Spartanburg's 2024 Spring Fling kicks off with food, fun and the Crit (2024)

SPARTANBURG— Spring Fling kicked off April 26 with the Criterium bike race.

Between race times for amateurs and pros, the littlest bikers crossed the finish line around 5:30 p.m. These tykes on trikes tore along the race loop flanked — or propelled— by parents and friends.

After the little ones had inaugurated the loop, the professionals carried the event home with the women’s race at 7 p.m. and the men’s at 8 p.m.

The classic Crit block party plastered the heart of Spartanburg with sportingly decorated white tents and tantalizing scents of barbecue, fried chicken and other favorite Southern catering options. Those tents were hot spots for socializing and networking with the city’s top residents.

Biking groups like the Spartanburg Area Mountain Bike Association set up food and hydration tents to rally their fellow bikers while tents from companies like the Sports Medicine Institution, real estate agencies and medical groups like Spartanburg Regional showed their support with celebratory tents for friends, family and clientele to eat catered or homemade treats and cheer on the bikers.

Jodi Snyder, program director for Spartanburg-based Uplift Outreach Center, said that she and her family go to Spring Fling every year — and not just because of the many tents she’s often seen working.

“I love all of it,” she said. “I mean, honestly, this is a really big weekend.”

Although the drizzle kept Snyder’s family at home, she couldn’t stay away from the evening’s festivities. As she moved through the crowd hoping to find a quiet spot, Snyder was snagged by several people, shaking hands, dispensing information and even posing for a photographer who asserted she was “one of the coolest people in Spartanburg.”

Snyder may not be a Hub City native, but she said she’s never leaving. Since moving here in 2008, she said she’s seen incredible growth in the city. Spring Fling is just one place that growth is evident.

The festivities also included extensive food and beverage options. West Broad Street is full of options from classic festival foods to more local offerings with trucks from Wilson’s Donuts, Carolina Snowballs, Carolina Italian Ice and more.

On the corner of East Main and Liberty, a cute cream-colored truck lovingly named the.drink.machine whips up crafted co*cktails for an eager line of festivalgoers while Clay McDonough, founder of the.drink.machine, spins out more from a matching teal-colored truck inside the PAL tent complex.

Sarah Johnson and Ted Smith call operating the truck “a nice, fun little side gig.” They were pleased to spend their day operating a facet of the small business and representing the brand in their community.

Spring Fling continues through April 28.