Tasty chicken bog lures thousands of people to Loris in October, and music and fellowship bring a crowd to downtown Aynor in September for the hoedown.

Such events in rural areas of the county provide a springboard for economic growth and development, said experts who spoke Monday during the first day of the 2005 Governor's Rural Summit.

Elected officials, chamber leaders and other community activists and leaders from across the state gathered at the Litchfield Beach & Golf Resort for seminars on increasing a rural community's work force, tips on tax credits for long- term homeownership, energizing entrepreneurship and developing thriving community festivals.

"The majority of Horry County is rural, so to come to a rural summit is applicable," Horry County Council Chairwoman Liz Gilland said. "Every part of Horry County has its own uniqueness to offer."

That uniqueness of each small community such as Bucksport, Green Sea Floyds or Plantersville can aid in becoming a booming economic base, officials said. Leaders must capitalize on what that community has to offer the world and promote it through various means such as a community festival, according to advice at the summit.

"With the economy the way it is today, communities are looking to develop their area and promote it as another funding source," said Gayle Bivines of the state Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism. "We want the people to come into the community to have fun and dig deep in their pockets because they have some discretionary funds. We want them to stay as long as they possibly can and spend as much as they can."

Annually in South Carolina, there are more than 500 community festivals from large ones like Three Rivers in Columbia to smaller ones like the Aynor Harvest Hoe-Down Festival.

Gilland said she would like to see more Horry County communities develop their identities and economy through festivals that promote their offerings. She said Aynor and Loris do an excellent job of promoting their towns annually with the Loris Bog Off and Aynor Hoe-Down, but other towns like Bucksport and Green Sea could also offer festivals.

"These smaller town festivals, they're looked on different than the festivals at the beach," Gilland said. "We need to grow them and generate new festivals in the unincorporated communities."

Festivals can provide the catalyst to grow a rural community's economic base, Bivines said.

"The uniqueness is key to a local festival and event to draw people," Bivines said. "You need to make certain you find the uniqueness of your community and not try to mimic another. It's critical to be able to draw from outside of your immediate community."

Another way a rural town can increase its economic offerings is to attract and nurture its entrepreneurs, which can steadily grow its job offerings and tax base.

"We see entrepreneurship as an economic strategy," said Deborah Markley, co-director of the Rural Policy Research Institute's Center for Rural Entrepreneurship. "Think about entrepreneurship as the bedrock for economic development in your community. The job growth economy that's happening in rural towns is happening with small firms and through entrepreneurship."

Officials also stressed how keeping homeowners in a community for an extended period of time can increase its economic development.

Aiken's Housing Authority Director Reggie Barner explained how tax credits work for community development groups wanting to build affordable housing in their counties. He described projects he's done in Aiken to explain the process. Low-income families can rent the homes for 15 years and then have the opportunity to buy their home at a reduced rate.

"It's intended to help the homeowner and help families that can't buy a house right now," Barner said. "Providing housing is economic development."

Staff writer Jenny Burns contributed to this report.

Rep. Vida Miller | D-Pawleys Island