Columbia, Five Points postpone St. Patrick’s Day festival
The annual St. Patrick’s Day festival in Five Points will be postponed amid fear of the spread of the coronavirus.
The association’s board agreed to the postponement after Mayor Steve Benjamin asked them to do so, Five Points Association president Steve Cook said.
“The mayor wanted us to postpone it and we’re not going to push back against that,” he said.
The association’s board will meet Thursday morning to formally discuss the postponement and issues surrounding it. Cook said there will be ticket refunds.
“Our priority is the life, health and safety of our citizens,” Benjamin said. “The potential downside of bringing tens of thousands of people into a small space is unwise, unhealthy and imprudent.”
He added: “Maybe we can have a St. Pat’s festival in June. This is an important event to the climate and culture of both the region and the city of Columbia.”
South Carolina has reported 10 cases of coronavirus including seven in Kershaw County. The others are in Spartanburg, Charleston and Lancaster counties.
Two of them have been confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — one in Camden, and one in Charleston, state officials said. The others have been tested by the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control and are awaiting confirmation by the CDC.
Cancellation of the St. Pat’s festival is a big blow for the Five Points Association.
It funds most of the association’s annual budget. That includes its safety team, executive director and other staff, as well as capital projects like fountains, statues and art installations.
For nearly four decades, St. Pat’s in Five Points has drawn tens of thousands of green-clad revelers to downtown Columbia each spring. It is known for being one of the largest St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the Southeast, drawing upward of 40,000 people some years.
Grammy-nominated rock group Band of Horses was scheduled to headline the festival this year. Irmo native Ben Bridwell fronts the band.
Several other big-name alternative rock artists have been booked in recent years, including Dashboard Confessional, Judah & The Lion, St. Paul and the Broken Bones and Moon Taxi. St. Pat’s in Five Points is also known for its variety of Columbia and South Carolina performers as well.
Darby Wilcox, a singer and songwriter from Greenville who was scheduled to perform at the festival, said she was “shocked and disappointed,” at the postponement, emphasizing her shock, but understood the need for safety. She’s hopeful that the festival will be rescheduled and she’ll be able to perform.
Rounding out this year’s lineup was: Shaed, Rodney Atkins, Canaan Smith, Big Something, Sadler Vaden of Jason Isbell’s 400 Unit, The Nude Party, Briston Maroney, Villanova, Mo Lowda & The Humble, Stop Light Observation, The Vegabonds, Stagbriar, Little Stranger, The Ramblers, Kenny George Band, Haley Mae Campbell, Daddy’s Beemer, Whitehall, Ashley Wright & The Vance Gap Ramblers, Mark Rapp & The Soda City Brass Band and SYR.
The day-long event was scheduled to kick off with 10K, 5K and 1-mile races starting at 7 a.m., followed by the traditional St. Pat’s parade. Bands were scheduled to play concerts on multiple stages throughout the afternoon.
This story was originally published March 11, 2020 at 5:52 PM.