The night after Abbeville lit its Christmas tree last year, Erica McCier's restaurant filled with people from out of town. McCier owns Indigenous Underground on Trinity Street. She told the Index-Journal that many of those guests were from Hartwell, Georgia, and had come to see the lights on Court Square.
The 2026 holiday calendar is built around that kind of night. For years Abbeville held its Christmas parade on a Saturday morning. This year it runs Thursday, Dec. 10, at 6:30 p.m., and the City of Abbeville is calling it its first evening Christmas parade. The parade is the biggest change, but most of the season has moved toward dark. It follows the first year of the city's holiday lights, which the city says paid off.
What the lights did to downtown last December
The Light of Christmas display started in December 2025. It was added to the Christmas in Abbeville program, which the city launched in 2023. Strings of LED lights went up in the trees around Court Square, along with decorations on storefronts and the city Christmas tree. Mike Clary, the city's deputy administrative director, told the Index-Journal the total cost was $193,000, paid from the city's hospitality fund. He said the first year carried significant startup costs for the lights and infrastructure, and those costs won't recur at the same level.
The city tracked yearly downtown foot traffic using anonymous cell phone location data from Cobalt Community Research.
| Year | Downtown Abbeville visitation |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 80,654 |
| 2024 | 105,161 |
| 2025 | 114,830 |
That works out to a 42% increase from 2023 to 2025. Businesses that reported their numbers saw an average 129% increase in sales. One business said its December sales alone were up $27,000 from the year before. Clary's conservative estimate was at least $5 of economic activity for every $1 the city spent.
Merchants talked about the lights in terms of evening hours. Jessica Brown, who owns Pink on Pickens Boutique, told the Index-Journal the display "made it easier to be downtown after dark" and made downtown more walkable. She also said restaurant owners told her they saw an even bigger jump than the retailers did. City Councilman Jason Edwards said some businesses opened on Sundays to catch the extra visitors, and one hired extra help.
From Saturday morning to Thursday night
WYFF listed Abbeville's 2024 parade for Saturday, Dec. 14, at 11 a.m. WSPA reported the 2025 parade for Saturday, Dec. 13, also at 11 a.m., with a Christmas tree cake eating contest at the Opera House at noon.
In the same Index-Journal report on the lights, Clary laid out the city's plans for the next season:
- Add more lighting elements
- Move the Christmas Parade to the evening
- Expand the tree lighting event
- Encourage businesses and residents to take part
- Use the Livery Stable for family-focused programming
- Build on additions such as the Christmas Tree cake eating contest
- Promote partner events like the Chamber's holiday lineup
The 2026 calendar does nearly all of it. The parade is now in the evening. The cake contest has moved from the noon slot after the parade to tree lighting night. Santa's Village fills the Livery Stable. Clary also said the city treats Christmas as its "third festival," with the Chamber's Victorian Christmas and Walk Through Bethlehem as events that keep people downtown longer.
The 2026 season, night by night
| Date | Time | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu., Nov. 19 | 6:30 p.m. | Christmas Tree Lighting, Santa downtown | Court Square |
| Thu., Nov. 19 | 7:00 p.m. | Christmas Tree Cake Eating Contest | Abbeville Opera House |
| Tue., Dec. 1 | 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. | Erskine College Lessons and Carols | Due West ARP Church |
| Dec. 3 to 6 and Dec. 10 to 13 | Evenings | Walk Through Bethlehem | Cold Spring Mennonite Church |
| Fri. and Sat., Dec. 4 and 5, 11 and 12, 18 and 19 | 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. | Food Vendors on the Square | Court Square |
| Thu., Dec. 10 | 6:30 p.m. | Christmas Parade | Main Street and around the Square |
| Fri. and Sat., Dec. 11 and 12, 18 and 19 | 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. | Santa's Village | The Livery Stable |
The season opens Thursday, Nov. 19, the Thursday before Thanksgiving, which is when WSPA says Abbeville starts its holiday celebration each year. The tree lighting is on the Square at 6:30 p.m. Santa arrives downtown at the same time, and the city's listing says he may set up a workshop with letter-writing stations and holiday games for children. At 7 p.m. the second annual Christmas Tree Cake Eating Contest moves inside the Abbeville Opera House. Contestants get two minutes to eat as many Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes as they can.
The Light of Christmas display stays lit every night through the end of December. On the six Friday and Saturday evenings in December, the city's Food Vendors on the Square listing pairs dinner with "an evening enjoying the Light of Christmas." Pictures with Santa starts Friday, Dec. 4, at 5 p.m. On Saturday, Dec. 5, there is a 10 a.m. session and a 5 p.m. session. The Chamber holds its Victorian Christmas downtown the first weekend in December. It includes costumed reenactors, carolers, live music and a holiday market of handmade goods.
Dec. 10 is the busiest night of the season
The new parade night is also opening night for the second weekend of Walk Through Bethlehem, which runs Dec. 3 to 6 and Dec. 10 to 13. Cold Spring Mennonite Church hosts it at 226 Cold Spring Church Rd. It's free, with townspeople, artisans, shops and live animals set up as a walk-through Bethlehem.
Walk Through Bethlehem was arguably the biggest draw of last season. McCier told the Index-Journal that Indigenous Underground's largest crowds came on Walk Through Bethlehem nights, and that "we did more sales in that week than any other week in the year." One of the organizers told her the event drew more than 2,000 people, and it still had more evenings to go.
That means Thursday, Dec. 10, puts the city's parade and the season's biggest outside draw on the same evening, a few miles apart. The next two nights bring food vendors to the Square and the first Santa's Village evenings at the Livery Stable. For anyone in town, Dec. 10 through Dec. 12 is the most crowded stretch of December. The first Bethlehem weekend, Dec. 3 to 6, shares its dates with the first round of food vendors, Santa photos and the Chamber's Victorian Christmas.
Due West has its own big night earlier in the month. Erskine College's free Lessons and Carols service is Tuesday, Dec. 1, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Due West ARP Church. The Erskine Choraleers perform with members of the campus and local community.
Eating downtown on the busy nights
Last year, restaurants were among the businesses that felt the crowds. Brown said restaurant owners saw a bigger increase than the shops, and McCier guessed that business at Indigenous Underground may have doubled on some days. The Old 96 District holiday guide lists these spots downtown:
- Indigenous Underground, Chef Ambassador Erica McCier's farm-to-table restaurant on Trinity Street
- Main Street Coffee Company, for scratch-made sandwiches in a casual café
- Swartzentruber's Bakery, for baked goods
- Mama's Sweet Shoppe, for donuts
If family is staying over for the parade, Sharon Manor and the Veranda on Main are historic bed-and-breakfasts close to the Square. For a full weekend downtown after the holidays, our local's weekend on the Abbeville Square covers the Opera House calendar and the restaurants around it.
Edwards told the Index-Journal that last season was "the start of something that will grow." This year the city has acted on that by moving the parade into the evening hours.
At Cann Realty, we follow what's changing around the Square because it matters to people who own property in Abbeville. If you're curious how this kind of downtown activity affects what your home or land is worth, request a free property valuation and we'll go over it with you.
