Soundbite.Studio: FLORENCE WINE & FOOD FESTIVAL.
I went to FloTown and, surprisingly, enjoyed myself!
Welcome to another edition of Soundbite.Studio, where I share small nuggets of audio reactions to real-life events! I had food poisoning this week so the full write-up I planned on doing about all the Sea Fox stuff (read this if you don’t know what I’m talking about) will have to wait until next week. Just to give you SOME update: the vote on rezoning that land has been tabled until next month.
But I didn’t want to leave y’all hanging, so I decided to talk about my time in Florence, South Carolina for their annual wine and food festival, produced by the talented Lee Brothers. I’m not gonna bury the lede here. Florence Wine & Food (FWF) is a perfectly fine event. That is to say: it’s not the best wine and food festival I’ve ever been to but it sure ain’t the worst! The charm of FWF lies in the fact that it’s not trying to be anything that it’s not. And honestly, that’s what I appreciate the most about my experience. Also, full disclosure: my accommodations, my parent’s accommodations, and entry to all events were gifted but not in exchange for any reviews or write-ups. The Lees just wanted me to check out the festival. I’m writing this on own volition.
BTW, according to Substack, this is going to be a long email. A lot more pictures in this edition than normal. So if you are reading this from your email account, just go on over to the WMTPS site and read it from there or download the
app today!“Comparison Is the Thief Of Joy.”
When influencers are given opportunities to experience events, especially for free, there is a tendency to overdo the review. On one hand, I understand the desire to want to speak highly of people who think fondly your work. It almost feels criminal NOT to be effusive with the praise, especially when their kindness includes both lodging and tickets to an event that allows you to eat your body weight in free food! And when you’re fortunate enough to be invited to similar events around the country, it seems natural to start comparing this food festival to that one. I tried my best NOT to do that on this trip.
In both North and South Carolina, the grand daddy of them all (from a wine and food perspective) is Charleston Wine + Food—a week long celebration of culinary excellence that has 100+ individual events, not including the Culinary Village that host more than 5000 people per day. Outside of Charleston, there are other notable wine and food events, that I’ve had the pleasure of attending. Each dope in their own right. Asheville (NC) has Chow Chow. The only Black centric wine and food festival between the two states is BayHaven Wine & Food Festival held in Charlotte. Then there’s Euphoria in Greenville (SC) which I haven’t been to yet but I’ve heard a lot of good things about. In fact, Eater posted a round-up of 20+ wine and food festivals in the Carolinas (I hate that phrase but it works for this situation) you can check, if you’re interested.
With FWF, I came in with open eyes, ready to experience whatever came my way. And just in case I needed a reminder that each festival is different in its own right, the check-in process did a great job at that. At most festivals, it’s pretty clear on where you need to go to pick-up your press/media badges. That wasn’t the case in Florence.
Credentials, Amirite?!
But that minor inconvenience would be the last hiccup I experienced all weekend.
About Florence.
I can admit this because I told Matt and Ted Lee this to their faces before writing this post but I did NOT have high hopes. And it’s not because I didn’t think they could put on a great event but…I mean…it’s Florence. And yes, there is some bias, seeing as I’m from the great state of Charleston but from what I could recall, that place was about as fun as a watching your grandma take a nap. I only came because they invited me. Full stop. I don’t think I’ve hung out in Florence since high school—we’re talking, like, 2001. So my memory of the place was based on church-based activities I participated in back before the iPhone existed.
The population of Florence is about 40,000 people; 46% of those people are Black. Which, to be honest, shocked me! And while the Florence I remember was kinda “meh”, the Florence I experienced was stunning. Apparently, they started redeveloping their downtown area around the year 2010, so all of the stuff I saw was brand new compared to the last time I spent any substantial time there. Another interesting fact is that Florence is the mid-way point between the cities of Miami and New York City if you traveling via I-95. Doesn’t really have anything to do with the festival but I learned it when I was there and thought you should know that too.
Opening Night!
I didn’t take any pictures from the opening night event. It wasn’t intentional. Rather, to my surprise, I was having too much fun to even think about taking pictures! Another pleasant surprise, besides the revitalized downtown area (that plays soul music from speakers EMBEDDED IN THE SIDEWALKS), was that in addition to myself, many Black food influencers from Charleston were there! Now that I think about it, it sucks that I missed the opportunity take a group picture of all of us together: photographer and food writer Jai Jones, Taneka and Johnny from the Cocktail Bandits, and beer expert Clay Palmer! We were all laughing and drinking and having a wonderful time! One of the things I enjoyed about this festival was the pace. It was very chill. I never felt rushed to do anything or be anywhere which works very well for the introvert in me as I like to explore things in my own time.
