Happy Friday morning, Charleston! There’s a bunch of holiday events happening over the next few weeks, so we go a little extra with our profiles this week. Since that’s what you want. 👇🏼👇🏼

Congrats to Ginger S. of James Island, the only one to reply to our “Where Are We” segment last week! She guessed correctly I was at St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, just across King Street from Hotel Bennett.

In today’s newsletter:

• Town of Mount Pleasant goes for double digits. The number keeps getting bigger.

• Esquire names best new restaurants in America. Is Charleston on the list? 😉

• ICYMI. Hollywood comes to CHS, a groovy music venue & our version of Manhattan’s High Line. 🚊

Friday 47° / 28° ☀️ 💧0%

Saturday 53° / 38° 🌤️ 💧0%

Sunday 64° / 50° ⛅ 💧1%

Friday, December 6

• Christmas on the Battery: Carols, Candlelight, and Gullah Christmas Stories | 5:30 - 8 PM | Middleton Place, 4300 Ashley River Rd, Charleston | Enjoy a special evening at the historic Edmondston-Alston House. Take a self-guided tour of the festively decorated house by candlelight and hear the Charleston Caroling Company. Warm up in the courtyard with wine or hot cider where a local storyteller will perform Gullah Christmas stories.

  Tickets must be purchased online in advance. $55 | Members: $50 (includes 2 drink tickets)

• City of North Charleston’s Christmas Tree Lighting | 6 - 7 PM | Park Circle Community Building and grounds, 4800 Park Circle, North Charleston | All are invited to gather to watch Mayor Burgess light the City’s 40' Christmas Tree. Enjoy live music, free hot cocoa, and, after the lighting, take a stroll around the Circle to enjoy the rest of the beautiful tree and light displays

• Rumours ATL: A Fleetwood Mac Tribute I 8 PM | Charleston Music Hall, 37 JOHN ST | Doors at 7:00 pm | Show at 8:00 pm. ACCESSIBILITY - Accessible seating is available online through Ticketmaster by filtering on the ADA Icon and selecting Accessible Seats or in person or over the phone via The Charleston Music Hall box office during business hours.

Saturday, December 7

• Coastal Expeditions' End-of-Season Kayak, SUP & Gear Sale | 9 AM - 1 PM | Coastal Expeditions, 514 Mill Street, Mount Pleasant | Come out for great deals on high-quality kayaks, SUPS and related gear at Coastal Expeditions' 27th annual end-of-season sale! Prices on kayaks and SUPs start at $100 and go up to $1100. Find exactly what you need and get advice from the guides who know the gear best! This is a fun, no pressure event. Get here early, grab a cup of coffee and see if we've got what you're looking for whether its a recreational boat to keep at your dock or an expedition-style sea kayak for camping and endurance. Priced to sell.

• 31st Annual Christmas Made in the South! | 10 AM - 5 PM | Exchange Park, 9850 U.S. 78, Ladson | As Christmas time approaches, what better way to get ready for the holiday season than to stroll the aisles for treasures at this year's award winning 31st annual Christmas Made in the South! This nationally acclaimed event is a fantastic way to ease into your holiday shopping and find that special holiday gift for that "hard to shop for" friend.

  Christmas Made in the South is focused on keeping the world of fine arts and crafts vibrant. Exhibitors will be there all three days demonstrating and selling their handcrafted works, Santa's elves hard at work.

• City of Charleston Christmas Parade | 3:00 PM I Downtown Charleston, 205 Meeting St, Charleston | Event Details Come join the City of Charleston for this fun, high energy parade which will commence on Broad Street at Rutledge, travel North on Meeting Street, and conclude on Calhoun Street at Meeting Street. Participants include musical ensembles, clubs and organizations. Tree Lighting to Follow in Marion Square.

• North Charleston Christmas Festival & Parade | 5:00 PM I Park Circle Community building, 4800 Park Circle, North Charleston | This annual event is a holiday gift to the community. Families, friends, and neighbors share the joys of the season through music, children's activities, amusement rides, festive food and decorations, thousands of twinkling lights, visits with Santa, and a parade. Park Circle and major thoroughfares are decorated with lighted snowflakes, Christmas trees, and magical holiday scenes. Ample parking is available on the islands around Park Circle. Rain or shine.

• South Carolina Stingrays vs. Rapid City Rush | 6:05 - 8:30 PM | North Charleston Coliseum, 5001 Coliseum Dr, North Charleston | Head to the Coliseum this afternoon to cheer on your Stingrays as they take on the Rapid City Rush.

Sunday, December 8

• Nutcracker Tea | 11 AM - 1 PM | Thoroughbred Club, 205 Meeting Street, Charleston | Grab your little ones and don your holiday finery for a Nutcracker-themed Afternoon Tea. A selection of sweet and savory treats for both kids (ages 12 and under) and adults will be served. While dining, guests can enjoy a short mini performance from the Dance Conservatory of Charleston as well as meet and greet the dancers. Adults may add Champagne service to their reservation for an additional fee.

