Plans move forward for return of Carolina Country Music Festival

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) - Plans are moving forward for the return of the Carolina Country Music Festival.

The major event, currently scheduled for June 10 through June 13, is expected to draw tens of thousands of country music fans to Myrtle Beach a year after being canceled due to COVID-19.

On Wednesday, festival organizers presented their special event application to the City of Myrtle Beach Special Events Technical Review Committee.

Instead of hosting it at the Myrtle Beach Pavilion spot as it has in years past, organizers initially wanted to move the event to the former Myrtle Square Mall site.

The old mall site has previously been used for shuttle parking during the festival.

However, the committee disagreed with the idea given other events happening nearby the weekend, so organizers were given the approval to hold the event at the original site.

City officials said CCMF organizers are expected to present their plans during a city council meeting on April 13.

Meanwhile, other events in Myrtle Beach are starting to make a comeback.

The Myrtle Beach Shrine Club’s Smoke on the Beach is set to return April 2 through April 3 at the Myrtle Beach Pavilion Park.

Rusty Watson with the organization said they expect a big turnout at the barbecue competition after last year’s hiatus.

“We are double in the cook teams this year and we have a lot of media support and help so we’re hoping to have about 4,000 people come through in two days,” he said.

On April 30, NS Promos will host the Myrtle Beach Arts and Music Festival at Grand Park in the Market Common. While that event was held before the pandemic last January, those with NS Promos said many of their other events were.

“We’re in the business of putting on events and not being able to do so is very challenging,” said Chris Trout, the company’s president.

Trout said he’s glad to be able to bring a sense of normalcy back to the Grand Strand.

“People in the community are really excited to get out and enjoy these types of activities and vendors are very pleased to be able to get out and do what they do,” Trout said.

City leaders also approved the following events:

• Volleyball tournament: On March 27 through March 28, from 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. It’ll be on the volleyball courts on the former Pavilion site. There will also be eight additional volleyball nets/courts on the beach at Pier 14 and between 10th Avenue North and Seventh Avenue North.
• Forward Church’s Easter Service: On Chester Street in front of Ground Zero. The event is on April 4 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and it will include food trucks.
• DeVille Street Car Show: Saturday, April 10, 2021, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Classic cars will be displayed along DeVille Street with vendors interspersed.

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