Another notable occurrence? Every night I went to bed full! On the surface, I understand that seems counter-intuitive. I mean, it is a food festival. Isn’t that the point? But for those of you who do go to events like these, you know that it’s much more likely to leave with a belly full of wine than food. And for the first time, in forever, that wasn’t the case.
More on that: I don’t want to leave you with the impression that I’m not satisfied by the food at other food festivals or that I leave them feeling “starved”. That’s certainly not the case. It’s just that MY experience at a food festival is different that most other people. I often don’t get my fill of food, not because there is a lack of it, but because I’m talking to people. Shaking hands and kissin’ babies, if you will. I can grab a bite but it might be 40 minutes before I can grab another one and before long, the event is wrapping up! It’s a blessing and curse of being a food influencer at a food event—you don’t usually get a chance to eat because you’re either talking to people who are fans of your work or talking to people whose work you admire. So while my tummy may not be full leaving most festivals, my soul would say otherwise.
In fact, speaking of “full souls”, here’s a clip of Matt Lee talking about his relationship with the city of Florence (I pop up on the tail end of his statement so stay tuned for that).
Matt Lee: Florence Is A Full Circle Moment.
Also, I should say that at maaaaaybe one person (who didn’t work in food) knew who I was? So all of the talking that happens at other festivals, did not happen here! Which, again, allowed me to be present with the aforementioned homies whilst, simultaneously, getting my grub on! But the few people I did meet were pretty damn awesome. Like, Florence Councilman Chipper Smith!
Meet Councilman “Chipper” Smith II!
*BTW - That young lady I mentioned in this audio clip was INDEED with Councilman Smith. She was his wife! I phrased it that way (“they young lady he was with”) because I didn’t want to assume their relationship.
Highlights from FloTown Wine & Food.
Instead of giving you a play-by-play of an event that happened damn near a month ago, I’m just going to give you some highlights via photos and audio clips. Cool?
Dr. Howard Conyers!
I was grateful for the opportunity to sit in on a moonshine tasting hosted by literal rocket scientist and South Carolina native, Dr. Howard Conyers. I’ve already taken the two hour drive to he and his father’s farm in Manning, South Carolina for some of their delicious elixir but having the chance to hear him break it all down was a treat! And chicken wings as a palette cleanser? *chef’s kiss*
You Think You Know Somebody!
Me and Taneka Reaves (one half of the Cocktail Bandits) have known each other for, at least a decade. But when we ended up sitting next to each other at one of the signature dinners, I realized that was the first time we had a full on, 1-on-1 conversation. She’s even better than I already thought she was!
Black Owned Gelato?
Because Charleston has become “White People Atlanta”, many of our Black owned businesses have either left downtown Charleston or closed completely. But that’s not the case in Florence. The standout of all of the Black businesses I visited was ChocoBella, a shop that sells handmade Belgian chocolates and artisan gelato. Lord knows I wanted to try every single one of those chocolate BonBons but I really came for the gelato. Now, I’m not a gelato expert but if this isn’t considered top tier, I can’t even image what “the best” would even taste like. That stuff you get from the grocery store? It’s not even in the same hemisphere as what I had that night. After dinner with Taneka, this was the sweet treat I needed to end an already awesome day!
In Conclusion…
The audio clips at the beginning and the end of this section say essentially the same thing: Florence is fine. And while you may take that as shade, trust me, it’s a massive upgrade from how I thought about Florence before I came to the festival. If you’re are looking to participate in a walkable, quaint, food festival then you should most definitely consider attending the Florence Wine + Food Festival!
Also, before I go, I want to give a shout out to Bean Bar! The couple who run the coffee shop made some excellent lattes at a drop-in media breakfast I attended.
Thanks for reading! I hope you have a wonderful weekend. And if you happen to be in Charleston, consider getting tickets to the Black Food Truck Festival!
— Love, KJ
Eating at Food events is SO hard. This gelato looks as smooth as a baby’s foot. My goodness.