If your perfect spring day involves frog-jumping, pulling gargantuan farm equipment, and building artwork out of sweet potatoes, chances are you’re going to love these 2024 spring events in the Carolinas.
While our travels have taken us from coast to coast, nowhere else do we have the pleasure of engaging in such time-honored celebrations as the Grifton Shad Festival, White Squirrel Weekend, and Synchronous Firefly Viewing Party. Such quintessentially 2024 spring events provide a level of entertainment that doesn’t exist on Netflix.
Mark these 2024 spring events on your calendar and start practicing your egg-flipping skills (you’ll understand why shortly). It’s time to welcome the spring season with a bang!
Fat Harold's Beach Club is the best place in N Myrtle Beach for shag dancing and learning how to shag in a friendly, relaxed environment. | Photo credit: @benjamin_t_brown (Instagram)
April 11-20 Come-See-Me
Come see what fun the most aptly-named festival in the Carolinas has in store! Hosted in Rock Hill, SC, the Come See Me festivities kick off with a grand parade and beach music bash. Look forward to daily events, like a Teddy Bear Tea Party, Ice Cream Sundaes with Mother Goose, and Movie Night in the Park.
Do you have what it takes to win the Cornhole Throwdown or the deceptively challenging Mayor’s Frog Jump? One of the longest 2024 spring events, this 10-day party concludes with a massive community tailgate, a heart-stopping skydiving performance, and a magnificent fireworks show!
April 16-20 Grifton Shad Festival
“Eat Mo Shad” – this simple call to action started off as an inelegant scribble of graffiti and has morphed into the second-oldest festival in eastern NC. The Grifton Shad Festival pays homage to the humble American shad, a deliciously fatty fish responsible for Grifton earning the distinction of the “Official Shad Capital of North Carolina.”
One of the funniest 2024 spring events, the Grifton Shad Festival includes a round-up of events sure to make your fishtail flop. Peruse prize-winning artworks at the Shad Shack Art Show. Later, cheer on your friends or compete in the Hickory Shad Fishing Contest. Our most-anticipated event has to be the Fishy Tales Lying Contest, where competitors attempt to tell the most outrageously fictitious tall tale to a panel of local judges.
April 18-28 SOS Spring Safari
Shag dance and beach music – one of the most beloved Southern couples. Fun fact: the shag is the state dance of both NC and SC! Hardly a cry for help, SOS stands for the Society of Stranders, and they’re in charge of putting on the self-proclaimed “biggest adult party on the East Coast”: the SOS Spring Safari at N Myrtle Beach.
March in the annual parade on Main Street, where you’ll be flanked by bars and clubs that have temporarily dedicated their nightlife activities to shag lessons, competitions, and more fun. Come as you are, and leave with new friends and dance moves! This is one of the 2024 spring events ideal for people looking to learn a new skill or expand their social circle!
Pickles on parade! | Photo credit: @ncpicklefest (Instagram)
April 26-27 NC Pickle Festival
Are you in a pickle when it comes to finding the most exciting spring events in the Carolinas? In that case, we recommend…more pickles! Mt. Olive – home to the eponymous pickle company – organizes the NC Pickle Festival, and we’re sure you’ll just relish its roster of thrilling events.
Partake in an emerging American pastime when you compete in the Pickleball Tournament, where awards are given to winners in the men’s, women’s, and mixed doubles categories in all skill levels and age group brackets (that’s a lot of pickle prizes…). Up to 24 people can register for the Pickle Eating Contest – naturally, the winner takes home a gigantic North Carolina Pickle Eating Champion trophy.
May 4 Ham and Yam Festival
On May 4, the town of Smithfield, NC, is paying tribute to the ultimate match in Carolina heaven. The Ham and Yam Festival celebrates two of North Carolina’s most enduring home-grown products – pork and sweet potatoes!
Kids will love the annual “What’s That Yam Thing?” contest, wherein they compete to create the greatest artistic masterpiece out of sweet potatoes. Stroll through rows of arts and crafts vendors and “pig out” on scrumptious country ham biscuits, sweet potato pie, and other savory NC favorites. We think this is one of the tastiest 2024 spring events!
May 17-19 Got To Be NC
Our next festival has got to be one of the most fun-packed 2024 spring events in the Tar Heel State – enjoy free admission and parking at the 2024 Got To Be NC Festival where the NC State Fairgrounds in Raleigh transforms into a microcosm of all things North Carolina.
Visit the butterfly barn, chick hatchery, and dairy-milking classroom to learn about NC farm life. Test your fried egg flipping skills in a wildly wacky take on skee-ball. Show off your brute strength in the Antique Tractor Pull, and then watch in awe as the King BMX stunt bikers perform death-defying tricks at the Dorton Arena (one of the most interesting specimens of NC architecture).
Synchronous fireflies at Congaree National Park | Photo credit: @thegonzophotographer (Instagram)
May 24-26 White Squirrel Weekend
The origin story of the White Squirrel Weekend street festival in Brevard is just as nutty as the attractions. Following a 1949 carnival wreck in central Florida, the rare white squirrel species scampered its way northward to Transylvania County, where residents were clearly in need of a reason to organize a festival.
Music is the focal point of this free Brevard NC event, hosting 14 concerts in three days Nosh on delicious food (no squirrel on a stick, sorry!), peruse local artwork and laugh at the prizewinning photos capturing the elusive white squirrel in its various forms. You can even shake your sillies out at the Hula Hoop Dance Party if you're feeling super squirrelly!
Best of 2024 Spring Events: Synchronous Fireflies Viewing
Did you know that the SC Midlands is home to a species of synchronous fireflies rarely found in North America? Carolina Travelers can witness the marvel of firefly synchronization at Congaree National Park for two weeks between mid-May and mid-June in Hopkins, SC. The synchronous fireflies viewing at Congaree is by far the most unique of all the 2024 spring events in South Carolina.
Park guides will be on hand to answer questions about this mysterious mating practice, which, at full force, can turn a dark forest into a brilliantly twinkling mating ground. 2024’s viewing will include more event nights, more vehicle passes, and set times for event entry. Vehicle passes are awarded based on a lottery that opens in early April, and an event pass costs $24 for those selected for entry.
