WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. — The City of West Columbia is getting ready for its fifth annual Art on State festival.
The celebration usually takes place the first Friday in May, and city communications director Anna Huffman says the festival has grown so much that planning now has to start a few months in advance.
"When the event first started 5 years ago, we had about 200 people come," Huffman recalled. "We're up to about 4,500 now."
Art of State invites local artists to come and do live paintings on the street with temporary paint. Attendees can watch the painting as they eat, drink, and enjoy live music.
When the festival began, it only used to take up a single lane on State Street for artists. Now, it has expanded all the way to Court Avenue.
Restaurant Manager at D's Wings, Graham Rentz, says the festival is always a great boost for local businesses like his.
"Families come out, everyone comes out, there's live music and vendors, it's just really fun and it brings in great business for us," Rentz explained.
This year's festival is expected to bring almost 5,000 people to West Columbia, and Rentz expects many of those people to be hungry.
"Luckily when stuff like this goes on people need to eat, so it's really great for us but it's also just a really great thing for the community as well," he said.
Art on State will be May 6 from 5:30 until 9:30, and is free for to attend.
West Columbia will revisit the road closures plan for Art on State again at their April 5 meeting.