• 2nd Sunday on King Street | King Street shops, Charleston | 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM I If you're wondering who, what, where, why of 2nd Sunday, here's the scoop. Every month on the second Sunday the City of Charleston helps us to shut down King Street (our Main Street) from Queen to Calhoun, roughly 1/2 mile, to through traffic and without parked cars, for 5 blissful hours. That gives us the whole street for people to walk around with a big smile, greet friends and neighbors, and enjoy Charleston as it would be on any old day without the traffic.

• Annual Book Sale | 1 - 5 PM | The Charleston Library Society, 164 King Street, Charleston | Back by popular demand, we are pleased to announce the return of our beloved and now expanded Book Sale! For one week only browse a wide selection featuring fiction, non-fiction, coffee table books, magazines, and other delightful rare finds. In addition, an assortment of full ‘sets’ of books for dressing up your bookshelves will be offered.

• Winter Wreath Workshop with Coastal Conservation League & Lucie's Wreaths | 3 - 5 PM | 131 Spring Street, Charleston | Join the Coastal Conservation League with Lucie Kulze from Lucie’s Wreaths & Workshops as she teaches us how to design and create our very own festive wreath for this winter & holiday season! You can make a more traditional holiday wreath or a “winter” wreath by working with a wide array of dried native plants and fresh foraged greenery, ferns, moss, dried grasses, and other dried native florals to create wreaths perfect as a gift or for yourself for your front door, indoor walls, or porch.

For a COMPLETE list of events in the Charleston area, bookmark the site below!

DEVELOPMENT

Town Of Mount Pleasant Floats 1% Increase In Sales Tax

The Town of Mount Pleasant hasn’t been quiet about its ambitious development plans for Patriots Point.

Along with Michael Bennett—Charleston’s native son real estate developer of Hotel Bennett and other impressive projects around the region—Mount Pleasant officials celebrated a groundbreaking for Patriots Annex in 2022.

Bennett’s development isn’t the only focus at Patriots Point, but it’s certainly the biggest.

Situated on 31 waterfront acres, the master plan for Patriots Annex shows three hotels, a convention center, three office buildings, three parking garages with 2,800 spaces, an amphitheater, a boardwalk, retail space and 130 residential units on land that Bennett Hospitality is leasing from the state under a long-term deal.

Mount Pleasant’s plans to fund infrastructure for Patriots Point improvements were revealed this week.

1% Sales Tax Increase Doesn’t Sound Like Much

Until you realize it’ll push the total sales tax to double digits—10%.

When the Post & Courier opens its article reporting on these plans with that kind of statement, I realize Mount Pleasant has a PR job ahead of it.

I understand they don’t control the P&C’s editorial slant. But that’s the piece of the story that will continue to be parroted as Mount Pleasant makes its case.

This from the article may not help their cause: The Dec. 2 special meeting was the first public meeting where the fee had been discussed, followed by a press conference that detailed how the money could be spent. It was somewhat of an unusual process for the town, with no advance public campaign on the matter, an unlinked ordinance on the agenda and a delay in a public news release.

The tax, also referred to as a “tourism development fee”, would not apply to groceries and certain other exempt categories.

The interesting thing? This tax may very well pay for itself.

According to the University of South Carolina, the historic Navy warships at Patriots Point and the 318,000 visitors that come to tour them each year help deliver nearly $205 million in annual economic activity, according to a study by the University of South Carolina.

And the figure is expected to nearly double as the $500 million mixed-use Patriots Annex development is completed at the waterfront visitor attraction over the next two decades.

That’s going to be a difficult narrative to promote, though. When the sales tax reaches double digits, that’ll likely be what most people focus on.

To be adopted, the ordinance needs a supermajority of council or a referendum.

WHERE ARE WE?

Each week, watch this space for a random snap from somewhere in Charleston. Where are we? Only true locals will know. DM your guess on Instagram, or email me here. The first person to guess correctly will get a shout-out at the top of our issue next week!

RESTAURANTS

Esquire’s 2024 list of the Best New Restaurants in America Includes 2 CHS Venues

Charleston’s culinary reputation among foodies and industry pros isn’t new. However, it never seeks to amaze me that CHS is frequently mentioned alongside major US cities for the quality and inventiveness of our food.

Charleston has 2 restaurants profiled on Esquire’s impressive list—Bintü Atelier and Kultura.

Bintü Atelier opened in a small house on downtown’s east side last year. Its chef/owner, Bintou Ndaw, is from Senegal and has some serious bona fides on her cooking resume.

In Kultura, Charleston made the grade with another restaurant featuring cuisine from a small country.

Nikko Cagalanan took a big risk when he left his career in nursing to start a series of pop-up Filipino dinners in Charleston

Now he and another talented chef/owner are sharing the rarefied air of restaurants located in America’s biggest cities.

ICYMI

👚 Reese Witherspoon will bring her clothing brand to Charleston. Location isn’t determined yet, but it’ll likely be on King Street.

♯ Bet you didn’t know CHS had a “groovy past”? This new bar on Calhoun Street looks to revive it.

🍴 Charleston’s long had a culinary rep. Here’s some rising stars to keep an eye on.

🇫🇷 What’s a salon privé? You’ll find it at this new French-inspired bar on King Street.

🛤️ Charleston’s Lowline Project moves forward. Construction start is planned for next year.

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FEEDBACK

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