Have you ever been to Lake City, S.C.? Ever heard of Lake City? Likely not until the last few years, when Lake City-native Darla Moore (yeah, that Darla Moore – of the business school at UofSC) had a big idea to bring in visitors to her hometown (“the little town that could”). Enter: Artfields.

Now in its sixth year, Artfields is a Southeastern arts festival that gathers 400+ works by artists from 18+ states; drawing ~22,000 visitors each year. (Columbia is well-represented, with 60 Cola artists participating this year. 40 artists are participating from the Charleston area, and more than a dozen from Greenville.) A juried competition awards $100,000 in prizes (including a People’s Choice award), and the Artfields Jr. program now brings in hundreds of entries from elementary through high school students across our state.

Data from Artfields 2013 showed the festival had a massive impact, with a $5.4 million economic return for the Lake City community. And it continually spurs growth + economic impact in the town. A local told me that for the merchants + restaurant owners downtown, Artfields season is better than Christmas, twice over.

“Infinite Flowers” mural by Lance Turner, Tennessee-based artist, as part of Artfields 2018 Public Art

Lake City itself is now studded in public art, from installation art and public pocket parks to countless Instagram-worthy murals on downtown brick buildings. It’s a sight to see – and a very cool, progressive scene for a little Southern town in the Pee Dee region. (I can say that; I’m from Florence.)

Artfields 2018 runs from April 20-28 – so until Saturday. I highly recommend checking it out. A 1.5-hour drive from Cola, it’s definitely worth a #DayTrip.

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