Many questions hover as festival officials prepare for 2008 events
By SCOTT POWELL Ledger Staff Writer spowell@gaffneyledger.com

The South Carolina Peach Festival will break from a tradition that has been in place since the event started 30 years ago.

The 2008 festival is scheduled to kick off June 20. The festival has traditionally been held in July.

The date change is one of the few certainties for the festival right now.

Sunny Slope Farms paid $41,300 to the South Carolina Peach Festival in September so it could buy out the final 14 years on a long-term site lease signed in 2002. The Orchard Park site had been the site for festival concerts, a tractor pull, mud bog and other special events.

Board chairman Merv Bishop said there has been little discussion yet on a new site for next year's festival.

"We don't know how many days or what events we are going to have at the festival yet. The type of events we decide to hold will determine whether we need a large venue next year," Bishop said. "Our executive committee will meet tonight to discuss those issues. We plan to make some recommendations at the board meeting in December."

A downtown Family Fun Festival was one of the biggest draws of the past two festivals.

The festival board could choose to hold more events downtown or appoint a site committee to find a larger venue to continue major concerts such as Peach Beach.

The festival has yet to receive a financial report yet on profits from the 2007 festival, Bishop said. The festival's fiscal year ended in October.

Accountant Jim Cudd is scheduled to meet with festival treasurer Clint Harris this week to begin reviewing the festival's financial statements from this year's event.

The Peach Festival made $16,000 in profits from the 30th anniversary edition in 2006.

Preliminary information suggests the festival will finish in the black again this year.