SC Pawpaw Festival

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SC Pawpaw Festival

The South Carolina Pawpaw Festival honors North America’s largest edible fruit.

08/08/2026

Ready to dig into pawpaw growing? We're so excited to welcome Cory Tanner from Clemson University Extension to the SC Pawpaw Festival! Catch him at 3:15 PM in the Garden Circle for his hands-on talk, “Growing Pawpaws in the Palmetto State: A Hands-On Discussion.” He'll cover everything you need to successfully grow this native fruit — from site assessment and soil prep to planting, pruning, fertilization, and season-round care. Perfect for beginners and experienced growers alike.

A life-long gardener, Cory earned a B.S. and an M.S. in horticulture from Clemson University and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in entomology. Prior to employment with Clemson Extension, he worked in the nursery trade, producing quality landscape trees and shrubs. A prolific writer, Cory previously authored a monthly column for SC Living Magazine called SC Gardener, co-edited the most recent edition of the SC Master Gardener Training Manual, and frequently appears as an expert panelist on SCETV's award-winning gardening program, Making It Grow!

08/06/2026

Get ready, pawpaw lovers! We’re thrilled to welcome Andra Nus to the SC Pawpaw Festival! She’ll kick off our educational series at 2:15 PM in the Garden circle with her can’t miss talk “From Wild Groves to Cultivars: The Evolving Art of Pawpaw Breeding.”

Andra is the owner of Sleepy Gap Pawpaws in Arden, North Carolina, a nursery specializing in grafted pawpaw trees and an orchard of mature, fruit-bearing pawpaws. A professional horticulturist with more than 30 years of experience, she has worked in public gardens across the United States and currently serves as a plant breeder with North Carolina State University. Her work with NCSU focuses on breeding pawpaws for ornamental qualities and improved fruit production. Andra serves on the boards of Bullington Gardens and the Magnolia Society International and is an enthusiastic home gardener.
Sleepy Gap Pawpaws is a small, family-owned nursery and orchard selling all things pawpaw, Asimina triloba. They specialize in growing grafted pawpaw trees, especially Peterson Pawpaws and Kentucky State University selections. Their small fruit-bearing orchard of 150 trees consists of 24 varieties of pawpaws. They sell pawpaw trees, fruit, scions, seed, and other fun pawpaw items. You can find out more about Andra and Sleepy Gap Pawpaws at https://www.sleepygappawpaws.com/

08/05/2026

🌸 We're thrilled to welcome The Wilder Flower Music to this year's South Carolina Pawpaw Festival at Blue Oak Horticulture!

Blending folk, Americana, bluegrass, and old-time traditions, The Wilder Flower brings stunning three-part harmonies, exceptional musicianship, and a fresh sound rooted in Appalachian music. Their original songs and dynamic performances have earned them appearances at MerleFest, GreyFox Bluegrass Festival, FreshGrass, and more.

Come experience one of the Southeast's most exciting emerging acoustic bands with us this August! 🎻

Get your Festival parking pass at https://www.blueoakhortsc.com/scpawpawfest

07/28/2026

🎶 We're excited to welcome The Foreign Landers to the South Carolina Pawpaw Festival at Blue Oak Horticulture!

Blending bluegrass and Celtic traditions, The Foreign Landers create music that's both timeless and deeply personal. Led by Northern Ireland's Tabitha Agnew Benedict and South Carolina's David Benedict, their songs are filled with beautiful harmonies, thoughtful storytelling, and a sound that's uniquely their own.

Join us as they bring their heartfelt music to this year's festival. 🎻

Get your Festival parking pass at https://www.blueoakhortsc.com/scpawpawfest

06/27/2026

A little flashback to last year's South Carolina Pawpaw Festival. 🌿

From tasting pawpaws for the very first time, to discovering native plants, enjoying live music, connecting with local vendors, and spending time with friends and family, it was a day filled with learning, laughter, and community.

Every year, we're reminded that the festival is about so much more than a fruit. It's about bringing people together to celebrate the unique plants, wildlife, and natural heritage of our region.

We're already looking forward to creating more memories with you on August 29th.

Have you attended the festival before? Share your favorite memory in the comments!

