Spartanburg City News

Whatever your taste in the arts, visual or musical, theatrical or literary, mainstream or alternative, Spartanburg has something for you. Today on the podcast, we're exploring a relatively new piece of the local arts puzzle, the . Based at the West Main Artists Co-op, the group is preparing to launch its second season with The Boys in the Band ​on Friday, October 26 at 8 p.m.   Today on the podcast, we're talking with Sandy Staggs, Proud Mary's Artistic Director, about the upcoming season and about the organization's place in Spartanburg's arts scene. Listen below for more.

The Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce Downtown Development Partnership has announced a new way for downtown business owners, employees, and residents to come together to learn, share information, and stay in the loop about the rapidly changing face of Downtown Spartanburg. The newly created Downtown Business Council is meant to offer a space for businesses and downtown stakeholders to share their perspectives and to hear information on the wide range of issues that impact those who work and live in Downtown Spartanburg. The group's first meeting is scheduled for October 15, 8:30 am–10 am at the SMC Studio space at the Aug Smith on Main building (). Today on the podcast, we're talking with Jansen Tidmore, Executive Vice President of the Downtown Development Partnership about the new business council and an overview on data coming in from downtown pedestrian counters. What do we know about foot traffic along Main Street, and how can we use the data and the patterns they reveal to grow Downtown Spartanburg in

As you might imagine, in his 21 years serving in Spartanburg City Government, outgoing City Manager Ed Memmott has seen our city go through some drastic changes. Coming to the the City in 1997 to serve as Community Development Director, Memmott then served as Assistant City Manager for five years before becoming City Manager in 2009 and has overseen one of the most important development periods in Spartanburg's history.   The list of projects speaks for itself. During his tenure, Ed Memmott led City efforts on the Advance America headquarters building, One Morgan Square, QS/1, Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, the University of South Carolina Upstate - College of Business and Economics, Spartanburg Community College Downtown Campus, South Church Street Plaza, CC Woodson Community Center, AC Hotel, Montgomery Building, Aug. W. Smith, and the Northside Initiative. Beyond the impressive list of accomplishments that have shaped the present and future of our city, Memmott's true strength as City Manager was al

As you might imagine, in his 21 years serving in Spartanburg City Government, outgoing City Manager Ed Memmott has seen our city go through some drastic changes. Coming to the the City in 1997 to serve as Community Development Director, Memmott then served as Assistant City Manager for five years before becoming City Manager in 2009 and has overseen one of the most important development periods in Spartanburg's history. The list of projects speaks for itself. During his tenure, Ed Memmott led City efforts on the Advance America headquarters building, One Morgan Square, QS/1, Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, the University of South Carolina Upstate - College of Business and Economics, Spartanburg Community College Downtown Campus, South Church Street Plaza, CC Woodson Community Center, AC Hotel, Montgomery Building, Aug. W. Smith, and the Northside Initiative. Beyond the impressive list of accomplishments that have shaped the present and future of our city, Memmott's true strength as City Manager was alw

If you've spent any significant amount of time in Downtown Spartanburg in the last decade, there's a pretty good chance that you've encountered work created by one of the 33 artists brought to Spartanburg through HUB-BUB's celebrated Artists-in-Residence program. Over the years, the program's artists have created lasting impacts that are both physical (like Sparkle City Mini Putt) and cultural. Now, through a merger last year with Chapman Cultural Center, the former HUB-BUB Artists-in-Residence program is back, and the retooled 11-month residency recently welcomed two new artists to live and work in Spartanburg, Marisa Adesman and Ambrin Ling. Adesman was born and raised on Long Island, New York. She recently graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a Masters of Fine Arts in Painting. Through her artistic practice, she examines the impact of femininity and modern culture in order to open up a conversation on gender politics with a strong emphasis on awakening the female self-hood.   Ling receiv

At their last meeting, Spartanburg City Council unanimously approved a funding plan for the future T.K. Gregg Community Center to be built on the former site of Oakview Apartments on our city's Northside. The new center will feature an indoor aquatics center with two pools—one for competitive and exercise lap swimming and one for water therapy and swimming lessons—as well as an indoor gymnasium, fitness center, walking track, and community rooms. In all, the project is expected to cost around $16.6 million. The City hopes to earn New Markets Tax Credits for the project, which along with other outside funding sources as well as funding banked away for the project in previous years, would bring the City's outstanding portion down to $9.1-$9.4 million. The financing plan includes issuing bonds covered by future City Hospitality Tax revenue. No tax increase is planned to cover the project. Construction is expected to start later this year. Today on the podcast, we're talking with with Assistant City Manager, Chr

