Abigail Helm
palmettoreport@gmail.com

(Rock Hill, S.C.) – A new app that is intended to serve as a hub for events in York County — including the Rock Hill, Fort Mill and Winthrop communities — is now available.

Draba, described as a digital bulletin board, was created to cultivate the relationship between local businesses and the community. The app features local events, business highlights, food and the arts within the Rock Hill area.

Organizers held a launch party for Draba Sept. 4 at Knowledge Perk to introduce the beta version of the app, which you can be found on the App Store or Google Play.

Founder Davis Parker originally launched Draba in Boone, North Carolina, after attending Appalachian State University.

The success of the initial launch in Boone gave him the opportunity to expand to South Carolina. 

“I see the grand potential with the cultural scene here, with art, music, food and drink as a potential bridge with Winthrop University to elevate what’s going on here in the next five to 10 years,” Parker said.

As Draba makes its way into the community, organizers are beginning partnerships with Winthrop organizations.

For example, the DiGiorgio Student Union (DSU), one of Winthrop’s main sources for campus entertainment, is partnering with Draba. 

Willie Bush, the assistant to campus programming at Winthrop, said he embraced the Draba and DSU collaboration with open arms.

“Draba comes in with a lot of energy,” said Bush. “They’re really trying to be intentional on getting some dance parties and those kinds of things that students may be interested in, in terms of partnering with DSU.” 

While Draba mainly promotes third-party events, they’ve made some effort to host their own events and promotions by partnering with businesses and organizations.

Organizers have already made partnerships Rock Hill businesses such as The Mercantile, Cibi Cibi and Knowledge Perk. 

“DSU is trying to have relationships with concert promoters, and if they (Draba) have those connections that we don’t already have, then it’ll be beneficial to Winthrop, because we’ll have access to performers, artists and whatever else we don’t currently have access to,” Bush said.

Quest Morris, senior at Winthrop and ambassador for Draba, said he gravitated towards Draba’s mission, as he understands first-hand the importance of having a community connection.

“We didn’t really have a market for information to get to students before, so the fact that Draba is here now is a great thing,” said Morris. 

Users have the opportunity to interact directly with businesses through the app. They can upvote events they’re going to and sort through activities based on location, popularity or category.

“Rock Hill is growing so much,” Morris said, “I felt like there was a great opportunity to bring this to Winthrop.”

 

The draba flower is known to bloom even in unlikely environments, which is what organizers of the DRABA app would like to bring to businesses throughout York County (photo: Abigail Helm).
DRABA hosted a soft launch party Sept. 4 at Knowledge Perk in Rock Hill (photo: Abigail Helm).
Quest Morris, a DRABA ambassador, hangs up the company’s flag at Knowledge Perk in Rock Hill Sept. 4 (photo: Abigail Helm).
Those who showed up for the soft launch party and downloaded the DRABA app were able to score a free coffee from Knowledge Perk (photo: Abigail Helm).
Davis Parker, founder of DRABA, poses in front of a pop-up stand at the company’s launch party at Knowledge Perk Sept. 4 (photo: Abigail Helm).