2011 MayFest Events Lineup Announced, John McCain to Serve as Grand Marshal
The Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce announced the 2011 Myrtle Beach MayFest events lineup at a press conference held at the main chamber office at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Feb 1. Featured MayFest events include: Beach Music Festival, Military Concert Series, Beach Blast! Christian Music Festival and Memorial Day Weekend Parade and Festivities.
"We're providing an exciting lineup of May events that emphasize the value and affordability of the destination and give visitors yet another reason to choose Myrtle Beach for a spring getaway," said Brad Dean, MBACC president and CEO. "We look forward to creating a fun, family-friendly environment with free activities beginning April 30 and lasting through Memorial Day weekend."
"At Family Circle, we are always looking for ways that families with teens and tweens can spend more time together and have fun," says Diane Papazian, Publisher of Family Circle magazine. "It's not always easy to find activities that kids this age will want to do with their parents, so we are thrilled to partner with the MBACC and offer entertainment and activities that the entire family can enjoy together."
The event details announced were as follows:
Beach Music Festival
The festival will be held Saturday, April 30, from 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. between 8th and 9th Avenues North. The free, family-friendly festival will feature beach bands and musicians providing back-to-back entertainment including South Carolina native Chubby Checker, The Spinners, The Embers, The Catalinas, Atlantic Groove and The Craig Woolard Band. The festival also includes a fireworks finale, beer garden, and food, arts and crafts vendors.
Military Concert Series
A free concert will be held every Friday in May with start times varying from 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. between 8th and 9th Avenues North. This concert series takes place in conjunction with the city of Myrtle Beach's month long Military Appreciation Days promotion. While all other MayFest events are intended to attract out of market visitors and generate publicity for the Myrtle Beach area, this concert series is a local promotion and was primarily organized to honor both active and retired members of the military and offer another free event to those visitors already in the area.
Beach Blast! Christian Music Festival
This ticketed event will be held 3-9:30 p.m. Saturday, May 21, between 8th and 9th Avenues North. Myrtle Beach's largest Christian Music Festival will feature performances by Toby Mac, Skillet, LeCrae, Disciple, Anthem Lights as well as speaker Bob Lenz. A special fireworks finale, food and arts and crafts vendors will also be at the family-friendly festival, making its second appearance in Myrtle Beach.
Tickets go on sale Friday, Feb. 4, and can be purchased online at www.myrtlebeachmayfest.com. All prices will be comparable to last years' ticket cost. Special prices are available for groups.
Memorial Day Weekend Parade and Festivities
The parade will take place on Saturday, May 28, and will begin at 27th Avenue North at 9:30 a.m. and end at 9th Avenue North around 12:30 p.m. The parade will feature floats, giant helium-filled balloon characters, marching, military and high school bands, nonprofit and veteran walking groups, and cars with celebrities, beauty queens, and dignitaries, as well as military and static displays.
U.S. Senator John McCain will serve as grand marshal of the parade. McCain is the senior senator from Arizona and was the Republican nominee in the 2008 presidential election. McCain followed both his father and grandfather into the military, graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1958. Following graduation, he became a naval aviator, flying ground-attack aircraft from aircraft carriers and nearly lost his life during the Vietnam War in the 1967 USS Forrestal fire. Later that year, he was shot down while on a bombing mission over Hanoi, seriously injured and captured by the North Vietnamese. He remained a prisoner of war until 1973. He retired from the Navy as a captain in 1981 and moved to Arizona, where he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and served two terms. McCain was then elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986 and has been re-elected four times since, most recently in 2010.
"I am honored to participate in the 2011 Memorial Day Weekend Parade in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. This is a wonderful way to show our appreciation for our active and retired military service men and women while honoring those they gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country," said McCain, "I commend the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce for offering a fun-filled, family-friendly line-up of events as we celebrate this special holiday weekend."
Memorial Day festivities begin after the parade ends and continue until 9:30 p.m. with entertainment, food, and arts and crafts vendors. Of the celebrities that will be attending the Memorial Day Weekend Festivities are Jennette McCurdy, best known for her current role as Sam Puckett on "iCarly," Noah and Ethan Munck, who play Gibby and Guppy Gibson on Nickelodeon's "iCarly"; Ariana Grande, best known for her role as Caterina "Cat" Valentine on Nickelodeon's "Victorious"; Jake T. Austin, who plays Max on Disney Channel's "Wizards of Waverly Place"; Doug Brochu, who stars as Grady Mitchell on Disney Channel's "Sonny with a Chance"; and Zendaya Coleman, best known for her role as Rocky Blue on Disney Channel's "Shake It Up!".
