For one-of-a-kind gifts, visit the Art Center's Art Sale for locally crafted pottery!

Holiday Open House and Art Sale: City of Columbia Art Center

Friday December 9, 2011-Saturday December 10, 2011

Located at 1932 Calhoun Street, the Art Center will host its annual Open House and Art Sale. Enjoy original and unique gifts of pottery and more. Reception Friday December 9, 2011 from 5 to 8 pm. Sale on Saturday 10 am to 6 pm. Also, check out their schedule of upcoming art classes for early 2012 at the Art Center webpage.

Visit some of Camden's most beautiful homes! And spend the night in one of their fabulous inns like Camden House English B&B!

The 35th Anniversary of the Candlelight Tour of Homes: Camden South Carolina

Saturday December 10, 2011

The 35th Anniversary of the Candlelight Tour of Homes will take place on Saturday, December 10, 2011 in historic Camden, South Carolina. Home tours will take place between 3:00 and 8:00pm and will include some of Camden's most elegant homes. For details, visit the Camden Junior Welfare League website.

Columbia City Ballet’s Nutcracker: Koger Center for the Arts

Saturday December 10, 2011 - Sunday December 11, 2011 & Friday December 16, 2011 - Sunday December 18, 2011

Columbia City Ballet’s Nutcracker is “as close to perfect as you can get,” says The State. Columbia City Ballet’s holiday family tradition, Nutcracker, dazzles South Carolina audiences each season. Don’t miss this year’s extraordinary performance. Visit the Columbia City Ballet website for more info. Watch the ballet company's video here.

Annual Holiday Farmers Market & Craft Show: Mount Pleasant South Carolina

Saturday December 10, 2011

This annual market combines all the goodies from the Mount Pleasant traditional food market such as locally grown fresh produce, baked goods, hot food and homemade preserves with handcrafted gifts created by local artisans. Come see this year’s wonderful assortment of Christmas ornaments, glasswork, whimsical crafts, and a wide variety of original art by locally recognized potters, artists, craftsmen and photographers. Live entertainment with a holiday twist will kindle the holiday spirit throughout the market. Children’s activities will include face painting, a jump castle and a visit with Santa Claus, who will listen to Christmas wishes and hand out surprises. And stick around for Sunday's Mount Pleasant Parade down Coleman Blvd.! Visit the Town of Mount Pleasant website for details!

Farmers Market Pavilion
Coleman Boulevard and Simmons Street (Moultrie Middle School Grounds)
11:00 am – 4:00 pm

Gun Show: South Carolina State Fairgrounds

Saturday December 10, 2011 - Sunday December 11, 2011

Mike Kent Gun Show: Our goal has always been the production of safe, high quality shows with a family friendly atmosphere offering a wide variety of firearms and related equipment for shooters, collectors and Civil War enthusiasts. 400 tables! Check out details at the Gun Show website.

Vet's Charity Christmas Ride: Carolina Honda Powerhouse Store

Sunday December 11, 2011

Join 100's of motorcycle riders as they ride to the hospital to help hospitalized veterans have a little cheerier holiday! You don't have to ride to participate. Visit the website at www.vetsride.org

Join your friends at Shandon United Methodist Church for this unique celebration!

LoveFeast: Shandon United Methodist Church

Sunday December 11, 2011
Experience this warm celebration filled with beautiful music by choirs and orchestra and sharing bread, coffee and Christian love and fellowship.

Since the time of Apostles, Christians observed a common meal called “agape” from the Greek word, meaning, love. The custom was brought to America by the Moravians. Today, the Lovefeast continues as an important part of Christian worship. You are invited to be a part of this annual celebration at Shandon. Please bring a non-perishable food item for Harvest Hope. Childcare is available, by reservation, for ages three and under by contacting office@shandon-umc.org. Visit the Shandon UMC website for more info.

A selection of beautiful cupcakes from Cupcake Paradise!

Cupcake Paradise: Now Open in Irmo!

