Spoleto Festival USA enters closing weekend amid strong ticket sales, struggling economy

Spoleto enters closing weekend with strong sales

CHARLESTON, S.C. — The Spoleto Festival USA in South Carolina is entering the final weekend of its 17-day run with strong ticket sales despite the troubled economy.

Festival spokeswoman Paula Edwards says if the weather holds, the festival should meet or surpass its $2.6 million ticket goal.

The festival features over 140 performances and included a revival of “Flora,” the first opera performed in the American colonies.

The weather is important because the festival closes Sunday evening with the traditional outdoor concert and fireworks at Middleton Place Plantation outside of Charleston.

But this season, instead of an orchestral concert, the festival is offering a performance by the Carolina Chocolate Drops. The group plays fiddle and banjo music.