor Information
- ^ about CSM
- ^ about CSM
- ^ our events
- ^ CSM Brochure 07
External links
Categories:- Festivals in South Carolina
- Recurring events established in 1962
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