GREENWOOD, S.C. — Snowflake lights now run along much of Main Street in Uptown Greenwood, part of a two-week decorating push that city crews began right after Halloween so the district is dressed before its first big holiday weekend.
Workers started on the Monday after Halloween and expect the Uptown job and nearby streets to take roughly 14 days, city communications specialist Stephanie Withey said. By the middle of the day Friday, crews had covered both sides of most of Main Street.
The timing lines up with the Holiday Open House on Saturday, Nov. 14, when Uptown merchants plan special sales and light refreshments from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Later events on the city calendar include Santa on Main and the Holiday Sip n Shop evening. Withey said the lights and the events are meant to draw families and neighbors together.
About 20 miles west, Abbeville has already switched on the strings of Christmas lights over Court Square for a second season. The display began last year, and Assistant City Manager Mike Clary said phone location data showed downtown visits in November and December 2025 ran about 40% above the same stretch of 2023 and 11% above 2024.
Four downtown shops that shared their numbers reported holiday sales up a combined 129% from 2024, Clary said, while noting that is a small sample. The city pays for the lights from its 2% hospitality tax on prepared food and drinks, which brings in about $260,000 a year and by state law must go to tourism uses.
This year Abbeville is adding Santa’s Village at the Livery Stable as a new family attraction and stretching the chamber-run Handmade for the Holidays market onto Trinity Street with an evening session. During that event on Dec. 4 and 5, the city will hand out up to 100 Square Dollars gift cards worth $10 each to visitors who post a public photo from a participating shop.
Section: More Greenwood SC events news
Greenwood events business profiles
Filed under: Greenwood SC Events News
