Main Street South Carolina has recognized Downtown Florence with the Main Street South Carolina Special Project Award.
The award recognizes an innovative project that addresses fundraising, customer service or one-time activities that advance the downtown commercial district revitalization effort.
Founded in 2003, the South Carolina Pecan Festival originally focused on encouraging visitors to come to downtown Florence and see firsthand the changes and improvements happening in the once- derelict district. Although the festival grew dramatically over the next 17 years, its brand identity began to make less sense. Florence’s pecan processing facility closed during that time, and attendees questioned why the festival was named for a nut not easily found at the event.
When planners and staff canceled the festival because of the pandemic in 2020, they took advantage of the downtime to assess the event’s purpose, strengths and weaknesses. This led them to completely rebrand the event as the SC Pecan Music & Food Festival for 2021. The rebranding, which included a modernized logo, website and a GIS-powered festival app, was funded by the Florence Downtown Development Corporation and City of Florence, leveraging existing festival revenue and accommodations tax funds.
“Downtown Florence took an unstable time during the pandemic and transformed its signature festival into something even bigger and better,” said Jenny Boulware, Main Street SC manager.
Main Street SC is a program of the Municipal Association of South Carolina. It empowers residents, business owners and local officials with the knowledge, skills, tools and organizational structure necessary to revitalize their downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts into vibrant centers of commerce and community.
Main Street SC follows the National Main Street’s Four Point Approach — economic vitality, design, promotion and organization. Each year, Main Street South Carolina recognizes members’ achievements and successes in downtown revitalization. For more information, visit the Municipal Association’s website at www.masc.sc (keyword: Inspiration Awards).
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