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Jimmy Buffett fans transform Colonial Center asphalt into MargaritavilleBy OTIS R. TAYLOR JR. Staff Writer. The mid afternoon breeze, carrying the smell of grilled burgers, tickles your nose. You watch people in grass skirts and Hawaiian shirts twirl without a care in the world. They hold coozie-wrapped drinks, and some walk barefoot in the sand as Jimmy Buffett tunes crowd your thoughts. Is this paradise? No, it’s Margaritaville — in the parking lots adjacent to the Colonial Center.Buffett returned to Columbia Thursday and his fans, affectionately known as Parrotheads, gathered for a group party. Grills, straw hats, fins to the left, fins to the right and Coronas were necessary accessories as people chilled out in back of SUVs, RVs and even a U-Haul truck. “We came last year and saw all the people with all this stuff,” Bill McMurray of Charleston said between mini-golf putts behind the U-Haul. “We were gonna do it all this year.” “There’s a bed in there, too, but it’s out of air,” Jennifer Dowd said. The ticket scalpers took their posts at 3 p.m. — slackers compared to the folks who set up camp as early as 7:30 a.m. Parrotheads — Dead Heads with jobs, so the joke goes — are friendly. They offer you shrimp, turkey rolls and smiles. And they are creative. Sam and Larry Parker brought their own little beach for the tailgating. “We stopped in the sand pits out there,” Larry Parker said. “We’re gonna carry it back.” Long lines at the portable toilets aren’t only for football games. And from the Colonial Center’s front entrance, the raised pirate flags made the parking lot look like a NASCAR infield. Stan “The Man” Bowen of Columbia, who was elected “vice president of Margaritaville” by fans after he raised $10,000 for a cancer charity, has been chilling like this for 28 years. Bowen does it for “the atmosphere and the camaraderie among friends across the U.S.” At Margaritaville, you are always welcome. Reach Taylor at (803) 771-8362 or otaylor@thestate.com |
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