SC Pecan Music and Food Festival set to make big return this weekend

FLORENCE, S.C. (WMBF) - The South Carolina Pecan Music and Food Festival will return this weekend for the first time in two years, after the 2020 event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

”The disappointment that was there for not only committee members, but also festival goers was high, but everyone understood that we were trying to remain safe for our festival-goers,” said George Jebaily, the festival’s chairman.

You could hear a pin drop in downtown Florence when Jebaily announced the cancellation of last year’s event. While the news wasn’t unexpected, it didn’t make it any easier for Florence businesses who rely so heavily on events like the Pecan Festival.

One year later, the disappointment in Jebaily’s voice has been replaced with excitement.

“We’ve got nine stages if you include the Pecan Pub stage of live entertainment, the all free kids fun zone, the classic car show. All of the things people love about the Pecan Festival, lots of pecans, all of that will be back,” he said.

Between hotels, restaurants, and retail stores, the Pecan Festival brings in roughly $2.5 million annually for businesses in Florence.

“This will be the first time I’ll get to really experience the Pecan Festival, so I’m hoping we can get people to check us out on this end on our end,” said Andren Mullins, who owns LilJazzis Café.

Mullins opened LilJazzis Café in downtown Florence this past January and said she can’t wait to be a part of the event.

“[Because] when I started it was like, you’re opening in the middle of a pandemic, and yes it was a risk, but now you see things opening back up and it’s like yes,” she said.

The festival begins Saturday at 10 a.m. and lasts until 7 p.m.

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