It's an arts institution with a storied 90-year history in our community, and for the first time since 2005, there will be a music director at the helm of as they enter a new season. After a two-year search process that brought three guest conductors to Spartanburg, Stefan Sanders was named Music Director in March. Sanders comes to Spartanburg after five seasons as resident conductor of the Buffalo (New York) Philharmonic Orchestra. He also serves as Music Director for the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra in North Carolina and Music Director for the Round Rock Symphony in Central Texas. He recently concluded a one year appointment as Principal Conductor for the Hot Springs Music Festival in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Today on the podcast, we're talking with Sanders about the new position, his new home in Spartanburg, and about his passions as a musician, conductor, and lifelong fan of music. Listen below for more!  

The summer heat is still here but summer for our city's children is about to come to an end as school begins next week, so today on the podcast, we're doing something a bit different. We packed up the recording equipment and set up shop at the Downtown Memorial Airport Park, which opened this spring, looking to get some thoughts from our local children on what they're looking forward too this upcoming school year. What did we learn? Listen to find out.  

Their performances routinely sell out the theater at their Chapman Cultural Center homebase, and when it comes to community theater companies, Spartanburg Little Theatre is in a class by itself in the upstate. And taking a look at the performances scheduled in their , it's pretty easy to see why. Today on the podcast, we're talking with Spartanburg Little Theatre Executive Artistic Director, Jay Coffman about the local theater scene and the organization's place in our city's creative community.

One of the City's primary stated goals is to address our community's longtime racial and class disparities, and while the strategies we use are as varied and complex as the problems themselves, one important approach is to help strengthen our local minority business community.  What's our newest tool to tackle that problem? The EMERGE Business Accelerator for African Americans, a program designed to identify, prepare, empower and sustain African American entrepreneurs who desire to locate a business in the City of Spartanburg. EMERGE will guide participants through all stages of opening and expanding a business so they will be lender ready to up and running. A 10-week business training and development program, EMERGE will support entrepreneurs in identifying a business venture, business plan development, financial education, accounting, and securing financing. Classes will be held weekly beginning in September and will be taught by business experts and experienced entrepreneurs who share advice, guidance, and

As Spartanburg gets ready to construct the seventh courthouse in our 229-year history, we're sitting down with Spartanburg County Public Library Assistant Director of Local History, Brad Steinecke to talk about the previous six. What did each say about the community it served? How can looking back at these foundational civic structures, perhaps the most public of all public buildings, inform us about where we ought to be going? Listen below to hear us ruminate on those questions and for the deepest dive on local civic history you're likely to find anywhere.

When we here in local government are looking for an indicator of how the economy in Spartanburg is doing, one of the first metrics we turn to is Hospitality Tax. The two percent tax paid on prepared food and beverages is an excellent barometer for consumer spending in our city and the growth seen in H-Tax revenue over the past several years has corresponded well with what is anecdotally pretty clear to anyone paying attention; our city's business community is strong and growing.  Beyond what it can tell us about the local economy though, H-Tax is an important portion of the City's revenue each year, and unlike most other sources of local government revenue, the H-Tax must be spent in a fairly proscribed manner. Today on the podcast, we're diving in deep to give you the lowdown on how the City uses these funds and how that next meal you have at a local restaurant helps pay for amenities and events enjoyed by thousands of visitors and locals every year. Listen below for more.

If you've found yourself on the Mary Black Foundation Rail Trail any time in the past year or so you've probably noticed a lot of work happening just past where the trail intersects with Forest Avenue. The Rail Yard, a seven-acre multi-use park fronting the trail, is starting to take shape, and the latest amenity is a first for South Carolina: the Panthers Play 60 obstacle course. The course—which is something like an NFL Scouting Combine combined with an American Ninja Warrior course—is set for a ribbon cutting on July 25 at 11 a.m., the day before Carolina Panthers Training Camp kicks off in our city. Today on the podcast, we're talking with Partners for Active Living Executive Director, Laura Ringo about the new Play 60 course, what's next for the Rail Yard, and about some planned extensions that will take the MBF Rail Trail all the way to Spartanburg's Northside. Listen below for more.

If you've spent any significant amount of time in Downtown Spartanburg in the last decade, there's a pretty good chance that you've encountered work created by one of the 33 artists brought to Spartanburg through HUB-BUB's celebrated Artists-in-Residence program. Over the years, the program's artists have created lasting impacts that are both physical (like Sparkle City Mini Putt) and cultural.  Now, through a merger last year with Chapman Cultural Center, the former HUB-BUB Artists-in-Residence program is back. The retooled 11-month residency is set to bring two artists to live and work in Spartanburg this September, but before that happens, we're talking with Chapman Cultural Center Creative Placemaking and HUB-BUB Director, Eric Kocher about the revived program. Listen below to learn more!

