Spartanburg City News

With new murals adorning the walls of downtown businesses, sold-out performances at venues throughout the city, and seemingly more artists, musicians, and writers than ever before, it's pretty easy to see that Spartanburg's creative energy is on the rise lately. In fact, there's so much happening these days that it can be tough to keep track of it all. Thanks to some of those supremely talented locals, now there's a way to keep up with the latest goings-on around town...provided you can keep from falling out of your chair laughing. "The Latest Thing in Spartanburg with Tim Giles" is a live late-night talk show meant to celebrate (and poke a little fun at) all things local. After a sold-out first show last month that had the audience reeling with laughter, the team behind the show is gearing up for the next episode to be held at Hub-Bub's Showroom, May 9 at 9 p.m. Today on the podcast, we're talking with host Tim Giles and the show's co-creator Eric Kocher. Get your tickets for the show by . Trust us, you don'

It's been 20 years since three Spartanburg writers came together in a Downtown Spartanburg coffeeshop to dream up what would eventually become Hub City Writers Project. What started as something HCWP Executive Director Betsy Teter calls a "one season lark" has since grown into a nationally acclaimed independent publisher about to release its 70th title, and to celebrate their 20 years of outstanding place-based literary leadership in Spartanburg, the group has planned a  On today's podcast, we're spending some time talking with Teter to get the details on the weekend's festivities and also taking a deeper look at HCWP, from its history and current place in Downtown Spartanburg's cultural landscape, to the organization's future as a growing regional publishing icon.

The smell of delicious barbecue will be wafting through the air of Downtown Spartanburg again this weekend as  returns for its third year. Featuring live music on Friday and Saturday, culminating with a performance from Grammy nominated bluegrass greats,  headlining the show on Saturday night, the Hog Fest will also have food trucks on hand Friday, starting at 12 p.m. RJ Rockers will be there to ensure that plenty of local craft beer is available, and with food vendors, a chicken wing contest, and a homebrew contest to go along with the "main event" ribs and pulled pork contests, you can bet there will be no shortage of great opportunities to satiate your appetite and your thirst.  The event will culminate a fantastic week of local events with bluegrass duo  performing a free show on Morgan Square on Wednesday, followed by Music on Main on Thursday and Jazz on the Square on Friday. This is one weekend in Downtown Spartanburg that you definitely don't want to miss!

Late last year, one of the most anticipated developments in recent memory . , the first project completed as part of the Northside Initiative, today provides Northside residents with access to fresh, locally grown foods through both  and through the  Monarch Café, something crucial in an area of the city classified as a food desert, with a convenience store formerly serving as the only place in the neighborhood for food. Now entering their first full season at Harvest Park, Hub City Farmers' Market has some plans to take their new home, and their organization to the next level, starting with their first opening day in the new space on March 28. Today on the podcast, we're talking with their executive director, Brendan Buttimer to get the lowdown on what we can expect this year from Spartanburg's favorite source for locally produced food.

If you've been wrapped up in the winter weather madness gripping Spartanburg this week, you might've missed one of the most important downtown development stories to come along in recent memory as City Council voted unanimously on Monday to approve an incentive agreement for a new upscale hotel development at the .  Local businessman George Dean Johnson Jr. and his Spartanburg-based hotel development company, OTO Development, plan to build a hotel that will include at least 100 rooms and represent at least an $20 million investment on the western edge of downtown. The announcment comes at a time when demand for lodging downtown is increasingly exceeding suppply, owing to Spartanburg’s seven downtown corporate headquarters, its seven institutions of higher learning, and the successful efforts of the Spartanburg Convention & Visitors Bureau to increasingly recruit conventions, conferences and sports tournaments.  All that action means visitors to Spartanburg have increasingly been forced to find rooms elsew

If you’re a regular follower of downtown Spartanburg news (and you should because there's     ) you probably  about the possibility of a second downtown hotel. While we can’t talk about the specifics of any potential development, the article led with a very interesting question: “Is downtown Spartanburg ready for a second hotel?”   Around here, we're pretty bullish on downtown Spartanburg so you can probably guess what our answer would be. But that's not just the knee-jerk reaction of a few optimistic bureaucrats around City Hall. When it comes to hotel demand in Spartanburg, the numbers don’t lie. Countywide, hotel occupancy is up 5 percent, and the average daily rate for a hotel room is up 7 percent. Overall revenue per room is up 12 percent. While those numbers are great, they also pose further questions. What’s driving the increased demand for hotel rooms in Spartanburg? How would a new downtown hotel take advantage of that demand?   Today on the podcast, we’ve brought on a guest who’s probably better qua

It's been one of Spartanburg's most successful arts programs, and this year  welcomes the eighth group to its six month residency. This year's artists include two visual artists,  and , as well as a playwright, , and a filmmaker, . If the lasting positive impact on Spartanburg left by past A.i.Rs is any indication, we'd do well to expect great things from the group of four who'll be hanging their hats in the Grain District for the next six months.   First though, it's time to get to know Downtown's Spartanburg's newest batch of transient creatives, so recently we sat down with the new A.i.Rs and Hub-Bub's Artists-in-Residence Program Director Eric Kocher to do just that. Listen below and enjoy.

