Explore family friendly events, theatres, galleries, concerts, nightlife, things to do, and more in the Greenville, SC and Upstate areas.

Interested in adding an event to our calendar? Please click the green “Post Your Event” button below.

Friday, December 27, 2024
NC Arboretum Hiking Trails
Dec 27 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
NC Arboretum

Located within the wildly-popular and botanically beautiful Southern Appalachian Mountains, The North Carolina Arboretum offers more than 10 miles of hiking trails that connect to many other area attractions such as Lake Powhatan, the Pisgah National Forest and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Visitors of all ages and abilities can enjoy their hiking experience at the Arboretum as trail options include easy, moderate, and difficult challenge levels. All trails are dog-friendly and visitors are asked to adhere to the proper waste disposing procedures for pets.

Part of a running group that would like to use the Arboretum as a starting point or parking location? Please review our Running Group Guidance and email [email protected] with any questions.

Winter Lights
Dec 27 @ 6:00 pm
North Carolina Arboretum

Winter Lights is a spectacular open-air walk-through light show made from over one million lights! Located at the North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville, North Carolina, this year’s event features favorites like the famously tall 50-foot lighted tree and the Quilt Garden, along with enchanting new details designed to delight and surprise. All prices are per vehicle. No pets allowed.

Winter Lights features live entertainment nightly and food and beverages from the Bent Creek Bistro, the Cocoa Shack and the Cocoa Cabin! Open nightly from 6:00 – 10:00 p.m.

Saturday, December 28, 2024
NC Arboretum Hiking Trails
Dec 28 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
NC Arboretum

Located within the wildly-popular and botanically beautiful Southern Appalachian Mountains, The North Carolina Arboretum offers more than 10 miles of hiking trails that connect to many other area attractions such as Lake Powhatan, the Pisgah National Forest and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Visitors of all ages and abilities can enjoy their hiking experience at the Arboretum as trail options include easy, moderate, and difficult challenge levels. All trails are dog-friendly and visitors are asked to adhere to the proper waste disposing procedures for pets.

Part of a running group that would like to use the Arboretum as a starting point or parking location? Please review our Running Group Guidance and email [email protected] with any questions.

Winter Lights
Dec 28 @ 6:00 pm
North Carolina Arboretum

Winter Lights is a spectacular open-air walk-through light show made from over one million lights! Located at the North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville, North Carolina, this year’s event features favorites like the famously tall 50-foot lighted tree and the Quilt Garden, along with enchanting new details designed to delight and surprise. All prices are per vehicle. No pets allowed.

Winter Lights features live entertainment nightly and food and beverages from the Bent Creek Bistro, the Cocoa Shack and the Cocoa Cabin! Open nightly from 6:00 – 10:00 p.m.

Sunday, December 29, 2024
NC Arboretum Hiking Trails
Dec 29 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
NC Arboretum

Located within the wildly-popular and botanically beautiful Southern Appalachian Mountains, The North Carolina Arboretum offers more than 10 miles of hiking trails that connect to many other area attractions such as Lake Powhatan, the Pisgah National Forest and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Visitors of all ages and abilities can enjoy their hiking experience at the Arboretum as trail options include easy, moderate, and difficult challenge levels. All trails are dog-friendly and visitors are asked to adhere to the proper waste disposing procedures for pets.

Part of a running group that would like to use the Arboretum as a starting point or parking location? Please review our Running Group Guidance and email [email protected] with any questions.

Winter Lights
Dec 29 @ 6:00 pm
North Carolina Arboretum

Winter Lights is a spectacular open-air walk-through light show made from over one million lights! Located at the North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville, North Carolina, this year’s event features favorites like the famously tall 50-foot lighted tree and the Quilt Garden, along with enchanting new details designed to delight and surprise. All prices are per vehicle. No pets allowed.

Winter Lights features live entertainment nightly and food and beverages from the Bent Creek Bistro, the Cocoa Shack and the Cocoa Cabin! Open nightly from 6:00 – 10:00 p.m.

Monday, December 30, 2024
NC Arboretum Hiking Trails
Dec 30 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
NC Arboretum

Located within the wildly-popular and botanically beautiful Southern Appalachian Mountains, The North Carolina Arboretum offers more than 10 miles of hiking trails that connect to many other area attractions such as Lake Powhatan, the Pisgah National Forest and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Visitors of all ages and abilities can enjoy their hiking experience at the Arboretum as trail options include easy, moderate, and difficult challenge levels. All trails are dog-friendly and visitors are asked to adhere to the proper waste disposing procedures for pets.

Part of a running group that would like to use the Arboretum as a starting point or parking location? Please review our Running Group Guidance and email [email protected] with any questions.

