Want to know what Greenville has to offer during the spring? Here I’ve broken down my favorite events, festivals, activities for the months of March, April, & May. It may seem like a slow time period, but oh-ho, you’d be surprised.
Spring in Greenville means warmer weather and plenty of things to do. Whether you want to hit up one of the city events, go biking, or attend one of the beer festivals, I got you covered.
I’ve broken these events and activities into categories (as best as I can), so just jump to the topic that interests you to see my suggestions.
Without further adieu, here are 20+ things to do in Greenville in Spring.
Updated for 2020!
Looking for my other guides? I’ve broken down summer, fall, and winter as well!
Table of Contents
City Events
Below are some of my favorite events & festivals hosted by the city this spring!
St Patrick’s Day Parade & Celebration
March 14, 2020: 11am-8pm
This is Greenville’s St. Paddy’s Day party. It starts off with a parade and then ends with a celebration complete with music, food, dancing, and, of course, green beer. The main party happens in Noma Square and they block off the whole block.
Downtown Alive & Main Street Fridays
Downtown Alive: Thursday, Mid-March-August: 5:30pm-8:30pm
Main Street Fridays: Fridays, Mid-March-September: 5:30pm-9:30pm
These two staples of Downtown Greenville kick off in March (19th & 20th). Expect live music, food vendors, and drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic). And remember that even though it’s free to attend these events, you’ll need money to purchase any beverages and munchies.
The parties are centered around Noma Square on the northern end of downtown.
Arts, Crafts, & Music
SC Comicon
March 28-29
Want to get your geek on? Then head to Greenville’s Comicon at the TD Convention Center. You’ll find some amazing artists, cartoonists, writers, celebrity guests, collectibles, and cosplayers.
And after Day 1, head to Brewery 85 for the annual SC Comicon Drink and Draw (March 28th; 6:30 PM – 11:30 PM). Donated pieces are put up for purchase to raise money for charity.
Renaissance Faire
April 3, 2020: 5 PM – 11 pm
April 4, 2020: 10am – 6pm
This festival used to be hosted during the fall, but you can now attend The Enchanted Chalice Renaissance Faire in the spring! This is a smaller fair but you can still find tons of vendors and watch some awesome entertainers. In fact if you go on Friday night, you’ll be able to catch their fire performance!
Spring Flea at Swamp Rabbit Cafe
April 6, 2020: 11am – 3pm
April 13, 2020: 11am – 3pm
Each spring and fall, Swamp Rabbit Cafe & Grocery hosts a small arts & crafts fair in their back lot. Tons of artisans from around the region come to the flea market. Peruse among painters, jewelry makers, florists, sculptors, designers, craft dog biscuit makers, and more! And then afterward, kickback with a some craft pizza or a pint in their outdoor patio.
Albino Skunk Festival
April 16-18, 2020
With a description like “the best music festival in South Carolina” you know right off the bat what you’ll find here. This tri-annual event features some of the best Americana, Folk, Roots, and Bluegrass artists, plus a whole lot more. And you can camp there for just $35. Ticket prices are a lot more (~$50-~$150), but I love that you can stay there all weekend for a very low price.
Artisphere
Friday, May 8, 2020: 12pm-8pm
Saturday, May 9, 2020: 10am-8pm
Sunday, May 10, 2020: 11am-6pm
This is Greenville’s best art festival all year. And it’s one of my favorite events. Artists from around the region come to showcase their work. And while you can buy, it’s perfectly ok to just look and admire. I’m always drawn to the photographers, painters, and sketch artists. And they’re usually open to any conversations you may want to have.
Toasty Farmer
Saturdays in March: 11am-2pm
Through the winter and March, Brewery 85 hosts a winter farmer’s market featuring up to 50 vendors bringing in everything from artisan cheeses to baked goods to jewelry. And of course there’s the beer at Brewery 85 to enjoy as well. (Food trucks in attendance as well!)
Watch a Movie in the Park
Wednesdays in May 2020
Every Wednesday evening in May the city hosts a free movie right in Falls Park. They bring out a huge screen and then start the movie once it gets dark out. The range of movies also varies quite a bit from more modern-ish flicks to classics. You’ll want to bring your own chairs and it’s BYOB (if you buy a $1 wristband).
