Looking forward to Fall for Greenville? Here’s how COVID-19 is changing the festival

Greenville’s Fall for Greenville, one of South Carolina’s signature fall festivals is going online due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The shoulder-to-shoulder street fair on Main Street is the city’s biggest single event of the year, bringing in $2 million annually in addition to money spent in hotels and area businesses.

Tara Eaker, event administrator for the city of Greenville, said canceling the in-person event was necessary due to COVID-19 restrictions but “definitely a hard one for us.”

“People fly in, drive in from all over the country specifically to go to Fall for Greenville,” she said.

Typically, about 45 restaurants have booths. There are beverage stands, multiple concert stages and children’s activities.

Between 150,000 and 200,000 people attend each year, said Megan Finnern, the chair of the Fall for Greenville Board, a nonprofit organization that runs the festival.

This year the festival will be held on its traditional second weekend in October, Oct. 9-11, and will have free concerts and cooking demonstrations streaming on the festival’s social media.

A $20 coupon book with discounts at 35 local restaurants is being sold.

Eaker said the organizers didn’t want to cancel the event, now in its 39th year, because they wanted to keep the event in the forefront of people’s minds. Besides a boost for tourism and the city’s restaurants, the event has contributed to local nonprofits around $750,000 over 38 years, Finnern said.

Finnern said the five non-profits that have donated the most volunteer hours over the past 10 years will receive at least $1,000 this year. Usually nonprofits receive about $5,000 each year.

“We are hoping, of course, that we will have a great response to the FFG coupon book, Demos for Donations and additional philanthropic giving so we can donate more,” she said.

Finnern said several years ago, after two of the festival days were wiped out by heavy rain, the board set up a rainy day fund that will make up this year’s losses.

Also online this year is Greenville’s Artisphere that features the work of local artists. Last year about 70,000 people attended, and artists sales totaled more than $1 million. Artisphere runs Oct. 2-4 and will feature 70 artists, some of whom will do live chats.

This story was originally published September 30, 2020 at 4:06 PM.