🌴 Boomtown, with a big asterisk

Welcome to CHS Happenings, where Charleston connects with what’s new, what’s next, and what’s worth your time.

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Happy Friday morning, Charleston! I took your temp last week on whether you’re a cranberry sauce fan. Early returns showed I was in the minority as a hater. As the week continued, things moved in my direction.

The date for our first CHS Happenings Dinner Club will be Wednesday, January 28. We’ll be heading into the doldrums of a CHS winter, and y’all will be craving connection. At least that’s my hope.

Here’s the details:

✦︎ Take a quick quiz about your interests, food preferences, and what types of folks you are looking to meet.

✦︎ Get matched with 5 other CHS Happenings subscribers based on the quiz results.

✦︎ Receive your invite the morning of the dinner and discover which restaurant in Charleston your group will be eating at.

✦︎ Dinner time will be on Wednesday, January 28th at 7 PM. After dinner, all tables will be invited to a designated spot to keep the good times rolling. This after-party is optional, so if you're in a food coma, you can go home and sleep it off.

The Logistics: The booking fee is $16 per seat, you pay for your own meal at the end of dinner, and I'll put it all together from the quiz, to matching, to the reservations, and sending reminders. All you gotta do is show up, meet some new friends, and have some fun.

Stay tuned for more info on how to sign up.

Last week, I asked if you’d appreciate a CHS Happenings Holiday Gift Guide.

I’ll be putting the finishing touches on this in the next week. If you’d like to nominate a unique, locally-owned Charleston retailer or cafe/coffee shop owner, our committee—me—would love to hear from you. Go here and let me know.

Congrats to Bryan F. of West Ashley who guessed correctly in last week’s “Where Are We” that I was at The Jasper apartment building near the corner of Broad and Lockwood in Downtown.

Friday 54° / 44° ☔ 💧90%

Saturday 51° / 46° ☔ 💧99%

Sunday 53° / 42° ☔ 💧75%

Reindeer Scavenger Hunt | 8:30 AM - 5 PM | Night Heron Park Nature Center, Kiawah Island | Oh, no! All of Santa’s reindeer have gone missing and we need your help finding them! Grab a sheet from the Night Heron Nature Center to start your adventure.

32nd Annual Christmas Made in the South | 10 AM - 5 PM | Exchange Park, Ladson | What better way to get ready for the holiday season than to stroll the aisles for treasures at this year's award winning 32nd annual event!

Holiday Candlelight Tours at the Aiken-Rhett House I 5:30 PM | Aiken-Rhett House, Downtown | Celebrate the holidays as Charleston’s elite did with a candlelight tour of the Aiken-Rhett House.

City of North Charleston's Christmas Tree Lighting | 6 - 7 PM | Park Circle Community Building | All are invited to gather to watch Mayor Burgess light the City’s 40' Christmas Tree.

Cat Kid Comic Club: The Musical! Gaillard at The Riviera I 6:30 PM | Gaillard Center, Downtown | The Charleston Gaillard Center, in partnership with Beemok Hospitality Collection, presents Cat Kid Comic Club: The Musical.

29th Annual End-of-Season Sale | 9 AM - 1 PM | Coastal Expeditions, Mount Pleasant | Come out for great deals on high-quality kayaks and SUPs at the 29th annual end-of-season sale at Coastal Expeditions!

MAMA CIRCLE | 10 - 11 AM | Connection Health Center, Charleston | A space and opportunity for moms to connect, reflect, and replenish. Come as you are-breathe, sip tea, break bread, and be held in community.

Holiday Hootenanny Vendor Market & Block Party | 11 AM - 4 PM | Commonhouse Aleworks, Park Circle | Get ready for a holly-jolly, jingle-jammin’ good time — a festive block-party-meets-honky-tonk holiday bash

Christmas Festival & Parade | 4 - 8 PM | Park Circle Neighborhood | Start at Park Circle Community Building and grounds as we celebrate the season with kid's activities, roving entertainers, rides, a petting zoo, and visits with Santa. Parade kicks off at 5pm, starting at the intersection of Mixson Avenue and East Montague Avenue.

