Join in the festivities for CAMDEN’S BICENTENNIAL LAFAYETTE WEEKEND (March 7-9, 2025), with planned events beginning the week leading up to the reenactment of the Marquis de Lafayette’s 1825 visit to Camden. For details about local events taking place and for more information about the Marquis de Lafayette’s 1825 visit to America, please visit https://lafayette200.org.
So far, the following events have been planned for Camden:
March 2025: Lafayette Exhibit: Artifacts from Lafayette’s 1825 visit to South Carolina at the Camden Archives & Museum, 1314 Broad St, Camden. Free to the public.
March 2025: Silent art auction with a french flair, in honor of Lafayette’s visit, raising money for youth art scholorships. The auction is on-line for the month of March. Art is exhibited at Camden Art Shoppes Elevator Lobby Gallery, at 1011 Broad Street. See art and learn more here.
Monday, March 3 – Saturday, March 8th, 3pm: “Where’s Lafayette? A Historical Scavenger Hunt for Families” – Pick up the passport & instructions from the Kershaw County Library, 1304 Broad St. starting Saturday, March 1st. Sponsored by the Hobkirk Hill Chapter, NSDAR.
Tuesday, March 4th 12pm-1:30pm: “Lunch & Learn: Lafayette and the Rights of Man” – Bill Davies will help take us through this remarkable man’s life and his time spent in South Carolina. Bring your lunch! Revolutionary War Visitor Center, 212 Broad St, Camden. Reservations recommended. Free to the public.
Friday, March 7th & Saturday, March 8th: “Revolutionary Art Sale” at Artists Attic, 930 Broad Street. Meet local artists, see the work they do, and find that special something to take back home.
Thursday, March 6th 6:30pm: Regency Dance Lessons McCaa’s Tavern, Historic Camden Foundation, 222 Broad Street. Free to the public.
Friday, March 7th 10am-4pm: “Run to the Waxhaws” Battle Site Tour with Box Lunch. Departs from Historic Camden Foundation, 222 Broad Street. $75 pp. *ADVANCE TICKETS REQUIRED*
Friday, March 7th 5:00pm: McCaa’s Tavern Yard Supper featuring Half-Crown Bakehouse’s Provisions Plate. Live music and cannon firing at dusk. McCaa’s Tavern, Historic Camden Foundation, 222 Broad Street. $15 per plate. Cash Bar. Admission free to the public.
Saturday, March 8th, 10am: Lafayette Arrival Ceremony Lafayette arrives in an open carriage. Speeches from 1825 recreated. Mayor Vincent Sheheen will read the Lafayette Day Proclamation. Kershaw-Cornwallis House, Historic Camden Foundation, 222 Broad Street. Free to the public.
Saturday, March 8th, 10:30am: Parade through Downtown Camden, Broad Street to DeKalb Street to end at Bethesda Presbyterian Church, 502 East DeKalb Street. Everyone is welcome to join in! Estimated Distance = 1 mile. Free to the public. Saturday, March 8th, 11:00am: Laying of the Cornerstone for General DeKalb’s Monument. Lafayette and the Freemasons will reenact the ceremony from 1825 at Bethesda Presbyterian Church, 502 East DeKalb. Free to the public.
Saturday, March 8th, 12pm-2pm: French Wine Brunch at Broad & Vine, 1025 Broad Street. Join Neelie Edwards of ALEPH Wines as you sample 6 amazing French wines and enjoy a 5 course brunch. $50 per person, reservations required. Call 803-714-7898.
Saturday, March 8th, 12pm-4pm: Living History Open House at Historic Camden Foundation, 222 Broad Street. Living history demonstrations. Lunch will be available for purchase from Half-Crown Bakehouse. Historic Camden. $10 pp.
Saturday, March 8th, 1pm-3pm: Book Talk and Q&A Children’s Authors Jenny Cote and Libby McNamee and Lafayette, himself! Liberty Hall. Revolutionary War Visitor Center, 212 Broad Street. Free to the public.