It's one of Spartanburg's most beautiful neighborhoods, a place where Victorian two-story homes mingle with Arts and Crafts bungalows under a canopy of mature trees. Head south for a couple of blocks from Morgan Square for a walk down the wide sidewalks of Spartanburg's first local historic district and it becomes immediately apparent why the people who live in are so passionate about their neighborhood. This weekend, the rest of us get a chance to share a little of that passion as Hampton Heights hosts its "Spirit of Christmas Past" home tour on Saturday, December 6, 5—9 p.m. and Sunday, December 7, 2—5 p.m. Five Hampton Heights homes will be open for tours and the neighborhood will also have horse and buggy rides and beautiful Christmas music to set the mood. Tickets for the tour are $15 before December 6 and can be purchased at , , and . Tickets on the day of the event are $20 and can be purchased at .

If you’re a veteran listener of the City Podcast, by now you’ve become familiar with our preferred format: about 15 minutes focused on one topic. So we’re breaking the mold a bit. From an ongoing $2.5 million citywide parks improvement effort to a major capital project at the Downtown Memorial Airport, there is a lot happening in Spartanburg right now. Indeed, now perhaps more than ever, the City of Spartanburg is Always Doing. Yesterday, on , we talked about the City's parks improvement plan and a major downtown streetscaping project that will soon get underway Today, we're picking up where that conversation left off, talking about an extension of the runway at the Downtown Memorial Airport, the daylighting of the new Butterfly Branch as part of the Northside Initiative, and one key downtown corner that soon will look a lot different than it does today.

If you’re a veteran listener of the City Podcast, by now you’ve become familiar with our preferred format: about 15 minutes focused on one topic. So we’re breaking the mold a bit. From an ongoing $2.5 million citywide parks improvement effort to a major capital project at the Downtown Memorial Airport, there is a lot happening in Spartanburg right now. Indeed, now perhaps more than ever, the City of Spartanburg is Always Doing.Given that, we thought you’d like to hear directly from City Manager Ed Memmott about those topics. Memmott has been with the City of Spartanburg for nearly 20 years, including the past five as the City’s top administrator. In this, the first of a two-part conversation with Memmott, we focus on city parks and a major downtown streetscaping project that will soon get underway.

After a great season last year that took them to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in five years, expectations for this year's Wofford men's basketball team are understandably high. With 11 players returning, including all five starters, Wofford is to win the SoCon title and earn another trip to the Big Dance. But before they get that far, there's a game on Tuesday, November 18 (against MAAC preseason conference favorite, Iona) that promises some intrigue of a different sort. First, it's going to be nationally televised on ESPN2 as part of their , and tickets are just $5. Second, the game is scheduled for 7 a.m. An early morning, mid-week, nationally televised game between two teams with sky-high expectations? Sounds like the perfect excuse to call in late to work (not that we condone that sort of thing), put on some gold and black, and head over to Benjamin Johnson Arena to cheer on Spartanburg's own Wofford Terriers.

It's been one of the most anticipated new local developments in recent memory, and this week Harvest Park, home of Hub City Farmers' Market and the Butterfly Foundation's Monarch Cafe, opens at 458 Howard St. on the Northside.  The opening celebration gets started on November 6 at 10 a.m. with a ribbon cutting and tours of the new facility. Then on Nov. 8 at 8 a.m. it's time for a grand opening celebration as Hub City Farmers' Market hosts their first market in the new location. Festivities include cooking demonstrations at the Monarch Cafe and Fresh Food Store, artisan crafts, music, kids activities, and much more. As the first completed project of the the Northside Initiative, Harvest Park will provide Northside residents with access to fresh, locally grown foods, something crucial in an area of the city classified as a food desert, with a convenience store currently serving as the only place in the neighborhood for food. Harvest Park isn't just for grabbing some veggies to take back home to the kitchen tho

Around one million Americans today live with Parkinson's Disease, a debilitating chronic movement disorder that eventually robs those who suffer with it of most motor function. The cause of the disease is still unknown and there is no known cure, but Lisa Cox of Spartanburg is going above and beyond to raise awareness of Parkinson's while fostering collaboration among researchers and the community of people who live with the disease. She, along with three other Parkinson's patients living in states around the Southeast, has organized the first ever , a four-day series of events covering everything from the role the arts play in medicine to a Q & A session with internationally renowned neurologist, Dr. Michael S. Okun. The symposium also features events highlighting the lives and accomplishments of those living with Parkinson's including the screening of , a documentary about Rich Clifford, a NASA astronaut who was one of the first to conduct a space walk while docked to an orbiting space station, somethin

Time flies when you're a successful Downtown Spartanburg business. Though it doesn't seem that long ago when our inaugural Main Street Challenge winners were holding giant checks while wearing big smiles, two of our fantastic winning businesses,  and , are gearing up to celebrate one year of business in the heart of our city.  Along with recently opened fellow winner , the MSC class of 2013 has decided to celebrate the anniversary with a great event scheduled for Saturday, Oct 25, 11 a.m.–5 p.m. on Liberty Street in Downtown Spartanburg. The street will be closed for live music, food from Paul's Wood-Fired Burgers, and vendors including Those Pickle Ladies and 2014 Main Street Challenge winners,  and . , an honorary 2013 Main Street Challenge winner, will also be on hand spreading the gospel of craft beer and Downtown Spartanburg.

