EASLEY — It’s time to get your calendar out — whether it is on your cell phone, your desk calendar at work, or even a reminder on your refrigerator at home.
September 27 is — drum roll please — the day scheduled for the first-ever event called A Taste of Easley. The location is perfect at Old Market Square. And remember, that is a bye week for the Clemson University football team.
“We’re in the early stages right now,” said Brian Swords, the President of the Easley Chamber of Commerce. “We have a sponsor lined up, and we’re in the process of notifying our restaurants and letting them know. We’re excited about it. We hope this becomes one of the signature events of Easley, and I hope everyone gets behind it. Everybody I’ve talked to about it is excited. We’re looking forward to it.”
Swords said the idea came about from he and Rick Cothran, sitting around and brainstorming about what the chamber could do to add more incentives to their membership.
Locally, when A Taste of Easley is brought up, a lot of residents quickly think of Bank of America’s Fall for Greenville that is already set for Oct. 10-12. That’s a much bigger event down the road with 60 restaurants, 30 menu items, 80-plus bands and 50-plus beer taps and wine vendors.
“Ours will be a little different,” added Swords. “It will be on a little bit of a smaller scale. We’ll have music and it will be a family atmosphere. We’ll focus on Easley and Powdersville and make it a hometown thing.”
Te Johnson, who manages Amici’s in Easley, took some time to reflect on this big event and what he thinks it will take for it to go.
“Hats off for the board for putting something like this together,” Johnson said recently, about the idea of A Taste of Easley. “Mainly, it is to just support the local restaurants — for us to gain more exposure. If you are downtown or somewhere on the outskirts and you want to showcase what you have, it is not just a downtown event. Even if you are a small franchise, just showcasing what you have and what makes you unique. Getting the word out and getting the support of the community is the key.’
The die-hard college football fans still might be saying that the University of South Carolina will be playing on September 27 (against Kentucky). The University of Georgia football team will also be hosting Alabama on that night, too. Above all, football or not, A Taste of Easley is going to be a local event worth checking out.