Debate | Visitors, locals enjoying Myrtle Beach on debate weekend

Pennsylvanians Ed and Shirley Strong got the treat of their political season – and their first snowbird visit to Myrtle Beach – Monday when they were able to attend the Faith and Freedom Coalition debate kickoff event outside the city’s convention center.

“I didn’t want to go home and tell people I stayed in my room playing cards while all this was going on,” Shirley Strong said.

The Strongs said they were enjoying Myrtle Beach, the political buzz in the air and the opportunities for fun they found. They are spending a month here, and over the weekend, they’ve gotten to hear all the candidates speak in person, and attended church with Rick Perry on Sunday. Shirley even had a picture taken with him.

For them, and many others who came to town this weekend, it was about more than the debate. They found a place they want to visit again, at a time of year when they don’t have to fight the peak-season traffic and crowds.

And some local businesses said they were seeing the early returns of those visits.

They had been around town Saturday and found some cards advertising the coalition event, which convinced them to try and get as close as possible. Turns out they got right in, and got to hear the remaining GOP presidential candidates speak.

That wasn’t the case for everyone, though.

Bernadette Kahl, a South Strand Republican Club and Faith and Freedom Coalition member from Myrtle Beach, said she was unable to get a seat at the event Sunday afternoon, even though the coalition asked her to attend.

At the last GOP debate, four years ago, she said, there were far fewer restrictions, and tickets were more readily available.

“It’s great for Myrtle Beach because it brings in people from all over,” Kahl said. “But the people from Myrtle Beach aren’t able to get in.”

In fact, she said, so many people showed up for the coalition’s event, it had to be moved from the convention center ballroom to a tent across the street.

Earl and Rita Chester from Murrells Inlet came to Myrtle Beach on Monday with some friends for the coalition event, and said they were pleased to see the city getting “a lot of needed exposure.”

“We really like the sandcastle,” Earl Chester said of the sculpture depicting the GOP candidates’ faces. “This has been a very good event.”

Aaron Burleson of Beaufort isn’t a first-time Myrtle Beach visitor like the Strongs, but he said this has been a particularly nice visit because while there are more people in town than usual, “the crowds aren’t that large, and the city seems to be handling everything well.”

He and some friends came just for the debate, and said they have enjoyed the city’s attractions in peace.

“Everything is cheaper right now, and you can get in everywhere without having to wait,” Burleson said. “And you can go to the beach without crowds.”

Apparently visitors are taking advantage of winter discounts, and some businesses are seeing an uptick.

Barista Samantha Devers, who works at the Starbucks on 21st Avenue North and Ocean Boulevard, said the past week has been “just like summer days.”

Between the debates, the volleyball tournament and other events going on in town, she said, she and the other people who create the coffee beverages are taking home summer money.

The store has been staying open an hour or two past its usual 8 p.m. closing, and even then, Devers said, the staff members have to ask people to leave, and turn away those who show up after the doors are locked.

Though the coffee traffic has been heavy, Devers said, she has also noticed more people out on the streets, as well.

“These are great events, because they are bringing in a lot of money,” she said. “And I haven’t seen any problems.”

Though it’s too early to tell how the whole debate weekend will affect businesses, Robert Jaques, manager at Kono restaurant, said business was up 50 percent to 60 percent Sunday night over a typical off-season Sunday night.

Not everyone wanted to stay out and about Sunday evening, especially after the temperature dropped. Even the Ron Paul supporters who had stood out in front of the convention center on Sunday were beginning to pack it in after the sun went down.

A disappointed Kahl said she was ready to go home, put on her loungewear and watch Monday night’s debate from the comfort of her couch, since she couldn’t get a ticket.

“Maybe I wasn’t a big enough donor,” she said.

Because she likes all the GOP candidates, she said she was going to watch, not to see who she agrees with, but who can take on President Obama in a debate.

The Strongs were also planning to watch on TV from their oceanfront room. They are still undecided who they will vote for, but they are not undecided on how they feel about their first visit to the city.

“We’ve already signed up to come back next year, maybe for two months,” Ed Strong said. “It’s a beautiful city.”