The Lake Wylie calendar follows the water and the towns around it — spring arts and strawberry festivals in Belmont and Fort Mill, Fourth of July fireworks at the Buster Boyd Bridge, a fall shoreline cleanup, and a lighted boat parade every December. These are the recurring events worth planning around, each checked against its organizer.
Spring
The season opens in late April with Belmont's free Garibaldi Festival in Stowe Park on South Main Street: an artisan vendor market, a plein-air painting contest and wet-paint sale, live music, food trucks and living-history tours. The first weekend of May brings the South Carolina Strawberry Festival to Walter Y. Elisha Park in Fort Mill — two free days of bands, rides, a car show and tractor show, strawberry eating contests and fireworks. Tega Cay's Best Dam Food Festival follows on the second weekend in May, and Catawba Riverkeeper's RiverFest takes over Loftin Park on the Catawba River in Belmont.
◆Garibaldi Festival — Stowe Park, Belmont, late April
◆South Carolina Strawberry Festival — Walter Y. Elisha Park, Fort Mill, early May
◆Best Dam Food Festival — Tega Cay, second weekend in May
◆RiverFest — Loftin Park, Belmont, May
Summer
Belmont's Friday Night Live concert series closes Main Street on select Fridays from mid-May into early July, with a DJ from 5 p.m. and live bands from 6 to 9 p.m., ending with Red, White & Belmont and fireworks in Stowe Park. The Fourth of July is the lake's biggest week: the Lake Wylie community fireworks near the Buster Boyd Bridge — funded by donations and promoted by the Lake Wylie Chamber of Commerce — and Tega Cay's multi-day celebration with a boat parade from Niven's Creek to Windjammer Park, a water-ski show, a parade from City Hall and fireworks near the Glennon Center. Tega Cay's free Music in the Park concerts run from summer into fall at Catawba Park and Runde Park.
◆Belmont Friday Night Live — Main Street, May to early July
◆Lake Wylie Fourth of July fireworks — Buster Boyd Bridge
◆Tega Cay Fourth of July — boat parade, ski show, parade, fireworks
◆Tega Cay Music in the Park — Catawba Park and Runde Park
Fall
On the first Saturday in October, volunteers spread across the shoreline for the annual Catawba Riversweep, collecting trash from coves and banks by boat, kayak and on foot. Tega Cay's Catawba Fest and Spooktacular Week fill the rest of the month, and the cooler weather makes it the best season for the trails at the Anne Springs Close Greenway and McDowell Nature Preserve.
Winter
Daniel Stowe Conservancy in Belmont opens Holidays at the Garden on select nights from late November through December, with more than a million lights, food trucks, a holiday speakeasy and the Orchid Tree in the Great Hall; tickets are sold by date. In mid-December, the Lake Wylie Chamber of Commerce's Lights on the Lake Holiday Boat Parade forms up at Papa Doc's Shore Club and runs around the Buster Boyd Bridge — a tradition for more than three decades, free to watch from shore. The Lake Wylie Christmas Parade and Tree Lighting and Tega Cay's Lighting of the Tree round out early December.
◆Holidays at the Garden — Daniel Stowe Conservancy, late November–December
◆Lights on the Lake Holiday Boat Parade — Papa Doc's Shore Club, mid-December
◆Lake Wylie Christmas Parade & Tree Lighting — early December
◆Tega Cay Lighting of the Tree — early December
Watching the Fireworks
For the Lake Wylie fireworks, boats begin anchoring near the Buster Boyd Bridge in the late afternoon. On land, the Buster Boyd public boat landing, the deck at Papa Doc's Shore Club, Rey Azteca at Lake Wylie Plaza and the patio at Lake Wylie Pizza & Italian are traditional viewing spots. Parking along Highway 49 fills before sunset, and traffic in both directions crawls after the finale — arrive early or plan to linger over dinner. Boaters should run with navigation lights, keep a sober captain and expect heavy wake as the fleet heads home.
Planning Around the Calendar
Dates shift slightly from year to year, so confirm with the organizer — the City of Belmont and Downtown Belmont Development Association, the Town of Fort Mill, the City of Tega Cay, the Lake Wylie Chamber of Commerce, Catawba Riverkeeper or Daniel Stowe Conservancy — before you go. For newcomers, attending one community event a month through the first year is the fastest way to meet neighbors; Riversweep in particular puts you on the water with people who care about the lake.
Frequently Asked
Questions
Where can I watch the Lake Wylie fireworks from a boat?
Boats anchor near the Buster Boyd Bridge, where the community fireworks are launched around the Fourth of July. Arrive in the late afternoon, anchor well clear of the channel and any launch zone, and run with navigation lights for the trip home.
Are Lake Wylie events free?
Most are: the Garibaldi Festival, the SC Strawberry Festival, Belmont's Friday Night Live, the Fourth of July fireworks and the Lights on the Lake boat parade are free to attend. Holidays at the Garden at Daniel Stowe Conservancy is ticketed.
When is the Lake Wylie boat parade?
The Lights on the Lake Holiday Boat Parade is held on a Saturday evening in mid-December, starting and ending at Papa Doc's Shore Club and running around the Buster Boyd Bridge. Check the Lake Wylie Chamber of Commerce for the current year's date.
What festivals happen in Belmont, NC?
Belmont hosts the Garibaldi Festival in late April, Friday Night Live concerts from May into July with Red, White & Belmont fireworks, RiverFest at Loftin Park, and Holidays at the Garden at Daniel Stowe Conservancy in winter.