I had the pleasure of watching the Cupcake Paradise bakers bake and decorate cupcakes last week. The home-baked goodness is evident in the wonderful aromas, the fluffy cakes and the creamy frosting. These lovely cakes are sold individually and are boxed perfectly for gift giving, whether you want to give one or a dozen! Treat yourself or someone on your holiday gift list to these delicious gems! Located at 800 Lake Murray Blvd. near I-26 (in the shopping center where Piggly Wiggly was). Hours are Tue - Fri:10:00 am-6:00 pm and Sat:10:00 am-4:00 pm. Phone: 803.445.1515

Lexington County Museum Christmas Open House: Lexington

Sunday December 11, 2011

The Lexington County Museum offers a rare and unforgettable experience – the chance to see and touch a way of life gone forever. Structures and furnishings focus on the early history of Lexington County and interpret the everyday lives of its residents from ca. 1770 until the Civil War. The Museum complex, located in the heart of Lexington, encompasses seven acres and features 36 historic structures. Exhibits focus on locally made artifacts including furniture and quilts. The Lexington County Museum Christmas Open House offers a glimpse into antebellum holiday decorations. It's free to the public - so you save $5 for visiting during the open house! 231 Fox Street Lexington, SC
From 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Visit the Lexington County Museum website.

Second Sunday Strolls: Main Street

Sunday December 11, 2011

Explore Columbia and discover the rich history found in her historic downtown neighborhoods. Second Sunday Strolls provide a guided tour for many of the neighborhoods featured in Historic Columbia Foundation's Retrace (Connecting Communities Through History) brochures. Tours are 30 – 60 minutes in length (varies by neighborhood and tour participants). Neighborhood for December Tour: Main Street. Meets at the front steps of the State House on the Gervais Street side. Reservations recommended. Proceeds benefit Historic Columbia Foundation.

Wine Dinner: Mint Julep Restaurant

Tuesday December 13, 2011

What a wonderful way to experience the fine foods offered at Mint Julep in Northeast Columbia and get to try 4 wines at the same time! Mint Julep offers another of their popular Wine Dinner series, a special monthly event, on Tuesday December 13, 2011. Take a look at the menu:

• Course 1- Zardetto Prosecco

• Course 2- Cakebread Savignon Blanc with a seared bay scallop atop a wilted arugula salad finished with a pink grapefruit reduction

• Course 3-Nozzole Chianti with panchetta wrapped prawns brushed with sage butter over butternut squash gnocchi with red currant drzzle

• Course 4- ZD Cabernet Savignon featuring a deconstructed Beef Wellington with mushroom duxelle, horseradish mashed potatoes with green beens almondine

• Course 5- Taylor Tawny 10 year Port Amaretto creme brulee

Four wines with a four course dinner. $30 per person. $50 per couple. Please RSVP to cary@mintjuleprestaurant.com or call 803-419-7200. Visit the Mint Julep website.

Family Night at EdVenture Children's Museum!

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Join the folks at EdVenture the second Tuesday of the month from 5:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. - just $1.00 admission! Check out the latest - Body Detectives and Amusement Park Science! Visit EdVenture for details!

Holiday Survival Guide: Palmetto Health

Palmetto Health offers a free Holiday Survival Guide to help get you through the season of decorating, parties, gift-giving and countless other activities. Use the tips to help manage the stress that comes with the holidays including managing expectations, enjoying family time, handling the holiday blues and jump-starting your New Year's Resolutions. Call 434-6891 to request a copy, or check out the online version at PalmettoHealth.org.

Holiday Concert: The Palmetto Mastersingers

Thursday December 15, 2011 & Friday December 16, 2011 The Palmetto Mastersingers is a group of over 60 men, ranging in age from 22 to 82. They have performed at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, The Dom Cathedral in Cologne Germany, The White House, Carnegie Hall, the National Cathedral in Washington, and St. Peters Basilica in the Vatican, to name a modest few. The group will perform a holiday concert at Harbison Theatre on the campus of Midlands Technical College - Harbison. For more information, visit the Palmetto Mastersingers website!

Free Candlelight Tours and $5 Carriage Rides: Historic Columbia Foundation

Thursday December 15, 2011 & Friday December 16, 2011 Enjoy the decorated halls of our historic Robert Mills House, Hampton-Preston Mansion and Mann-Simons Site by candlelight on a guided tour. For our 50th Anniversary, HCF will be highlighting southern holiday traditions from the Antebellum Era (Robert Mills House) through the Victorian Age (Hampton-Preston Mansion) and into the 20th Century (Mann-Simons Site). Musical entertainment, children’s activities and interpretation of the houses will reflect the uncertainty of life in the South from viewpoints of enslaved workers to those of wealthy planters. Before or after your house tour, enjoy carriage rides through the Robert Mills historic district. Candlelight Tours are FREE and open to the public. Carriage Rides: $5 per person. Visit the Historic Columbia Foundation website for more information.

