Information on the Sea & Sand Festival, March 24 & 25, 2012 on Folly Beach, SC. Everyone’s favorite festival on Folly Beach is the annual Sea & Sand festival, now in it’s 22nd year. This year along with the bands, food, games and vendors on Center Street, there will be a scavenger hunt, a surf competition, and a sand castle contest. The music lineup is:
Follywood Stage
11:30 – 12:30 pm Reid Stone & Jeff Davis
12:50 –1:50 pm Folly Beach Bluegrass Society
2:10 – 3:10 pm Shakin’ Martinis
3:30 – 4:50 pm Concrete Jumpsuit
Chill & Grill Stage
Noon – 12:50 pm Champagne with Friends
1:10 – 2:10 pm Weigh Station
2:30 – 3:30 pm Jupiter’s Garden
3:50 – 4:50 pm Stereo Reform
The festival gets underway Saturday morning with The 2012 Tides Kickoff Classic Surf Competition. This is an Eastern Surfing Association (ESA) sanctioned event, sponsored by Tides Folly Beach and Avocet Properties. Competition divisions include shortboard, longboard, bodyboard, tandem & stand-up paddle-boarding. There will also be tandem demos and clinics offered by the East Coast Tandem Surfing Association Chapters from Cocoa Beach and Virginia Beach.
Also on Saturday morning will be the first-ever Coffin Island Scavenger Hunt. Online registration is available now, and visitors can register at 8:15 a.m. Saturday as well.
“This year, Sea and Sand is launching a unique adventure called the Coffin Island Scavenger Hunt,” said Festival Director Toni Reale. “The hunt will send participants around Folly on a mission to solve clues, collect items and learn about the character and history of the Island. Prizes will be given in multiple categories and range from free stays on Folly from the Beachside Inn and Dunes Properties to gift certificates to Folly faves. This will be an adventure not to miss. Information and registration can be found online at www.follybeachseaandsand.com and the cost is $25 per person. Teams can have up to 4 people.”
The Sea & Sand Street Party on Saturday will include over 100 street vendors will be set up on Center Street from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, offering concessions by Folly Beach restaurants, children’s games, a silent auction, locally made clothing and featured arts and craft selections by The Folly Art Guild. Also featured at the street party will be live music by Stereo Reform, a Jupiter’s Garden reunion featuring James Justin Burke, Concrete Jumpsuit, Weigh Station, Reid Stone and Jeff Davis of Guilt Ridden Troubadour, Champagne with Friends, the Folly Beach Bluegrass Society and the Shakin’ Martinis.
“Our music lineup is strong again this year,” said Ben Bounds of Follywood Productions, music director and co-coordinator. “We have more legitimate touring artists than ever, as well as some local favorites. Stereo Reform has been touring nationally for over three years now and has become one of South Carolina’s favorite party bands. They really have that college rock edge, but with an old school funky style that makes them a real fan favorite.”
Stereo Reform will go into the studio immediately following the Sea & Sand Festival to cut their second album.
“We can’t wait to play the 22nd Annual Sea & Sand Festival,” Stereo Reform lead guitarist Will Evans said. “The music scene on Folly Beach is great, and the people from the area are some of the most inviting and friendly people around. The island just has a great vibe, which makes it one of our favorite places to play.”
The Sea & Sand Festival committee said they are very excited about the Jupiter’s Garden reunion as well.
“James Justin Burke has been on tour nationally the past two years with his band James Justin & Co., so there haven’t been many Jupiter’s Garden shows around here, but they were always a Folly favorite, and it’s going to be great to see them on the big stage,” Bounds said.
Jupiter’s Garden plays 2:30-3:30 on the Chill & Grill stage, right after Weigh Station and before Stereo Reform.
“There’s no place like home,” said James Justin Burke. “It’s an honor for Jupiter’s Garden to reunite where we got our start – Folly Beach. Per capita, I’d say that Folly has the best music scene in the world. We can’t wait to feel that energy.”
Concrete Jumpsuit from Columbia has been building a strong following in this area since last summer when they started playing shows at the Pour House, Snapper Jack’s and Island Bar & Grill.
“They have a newer psychedelic, jam-rock sound that has fueled their popularity on college campuses all over South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia, Bounds said. “I’m really excited to have a touring band from Columbia on the bill this year. Weigh Station has that big Southern rock thing going that’s perfect for festivals like Sea & Sand. They have really been making a name for themselves locally over the past two or three years, and we like the College of Charleston following that they bring to the table. Champagne with Friends is fairly new to Charleston, but they’ve been touring nationally for a couple years now. They are touring as far west as Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico this summer, so this may be one of the last chances to see the full band here in town for awhile. They do a really good job of combining reggae with cajun and Southern rock. Reid Stone & Jeff Davis’ band Guilt Ridden Troubadour has been the house band at the Surf Bar going on about a year and a half now, and we’re glad to have two more local favorites back this year, the Folly Bluegrass Society and Shakin’ Martinis.”
On Sunday, March 25 the festival will continue with the 2012 Tides Kickoff Classic Surf Competition finals at 8 a.m., the Folly Beach Sand Sculpting Contest from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and culminate with the East Coast Party Band concert at the Tides Resort from 3-6 p.m.
“If you haven’t ever been to the big Sea & Sand Festival finale, or afterparty, at Tides, you really ought to make it a point to either stay on the beach both nights, or come back Sunday. Between the surfing competition, the sand sculpting contest and the East Coast Party Band show, it’s well worth it,” Bounds said.
Coordinators for the event are still accepting sponsorship and vendor applications, volunteer sign-up forms and silent auction items. To donate a gift for the silent auction, sign up as a sponsor or vendor, contact Toni Reale at follybeachseaandsand@gmail.com or toni.reale@gmail.com. To sign up for the Tides Kickoff Classic Surf Competition, contact Nancy Hussey at 843-343-4047 or nancy@follywahine.com. To pre-register for the Sand Sculpting Competition, contact Vince Perna at vperna@dunesproperties.com.
“Sea & Sand Festival is the official opening of the spring and summer season,” said Ron Hill, Folly Association of Business President. The festival offers visitors and locals alike to experience Folly Beach and all she has to offer. This year, the festival will offer something for everyone.”
The Folly Beach Sea & Sand Festival is a family and child-friendly event presented by the Folly Association of Business, Follywood Productions and Blue Planet Green Events. More information can be found online at www.follybeachseaandsand.com.