Winter Lights
Dec 30 @ 6:00 pm
North Carolina Arboretum

Winter Lights is a spectacular open-air walk-through light show made from over one million lights! Located at the North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville, North Carolina, this year’s event features favorites like the famously tall 50-foot lighted tree and the Quilt Garden, along with enchanting new details designed to delight and surprise. All prices are per vehicle. No pets allowed.

Winter Lights features live entertainment nightly and food and beverages from the Bent Creek Bistro, the Cocoa Shack and the Cocoa Cabin! Open nightly from 6:00 – 10:00 p.m.

Tuesday, December 31, 2024
NC Arboretum Hiking Trails
Dec 31 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
NC Arboretum

Located within the wildly-popular and botanically beautiful Southern Appalachian Mountains, The North Carolina Arboretum offers more than 10 miles of hiking trails that connect to many other area attractions such as Lake Powhatan, the Pisgah National Forest and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Visitors of all ages and abilities can enjoy their hiking experience at the Arboretum as trail options include easy, moderate, and difficult challenge levels. All trails are dog-friendly and visitors are asked to adhere to the proper waste disposing procedures for pets.

Part of a running group that would like to use the Arboretum as a starting point or parking location? Please review our Running Group Guidance and email [email protected] with any questions.

Winter Lights
Dec 31 @ 6:00 pm
North Carolina Arboretum

Winter Lights is a spectacular open-air walk-through light show made from over one million lights! Located at the North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville, North Carolina, this year’s event features favorites like the famously tall 50-foot lighted tree and the Quilt Garden, along with enchanting new details designed to delight and surprise. All prices are per vehicle. No pets allowed.

Winter Lights features live entertainment nightly and food and beverages from the Bent Creek Bistro, the Cocoa Shack and the Cocoa Cabin! Open nightly from 6:00 – 10:00 p.m.

Saturday, April 12, 2025
Tunnel to Towers 5k
Apr 12 @ 7:00 am
Sirrine Stadium

Tunnel to Towers is an organization aiming to help the nation to Never Forget the brave men and women who lost their lives on 9/11. T2T will be putting on this 5k to help support the nations veterans today. The race will be throughout the greater Downtown Greenville area.

Thursday, April 17, 2025
Rocky River Nature Park Volunteer Workday
Apr 17 @ 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
Rocky River Nature Park

We need your help controlling invasive species at Anderson’s beloved Rocky River Nature Park!

About the park: This free and publicly accessible park is a 131.9-acre property that was protected in 2016 in partnership with Anderson University. Throughout the park, visitors enjoy a matrix of bottomland forest and beaver-maintained wetlands which hosts over 168 species of passerine and migratory birds throughout the year. A population of the rare Swamp Rabbit (Sylvilagus palustris) is also known to inhabit the floodplain forests of the park.

Workday activities: This year marks the second year of active habitat restoration at the park. The primary activity of this workday will involve removing invasive species such as invasive olive and Chinese Privet to enhance foraging and nesting areas for native wildlife and migratory species.

What to wear and bring: Participants should wear long pants, close-toed shoes and gear that you don’t mind getting dirty in. We will provide tools and gloves, but volunteers are more than welcome to bring their favorite gardening gloves, loppers or saws!

Many hands make light work — we hope to see you there!

Friday, October 3, 2025
Spooky Spartanburg Ghost Tour
Oct 3 @ 8:00 pm – 9:30 pm
One Morgan Square

Explore the haunted heart of Spartanburg on a spine-tingling walking tour led by psychic medium and paranormal magician Isaak Ivey. You hear stories about Magnolia Cemetery, Converse College, Morgan Square, and other Spartanburg landmarks. A member of Truth Searchers: Paranormal Investigators, Isaak combines chilling history, local legends, and paranormal storytelling to bring Spartanburg’s eerie past to life. From restless spirits and forgotten tragedies to mysterious landmarks that still whisper their secrets, this ghost tour is perfect for locals, visitors, history buffs, and paranormal enthusiasts alike.

-Guided by psychic medium, paranormal magician, and investigator Isaak Ivey

-Step into downtown Spartanburg’s haunted history and legendary ghost stories

-Experience chilling tales and supernatural lore brought vividly to life

-A night of magic, history, and entertainment

Saturday, October 4, 2025
Gorges State Park to Host Third Annual Mountain Monarch Festival on Oct. 4
Oct 4 @ 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Gorges State Park

Back by popular demand, the third Annual Mountain Monarch Festival will be at Gorges State Park in Sapphire on Saturday, Oct. 4, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

This free event, hosted by the park and sponsored by the Friends of Gorges State Park and other partners, will celebrate the monarch butterfly during its migration and raise awareness about the species’ declining numbers. The park lies along the monarchs’ migratory route. The butterflies can be seen in early October each year flying over the park, heading south to the high-elevation fir forests in central-southern Mexico’s Volcanic Belt, where they overwinter until early spring.

