Christmas in Charleston – Events and Plantations
If my other two lists of events and things to do in Charleston for Christmas were not enough, here are more!
Dickens Dinner at Circa 1886
149 Wentworth St.
843-853-7828 circa1886.com
“Travel back in time as storyteller Tim Lowry takes guests to Victorian England
for a lively retelling of the beloved ‘A Christmas Carol’. The performance is accompanied by a four course dinner inspired by the novel.” Circa 1886 is the name of a restaurant on the grounds of The Wentworth Mansion. The house was built in 1886 in the “Second Empire” style of architecture, which was popular in the U.S. from the 1850’s to the 1890’s. The owner was Francis Silas Rogers, who made his fortune in cotton. If you go to this dinner, it will probably already be after dark. So go back in the daylight to get a really good look at the house. It is absolutely gorgeous, my favorite mansion in the city. On the corner of Wentworth St. and Smith St. Seriously, go look at it.
The Sound of Charleston
A live concert held at a church. Special Holiday Edition.
Music of The Civil War, light classical, Gospel, Spirituals, Jazz, Gershwin.
Dec 2, 11, 18, 26, 30 at 7 pm
843-270-4903 www.soundofcharleston.com
adults $28, seniors $26, students $16
The Circular Congregational Church
150 Meeting St.
If you go, it will already be dark. I insist that you go back and look at this church in daylight. The building is from 1892, and the congregation calls it “our new church building”. That is because it is the 4th building on site. The first one was in 1681. Those first 3 burned down in fires. This “new” building was built in the “Romanesque” style of architecture, a style that imitated medieval roman buildings. I take my walking tour on a short cut through their graveyard. Awesome-looking building, so go look at it.
Two more things for Kids:
The South Carolina Aquarium
100 Aquarium Wharf Chas, SC 29401
843-577-3474 scaquarium.org
A cool aquarium that showcases marine life of South Carolina from the mountains to the sea. Kids, Kids, Kids.
Special Holiday movie in 4-D, ”The Polar Express”
Kids will love the petting tank.
Children’s Museum of The Lowcountry
Winter Wonderland
25 Ann St
Dec 21 to 31
843-853-8962, ext 221 www.explorecml.org
And now, here are 5 Plantations that are open year-round and I’m pretty sure all of them have some special holiday extra events going on. They are off the lower peninsula, so you will need a car. Three of them are on the same road:
Drayton Hall
3380 Ashley River Rd. Chas. SC 29414 www.draytonhall.org
843-769-2600 843-769-2638
Drayton Hall (1738) is holding their annual holiday event: “Spirituals Concert”
African-American spiritual music Dec 5, 6, and 12 3 pm- 5 pm
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens
3550 Ashley River Rd Chas, SC 29414
843-571-1266 800-367-3517
www.magnoliaplantation.com
Middleton Place
4300 Ashley River Rd. Chas, SC 29414
800-782-3608 843-556-6020
www.MiddletonPlace.org
Middleton Place is presenting “Grand Illumination: Christmas 1782” on Dec 17, 18, 19
Arthur Middleton was one of the 4 South Carolina signers of The Declaration of Independence. The Christmas of 1782 was extremely festive, because the Revolutionary War was ending and the British were leaving. Arthur Middleton had spent a year in a british prison and was now released and coming home. Re-enactors tell the story by firelight. I drove the horse drawn carriages at Middleton Place for a year, and so I can state from experience, that their special events are definitely worth attending. One time, they were having a musket-firing demonstration that I almost wasn’t told about, that would occur near where I would be dropping people off. Horses don’t like gunshots. A barn hand came running to divert my route to another area. All went well, and I was able to get my 2 horses off the carriage, and into their stalls in the barn before the guns went off.
This next one is on James Island:
McLeod Plantation
325 Country Club Dr. Chas, SC 29412
843-795-4386 CharlestonCountyParks.com
And east of the Cooper River:
Boone Hall Plantation
1235 Long Point Rd. Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
843-884-4371 boonehallplantation.com
Boone Hall is doing a holiday extravaganza called “A Lowcountry Christmas”. From the photos in the newspaper it will be quite a thing to see, and this is the first year they’ve done it. The website is alowcountrychristmas.com
All of these plantations have gardens, walks along the river, tours of the Plantation House, and programs that tell you about the lives of the residents in the 1700s and 1800s, both black and white. Crafts such as pottery, spinning wheel, and blacksmith are demonstrated. Farm animals to pet, food to eat, gift shops to browse. Get yourselves out to one of these plantations no matter what time of year. There are actually more christmas events in the outer lying areas, but I have run out of steam. Come visit. I am doing 2 walking tours on Christmas Day, so come join me.
Your loyal servant, Amy