pandemic

Small Businesses Offered Financial Relief During Difficult Time

Small businesses everywhere have been hit hard by the pandemic. In Myrtle Beach, small businesses are being offered financial help to cope with the economic hardship they currently face.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has $600,000 available for small businesses in the area. Businesses can receive anywhere from $1,000 to $25,000, which can go towards a variety of different business expenses.

Courtney Frappaolo, Horry County’s Community Development and Blocks Grants Director, explained the purpose of the program saying, “The goal of this program from a federal funding standpoint is twofold. It’s to help local communities stabilize their economy but also to ensure that low to moderate-income residents can maintain their jobs and maintain their housing.”

Applicants must meet a variety of requirements in order to be eligible for the grant money – the small businesses must have 25 or fewer employees, be located in Horry County, and show the economic hit they took as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Small businesses have until January 29th to apply.

If you are interested in applying, click here to access the application.

News

Carolina Country Music Festival Postponed Until June 2021

In an effort to protect the health and safety of concert-goers, artists and staff, the Carolina Country Music Festival has made the difficult decision to postpone the highly anticipated festival until June 2021. The new dates for the festival will be June 10-13, 2021.

The Myrtle Beach based festival typically attracts thousands of country music fans to the area, all of whom are eager to see their favorite musicians perform.

The headliners for the 2021 festival will stay the same. Concert-goers will still be able to see Luke Combs, Eric Church, Darius Rucker and Jake Owen live in concert come June.

For individuals who already purchased tickets to the 2020 festival, their tickets will automatically rollover to the 2021 festival.

In a statement on the postponement of the festival, the Carolina Country Music Festival said, “Let’s just say it. 2020 sucks. We were all looking forward to partying together on the beach with these amazing artists (our best lineup yet!) and yet again, another event has been stripped from ALL our calendars.“

For more information on the postponement of the festival and the 2021 ticket rollover incentives, click here.

News

Parents Now Able to Request Switch to In-Person Learning In Horry County

At a recent school board meeting, Dr. Rick Maxey, Superintendent of Horry County Schools, announced that parents will soon have the option to transfer students from virtual learning to in-person schooling.

The decision comes after many parents expressed their frustration following the first week of virtual learning, with some parents displeased by the lack of structure and others finding it difficult to support their child while also working full-time themselves.

Many Horry County students are currently operating in a hybrid model. These hybrid models consist of students attending in-person school two days of the week and the rest is conducted virtually.

In an effort to maintain safety and social distancing guidelines within schools, the school district will not be able to grant every request for children to return to traditional in-person learning.

However, Horry County School officials will continue to monitor the case numbers to determine whether or not students are able to return to in-person schooling full-time or if virtual learning needs to be implemented across the board.