The Town of Mount Pleasant has added a holiday market this year. It isn't going to the Farmers Market Pavilion, where the Holiday Market & Craft Show has run for 27 years. The new Merry Makers Market will be at the Park West Recreation Complex, 1251 Park West Blvd., on Sunday, November 22, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
That puts two of the Town's seasonal events on the same Park West fields this fall, five weeks apart. The 39th Annual Children's Day Festival comes first, on Sunday, October 18. Then the Merry Makers Market opens the holiday season. For anyone who lives off Park West Boulevard, Bessemer Road, or Highway 41, the start of the holiday shopping season is now a short drive away instead of a trip down to Coleman Boulevard.
What "New to the East Cooper Area" Actually Describes
The Town announced the market on August 4, 2026, in a Town of Mount Pleasant news release that also opened applications for its other winter events. The release calls the Merry Makers Market "new to the East Cooper area." Events Coordinator Tracy Richter described why the Town added it:
"We are excited to add a new market to kick off the holiday season. Shoppers can check off their gift lists and connect with local vendors at both markets, while our parade participants show thousands of Lowcountry residents and visitors why this is the most wonderful time of the year!"
The Experience Mount Pleasant event listing lists who will be selling: local farmers, creatives, makers, growers, bakers, food vendors, food trucks, and local artists. Commercial and mass-produced goods aren't allowed. The Town's release names the kinds of goods it was looking for:
- Locally grown fresh produce
- Homemade preserves and baked goods
- Hot food
- Handcrafted gifts, including ornaments, glasswork, woodwork, and whimsical holiday crafts
- Clothing and original art
The vendor rules are what make this a makers' market. Under the Town's 2026 application, vendors are juried, and any craftwork has to be original work that the participating artist designed and made. The market runs under the Town's Community Affairs & Marketing Division. Vendors pay a $50 booth fee. That fee is a vendor cost and says nothing about what shoppers pay. The release also says the Town will choose a mix of vendors "to ensure balanced shows and to maximize sales opportunities for all participants."
Applications for both markets closed on September 12. The vendors for November 22 have likely been chosen, but the Town hasn't posted a list yet. It also hasn't posted visitor admission or parking details for this market. The best place to watch for both is the Town's Special Events Office page.
Two Markets, Three Weeks Apart
The new market doesn't replace the old one. The 27th Annual Holiday Market & Craft Show is back at the Farmers Market Pavilion on Saturday, December 12, with the same hours, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Both markets are open to the same kinds of local vendors, and both turn away commercial and mass-produced items. The real differences are where, when, and how much is known so far.
| Merry Makers Market | Holiday Market & Craft Show | |
|---|---|---|
| Edition | First year, 2026 | 27th annual |
| Date | Sunday, November 22 | Saturday, December 12 |
| Hours | 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. | 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Venue | Park West Recreation Complex, 1251 Park West Blvd. | Mount Pleasant Farmers Market Pavilion |
| Admission and parking | Not yet published | Free, per Experience Mount Pleasant |
| Vendor rules | Juried, original work, no commercial goods | Local vendors, no commercial goods |
The timing works out well. November 22 comes about three weeks ahead of the Pavilion show, which makes Merry Makers the earlier chance to buy from local makers. The December 12 market comes when gift lists are nearly finished. With both markets in the same season, a gift you meet at Park West in November could come from a maker who shows up again at the Pavilion in December. Both use the same application process and the same no-commercial-goods rule, but the Town hasn't said whether any vendors will be at both.
The Pavilion also has a different rhythm the rest of the year. The weekly Mount Pleasant Farmers Market at 645 Coleman Boulevard runs Tuesdays from April through September, 3:30 to 7 p.m. That season is over for 2026. Until December 12, the Merry Makers Market is the Town's next scheduled chance to buy from local growers and bakers in one place, and it's at Park West.
The Same Fields Host Children's Day Five Weeks Earlier
The Park West Recreation Complex already hosts a long-running free Town event each fall. The 39th Annual Children's Day Festival, presented by Harris Teeter, is Sunday, October 18, from noon to 5 p.m. That's ten days from today. The Town lists carnival rides, inflatable slides, pony rides, games, and live entertainment on the Novant Health Stage. The stage lineup is still marked TBD. Admission and every activity are free.
The festival listing names three free lots, with shuttles running all day:
- Cario Middle School
- Charles Pinckney/Laurel Hill
- Kids Teeth
The listing also suggests using the school's cut-through for a short walk in.
These festival details also say something about the new market. Park West is a venue where the Town already runs a five-hour, free, family-scale event with off-site parking and shuttles. The Merry Makers Market is a different kind of event: vendor booths and food trucks in place of rides and pony rides. Its parking plan hasn't been announced, and nobody should assume it will copy October's. What has been settled is the venue. The Town put its new holiday market on fields it already uses for a 39-year-old community festival.
How the Season Runs From Here
From now through mid-December, the Town's calendar moves between Park West and Coleman Boulevard. Here are the dated items so far, in order:
- Sunday, October 18: Children's Day Festival, Park West Recreation Complex, noon to 5 p.m.
- Friday, October 30: Entry deadline for organizations joining the Christmas Light Parade. There's no entry fee.
- Tuesday, November 18: Required safety and logistics meeting for parade participants, at 12:30 p.m. or 5:30 p.m.
- Sunday, November 22: Merry Makers Market, Park West Recreation Complex, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Saturday, December 12: 27th Annual Holiday Market & Craft Show, Farmers Market Pavilion, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Sunday, December 13: 31st Annual Christmas Light Parade along W. Coleman Boulevard.
The parade dates matter beyond parade night. The Town invites community groups, schools, churches, and local organizations to enter, and every entry has to be fully lit and decorated for what the Town calls one of the largest nighttime parades in South Carolina. A Park West group thinking about a float has about three weeks left to apply.
One event still has no date. Experience Mount Pleasant lists the Lights Up Christmas tree lighting at Mount Pleasant Towne Centre, but its winter activities page gives no 2026 date or time yet.
So the season ends on Coleman Boulevard, with the December market and parade on back-to-back days. Before that come two Sundays at 1251 Park West Blvd.: the festival on October 18 and the first year of the Merry Makers Market on November 22.
Planning around the Park West calendar this fall? Kristy Mac at Living Charleston Realty keeps up with what's opening and happening across North Mount Pleasant, from Children's Day to the new market. If you've wondered how all that activity shows up in what your own home is worth, start with an instant home valuation and we can talk it through before November 22.
