The Travelers Rest Farmers Market ended its 2026 Saturday season on September 19 with the Season Finale & Apple Fest at Trailblazer Park. It moved to Thursday evenings for October, and after that it runs holiday markets. Two of them are scheduled so the park event ends right as a Main Street event begins, or begins right as one ends.
Between now and mid-December, Trailblazer Park and Main Street take turns. On the Saturdays that matter most, one location's hours end close to when the other's begin. If you follow that pattern, you can catch nearly everything on the fall calendar without two events competing for the same afternoon.
October runs on Thursday nights
The City of Travelers Rest's event listing for the Bluegrass & Harvest Market has the October format. The markets run Thursdays from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at Trailblazer Park, with a live concert on the lawn, dinner from food trucks, and more than 35 vendors. As of today, three Thursdays are left: October 15, October 22, and October 29.
The last one is different. The market says it will host a kids' costume parade on the 29th, with vendors handing out treats, and that more details are coming through its social media and monthly email.
Thursday evenings leave the weekends free for the City's own October events. The Saturday events alternate between downtown and the park:
- Scarecrows on Main started October 3. This year's theme is "Stars, Stripes & Scarecrows – America 250," and voting closes Saturday, October 24.
- Downtown Trick or Treating is also on October 24, from 3 to 5 p.m. on Main Street, with participating businesses, games, face painting, and candy.
- Trailblazer Halloween Fest moves things back to the park on Saturday, October 31, from 2 to 8 p.m. The City lists live music, trick-or-treating, pumpkin decorating, and a costume parade.
That adds up to three costume-and-candy chances in eight days, at two locations. On October 24, the final day of scarecrow voting falls on the same day as downtown trick-or-treating, so one walk down Main Street covers both.
The markets grow as the holidays get closer
After Halloween, each holiday market is listed with a bigger lineup than the one before it.
| Date | Event | Where | Hours | Listed lineup |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursdays in October | Bluegrass & Harvest Market | Trailblazer Park | 5:30–8 p.m. | 35+ vendors |
| Sat., Nov. 7 | Christmas Market on Main | Main Street | 1–5 p.m. | 20+ local makers and small businesses |
| Sun., Nov. 8 | November Trailblazer Market | 235 Trailblazer Drive | Noon–4 p.m. | 50+ small businesses |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Small Business Saturday | Trailblazer Park | Noon–3 p.m. | 60+ local makers |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | Very Merry Christmas Market | Trailblazer Park | Noon–4 p.m. | 120+ artisans and food makers |
The first weekend of November shows the alternating pattern clearly. The Christmas Market on Main is downtown on Saturday afternoon. The next day, the November Trailblazer Market fills the park. They fall on back-to-back days, not the same afternoon, and the Sunday lineup is listed at more than twice the size of Saturday's.
By December 12, the lineup is more than three times what a Thursday night in October draws. Between those dates, the calendar has two Saturdays where the timing works as a handoff.
November 28: the market hands off to Main Street
The Saturday after Thanksgiving starts at the park. The market's Small Business Saturday runs from noon to 3 p.m. with more than 60 local makers. The market calls it the start of the holiday shopping season and one of the best ways to shop local for Christmas.
The City's Holiday Hop & Christmas Market starts on Main Street at 3 p.m., the same hour the park market ends, and goes until 7. The City's Holiday Hop page sets the tree lighting and Christmas carols for 6:45 p.m., next to Loftis Printing.
So the afternoon starts at Trailblazer Park and ends downtown at the tree. If you plan to see the lighting, it's at 6:45, close to the end of the Hop.
December 12: Main Street hands off to the market
Two weeks later, the order flips. The Greater Travelers Rest Chamber's 2026 parade, "A Mayberry Christmas," is on Saturday, December 12, from 10 a.m. to noon. The Chamber says the parade raises money for local nonprofits, and it thanks the Bank of Travelers Rest as its Santa's Sleigh Sponsor. One note on that date: the City's own parade page that still turns up in searches is the 2025 listing, for December 13 last year. The Chamber's page has the 2026 details.
At noon, the Very Merry Christmas Market opens at Trailblazer Park and runs until 4 p.m. The market describes it this way:
"The Very Merry Christmas Market is the largest event hosted by Travelers Rest Farmers Market each year. 120+ local artisans and food makers will converge at Trailblazer Park following the downtown Travelers Rest Christmas Parade."
The listing also mentions visits with Santa and live music. The market's own description puts its biggest event right after the parade, so the crowd heading out of downtown at noon has somewhere to go next.
Why the market keeps a calendar this long
A market with a Thursday series, a Small Business Saturday, and a 120-vendor December event is acting like an institution, and in organizational terms it is one. The Travelers Rest Farmers Market says it started in 2009 and became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2014. It lists Maranda Williams as executive director.
Its work also goes past market days. The market's Farmer Fund launched in May 2023 to give local farmers capacity-building support and crisis-response help, including quick local assistance after disasters like fires or floods. The Greenville Journal reported on March 2, 2026 that this year's round awarded $18,000 to six farms.
The market also runs food-access programs. Eligible vendors accept SNAP-EBT. Through the market's TRFM for All match, shoppers get $2 in TRFM Bucks for every SNAP dollar spent, up to $100. A separate Healthy Bucks benefit adds $15 for fruits and vegetables after a $5 SNAP-EBT purchase. The market's food access page explains how both programs work.
The summer Saturday season, the fall Thursday series, the Farmer Fund grants, and the market's biggest event of the year all run through the same nonprofit and its executive director.
The rest of the fall, in order
Starting from October 12, here's the full sequence:
- Thursday, Oct. 15: Bluegrass & Harvest Market, Trailblazer Park, 5:30–8 p.m.
- Thursday, Oct. 22: Bluegrass & Harvest Market, same time and place.
- Saturday, Oct. 24: last day to vote in Scarecrows on Main, plus Downtown Trick or Treating on Main Street, 3–5 p.m.
- Thursday, Oct. 29: final Harvest Market of the year, with the kids' costume parade and vendor trick-or-treating.
- Saturday, Oct. 31: Trailblazer Halloween Fest, 2–8 p.m.
- Saturday, Nov. 7: Christmas Market on Main, 1–5 p.m.
- Sunday, Nov. 8: November Trailblazer Market, noon–4 p.m.
- Saturday, Nov. 28: Small Business Saturday at the park, noon–3 p.m., then the Holiday Hop on Main, 3–7 p.m., with the tree lighting at 6:45.
- Saturday, Dec. 12: "A Mayberry Christmas" parade, 10 a.m.–noon, then the Very Merry Christmas Market at Trailblazer Park, noon–4 p.m.
Because Trailblazer Drive and Main Street trade off this way, a Travelers Rest weekend this fall usually means spending time at both.
How close you live to Trailblazer Park or Main Street makes a real difference in how easy this calendar is to enjoy. If you're curious what that looks like for your own home or a move within town, I'm happy to walk through it with you. Patrick Toates and The Toates Team know these blocks well. Schedule a Free Consultation and we'll talk it over, maybe on a Thursday night at the market.
