CALENDAR: Free parking in downtown Charleston through Jan. 1

From now until New Year’s Day, the city is providing two hours of free parking downtown with this year’s Holiday Magic in Historic Charleston parking voucher.

Free parking is available at eight Charleston parking garages.  To find out where, download the voucher. 

Also on the calendar:

Essential Farm Goods Market: 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Dec. 22, Moultrie Middle School, Mount Pleasant.  Find lots of vendors in this socially-distanced holiday market

Sunday Brunch Farmers Market: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., every Sunday, Charleston Pour House, 1977 Maybank Highway, James Island. While the market is discouraging people from spending too much time hanging out during the market, everyone is invited to shop their local vendors.

Two exhibits in one: Through Dec. 31, City of North Charleston’s Park Circle Gallery.  North Charleston photographer Dawnita Hall’s exhibit, Signs of Life, is a series of nine metallic print photographs of found signs and lettering. More: DawnitaHall.com. Painter Susan Irish of Charleston offers a series of abstract impressionist, mixed-media paintings with color palettes and compositions inspired by nature In her exhibit, I See You in My Garden. Free.  More: SusanIrishArtist.com. The gallery is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesdays to Fridays, and noon to 4 p.m. on Saturdays.

Holiday Festival of Lights: Through Dec. 31, 2020.  The annual event, now in its 31st year, opens Nov. 13 and will offer a dazzling array of displays and about 2 million lights at James Island County Park.  The festival will be open every evening nightly from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.   You can take a heartwarming cruise along the three-mile display of glimmering lights with your closest companions. The driving tour features over 700 light displays, most of which were created in-house by park staff. For details, visit HolidayFestivalofLights.com.

Charleston Restaurant Week:  Jan. 7 to  Jan. 17.  Charleston Restaurant Week — a period when diners can get special deals at restaurants all over town — is scheduled to return on Jan 7 for 10 days.This culinary dream, executed by Explore Charleston, is one of the most highly anticipated culinary events in the Charleston area,” according to the visitors’ bureau website.  “It is an opportunity to enjoy the world-renowned cuisine of the Lowcountry as participating restaurants offer prix fixe lunch and dinner menus.” More than a dozen area restaurants are participating so far.  More are expected.

• If you have any online events, drop us a line (editor@charlestoncurrents.com) and make sure to put “Online event” in the subject line.  Similarly, if you’ve got cool ideas for stuff to do while in isolation at home, send them our way.

NEW BOOK

• ORDER NOW:  Copies are in Lowcountry-area bookstores now, but if you can’t swing by, you can order a copy online today.