Puttin on the Glitz!: Doubletree by Hilton

Saturday, December 31, 2011 Want to experience a fabulous New Year's Eve and not have to worry about driving home after a night of great food, drink, music and dancing? Here's the perfect solution - head to the Doubletree by Hilton on Bush River Road at I-20 this New Year's Eve. My husband and I did this last year and it was a blast! You get to check in early to a beautiful guest room, then head to the bar in Columbo's for appetizers and drinks. The wonderful buffet starts at 7:15pm. After we ate and made friends with the super-nice people at our table (who strangely all lived near us!), we went to our room and changed into our dancing duds... and then the real fun began. Wake up to a breakfast and omelet bar that puts all others to shame! Don't check out til 4pm! You don't want to miss out on this truly special way to ring in the New Year. Check out all you get for a low inclusive price... $209 per couple! Click here for the details!

More Holiday Events Around Town

Holiday Lights on the River thru December 31, 2011. Saluda Shoals Park Winter Wonder Ride - Friday and Saturday nights only December 2-3 and December 9-10, 2011. Saluda Shoals Park Nights of Wonder-December 16-23 only! Saluda Shoals Park Children's Garden Christmas and Kid's Walk - thru January 1, 2012. Edisto Memorial Garden in Orangeburg Lights Before Christmas thru December 30, 2011. Riverbanks Zoo and Garden Holiday House Tours of Historic Houses thru December 31, 2011. Historic Columbia Foundation

Fabulous Ongoing Events, Upcoming Events, News and Special Offers!

Children's Garden Christmas and Kid's Walk

Now - January 1, 2012

The City of Orangeburg invites you to experience the most breathtaking display of lights you will ever see. The Children’s Garden Christmas, a drive through display located in the beautiful Edisto Memorial Gardens, hosts thousands of lights including still and animated displays such as Old Man Winter, a river boat, Santa and his elves, a Nativity Scene, and more than 60 lighted cherry trees. Enjoy a stroll through the Kid’s Walk which features interactive displays including a hopping bunny, a squirrel running up a tree, and colorful Christmas trees. Be sure to visit the Twelve Days of Christmas display during your time on the walk. Open seven days a week | Free admission Children’s Garden Christmas: 5:00pm-10:00pm Kid’s Walk: 5:00pm-9:00pm

A Wonderful Christmas Day Buffet! Columbo's at Doubletree by Hilton

Sunday, December 25, 2011
Come celebrate Christmas with a fabulous spread at elegant Columbo's inside the Doubletree by Hilton hotel on Bush River Road at I-20! Treat your mom, your spouse, your kids, your grandparents and yourself to a very special dining event... make Christmas a relaxing day without the stresses of meal preparation and clean-up. The menu includes something for everyone from cold starters like smoked salmon and chilled shrimp to a market fresh omelet bar to entrees like carved roast beef and seared Atlantic salmon. And of course, a wide selection of holiday desserts, cakes and more. View the Christmas Celebration menu here.

Spring Awakening: Trustus Theatre

Now - January 21, 2011

Winner of 8 TONY Awards, including BEST MUSICAL, "Spring Awakening" celebrates the unforgettable journey from youth to adulthood with a power, poignancy, and passion that you will never forget. Set to a rocking score by Duncan Sheik, "Spring Awakening" explodes onto the Trustus Main Stage this winter. All tickets are $25. Visit the Trustus website for details.

Nature and the Grand American Vision - Masterpieces of the Hudson River School Painters: Columbia Museum of Art

Now - April 1, 2012

Forty-five magnificent paintings from the rich collection of the New-York Historical Society are on view at the Columbia Museum of Art beginning this weekend, in a major traveling exhibition Nature and the Grand American Vision: Masterpieces of the Hudson River School Painters. Though individual works are very seldom loaned, these iconic works of 19th-century landscape painting are traveling on a national tour for the first time and are circulating to four museums around the country as part of the Historical Society's traveling exhibitions program Sharing a National Treasure. The Columbia Museum of Art is the first stop in the South. During the second quarter of the nineteenth century, a loose-knit group of artists and writers — who collectively became known as the “Hudson River School” — forged the first American landscape vision and literary voice. That vision, still widely influential today, saw the natural world as a source of spiritual renewal and an expression of an emerging national identity. It was first expressed through the majestic scenery of the Hudson River Valley. Don't miss your opportunity to experience these awe-inspiring pieces. Visit the Columbia Museum of Art website for details.

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