The 37th Holiday Festival of Lights runs nightly November 13 to December 31, 2026 at James Island County Park. Here are the hours, per-vehicle admission tiers, what's inside, traffic tips and history.

The Charleston Literary Festival returns to the Dock Street Theatre November 6 to 15, 2026, with more than 80 authors. Dates, program highlights, tickets and planning notes.

Charleston County Parks' Harvest Festival returns to Johns Island County Park on Saturday, November 7, 2026. Hours, admission, what to expect and what to bring.

Holy Smokes returns to Riverfront Park in North Charleston on Saturday, November 14, 2026, with more than 50 pitmasters and chefs. Tickets, villages, parking and planning notes.

Charleston lit its streets with gas starting in 1848. Here is the history behind the copper gas lantern, the makers tied to the look, and what adding one involves, from permits and the BAR to running cost and upkeep.

How the Charleston double house works, from its Georgian center-hall plan to the Heyward-Washington and Miles Brewton houses, plus what owners and buyers should know about living in one today.

Heart pine floors came from old-growth longleaf forests that are now almost gone. Here is how to identify them, refinish and repair them carefully, and read them when you tour an older Charleston home.

Charleston's old brick was laid in soft lime mortar for a reason. Learn why hard cement mortar and stucco damage historic walls, what proper repointing looks like, and how to vet a mason.

Haint blue piazza ceilings trace to Gullah Geechee tradition in the Lowcountry. Here is what is documented about the color, the stories around it, and how to choose and paint a blue ceiling on an older Charleston home.

Charleston Green looks black until the sun hits it. Here is the story behind the color, how historians treat it, what the BAR reviews when you repaint, and how to use it on shutters, doors, and iron.

Charleston adopted design guidelines for elevating historic buildings in 2019. What they say about foundations, stairs, piazzas, and parking, how the BAR reviews an elevation, and how freeboard and the 50 percent rule fit in.

Nearly every historic house in Charleston predates 1978. How the federal lead disclosure works in a sale, what the 10-day inspection window is, and how the EPA's renovation rule shapes painting and window work on an older home.

How two early planned neighborhoods north of Hampton Park filled with bungalows, Foursquares, and Revival houses, how to recognize a true Craftsman bungalow, and the systems to look at closely in a house from the 1910s through the 1930s.

What counts as a grand tree in the City of Charleston, when a single-family owner needs a permit, how removal requests and the BZA-Site Design board work, and how Mount Pleasant and North Charleston compare.

Old-growth sash, glazing putty, sash cords, and storm windows. How original wood windows are repaired, what the National Park Service recommends, and what Charleston's BAR policies say about storms, shutters, and replacements.

One story, one room wide, a side piazza, and a gable roof. How the Charleston cottage developed, who built and lived in them, where they survive on the upper peninsula, and how owners add space today.

Paint colors, fences, windows, roofs, and demolition. What the City of Charleston's Board of Architectural Review looks at, which projects stay at staff level, and what the fees and meeting schedule look like.

Eight days across the peninsula, opening in Marion Square on September 24. The 2026 schedule, venues, prices, and how to plan around it.

October 1 to 31, 2026, and the fiftieth year of the program. Ticket tiers, the neighborhoods on the schedule, and how to build a route across the month.

Sixty-five feet tall, a canopy over 17,000 square feet, and free to visit. What is known about the Angel Oak, and what live oaks mean for a Johns Island property.