Batesburg-Leesville Chamber of Commerce & Visitor's Center

06/04/2026

Just a month away and so many details! Here is an overview and each week we will share more details.

🎉 The Town of Batesburg-Leesville is hosting a landmark 150th/250th anniversary celebration on Friday, July 3, 2026, starting at 4:00 PM at College Park (423 College Street). This event commemorates 150 years of the town’s establishment and 250 years of American independence.🕒

Event Highlights🧺
4:00 PM – Picnic on the Lawn & Local History: Bring your blankets and chairs and join us on the lawn of College Park.
Presentation of Flags and Pledge of Allegiance as well a Town Proclamation.
🎲 Old-Fashioned Games: Kids and adults can enjoy game stations featuring games from 250 years ago led by Harvest West Church.
📜 Living History: Hear a keynote history talk from JR Fennell of the Lexington County Museum. He will share tales of our town as well as Revolutionary War battles and skirmishes that took place nearby.📖
Living History Storytelling: Sara Damewood will tell a tall tale for children and adults called "A Penny's Worth," a trip into America's past to see what a penny will buy. She will also present about Revolutionary-War-Era Songs, including a sing-a-long. 🎶
🏛️ Museum Pop-Ups: Explore a temporary local history museum in the cafeteria and a visual history presentation in the Haynes Auditorium foyer.
🎈 For the Kids: The Batesburg-Leesville Library will host a special heritage story time under the tent and Hulon Baptist will be making balloon animals.
🎨 Patriotic Crafts: Trina Floyd of Chinaberry Dreams will offer two engaging, hands-on activities suitable for all ages. One is transforming ordinary river stones into vibrant, star-spangled keepsakes. The second is brushing raw wool fibers using traditional hand carders to prepare them for spinning. 🧶
⏳ Time Capsule: Selected items that represent our town today will be sealed and then reopened in 50 years!
🎸 The Soundtrack of the Past: From 4:00–6:00 PM, enjoy live music from Don Hydrick with the band April and Friends in Haynes Auditorium, featuring hits from the legendary WBLR Jamboree days.

🎤 The Main Stage Lineup
🎩 6:00 PM – Scott Robinson, Master Magician: Straight from Newberry, Scott Robinson of Main Street Magic brings a high-energy, 45-minute family magic show to the main stage.
🐝 7:30 PM – Killer Beez: Get ready to dance as one of the region's favorite bands takes over the stage for a headline performance. 💃
✨ 9:00 PM – Closing Celebration on the Lawn: A finale featuring a glow-in-the-dark experience.🌟

🤝 Community Participation
✉️ Letters to the Future: Current town residents write a message to someone living in the town in 2076. Look for a June 4th Facebook post with submission deadline of June 19.
🔮 Predictions for 2076: Guess what Batesburg-Leesville will look like in 50 years; the most interesting ones will be presented at the event. Look for a June 18 Facebook post with a July 1 submission deadline.

🤠 Costume Contest Categories
🦅 Most Patriotic Pete/Polly: The ultimate expression of red, white, and blue.
💡 Most Creative/Original: Think outside the box—Uncle Sam on stilts, an Eagle, or a human firecracker!
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Best Family/Group: Gather the whole crew for a coordinated themed look.
🧨 Little Firecracker (Ages 10 & Under): For our youngest patriots.

📋 Contest Guidelines
👨‍👩‍👧 Family-Friendly: All costumes are to be tasteful and appropriate for a community audience.🛡️ Safety First: No real weapons, sharp objects, or open flames are permitted as part of a costume.📝 Check-In: All contestants register and receive an entry number before 5:30 PM to walk the stage.

🏆 Judging: Winners selected by a panel of community leaders based on creativity, effort, and crowd response.
🎟️ How to Enter: Just show up in your gear and sign up at the registration table by the main stage on July 3rd. Winners will be announced directly after the judging, right before the evening magic show kicks off! ✨

🍔 Food Vendors
A curated lineup of food trucks will be on-site, including:
🍗 CluckinRight (chicken)
🌮 Taco Butts (tacos)
🥤T's Squeezed Lemonade (drinks and desserts)
🍧 Nonnie Pops (ice cream and desserts)
🍰 Celebration Cakes (desserts)
☕ Death Before Decaf (coffee drinks)

06/04/2026

Foodees Fest is headed our way September 11–13 and vendor applications are officially OPEN.
Food trucks, trailers, sweets, drinks, BBQ, seafood, handmade goods, artists, bakers, creators... if your setup makes people stop and stare, we want to see it this September.

