Get your garland on. Shop at an artful pop-up. And for goodness sake, light that lake.
Maura's Three for the Week in Charleston, 12/3 - 12/8
Attention-span alert: Three for the Week has a few extra helpings in this edition.
I tend to be a stickler about the holiday roll-out, unleashing Christmas fare only after the turkey is good and polished off, leftovers and all. This is maddening for Beatrice, my 11-year-old, Elf-on-the-Shelf-involved daughter who by all indications seems to have been born with a stocking-worthy candy cane in her mouth.
So she was delightfully surprised when I bent the rules this year, bringing it on before the bird turned. The aim was to send off my British friend Rebecca with seasonal cheer before her mad dash across the pond for family holiday jollies. Beatrice and I ferreted out the Christmas china, a gorgeous green Wedgwood pattern my mother spied at an antique show years ago at Charleston Gaillard Center. Loading the vibrant plates with mince pies, we topped it all off with Christmas crackers, while Rebecca offered tips on how to bust them open to advantage.
Now that the pivot is officially in play, I can embrace a week in Charleston in full-tilt festive mode, starting with gift-shopping and hall-decking. Historic homes and public spaces are set to dazzle. An extravaganza of pop-ups and exhibitions afford gift givers a range from which to artfully—and locally—power through lists. I already blazed a trail on King Street during Small Business Saturday, and have the free Amex tote to prove it.
In the spirit of Giving Tuesday, remember that a gift subscription for a museum membership or a performance subscription, such as this newly announced deal on the Spoleto Festival USA 2025 Chamber Music Series.
You can also make a donation on behalf of someone, paying forward for the good of the cultural community, and often in a quick and meaningful click. Hewing to my Culture South mantra, it’s an artful way forward for all.
Get artful with your holiday giving
Various dates and locations, detailed below
This week and beyond, holiday markets aim to gather the best and brightest artists, artisans and other local makers, who together promise to prompt inspired, wonderfully efficient list-checking.
On Wed., Dec 4, from 3 to 8 p.m., the Gibbes Museum of Art’s free annual Holiday Market will again curate an esteemed showing of local artists, jewelry designers, book sellers, florists, candle makers, ceramicists and more. For more information and a list of participating vendors, click here.
From there, zip over to Charleston Library Society for Holiday Shopping Bazaar in the Stacks, which takes place this year on Thurs. Dec. 5, from 2 to 7 p.m. and Fri., Dec. 6, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the library’s Main Reading Room. You’ll find a host of local makers, bakers, collectors and artists, including a wreath-making workshop. For information, click here.
On Fri., Dec. 6 from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m., Ibu will be hosting a pop-up holiday shopping market at The Gallery by SEWE in the Charleston Place Hotel. Shop handmade accessories crafted by global women artisans—from earrings and handbags to scarves and jackets. Each purchase from the Ibu Movement Foundation supports women rising into self-sufficiency through the art of their hands.
On Sat., Dec. 7, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., a curated holiday market with a decidedly Southern twist can be found as part of Illumination Charleston, the partnership between Explore Charleston and Southern Living that brings together the magazine’s editors, special guests and the holiday market featuring local and regional vendors curated by Southern Living editors. For more information, click here.
If you’re planning to show your affection by way of an original work , there are plentiful opportunities, also on Fri., Dec. 6. From 5 to 8 p.m., Studio Union, a professional art space for creatives including potters, sculptors, filmmakers, photographers, painters and others, hosts an open house where you can visit with studio artists while shopping. For more information, visit studiounionchs.com.
Here’s a gift that keeps on giving. On Sat., Dec. 7, from 5 to 8 p.m. Terrace Clay Studio hosts the Empty Bowls Event for Hurricane Helene Relief Asheville, supporting small craft artists and local food pantries who were hit hard during Hurricane Helene and continue to struggle. By joining this event, breaking bread and buying a hand made bowl, you will be helping some of makers in Western North Carolina, with donations helping The Center for Craft www.centerforcraft.org; Manna Food Bank www.mannafoodbank.org; Bounty and Soul www.Bountyandsoul.org.
Exhibitions offer another way to identify a beholder for local beauty. At Stevenson & Co., surrealism abounds in all its weird wonder by way of Cosmic Rodeo, a solo exhibition of works by artist Richard Hagerty, furthering his fantastical, mythical, vibrant foray in contemporary art. The show starts with an opening reception on Fri., Dec. 6, from 5 to 8 p.m., continuing with an artist talk on Sat., Dec. 7, from 10 to 11 a.m. For more information, visit stevensonandco.shop.
Then survey the artistic statements put forth in Don’t It Feel Good?, a new exhibition at Park Circle Gallery featuring oil paintings by Lucius Nelson that cast a wild eye on late-stage consumer culture, spiritual short-circuiting and human resilience, borrowing from the methods and imagery of the Renaissance to do so. The show, which will run concurrently with an exhibition of works by Mount Pleasant artist Jazmo Hankins from Dec. 4 to 28. The artists will host a free public reception at the gallery on Fri., December 6, from 5 to 7 p.m. For more information, click here.
Trek to well-decked halls
Those aiming to ease into the season with the help of glorious flora will find plenty of decked-out halls around Charleston this week.
In an annual tradition, the Joseph Manigault House joins floral forces with the Garden Club of Charleston to get its garland going strong. Dash down to the tip of the peninsula for Christmas on the Battery at Edmondston-Alston House (which still had some tickets left when this was published), complete with carols, candles and Gullah stories.
On Dec. 6 through Jan. 6, Magnolia Plantation & Gardens hosts Home for the Holidays, transforming the property into a 1920s holiday wonderland where visitors can explore the evolution of Santa Claus, while enjoying festive decorations. A more recent but no less sparkly arrival to the Charleston scene is The Charleston Place, which under its new ownership has next-leveled holiday flair, and serves up a charmed Nutcracker Tea on select dates through Dec. 22.
Rather deck the halls alfresco? After nearly pulling the plug Light the Lake at Colonial Lake, the Charleston Parks Conservancy saw the light and kept it on, now set for Dec. 6, from 5 - 7 p.m.
More to come next week, as the merriment mounts.