"This is only day three on the job," Grace Friar told the Anderson Observer in late September. Friar is Pendleton's new Main Street and Downtown Engagement Coordinator. When she said that, she was already making the rounds to downtown merchants to explain her job, which in her words is to "help existing businesses thrive, encourage new ones to come downtown, strengthen community ties and bring new life to the historic commercial district."
Her timing lines up with the town's plans. Between now and the Christmas parade on December 6, something is scheduled on the Village Green nearly every weekend. Each of those events is set up to send people off the lawn and into the storefronts around it. This fall Pendleton is running the Green as the front door to downtown business, and it has spent money, staff time and fresh sod to do it.
The Lawn Was Ready Before the Calendar Was
The groundwork started in the spring. A June Anderson Observer report on Pendleton's public spaces covered irrigation, uplighting and new sod on the Village Green. The same report said about $1.5 million had been set aside for approved renovations at Veterans Park and Town Hall, though it gave no construction dates for that work. By late September, the Observer said the Green and "its new grass" would be busy most weekends through the end of the year.
Friar's role connects the lawn to the businesses around it. Lindsey Watley, the town's Community Engagement Manager, said Friar "will have a touch in all of those events for sure." The town also plans to form a Main Street board, part of the national downtown-revitalization program that has a South Carolina division. Friar has already picked a first project. She'd like to liven up a downtown courtyard that she says "would be a great space for people to be able to hang out and just make it a little bit prettier."
There's a third effort as well. Pendleton is working with a branding firm on a project Watley says will shape the town's colors, imagery, website and "how we speak when we market and do events." New grass, a new staff role, a planned board and a new public voice all point at the same few blocks around Exchange, Main, Mechanic and Queen.
October 10 Is Being Marketed in Asheville and Columbia
The Fall Harvest Festival runs Saturday, October 10, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. This year the town is pitching it as an art festival. A South Carolina Arts Commission grant pays for the expanded art programming. Anderson County accommodations-tax money helped pay for billboards in markets outside the area, including Asheville and Columbia.
Those billboards matter if you live here. Accommodations-tax dollars are meant to bring visitors in, so the festival is meant to draw people who don't already know where to park or which shop sells what. The day's programming is built so locals can take part too:
- The Pendleton Art Gallery will be in two spots, with demonstrations in front of the gallery and an art tent on the Village Green.
- Michaels will run hands-on arts-and-crafts activities inside that tent. The store also donated large canvases for a community artwork that will be displayed around Pendleton after the festival.
- A covered lunch space opens in the art tent from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Watley said the town "saw a need last year for a nice covered space for people to eat."
Watley's summary was "We amped it up this year for sure." The Observer compared the expanded format to a slightly smaller Spring Jubilee.
Downtown closes in two stages this week. On Wednesday, October 7, the Pendleton Homecoming Parade runs on Exchange Street from 6 to 6:30 p.m., with temporary closures starting at 5 p.m. and more closures from 5:45 to 6 p.m. Two days later, Main and Exchange streets close at 2 p.m. Friday, October 9, and stay closed until 7 p.m. Saturday. The town has asked businesses to move vehicles by 1:30 p.m. Friday. If you usually park on Exchange to grab coffee, Friday afternoon is when that changes.
Every Event Hands Off to a Storefront
After October 10, the calendar follows the same idea at a smaller scale. Each date pairs something on the Green or in a park with a reason to walk into a shop.
- Downtown trick-or-treat, then a movie. The Pendleton Area Business Association's downtown trick-or-treat sends families to local merchants. Afterward, PABA, the Pendleton Foundation for Black History and Culture and the Pendleton History Foundation plan a community movie at Heritage Park on October 29. The Observer put it this way: "A child may come for candy at a storefront, then cross town for a community movie." No 2026 time has been posted for the trick-or-treat. The town's event page still shows last year's date, Thursday, October 30, 2025, from 4:30 to 6 p.m.
