Columbia, SC Special Events & Permits: Street Fair Rules (2026)

Chapter 22, Article VI covers special events, defined broadly to include festivals, fairs, block parties, concerts and similar gatherings "reasonably foreseeable to involve a large assemblage of vehicles and/or persons" or that require excessive public safety cost (§ 22-162). Section 22-166 makes a permit mandatory, with narrow exceptions for funeral processions, permitted picketing, supervised school activities, and events run entirely by the city itself. Applications go to the city manager or designee with the special events fee, and must disclose, among other items, the event dates, signage and route plan, vendor names and goods offered, trash removal and cleanup plans, first aid and medical coverage, number of monitors, and whether alcohol will be sold (§ 22-167).

In deciding whether to issue the permit, the city manager weighs traffic disruption, the diversion of police officers, fire and ambulance access, and whether the event is primarily for-profit advertising (§ 22-168(a)). 00 in comprehensive general liability insurance naming the city as an additional insured, though the requirement can be waived for expressive First Amendment activity if two licensed brokers confirm coverage is unobtainable (§ 22-168(b)-(c)). Vendors and organizers stay on the hook for excessive public safety response costs the event generates, whether or not it was permitted (§ 22-164).