Lights on the Lake adds a family festival ahead of Sept. 5 fireworks
August 29, 2026
Connect Lake Greenwood is expanding its signature end-of-summer celebration this year, adding a free family festival to the front end of the annual Lights on the Lake fireworks show.
The Lights on the Lake Family Festival and Fireworks is set for Saturday, Sept. 5, from 5 to 9:30 p.m. at Fellowship Camp & Conference Center, 457 Camp Fellowship Road in Waterloo. Admission is free. The rain date is Sunday, Sept. 6.
The festival is new for 2026. In past years, the event centered on music and the fireworks display over the water. This year, organizers have built several hours of family activities into the schedule before the first shell goes up, with community exhibits, food vendors and interactive experiences spread across the festival grounds.
Planned activities include face painting by local EMS personnel, inflatable bounce and slide fun, a street team from Big Air, family games, a touch-a-truck display featuring a fire truck and a patrol car, DJ music and dancing led by Art Youngblood, and a tribute honoring active-duty service members. College football will be shown on big screens under the pavilion. Food vendors will be on site, and beer, wine and mocktails will be available for purchase from Break on the Lake.
The fireworks are scheduled to launch at 8:45 p.m. over Lake Greenwood, with the show simulcast through radio partners WSSL 100.5 and iHeartMedia in Greenville.
Guests may arrive by land or by boat. Paid parking is available at Fellowship Camp & Conference Center, and organizers said all parking proceeds go directly to the camp’s ministry. Both the shoreline and the water offer views of the display.
Boaters are asked to follow all South Carolina boating laws, observe the no-wake zone north of the railroad trestle, follow directions from law enforcement and event personnel, and operate their vessels responsibly.
Connect Lake Greenwood is an all-volunteer organization of businesses, residents and area chambers of commerce that works to promote Lake Greenwood and host events along its shoreline. The group has produced Lights on the Lake for more than a decade, growing it into one of the Lakelands’ largest free community gatherings.
Fireworks costs continue to climb, and the organization is accepting donations at four levels: Sparkler at $50, Firecracker at $100, Roman Candle at $150 and BOOM! at $200 and above. Every donor is entered to win prizes from participating local businesses.
This year’s sunset sponsors are Gunnells Marine and Shonna Lee with Acopia Home Loans. Lake life sponsors include Rush Heating & Air, Self Regional Healthcare and Lakelands Realty. Community sponsors are Break on the Lake and Laurens County Water and Sewer Commission. Friends of Lights on the Lake include Atkins Data & Communications, Chaney Heating & Air, Duke Energy, Fish Bonz General Store & Tackle, Olde Eight, Pellegrino Ventures, Sadler-Hughes Apothecary and Town & Country Property Management.
More information, including weather updates and donation details, is available at connectlakegreenwood.org or by email at [email protected]. Connect Lake Greenwood also posts updates on Facebook, Instagram and X.
