PICKENS — Spring has always been special in Pickens County, with warm, sunny days and cool crisps evenings. And the second weekend in April offers the best way for area residents and visitors to Pickens County to say goodbye to the chills of winter with a two-day event filled with activities to thrill all age groups.

The 29th annual Azalea Festival, slated for April 19-20, is shaping up to be a weekend to remember by everyone planning to attend, Russ Gantt, director of the event, said.

“A lot of work, planning, and organizing is going into the 2013 Azalea Festival,” Gantt said. “Everyone working on this year’s event wants this to be the best festival to date.”

Central prepares to celebrate railroad heritage

By Nicole Daughhetee

Courier Staff

After graduating from Clemson and securing a teaching position in the English department, I rented a little house in Central for several years. What I loved about Central was that it provided me with an easy commute to Clemson and offered me the peaceful serenity that life in a college town does not notoriously boast.

To reach my house on Mountain View Drive, I had to make a left off of Highway 93 and go underneath the train trestle and up a hill. I can’t count how many times I drove underneath or over those tracks — depending on how I chose to add variety to my daily commuter routes — without ever realizing the incredibly rich history and heritage they weaved into the town through which they ran.

In honor of the cherished tie that binds Central’s past to the future, members of the Central Model Railway and Historical Association, the Central Heritage Society, the Town of Central and its local businesses, have designed the Central Railroad Festival so that residents of Central and Pickens County, in addition to tourists and visitors, can celebrate the abundant history and heritage that defines Central.