Area residents and tourists visiting Landrum will soon be able to tour the city by horse and carriage on some evenings.
The rides will be offered on a trial basis for three months on the second Friday evening of the month. The first evening will be Friday, April 8.
Landrum City Council on Tuesday, March 8 approved paying Carolina Horse & Carriage  of Chesnee, S.C., $500 per month for the rides. Tickets will be sold to recoup the city’s expenses for the rides.
City council members said they aren’t comfortable paying for the service long-term and want to review the participation on a month-to-month basis.
The Landrum Area Business Association (LABA) requested that the city use some of its hospitality tax money to pay for the carriage rides.
LABA chair Melanie Jennings spoke with council last week and said the association is hoping to increase interest in Landrum’s downtown area.
“With gas prices, we are trying to get people to eat out here [rather than driving to restaurants farther away],” Jennings said.
She said the carriage rides would give residents and visitors something different to do in Landrum.
Carriage rides were offered once in downtown Landrum previously, and Jennings said $100 was recouped without any advertising. Advertising is planned for the scheduled events, according to Jennings.
Carolina Horse & Carriage also offers carriage rides in Hendersonville and Charlotte, among other places, and for special occasions. One of the company’s carriages has also appeared at Harmon Field’s Heritage Day Festival. The company offers rides from February through December.
According to Carolina Horse & Carriage’s website, www.chcadventures.com, rides will be offered in Landrum on April 8, May 13 and June 10 from 6 to 8 p.m. Rides will be offered on a first-come, first-serve basis, with tickets available at the Coach House on Rutherford Street in Landrum.
Council agreed to book the rides for those Fridays and will review the carriage ride sales every month.