Saturday, March 8th, 5pm-7pm: 1825 Dinner at McCaa’s Tavern cooked by Chefs Justin Cherry & Hugh China. Includes wine, port, and nonalcoholic drinks. McCaa’s Tavern, Historic Camden Foundation, 222 Broad Street. $100 pp. *ADVANCE TICKETS REQUIRED*
Saturday, March 8th, 7pm-9pm: 1825 Soirée at the Robert Mills Courthouse, 607 Broad Street. Live music, English Country Dancing with Mr. Steplively as the dance caller, cash bar, and refreshments served. Robert Mills Courthouse. $50 pp. *ADVANCE TICKETS REQUIRED*
Sunday, March 9th, 9:30am: Regency-style Breakfast at McCaa’s Tavern cooked by Chef Justin Cherry. During breakfast, we’ll give a talk on the Camden Burials Project. McCaa’s Tavern, Historic Camden Foundation, 222 Broad Street. Tickets are $20 pp. *ADVANCE TICKETS REQUIRED*
The City of Camden Accommodations Tax Grant Committee is now accepting applications for fiscal year 2025-26.
Accommodations tax grants are available to nonprofit organizations in and near Camden, in order to support their advertising and promotion of events, assets or other tourism related projects. The purpose of accommodations tax grants is fund marketing efforts that attract populations outside of a 50-mile radius to visit Camden.
Accommodations Tax funding is a reimbursement program, and eligible events, projects and activities must take place between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026. Formal applications must be submitted before any requests will be considered. Events must attract regional, state, or national audiences.
Accommodations tax grant applications and the accommodations tax grant handbook are available for download here.
Applications must be received at Camden City Hall, 1000 Lyttleton Street, by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, April 25, 2025.
Celebrating its ninth anniversary and moving to a new location for its grand final day celebration, Irish Fest Camden, the premiere Irish festival of the southeast, will be celebrated on Saturday, March 1, 2025 at the Kershaw County Airport in Camden.
Throughout the week of the festival, Camden businesses are invited to help join in the festivities by decorating their storefronts in an Irish theme. A committee will visit the locations with the winner receiving a unique award.
Here is a listing of the event’s festivities:
Irish Trivia returns to Broad & Vine wine bar on Wednesday, Feb. 26 at 6:30 p.m. Admission is $25 and includes a glass of bubbly and an appetizer. Prizes every round! Visit www.broad-and-vine.com for more info.
For the second time in as many years, the Black Box Theater, located inside the Wood Auditorium on the grounds of the Arts Center of Kershaw County will host an Irish Pub Night on Thursday, Feb. 27 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. The evening will feature a traditional Irish dinner, drinks, live music and stories about traditional Irish music and the instruments used to create it. More information may be found on www.artscenterkc.org
Returning to the festivities for the seventh year is the Friday night Downtown Camden Pub Crawl on Friday, Feb. 28. The evening is a night of live Irish music at various venues in Camden from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m.
One of the most popular events of the festival is the eighth annual Lucky Leprechaun 5K race/walk to be run at 8 a.m. on Saturday, March 1 at the Town Green in Camden. Registration is currently taking place online at: www.strictlyrunning.com/LL5k
The week of festivities leads up to the grand celebration at the Kershaw County Airport at 2203 Airline Drive, Camden, SC. The celebration is 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Advance tickets are now on sale online with an early bird price of $15 for adults and $5 for children. Tickets will be $20 and $7, respectively, cash-only at the gate. Tickets are available now at the Irish Fest Camden website.
The day-long, family friendly event features food and beverage vendors throughout the expansive grounds including an authentic Irish pub featuring Shepherd’s Pie. The Highland Games, a staple of the festival since its start, brings together athletes from throughout the Southeast to compete in such events as the open stone throw, the Braemer Stone throw, the Sheaf, and the light and heavy hammer toss, which have piqued the interest of festival-goers, many of whom are getting their first look at these unique athletic events.
Stations featuring soda, water, Irish and green beer, coffee and Irish coffee, along with a whiskey-tasting tent will be part of the festivities as will a kids’ zone. An Irish historian will return to share stories of folklore and history. There will be more than 40 food vendors offering a multitude of options and more than 100 retail vendors.
