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Holiday Festival of Lights Marks 25 Years

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Holiday Festival of Lights
Photo/Piwakawaka Photo

One of our favorite Charleston area holiday events is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. The Holiday Festival of Lights at James Island County Park opens Nov. 14 with 2 million shimmering lights over a 3-mile loop. The festival is open nightly through Jan. 1, 2015.

Throughout its 25-year history, more than 4 million people have toured the Holiday Festival of Lights, which is hosted by the Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission. Each year, guests enjoy more than 750 shining displays, including long-time favorites and new lighted creations. The opening celebration on Nov. 14 will include a tree lighting ceremony, live entertainment and fireworks.

In addition to driving through the lights display, guests can enjoy:

  • Marshmallow roasting
  • Festival train rides
  • Enchanted walking trail
  • Old-fashioned carousel
  • Gift shop
  • Santa’s Sweet Shoppe
  • Special family events on select evenings, including photos with Santa

Light Show Supervisor Rich Raab has designed displays at the Holiday Festival of lights on site at James Island County Park since 1990. Current designs range from holiday themes to dinosaurs, trains, spaceships, aquatic themes, Charleston iconic imagery and hundreds more. Raab creates each design first on paper then develops his designs into a light structure based off his drawing. Winning entries from the past three years’ Light Display Design Contests were turned into displays featuring a Ferris wheel, the South Carolina state flag and a penguin sliding down an iceberg.

Holiday Festival of Lights
photo/Charleston County Parks

Here are some fun facts about the festival: 

  • The light show crew works year-round to design, build, construct and breakdown the festival.
  • It takes six to 10 weeks to create one light display.
  • The life span of a light display is about five years prior to reconditioning.
  • An estimated 23 miles of rebar has been used to create the festival’s displays.
  • The Ravenel Bridge light display is 30 feet tall and roughly the length of a football field.
  • There are 2,500 breakers used to power all of the festival’s displays, and it takes a full hour to turn on and off the show each night.
  • In 2013, 21,000 hot cocoas and 19,000 marshmallow sticks were sold on the festival grounds.
  • In 2013 alone, the Festival saw license plates from all 50 states.

Plan Your Visit: 

The Holiday Festival of Lights is at James Island County Park. 871 Riverland Drive, Charleston, SC 29412

The festival is open 5:30-10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 5:30-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Admission is $15 per vehicle; $40 per vehicle (16-30 guests); $100 per vehicle (31+ guests). Each Monday through Thursday, admission is $10 per vehicle (1-15 guests) with the donation of a non-perishable food item or dog/cat food to benefit the Lowcountry Food Bank.

For more information, including a schedule of special events, visit www.holidayfestivaloflights.com.

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Charleston FAQ's

Choosing a hotel and where to stay in Charleston all depends on your budget and goals. Do you want to stay Downtown, at the beach or in the outer areas such as North Charleston where you have to drive to get everywhere? For more help on deciding: https://travelerofcharleston.com/articles/hotels/

Charleston has 3 main public beaches which are: Folly, Isle of Palms and Sullivans. Each beach has it’s own atmosphere. The most common beach that people visit is Folly Beach and then Isle of Palms followed by Sullivans Island. For more info on Charleston’s beaches visit: https://travelerofcharleston.com/guide-charlestons-beaches/

Charleston, SC is full of historical things to do. Everything from museums, to public sites and free landmark sites such as Rainbow Row and the Battery can be seen. For more info on Charleston’s top historical sites visit: https://travelerofcharleston.com/places-to-learn-about-charleston-sc-history/

There are many things that will keep the kids and family entertained and educated in Charleston. There are historic sites such as Fort Sumter, a Children’s Museum, Aquarium and the USS Yorktown…a WWII era aircraft carrier you can tour. For more info visit: https://travelerofcharleston.com/charleston-family-fun-activities/

There’s so many  things you could do in Charleston it can be overwhelming. We recommend that first time visitors, checkout the ultimate first-time visitor guide here: https://travelerofcharleston.com/charleston-first-time-visitors-guide/

Spring in Charleston, SC is an amazing time of year to visit. The flowers are blooming and the weather is mild and sunny. For more info, check-out our spring guide to Charleston here: https://travelerofcharleston.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-springtime-in-charleston/

Summer in Charleston is a great time to visit. There’s plenty of things to keep you busy and visiting the beach will probably….or should be on your short-list. Also water-based activities and tours are popular. Checkout this summer guide to Charleston for more info: 

Our 10 Favorite Summer Activities in Charleston

Fall is one of the best times to visit. The weather cools down a bit and the skies are typically blue and clear. In addition there are many great events, festivals and the large crowds of summer have gone back to school or work. For more info on visiting in the fall, checkout this article: https://travelerofcharleston.com/charleston-12-things-to-do-fall/

There are so many great things to do that it’s difficult to narrow the list down. This article does a great job with figuring out the must do things to do in Charleston

7 Can’t Miss Reasons to Visit Charleston, SC Now

The consensus is a minimum of 3-days is needed to settle in and experience Charleston. For instance, many people take 2 days exploring downtown and another day visiting sites outside of downtown such as the plantations, Angel Oak Tree or beaches. Checkout this page for a list of tours and attractions: 

Charleston’s Top Tours & Attractions | Things to do

Downtown Charleston was made for walking and for sure one of the best way to soak up and experience the history first-hand. This article goes over getting around Charleston with and without a car as well: 

Getting Around Charleston, SC

We’re of course partial to Charleston, but here’s the truth. There are many similarities however there are some differences in our opinion: 

  • Both cities are historic and beautiful. 
  • Both cities are extremely walkable. Savannah, with it’s park-like squares maybe more walkable than Charleston. 
  • Charleston has a more established and food scene with many more options. 
  • Charleston has better hotels and shopping.
  • Both cities have equally good tours.
  • Charleston has better beach options. Savannah has Tybee which is great, however it’s 1 beach vibe versus Charleston which has 3 beaches with different vibes. Checkout this Charleston beach guide article: https://travelerofcharleston.com/guide-charlestons-beaches/
  • In Savannah you can walk with alcoholic beverages on the street. This is not allowed in Charleston. This can be good or bad depending on your stance. 
  • Savannah is more affordable.
  • TourPass offers all-inclusive passes in both cities: https://tourpass.com

There are always great and world-class events happening in Charleston. For a calendar of events and things to do in Charleston, checkout our online calendar of events: https://travelerofcharleston.com/events/

Of course there are free money-saving coupons that you can use. Visit the coupons page for a bunch of ways to save: https://travelerofcharleston.com/coupon/

Charleston has some fantastic can’t miss tours such as Fort Sumter, carriage, ghost, harbor, historic and culinary tours. For a full list with more info visit: https://travelerofcharleston.com/attractions/

Checkout the Charleston Relocation Guide page which will guide you during your move: https://travelerofcharleston.com/charleston-sc-relocation-guide/

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