CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) — The headliners for the 2023 Charleston Sternwheel Regatta were announced on Wednesday.
Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin, the Charleston Sternwheel Regatta Commission was joined by title sponsor Encova Insurance at their officers on Quarrier St. to make the announcement.
The 2023 headliners are:
- Friday: Better Than Ezra with the Coors Light Fireworks Extravaganza
- Saturday: Flo Rida
- Sunday: Kool & The Gang
- Monday; Jo Dee Messina
In August 2022, Charleston Mayor Amy Goodwin and the Charleston Sternwheel Regatta Commission announced that the five-day event will take place Friday, June 30 through Tuesday, July 4, 2023.
2022’s Regatta was officially a success, generating a total of $31,507,883 in economic impact – the city’s largest economic impact from an event in at least 10 years.
According to the Charleston Regatta Commission and the Charleston Convention and Visitors Bureau, an estimated 210,000 people came to the event and approximately 5,978 jobs were directly supported by the event.
Charleston Mayor Amy Goodwin and the commission said the economic impact is far greater than what the city had anticipated. Prior to the event, organizers were estimating a total of just under $10 million.
The commission said of the attendees at the event, approximately 71% were local (within 50 miles of the event) and approximately 29% were from out-of-town (traveling from at least 50 miles away from the event). Organizers also say hotel occupancy in the area was estimated to have been at roughly 95% during the Regatta, equaling an approximate total of 15,440 room nights.
The 29% of out-of-town attendees equals approximately 61,000 people. Of those, organizers say approximately 77% came to the Regatta from out-of-state, staying approximately 2.4 days. The Charleston Convention and Visitors Bureau says they used a partnership with Madden Media to use cell phone data to identify the top five states, out-of-state metros, in-state metros and distance traveled for out-of-state attendees.
