By Delayna Earley
The Island News
Downtown Beaufort and the surrounding area will be full of cheer this weekend as it kicks off the holiday season with several annual events.
The festivities will begin on Friday, Dec. 1, with Night on the Town.
Bay Street, West and Scott streets from Bay to Port Republic and Port Republic from Charles to Scott Street will close at 4:30 p.m.
There will be Christmas music and caroling throughout the evening as well and dance and other groups performing on the stage on Bay Street.
The Parris Island Marine Corps Band will perform on the concert stage at Charles and Bay Streets.
At 6 p.m., Santa will be available for photos outside of the Beaufort Candy Shoppe and at 8 p.m. Acting Mayor Mike McFee will be reading The Night Before Christmas on the concert stage.
The evening will end with the tree lighting at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park at 8:30 p.m.
On Saturday, Dec. 2, the Light Up the Night Boat Parade will make its way past the seawall at Waterfront Park beginning at 5:30 and going until 8:30 p.m.
This is an event where locals decorate their personal boats and make three passes by the park.
The annual holiday weekend will wrap up on Sunday, Dec. 3, with the Christmas parade at 3 p.m. which will follow Boundary Street to Carteret Street to Bay Street.
The Gullah Christmas Celebration will be taking place during the weekend as well.
On Thursday Nov. 30, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. there will be a free Gullah Geechee – Sierra Leone Cultural Connection Symposium.
Later on Thursday and Friday, Dec. 1, Aunt Pearlie Sue and Gullah Kinfolk will be performing a musical called Christmas Wish Freedom! at the University of South Carolina Beaufort (USCB) Center for the Arts.
Tickets for the event cost between $15 and $50.
The show will begin each night at 7 p.m., which additional showings on Friday at 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and 12 p.m. for children to attend.
On Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. there will be a Gullah Taste of Christmas and Rice Cook-Off in Waterfront Park.
The 12th Annual Nativity Celebration of Beaufort hosted by First Presbyterian Church of Beaufort will run on Dec. 1 and 2 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Dec. 3 from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.
The event is free and will feature more than 125 nativities from around the world.
The Beaufort Symphony Orchestra will be hosting their Holiday Celebration with the Beaufort Symphony at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Beaufort on Saturday, Dec. 2, from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
The Town of Port Royal will hold its tree lighting at 6 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 6 next to Port Royal Elementary School. Visits with Santa at Live Oaks Park will follow.
Delayna Earley formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.
