SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) – The annual Summerville Italian Feast returns to Hutchinson Square this Sunday, offering authentic Italian food, wine and music while supporting a vital cause for local education.
The festival, held every second Sunday in October, transforms downtown Flowertown as thousands gather for what has become a community staple.
This year’s event runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., with around 15,000 people expected to enjoy vendors, food trucks, adult beverages and Italian entertainment.
But beyond the festivities, every purchase directly benefits students and teachers in Dorchester School District Two through the Dorchester Two Educational Foundation.
Innovative classroom resources funded by feast
The festival’s impact can be seen in classrooms like Justin Yonce’s, where proceeds helped purchase an unlikely educational tool: a bearded dragon named Junior. Yonce, a supplemental support teacher at East Edisto Middle School who works with students facing special needs and behavioral challenges, said the reptile has made a measurable difference.
“I had done a lot of observations on a lot of behavior students that I have,” Yonce said. “We track that behavior and I’ve noticed that after we got him, the behavior tendencies went down quite a bit in most of the students.”
Justin Yonce, a supplemental support teacher at East Edisto Middle School who works with students facing special needs and behavioral challenges, said the reptile, Junior, has made a measurable difference.(Live 5)
Yonce understands his students’ needs from personal experience. “When I was in school with my ADHD, the lights in the classroom were so bright,” he said. “I felt like I was walking through Walmart and I couldn’t focus.”
His classroom now features calming, soft lighting and flexible seating options alongside traditional chairs, creating a more conducive learning environment for students who learn differently.
It’s a funny story about naming the bearded dragon Junior. The students had come up with all sorts of creative names, but in the end, they wanted to name him after their teacher. But having two Justin Yonce’s would have been confusing, so they settled on Junior instead.
Addressing funding challenges
The foundation’s work addresses a critical need in South Carolina education. Ralph Hayes, the foundation’s executive director, said Dorchester District 2 ranks as the third lowest funded among the state’s 80 public school districts.
“The Education Foundation tries to infuse innovation to our teachers and students in Dorchester 2,” he said. “What we try to do is get resources into the hands of our teachers and students so that they can continue to excel and compete as they move into the workforce.”
The funding challenge has intensified as schools across the state now receive most of their funding from business and industry rather than property taxes as they previously did.
Impressive fundraising results
Last year’s Italian Feast alone raised $40,000, funding 80 teacher projects and helping more than 5,000 students. The event’s lifetime giving totals $131,000, with last year’s contribution representing nearly one-third of that total.
The annual Summerville Italian Feast returns to Hutchinson Square this Sunday, offering authentic Italian food, wine and music while supporting a vital cause for local education.(Live 5)
“The event has grown so much and become such a staple of the community,” Hayes said. “That is a lot of resources and materials that make a huge impact on our teachers and students each year.”
The Summerville Italian Feast takes place Sunday at Hutchinson Square in downtown Summerville, where attendees can enjoy authentic Italian cuisine while supporting innovative education in their community.
For details on the Sumerville Italian Feast, click here.
For more information on the Dorchester Two Educational Foundation, click here.
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Dining and Cooking