COLUMBIA, S.C. — The long wait for crawfish will soon be over.
The Rosewood Crawfish Festival is back on the calendar this year, one of the first large public gatherings to take place in the Midlands since the pandemic shut things down last year.
The Rosewood Merchants Association said the festival will be held again at the State Fairgrounds and will happen on Saturday May 1.
The festival had taken a hiatus during the pandemic. The event has grown so popular that it could no longer be held in the Rosewood neighborhood and was moved down the street to the fairgrounds.
Event organizers did say that the event may be smaller than in previous years due to social distancing.
More information will be released soon about how to purchase tickets.
On Monday, Gov. Henry McMaster lifted the restrictions that required events with more than 250 people had to get permission from the South Carolina Department of Commerce. It is now up to each individual event to determine if they want to hold an event and how many people they want to let in.
- Limit attendance of large gatherings to either 50% of the event space’s posted occupancy limit or fewer than 250 people
- All employees, customers, patrons, suppliers, vendors, visitors or other people in attendance at a large gathering should wear a face covering
- Organizers, operators, owners, or hosts of a large gathering shall take reasonable steps to incorporate, implement, comply with, and adhere to any relevant sanitation, “social distancing,” and hygiene guidelines established by the CDC, DHEC, or any other state or federal public health officials.
McMaster also lifted the restrictions on serving alcohol at businesses after 11 p.m., the so-called 'last call' rule which had been in place since last October.
Another popular springtime event, the St. Patrick's Day Festival in Columbia's Five Points, was canceled for the second year in a row. It was to have taken place this month.