Now that Hurricane Debby has passed, the City of Charleston will still be welcoming children and families to the 21st annual First Day Festival on Sunday, August 11, from 1 pm to 4 pm at the Charleston Gaillard Center.
This will be a great event for kids to come and get prepared for the upcoming school year by picking up a pre-packed bags of supplies as well as visiting with community organizations and agencies to receive information on community resources and services. Children must be present to receive a bag, and each child will receive 1 bag.
As a result of storm preparation and management during the storm, the South Carolina Aquarium is unable to open for free during the festival. Therefore, all First Day Festival activities will be held at the Gaillard Center.
School Supply Donations
- For those who still have school supplies to drop off, please bring these directly to 75 Calhoun Street by Friday, August 9, 5:00 PM.
- If this presents a challenge, please call 843-965-4190 to explore other options.
Parking
- Parking will remain free at the Gaillard and Aquarium garages.
Message from the South Carolina Aquarium
“Due to the substantial impacts of Hurricane Debby, we have made the difficult decision to withdraw our participation from this year’s First Day Festival.
This week, all our resources and staff have been redirected to focus on storm preparation, ride-out and recovery. Knowing these constraints, it will simply be too difficult and taxing on us to be able to return to normal operations and deliver on our commitment to the First Day Festival.
We look forward to participating again next year."
