Peach dessert contest entries were judged Thursday morning by Sadie Mae, Upstate Carolina Medical Center clinical dietician Haley Huth and Blue Fin Grill culinary manager Kate Kobylinski. The contest kicked off this weekend's South Carolina Peach Festival events. To find out who won, see the photo on Page 3A. The Fantastic Shakers will headline the Peach Beach concert Saturday as the South Carolina Peach Festival returns to Lake Whelchel.

The Gaffney Board of Public Works approved a oneyear lease so the festival could have the Fantastic Shakers headline the Peach Beach concert at 6 p.m. at Lake Whelchel, which is located off I-85 at Exit 95. They will be joined by the Coconut Grove Band and The Entertainers.

The South Carolina Peach Festival held major events like outdoor concerts and a tractor pull on the Lake Whelchel site from the late 1980s until 2001. The Board of Public Works requested the festival’s board find another venue in 2001 so the utility could look into developing its Lake Whelchel site.

Board chairman Bobby Beattie said the festival had always held out hope it would be able to some day hold concerts again at Lake Whelchel.

“Lake Whelchel is an ideal concert site. It’s so beautiful with the lake in the background of the stage,” Beattie said. “We’ve had so many people in the community want us to come back to Lake Whelchel. We’re very excited about this year’s Peach Beach concert and being able to have it out at the lake.”

The festival used a $25,000 donation made last Christmas by Gaffney businessman Roger Huskey to help pay for this year’s Peach Beach lineup.

The Fantastic Shakers is a Carolina beach music band best known for its hit single “Myrtle Beach Days.” The band has performed more than 6,000 concerts since it formed in 1978.

The Entertainers are best known for their 1980 hit “Living for the Summer.” They recently completed a new CD called “The Inside Story.”

The Peach Beach concert is the only ticketed event at this weekend’s festival.

Tickets for the concert are $10 in advance and $15 at the gate. Children under the age of 12 will be admitted free. There will be no charge for parking.

Tickets are available at the Chamber of Commerce, Logan Street Hot Dogs, Palmetto Bank, and Jones and Taylor Insurance.

“This Friday will be the last day people can purchase tickets for the Peach Beach concert at the reduced price of $10,” Beattie said. “We hope we will have a great crowd at the Peach Beach concert.”
FRIDAY, JULY 16
 Barbecue Cookoff, All Day (Big Mill)
 Golf Tournament, Cherokee National, noon pre-tourney meal provided
by Fatz, captain's meeting at 12:45, shotgun start at 1 p.m.
 Arts & Crafts Show, Noon (Big Mill)
 Food Vendors, 11 a.m. — (Big Mill)
 Live Entertainment, 6 p.m. — 9 p.m., (Big Mill)
SATURDAY, JULY 17
 Road Races -- 5K Walk, 5K Run & 10K Run, 7:30 a.m. (Historic District)
 Parade, 10 a.m. (Downtown Gaffney)
 Antique Tractor Show, 11 a.m. — 3 p.m. (Big Mill)
 Arts & Crafts Show, 11 a.m. — 3 p.m. (Big Mill)
 Carolina Collision Car Show — 3 p.m. (Big Mill)
 Barbecue Cookoff, All Day, awards presented 3 — 4 p.m. (Big Mill)
 Live Entertainment, 11 a.m. — 3 p.m. (Big Mill location)
 Peach Beach, 6 p.m. — 11:30 p.m. (Lake Whelchel)