From Staff Reports

HENDERSONVILLE— City Council here on Aug. 2 voted to approve a big party that organizers hope will attract tourists from the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games.

The WEQ will run Sept. 10-23 at Tryon International Equestrian Center.

The outdoor party, from 6 to 10 p.m. Sept. 15, will feature the Swingin’ Medallions, a popular beach and oldies music band from Greenwood, S.C. 

The gala also will include a yet-to-be-announced opening band and — if the Henderson County Board of Commissioners give approval — a fireworks show visible from Main Street. Alcohol will not be served because there was not enough time to secure all the ABC permits needed to do so.

The city’s Downtown Advisory Committee and Special Events Committee recommended approval of the event, to be held on South Main Street, which will be closed to vehicular traffic between Allen and Barnwell streets for the gala.

The event is being organized by Darlene Das, a Hendersonville resident of 23 years. She created the event after realizing that Henderson County’s hotels will be filled with tourists, with little for them to do locally.

“We have the heads in beds,” Das told the Hendersonville Times-News. “What are we going to do with them? Let’s entertain them.”