Catch a Comedy Show
Okay so the spring isn’t all about the outdoor lifestyle. Sometimes it’s rainy. And one of the best things to do in town when it’s pouring outside is to hit up a comedy show. Luckily we have several places around town to get your fix.
- Coffee Underground has improv shows on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings
- The Comedy Zone also has acts almost every weekend night as well.
- Cafe and Then Some is a comedy + dinner theatre and though I’ve never been, people I’ve talked to have loved it.
- Adam Sandler’s 100% Fresher Tour – Buy your tickets early for this show at Bon Secours on March 17th
Food + Drink
Tacos ‘n Tequila Fiesta
April 5, 2020: 4PM -7 PM
If you love tacos (who doesn’t??), especially creative ones and you have a hankering for some craft cocktails, do I have the festival for you! Hosted in the beautiful Old Cigar Warehouse, this event always sells out early. Book asap for one of the best food + drink festivals all year.
Greenville Craft Beer Week
April 23 – May 3, 2020
Just one event not enough for you you beer lovin’ fiend? Well how about a whole week of events? If you’re not aware, the craft beer scene in the Upstate has exploded over the past 10 years and now there are so many things that make the beer brewed here great. And this week will help showcase that. There are food pairings, releases, dinners, and competitions spread throughout the week.
VIBE
May 9, 2020: 2pm-5pm
Or the Very Independent Beer Event brought to you by Community Tap. Before you scroll on, realize that this isn’t your normal beer festival. With limited tickets, this is an exclusive event. It’ll feature world class, rare pours that are paired with some chef-inspired nibbles.
If rare craft beer is your thing, then this festival might just be yours.
Greek Festival
May 14-17, 2020
One thing I love about Greenville is how diverse the town is. We have a Greek community and once a year in the spring, they put on one of the best festivals in town. There’s food and dancing and music, but I go for the food. All the food. (The pastry room inside is where it’s at!)
And many people I know around town will go through their “drive-thru” during the festival. It’s that good.
Brew in the Zoo
May 29, 2020: 6:30pm-9pm
I love our local zoo. And twice a year they put on two adult events. This one is for the beer lovers. Tickets are around ~$50 and they usually sell out early. But trust me, strolling the zoo after hours (when the animals are more active), drinking great craft beer, and listening to some music is pretty wonderful.
Scout Out Some Barbeque
Sometimes it’s food that reminds me of warmer weather. And as it gets hotter, I start to crave some barbecue. And though I can make it myself…I love going to get some barbecue because damn smoking a brisket takes HOURS!
- Smokin’ Pig
- Mike & Jeffs BBQ
- Moe’s Original Bar B Que (a chain but still oh so good)
- Monkey Wrench Smokehouse
And if you want more options, download the Trail Map for lots more options.
Outdoor Activities
This category is a bit of a mish-mash of different things, but they all involve you being active!
St. Paddy’s Day Dash & Bash
March 14, 2020: 8am
Want even more St. Patrick’s Day fun? This 5K run/walk based around Fluor Field would be a great kickoff to your Saturday morning. Besides the 5K itself, there will be a post-race party complete with food, drinks, a silent auction, and a kid’s run and fun zone.
Mutt Strut
April 25, 2020: 8:30am – 11am
Want to stroll down Main Street with your best friend while benefiting the Greenville Humane Society? Welcome to the Mutt Strut, a 2-mile walk/run through downtown with your dog! Afterward, you can find live music, free pizza, and more at the Mutt Market festival. Make sure to grab your tickets early because you can’t register the day of!
Zoom Through the Zoo 5K
May 9, 2020
Ready for another 5K? This race include a loop through the Greenville Zoo. So if you’ve ever wanted to run by a giraffe (and pretend you’re sprinting through the grasslands of Africa), then this is the face for you. Just be aware that the zoo is on a pretty big hill. Prepare yourself!
Bike the Swamp Rabbit Trail
This is one of the things to do in Greenville. And if you haven’t hit it on 2 wheels, you’re missing out. Don’t know what the Swamp Rabbit Trail is? It’s basically a 22 mile, multi-use trail (think rails to trails) that connects Greenville to Travelers Rest.
