For years, the Mount Pleasant holiday calendar has peaked in mid-December along Coleman Boulevard. That's where the Town's Holiday Market & Craft Show and the Christmas Light Parade happen. This year the season starts three weeks earlier, and it starts on the north end. On the weekend of November 21 and 22, a new Town-run market at Park West lands on the same two days as the Boone Hall Farms Christmas Tree Festival and the Towne Centre tree lighting. All three are free. Park West and Boone Hall Farms sit on the Highway 41 and North Highway 17 side of town, near Rivertowne Country Club and Rivertowne on the Wando. The third is the tree lighting at Mount Pleasant Towne Centre, 1200 Belk Drive.
The Town added a second holiday event to its calendar, and it chose to put it here.
A second Town market, and why Park West matters
On August 4, the Town of Mount Pleasant announced vendor applications for its winter events. The announcement called the Merry Makers Market "New to the East Cooper area." It's set for Sunday, November 22, at the Park West Recreation Complex. The Holiday Market & Craft Show also returns this year, now in its 27th year at the Farmers Market Pavilion. The Town is running both markets, not swapping one for the other.
"We are excited to add a new market to kick off the holiday season," said Events Coordinator Tracy Richter in the Town's announcement.
"Kick off" is the key phrase. Of the Town's two markets, the new one comes first, three weeks ahead of the Coleman Boulevard event. The Town's event listing runs it from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 1251 Park West Blvd. Booths will come from local farmers, makers, growers, bakers, food trucks and artists. The listing says there will be "no commercial or mass-produced goods." The Town's call for vendors mentions ornaments, glasswork, woodwork, preserves, baked goods, hot food, clothing and original art. That gives a decent picture of the tables you'll see.
Park West is getting other investment too. The Town broke ground on the Kenny Mile Trail on May 6, 2026. The planned 1.25-mile path will connect the Park West Trail system to Porcher's Bluff Road, with completion expected in summer 2027, per the Town. The holiday market makes a park the Town is still expanding a seasonal destination as well.
The same weekend already had two anchors
The Park West market joins two established events on the same dates, and together they make one full weekend.
Saturday, November 21, Mount Pleasant Towne Centre. Lights Up runs from 6 to 8 p.m. in front of Belk. The tree lighting and laser show are at 7:30 p.m. The Town's tourism calendar lists the event at 1200 Belk Drive.
Saturday and Sunday, November 21–22, Boone Hall Farms. The Christmas Tree Festival runs 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. both days at 2434 N. Highway 17. Admission is free. Santa is there from noon to 6 p.m. each day, and the farm sells fresh-cut trees, wreaths and decorations. Willie's Roadside Market at Boone Hall Farms keeps its regular 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily hours, so you can come back for produce after the festival weekend.
Sunday, November 22, Park West Recreation Complex. The Merry Makers Market runs 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
With the three events in a row, the weekend covers most of what people usually spread across December: buying a tree, seeing Santa, watching a tree lighting and shopping for gifts from local makers. All of it happens before Thanksgiving week, and none of it on Coleman Boulevard.
One way to run the weekend
The hours overlap well enough that you can fit everything into two days without rushing:
- Saturday afternoon: Start at Boone Hall Farms while Santa is there, from noon to 6 p.m. The festival runs until 7 p.m., so you'll have time to pick a tree.
- Saturday evening: Head to Towne Centre for Lights Up. Festivities start at 6 p.m., and the tree lighting and laser show begin at 7:30 p.m.
- Sunday late morning: Get to the Merry Makers Market when it opens at 11 a.m., before the most popular items sell out.
- Sunday afternoon: If you didn't get a tree on Saturday, Boone Hall Farms is open again until 7 p.m.
A Laurel Hill warm-up on November 7
The north end has something on the calendar before the holiday weekend, too. Charleston County Parks' Shake Your Trail Feathers is Saturday, November 7, at Laurel Hill County Park. Start time is 8:45 a.m. Runners use the event entrance at 1400 SC-41, and there's a 5K, a 10K and a kids' dash. The county also included the race in its November events roundup, published October 14. That puts a county event on Highway 41 two Saturdays before the holiday weekend.
Towne Centre's next chapter is already approved
Lights Up takes place at a shopping center whose mix of stores is changing. That makes this year's tree lighting a good time to look around.
WCIV reported in August that the Town's Commercial Design Review Board would review preliminary plans for a Crate & Barrel and an L.L. Bean. Both stores would go in the Towne Centre space where Bed Bath & Beyond was located. The project then moved forward. According to the board's September 30 minutes, the board gave consent approval for the Crate & Barrel and L.L. Bean final review of site, landscape and architecture at 1744 Towne Centre Way, including staff comments. No opening date has been announced. Final design approval is the step before permits and construction, as WCIV's report explained.
Towne Centre also has a new restaurant. The Post and Courier reported that Revolving Sushi Kingdom opened in September at 1594 Palmetto Grande Drive. It's an option for dinner between the farm and the tree lighting on November 21.
On Highway 41, a Culver's is proposed for 2128 Highway 41 near the Planters Point Boulevard intersection. That site was originally proposed as a Come Back Shack, per WCIV. The proposal had a preliminary review on August 26. The minutes record discussion but no approval, so for now it's still a proposal.
When the calendar moves back toward the harbor
The traditional December events are still the big crowd draws, and most of them are farther south. Boone Hall Plantation is the exception. With the north-end weekend done in November, here's what's left:
| Date | Event | Location | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun., Dec. 6 | Wine Under the Oaks | Boone Hall Plantation, 1235 Long Point Road | Wine tastings, complimentary oysters and desserts, live music |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | Holiday Market & Craft Show | Farmers Market Pavilion, 645 Coleman Blvd. | 11 a.m.–4 p.m.; free admission and parking |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | Oysters On The Point | Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina, 20 Patriots Point Road | 2–6 p.m.; Sol Driven Train; $15 online, $18 at the door, 12 and under free |
| Sun., Dec. 13 | 31st Christmas Light Parade | Live Oak Drive to Patriots Point Road via Coleman Blvd. | 5:30–8 p.m. |
Comparing the two weekends shows how the season is laid out. The Coleman Boulevard market, the harbor oyster roast and the parade all fall on December 12 and 13. The north-end tree, lighting and market weekend comes three weeks earlier. You can easily do both. If you start at Park West, you'll have your holiday shopping and your tree sorted before most of the big December events.
Before Thanksgiving, check each event's listing for any weather or schedule updates.
If you're planning to list your home in the new year, holiday traffic around Towne Centre and Park West is a good time to think about timing. Andrea Ulmer can walk you through it. Request a free home valuation or consultation, and we'll talk about the north end of Mount Pleasant, what's changing at Towne Centre, and when it makes sense to go to market.
