We’re nearing the time of year when our country’s birthday is celebrated by families around a barbecue grill and a backyard pool (or, in our neck of the woods, our backyard ocean) by day and under a bright sky of fireworks by night.

In downtown Conway, families gather around Elm Street at the mouth of the marina each year at Riverfest to ring in the Fourth of July about a week before the actual national holiday. It’s a big outdoor party the Conway Chamber has been throwing since 1980, and this year, it’s on the calendar for Saturday, June 28.

“We always want to go kind of bigger and better than we had the years prior,” says Morgan McDonnell, special events coordinator for the Conway Chamber. “With this being the 45th year, I have added a bunch of new things this year.”

One of those new additions will be the Riverfest Paddle Battle, she says, to reincorporate the river back into the festival. These river races on the Waccamaw River will feature kayaks, standup paddle boards, and canoes organized in different heats and age levels.

“We’re super excited about that!” says McDonnell. She began her role at the chamber last year and has been part of the Conway community since 2008, when she started attending Coastal Carolina University.

New Riverfest activities will also include a cornhole tournament on the grass and a second performance stage to supplement the main stage for more daytime live entertainment.

“We wanted to add as many things as we can to keep everybody engaged throughout the day,” says McDonnell.

Returning to this year’s Riverfest will be all-day mainstays, kicking off with a special opening ceremony at 11 a.m. on the Main Stage with the singing of the national anthem and color guard presentation of the American flag, and a Patriotic Golf Cart Parade at 11:30 a.m. that travels down Second Avenue to Marina Drive and Riverfront Park and back.

The Kids Zone will be open for play from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the Conway Marina parking lot, where fun will be had for the little ones by way of carnival games, bouncy houses, farm animal rides, and balloon animals. There will also be two shuttles running from the top of Second Avenue down to the Kids Zone. 

Open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. will be Riverfest’s Business Expo, which will highlight area businesses with displays set up along Elm Street, and the Artisans Market, featuring arts and crafts vendors from across the area. 

Food trucks and vendors, along with a Beer Garden, will also be available all day. Fill up on ice cream, Italian ice, barbecue, chili dogs, fair foods, and more. Two stages of live music featuring live music from local and national performers will entertain day and night. And the grand finale will be Riverfest’s famous fireworks show in the night sky, a fan favorite year after year.

“The Conway community is very strong and tight-knit, which is why Riverfest has continued to grow so much over the years and is one of the only big festivals of its kind in this area around the Fourth of July,” says McDonnell. “It really has withstood the test of time even though it has evolved a lot over the years, but I think the heart of it is still there in bringing the community together, celebrating the Fourth, and the spirit of Conway.”

For more information and updates on the live music schedule and more, visit Conwayriverfest.com.