Westminster – Oconee County, South Carolina

Picturesque Old Main Street in downtown Westminster is iconic of small towns in South Carolina‘s Upstate region. Though it looks like a scene from another era, many of these buildings and storefronts have been carefully restored and renovated. Strolling down the street, you find several specialty shops and antique stores as well as the locally-owned drugstore and newspaper office.

Every year, this peaceful scene changes dramatically the week after Labor Day when, to celebrate the mountain apple harvest, the Apple Festival takes place. Music, vendor tents, and crowds fill the street as whole families enjoy live entertainment, food, arts and crafts, face painting, and kiddie rides.

Along with the street fair, the week-long festival features a road race, a motorcycle ride, a rodeo, a river float, a golf tournament and of course, an apple baking contest.

Special thanks to Gary DuBose of Seneca, who took this picture in October 2009.