The roof over 4006 MacCorkle Avenue SW is the underside of an interstate. The South Charleston Farmers Market has 12,000 square feet of covered, open-air space beneath the Interstate 64 bridge. The City of South Charleston hosted its grand opening on May 10, 2025, and the plan was a market with Mountain State vendors, fresh produce and flowers, open seven days a week, as the Charleston Gazette-Mail reported at the time.
Most open-air farmers markets slow down when the tomatoes are gone. This one has a roof and a city recreation office running it, and that changes November. The produce tables shrink for the season, but the space under the bridge stays put, and on three of the month's four Saturdays the city has booked it with something different. The full calendar starts with Halloween and ends on D Street in December. The market sits in the middle of it.
A Second-Season Market With Numbers Behind It
The market posted big sales numbers in its first year. Recreation Director Shawn Zuniga told WCHS Network in March 2026 that when the West Virginia Farmers Market Association reported gross sales for markets around the state, South Charleston "was top three in the state in 2025." That was its first season.
The vendor list has also grown more food-focused. When the market opened in May 2025, its permanent vendors were Debbie's Corner Greenhouse, DNS Farms, Gritt's Farm, Gritt's Midway Greenhouse, Honey Do Produce and Steel Blooming, with food trucks rotating through. For the 2026 season, Zuniga named this permanent lineup:
- Gritt's Farm
- Gritt's Midway
- Keen Quality Meats, for beef and pork
- Parson Ridge Farms, for poultry
- Honey Do Produce
- Muddy Mountain Flower Farms
A market with meat and poultry vendors doesn't depend on a summer harvest the way a produce-only market does. The city's events help on the other side by giving people a reason to come back each weekend once the sweet corn is gone. Regular weekday and Sunday hours after October can change, so check the city's event pages or the market directly before you plan a weekday trip around them.
Three Saturdays, One Roof
Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, and the city's Trick or Treat runs from 6 to 8 p.m. on Oct. 31. After that, the market's November schedule looks like this.
Nov. 7: Glass and Maple
The Blenko Glass & Maple Syrup Festival runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Blenko Glass Company will make glass ornaments in a live glassblowing demonstration. Every attendee gets a ticket, and the ornaments made that day are given away free to the holders of winning numbers. Blenko's glass store will also be open at the event.
Ronk Family Farm handles the maple side, with maple products, maple cotton candy, taste testing and a tree-tapping demonstration. Market vendors will sell maple-inspired products too, and the South Charleston Convention and Visitors Bureau is sponsoring the day. The syrup comes from close by. The West Virginia Maple Syrup Producers Association lists Ronk Family Farm in Alum Creek, with more than 100 acres of forest, 25 acres tapped and more than 400 taps.
Nov. 14: The First Chili Cook-Off
The 1st Annual Chili Cook-Off At The Market runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Entries compete in two categories, red chili with or without beans and white chili, for four awards:
- Mayor's Choice
- Market Choice
- Judges' Choice
- People's Choice
Tasting tickets cost a can of food or $1 each. The cook-off doubles as a canned food drive for Heart and Hand Thrift Store, and Gettin Piggy With It 304 LLC. Catering is helping sponsor it. If you want to enter your own chili, the city's event page has registration details through the recreation office. Heart + Hand says purchases at its thrift store help fund its basic-assistance programs. The store also runs a voucher program for people in need and supports job-training work.
Nov. 28: Light The Market
The Saturday after Thanksgiving, Light The Market is on the city's calendar from 3 to 6 p.m. The city hasn't posted this year's program. Last year's event opened the market's first Christmas Market. WOWK reported that the 2025 program had free cookies and hot chocolate, family activities, a visit from the Chick-fil-A Cow, and a market lighting around 5:30 p.m. The holiday market then ran through Dec. 21, with Christmas trees, seasonal decor, baked goods, holiday crafts and a meet-and-greet with Santa. Treat that as a picture of 2025, and watch the city's listing for what 2026 adds.
The Handoff to D Street
The market's November events feed straight into the city's December events on D Street, six days after Light The Market. Here's the sequence from Halloween to the parade:
| Date | Event | Where | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 31 | Trick or Treat | South Charleston | 6–8 p.m. |
| Sat., Nov. 7 | Blenko Glass & Maple Syrup Festival | Farmers Market | 10 a.m.–4 p.m. |
| Sat., Nov. 14 | Chili Cook-Off At The Market | Farmers Market | 11 a.m.–4 p.m. |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Light The Market | Farmers Market | 3–6 p.m. |
| Fri., Dec. 4 | Christmas Tree Lighting, Drone Light Show & Lighted Golf Cart Caravan Ride | D Street | 5:30–7 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | SC Christmas Parade | D Street | Noon |
The tree lighting on Dec. 4 adds a drone light show and a lighted golf cart caravan. The SC Christmas Parade steps off on D Street at noon the next day, and parade entries register through the South Charleston CVB. From Nov. 7 to Dec. 5, the city's seasonal calendar uses just two locations, MacCorkle under the bridge and D Street downtown.
A Stop at Park Place Before or After
Farther along MacCorkle Avenue, the Park Place shopping center has added several places this fall. WOWK covered the Aug. 4 ribbon cutting for Pizzas & Cream at 40 MacCorkle Ave., Suite 40-N, which serves wood-fired pizza, homemade ice cream, gelato and Italian ice. WSAZ reported that Skechers opened with an Oct. 2 ribbon cutting. 7 Brew at 70 MacCorkle Avenue SW was set to officially open Oct. 5.
Other tenants are still being built out. In a Sept. 11 update that WCHS reported, Mayor Frank Mullens said interior work was underway at Huey Magoo's Chicken Tenders, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Great Clips, Optimum Nails and Pigtails & Crewcuts, and that Mission BBQ and Chipotle were under construction. He also said the rebuilt Burger King at Riverwalk Plaza was expected to open in November. Those dates were projections as of September. Check before you plan a trip around any of them.
We're cheering for the chili entries and hoping for a Blenko ornament for the tree, and our family would love to say hello under the bridge on one of these Saturdays. If November has you wondering what your own South Charleston home is worth before the holidays, the team at Faith Realty & Co., LLC can help. Get Your Free Home Valuation.
