50TH ANNUAL LEXINGTON COUNTY PEACH FESTIVAL

Lexington County is known for its summer festivals. There’s the Pelion Peanut Party, the Gaston Collard Festival, the Chapin Labor Day Parade, the Irmo Okra Strut and on and on... There are so many it’s hard to pick a favorite, but the Peach Festival is definitely in the running as far as I'm concerned! The festival has been taking place in Gilbert since 1958. But even before World War II, there has been a community gathering in Gilbert around the 4th of July. As local lore has it, in the days before television, there was a big stump meeting for all the politicians every year at the Gilbert train depot. While there are still plenty of politicians that ride in the parade, the focus remains on “the queen of fruits.” There are baskets and baskets of peaches for sale from the local peach orchards. Even though there is nothing better than a juicy peach on a hot summer day, there are plenty of ways to get your peach fix if just one peach won’t do it. You can try peach cobbler, peach ice cream, peach tea, peach slushes, peach floats and peach sundaes. The “peach delight” is a peachy delicacy (and quite tasty), but my personal favorite is the “peach zip.” I don’t really know what is in it (and the nice ladies who served me weren’t about to give up the secret recipe), but if you are lucky enough to be near Gilbert next July 4th you’d better give it a try!

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