They are calling for a bit of rain this weekend, but don’t let that stop you! There’s plenty to do tomorrow!

First, Baxter Village is holding their neighborhood yard sale in the morning – I went this past spring and there was some great stuff for sale, so I’m sure tomorrow’s sale will be just as good.

There are also two consignment sales finishing up tomorrow. Sweet Repeats, which is being held Glen Rock Baptist Church on Doby’s Road, will finishing up with a 1/2 price sale tomorrow from 8 a.m. – 12 p.m. Also, St. John’s AMC on Tom Hall Street is finishing up their own consignment sale tomorrow.

If you are looking for a festival, look no further than Main Street in Fort Mill, where you can catch this year’s Art On Main which features local artisans, good food and live music.

Then, on Monday, which is Columbus Day, be sure to check out the Fiesta Italiana, which is being held in Rock Hill at Augello’s starting at 3 p.m. It is being sponsored by the Order of the Sons of Italy of Fort Mill, Tega Cay and Rock Hill. It will feature all the things a good festival has: kids activities, food for purchase, and live music.

Looking for a way to pass the day today (Saturday, Sept 26) just in case the weather holds out?

* There are two neighborhood yard sales. Waterstone off Rte 160 and Gold Hill Road is having a neighborhood sale today, and there are also yard sales in Tara Plantation (which is a small older subdivision across the street from the Tega Cay Wal Mart). CORRECTION: Waterstone’s neighborhood yard sale is Saturday, October 3 – NOT today. My apologies for any confusion.

* Tonight in Tega Cay you can catch the Fantastic Shakers playing music at Runde Park in the fourth of the Summer Concert Series. The DJ starts at 6 p.m. and there will be kids activities available. Food and drinks will be sold by vendors at the park. No grills allowed. No pets allowed. This event is NOT BYOB.

* Tonight is the last night of the Fort Mill Playhouse’s dinner theater production of “Play On.”. Call (803) 548-8102 to buy your tickets for this fun production!

* Baxter Village is having it’s Fourth Annual Block Party today. The party runs all day beginning at 11 a.m. and includes music, food and drink, exhibitors, and kids activities.

So despite the threat of rain today, there is still plenty to do today! So grab your umbrella (just in case) and have a great day!

I know I’m going to come off sounding like I got paid off by the Baxter Village HOA, but I would just like to write about how beautiful Baxter Village is.

This past weekend I drove around the Baxter Village yard sale for a few hours. My son and I went from house to house throughout all sections of Baxter. We were on the hunt for a bike for my son and a toaster for my husband’s work office.

Admittedly, about the only street I drive on at Baxter is Market Street – I go to the library, I go to Dolce Lusso to get my haircut, I splurge on ice cream for the kids at SweeTreats, and hang out at Six Pence Pub on occasion. I’ve been to Chocolat and Grapevine a handful of times. That’s about it. I’ve seen the houses on the main drag by Orchard Park Elementary but not much else as far as residential areas.

So Saturday was an enjoyable day as I explored the sections of Baxter that have been unexplored as of yet.

And let me just say – what a charming, lovely development! Sure, there is a touch of cookie cutterism with the houses near Market Street, but there are other sections where the houses are all completely different and unique. There are private circles of homes with huge swatches of green grass in the middle for the kids to run around on. The houses are all taken care of and have some quaint charm to make them stand out in their own way. Some are small bungalows on small lots, others are probably over 4,000 square feet and have huge backyards. Most have front porches that look inviting and make me wish I had one of my own on which to sit and read my book with a drink in hand while watching my children enjoy the last few rays of sunshine before nightfall.

Parks aplenty. Green space aplenty. Homeowner pride in it’s most obvious form by way of gorgeous landscaping and tasteful exteriors. And nearly all of it is within walking distance to Market Street. Imagine being able to say to your spouse, “Let’s go out to dinner,” and instead of gearing up and getting into the car, you can take a leisurely stroll through the neighborhood on a balmy evening and grab an outdoor table at Beef O’Brady’s or Liu Liu’s.

When my husband and I were considering a move to South Carolina, we toured the Baxter Village model homes and determined that, while lovely, they were out of our price range and/or too small (in some cases, smaller than what we had already). As such, we opted to buy elsewhere.

But going through there on Saturday morning made me think that maybe someday…who knows? Maybe we’ll look to simplify, and Baxter will be the way to go!

Saturday, May 2, promises to be a busy day! There are many things going on tomorrow, including Springfest at Walter Elisha Park, the “Don’t Tell Mother” production at Fort Mill Community Playhouse, and a neighborhood yard sale at Baxter Village (it begins at 7 a.m. so get there early!).

You can check out our calendar of events for more details on those and other events taking place in May.

In addition, the time has come for strawberry picking over at Springs Farms. I know my kids love strawberries, and I look forward to getting over there so they can pick their own!

The title of the post was the excited response from Grapevine (1012 Market Street, Baxter Village) when I emailed to inquire as to whether Brewtopia, the beerfest scheduled to take place in their parking lot tomorrow afternoon, would still take place even if it rained. The Town of Clover may have postponed their weekend events, but it looks like beer aplenty will be available all afternoon tomorrow.

They have confirmed that they will have 80 beers for tasting, in addition to music and other festivities. Feel free to visit Grapevine’s website for more info. Advanced tickets are $20, otherwise it’s $25 at the door.

With a name like “Grapevine,” you probably thought that the Baxter Village wineshop only sold wine. You’d be wrong! They also sell many varieties of beer, and are hosting a beer festival (60+ varieties of beer!) on March 14, 2009 in conjunction with the Barracuda Fun Run and the Baxter Spring Fest. The event is also a fundraiser, with $1 from every entry ticket purchased going to a charity called “Pints for Prostrates.” Besides the beer they’ll have live music and BBQ (I’m SO there just for the BBQ alone!).

Tickets are on sale now for $20. Wait until the day of the festival and it’ll cost you $25 to get in. If you like beer, we think you should consider getting your ticket early!

For more info, call ((803) 802-9989) or stop by Grapevine (1012 Market Street, Baxter Village), or you can always visit the “Shake Your Shamrocks” website for details.

Photo by smcgee.