So the realities of going back to school have set in.  You’re bored and wishing for the carefree days of summer to return again, but alas, they won’t be here for quite some time.  So, what are you to do?  This weekend, the Irmo Okra Strut Festival is in town, ready to keep you amused and entertained!

Since 1973, the Irmo Okra Strut Festival has been raising money for the town.  As the idea stemmed from a joke on a local radio show at the time that pondered the question, “What were the ancient Irmese like?”  One answer was that they most likely survived off Okra, as they were originally a farming community.

The Lake Murray-Irmo Women’s club took that idea and ran with it, and as they say, the rest is history.  The purpose for the festival was to raise funds to build a public library, and they had enough money to do so by 1980.  Today, a board of commissioners appointed by town council put on the event, which now funds civic and school organizations, scholarships and town improvements with the festival’s profits. Read the rest…

Much of Columbia’s history is wrapped around the railroad.  In the early days, it was the Columbia, Newberry and Laurens (C.N. &L.) railroad that helped to make Irmo a town.  It was because the trains needed a refueling stop that Irmo came into existence.  In Columbia, one can see evidence of how the railroad helped shape a growing city. Read the rest…

Today I found myself amongst a cheering crowd for the housing industry in South Carolina.  It was refreshing to be a voice in the choir, instead of the odd man out when talking about real estate in the Midlands.  Yes, it’s true.  Things have slowed down, but we haven’t come to a screeching halt as portrayed in the popular media.  Unfortunately, many of us are focused on what’s happening nationally and somehow have come to the conclusion that if it’s going on in Michigan, Florida or California, then it must be happening here. Read the rest…

Here’s a snippet from a press release issued today:

During today’s Russell & Jeffcoat Realtors Awards Breakfast ceremony, Kathy Smith was recognized for her sales achievements in 2007. Read the rest…

Looking to find out a little about the town of Irmo? Sure, there are websites about Irmo – some sell the town’s real estate, some tell about the schools or churches and others even blog about it. But if you’d like to know about the town’s history, where do you turn?

Read the rest…