The festival will offer educational programs and exhibits as well as children’s crafts, face painting by Brevard College cheerleaders, a butterfly hike, and a Monarch Migration Passport to guide visitors through the activities. The featured speakers will be Heyward Douglas, an entomologist who is a former naturalist and has served on the Foothills Trail Conservancy’s board of directors since 1989, who will talk about visiting the wintering area for the monarchs in Mexico, and Brian Bockhahn, interpretation and education specialist for North Carolina State Parks, who will discuss “Monarch Life Cycle and Tagging.”

The event, activities and programs are free and open to the public. The event will be held rain or shine and is first-come, first-served. For event details, visit https://www.friendsofgorges.org

Friday, October 10, 2025
Spooky Spartanburg Ghost Tour
Oct 10 @ 8:00 pm – 9:30 pm
One Morgan Square

Explore the haunted heart of Spartanburg on a spine-tingling walking tour led by psychic medium and paranormal magician Isaak Ivey. You explore local landmarks and hear stories from Magnolia Cemetery, Converse College, Morgan Square, and other Spartanburg landmarks. A member of Truth Searchers: Paranormal Investigators, Isaak combines chilling history, local legends, and paranormal storytelling to bring Spartanburg’s eerie past to life. From restless spirits and forgotten tragedies to mysterious landmarks that still whisper their secrets, this ghost tour is perfect for locals, visitors, history buffs, and paranormal enthusiasts alike.

-Guided by psychic medium, paranormal magician, and investigator Isaak Ivey

-Step into downtown Spartanburg’s haunted history and legendary ghost stories

-Experience chilling tales and supernatural lore brought vividly to life

-A night of magic, history, and entertainment

Sunday, October 12, 2025
44th Annual Western North Carolina Parade of Homes
Oct 12 all-day
Western North Carolina

The 44th annual Western North Carolina Parade of Homes, happening October 11-12 and 18-19, is a free, self-guided tour of new and remodeled homes by top builders throughout Asheville, Hendersonville, Black Mountain, Fairview, and beyond. Visitors can explore a wide variety of homes in person or take advantage of virtual tours. Whether you’re dreaming, designing, or actively building, the Parade offers inspiration at every price point. Sponsored by the Builders Association of the Blue Ridge Mountains. For more information, visit wncparadeofhomes.com.

Sunday, October 19, 2025
44th Annual Western North Carolina Parade of Homes
Oct 19 all-day
Builders Association of the Blue Ridge Mountains

The 44th annual Western North Carolina Parade of Homes, happening October 11-12 and 18-19, is a free, self-guided tour of new and remodeled homes by top builders throughout Asheville, Hendersonville, Black Mountain, Fairview, and beyond. Visitors can explore a wide variety of homes in person or take advantage of virtual tours. Whether you’re dreaming, designing, or actively building, the Parade offers inspiration at every price point. Sponsored by the Builders Association of the Blue Ridge Mountains. For more information, visit wncparadeofhomes.com.

Friday, October 24, 2025
Bacon & Barrel 2025
Oct 24 @ 7:00 pm
1800 Drayton Catering and Events

Join us on Thursday, October 24 at 1800 Drayton for Bacon & Barrel — a lively evening of bourbon tastings, bacon-inspired bites from local restaurants, live music, and a curated silent auction, all in support of St. Luke’s Free Medical Clinic. This beloved annual fundraiser helps provide free, high-quality healthcare to uninsured residents of Spartanburg County.

Tickets include access to bourbon samples, food tastings, and entertainment. Proceeds go directly toward sustaining our clinic’s mission of compassionate care for those who need it most.

To learn more or purchase tickets, visit: https://slfmc.networkforgood.com/events/88843-bacon-and-barrel

Saturday, November 8, 2025
Out of the Darkness Walk for AFSP
Nov 8 @ 9:00 am
Conestee Park

Out of the Darkness Walk
Event Date: Saturday, November 8th, 2025
Time: 9:00 AM Check-in | 10:00 AM Start
Conestee Park

Wednesday, November 19, 2025
Fill the Cruisers – Emergency Response Food Drive
Nov 19 @ 7:00 am – 2:00 pm
Bon Secours Wellness Arena

Join the Greenville Police Department and Bon Secours Wellness Arena for the Fill the Cruisers Emergency Food Drive, benefiting Project Host. With food insecurity rising and potential delays in SNAP benefits across South Carolina, this community event aims to support local families in need ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.

Residents are encouraged to stop by the Arena and help fill police cruisers with nonperishable food and essential items, which will be delivered directly to Project Host’s Soup Kitchen and outreach programs. Most needed items include canned vegetables and fruit, canned proteins, rice, pasta, sauces, peanut butter and jelly, applesauce, snack crackers, mac & cheese, and pop-top soups. Monetary donations can also be made at projecthost.org.