This small town located just north of Greenwood may not look like much, but anyone who lives nearby knows of their annual catfish “feastival,” which was held this past weekend on Saturday and Sunday. During this 2-day event locals as well as people from out of town gather to celebrate with good food, games, events and live entertainment.
This tradition had been practiced since the 1800’s, long before the catfish feastival was ever established, when people would travel to where Laurens and Greenwood counties met and picnic while enjoying the water flowing over the rocks in the Saluda River. The town of Ware Shoals was established when the area grew due to a grist mill founded by a man named William Ware. Later a man named Benjamin Riegel dammed the river up in 1904 to power a state of the art textile mill which rose up in later 1906. From then on the town continued to grow with over 2,000 employees working in the mill and a school and a church soon followed.
The first official Catfish Feastival was held June 19-20 in1981 and to this day the residents of Ware Shoals still congregate to celebrate the river that brought this community to fruition and the bounty of catfish it produces that patrons can enjoy cooked every way possible. Over the years the feastivals have featured an array of different activities, including dog shows, craft markets, cake walks, doll shows, flea markets, horseshoe tournaments, cornbread and buttermilk eating contests, live entertainment primarily provided by small local bands, movies shown in the community theater, magic shows and catfish contests to award the biggest catfish caught in the Saluda River.
This yearly celebration is fun for adults and children and is a great way to spend the weekend together. For more information on this annual event check out their website which is updated every year to show the dates of the upcoming feastival as well as the entertainment and activities schedule. They only ask that you bring your own chair.
