By Andy Ann
The first annual Edisto Fall Festival and Turtle Tide Art Auction were held on Saturday, October 15th with an estimated 400 in attendance. The event showcased a variety of exhibits, games, food, art, and crafts, and was held in front of Jungle Road Plaza. There were around 55 merchants, artists, and nonprofits set up. The local band, Edisto Gumbo, played live music.
The Edisto Chamber of Commerce partnered with the Edisto Art Guild, Lowcountry Collision, and Edisto Beach Loggerhead Turtle Project to help with planning and covering some costs at the beginning of the project.
Edisto Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, Chelsea Harrison, explained how ten fiberglass turtles were obtained with display stands. Additional sponsors were attained at $1,000 per turtle, along with local artists to paint original designs on each.
The painted turtles were sent to Lowcountry Collision to be clear-coated and sealed. Finished turtles were on display at various businesses and locations on Edisto Island during the turtle season between May and October. Visitors were given a “Turtle Tide Guide” map with the location of each turtle. As an added incentive to participate in finding all the turtles, anyone who submitted pictures with all ten and tagged #EdistoTurtleTide was sent a surprise gift through the mail containing a little piece of Edisto and a handwritten thank you note.
During the festival, the painted turtles went up for auction as part of the Turtle Tide Art Project. Each turtle was assigned a specific non-profit charity, to which the proceeds of each sale benefited. Minimum bids started at $500 and over $60,000 was raised. One hundred percent of the proceeds were donated to eight non-profit organizations on Edisto Island. The turtle with the highest winning bid was $12,000 and the lowest went for $2,800. There were approximately 60 bidders that participated in the auction with around 150 viewers.
The turtles were scattered throughout the beachfront for the community to view prior to the auction. Each turtle had information about the artist that painted it. To further conservation, information about loggerhead sea turtles and efforts to preserve their habitat was also displayed. Two of the painted turtles were auctioned on behalf of the Edisto Beach Loggerhead Turtle Project and raised $16,000 for their conservation efforts. For more information about this organization, please visit https://www.edistobeachseaturtles.com/.
For more information about this and other upcoming events on Edisto Beach, please visit https://www.edistochamber.com/. Contact Chelsea Harrison at 843-869-3867 or email chamber@edistochamber.com at the Edisto Chamber of Commerce.