Every day of the week you can find people out and about on it walking, running, biking, out with their dog, etc. It’s one of my favorite things to do. And there’s amazing restaurants, shops, and breweries right off the trail that make it a great way to spend your day.
Live to the west of Greenville? Then check out the Doodle Trail!
Bendy Birds Yoga
Want to do some yoga in a brewery? And not just any brewery…but one of my favorite breweries? Yep that’s right. Birds Fly South hosts a 1 hour long yoga session every Saturday at noon.
Just $10 covers the class AND a beer.
Mouse Scavenger Hunt
Okay this might seem like something just for the kiddies…and maybe it is. But I’ve seen groups of adults combine beer crawls with this. So what is it? Basically 9 little statues of mice are hidden around Greenville. And with just clues, you’ll have to find them all. Lots of fun for kids and adults (maybe also adults a few drinks in).
Pick Some Strawberries
Spring = the growing season for me. It’s when I want to go to the farmer’s market, plant some herbs, and eat all the fresh produce I’ve been dreaming of all winter.
So if you are a strawberry fiend (like me), you can pick your own strawberries at a couple of places from mid-April through June.
White Water Rafting
There are quite a few places around the upstate and in nearby North Carolina to go white water rafting. And the spring (as the winter waters are released) is one of the best times to head out. I’ve been out rafting on the Chattooga River with Natahala Outdoor Center. They offer several trips on different rivers and have some runs with rapids up to class IV/V.
Sporting Events
NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Regional
March 27 – 29, 2020
In recent years, our Bon Secours Wellness Arena has hosted a few of the NCAA March Madness basketball games. This year you can watch the College Division 1 Women’s regionals right downtown. And if you want more basketball, the SEC Women’s Championship is hosted there in early March (March 4-8).
Reedy River Duck Derby
May 2, 2020: 10am-4pm
Race Time: 2:30pm
Want to see 10,000 rubber duckies race through Falls Park and down the waterfall? Yea, I thought you would. The Reedy River Duck Derby is an all-day event centered around the race. All proceeds go to helping local charities. Adopting a duck is only $10 and allows you to have stake in the race.
Greenville Scottish Games
Saturday, May 23, 2019
Events: 8:30am-4pm; Award Ceremony: 5pm; Happy Hour: 5:30pm!
Need a Memorial Day Weekend activity? Then head on over to Furman for the Scottish Games. There will be loads of events and competitions (think men hurling huge things), food, drinks, music and more. And if parades are your thing, you can catch their Scottish parade the night before (Friday night) in downtown Greenville!
Spring Road Trips
Chimney Rock Day Trip
I sometimes forget how many amazing things are within driving distance of Greenville. Chimney Rock State Park is one of these beauties. Located just about 1 hour and 15 minutes north of us in North Carolina, this is definitely worth the drive.
The main draw of course is the view. But you’ll need to work for it! The climb up to the rock is intense (so…many…stairs) and though there is an elevator, it was out of order when we went. But that view is worth it!
Visit the Smoky Mountains
Did you know that the Great Smoky Mountains, the most visited national park in America, is reachable in just 2-3 hours from Greenville? Okay so this may not be a day trip, but weekend getaway anyone?
There’s lots of different campgrounds around the park that could bring the cost of a weekend trip way down. (Remember that the park is huge so make sure to look up the location of the campground first before you go.)
And with lots of different hikes, viewpoints, and auto-tours, there’s no reason not to take advantage of this national park. Plus going in the spring will help you avoid the summer (high) season and lots of crowds.
Don’t know where to start? Here’s one of my favorite hikes and drives!
Did I miss a great thing to do in Greenville in Spring thing? Let me know!
What if it’s not spring? Here are my guides for summer, fall, and winter as well!
Patty
New Doodle Trail
In Pickens/Easley
Farmers Market
Laura
That’s right! I’ll need to update this to include the Doodle trail as well. I’ve never (yet) explored it, but my boyfriend and friends have. I’m marking this down to add to the list!
Mitchel Jaynes
We love the Swamp Rabbit Trail! (plus all the great food!) My wife and I are wedding photographers in Greenville – and our brides love getting married in Greenville in the Spring – especially up on Paris Mountain. Wonderful venues! https://katiejaynes.com/blog/best-wedding-venues-greenville-sc/