Our 2010 First Flush FesTEAval Was a Huge Success!
Monday, 24 May 2010 by admin
This year’s 4th annual First Flush FesTEAval was amazing!!!…
The weather was perfect, in the mid 80’s and sunny…We could not have asked for a better day! Excitement filled the air as we opened the gates at 10:00am on Sunday morning, but little did we know that by 3:30 that afternoon we would be announcing that we were closed to all guests without pre-purchased tickets. Yes, that is right!…At 3:30 The Bridge at 105.5 announced to all of its listeners that the First Flush FesTEAval was SOLD OUT! We had reached our maximum count of 5,000 plus attendees! What an amazing site to see! People and cars covering every inch of the farm… with the exception of the tea fields, of course!
People danced to the music, soaked in the sun, and enjoyed over 7,000 cups of iced American Classic Tea we had prepared for them! We thought 7,000 cups would be plenty, but much to our surprise this tea loving group wiped out our entire supply by 1:00 that afternoon. We found ourselves scrambling to brew enough tea to satisfy their demands! We did it though!…Thanks to the hard work of our Charleston Tea Plantation staff and event volunteers, we were able to keep the tea flowing!
This year’s First Flush offered more entertainment than year’s past. Not only did guests get to enjoy the music of well known performers like Crowfield, Cory Chisel and headliner Robert Randolph and The Family Band, but they were also treated to sounds of local artists presented by Mark Bryan’s (Grammy award winning guitarist/songwriter for Hootie & The Blowfish) Chucktown Music Group. This included Amber Caparas, John Wesley Satterfield, Mac Leaphart and Mark Bryan himself. However, to no one’s surprise, it was Robert Randolph that brought the house down with his unique style of music! Even people who weren’t familiar with the sounds of a his famous pedal steel guitar danced and grooved to the beat!
Guests also enjoyed local cuisine and shopped the wares of Charleston artists. Needless to say, there was something for everyone, even the kids! The Spider Jump was a huge hit again this year and children and parents loved the new additions to the kids’ area: face painting, pony rides and Beaufort the Rescue Mule!
We can’t say it enough, this year’s First Flush FesTEAval was AMAZING!!!
A big THANKS to everyone involved in making this the best First Flush FesTEAval to date!!! Our entire Plantation staff plus over 35 event volunteers were the true heart and soul of it all! THANK YOU again for your support, and we look forward to next year!
Cara Valentine, Charleston Tea Plantation.
Photos provided by Mark Snowberger
No. 1 — May 3rd, 2011 at 9:01 am
[...] and, of course, tea! By the way, we served more than 7,000 cups of iced American Classic Tea at last year’s event, which drew over 5,000 [...]