Will the Beaufort Water Festival return for a 65th year this July? What we know
Although the city hasn’t officially approved the plan, organizers of the 65th annual Beaufort Water Festival say planning is underway for the popular 10-day event to resume this July.
The festival typically brings thousands of people to Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park and downtown Beaufort to enjoy sports, entertainment, a parade, local vendors for shopping, and concerts.
Festival Commodore Erin “Tank” Morris will formally ask Beaufort City Council on Tuesday to host the event, an announcement on the festival’s website says. The dates listed are July 16 to 25.
City leaders have begun discussions with event organizers, “as we both would like to see a safe and successful festival in July of this year,” Beaufort Mayor Stephen Murray said in the announcement. “Beaufort City Council will consider a request from Water Festival, and we look forward to a proposal that balances public safety and allows us to host a great event that has come to define summer in Beaufort.”
Details of each event will be “fine-tuned and carefully planned” with the city,sponsors and the community, with the goal of bringing everyone together to “celebrate our Lowcountry life safely,” the announcement said. Because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, plans will remain fluid.
Volunteers “who love Beaufort and work hard” to host the festival every year “are striving to make this all possible,” Morris said.
Last year’s festival, which was to be headlined by country star Rodney Atkins, was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some boaters still partied on the Beaufort River sandbar for a live music performance during what would have been the festival’s opening weekend.
Except for 2020, the Water Festival has been held each year since 1956 as a celebration of the seaside town’s connection to sailing, shrimping and its vast network of tidal rivers and sounds. Last year was the first year the festival had not been held, Water Festival board chairman Brian Patrick previously told the Beaufort Gazette.
“When we chose ‘What a Beautiful Sight’ for the annual theme (last year), we could not have imagined how the world would change,” Morris said. “Now, in 2021, being together and enjoying Water Festival will be the most beautiful sight indeed.”
This story was originally published March 25, 2021 at 11:59 AM.
