Lucky number 13! This past weekend was the 13th Gateway to the Delta Festival for Charleston and for CARE. It was filled with all the things that make Gateway such a special weekend – beautiful cars, class reunion tents, vendors, food trucks, cute pageant children, and community awards.
However, there were a few additions that attendees said took Gateway 2024 to the next level this year.
Our musical lineup was stacked from top to bottom. The New Town MB Church Choir kicked off the day with uplifting gospel music, and the following musical acts kept the excitement going well into the night.
The Gateway 2024 T-shirt and poster, designed by Pam Locke and printed by ScreenCo, were huge hits and loved by everyone.
Kids Zone was over the top and gave children so many fun and safe ways to spend their day.
Entries for the photo contest were amazing, and our judges had a very hard time deciding on a winner. And, if we are talking about a hard time picking a winner, our judges for the Gateway decorations around the Square spent a long time debating before selecting their favorites this year. A special thank you to the businesses who made our little corner of the world beautiful.
Now, we cannot talk about Gateway 2024 without discussing the new addition to the festival events – the Smoochin’ Scissors Contest! Thank you to Laura and Jeremey Woods for providing Miss Peaches, who was the cutest and best-behaved little lady. Also, thank you to Danny Adams, John Ball Burnett and especially David Groner, the winner, for being such good sports and agreeing to kiss the pig. Miss Peaches has already demanded additional compensation for next year! Ironically enough, there is a very long list of potential volunteers (victims) that have already been suggested for Gateway 2025.
As I have said so many times in the past, there is never enough room in The Sun-Sentinel for me to thank everyone who made this festival possible. Thank you to our vendors, kids zone workers, check-in crew, reunion groups, pageant team, bands and stage crew, and all other volunteers.
Thank you to our CARE Board of Directors and Gateway Planning Committee. Thank you to all the ladies in the community who donated food for our hospitality room and the team who worked all day to ensure the room was comfortable for our guests.
And, a very special thank you to all of our sponsors, because without your support, we could not hold this event. Your support and dedication to CARE make all of our community events possible.
Whew! It is going to take a few days for us to recover from Gateway 2024, but our usual fall holiday events are on the horizon. We hope to see you again soon at CARE!
