20th Annual Charleston Wine + Food Festival Draws Thousands — What Event Attendees Should Know About Their Legal Rights

The Incident

The 2026 Charleston Wine + Food Festival is in full swing this week, marking its 20th anniversary with events spread across downtown Charleston from March 4 through 8. The flagship Culinary Village runs March 6 through 8, drawing what organizers expect to be thousands of attendees to a concentrated outdoor space in one of the most walkable — and congested — areas of the city.

Festivals like this are a point of pride for Charleston, and I genuinely enjoy seeing our city celebrate its culinary culture at this level. But as a premises liability attorney, large crowd events also represent a specific category of legal risk that most attendees never think about until something goes wrong. A spilled drink, an uneven surface, a crowd crush, inadequate lighting as dusk falls over the venue — any of these can turn a celebration into a serious injury. This article is for anyone attending the festival who wants to know their rights if the unexpected happens.

What South Carolina Law Says

Under South Carolina premises liability law, event organizers and property owners owe a duty of reasonable care to all lawful attendees. For a ticketed event like the Culinary Village, attendees are invitees — the highest category of protection under the law. That means organizers must inspect the premises for hazards, correct known dangers, and provide adequate security and crowd control.

SC Code Ann. § 15-3-530 gives injured attendees three years from the date of injury to file a negligence claim. South Carolina Code Ann. § 15-78-20 et seq., the South Carolina Tort Claims Act, may apply if any government-owned property or municipal permits are involved in the event. Assumption of risk is a common defense in festival-related injury cases — event organizers often include waiver language on tickets — but assumption of risk does not shield an organizer from liability for hazards that go beyond what an ordinary attendee would expect to encounter.

Your Rights and Options

If you are injured at a large event like the Charleston Wine + Food Festival, here is what to do:

• Seek medical attention immediately, even if you feel like you can walk it off. Some injuries — particularly head injuries and spinal trauma — worsen over hours or days. A documented medical visit creates an essential record.
• Report the injury to event staff on-site and ask for a written incident report. Get the name of the staff member who took your report.
• Photograph the exact location and the hazard that caused your injury before it is cleaned up or corrected. If possible, get video.
• Collect witness contact information. Crowds disperse quickly, and witnesses are lost just as fast.
• Do not sign anything or give a recorded statement to event staff or their insurer without speaking to an attorney first. Waiver language is not always enforceable.

What I Look For When Evaluating These Cases

In event injury cases, I start by examining the physical setup of the venue. Were walkways clearly marked and free of tripping hazards? Were wet or slippery areas — particularly common at outdoor food and drink events — properly cordoned off and marked? Was the crowd size within what the venue was permitted and designed to handle safely? Did the event have adequate medical staff on site?

I also look carefully at the ticket terms and any waiver language. Waivers are not automatically enforceable in South Carolina, particularly when the hazard involved goes beyond general risks associated with attending a festival — for example, structural failures, negligent security, or a clearly preventable trip-and-fall. The existence of a waiver is not the end of the inquiry. It is the beginning of one.

How Opposing Parties Will Fight Back

Event organizers and venue owners will typically argue assumption of risk — that by attending a festival you accepted all foreseeable risks of the event. They will also argue that any hazard was open and obvious and that you should have seen it and avoided it. Insurers may dispute the severity of your injuries or argue that a pre-existing condition was the real cause of your pain. South Carolina follows modified comparative negligence: as long as you are found less than 51% responsible for your own injury, you are entitled to recover — reduced by your share of fault. Do not let the defense convince you that an admission of any fault bars your entire recovery.

Related Practice Areas at Traywick Law Offices

I handle slip and fall and general premises liability claims throughout Charleston and the surrounding area. Large public events are a specific area where property owners and organizers routinely underinvest in safety. If you were injured at an event in South Carolina and believe the organizer or venue owner bears responsibility, I encourage you to contact me for a free review. I also handle cases involving negligent security at events where inadequate crowd control contributed to violence or injury.

My Final Thoughts

The Charleston Wine + Food Festival is a fantastic event and I hope everyone has a wonderful, safe time. But if something goes wrong and you or someone you love is seriously hurt, you do not have to navigate it alone. The law provides real protections for people injured at large events, and those protections apply regardless of what a ticket waiver says. Enjoy the festival — and if you need me, I am here.