Holiday happenings in Beaufort
We live in a beautiful town, but Beaufort particularly shines during the holiday season with it’s natural beauty highlighted by colorful lights, our strongly rooted shop local movement, the holiday good cheer that our small town permeates throughout the season, the chill in the air that tells us Christmas is coming and our non-stop ‘Polar Express’ of super fun holiday events. It’s always a bountiful season in Beaufort when it comes to holiday events, and we’ve rounded up some fabulous ones coming up throughout the Beaufort area.
Nothing gets you into the Christmas spirit like a full weekend of fun and Main Street Beaufort has put together a fun-filled first weekend in December with the annual ‘Night on the Town’ celebration, followed by the ever-popular Light Up the Night Boat Parade and ending with the Beaufort Christmas parade.
The 28th Annual A Night on the Town is the opening of Beaufort’s Christmas shopping season and takes place on Friday evening, December 6th, beginning at 6pm. A long standing tradition of the community, A Night on the Town is a mix of traditional and the contemporary. An evening with a surprise around every corner and a number of things that will entertain, delight and get you in the Holiday Spirit. Shops will stay open late to welcome regular and new customers with special treats and a preview of their large and unique selection of items for the Holidays to help get a head start of the holiday season.
The evening also includes the City of Beaufort’s tree lighting ceremony, entertainment by the Parris Island Marine Corps Band, choral performances, plenty of good cheer and a rumored visit from Santa himself.
Take your pick of holiday parades by land or sea in Beaufort. There’s the Light Up the Night Boat Parade on the Beaufort River on Saturday December 7th, at 530pm. Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park provides the best view of the parade. The first boats will start arriving at the seawall at the Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park by 5 pm. Boats will make three passes by the seawall.
The traditional Beaufort Christmas Parade will be December 8th, at 3:00 pm, through the streets of downtown Beaufort. Floats, bands, groups of walkers and personal cars and trucks are expected to participate.
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The Festival of Trees is one of Beaufort’s premier holiday events. In addition to a showcase of beautifully decorated trees, Festival of Trees includes a grand opening reception with silent auction, a gourmet and gift shop, holiday barbequed Boston butt sale, a 5K Jingle Jog and daily lunches. During these remarkable few days, The Shed in Port Royal will be transformed into a holiday wonderland, where simply stepping through the door puts you in the holiday spirit.
The 2013 Festival of Trees to benefit the Friends of Caroline Hospice will be held from December 5th through 7th. The Opening Gala
will be Thursday, December 5th from 6pm-9pm, and the public is invited to view the trees from 9am-5pm on Friday, December 6th and 9am-3pm on Saturday, December 7th.
The Opening Gala, a cocktail reception to kick off the three-day event, will feature a silent auction, hors d’oeuvres from area restaurants, live music, beer and wine and a wealth of decorated trees from community members, businesses and organizations.
Trees will be available for purchase.
Tickets are $50 and can be purchased online at www.friendsofcarolinehospice.com or by calling (843) 525-6257.
Also available for purchase prior to the event are cooked Boston Butts for $30. Butts will be available for pickup on Saturday, December 7th from 12pm-3pm. To place an order, please email holidaybutts@gmail.com or call the office at (843) 525-6257.
Tickets to view the trees on Friday and Saturday are $2 for children, $3 for active military and seniors over 65, and $5 for adults. Children under 2 are free.
The Festival of Trees Jingle Jog 5-K will be held at the Spanish Moss Trail on Saturday, December 7th at 8:30am. Registration forms are available at Palmetto Running Company in Downtown Beaufort. You may also register online at www.friendsofcarolinehospice.com or by calling (843) 525-6257. For more information regarding the Festival of Trees, please email Fripp Langford at fripp@friendsofcarolinehospice.com or call (843) 525-6257.
Chairs for this year’s event are Drs. Gary and Patricia Thompson and Dr. Majd Chahin.
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Beaufort Symphony Orchestra has something for everyone in their “Fa LaLaLaLa” Winter Holiday Concert at USCB Center for the Arts on Thursday December 5th at 730pm and Sunday December 8th at 3pm.
Maestro Fred Devyatkin has filled our musical stocking with Handel, Vivaldi and Tchaikovsky, topped it off with traditional Christmas 
and Hannukah songs, and then added a rousing finale of holiday sing-along favorites to rev up your holiday spirit.
The celebration will open with the Overture from one of the season’s most iconic works, Handel’s “Messiah.” The “Sinfony” is one of only two purely instrumental movements composed for oboes and strings in the style of a French Overture popular during the Baroque period. Written in 1741, the music continues to awe and inspire musicians and audiences to this day.
Vivaldi’s Concerto Grosso in D minor, opus 3, no. 11 for two violins and cello will feature three talented young musicians, Willy Spivey and Luke Emmoth on violin, and Peter Devyatkin on cello.
The third piece is the “Nutcracker Suite,” an instrumental extracted by its composer, Tchaikovsky, from one of his most famous compositions “The Nutcracker Ballet” written for the Christmas season in 1892.
Tickets are available online at TIX.com, or by calling 1(800)595-4849.
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ARTworks in Beaufort Town Center is the scene on December 5th as Harry O’Donoghue and Carroll Brown present their Celtic Christmas Concert; a lively program filled with Spiritual, Celtic, and traditional seasonal songs, complimented by stories and Irish recitations. Joining them will be the talents of keyboard player Michael Murray to round out the sounds of the season.
Carroll Brown is a gifted acoustic guitarist and singer/songwriter from South Carolina. With over thirty five years in the music business he possesses a wealth of musical knowledge and a vast repertoire of songs and stories. Carroll performs around the entire southeast at festivals, pubs and events and hosts annual tours to Ireland. (www.carrollbrownmusic.com)
Harry O’Donoghue comes from the east coast of Ireland. Performing professionally for nearly thirty years, he is a talented musician and has become a master storyteller and folksinger. Now living in Savannah, Harry co-produces and hosts the popular Green Island Radio Show for Georgia Public Broadcasting and leads multiple annual group tours to Ireland. (www.harryodonoghue.com)
Together they bring to the stage a gently paced acoustic show, drawing on their roots to offer an eclectic Holiday program of traditional, Celtic, original, spiritual, folksy and spoken word pieces.
The onstage atmosphere is casual and conversational as the gentlemen banter easily between themselves and the audience. Join Brown and O’Donoghue for a delightful evening of acoustic music, song and story.
A Celtic Christmas Concert in the black box theater at ARTworks, Thursday, December 5 at 7:30pm. $12 per person, $5 for children (12 and under) and $10 for groups of 10 or more. 843-379-2787, www.artworksinbeaufort.org, 2127 Boundary Street Beaufort SC 29902. ARTworks is the arts council of Beaufort, Port Royal and the Sea Islands: art works, art fun, art now.
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Beaufort High School Voices Winter Show is December 4th & 5th at 7pm at the school’s Performing Arts Center.
The concert will include traditional favorites such as “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”
Tickets are $7 each.
The Choir is also having a canned food drive to support HELP of Beaufort. Bring any canned good to the concert and receive $2 off ticket price.
Here’s even MORE upcoming Holiday festivities in Beaufort to enjoy. Hit the link for more info on each…
Gullah Caribbean Christmas
First Presbyterian Church 3rd annual Nativity Celebration
Uncalled For Trio’s “Ugly Sweater” Christmas Tour 2013
The Honky Tonk Angels Christmas Holiday Spectacular
