Oconee History Museum Launches Digital Exhibit Series – “Why We Celebrate”

Curious about the history and inspiration behind some of Oconee County’s favorite festivals?
Oconee History Museum, in partnership with Lake Hartwell Country, has the cure for your
curiosity with a new digital exhibit series called Why We Celebrate. This exhibit explores the history and culture of Mountain Rest’s Hillbilly Day, Westminster’s Apple Festival, and Walhalla’s Oktoberfest. Each digital exhibit will include photographs, programs, memorabilia, oral histories, and much more showcasing the history and origins of each festival.

Funds for “Why We Celebrate” were awarded to Oconee History Museum through a Growth
Grant from South Carolina Humanities, www.schumanities.org. Funding for the Growth Grants has been provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

“For 50 to 60 years now these festivals have been living reminders of Oconee County’s history and culture, but often newcomers and visitors don’t recognize why we celebrate. Of course, we sorely missed these celebrations during the pandemic, and so we wanted to do our part to help preserve the history of these festivals and promote them during this period of recovery as we all work to reconnect with the public,” said museum Director/Curator Leslie Hagerty.

Why We Celebrate: Apple Festival is the second digital exhibit in this series, following Hillbilly Day. For over 60 years the South Carolina Apple Festival has celebrated and encouraged the apple growers of Oconee County. This digital exhibit takes a look back at Oconee’s once-booming apple industry and the creation of the South Carolina Apple Festival.

The final digital exhibit in the series, Why We Celebrate: Oktoberfest will launch in
mid-September. Public programs exploring these topics in more depth will also be held at
Oconee History Museum in Walhalla.

You can view the Why We Celebrate exhibits and learn more about museum programs and
festival details at https://www.oconeehistorymuseum.org/learn/why-we-celebrate/

Contact Leslie Hagerty, Director/Curator, Oconee History Museum at 864-638-2224, or [email protected]