Estell Wilson is shown sampling one of the delicious entries at last year's Peach Festival dessert contest. The Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce will hold a kickoff party Friday for the South Carolina Peach Festival.

Tickets for the June 20 party are on sale at the Chamber of Commerce between now and the day of the event, executive director Gene Moorhead said. The event will feature a dessert contest, Starbucks coffee, Bruster's Ice Cream, a hot dog lunch, beach music and a preview of festival activities.

The event will be held from 7:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. on the Chamber lawn at 225 S. Limestone St.

"We believe holding a kickoff party at the Chamber will be a win-win situation for the business community and the South Carolina Peach Festival," Moorhead said. "We had more

Moorhead said. "We had more than 200 people attend last year's event. We expect this year's will even bigger."

Dennis Fowler and WEAC 1500 Am will begin a live remote broadcast at 7:30 a.m.

Complimentary Starbucks coffee will be available from 7:30 a.m. until 10:30 a.m.

Lunch will be served from 11:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. The cost is $6 for lunch, ice tea and ice cream. It's only two bucks if you just want ice cream.

A special treat will be the 10 a.m. judging of the peach dessert contest sponsored by Abbott Farms. The first place winner will take home $250 while the second place winner gets $100. The third place winner will receive $50.

For the first time, the dessert contest starts off the festival and will be held as part of the kickoff party.

"We thought the dessert contest would be a good way to start off the festival since the event deals directly with peaches," festival board member Carlton Bridges said. "One of the ingredients in each dessert must be peaches, whether they're fresh, frozen, dried or canned."

Desserts must be brought to the Chamber of Commerce at 9 a.m. The contest is limited to the first 30 entries. The South Carolina Peach Festival is scheduled for June 20-29.

The main event this weekend is a Family Fun Day on Saturday from 10 a.m. until 10:30 p.m.

The city will hold an official welcome home ceremony at 11 a.m. honoring local South Carolina Army National Guard troops who just returned from a 16-month tour of duty in Afghanistan. The ceremony will be held on the festival's main stage behind the Michael Gaffney cabin.

Festival events include a Peach Ball, Pro-Am bowling tournament, a dirt track race, New Talent Night, a golf tournament and 3-on-3 basketball tournament.

More information can be found on the festival's Web site at www.scpeachfestival.org