In a blink of an eye, or rather a turn of the calendar page, we've moved from the spooky season to the start of the festive season.
And, boy, does it begin immediately with Shepherd's Christmas at Shepherd of the Hills (Nov. 1 - Dec. 31) in Branson, Mo., Dollywood's Smoky Mountain Christmas (Nov. 1 - Jan. 5, 2025) in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., Festival of Lights at Oglebay (Nov. 7 - Jan. 5, 2025) in Wheeling, WVa., "A Country Christmas" at Gaylord Opryland (Nov. 8 - Jan. 4, 2025) in Nashville, Tenn., Meadowlark's Winter Walk of Lights (Nov. 8 - Jan. 5, 2025) in Vienna, Va., and Stone Mountain (Ga.) Christmas (Nov. 9 - Jan. 5, 2025.)
And then there are artisans' markets and arts and crafts festivals to get you further into the holiday spirit or to motivate you to do some early shopping, like at the Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival (a part of Foo Foo Fest; Nov. 1- 3) in Pensacola, Fla., the WNC Pottery Festival (Nov. 2) in Slyva, the Peter Anderson Arts and Crafts Festival (Nov. 2 -3) in Ocean Springs, Miss., the Christmas Village Festival Arts, Crafts & Gifts Show at the Birmingham-Jefferson (Ala.) Convention Complex (Nov. 6 - 10); GypsyMoon Marketplace (Nov. 7 -9) in Bowling Green, Ky., Dickens Christmas Show & Festival (Nov. 7. -10) in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Memphis (Tenn.) Crafts and Drafts Holiday Market (Nov. 9.)
Of course, the above is scratching the surface of festive happenings around the region. Be sure to keep an eye on Southern Hospitality Magazine's website and Facebook page for a more detailed list to be released soon.
Now, back to more November events.
As always, food plays a big role across the South this month, and Louisiana leads the way with the International French Bread Festival (Nov. 2) in Jeanerette, the Port Barre Cracklin Festival (Nov. 7 - 10) and the Beignet Fest (Nov. 16) in New Orleans, to name a few.
Elsewhere, there's the Wurstfest (Nov. 1 - 10) in New Braunfels, Texas, Fall for Greenville (S.C.; Nov. 8 - 10), 2024 Bentonville (Ark.) Tequila Fest (Nov. 9), Gumbo Fest (Nov. 9) in Gulfport, Miss., Holy Smokes BBQ Fest (Nov. 9) in North Charleston, S.C., and Holiday Fare Wine Trail (Nov. 16 - 17) in Hermann, Mo.
The arts shine brightly during November with events like the Frank Brown International Songwriters Festival (Nov. 7 - 17) along the Alabama/Florida coast, the Brunswick (Ga.) PorchFest (Nov. 10), Texas Book Festival (Nov. 16 -17) in Austin, the Cucalorus Film Festival (Nov. 20 - 24) in Wilmington, N.C., and the American Sand Sculpting Championship (Nov. 21 - 24) in Fort Myers, Fla.
Whew!
And that's just a brief look at some - yes -some of the events happening around the South in November. For more, visit the calendar on the website.