The Carolina Cup: Part One, The Spread

Carolina Cup 2014 program

The Carolina Cup in Camden, South Carolina

My hometown, Camden, South Carolina, ushers in Spring with an outdoor cocktail party like no other I have ever experienced. Throngs of people, sometimes over 65,000+, descend on this quaint, quiet town, to witness (or sometimes not witness) the running of the Carolina Cup. From the Carolina Cup website:

“The Carolina Cup race-meeting is a time honored South Carolina tradition that has achieved premier social event status. The annual ‘rites of spring’ draws over 65,000 fans from throughout the southeast, to enjoy the thrilling sport of steeplechase horse racing amid a flurry of spring fashions and elaborate tailgate parties. From our Hospitality Terrace to College Park, old friends meet and new friends are made during the afternoon of six races.”

This steeplechase event has marked the passage into Spring for me since I was about 9 years old. But for about the last 13 years, it has meant way more to me than just the beginning of Spring. The weekend of the Carolina Cup has become a reunion, of sorts, for me and my very best girl friends from high school. As the years have passed, we have also included other friends that have quickly become part of our tight pack. We spend the weekend catching up, eating, drinking cocktails and laughing. These people make me laugh so hard. I find true joy in their presence. They know me. Even if we go the whole year without talking, they still know me.

So, combine spending time with some of my most favorite people on Earth with a big ol’ outdoor cocktail party and you have yourself the makings of an epic weekend. This year we were missing some of our valuable crew. We were sad they weren’t with us, but we pressed on and managed to have a rip roaring Carolina Cup weekend!

Of course, I couldn’t go without planning how we would decorate our spot. I came up with the idea of using horse show ribbons. I don’t have any of those on hand, so I made some!

I know what you are thinking. 1) I’m crazy and 2) They are A+ ADORABLE! You are correct on both accounts.

I made pleated circles, printed out drawings of horses for the middles and added paper “ribbons” to complete the look. I love how they turned out! I strung them on jute rope to make a garland for the front of the table.

This was our spread! Straight out of Southern Living, right? Oliver’s fried chicken, ham biscuits with Beth’s artichoke relish, my chicken salad, Ali’s to-die-for brownies a-la Ina Garten and Jackie’s lemon squares.  We always end up with way more food than we can eat.

Here’s another view of the table.

And another. That’s the rail right behind it. In some races, the horses fly right past us.

We actually see horses at the Carolina Cup. In our younger days, seeing a horse was rare. We were too busy socializing and walking all over the race track to stop and watch a race. I think there are a lot of people who still don’t see a horse there, so I decided to remedy that situation. You will just have to wait a little longer to see what we did. It’s worth it, I promise!