Columbia, SC (WLTX) — The South Carolina State Fair will be closed Thursday due to the impacts of Michael throughout the region.
The storm is bringing high winds, heavy rain and a risk of tornadoes to the Midlands Thursday morning into early Friday afternoon.
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The fair says it will reopen Friday.
“We decided it was in the best interest of our patrons, employees, concessionaires and carnival staff not to open Thursday given the unpredictable nature of the storm,” said State Fair manager, Nancy Smith. “It’s unfortunate that we have to miss a day, but that’s the nature of our industry, and safety is always our first consideration. The good news is the storm is expected to pass through quickly, and we will resume full operations on Friday (Oct. 12).
The Scotty McCreery concert originally planned for Thursday, Oct. 11 in the Pepsi Grandstand concert series has been moved to 7 p.m. Oct. 18. People can use their Scotty McCreery tickets on the new date, and tickets remain on sale for the new date at scstatefair.org.
“We know how much fans were looking forward to this concert, and we appreciate Scotty McCreery’s management team being so flexible and working with us to get this show rescheduled,” Smith said. “We look forward to having him perform next week as we know so many others do.”
Smith said she cannot recall the fair ever closing a full day in her 35 years with the organization but noted it was a necessary decision given the potential serious nature of the storm. “This was an easy call because it was the right one for our community.”
The brief schedule interruption is expected to be followed by near perfect weather conditions.
As the tropical storm system passes through on Thursday, it is expected to be followed by a noticeable drop in temperatures. The weekend forecast calls for clear skies with high temperatures in the upper 70s with overnight lows in the mid-50s. The longer-range forecast has no rain expected through the end of next week.
“Once we get past this one day, it looks like we are in store for some ideal fair weather, so we hope everyone will stay safe and come experience all the fair has to offer in the days to come,” Smith said. “There is still a lot more fun to be had.”
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You can also review the South Carolina Emergency Management Division's checklist for preparation. Again, no need to panic and run out and buy things at the grocery store. But it's just good to go ahead and look at it. There are a ton of good resources there.
