Beaufort's holiday weekend starts at 6 p.m. on Friday, December 4, at 5 p.m. on Saturday, and at 3 p.m. on Sunday. Night on the Town, the Light Up the Night Boat Parade and the Christmas Parade fall on three days in a row this year, and each starts earlier than the one before it.
All three take place within a few blocks of each other, and each one comes at that part of town from a different side. Friday fills Bay Street. Saturday turns everyone toward the water from the same downtown. Sunday's parade takes a long loop through Boundary and Carteret before it comes back down Bay. If you have lived here a while, you know each event on its own. Having all three land on one weekend changes how you plan December.
Three Start Times on the Same Downtown
| Day | Event | Hours | Where | Presented by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday, Dec. 4 | Night on the Town | 6 to 9 p.m., tree lighting at 8:30 p.m. | Downtown Beaufort | Main Street Beaufort |
| Friday, Dec. 4 | Holiday Open House | 6 to 8 p.m. | John Mark Verdier House Museum, 801 Bay Street | Historic Beaufort Foundation |
| Saturday, Dec. 5 | Light Up the Night Boat Parade | 5 to 8 p.m. | Downtown waterfront | Beaufort Water Festival |
| Sunday, Dec. 6 | Beaufort Christmas Parade | 3 to 5 p.m. | Boundary Street and downtown | City of Beaufort, with line-up by the Beaufort Lions Club |
The start times move earlier as the weekend goes on, and so do the light conditions. Friday is fully after dark, and the tree is lit near the end of the night. Saturday's parade only works once the sun is down, because the boats are the lights. Sunday's parade runs in the afternoon and finishes before sunset. Over one weekend you see downtown at night, from the water at dusk and on the street in daylight.
Friday Puts Everything on Bay Street
Main Street Beaufort's listing for Night on the Town calls it "Beaufort's favorite holiday tradition" and lists live music on multiple stages, food from local vendors, and arts, crafts and goodies from local businesses and nonprofits. The downtown tree lighting is at 8:30 p.m., half an hour before the event ends at 9.
In recent years the event has taken over the street. The City of Beaufort's 2024 holiday notice said downtown streets closed at 3:30 p.m., with a concert stage at Charles and Bay. Coverage of the 2025 holiday weekend reported Bay Street closed to traffic, with a performance at Bay and Carteret. Those were the setups in past years. The 2026 listing gives the hours and the tree lighting time, so watch for the city's notice closer to the date before you plan around a particular corner.
The Historic Beaufort Foundation is opening the John Mark Verdier House Museum at 801 Bay Street for free tours from 6 to 8 p.m. that night, as part of Night on the Town. The open house ends at 8, and the tree is lit at 8:30. That leaves enough time to tour the house first and then go back outside for the lighting. Anyone who enjoys Beaufort's porches, parks and waterfront walks on an ordinary evening will find the same blocks lit up and crowded with neighbors.
Saturday Moves Everyone to the Seawall
The Light Up the Night Boat Parade runs from 5 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, December 5, along the downtown waterfront. It is presented by the Beaufort Water Festival. Main Street Beaufort's description is simple: local boats covered in lights and decorations sailing past the waterfront.
The timing within that window comes from the Water Festival's guide for last year's parade. In 2025, boats gathered in the river beyond Buoy #240 at 5 p.m., and the lead boat was due at the Waterfront Park seawall by 6 p.m. to make two passes. In other words, last year the first hour happened out of view while the boats assembled, and the parade reached the crowd around 6. The city recommended the seawall at Waterfront Park as the place to watch in 2024, and the 2025 guide also planned the passes around the seawall.
Boat owners who would rather be in the parade than watch it should know how it has worked. The 2025 guide opened the parade to recreational and commercial boats, required every boat to be lit, capped the number of entries for safety, and set a late-November application deadline for prize eligibility. The Beaufort Water Festival is where this year's entry details will come from.
