What’s Hot This December: Concerts, Culture and Holiday Celebrations

2018 is almost over and we can hardly believe it. But with an abundance of holiday cheer, exhibits, workshops, concerts and so much more happening in Columbia SC this December, you’re sure to finish the year strong. Keep reading for our roundup below, then take a look through our calendar of events for everything else going on in the real Southern hot spot!

Holiday Happenings

Celebrate the season with festive events happening all over town. Join in the merriment at the 65^th Annual Carolina Carillon Parade, A Starry Night, Giant Menorah Lighting & Chanukah Party, A Night Out at Trenholm, Sites and Sounds of the Nativity and 25^th Anniversary: “The Living Christmas Story.” Spend the holidays with Historic Columbia as they present Holiday House Tours, Candlelight Tours & Carriage Rides and Breakfast with Santa. Let loose with the Ugly Christmas Sweater Bar Crawl, 7^th Annual Bad Santa Party with Glow Co, Ugly Oyster Roast and BBQ, Christmas Cookie and Beer Pairing Event and Annual Holiday Party at Blue Moon Ballroom. Get in a little seasonal exercise with the Jingle Bell Run.

Fancy a show instead? Catch a classic as the Columbia Classical Ballet and Columbia City Ballet both present performances of The Nutcracker or Township Auditorium presents a production of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical. Or how about a twist on a classic? Pop in to Trustus Theatre for Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol. Get your toes tapping at Midlands Men’s Holiday Concert – Holiday Radio Hour, Holiday Pops, Town Theatre Presents Home for the Holidays, Trans-Siberian Orchestra presents The Ghosts of Christmas Eve, Mark Rapp’s Jingle Bell Jazz: A ‘Nawlins Christmas, Columbia Celebrates Holiday Concert or Home for the Holidays with the 282^nd Army Band. Who doesn’t love holiday movies? Pay a visit to the South Carolina State Museum for a showing of The Polar Express 4D Experience or plan a night out at The Nick as they show special screenings of A Christmas Story, Black Nativity, Gremlins, The Polar Express, It’s a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34^th Street and Die Hard.

Columbia is shining bright this month thanks to dazzling light displays like Lights Before Christmas, Holiday Lights on the River and the Holiday Parade of Lights.

If you avoided the shopping craziness of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, now’s your chance to tackle your list. Peruse the Junior League Holiday Market, Midlands Clay Arts Society 18^th Annual Holiday Sale, Santa Visits the Mast Store, Soda City Holiday Yard Sale, Crafty Feast, Midlands Holiday Family Expo and YoungLives Holiday Market to find the perfect gifts for the special people in your lives.

Join in the countdown to midnight and welcome 2019 at Famously Hot New Year ft. En Vogue, New Year’s Eve Party Thru The Decades, New Year’s Eve at Bourbon and NYE at The Whig.

Performances and Productions

This month’s concert lineup spans the genre spectrum with Kansas, Point of No Return Tour, USC Symphony Orchestra with University Choirs: Masterpieces from Paris, Mark Rapp Group at Pearlz Upstairz, Dylan Schneider, Larger Than Life: A Boy Band Tribute! And the National Collegiate Marching Band Championship Bowl. Alternately, get swept up in the performing arts with Kids on Broadway at Town Theatre, By the Bog of Cats or National Ballet Theatre of Odessa in Swan Lake. Get ready to laugh with Comedian Marty Simpson & Friends. 

Columbia Mainstays

Get a sense of how the locals live by attending a community favorite like First Thursday on Main, Soda City Market, Richland Library Farmers Market and City Roots Farmers Market.

Exhibits, Tours and Workshops

There’s a lot going on at the Columbia Museum of Art this month. Pay them a visit to check out Jackson Pollock Mural, Mid-century Masters: Jasper Johns’ Gifts to the CMA, Focal Points: Architecture in Art, Focal Points: The Art of Disability and Conversations with a Curator: Slow Looking, Big Painting. Or, get hands-on at their Sterling Silver and Gemstone Jewelry Workshop, Intro to Woodburning Workshop, Candle Making Workshop, Crafty Hour and Post-Holidaze Creative Drop-In. Get moving with a Historic USC Horseshoe Walking Tour, Carlisle Street Art Stroll or a South Carolina State House Tour. Finally, meander through the South Carolina State Museum for the State Museum 30^th Anniversary Exhibit, Fill in the Gap and South Carolina and Reconstruction, 1865 – 1876, then pop over to the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum for the 100^th Anniversary of WWI Exhibit.

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