Rain doesn’t stop McCormick County from being the kick off for 2024 Ag + Art Tour
MCCORMICK COUNTY, S.C. (WJBF) – The 2024 Ag and Art Tour kicked off this past weekend in McCormick County, South Carolina.
Even though the day started off with rain, that didn’t stop the people of McCormick from having a good time.
“This is part of a series of tours sponsored through Clemson University,” said Director of Economic and Community Development, Mark Warner.
“It’s an incredible event. It happens every year on weekends in May and June, and this year, we have twenty counties participating, and McCormick County’s the first county this year,” said Senior Agribusiness Extension Agent, Will Culler.
The people of McCormick were excited to be the first stop of the tour.
“McCormick County has two major components. One is tourism, and the other is agriculture. I’m sure you’ve noticed there’s a lot of trees, so the Timber industry which is one of the top industries in South Carolina, is very much a part of the economy of this county,” said Warner.
“McCormick County is the perfect place for this. We started the McCormick Arts Council in 1984, which started the arts going in Downtown McCormick, and then, the agriculture has always been here because McCormick County was a farming place. With the Governor’s School for Agriculture right up the road, it was a perfect fit for us to do this,” said McCormick County Council Woman, Jackie Brown.
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The rain did not slow the event down.
“Agriculture needs rain, so we embrace this. This is perfect,” said Warner.
Even with the rain, people came out and had a good time. There were several different stops throughout McCormick County with plenty of activities to do.
“Our role here today is to expose the general public who don’t live on a farm or have no clue about farm animals, livestock, tractors, so we exhibit all that here today for the general consumer of this area. It’s kind of a feel good story about agriculture, and exposes them to where their food and fiber comes from,” said School President of the South Carolina Governor’s School for Agriculture, Timothy Keown.
This is just the start of the tour.
“Go to our website agandarttour.com, and we’ve got an interactive map there. We’ve got twenty counties, and 178 tour sites this year. So, you can click on the county, find out when their weekend is, and plan your trip,” said Warner.
The Ag + Art Tour continues Saturday May 11th in Abbeville County and Aiken County.
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