GREENVILLE, S.C. (WSPA) – It’s an exciting time to celebrate the holidays in Greenville. City leaders said there are plenty of activities coming up to get you in the holiday spirit.

“The first thing me and my family are definitely doing is going ice skating for sure,” Greenville resident Sofia Giordani said. “We love it.”

You heard it… ‘Ice on Main’ kicks off the holiday season on Wednesday, November 15th, returning for its 13th season.

The skating rink at the corner of South Main and West Broad Streets will be open through the first part of the new year.

” We come every year,” Giordani said. “It is such a good atmosphere. Everybody is out, there is hot chocolate. It is really nice when it starts getting cold for everybody to be out. We are excited to see the colors on the trees too with all the lights and stuff. It is so pretty downtown.”

The city of Greenville said over the next few weeks you’ll start to see decorations downtown.

“The official Christmas tree will go up right in front of M. Judson Booksellers,” Anna Catherine Miller, City of Greenville Sales And Marketing Manager said.

‘Night of Lights’ will follow on December 1st when downtown Greenville will officially be lit up for Christmas, including the lighting of the Christmas tree.

The fun doesn’t stop there, the day after the tree lighting, Greenville will hold its Christmas parade starting at 6 pm on December 2nd.

“The parade is a night parade which makes it really unique,” Miller said. “Greenville has had this parade for over 75 years and we actually just won an IFEA award for the best parade. We take a lot of pride in the Poinsettia Christmas parade. We encourage people to come out. We start seeing people set up around noon with their chairs.”

The parade route will go from Augusta Street, down Main Street and will end on North Street.

City leaders said setting up all of the holiday events is a lot of fun, but a lot of work as several departments are involved in making the activities better each year.

“We have really worked internally to figure out how we can get decor into each of our plazas to really create attractions along Main Street that encourage people to walk from North all the way down to the West End,” Miller said.

City leaders said merchants downtown will also compete in ‘Window Wonder Land’ where they decorate the windows of their shops for all who pass by. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THESE EVENTS –

2023 Special Events | Greenville, SC – Official Website (greenvillesc.gov)