Editing Greenwood, South Carolina (section)

=== South Carolina Festival of Flowers===
Greenwood's first South Carolina Festival of Flowers was held in the summer of 1968 to coincide with the 100th anniversary celebration of George W. Park Seed Company. The festival was the brainchild of what was known then as the Tourist and Conventions Committee of the Greenwood Chamber of Commerce. Chamber Director Al Parker and committee members recognized that Park Seed Company hosted "grower days" each year and that hundreds of professional flower growers would come to Greenwood to meander through Park Seed's famous trial gardens (the gardens closed in 2013). The committee thought it would be a good idea to capitalize on having those visitors see other venues in Greenwood.

Dick Stowe, chair of the Tourist and Conventions Committee, served as the first Festival Chairman, and Judy Funderburk of [[Bennettsville, South Carolina|Bennettsville]] was crowned Princess of Flowers. During the festival's early years, admission was free to most events, including the Park Seed gardens and open house, arts and craft show, photo exhibit, military band concerts and other popular attractions.

Since then, the festival has grown to include a wide array of activities, many added under the leadership of Frank Cuda, who was Festival Director from 1992 to 2006. In 2007, the festival celebrated its 40th anniversary and welcomed Kay Self as the new executive director.

In 2008, the South Carolina Festival of Flowers introduced a new logo celebrating its Carolina roots. The logo features [[yellow jessamine]] (the state flower) encircling the words "Festival of Flowers" with two [[Carolina wren]]s (the state bird) perched below.

Also in 2008, the Topiary Project was launched, which has become the signature event. Presently, there are 42 [[topiary|topiaries]] on the square in Greenwood.

Then in 2009, the festival gained regional recognition by winning four Excellence Awards at the Carolina Showfest Convention. The awards were for "Best Merchandise", "Best Website", and "Overall Event of the Year" for South and North Carolina, and Executive Director Kay Self was recognized as "South Carolina Director of the Year".

Ellesor G. Holder took the helm in 2011 for the 44th Festival of Flowers. She rebranded the festival with a more distinctive and contemporary logo which symbolized the diversity and floral history of the festival. Under Holder's leadership, the festival received the SC Festival & Event Association's Excellence Award, 2013 Event of the Year. She also garnered two Silver Awards for the festival's 2013 TV ad and mobile application/website at the International Festival and Events Association Conference.

The South Carolina Festival of Flowers continues to be named one of the Southeast Tourism Society's "Top Twenty Events".

Attendance at the festival has steadily grown, reaching a record of over 80,000 visitors in the past few years. In 2016, the economic impact of the Festival of Flowers was $3,300,000.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://scfestivalofflowers.org/history/|title=Our History|website=South Carolina Festival of Flowers}}</ref>

The South Carolina Festival of Flowers is a division of the Greenwood Chamber of Commerce and shares the same board of directors.<ref>{{Cite web| url=http://scfestivalofflowers.org/about-us-1/| title=History| website=South Carolina Festival of Flowers| language=en-US| access-date=2017-02-13}}{{Dead link|date=June 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>