Arts taking center stage in rural SC town

By Associated Press

April 19, 2013

LAKE CITY, S.C. — An old South Carolina tobacco town working to reinvent itself as a cultural destination on Friday welcomed visitors to a 10-day arts festival that has drawn contributors from across the Southeast and is offering $100,000 in prizes.

ArtFields, featuring 400 pieces of art in both public venues and stores throughout Lake City’s quaint business district, is the latest step in efforts to revitalize the town of 6,700 about midway between Columbia and Myrtle Beach. The festival’s name conjures both the art and the area’s fertile fields.

Lake City is home of financier Darla Moore, who has donated millions to universities in South Carolina and is one of only two women members of the Augusta National Golf Club.

She worked with foundations to restore the 1930s-era bean market building — a market that was once one of the largest in the world — into a community center after former Gov. Mark Sanford called the project pork in a proposed state budget.

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