Florence Downtown Development Corp. has added a footrace to its holiday season. The Downtown Florence Reindeer Dash 5K runs Saturday, December 12, and the race page says proceeds go to the Downtown Florence Main Street Program, the same program behind the lights on S. Dargan Street, the photo spots and the Santa mailbox.
The race also falls on the open Saturday between the Christmas parade and the last-minute shopping day. Downtown now has something planned on December 5, December 12 and December 19, and each one brings people back to the same few blocks of Dargan and Evans. For anyone who lives in Florence, that means three straight weekends with a reason to go downtown. The newest of the three helps pay for the rest.
A race that raises money for downtown
Florence Downtown Development Corp. calls the Reindeer Dash "a brand new event in the Downtown Florence holiday line-up." The plan is more than a run. Runners get hot cocoa and a visit with Rudolph at the finish. There are "Best Reindeer" and "Most Festive" costume contests for individuals and groups. And after the race, downtown shops and restaurants are offering special promotions just for participants.
Those promotions send runners, many of them in costume, straight from the finish into the businesses the Main Street Program supports, and the entry fees go to the same program. Sponsorships are open too, and the downtown office takes calls about them at 843-678-5912.
Awards cover the top overall male and female finishers, the top masters runners over 40, and the top three in each age group, from 7-and-under up to 70-plus. That spread of age groups means kids and grandparents both have a shot at a medal. The race information doesn't list a separate kids' run, so everyone runs the same 5K.
Race morning, December 12
The race starts at James Allen Plaza, 119 S. Dargan Street, and packet pickup is there on race morning only. The RunSignup race page describes a flat, fast course through historic downtown and the residential streets next to it.
The race schedule runs like this:
- 7:30 a.m. Registration and packet pickup open at James Allen Plaza.
- 9:20 a.m. Pre-race announcements.
- 9:30 a.m. The 5K starts.
- About 10:40 a.m. Awards.
Early pricing ended November 1. On the live registration form, adults now pay $40 plus a $4.40 service fee, and ages 1 through 18 pay $30. The race-day fee is also listed at $40, so waiting until that morning doesn't save anything.
Awards should wrap up close to 11 a.m., which is when lunch starts at the newest restaurant on the same street. Major's Kitchen & Lounge at 135 N. Dargan Street is open Wednesday through Saturday, with lunch from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and dinner from 5 to 9 p.m., plus Sunday hours from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. SCNow reported that the two-story historic building's plans included a rooftop bar and that the menu is coastal, Southern-inspired food shaped by owner Terrance Thomas's years in the Marine Corps.
How the race fits into the rest of December
The Reindeer Dash sits in the middle of a downtown calendar that starts the first Friday of the month. Florence Downtown's holiday page lists the full run.
| Date | Event | Where and when |
|---|---|---|
| Fri, Dec. 4 | Downtown Christmas Magic and City/County tree lighting | 100 block of S. Dargan St., 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. |
| Sat, Dec. 5 | Florence Christmas Parade | Evans St., 11 a.m. |
| Sat, Dec. 12 | Reindeer Dash 5K | James Allen Plaza, 9:30 a.m. start |
| Sat, Dec. 19 | Hygge Holiday shopping | Downtown shops |
| Nightly, early Dec. to Dec. 31 | Holiday Music and Light Show | S. Dargan St., 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. |
Friday night's kickoff has Santa visits, hot cocoa, marshmallow roasting and kids' crafts along with the tree lighting.
The Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce runs the parade the next morning. According to Visit Florence, it starts near Sunset Drive and Evans Street and heads down Evans toward Dargan. Bands are judged in front of the Florence City Center, so the sidewalk there is the place to hear them at full effort.
A week after the race, Hygge Holiday borrows the Danish idea of coziness for a Saturday of last-minute gift shopping downtown.
The light show runs underneath all of it. This is its tenth year as a free walk-through on S. Dargan Street, and the display and music change a little every year. Parking is in the City of Florence parking garage. If you're at the tree lighting on December 4 or the race on December 12, it's a short walk over to see it.
Small things to keep an eye on
Some of the season's smaller pieces have their own deadlines, and a few land before the race.
- The 2026 downtown ornament is listed as coming soon, priced at $30. Ornaments are sold at the Downtown Development Office, second floor of 324 W. Evans Street, and online. Earlier ornaments are still for sale: the 2025 Barringer Building edition is $25, the 2024 Carolina Theatre edition is $20, and the older editions are in very short supply. Order by Friday, December 11, to guarantee shipped delivery by Christmas. Once each year's ornament sells out, it won't be reprinted.
- The Holiday Window Decorating Contest lets you vote for a storefront by scanning the QR code in its window. Voting closes Thursday, December 17.
- Letters to Santa go in the red mailbox at the light show. Include a return address and Santa may write back.
- Photo spots with polar bears, reindeer and a penguin are set up around the Historic District all December.
- The Downtown Florence Holiday Gift Guide comes out in November and covers more than 40 independently owned restaurants, shops and service businesses in the district.
The weekend before December starts
The holiday season starts outside downtown, at the Florence Center. Its Jingle Bell Market runs November 20 through 22: Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. That's two weeks before the tree lighting, which makes it a good time to get most of your shopping list done. That leaves Hygge Holiday on December 19 for whatever you're still missing.
After the market comes the first full downtown stretch with the new race in it. A family could see the tree lighting on a Friday, watch the parade the next morning, and come back the following Saturday in reindeer antlers at 9:30 a.m. The shops and restaurants that make those weekends worth the trip also get a share of what the race raises.
If you sign up for the Reindeer Dash, look us up. We're in Elgin, but we know the Midlands and Pee Dee well, and the Half Moon Realty team is happy to talk about Florence any time, whether you're planning your December weekends or thinking about a move. Contact us.