Sunday's Parade Loops Back to Bay
Friday stays on Bay Street, and Saturday faces the water. Sunday is the only one of the three that travels well beyond the waterfront blocks. The City of Beaufort's 2026 parade information sheet gives the route:
- North on Adventure Street to Boundary Street
- East on Boundary Street to Carteret Street
- South on Carteret Street to Bay Street
- West on Bay Street to Bladen Street
The parade breaks up back where it started. The route covers far more curb than either of the first two nights. Boundary Street gives spectators room away from the busiest blocks, and the last leg on Bay passes the same storefronts that held Night on the Town two days earlier.
The parade starts at 3 p.m. Line-up runs from 1 to 2:30, and every unit has to be in place by 2:30. The Beaufort Lions Club runs the line-up. A few of the city's parade rules change what you'll see from the curb:
The official parade Santa will be provided. Do not include anyone dressed as Santa in your unit.
There will be one Santa on the route. Candy can't be thrown or handed out from parade vehicles. Walkers beside a unit can put candy or trinkets directly into spectators' hands, so expect sweets at the curb rather than tossed from floats. Every entry must be decorated with a holiday theme.
For Groups Thinking About Marching
The application deadline is Friday, November 27, 2026, the day after Thanksgiving. Entry is $10 per vehicle for nonprofits, churches, groups and clubs, $10 flat for walking-only entries, and $25 per vehicle for commercial businesses. Marching bands, government entries and military entries pay no fee. Late applications add $10 and can be turned down. Entries receive their line-up position on or before December 1. Organizers of student groups are encouraged to set up a phone tree, because the city can't promise calls will go out before school lets out on Wednesday, December 2. Applications go to Beaufort Christmas Parade, 182 Sea Island Parkway, #D, Beaufort, SC 29907.
Port Royal Fills the Days Around It
Beaufort's events fill one weekend. Port Royal's calendar spreads its events across the weeks before and after, so the season actually starts this Saturday:
- Saturday, November 7, 10 a.m.: The 4th Annual Holiday Market on Paris Avenue, a Lowcountry Spotlight event benefiting HELP of Beaufort.
- Wednesday, December 2, 6 p.m.: The Town of Port Royal's Christmas tree lighting at Live Oaks Park.
- Saturday, December 12, 6 p.m.: Port Royal's Christmas Golf Cart Parade.
Port Royal lights its tree two days before Beaufort lights its own, on a Wednesday instead of during a festival weekend. Its golf cart parade comes the Saturday after Beaufort's Christmas Parade, once downtown Beaufort's weekend is over. Taken together, Port Royal's events run from early November to mid-December, while Beaufort puts its three main traditions into a single weekend.
The Ten Days From Live Oaks Park to the Golf Carts
Here are all the December dates in order, with the pieces that overlap:
- Wed., Dec. 2: Port Royal tree lighting, Live Oaks Park, 6 p.m.
- Fri., Dec. 4: Verdier House open house from 6 to 8 p.m. during Night on the Town, which runs 6 to 9 p.m., with the downtown tree lighting at 8:30
- Sat., Dec. 5: Light Up the Night Boat Parade, 5 to 8 p.m. In 2025 the lead boat reached the Waterfront Park seawall by 6
- Sun., Dec. 6: Christmas Parade at 3 p.m., Adventure to Boundary to Carteret to Bay
- Sat., Dec. 12: Port Royal Christmas Golf Cart Parade, 6 p.m.
If you're expecting family for the holidays, the first weekend of December lets guests see all three Beaufort traditions in one visit. If you went to Beaufort's fall festivals this year, you saw those spread across three weekends. December puts the town's big traditions into three days.
If you'd like a hand finding a good spot for Saturday's boat parade or some company along the parade route on Sunday, I'm always glad to talk about what makes Beaufort feel like home this time of year. Reach out through Carolyn Kraus Realty, and let's connect before the first weekend of December.
