‘Feel like Hollywood stars’: Film festival scheduled in Hampton County this weekend
Hampton County is literally rolling out the red carpet this weekend for a Georgia film festival that’s been relocated to the small South Carolina town’s historical movie theater.
The Poison Peach at The Palmetto will have multiple screenings of independent films, including ones that were filmed in Hampton County, and feature local residents in the cast and crew. Festival events begin at 6 p.m. Friday with the film showing at 7 p.m. On Saturday, the showing is at 7 p.m. On Sunday, showings are at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
The Poison Peach Film Festival is typically held in Augusta, Ga., but the original host theater has yet to reopen due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Director Christopher Forbes, who often films in Hampton County, reached out to the Hampton County Arts Council, council spokesperson Heather Bruemmer said.
“We were excited to hear from him and for this opportunity,” Bruemmer said. “ We want to make all of our local actors feel like Hollywood stars.”
The festival will feature two films — “Kill Calvary” and “The Burning of Atlanta” — from Forbes with scenes and people that attendees may recognize. Short films will also be screened, including a teaser of a new documentary from local resident Thaddeus Jones.
The festival is being held at the Palmetto Theatre, which opened in 1946 and was added to the National Register in 2012. It’s a historic, Art Deco-style theater with all of the original decor.
“It’s not currently a working movie theater, so some older residents are looking forward to being able to come and watch a movie in the Palmetto again and maybe even bring their grandchildren,” Bruemmer said.
A projector and sound system will be used during the festival.
Precautions are in place for attendees’ safety. Face masks are required inside the theater at all times and seating is limited to 30% of the theater’s capacity. There will also be adequate spacing between guests, and concession foods and snacks can only be enjoyed outside.
Hampton County was one of the last counties in the state to report a positive coronavirus case. The county has had 58 confirmed cases and one death related to the illness since the pandemic began, according to S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control data.
Tickets can be purchased online or at the door, and it is a family-friendly event. A new exhibit of paintings, “The Land and Us” by Amiri Farris, will be in The Stanley Building throughout the festival.
Other festivals
June usually means it’s time for the Hampton County Watermelon Festival, which began in 1939.
It’s South Carolina’s oldest continually running festival and has been interrupted only two times before, during World War II and the Korean War.
The coronavirus pandemic has added a third interruption.
A few months ago, festival chairman Jimmie Polk Sr. announced the eight-day event that draws thousands of locals and visitors to the rural county was canceled and wouldn’t return until at least 2021.
The decision was made early on because of the months of planning and preparation required to host a successful festival, he told The Island Packet on Wednesday.
He said it was a tough decision, especially for someone who was born and raised in the county and remembers decades of Watermelon Festivals. But he’s hopeful for next year.
“This pandemic can’t last forever,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll have everything back together by then.”
Looking a few months ahead, the Yemassee Shrimp Festival recently announced that it is still as planned Sept. 17-19.
This story was originally published June 25, 2020 at 5:30 AM.
