Event helps kick off school year

Olivia Brown enjoyed the breeze and the music while sitting on a bench surrounded by reusable shopping bags stuffed with free school supplies.

She welcomed the chance for some downtime at Charleston's seventh annual First Day Festival while her husband and sons — one an incoming freshman at West Ashley High School and the other a kindergartner at Oakland Elementary School — took advantage of free admission to the South Carolina Aquarium and boat tours of the harbor.

Lowcountry students begin returning to class today, and on Sunday the area's biggest back-to-school celebration gave children and families the op-portunity to have a good time while getting ready for school.

"It's a good outing because it's a lot of fun," Brown said. "They've got something different every year."

She was grateful for the free school supplies, including bookbags and composition notebooks. Most families milling around Liberty Square near the South Carolina Aquarium and Charleston Maritime Center carried around bags loaded with free goodies.

"Every little bit helps," Brown said.

The overcast skies made the typically stifling hot festival somewhat cooler while families walked around more than 80 informational booths and exhibits.

Organizers made an effort to be more health-conscious this year; they redesigned the food court to offer healthier snacks and foods. Joyce Bradley and her two children, incoming sixth- and fourth-graders in Berkeley County schools, were among those in the crowd munching on deli sandwiches and baked chips. Her family made the nearly hour-long trip from her home in Bonneau to the downtown festival for the first time this year, and she assessed the event as crowded but nice.

Berkeley County doesn't have anything like this event, she said. "So we're crashing their party."

Charleston Mayor Joe Riley, who mingled with festival attendees and community leaders, said families from neighboring counties were welcome to come to the city-sponsored event. Nearby attractions such as the South Carolina Aquarium were built for the entire region to enjoy, and he was glad to see so many people celebrating the start of the school year.

Nearly midway through the festival, Riley predicted that this year's turnout would be the best yet, and he estimated the crowd would be close to 10,000 strong.

"This is a world-class event," he said. "It just gets better and better. I don't think there's a better First Day Festival in the country."

Reach Diette Courrégé at 937-5546 or dcourrege@postandcourier.com.