Get your Festival parking pass at https://www.blueoakhortsc.com/scpawpawfest

06/20/2026

Why We Host the South Carolina Pawpaw Festival

What started as a small gathering to celebrate one remarkable native fruit has grown into a day where people can learn, connect, explore, and experience something unique together. And every year, people ask us why we put so much time and effort into hosting the South Carolina Pawpaw Festival.

The honest answer is simple: we believe native plants, wildlife, and community matter.

The festival takes months of planning and the support of volunteers, vendors, educators, musicians, and community partners. While there are costs associated with hosting an event of this size, our goal has never been to create a profit-making event.

Our goal is to create something meaningful for our community. A place where families can spend the day outdoors, discover native plants, learn about conservation, support local businesses, and maybe taste a pawpaw for the very first time.

Thank you for helping make that possible.

We can't wait to see you on August 29th

Get your Festival parking pass at https://www.blueoakhortsc.com/scpawpawfest

06/13/2026

How the South Carolina Pawpaw Festival Began

About five years ago, we discovered something surprising. Many people had never tasted a pawpaw, even though it's the largest fruit native to North America and grows right here in South Carolina. We also found that many visitors to Blue Oak were hesitant to plant a pawpaw tree before they had actually tasted the fruit.

So we decided to host a simple Pawpaw Tasting Day at Blue Oak. No food trucks. No live music. Just some locally foraged fruit and a Facebook event that we barely promoted.

We expected maybe five people to show up.

More than one hundred did.

What began that day as conversations with friends, neighbors, and fellow plant enthusiasts sparked an idea: What if we created a festival dedicated to celebrating this uniquely American fruit?
The first South Carolina Pawpaw Festival was modest, welcoming over 400 attendees. What made it special wasn't the size, it was the people. Family members, friends, local artists, volunteers, and community supporters all stepped forward to help bring the vision to life. From a family friend / event planner who offered her expertise to a local artist who created our original festival logo and artwork, so many people contributed their time, talents, and hearts to help make the festival possible.

Since then, the festival has grown into a gathering that brings together growers, educators, artists, musicians, conservationists, food vendors, and families from across the region. But at its core, it remains what it has always been: a community coming together to celebrate nature, learn something new, and share an experience that is uniquely South Carolina.

As we prepare for another festival this August, we're filled with gratitude for everyone who has supported this journey. From those first curious visitors to the thousands who have joined us since. Thank you for helping this little idea grow into something far bigger than we ever imagined. We can't wait to celebrate with you again this year, and see what the next chapter brings.

With Gratitude - Carrie and Ryan Merck

Get your Festival parking pass at https://www.blueoakhortsc.com/scpawpawfest

05/24/2026

🎉 The votes are in! Our Pawpaw Fest 2026 onsite t-shirt colors will be… Forest Green + Orchid 👕🍃🦋

Forest Green took the win, and while Light Green was a close second, we decided to mix it up so the onsite lineup wasn’t all green.

Want a different color? Don’t worry — all shirt colors will still be available on the website!

🚗 Parking passes on sale now
👕 T-shirt sales open now
See the website to grab yours!

https://www.blueoakhortsc.com/scpawpawfest

05/09/2026

The pawpaws out on the farm are sizing up nicely, and fall festival season is starting to feel real around here.

Parking passes open next week on May 15th🚙
We’ll also be sharing more soon about this year’s music, speakers, makers, and all the details taking shape for 2026🍃

05/05/2026

🎉 We’re excited to share that the 2026 SC Pawpaw Festival artwork is officially live! Thanks to the talented Matt Andrews for once again knocking this design out of the park!

This year, we’re celebrating the “Year of the Butterfly” 🦋 featuring the zebra swallowtail, along with other wildlife like the pawpaw sphinx moth that depend on the pawpaw tree. It’s a small glimpse into the bigger ecosystem this incredible native tree supports.

And this is just the beginning…Parking passes will go on sale May 15th. And over the next month, we’ll be sharing more about this year’s speakers, music, and makers lineup. Stay tuned, there’s a lot to come. 🌿

Address

198 Fews Bridge Road
Taylors, SC
29687

Website

https://www.blueoakhortsc.com/scpawpawfest

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