Festival of Gingerbread – 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; History Center, 302 E

The Holiday Festival of Lights officially kicks off Nov. 11 at James Island County Park, but the public can be a part of the holiday magic now by taking part in a tasty holiday tradition: creating a gingerbread house.

Nov. 4: Registration deadline for the Holiday Festival of Lights Gingerbread House Competition.

Eight-year-old Maggie Tillquist said her favorite thing at the Festival of Tees and Lights was making a gingerbread house. “It’s fun,” she said Sunday, explaining that her house has a Hershey Bar pathway to the front door lined by gumballs.

At the 14th Annual Festival of Trees, the lights don’t just twinkle, they inspire.

Step 3 String the lights on your tree. You can either attach them with zip ties or you can hot glue them on; I preferred the zip ties, it was less messy and easier. String them any way you prefer; I have tried it 2 …

Watching them build a gingerbread house, decorate a tree or a cookie, ooh and aah at the lights, or sing about joy (like in the video below), is a lesson for every one of us.

Over Christmas, have an old fashioned country holiday, with a Christmas Market, gingerbread house decorating, and crafts, before sipping cider by the bonfire while carols play among the lights.

As the lights go down pianist Lillian Henley, already on stage, plays in the style of a pleasantly manic silent movie sound track. Esme Appleton provides the visual gag that begins and ends the show, enchanting in its simplicity and effectiveness …

New Year’s Eve dance, 8 p.m. to midnight, today, Belle Valley American Legion; features Rick Moore and the Country Choice Band with Harry Murel Moore; kielbasi, ribs, kraut; single, $15; couple, $25