It's billed as a nationwide celebration of healthy, affordable, and sustainably produced food, and for the first time,  is coming to Spartanburg on October 25 as , the , and the  team up for a pair of events that promise to fill pantries and stomachs while encouraging locals to make better choices about their food. First up, join  from 8 a.m. to noon for a special day at the market featuring cooking demonstrations that tell a story about where food comes from, information from nearly 20 local organizations that are fighting to make healthy eating the easy choice, "food art" from participating youth in the , children's activities, and more. Then from noon to 2 p.m., the Thomas E. Hanna Family YMCA will host a food truck rodeo featuring local, healthy food vendors including the Hub City Farmers' Market Mobile Market, Dark Corner Diner, Kesha's Kitchen, Hub City Co-op, Good to Go Mobile Kitchen, Cafe Around the Corner, Chef Donnette, Willie Taco's salsa sampler and more.

One of our city's most popular events is back again at Barnet Park, as Spartanburg gears up for the 2014 International Festival on Saturday, October 4 from . Japan is this year's honored country, and to celebrate we've got some great additions to this year's festival, including , bon dancing, Japanese tea ceremony demostrations, and much more.   Of course, it wouldn't be the International Festival without our ever-popular Boulevard of Food. With booths offering festival-goers the chance to sample food from Germany, Japan, El Salvador, France, Kenya, Peru, Tanzania, Hondurus, Dominican Republic, Laos, Jamaica, and many more, it's easy to understand why the hottest ticket in town this weekend will be a food coupon at International Festival.   Food isn't the only thing on the agenda though. You can also travel the globe in less time than it normally takes to make an airline reservation when strolling through the Avenue of Nations. Get your name written in Chinese or learn about the diverse and ancient culture of

If you've been following our series on the  so far, you might recall that our  covered jobs, specifically the huge number of people who work in or near Downtown and what those jobs mean for our community. Today, we're going to examine how Spartanburg got a big chunk of those jobs.     Aside from fundamentally changing the skyline of Downtown Spartanburg, the seven "Class A" office buildings built since 2002 in our city have brought thousands of well-paying jobs to our downtown area. Those workers support our restaurants and small businesses. They take advantage of our cultural offerings. Many of them live in one of the . They not only put the "work" in the "live, work, and play" recipe for downtown success, they go a long way towards boosting the other two.  Today on the podcast, we're taking a look at how these job-creating developments have helped turn Downtown Spartanburg into an economic engine for our entire region. Never content with where we are now, we also take time to talk about how the city can bu

This Saturday, September 20 in Downtown Spartanburg promises to be one for the books with two fantastic events,  and , featuring Bruce Hornsby, scheduled to dovetail nicely together. First, sample food from 10 local restaurants and hear live music from five local bands at Downtown Bites, satarting at 12 p.m. on Morgan Square. After you've eaten your way around the square and gotten an afternoon sampler platter of live music to go with it, head on over to Barnet Park for Live on the Green, featuring renowned singer-songwriter Bruce Hornsby. Downtown Bites is free, and tickets for Live on the Green are $20 in advance (). Great food from local restaurants and a little  for a nightcap? Sounds like an awesome Saturday in Downtown Spartanburg to us.

As you may have , Oakview Apartments has one of the highest concentrations of poverty and crime in our city. Inside the cinderblock walls of the property's 105 units, 75 percent of residents earn less than $5,000 per year and live in conditions one resident described as "one step up from being homeless." Tearing down this barracks-style low income apartment complex on Howard Street and replacing it with a new community center has long been a central piece of the Northside Initiative, but before that can happen, the property and the privately-owned, publicly-subsidized housing complex that sits on it has to be purchased.     Oakview's owner, Related Properties, is principally owned by Stephen Ross, the multi-billionaire owner of the Miami Dolphins. Despite City estimates that value the property at roughly $600,000, Related's price is $2.5 million, far more than the Northside Development Corporation, the City, or any of our other partners on the Northside are willing or able to pay. The result being that, for n

We can always count on our friends at the Chapman Cultural Center to come up with innovative ways to highlight all that Spartanburg's creative community has to offer, and a new event to be held in Downtown Spartanburg on September 6 () offers a new way to do just that. #1Spark! is a festival of ideas, bringing together two of the most important creative forces in our community, business and the arts. The goal is to "spark" innovation bringing local artists together with local entrepreneurs to help connect the dots between ideas and people.   Are you an entrepreneur or inventor looking for a low-risk way to get feedback on your product or service from the public, or an artist looking to seel some original work? Sign up to participate by following , or by calling (864) 591-5604.