Allendale, Barnwell join for first combined Ag + Art Tour

Barnwell and Allendale counties are folding their Ag + Art Tours into one regional route, giving residents a single day to move between farms, markets and maker stops across both counties. The free, self-guided tour runs Saturday, June 13, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and organizers say the combined format is meant to draw a bigger audience to rural businesses that depend on foot traffic.

The stop list is built for people who want to buy local and see how the county’s farm economy works up close. Planned stops include Boundary Creek Farm, Humpty Dumpty Poultry Farm, King George Lavender Farm, Windmill Farms, the Veggie Cupboard Community Garden, the Barnwell Farmers Market, the Allendale Farmers Market and Little Red Barn, where visitors will find handcrafted goods. Families will also have two hands-on draws: Touch-A-Tractor and the South Carolina Farm Bureau Agricultural Simulator, both aimed at giving children a close look at agriculture without a classroom lesson.

The Allendale stop carries its own local value. State agriculture records list the Allendale County Farmers Market at 5789 Allendale-Fairfax Highway in Allendale, with Dawn Snead as the contact, and note that it accepts Senior and WIC vouchers. A separate listing says the market is co-managed by the Town of Allendale and Allendale County HEALing Partners, a sign that the tour is tied to ongoing work to strengthen access to local food, health resources and community support in the county.

That local piece sits inside a much bigger statewide growth story. Clemson Cooperative Extension says the South Carolina Ag + Art Tour has grown from one county in 2012 to 20 counties on the 2024 slate, and has drawn more than 100,000 visitors since it began. Other tour materials put total participation above 150,000. The South Carolina House of Representatives has recognized the program as a national example of agritourism, a distinction that helps explain why Barnwell and Allendale are using one shared weekend instead of separate county events.

For Allendale and Barnwell, the point is not just entertainment. The combined tour gives farms, producers and artisans a larger pool of visitors, which can mean more sales, more repeat customers and more visibility for businesses that rarely benefit from regional traffic. The county page set an artisan application deadline of May 31, underscoring how much of the event is designed around local participation, not outside promotion. In a part of South Carolina where small farms and homegrown markets often grow by word of mouth, the two-county model could become a practical template for rural economic development.