We've interviewed a lot of people on the City Podcast. We've had business leaders, elected officials, nonprofit luminaries, artists of all kinds, and a rotating gaggle of bureaucrats so smart they could probably divide by zero if asked.    What we haven't had is a local author with one of the hottest books in the country...but we've fixed that.    Today on the podcast, we're talking with author and Spartanburg resident,  about her fantastic memoir The Electric Woman () and about her experience finding a supportive creative community in our city. 

Summer is here (not officially, but you know what we mean) and that means something very special for City Podcast regulars...it's time for the budget podcast. This week we've got Assistant City Manager Chris Story on to give us an overview of the most important ordinance City Council passes each year.  The $40.8 million fiscal year 2018-2019 budget includes no tax or fee increases and shows four percent projected revenue growth, owing largely to growing in Hospitality Tax and Business License revenue. However, much of that growth is absorbed in the budget by necessary expenditure increases for the City's equipment replacement fund, facilities maintenance, and City Employee medical insurance and retirement fund increases. The new budget goes into effect July 1. Details include: • Three percent employee cost-of-living pay increase • Seven percent increase for the medical insurance fund • $250,834 for mandatory increases in employee retirement • Increase of $50,000 for City’s legacy pension plan • $220,000 for

Unequal access to economic opportunities. It's an ugly truth that communities around the country confront (or don't confront) every day, and Spartanburg is no different. Inclusivity, equity, and diversity—principles that many in leadership positions throughout our community value today—have long been challenges for Spartanburg. Racial and class disparities create very real barriers to economic mobility for individuals and for entire communities, and the task of removing those barriers is an enormous and necessary undertaking for all of us who want to see Spartanburg thrive. is bringing his energy and perspective to that challenge. A Northside native and success story, Hawes is the co-founder of B.A.R.S. Academy, a community-driven creative arts and music mentoring program, and in his new role will be working to create and implement the Chamber's strategic plan to ensure that economic inclusion is a Spartanburg priority and to develop, attract, and retain talent in our community. Today on the podcast, we're t

If you ask us, Spartanburg punches far above its weight when it comes to creative talent. Sometimes that means being blown away by a local music performance at one of the dozens of venues downtown, sometimes it means hearing a reading from a local writer that you'll swear should be on the New York Times Bestseller List, and then sometimes it means seeing a performance put on by absurdly talented professional local actors who take it upon themselves to put on some extremely low-budget, high-engagement Shakespeare plays in the summer. In case that setup didn't give it away, this week's podcast is all about Scrappy Shakespeare, which returns to Downtown Spartanburg this summer for its third year, performing the crowd-pleaser to end all crowd-pleasers...Romeo and Juliet!  Opening night is June 21 at Fr8Yard, but be sure to check out the to get all the details on where and when you'll be able to catch their run this summer. Today on the podcast, we're talking with Tim Giles and Anna Abhau Elliott about the show a

We've spent a lot of time on the City Podcast over the years chronicling Downtown Spartanburg's rise. We've covered historic redevelopments, transformative new construction projects, new City streetscaping, restaurant and retail openings, and events that cater to our diverse, newly vibrant downtown crowds. Along the way, we've also tried our best to contextualize each of these pieces of the downtown redevelopment puzzle, showing as best we can the landscape Spartanburg's people are creating in our city's core. What's the cumulative effect of all that movement? Simple: Downtown Spartanburg is now the place where local institutions, organizations, businesses, and individuals want to be. With their new space inside the newly renovated Aug W. Smith building, has become latest example of such an institution, one that recognizes that the new local paradigm shift is very real and that having a presence in Downtown Spartanburg now means being in the middle of the action. Today on the podcast, we're talking with a co

It's been one of the most highly anticipated new Downtown Spartanburg developments since its announcement last year, and starting May 19, preschool-aged children from throughout our community will have a new space to call their own as . The new 6,000 square-foot museum features interactive exhibits geared towards children ages 5 and younger, all of which seek to inspire learning through play. All of those exhibits are exclusive to the Spartanburg museum, with some highlighting local landmarks as well as our region's plants and animals.   The new museum plans to kick things off with a grand opening celebration on May 19, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. which will include free admission to the museum and a street festival sponsored by the JM Smith Foundation. Magnolia Street will be closed from Dunbar to St. John streets for the festival, which will include entertainment, games, giveaways, and food trucks.   Today on the podcast, we're talking with The Children's Museum of the Upstate President & CEO Nancy Halverson about