Cheerwine Festival History

History of the Cheerwine Festival

CELEBRATING 100 YEARS

In the beginning ... there was Cheerwine! Cheerwine was celebrating "100 Years of Cheer" and wanted to share the cheer with their hometown of Salisbury, NC. So they decided to have a festival, with true Southern hospitality.

Working with the City of Salisbury and local organizations, they organized a celebration of all things good and cheerful, southern and delightful.

The event was a wild success, with tens of thousands of locals and visitors from across the Carolinas converging on this small, historic city to eat good food, shop cheerwine merchandise and have fun in the downtown area.

picture from cheerwine festival in 2017 featuring can of Cheerwine

Kids posing at Cheerwine Festival 2018 with bottle of Cheerwine

A NEW TRADITION

Locals and fans of Cheerwine alike loved the Cheerwine Festival in 2017 so much they demanded a return! In response, the City of Salisbury decided to continue to host the festival as an annual tradition, working with Cheerwine to ensure the cheer would continue.

In 2018, the festival area was doubled in size to include almost all of downtown Salisbury so that more food trucks and vendors could participate, the kid's activities evolved into a kid's play area including rock climbing and a bounce house, and a beer garden was added for the adults.

The musical lineup was upgraded as well, with headlining band Sister Hazel performing at the end of the day to a cheering crowd!

SMASHING SUCCESS

In 2019, the Cheerwine Festival featured the revered, MULTI-PLATINUM California pop-rockers Smash Mouth! Downtown Salisbury was flooded with over 50,000 lovers of Cheerwine from the surrounding Charlotte area, North Carolina, and nearby states.

Food vendors sold over 1,800 Cheerwine tacos, 500 Cheerwine floats, 500 bags of popcorn and over 5,000 hot dogs! Afterwards, Cheerwine donated $7,500 from their drink sales to local charity, Meals on Wheels Rowan.

View 2019 Website

Girl posing with Cheerwine bottle reflected in her sunglasses

AWARD-WINNING VIRTUAL EVENT

The year 2020 brought unprecedented challenges, which our team met with good cheer and quick thinking. The May festival was the first in North Carolina to "go virtual," earning four awards for innovation as a virtual event.

Families at home enjoyed exclusive performances by Sugar Hill Gang, Tone Loc, Nathan Angelo, Ace Party Band and Live House. People across the country followed along on social media and shared their home-viewing experiences, and the spirit of cheer endured.

View 2020 Website

2021 FESTIVAL CANCELLED

After careful consideration and guidance from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the Rowan County Health department as well as other local, state and federal authorities, the City of Salisbury and Cheerwine made the difficult decision to cancel the 2021 Cheerwine Festival schedule for Saturday, September 18, 2021.

BACK IN TOWN

In 2022, the Cheerwine Festival returned to the Downtown with a big turnout of locals and Cheerwine fans from across the eastern seaboard. The music stage was rocked by headline act the Spin Doctors as well as Ayron Jones, Lauren Light Trio, Tsunami Wave Riders and 9daytrip. All day long, crowds of cheerful people browsed craft and food stalls filled with Cheerwine specialties and the two beer gardens overflowed with hospitality.

View 2022 Website

A CHEERFUL CROWD

Perfect weather and the ever-increasing popularity of the Cheerwine Festival brought a record-breaking crowd of 100,000 Cheerwine fans to Salisbury in 2023. Cheerwine-inspired beer, crafts and food were available from a diverse lineup of local and regional vendors. And the cherry on top of the festival was the entertainment lineup rocking the music stage, including Ryan Perry, Divided by Four, New Local and headline act Neon Trees!

View 2023 Website

CAN'T RAIN ON MY DAY

Despite a rain forecast, the 2024 Cheerwine Festival kicked off stronger than ever, with Cheerwine fans from all over the country joining local Salisburians for a good time! Everyone managed to get their fun, their food, and their dancing in before the storm ended the day around 7 p.m.

View 2024 Website

History of Salisbury, NC

An overhead view of historic downtown Salisbury during Cheerwine Festival

AN ORIGINAL SINCE 1753

The County of Rowan was established in 1753 and the deed for Salisbury is dated February 11, 1755. At that time, the area contained a bustling little village of seven or eight log cabins, a courthouse, jail and pillory.

Two years before the national Declaration of Independence, a group of patriotic citizens of Rowan County, serving as a Committee of Safety adopted the Rowan Resolves on August 8, 1774 containing the pioneer element toward liberty and independence from Britain. These resolves reached the highest note of any passed in the colony in calling for the abolishment of the African slave trade and urging the colonies to "unite in an indissoluble union and association".

Notably, Daniel Boone began his exploration of the Blue Ridge Mountains from here in Salisbury. Near the present-day Salisbury library is the small office where Andrew Jackson studied law and was admitted to the bar before he moved westward.

INNOVATION AND HISTORY THRIVE TOGETHER

Salisbury was one of the first cities in North Carolina to adopt electricity at the turn of the century.

The city continued this history of innovation by installing a 100% fiber-optic telecommunications network across the entire city, after the big cable companies turned down requests to provide high-speed Internet to residents.

Now, all Salisbury residents can enjoy high-speed internet, television and digital telephone services. A referendum in 2018 approved a Public/Private partnership with HotWire Communications for the lease of the telecommunications network.

Visit City of Salisbury

Man uploading picture of beer during Cheerwine Festival

History of Cheerwine

Two girls posing with cheerwine and antique car

BORN IN THE SOUTH,
RAISED IN A GLASS

Cheerwine is a one-of-a-kind soft drink with a unique cherry taste that has been delighting southerners for more than a century.

Cheerwine was first created in 1917 in Salisbury, NC by a general store owner named LD Peeler.

Prior to Cheerwine, Peeler distributed a soft drink called Mint Cola, however during a World War I sugar shortage the Mint Cola Company went out of business. By experimenting with other flavors, Peeler developed Cheerwine.

100 YEARS OF CHEER

Today the company is prospering as it celebrates over 100 years in business. Cheerwine remains a family-owned business still operated by descendants of the company’s founder.

Visit Cheerwine