This is a full 3-day outdoor festival built around crowds, food, shopping, and people who come ready to eat all weekend long.

The town has teamed up with the Foodees Festival organization - a popular, fast-growing touring food truck and artisan market extravaganza that travels across the Eastern and Southeastern United States. They know food trucks and we know food.

The Foodees organization provides strong promotion, vendor support onsite, curated categories to keep the event balanced, a smooth load in process and after event exit, and lots of experience and enthusiasm.

The town provides local logistics and planning including no closed roads, a detailed parking plan, some portable restrooms and real Southern hospitality.

We greatly appreciate the generosity of the Batesburg-Leesville School District providing a fantastic location right in the middle of town on Columbia Avenue (Hwy 1). Imagine the large fenced-in field filled with food trucks and just outside it on the grassy field neatly parked cars and even a designated disabled parking area.

Batesburg-Leesville, we do this on a much larger scale every May (and do it extremely well). Let's do it this September on a different scale and show people what a great town we are supporting our local vendors and artisans.

Vendor applications are now open and categories will begin closing as spaces fill. Apply here: www.eventeny.com/events/vendor/?id=46020

Come for the food, leave with a story.

05/13/2026

2026 PANTHER PROWL/COLLEGE & CAREER SIGNING DAY

B-L High School is proud to celebrate the Class of 2026 with our annual Panther Prowl and College and Career Signing Day, both taking place on Friday, May 15th.

🎓🚍 What is the Panther Prowl?

It’s a beloved tradition where our seniors don their caps and gowns, board buses, and take one final journey through each of Lexington Three’s school buildings. This special event allows them to reconnect with former teachers and serves as a powerful source of inspiration for our younger Panthers as they work toward their own graduation milestones.

Community members are invited to cheer on the Panther Prowl buses from safe, public locations along the route. (See below graphic for more details.) Please keep in mind that this is NOT a parade and that buses will NOT stop along the way except at the designated school campuses.

**For safety reasons, only students and staff will be allowed inside school buildings during the Panther Prowl. Parents, family members, and other guests must remain outside at all times.**

The Panther Prowl kicks off at B-L High School at 8:30 a.m., then continues to B-L Primary School, B-L Elementary School, and concludes at B-L Middle School. The exact travel route can be found in the graphic below.

🖊️📄 College and Career Signing Day Details

Following the Prowl, seniors will return to B-L High School for College and Career Signing Day, which will be held in the new B-L High School gymnasium. Parents, guardians, and family members are invited to attend this exciting celebration. Guests should plan to be in the gym by 9:30 a.m. on Friday, May 15th. For those who would like to watch the College and Career Signing Day event online, please tune in to our district YouTube channel. LINK: https://www.youtube.com/live/ytOFPDgg5Xc.

Let’s come together to show our seniors the appreciation and encouragement they’ve earned as they near the end of their journey in Lexington County School District Three!

Mackenzie Taylor

05/12/2026

FRIDAY JUNE 5TH - SATURDAY JUNE 6TH

05/11/2026

2026 SOUTH CAROLINA POULTRY FESTIVAL GOLF TOURNAMENT

Thanks you to all who sponsored, participated, and helped to make The SC Poultry Festival/B-L Chamber Golf Tournament a success. Congratulations to our winners: FIRST PLACE - Carson Luckadoo, Travis Gosnell, James Sawyer, Landon James; SECOND PLACE - Dustin Shealy, Kyle Shealy, Zach Shealy, Andrew Drake; THIRD PLACE - Robert Allen Pope, Steve Grimsly, Tim Shriver, Jeff Hoover; CLOSEST TO THE PIN: #3 Anthony Paulson, #7 Bryan Parrish, #14 Dan Leishman, #17 Travis Gosnell; LONGEST DRIVE - Chris Taylor.

05/06/2026