Speaking of summertime, I am excited to announce that, one of our most beloved traditions, the Chapin Labor Day Festival will be back this year. We have so much to celebrate and the Labor Day Festival is the perfect way to end the summer. Our committee is busy putting together details and working out the specifics. Our theme for this year will be masquerade or ‘mask-erade” for those that prefer wearing the masks that we have all grown accustomed to seeing over the past year. The festival activities are primarily held outdoors and we will encourage as much spacing as possible. We want those that prefer to wear a mask to feel welcome and those that have been vaccinated that no longer feel wearing a mask is appropriate to feel comfortable. We have a long history of being a welcoming event for the entire area and we are proud to continue this tradition.

For those new to our town, Labor Day is a weekend full of activity and events designed to showcase our talented community. New to the Festival weekend this year and co-sponsored by the Town of Chapin and the Greater Chapin Chamber of Commerce is Restaurant Week, followed by the Justin Pepper 5K on Saturday morning, a benefit street party Saturday evening and the Beaufort Street concert on Sunday night. Monday features premiere events including a Parade, a Classic Car Show, the Library Book Sale and a Festival featuring close to 100 vendors. We are thrilled to be hosting this event and if you are interested in getting involved in the event please contact Nicholle Burroughs, the Director of Public Affairs.

The Labor Day is treasured tradition for a number of reasons. I personally always enjoy seeing the political candidates and getting to meet with them face to face. This year the Town of Chapin has three positions on the ballot: one Mayoral seat and two Town Council positions. Elections for the offices of Mayor and Council are held in odd numbered years on the first Tuesday, following the first Monday in November. Successful candidates will take office at the first regular meeting of the Town Council in January of the following year.

All candidates must qualify to have their names placed upon the ballot by filing a statement of candidacy with the Lexington County Election Commission and paying a filing fee of fifty dollars ($50.00) for the Office of Mayor and twenty-five ($25.00) for the Office of Council Member, at least sixty (60) days prior to the election in which he or she wishes to be a candidate. Such statement shall contain the candidate's signature as he or she wishes his or her name to appear on the ballot, the office for which he or she is qualifying, his or her address of record, and voter registration number.
If you have a question about whether you are eligible to run for office in the Town of Chapin or if you are a voting resident that resides inside the incorporate areas of Chapin please use the following link to verify:
https://info.scvotes.sc.gov/eng/voterinquiry/VoterInformationRequest.aspx?PageMode=VoterInfo

I have enjoyed my time as Mayor.  I committed during my campaign to bring honor, stability and transparency to this office and I am proud to say I have accomplished that goal. It is a true honor to have served with my fellow members of Council and work with the staff at Town Hall. There is still plenty of work to do and we have an excellent staff to carry the vision and mission forward. One of our major projects has been to adopt the Town’s Comprehensive Plan and this evening from 5:30- 7:30 is an opportunity to meet with our consultants and provide valuable insight that can be used during the planning process.

In addition to meeting our consultants, we encourage the community to meet our new Zoning Administrator, Kevin Singletary. Joining us from Edgefield County, Kevin is well versed in the aspects of Zoning and Planning. A graduate of Chapin High, his background and familiarity with our community will prove useful as we improve our ordinances to strengthen the Town’s position for future development. We are excited to welcome him back into our community and look forward to working with him in the next couple months.

Thank you all for making this community so special.

Best regards,

David W. Knight
Mayor of Chapin

Chapin Downtown Farmer's Market