The Greater Pickens Chamber of Commerce hosted the inaugural Pickens Appalachian Folk Festival last weekend at the Pickens Amphitheater hosting a multitude of people from around the Upstate. The Bear Creek String Bandits, pictured above performing on Saturday morning, were one of five groups that paid tribute to the vibrant Appalachian heritage of Northern Pickens County and the Upstate of South Carolina. Rocky Nimmons/Courier