[Music] I am mayor here in the great city of Camden South Carolina as a matter of fact it's the oldest Inland city in South Carolina Camden is a historic city as a matter of fact it was formed back in 1732 we are unique and I'm saying that because as I said it is the oldest Inland city in South Carolina we've recently built a new Revolutionary War Visitor Center that brings in what hundreds every year the Revolutionary War era being so significant in a way that we have Laura Cornwallis in 2200 soldiers come here and make this the main Supply post for the southern campaign we are a major Center here during the war we have two major battles here that we're known for I have to say the thing that gives me the kind of Goosebumps is the can the the activity going on at the Camden Battlefield which is eight miles up the road I think 5 000 were the British and maybe three thousand or so or um the Patriots we're working very closely with the South Carolina Battlefield trust Association to restore the area of the park and tell the story of the Camden Battlefield and that really is involving the re-burial of 14 soldiers who were discovered there Horatio Gates who was the General at the Battle of Camden he fled the field riding one of the first known thoroughbreds in the country and so people used to laugh and say that we go way back in our Thoroughbred history to that time we had folks that would literally bring their train cars down with their horses on them and get off right out here in an area called hopkirks Hill and vacation but their horses would be right there I'm Toby Edwards I'm the executive director for the Carolina cup Racing Association my job is is three-part the management of the Springdale Training Center which is about a 500 Acres property the management of the national Steeplechase Museum and then the overall management and running of the Carolina Cup races So currently we're just racing once a year and this year that is uh April the 1st 2023. last year we were close to 40 000 people here and I would foresee us certainly matching that number and quite possibly going over it during the day getting to the top of the grandstand and looking out across the facility and seeing everybody out there tailgating in the hospitality tents families everybody just out here and having you know a great experience and a great time foreign Camden um I'm going to start with come visit the national superchase museum we have a fantastic Revolutionary War Center downtown this great shopping experiences here in town and restaurants I can't say enough about the downtown program we have in Camden it started out as a revitalization program to repair some architecture and maintain some architecture and bring some new businesses in and it has turned into like our number one attraction probably one of the newest one of the most popular attractions in the South Carolina Midlands right now and that's the Camden downtown program another program that is terrific and bounces off of that is the Cultural District Camden's downtown area was named recently one of the new cultural districts in South Carolina and we have a lot of already we have so many artists that are and musicians in our art center that are that are plugged into that and so we have a nice cultural artistic Vibe downtown other than being South Carolina's oldest Inland City we are one of South Carolina's newest cultural districts designated by the South Carolina Arts commission a portion of downtown has over 60 assets again art galleries restaurants boutiques green spaces cultural centers lots of activities and events for people of all ages I have so many different things to offer kind of a little fit for everyone and that's kind of the nice thing if you want to eat something there's great restaurants if you want to go to the parks there's great places to go activities on the weekends a little bit of everything [Music] the look of Camden is beautiful it's a small town it's just a jewel of a town that's sitting here and many people comment on that and many people comment on the history and it's vibrant in a lot of ways I love Camden I love the people I'm a people person so I never meet a stranger um and like I said the hospitality here is awesome for a city our size there is something uh to do all the time and those folk that will tell you oh there's nothing to do in Camden they need to leave their homes because as I said there is something going on all the time Camden this is our town Camden's Our Town Camden this is our town Camden South Carolina this is our town hi I am mayor Alfred May Draper and this is our town [Music]