2015 South Carolina Humanities Festival in Camden

SC Humanities is pleased to announce that the 2015 South Carolina Humanities Festival will be in the host city of Camden, SC from April 30 – May 3, 2015. Started in 1993 in honor of the Council’s 20th Anniversary, the Humanities Festival has been held in seventeen different South Carolina cities. Each festival celebrates the local history and culture of the host community, and the festival in Camden has a wonderful line-up of events planned that highlights the history and important landmarks of Kershaw County.

You can download the full schedule of events here: 2015 SC HUMANITIES FESTIVAL SCHEDULE IN CAMDEN

Or browse the list of opportunities below. Some events are ticketed and require preregistration. For more information or to register, contact the National Steeplechase Museum at 803-432-6513.

More information about the South Carolina Humanities Festival, including the list of previous host cities, and more details about the Camden festival are available here: https://schumanities.org/annualevents/humanitiesfestival/.

2015 South Carolina Humanities Festival

THURSDAY, APRIL 30   

Museum Entrance9:00 am – 9:45 am
Registration, pick up Festival tickets and Continental Breakfast  Robert Mills Court House / Kershaw County Chamber & Visitors Center
607 Broad Street, Camden
Breakfast included in Basic Registration

10:00 am – Noon
Grant Writing Seminar for Non-profits
Dr. Randy L. Akers, Executive Director, The Humanities CouncilSC
Robert Mills Court House / Kershaw County Chamber & Visitors Center, 607 Broad Street
TICKETED EVENT. Included in Basic Registration
Space is limited. Please register early

Noon – 1:00 pm
Onsite lunch for Seminar participants
Robert Mills Court House / Kershaw County Chamber & Visitors Center, 607 Broad Street
Included with Basic Registration. Must be pre-registered for morning and/or afternoon seminar.

1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Public Speaking for Non-Profit Executives
Jana Daley, faculty member, Buckley School of Public Speaking
Robert Mills Court House / Kershaw County Chamber & Visitors Center, 607 Broad Street
Included in Basic Registration. Early registration is encouraged.

CamdenSC-31:00 pm – 5 pm
History of Kershaw County Talk & Book Signing
Meet authors Joan and Glen Inabinet
The Bonds Conway House
KC Historical Society Headquarters, 811 Fair Street
Included in Basic Registration.

4:00 pm 7:00 pm
Camden Antique & Arts District Stroll 
Shop, eat and enjoy the shops and restaurants in Camden’s Historic Downtown District. Check Festival Registration packet for maps, coupons, merchant information, and other events.

FRIDAY, MAY 1

8:00 am – 9:45 am
Registration, pick up Festival tickets and Continental Breakfast at The National Steeplechase Museum200 Knights Hill Rd, Camden
Overlooking Springdale Race Course, watch a morning training session with Kip Elser, former steeplechase jockey and owner of Kirkwood Stables
Breakfast included in Basic Registration

10:00 am – 4:00 pm
National Steeplechase Museum & Gift Shop
200 Knights Hill Rd, Camden
Visit the only museum in the United States dedicated to telling the story of steeplechasing through film, photography, memorabilia, and interactive exhibits
FREE

visitors - camden carriageUSETHISONE10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Guided Bus Tour of Horse Country & Historic Districts
TICKETED EVENT. Early registration encouraged.
Departs from the National Steeplechase Museum with stops at * Camden Training Center * Fox Hunting & Riding Trails * Private Horse Barns * SC Equine Park * Swift Creek Church * Old Quaker Burying Ground * Beth El Cemetery * Cedar Cemetery * Bethesda Presbyterian Church * Historic residential districts.

Bus Tour Includes
Noon Lunch on the Mill Pond
Historic Boykin, SC 

SATURDAY, MAY 2      

 8:00 am – Noon
Kershaw County Farmers Market at Historic Camden Revolutionary War Park, 222 Broad Street The perfect Saturday morning gathering place with local produce, artisans, Farm-to-Table festivities, live entertainment, demonstrations and more.
FREE

9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Camden Archives & Museum-100th Anniversary of Camden’s Carnegie Library1314 Broad Street

  • ” The Best Gun Collection in the South” – meet and chat with collector Ross Beard
  • The Little Brown Dog: The Boykin Spaniel Story – let South Carolina’s State Dog be your guide
  • Reconciliation Sculpture Garden and conversation with sculptress Maria Kirby-Smith; features Baseball Hall of Famer, Larry Doby, and financier and philanthropist, Bernard Baruch, a Camden native.
  • FREE

10:30 am – Noon & 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm
Explore Historic Camden Revolutionary War Park
222 Broad Street
Admission fees waived for Festival ticket holders
Tours include the Kershaw-Cornwallis Mansion, McCaa’s Tavern, Museum & Gift Shop and Film Documentary

3:00 pm – 4:30pm
“The Way It Was” in the Old Kitchen House
Bloomsbury Inn Bed & Breakfast, 1707 Lyttleton Street. Visit features Bloomsbury owner, Katherine Brown with cooking demonstration from the era of Mary Boykin Chesnut.
Included in Basic registration;

Space is limited. Early registration is encouraged!
Shuttle from Camden Archives & Museum, 1314 Broad Street

7:30am – 5:00pm
Nationwide Celebration of Books and Independent Bookstores
Books on Broad, 944 Broad Street
FREE

Readings, book signings and conversation with

  • Robert Arial, Camden’s own award-winning editorial cartoonist
  • Kathryn Lovett, our local poet, author and literary award-winner
  • Tom Poland – Southern author and magazine contributor.

Learn more!

5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Derby Party at Salud’s
Who will win this year’s Kentucky Derby? Catch the thrill live by joining locals view the race on the big screen; light complimentary fare with cash bar.
Salud’s at TenEleven Galleria
1011 Broad Street

SUNDAY, MAY 3  

Sunday Morning Worship Services
Visitors Welcome at over 200 churches in Kershaw County (Church Directory included in Festival Packet)

3:00 pm
Spring Concert at Rectory Square
features the Camden Community Concert Band
FREE
Bring your own chair or blanket.
(In case of rain, concert will be at Wood Auditorium,Fine Arts Center of Kershaw County, 810 Lyttleton Street.)