Terry Mallott of Goose Creek clutched a small bag with two metal and glass garden fairies as she made her way through the throngs at Azalea Park on Friday morning.
“Yes, I need them,” she said with a smile, “because I want them.”
Ah, this is the kind of person who keeps the local tourism industry happy.
Mallott was one of tens of thousands who turned out for the opening day of the Flowertown Festival. It’s the biggest annual event in the Charleston area in terms of attendance.
Coming at the start of spring, it’s another significant barometer of the tourist season, which pumps $5 billion a year into the local economy.
If Friday was any indication, the outlook is pretty good. Threatened rain didn’t materialize, and the sun was out by early afternoon. It was hard to walk through Azalea Park, throngs filled Main Street for blocks, lines snaked back from food vendors and scores of mothers pushed baby carriages toward the carnival rides.