- Tree lighting on November 27. The lighting on the Village Green will include entertainment, merchant activities and new programs meant to bring families into local businesses. The tree will also have ornaments in a new color scheme.
- Christkindlmarkt, three weekends. The tree lighting kicks off the market at 105 Exchange St., on the Green between Exchange and Mechanic, with the lit tree and historic Farmers Hall marking its edges. Hours are 4 to 8 p.m. on November 27 and 28, December 4 and 5, and December 11 and 12. The town's general Christkindlmarkt page still shows 2025 dates, so use the 2026 vendor guide for this year's schedule.
- Christmas parade, Sunday, December 6.
Just outside town, the Pendleton Historic Foundation is running ghost tours at Ashtabula, at 2725 Old Greenville Hwy. in Central. The foundation's events page lists October 17 and October 30 as the dates still available. The October 23 Ghosts of Ashtabula event is sold out.
The Corner Under Review All Season
If you're walking between the Green and the shops on Queen Street, you'll cross a corner that's being tested right now. Since Tuesday, September 1, 2026, SCDOT has run Mechanic and Queen as an all-way stop. The old traffic signal flashes red in all directions and stop signs control all four approaches. SCDOT is monitoring the intersection for 90 days. Ninety days from September 1 lands on November 30. That means the trial covers the homecoming parade, the harvest festival, the Halloween events, the tree lighting and the first market weekend.
The mayor's September update said no final decision had been made. So whatever SCDOT decides will be based on traffic counts from Pendleton's busiest stretch of the year. For anyone walking, the four-way stop means every car on all four approaches comes to a full stop, right at the corner where the Green meets Queen Street's shops.
Where the Foot Traffic Lands
The Green only works as a front door if there's something to walk into. These shops and restaurants sit within a few blocks of it. Most hours pages are undated, so check before an event day.
- The Village Bakery & Café, 108 East Main St. Café meals, pastries and cookies.
- FreeHand Coffee, 220 E. Main St. Coffee, pastries and quick bites.
- BREWS at the Square, 182 East Queen St. Craft beer, wine, specialty coffee, burgers and sandwiches.
- Brooklyn Style Pizza, 152 Exchange St. New York-style pizza, plus beer, cider and wine.
- The Pendleton Candy Company, 119 N. Mechanic St. Candy, chocolates, cookies and cakes. Its own site lists Thursday through Saturday hours until 8:30 p.m., which overlaps with the Christkindlmarkt's evening hours.
- The Mercantile, 149 E. Queen St. A gift store.
- The Pendleton Bookshop, 125 East Queen St. A bookshop that hosts author and book-club events.
- Art Gallery on Pendleton Square, 150 Exchange St. A cooperative of local artists selling pottery, glass, jewelry, fiber art and paintings, and the gallery behind the festival demonstrations.
The newest addresses on that map are in a building old enough to remember Pendleton's earlier downtown. In June, the former Evans Drug Store at 102 Exchange St. reopened after a restoration that began in 2020 under Main Exchange LLC, a partnership of local investors. The brick building went up around 1905 and was home to four generations of Evans family pharmacists. Its current tenants are Newtique, Sutherland Hill Farms Photography and financial adviser Bray Friar. Krista Sutherland told FOX Carolina she chose the space because "this is my original hometown." At the reopening, Mayor Sarah Stokowski said the town is pursuing a Bailey Bill, a local tax incentive that would offer credits for restoring historic homes and businesses.
The partners said work on the building next door at 104 Exchange St. was expected to start later in the summer. The Main Exchange website still shows an outdated December 2025 completion estimate. On festival day, that building may be the clearest sign of where downtown is headed next.
Here at Locke & Key Associates, we care about the same thing Pendleton is working on this fall: how an old building looks from the sidewalk and what pulls someone through the door. If you own one of Pendleton's historic homes and the Bailey Bill talk has you thinking about restoration, or about how your porch and front door present to people walking past, let's talk about your home. Thatcher will gladly take the Fall Harvest Festival as an excuse for a walk around the Green.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
