Hundreds of people showed up in Richburg over the weekend to experience the first “I-77 Dinky’s Summerfest at Exit 65.” The celebration took place in the open field beside the Econo Lodge on S.C. Highway 9. This family-oriented event included a Classic Car Show, a variety of great music, fantastic food, a kid’s playground and brilliant fireworks to culminate the evening. A ribbon cutting attended by Richburg Mayor James Harris and Chester County Chamber of Commerce President Jim Fuller was held to kick-off the celebration. Organizer Dina Patel expressed gratitude to the community for their support.
“I want to thank everyone in the community for attending,” she said. “I also thank the vendors and the bands for helping to make this happen.”
Patel explained that this festival was planned to bring more travelers to Richburg Exit 65 and experience all the history, state parks, country cooking, adventures and sporting events this area has to offer. The unique name, “Dinky,” is actually a nickname that Patel was given as a young girl, she said. Overall, the festival was a success, with about 500 people in attendance, Patel said. “We had a rough start,” she said. “There was a wreck on I-77 near Carowinds and some of the band members were stuck in that traffic but everything eventually worked out.”
Musical entertainment was provided by Stealing Cornbread, an acoustic/electric folk/rock/pop band; the Josh Carter Band, an acoustic duo, performing pop/reggae and Temporary Empire who performed Metal, Hard-Rock, Punk and Alternative music. Disc Golf of Rock Hill provided hours of fun entertainment. The Rock Hill Cruisers presented their Classic Car Show and Morton Amusement of Rock Hill provide inflatables for the children. The area was well lighted through the end of the festival, courtesy of the light systems from the trucks of the Richburg and Lando Fire Departments. There were lots of food vendors offering everything from grilled hot dogs to funnel cakes to ice cream. Patel is already focusing on this as an annual celebration and encourages more of the community to participate.
“We plan to do this again real soon and we want everyone to get involved!” she said.