Manning's Christmas parade on Sunday, Nov. 29, will run on streets that are partway through being rebuilt. The 2026 Parade of Lights starts at Weldon Auditorium on Brooks Street, turns onto Boyce Street and ends on Mill Street next to City Hall, according to the City of Manning's event page. The city started repaving those downtown blocks on Nov. 3, as the last stage of the 107-year-old sewer replacement project, according to a city notice.
On parade night, some blocks will have new asphalt and some won't. One repair near the starting line may be left until after the holidays on purpose. Right now, Christmas is setting the order of downtown's construction work.
A year ago, the parade route was a work zone
Last fall, most of the parade route was torn up. Crews closed Boyce Street from Mill Street to Church Street starting Oct. 7, 2025, to replace sewer lines under Brooks and Boyce, The Manning Times reported. Main Street Manning Director Carrie Trebil told the paper that most businesses stayed open and that the Christmas Open House and the city's Nov. 30 parade would go ahead anyway.
The business owners in that story described the same problem from three different storefronts. Here's how Lucy Casselman, owner of Lucy's Traditional Southern Bakehouse, put it to The Manning Times:
"People think we're closed. They're confused about where to park or how to get here. But we're still open. Brooks Street is open, and there's parking nearby."
Around the corner, SubStation II owner Rick Richardson said his longtime customers still found their way past the barricades. At Brunson's Pharmacy, owner Jamie Mathis said the store was getting calls from people asking whether it was open. Caroline Buyck, then the Clarendon County Chamber of Commerce's interim director, and Sadie Serio, its director of tourism, went shop to shop telling visitors which back and side entrances were open and where to park.
Last year's holiday season was held around open trenches. The sewer lines have since been replaced. What's left is the road surface on top of them.
What the crews are paving now
City Administrator Scott Tanner came back to Manning on Aug. 11 after a little more than a year with Florence County. He had previously spent 12 years as the city's administrator. In a Sept. 24 Manning Times interview, he listed the street sections the city is responsible for resurfacing:
- Rigby Street, between Mill and Brooks streets
- Brooks Street, between Boyce and Sumter streets
- Keitt Street, between Boundary and Brooks streets
- Mill Street, from Keitt to Boyce streets
- Maple Street
That list covers most of the parade route. Maple Street runs past Weldon Auditorium, which The Sumter Item lists at 7 Maple St. Brooks Street carries the first stretch of the parade, and Mill Street is where it ends.
Tanner told the paper the surfaces left after the sewer work were not where they need to be. He said the general contractor is responsible for fixing the city's portions, with the South Carolina Department of Transportation inspecting the work. The resurfacing is paid for from the same grant that funded the sewer project. The other road sections affected by the sewer project belong to SCDOT and are expected to be resurfaced in the spring. Boyce Street, where the parade turns, isn't on the city's list.
Walking the route, start to finish
Here is the route in parade order, with the shops listed along each stretch.
Weldon Auditorium, Brooks and Maple. The parade lines up here and steps off at 5:30 p.m. Maple Street is on the city's resurfacing list. Close by is the stormwater dip Tanner described as a separate problem from the sewer job. More on that below.
Brooks Street. The Merry Market runs on Brooks Street from 4 to 7:30 p.m. the same day, so it opens before the parade starts and keeps going after the last float, according to Main Street Manning. Brunson's Pharmacy and its gift shop are at 12 N Brooks St. Calla Lily Cafe is listed at 14 N Brooks St. SubStation II, at 37 N Brooks St, donated a door prize for the Chamber's Sept. 29 business gathering, The Manning Times reported.
The turn onto Boyce Street. Last October, this stretch was closed from Mill to Church. Lucy's Traditional Southern Bakehouse is listed at 5 W Boyce St.
Mill Street to City Hall. The parade ends on Mill Street next to Manning City Hall. Birdie's Cafe & Creamery is at 201 S Mill St. A little farther down, Whimsi on Mill St. is listed at 322 S Mill St and sells artisan and vendor goods. One block over, Sweet Repeats & More is listed at 25 W Rigby St and carries consignment, vintage and home decor. That block of Rigby, between Mill and Brooks, is also on the resurfacing list.
The whole route is a short loop, so you can stay downtown from the market's opening to its close.
The pieces that wait until after Christmas
The holidays are shaping the parts of the job that aren't finished yet.
The dip near Weldon Auditorium. This problem came from an earlier stormwater project, not the sewer work. Tanner told The Manning Times that an independent engineering firm reviewed the finished stormwater work, and the contractor will have to make repairs, including fixing a significant dip in the road. The fix could mean repaving the whole road. Tanner said that if it couldn't be finished soon, he would prefer to wait until after the holidays so it wouldn't disrupt Manning's Christmas activities. The parade lines up at Weldon Auditorium.
The state's share of the streets. The SCDOT-maintained sections of the sewer project are expected to be resurfaced in the spring.
Church Street Town Centre and Venue. This is the city's long-planned downtown park and event space, a block over from the Boyce Street stretch that was closed last fall. Construction picked back up in September, with playground equipment going in and work continuing on the pavilion. Tanner told City Council on Sept. 18 that he would be satisfied with completion by the end of the year. In a March 2026 message, Mayor Julia Nelson listed a stage, pavilion, restrooms, splash pad and playground among the planned features. That gives downtown a dedicated outdoor event space for future holiday seasons. This year's Merry Market and parade are still set for Brooks Street.
Sidewalks and the buildings behind City Hall. Manning received a $25,000 Problem Solver Grant from the Municipal Association of South Carolina to hire an engineer to study uneven and deteriorating downtown sidewalks. The study may also look at more lighting and streetscape improvements along Mill Street, the block where the parade ends. The city also received a $115,000 grant for façade work on two city-owned buildings behind City Hall. The exterior work is estimated at about $190,000, with roughly $75,000 coming from city funds, and the grant money has to be spent before next summer.
Taken together, this year's parade runs over city blocks the paving crews started on Nov. 3 and past state sections slated for spring. The sidewalk study, the Mill Street lighting review and the City Hall façades are all longer-range work.
Making a weekend of it
The parade weekend begins the day before. Small Business Saturday falls on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, which this year is Nov. 28, and Main Street Manning has promoted it on its own event page. Sunday runs on a tight schedule:
- 4 p.m. Merry Market opens on Brooks Street
- 5:30 p.m. Parade of Lights leaves Weldon Auditorium
- 6:30 p.m. The parade is scheduled to finish on Mill Street beside City Hall
- 7:30 p.m. Merry Market closes
Last year, Chamber staff spent the season telling shoppers which back and side entrances were open and where to park safely. This year the sewer lines are replaced, the city's blocks are being repaved, and the remaining street work is planned for the spring.
Thinking about what a fully rebuilt downtown Manning could mean for your plans next year? The Husted Team follows these town projects block by block and can walk you through the details. Book an appointment and we'll start with the streets you care about.
