Belton Events Scheduled During the Fall & Winter:

Events and activities scheduled for Belton during the winter and early spring, emphasizing Belton’s slogan “A Historic Heart….with a new beat!” include:

• Combo Kings:  Enjoy great music and dancing….and open to the public at the Listening Room on Main.  $10/person admission.  The doors open at the Listening Room at 6:30 and the band plays from 7:30 until 9:45  Wine, beer, soft drinks and water are sold for $4.  The band usually performs on Tuesday evenings.  See the separate post on the Combo Kings for their latest schedule. 
• Artists’ Gathering Open Studio, Belton Center for the Arts-Every Tuesday morning from 10:00 to 12:00.  Members of the Belton Center for the Arts are offered the opportunity to use the upstairs classroom at no charge.  Get inspiration or critique from other artists if you’d like, or just work independently.  Depending on interest, live models may be available occasionally.  Bring your own materials and no instruction is provided.  No registration is required.
• Student Studio, Belton Center for the Arts-Thursdays 3:30 to 5:00 for students ages 10 and up who are looking for private lessons to expand their artistic abilities.  The curriculum follows South Carolina state standards and the instructor (Madison Ashley) works directly with students and their parents to ensure a class that accommodates introductory, intermediate and advance levels.  The cost is $50/month plus a one-time $50 charge for supplies and materials.  Students may begin the course at the beginning of any month or leave at the end of any month.  The program will follow a 10 month (September through June) curriculum.  Visit Beltoncenterforthearts.org/student-studio for a complete class syllabus and to register.
• Natural Connections, Belton Area Museum Association-Open during regular museum hours through May 25.  This exhibit focuses on the use of personal spaces to create a natural connection, concentrating both on past and current trends.  Natural Connections features antique and vintage gardening tools, artwork and photographs of famous and local gardens, wildlife taxidermy, outdoor structures, collections of bugs and butterflies, and many other interesting items with connections to nature in our own backyards.  Either because of aesthetics, people have dug in the dirt and connected to backyard nature in various ways.  Home gardens produced vegetables to feed ourselves.  Flowering shrubs and bulbs, annuals and perennials were planted to beautify our surroundings, creating gardens both secret and luxuriously public.  We’ve brought in exotic plants to grace our homes and produced new strains using science and natural selection.  Pest are always a nuisance and gardeners have found innovative ways to deal with them.  Wildlife of all types about in our backyards, and games and gatherings bring people together.  Visit this exhibit and examine all aspects of our natural connections!
• Vintage, Retro, Classic, Belton Center for the Arts-Opening exhibit April 6 6:30 to 8:00.  This exhibit will feature art that subject or concept is that of something vintage, retro, or classic.
• Belton Spring Tennis Championships, Belton Tennis Association-Saturday, April 13.  Junior players will be competing for championships in numerous age divisions in singles and doubles.  Matches will be played at the Belton Tennis Center and Leda Poore Park throughout the day.  Call or text Jonathan Rice at 864-328-8097 for entry information.
• Community Clean Up Day, Belton Alliance-Saturday, April 13.  Meet up town at Edward Jones at 10:00 to help clean up the downtown area in preparation for the South Carolina Chili Cookoff Championships the following Saturday.  Trash bags and gloves are provided.  Contact Tammy Roberts at 864-392-1770 for more information.
• Chili Pepper Golf Tournament, Belton Area Museum Association-Friday, April 19 at Saluda Valley Country Club.  Barbecue lunch and putting contest at 12:00.  Shotgun start at 1:30.  Sponsor a hole for $100, enter a team for $325 or enter as an individual.  Email beltonmuseum2bellsouth.net for more information or to sign up.
• South Carolina Chili Cookoff Championships, Belton Alliance-Saturday, April 20 On the Square in downtown Belton.  Join professional chili cooks and amateurs from around the country as they vie for prizes in numerous categories, with the winners qualifying for the World Championships.  Vintage car cruise in 9:30 to 1:30 with other activities starting at 10:00 and the Opening Ceremony at 11:00.  Purchase tickets for chili tasting starting at 11:30.  The events concludes with an Awards Ceremony at 4:30.  Go to www.scchilicookoff.com for more information.
• Plants and Flowers Seminar, Belton Area Museum Association-Thursday, May 2 6:30 to 7:30 pm.  Emily Keys of Backyard Bouquets will host this seminar on arranging plants and flowers gathered from the wilderness or our own backyards.  The class is limited to 25 people.  Every participant will leave with a beautiful arrangement and new skills.  the fee is $25 per person and reservations must be made by calling 338-7400 by April 26.
• Free Paper Shredding, Belton Lions Club-Saturday, May 4 from 10:00 to 2:00 in the Parking Lot of the Belton First Baptist Church (105 Brown Avenue).  For residential customers only; not businesses please.
• Kentucky Derby Party, Belton Center for the Arts-Saturday, May 4 from 4:00 to 8:00.  Join the Center for the Arts for their annual Derby Party.  Enjoy a broadcast of the 150th Kentucky Derby.  Heavy hors d’oeuvres.  Mint julips, wine and beer will be sold for donations.  Live and silent auctions.  Wager of the horses and dress in the traditional Derby attire.  Tickets are $20 per person and may be purchased at www.beltoncenterforthearts.org/tickets.
• National Tennis Month, Belton Tennis Association-May is National Tennis Month, and numerous activities will be scheduled at the Belton Tennis Center during the month.  Watch for details later.
• Palmetto Championships, Belton Tennis Association-Presented by Chick-fil-A of Anderson May 27, 28 & 29.  The tournament has been played in Belton since 1957 and features top junior players from throughout South Carolina.  Singles and doubles championships will be determined for boys and girls in five age divisions, 10U, 12U, 14U, 16U & 18U.  Matches in Belton will be played at the Belton Tennis Center, Leda Poore Park and BHP High School.  Attendance is free.