MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – This is only the second year of Carolina Country Music Fest, but it’s already becoming one of the premier country music festivals on the east coast.
Organizers say they expect more than 20,000 people to be there this weekend, and with all of those people right around the boulevard, businesses hope the changes made by police and concert organizers will help give all businesses an equal chance at bringing in customers this weekend.
Last year during the festival, Gary Hargen worked at a pub on 8th avenue where many businesses claimed they got the wrong end of the deal.
“When the people are walking up, here traffic, there was no traffic able to come in because the fence was here,” said Harden.
The country music fest had only one main gate where people could go in and out of the concert, but on the other side, a fence stood close to the doorsteps of many businesses, making it difficult for concert goers or local traffic to get there.
“The police department really helped us out a lot by opening and moving the fence back so that we have our own street now to come in and out for parking,” said Harden.
Lt. Joey Crosby with Myrtle Beach Police says he spoke with several businesses who asked for another entrance so they could also benefit, but because of security reasons, they couldn’t add it.
Instead, the fence was moved, and businesses that were blocked before like Barnacle Bill’s say after the first night, they could already see a big difference.
“A lot of business, it was crazy. It was a lot of fun, but it was busy,” said manager Billie Jo Heaster.
Nathan’s Hot Dogs is also right off 8th Avenue, and they say last year they didn’t get hardly any business during the festival, but this year organizers of the festival helped them to get two vendirs inside the gates at no cost to them.
