Tourism

Arts in the Heart is just one of eight tourism events starting this week that will yield almost $10 million in economic impact to the community and revenue for supporting businesses. About 100,000 of the expected 109,000 visitors will attend Arts in the Heart the weekend of September 18th, according to Destination Augusta. The following Monday, the IRONMAN 70.3 Augusta competition begins drawing another 7,000 visitors. The other tourism events include several conferences in the education, military, cyber, planning, and code enforcement spaces.

The Greater Augusta Arts Council (GAAC) is sprinting toward the 45th annual Arts in the Heart of Augusta festival. The three-day event runs Sept. 18-20 somewhere else this year.  From its humble beginnings in the parking lot of the Municipal Building in the early 1980s, the festival has grown into one of Augusta’s largest tourism activities. In 2025, Destination Augusta estimated attendance at 100,000 people. That generated more than $1.8 million in revenue, making the festival one of Augusta’s largest non-sporting events. The festival soon outgrew its original home and

Aiken, Edgefield, and McCormick counties are in the running to be the venue to retry Alex Murdaugh for the double murders of his wife and son. One problem: the trial starts over Masters Week 2027. Yours truly spent Friday in a Lexington, South Carolina courtroom during a hearing. One of the motions related to the venue, and several areas were disqualified. Here are my thoughts on an incredible display of lawyering. 

More than 80% of visitors to the Garden City will come from just two organizations that are holding events. Nearly 30,000 of the estimated 34, 340 visitors are expected to attend meetings, reunions, events, and sporting events in Augusta’s River Region. According to Destination Augusta and the Augusta Sports Council, events will generate at least $4,400,868.48 in total estimated economic impact (EEI) in June 2026.  The two biggest visitor events of the month include the Pride Augusta rally weekend and the Juneteenth Augusta festival. There are also Education conferences, a Toy