2025 Holiday Swing I 5 PM I 37 John Street, Downtown | Embrace the festive spirit with the Charleston Jazz Orchestra’s highly anticipated annual extravaganza, Holiday Swing.

Christmas Home & Garden Tour | South of Broad, 116 Broad Street, Downtown | Join the Canterbury Carolers for a festive, one-night-only opportunity to explore a private collection of homes and gardens in the picturesque Charleston Historic District.

Charleston Farmer's Market - Holiday Market | 9 AM - 3 PM | Marion Square, Downtown I Featuring local farmers, artisans, and crafters offering fresh produce, handmade goods, and festive treats.

Pups & Pints - Holiday Vendor Fair | 12 - 4 PM | Broken Leash Dog Park & Bar, North Charleston | Get ready for a festive afternoon full of holiday shopping, local vendors, delicious food, and dog-friendly fun. This annual holiday market features dozens of small businesses offering gifts, treats, and handcrafted items perfect for every dog parent.

The 13th Annual Royal American Biker Oyster Roast | 1 - 5 PM | The Royal American, Downtown | Bikes, booze, oysters, games, live music, burn barrels, vendors, tattoos, the prison bus, and more!!

Lights & Love: A Very Special Holiday Celebration for Autism and Neurodiversity Awareness | 4 - 6 PM | Mt. Pleasant Towne Centre | Please join us for Lights & Love, a very special holiday celebration for families with children on the spectrum. At The Oaks, across from Barnes & Noble.

City of Charleston Holiday Parade & Tree Lighting | 3 PM I Downtown | Join the City of Charleston for this fun, high energy parade which will commence on Broad Street at Rutledge.

For more events than you can imagine, click that button below.

Here’s the honest truth: every time a new report drops ranking Charleston among the top housing markets in America — No. 3 in the nation, 81% appreciation since 2019 — I feel two very different things at once.

Kim and I bought our home seven years ago, and the value today is… well, far beyond anything I pictured when we signed that mountain of paperwork. I’m grateful. We worked hard to get here. And being a homeowner in a city people love this much is, frankly, a privilege.

But right behind that comes the warning.

Because every headline celebrating another double-digit jump also reminds me how many would-be buyers — especially younger folks — are quietly slipping out of reach. Not just here, but nationwide. The charts paint the picture: fewer 30-year-olds are living on their own, buying homes, marrying, raising kids. And housing is central to all of it.

And there’s something else I want to make clear: The Farrell Group — in case it’s not immediately obvious — is just me and Kim. This is our work, our livelihood, and our name on the sign.

I’ve never been the “cheerleader Realtor” type. You know the script: “It’s a great time to buy!”

Except… for a lot of people since we moved here, it really hasn’t been. It’s been a brutal time to buy.

That’s why the tone around these home-value stories always gives me pause. So much of the reporting treats Charleston’s price jumps with this broad, almost universal glee — as if everyone’s a homeowner and this surge is a win for all. It’s not. And if we pretend otherwise, we ignore the people trying like hell to get their foot in the door.

That’s the tension of living — and working — in a boomtown. We celebrate the upside, because it is real. But if we don’t also talk about what these numbers mean for the next wave of families who want to build a life here, then we’re only telling half the story.

In the end, I’m happy to call Charleston home. But I also know a healthy city isn’t just measured by rising values — it’s measured by who still has a shot at building a life here. My hope is that we find our way back to that balance. We’re overdue. 

We’re somewhere in the Charleston area and it’s your job to guess where. Just reply to this email, or if you’re reading on our website, email me here. The first person to guess correctly will get a shout-out at the top of our issue next week!

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Great music in town this weekend including, for you old(er) heads, The Marshall Tucker Band at the Music Hall. Also Cuban Classics at Forte Jazz Lounge and Rockin’ Around The Refinery. Check it ALL out below. 👇🏼

Got 15 seconds? Let us know what you thought about today’s newsletter by voting in the poll below (you’ll be done MUCH faster than cars on Johnnie Dodds at 4:00 PM on a Friday). 👇