A look back at Water Festival 2021

Above: All five local Rotary Clubs were on hand to dish out the traditional Water Festival Lowcountry Supper on Thursday. Here, volunteers with the Sea Island Rotary Club slice up watermelon for the hundreds of hungry Water Festival goers. Photos by Bob Sofaly

Let’s eat, Water Festival style

It was all hands on deck to help serve the annual Water Festival Lowcountry Supper on Thursday at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park.

All five area Rotary Clubs were on hand to serve the meal prepared by the folks at Sea Eagle Market. Even Beaufort Mayor Stephen Murray chipped in, helping to carry bins of food to the serving lines.

“We were told to anticipate and prepare food for 2,000 people,” Craig Reeves of Sea Eagle Market said. “I think there were fewer people as we had a little bit of food left over.”

Just about everything in the meal was locally grown, caught and prepared.

According to Reeves, the ingredients for this year’s Lowcountry Supper were:

775 pounds of fresh locally caught shrimp;

16 gallons of cocktail sauce;

2,200 ears of fresh corn from Barefoot Farms on St. Helena Island;

800 pounds of cole slaw;

40 gallons of iced tea;

40 gallons of lemonade;

70 watermelons;

and 2,160 individual dinner rolls.

Melena Argetsinger of Sea Eagle Market scoops out ears of corn to be served during Thursday’s Water Festival Lowcountry Supper.

Volunteers help the get the former Water Festival commodores to their places for their performance as The Whistlers as part of the evening’s entertainment during the annual Water Festival Lowcountry Supper on Thursday at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park.

It was all hands on deck to help serve the annual Water Festival Lowcountry Supper on Thursday at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park. Here, Beaufort Mayor Stephen Murray chipped in to help carry bins of food to serving lines.

Rotarian Charles Anderson, left, served up dinner rolls and cocktail sauce for the shrimp during the Beaufort Water Festival’s annual Lowcountry Supper on Thursday at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park.

Former Commodore Ed Dureya pours out countless cups of lemonade during the Water Festival Lowcountry Supper on Thursday at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park.

Everyone Loves a Parade

The Water Festival Pirettes wave to the enthusiastic crowd during the annual Grand Parade as it makes its way along The Water Festival Pirettes wave to the enthusiastic crowd during the annual Grand Parade as it makes its way along Bay Street on Saturday.

There is no shortage of American Flags displayed during the annual Water Festival Grand Parade as it slowly makes its way down Bay Street on Saturday.

It wouldn’t be an official parade anywhere in Beaufort without the Parris Island Marine Corps Band leading it. Despite the heat and high humidity, the band crisply makes its way down Bay Street during the annual Water Festival Grand Parade.

**On Your Marks, Get Set, Go!**

Water Festival Commodore Erin Morris gets a good coating of flour by some of the Pirettes after being doused by buckets of cold water at the conclusion of the bed races Friday afternoon along Bay Street.

**BLESSING OF THE FLEET**

The shrimp trawler Palmetto Pride leads the fleet during the Water Festival Blessing of the Fleet to officially close the festival Sunday along the sea wall at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park.

Bob Sofaly has been photographing people and what they do in Beaufort for 41 years – since Ronald Reagan was elected president in 1980. He can be reached at bobsofaly@gmail.com.