One of the main attractions of the day is live music and this year the headliners are the Screaming Orphans, a four-sister group from County Donegal, Ireland, who are making their second appearance at Irish Fest Camden, and Columbia’s own and festival favorite, Syr who returns to the festival for the ninth year. In addition, there will be other musical acts spread out among three stages during the course of the day.
As snow accumulates and/or turns to ice in the evening hours, we advise residents to avoid driving, if possible, during evening and overnight hours. If you experience a power outage or require any other City service during the winter weather, please call 803-432-2421 or 803-432-0009. City facilities will delay opening until 10:00 am on Wednesday, January 22. All Municipal Court cases scheduled for January 22 are canceled and reschedule notices will be sent via mail.
Here are some winter weather tips for residents and utility customers:
Insulate exposed pipes or faucets to prevent freezing, using foam sleeves or wrapping layers of material.
Close off vents and seal or repair any cracks and openings in doors and windows.
Know where the main water valve is for your home, in case of a pipe burst during freezing temperatures. Please be aware it is not in your water meter box. Should you have an emergency and require city crews to respond to a water leak, please call 803-432-0009.
Turn off your sprinkler or irrigation system, to avoid a rupture or break.
Opening cabinet doors under the sinks in your home, to allow for warm air to reach the pipes. Leaving each faucet on, with a small trickle, to prevent freezing.
If you must be out on the roads during winter weather conditions, please drive with caution, particularly over bridges and low-lying roads where water may pool and freeze. Black ice cannot easily be seen while driving, and is most common during early morning hours or when temperatures fall below freezing.
Stay tuned to your local news outlet for updates and changes as this system approaches. Be safe out there!
The City of Camden, South Carolina (hereafter, the “City”) invites registered architects with historic preservation experience to submit their qualifications to be considered for a historic preservation planning project for Aberdeen, Camden, South Carolina. Shawn Putnam (Planning and Development Director) will receive qualification statements until 12:00 noon on February 14, 2025, via email ONLY at putnam@camdensc.org. Questions should be directed to Mr. Putnam at the email listed above.
Aberdeen is located at 1409 Broad Street, Camden, South Carolina. The Samuel Mathis House, known as “Aberdeen, was built ca. 1805 and is a contributing resource to the National Register of Historic Places-listed City of Camden Historic District. Built by prominent Camden residents Samuel and Margaret Mathis, Aberdeen remained in the family until the 20th century and has been continuously occupied as a family home until it was gifted to the City of Camden in 2021. Originally a simple one-story frame house built over a raised basement, the house sat on 273 acres close to the Mathis Store and a mile from the center of town. As the town grew, the acreage was subdivided and other homes built into one of the first neighborhoods in Camden. Even with the increased size from a ca. 1850 renovation, Aberdeen remains unique as a folk cottage style home in a neighborhood filled with typical antebellum two-story homes. It is also one of the few homes in Camden with Gothic revival elements. Currently managed by the City of Camden, Aberdeen is the only historic home open for tours in Camden. The City seeks the services of a registered architect or team of architects experienced in historic preservation to assess the existing conditions and produce plans and specifications for the stabilization and weatherization of Aberdeen.
The project has been funded by a state historic preservation grant, administered by the South Carolina Department of Archives and History (SCDAH). The conditions assessment and plans and specifications will be reviewed by SCDAH for compliance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.
Nearly 200 walkers and over two dozen pets participated in the First Day Hike at Goodale State Park on New Year’s Day. John Wells, Park Manager at Goodale, led the group on a 2.4 mile hike, previewing new trails under development.
Wells said, “Today, we’re walking in an area of the park that we hope to transition to a new trail system. We just did a thinning of the forest. This forest was very thick and very overgrown and had not been thinned in decades.”
“The First Day Hike,” Wells said, “is a great way to get outside and walk off the collard greens and macaroni and have a good day, spending the first day of the year out in nature, out walking around.” Goodale State Park participates in a nationwide program called First Day Hikes.
The free event was hosted by KC Trails, Friends of Goodale, and Goodale State Park. For more outdoor opportunities in Kershaw County, follow KC Trails and Friends of Goodale on Facebook.
