Blacksburg - "Peaches and Cream" is the theme of the See America Week celebration on Thursday, May 18, at the S.C. Welcome Center on Interstate 85 at Blacksburg.

Representatives from area hotels, chambers of commerce and restaurants will be on hand from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. to give a peachy welcome to visitors, a welcome that will include a live remote radio broadcast, peach cider, Indian arrowhead collection, pottery demonstration, metal sculpture and horse-drawn carriage rides.

The Blacksburg Welcome Center also is inviting other members of the hospitality industry to participate. The center simply asks that businesses, which can bring their own tables, chairs and decorations, call ahead so the staff can make sure all participants receive recognition.

Participants also frequently ask for suggestions on what to bring, and the center staff suggests the following, in keeping with the area's location in the heart of South Carolina peach country: peach cobbler, peach candy or ice cream, peach-colored flowers or balloons, peach jelly beans, peach stickers, peach biscuits with peach jam or jelly, peach stickers, peach face painting, peach baskets with goodies, peachflavored drinks, peach games (peach-shaped bag toss, peach-and-spoon race, peach basketball toss, chalk drawings of peaches), peach coloring sheets and peach costumes.

South Carolina's nine welcome centers are participating in See America Week as part of a nationwide project of the Travel Industry Association of American (TIA). For more information, call the Blacksburg Welcome Center at (864) 839-6742 or email the center's manager, Linda Wilson, at:

lwilson@scprt.com.