Frequently Asked Questions

The Colleton County Rice Festival, established in 1975, is an annual event located in Downtown Walterboro, South Carolina. The festival celebrates the foundation of our city - rice - which was the staple crop of Walterboro's founders, brothers Paul and Jacob Walter.  The festival features more than 25 local food vendors, 100+ street vendors, a carnival, parade, fun entertainerment acts, live music performances, 5k race, cornhole tournament and so much more! Learn more here.

Rice Festival takes place annually in the month of  April - typically, the last full weekend.

Rice Festival is held in the downtown area of Walterboro, SC, located in Colleton County. The main festival is held on the 100, 200 & 300 blocks of Hampton Street.

Applications for food vendors and street vendors open on October 1st of each year for the following year's festival. Applications deadline mid-December with acceptance/declination correspondence in January.

Colleton County Rice Festival is run by a board of volunteers and an event director.

A common misconception is that the festival is run by the City of Walterboro. While the City of Walterboro grants the Rice Festival permission to host the festival in Downtown Walterboro and works closely with the board to develop plans for safety and collaboration with other entities, it is not responsible for operating the festival.

Colleton County Rice Festival is primarily funded by local business sponsors.

Funding is also requested from the Accomodations Tax (ATAX) Fund each year. ATAX Committees disburse revenue generated by the State Accommodations Tax to non-profit organizations that are able to demonstrate existing or ongoing tourism promotion programs.

The festival also collects fees from vendors, ticket sales from paid events, and festival t-shirt sales.

Colleton County Rice Festival is a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization. All revenue generated by the festival is reinvested back into the operation of the festival. Board members and volunteers do not receive compensation.

While the cost varies year-to-year, the average cost per year for the Rice Festival is $110,000-$120,000. The largest expenses are event supplies and operations ($23k), entertainment/performers ($20k), fireworks ($15k), advertisting & signage ($14k), facilities, including portalets, stages, etc. ($13k), t-shirt printing ($13k). *expense totals are approximate and vary from year to year