With the Coastal Empire covered in Irish green, the Pooler Chamber of Commerce hosted their St. Patrick’s Day Shuttles and Festival with 40 vendors, seven partners, 19 food trucks and radio stations from Dick Broadcasting at Tanger Outlets on Friday, March 17.

Parking next to the state-of-the-art Pooler Emergency Command Center, Arra Riggs and I decided to divide and conquer the massive festival. While Arra heads off to locate Tanger Outlets Jennifer Hagan, I chase down Pooler Chamber’s lead lady Courtney Rawlins. “Meet me at the fountain. We are about to turn this thing green!,” shares Courtney.

Sprinting past the red and white lighthouse to the fountain, I find Jennifer and Courtney talking with City of Pooler Councilwoman Karen Williams. Always gracious, Karen is uber supportive of the military, the senior community and the Pooler Chamber’s quest to support small and large businesses.

“Being at events like this where small businesses are given a platform is one of the reasons I love living in Pooler,” shares the first term, fourth year councilwoman.

After a couple of leprechauns help pour green dye into the fountain with the ladies, I grab a group pic then follow Courtney and her Director of Member Partnerships, Tameka Moultrie over to the kids’ event space. With bouncy houses, soccer games and Pooler GAA demonstrations, there has to be hundreds of little ones living it up really loud!

In search of sponsors, Courtney points out the Savannah Logistics Group for an introduction and a fun photo before crossing the road into the festival. The next sponsor is a guy I recognize from all the surrounding billboards. Say hey to Derek Horne. The charismatic attorney has made a name for himself and  graciously agrees to pose with Krystle and Tripp Pincince, Brenda Evans and Tom Ross for a photo and quick video for WSAV.

Next up, event sponsors Angel Learning Center’s Deborah Combs and  Kevin Fernandez offer me some blue cotton candy while Patricia’s Sweetz — Patricia Jackson and her 36-year-old nephew Adam McKinney offer me a sour cream bundt cake. 

Officially opening her store front in 2018 but baking for the past 20 years, Patricia tells me, “This is my love, I want to do this full time, but for now, you can find me at festivals, bridal events or my commercial location on Tahoe Drive.”  

With music from G100’s magnificent Mia Mance pumping up the crowd, I notice a gorgeous German shorthaired pointer sniffing around. Recognizing Bridget Caldwell, I stop for a pic and learn that Bridget lost her husband of 42 years recently. 

“We did the St. Patrick’s Day Parade every year, and this year I am doing it in his memory,” shares Bridget.

After a hug, I head into the diverse crowd and find the fabulous Noel Prewitt behind the table of their Prewitt Homestead tent. Celebrating their fourth anniversary while selling some of their scrumptious salsa and honey, I chatted with the Maryland native about getting married on St. Patrick’s Day and participating in the Soil Family Expo at the Savannah Children’s Museum on April 1.

At the booth beside them, Vietnam veteran Terry Lee Shores smiles for a pic while describing his wife’s handmade purses, four young whippersnappers jump for joy and Kama Malcolm makes my day when she hands me a strawberry lemonade. 

The Kay’s Sweets owner tells me, “What you are tasting is cane sugar, lemons, strawberries and filtered water.”

The Jamaican native tells me that she started out baking then realized all the fillings for her cakes needed to be as clean and pure as possible. After learning that all her goods are free of preservatives and artificial flavors, I grab a strawberry jam then convince Jennifer Hagan to try out the best strawberry lemonade I have ever had.

Jennifer takes a seat to talk about sponsoring today’s event with Pooler Chamber and what to expect from Tanger in the next few months. 

“Our next event is the Mommy and Me Spring Brunch for the Dwaine and Cynthia Willett Children’s Hospital on March 31, then a montage of events like Juneteenth, a welding competition, Love & Soul and Cirque Ma’ceo,” shares the Tanger Outlet Marketing Director.

Walking over to say hey to Ben & Jerry’s Chad Scribner, I tease the Vermont native about all his silver hair then congratulate him on opening a location at the Enmarket Arena. While chatting, I hear a dog bark so deep and loud that I jump around to see where this beast is. And what a beast he is! Oscar is a 215-pound, 20-month-old European Great Dane and is one of the mascots for BIGDOG SNOWCONES. Uber friendly, Oscar is trying to make friends with a five-pound pooch who isn’t feeling Oscar’s vibe. Oscar’s parents, Ivey and Julie Miller, tell me that they feed their baby boy half a dozen eggs every morning and 25 pounds of dog food a week.  

By now, I have seen everything from street corn and eclectic clothing to a mini Semi truck. During my final lap, I walked with Courtney to talk about this wildly successful event.

“We have two thousand people riding the Kelly Tours shuttle from Tanger Outlet to the Clyde Venue and over 5,000 attendees for our second festival. With parking limited downtown and I-16 under an expansion project, providing a shuttle service and family friendly festival for our local businesses and residents is exactly what the Pooler Chamber of Commerce is all about,” shares Courtney.

And that is exactly what she and her Pooler Chamber of Commerce team have done!

This article appears in Mar 1-31, 2023.