Mount Pleasant's Holiday Kickoff Weekend Brings a New Town Market to Park West

Mount Pleasant's holiday season opens this weekend with three events across two days, and none of them is on Coleman Boulevard. Boone Hall Farms holds its free Christmas Tree Festival on Saturday and Sunday. Towne Centre lights its 44-foot tree Saturday night. On Sunday, the Town of Mount Pleasant holds a market for the first time, the Merry Makers Market at Park West Recreation Complex. The Town's long-running holiday market at the Farmers Market Pavilion still happens, but not until December. Coleman Boulevard has to wait until the second weekend of December.

The Tuesday Mount Pleasant Farmers Market ran from April 7 through September 29 this year, according to the Town of Mount Pleasant. That leaves almost eight weeks without a Town market before Sunday's Merry Makers Market. The holiday calendar picks up from there in a set order: the first weekend is spread along Highway 17 and out at Park West, and Coleman Boulevard gets its turn in December.

The weekend at a glance

Boone Hall opens the season the weekend before Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving falls on November 26, which makes this the weekend before. Boone Hall's event page says the Christmas Tree Festival "kicks off the holiday season at Boone Hall the weekend BEFORE Thanksgiving." The festival runs from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. both days at Boone Hall Farms, 2434 N. Hwy. 17. Admission is free and no ticket is needed, with partners Starling Chevrolet and Beacon Community Bank covering the cost.

Most of what happens there costs nothing:

• Christmas crafts and decorations, a photo booth, holiday photo spots and live music, all free
• Santa from 12 to 6 p.m. each day. Families can take as many photos as they like on their own phones or cameras at no charge
• Christmas cookies baked on site, plus other holiday food for sale
• Face painting and body art for a fee
• Fresh-cut trees, handmade wreaths and other Christmas decorations for sale

Two practical notes. Santa is only there from 12 to 6, so a 10 a.m. arrival means a two-hour wait for the photo line to start. Pets also need to stay home. Boone Hall allows only ADA-compliant service animals at its special events.

Saturday night moves to Towne Centre

Lights Up starts Saturday at 6 p.m. in front of Belk at Mt Pleasant Towne Centre. The tree lighting and laser light show follow at 7:30, and the event ends at 8. Starling Chevrolet sponsors this event too, along with Roper St. Francis Healthcare and AV Connections. A family could go to Boone Hall in the afternoon and Towne Centre in the evening and attend two events from the same sponsor in a single day.

Brian Cleary of 92.5 Kickin' Country hosts the evening. The East Cooper Baptist Church Choir & Orchestra and Jared Petteys & The Headliners perform. Food comes from two groups:

1. Visiting vendors: Zimos Gyros, & Lobster, Madrigal Tacos, Holy City Popcorn, Delights Desserts & Coffee, Holy City Homemade Italian Ice, Nothing Bundt Cakes and Pure Fluff Co.
2. Towne Centre restaurants: Malika, Grimaldi's Pizzeria, Burtons Grill & Bar, Sweet Julep's, The Wine Cellar, SAVI Cucina & Wine Bar and Jon Smith Subs.

Kids can get face painting from Faces by Faith, balloon animals from Carol's Balloon Art and fairy hair from The Sparkle Bar. Volunteers from Camp Rise Above will sell light-up items to raise money for the camp, which runs camp programs for children with serious illnesses, disabilities and other challenges.

Sunday, the Town's market sets up at Park West

The Merry Makers Market is the first Town market since the Tuesday season ended September 29, and it is held on Park West Boulevard, separate from the annual Holiday Market & Craft Show at the Coleman Boulevard pavilion. When the Town announced the market in August, it called it "new to the East Cooper area." Events Coordinator Tracy Richter explained the reason for adding it in the Town of Mount Pleasant's announcement:

"We are excited to add a new market to kick off the holiday season."

The market runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Park West Recreation Complex, 1251 Park West Blvd. Experience Mount Pleasant's listing lists booths for local farmers, makers, growers, bakers, artists, food vendors and food trucks. The Town's vendor call asked for locally grown produce, homemade preserves, baked goods, hot food and handmade gifts such as ornaments, glasswork, woodwork, clothing and original art. "Commercial and mass-produced items are not accepted." The Town also said it would choose a mix of vendors so the show stays balanced. Shoppers should expect variety rather than ten booths selling the same thing.

Sunday's market and the festival at Boone Hall overlap from 11 to 4, so you can do both in one day. Go to the market first while the baked goods and produce are still stocked. Head to Boone Hall after that if you want a tree. The festival stays open until 7, three hours after the market closes.

A new stop between the two ends of town

Loong Yan, a dim sum and xiao long bao restaurant at 341 Johnnie Dodds Boulevard, held its grand opening ribbon cutting on November 4. Owners Emely Yan and Yupeng Lin were joined by Town Councilmembers and Mount Pleasant Chamber of Commerce representatives, according to the Town of Mount Pleasant. It opened about two weeks before this weekend, so for many people it will still be new when they stop for lunch between Sunday's market and the tree lot.

Coleman Boulevard gets its turn in December

Three weeks later, Coleman Boulevard hosts two events on back-to-back days.

The 27th Holiday Market & Craft Show returns Saturday, December 12, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Farmers Market Pavilion at Moultrie Middle School on Coleman Boulevard. It runs the same hours as Merry Makers, and the Town recruited vendors for both markets with one call, so shoppers will find the same kind of local, handmade goods at each. The difference is the location. December's market is at the pavilion where the Tuesday market spends its season.

The next evening, Sunday, December 13, brings the 31st Annual Christmas Light Parade along W. Coleman Boulevard. The Town calls it "one of the largest nighttime parades in South Carolina," and every entry has to be fully lit and decorated. The Experience Mount Pleasant events calendar lists the parade from 5:30 to 8 p.m. It shows a route from Live Oak Drive along Coleman Boulevard to Patriots Point Road. It also shows Coleman Boulevard closing from Whilden Street to Pherigo Street at 4 p.m. for the lineup, with the closure extending from Whilden Street to Patriots Point Road at 5 p.m. The Ravenel Bridge off-ramp onto Coleman Boulevard and Patriots Point Road between Coleman Boulevard and Harry Hallman Boulevard are also listed as closing at 5 p.m. If you live near the route, check the times and closures with the Town's Special Events office closer to the date.

The Old Village heads into its first holiday season without H&R

H&R Sweet Shop on Royall Avenue served its last customers on October 14 after 81 years, as WCBD News 2 reported. The diner and grill was named for Raleigh and Harriet Johnson. It was known for its jazz, hand-formed burgers, wings and Friday red rice and fish. It opened in the 1940s and was the oldest operating Black-owned business in Mount Pleasant and the second-oldest business in town. This holiday season is the Old Village's first without it.

If you're hosting family this season, you may also be wondering how your home will look in photos during the holidays and in the new year. Lori Petersen can tell you what your Mount Pleasant home is worth and which staging choices will make it stand out. Request a free valuation, and I'll walk you through it before the December parade.