Another annual event in Cayce/West Columbia is coming back for the first time since 2019.

Cayce’s Fall Fest will be held Oct. 1 at Granby Gardens Park, returning after two years of COVID-19 disruption. Cayce scheduled Fall Fest for October of last year, but ultimately canceled it “out of an abundance of caution.”

“This culturally diverse event will have a multitude of fun festivities including: live music, a DJ and dance floor, local cultural food vendors, beer and wine, a kid’s area, face painters, balloon artists, inflatables, and more,” a release from the City of Cayce states.

Three stalwart local bands will provide the live music — reggae group Mystic Vibrations, cover outfit The Accused, and Willie Wells and the Blue Ridge Mountain Grass (the band started by the eponymous founder of Bill’s Pickin’ Parlor in West Columbia and now led by his son and the shop/venue’s current owner). 

The food vendors will include longstanding Mexican restaurant La Estrella and Trini Lime, a Caribbean restaurant that will soon open on State Street in Cayce.

The family-friendly Fall Fest will go from noon to 6 p.m.and is free to attend.

Cayce and West Columbia’s events calendar has rebounded big time in the past year and change. Fall Back Fest, West Columbia’s own robust fall festival, returned last fall and is back Nov. 5, while other popular events like Kinetic Derby Day, Soiree on State, Tartan Day South, and Rhythm on the River returned to action.

Back in the spring, when West Columbia’s Kinetic Derby Day and Cayce’s Soiree on State returned on the same day, the Chronicle spoke to a handful of business owners in the cities, all of which emphasized the way such city-backed events can bring in potential customers and increase the area’s visibility.

“Any fun, family-friendly events in the area add to the energy and momentum happening in West Cola/Cayce,” said Lindsey Scoma, co-owner of Cayce’s Piecewise Coffee.