When Westside High School lost its first football game back in August to BHP, little did they know it was the last loss the team would experience in route to the school, and the city’s first state championship since the Rams won it in 1969 (T.L. Hanna was runner up in 2020. 2018 and 1974).

It felt more like March than December, as crowds gathered for the annual Belton Christmas parade on Sunday.

But the rain had moved out and the parade was well-organized and seemingly well-received by the folks who lined the streets.

The Erskine College fishing team of Lane Clark and Adam Seagle were alone at the top of the collegiate division weekend tournament at Green Pond Landing and Events Center, hosted by the Palmetto Boat Center College Tournament Trail. 

Meanwhile anglers from Byrnes High School took home the top honors in Saturday’s Palmetto Boat Center High School Tournament Trail, while Riverside Middle School earned the title for their school.

When Brock Elder and Sanchez Neeley noticed that many of their friends felt isolated and did not seem to have clear avenues for friendships or even a place to talk about their lives, they decided to take action.

The Holiday Market will be open each Saturday through Dec 23 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. The market features more than 50 local vendors offering handmade, homemade and locally grown products, as well as live music. The market is ADA assessable and is open rain or shine.

The church hosts the annual event as their gift to those groups in our community and beyond serving those who need a little extra help.

The event was greeted by heavy rain early, weather conditions that led to the cancellation of many other holiday events in the area – including the Anderson Christmas tree lighting – but the rain passed as the crowds continued to arrive before the countdown of the lighting of the tree.

Anderson has been selected as one of 25 cities in North America to receive a Bloomberg Philanthropies Asphalt Art Initiative grant, aimed at revitalizing public spaces to better engage residents. 

The threat of rain has led most Anderson County Christmas parades scheduled for this weekend to move their events to Dec. 9.

Of the county’s 94,241-member workforce, 91,241 were employed last month. The county’s rate, tied for eight lowest in South Carolina, reflects the statewide bump in unemployment in October.

Her love for Pendleton and creating handmade cakes, candies, pies and more have brought joy to Blackwell and those who stop by for a sweet treat. Holiday hours at the Pendleton Candy Company are 10 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sundays.

It's the most wonderful time of the year, time to deck the halls, haul out the holly and get ready to light up this year's county Christmas tree downtown which now tops 46 feet. Piedmont and Williamston have already held events, and more county civic celebrations of the holidays with Christmas parades, tree lightings and other events on the horizon.

The Village of Piedmont kicked off the holiday season with Winterfest on Sunday, which was met with a warm crowd and cold temperatures.

In addition to music, food, hot chocolate and Santa, the event featured the annual Christmas tree lighting.

The tree and town hall behind it eventually were alight with Christmas cheer, as Santa visited the crowd while snow fell from the wintery machine setting the tone for the season. The Palmetto Elementary School Choir brought music as the town honored its first citizen of the year as part of the festivities.

Once the renovation is complete, the goal is to offer not only physical objects to display, but to digitize the records and publish the catalog online for researchers across the country. It also plans to serve school student groups and educators as they delve into local history topics.

The total expenses for the tree, which now tops 46 feet, since 2015 come in at around $50,000. The costs related to purchase, setup, removal and disposal of a live Christmas tree on the courthouse square over the same period would have topped $150,000.  The holiday savings will continue to grow in Anderson County’s Christmas fund for at least another seven years, since the artificial tree is under warranty until 2030.

The Anderson Observer’s Gratitude Project offers some of your friends or neighbors talking about the transformative nature of gratitude. Some of the videos are available here.

Council also approved a $8.3 million bond to make long overdue repairs to the historic courthouse. The bond replaces a previous bond the county paid off recently. Council Vice Chairman Brett Sanders recapped the meeting for the Anderson Observer.

The group loves the books and other efforts across the county and is always looking for volunteers to run the bookstore in the main library in Anderson and for other activities and events.

Anderson County Council will vote on amending the 2016 Comprehensive Plan including of the population, economic development workforce, and a new element of resilience and all maps and materials as part of Tuesday’s meeting at 6:30 p.m. in the historic courthouse. The plan is being updated after updates in data and from information gathered at a series of citizen input meetings held in each council district over the past year.