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FOLLY BEACH, S.C. (WCIV) — Christmas may have come and gone, but the holiday spirit is still alive in many places, including Folly Beach.

“We’re with our two boys, so yes, it does feel like Christmas,” said Susan Elmendorf, who was visiting from the Midwest with her husband, Tom.

Temperatures in the 70s drew people to the shoreline, though a lingering December chill remained.

“The kids: it’s just pure joy,” said Suzi Raiford. “They have to be told to take their shoes and socks off and run into the ice-cold water.”

Modest crowds spent Friday playing games in the sand, while some families surfed throughout the day.

“It’s been amazing,” said Adam Daniels of the season so far. “Every day is a blessing, and this is a season where we’re all very aware of that.”

One of Folly Beach’s seasonal staples, the Tree of Love, continues to attract visitors from near and far – and helps keep the festive spirit going.

“This is totally Folly,” one beachgoer said. “It’s very eclectic, which is at the heart of Folly.”

Vanessa Trexler Oltmann, the caretaker of the tree, said the setting captures the community’s spirit.

“The tree. The beach. Folly,” Oltmann said. “Love is in the air.”

And while Christmas is over, celebrations are far from finished.

Fireworks and the annual Flip-Flop Drop are planned for Dec. 31. On New Year’s Day, a beach cleanup will be followed by a Bill Murray-themed polar plunge.

“It’s a beautiful season – so much love, so much kindness,” Oltmann said. “Folly’s beautiful year-round, but Christmas is a tradition we start embracing from Thanksgiving through the New Year and beyond.”

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) — Folly Beach is preparing to ring in 2026 with its iconic Flip Flop Drop, drawing large crowds from across the nation and locals for the New Year’s Eve celebration.

The city will welcome 2026 with New Year’s traditions starting with a fireworks show at 9 p.m. over the Atlantic, switching back to traditional fireworks after using drone lights last year. Center Street will close at 10 p.m. for the main event, when a giant pair of sparkly flip flops will descend from the sky at midnight.

The tradition is turning 15 years old and has become a trademark of the city known nationwide. Visitors say the fellowship at Folly Beach offers the perfect blend of party ambiance while remaining family-friendly.

“It’s definitely just nice not having like the too large of crowd in Times Square, you know, where you probably can’t even see the ball drop, so to say, where you know you’re anywhere over here, you’re going to be able to see. You’re going to get to be able to be a part of it. So I think that’s a pretty cool and unique sort of thing,” Joe Hilliker, a Folly Beach visitor, said.

Some celebrants are experiencing their first Flip Flop Drop, while others returned after last year’s event. Alexa Castillo and Tori Carter, Folly Beach partygoers, said they chose the location because they had heard good things about the Flip Flop Drop and love Folly Beach.

“Everyone is so friendly and welcoming, and we’ve met so many people just walking around…it’s about the community,” Castillo and Carter said.

Michele and Justin Sohl traveled from Chicago after discovering the event online while returning on a family trip, mentioning that the event was the first to pop up in their search bar.

“We were on our way back up from Jacksonville, going back to Chicago, and we’re looking for something awesome to do for New Year’s Eve, and the first thing that popped up was Folly Beach...I thought it was amazing. We can do it with the kids. We’re excited. We just jumped on Airbnb to see if we could find something. Found something down the street and booked something on the beach,” the Sohls said.

The Folly Beach celebration offers its take on the traditional ball drop with food, drinks and flip flops.

Festivities will continue into New Year’s Day with a costume contest at 11 a.m., followed by a polar plunge at noon. Visitors are encouraged to arrive early and celebrate responsibly.

FOLLY BEACH — A pizza restaurant on this barrier island will continue its quirky New Year’s Eve celebration with a ball drop — a meatball, that is.

Woody’s Pizza has rung in the new year the same way for more than two decades.

Just before midnight on the final night of the year, a crowd gathers around the restaurant on Center Street. As the city of Folly Beach hosts its annual Flip Flop Drop just down the road on Dec. 31, a giant meatball with fiery sparklers stuck into it is simultaneously lifted high into the sky.

The countdown begins, and the dazzling meatball is then lowered, reaching the crowd as the year officially ends. The meatball typically meets an energetic crowd, with a few brave souls daring to take a bite out of the giant meatball.

But this year the tradition will look a little different. This year’s drop will feature a faux meatball, sculpted by Woody’s Pizza’s kitchen manager.

The tradition is beloved on the island, one that’s taken place in some form or fashion for roughly two decades, Woody’s Pizza owner Matt Gardner said. Gardner took over ownership of the pizza restaurant at the start of the year, taking the reins from previous owner Todd Webb.

Some years, the drop took place at the bar with a regular-sized meatball. Over the years, the drop grew into the offbeat event it is today.

“It just became over the years, bigger and bigger into what it is now,” Gardner said. “It's just a goofy thing that they like to do and people have really grown to enjoy watching it.”

The latest sculpture, though meatless, will be lit up and lowered onto the roof of the building instead of onto the sidewalk, Gardner said.

The changes come after last year’s drop was nearly shut down at the eleventh hour due to lack of permits. But this year, Gardner appeared before the city’s Special Events Committee to ensure the event could take place.

“Now that I'm taking it over, I said we'll do it the right way. We'll get a permit and make sure everybody's on board,” Gardner said.

Both the committee and Folly Beach City Council agreed to unanimously give Gardner the all-clear to host the meatball drop, on the condition that the restaurant hire additional security guards for crowd control.

“The committee is very pleased that the new owners are working with the City to ensure a safe and enjoyable event for all,” the committee wrote in a memo to city council in December.

The meatball drop will take place at Woody’s Pizza at 39 Center St. on Folly Beach just before midnight.

The island offers several other ways to celebrate the new year — Folly Beach style.

In addition to the meatball drop, Pier 101 Restaurant and Bar is hosting a beachfront fireworks show at 9 p.m. on New Year’s Eve.

The city’s annual Flip Flop Drop is another “funky Folly” tradition on the island that will feature a D.J. Center Street will shut down at 10 p.m. on Dec. 31 for the ceremonial lowering of the sparkling sandals.

And on Jan. 1, hundreds of people will dash into the chilly waters on Folly Beach for a polar plunge and Bill Murray lookalike contest at the Tides Hotel.

FOLLY BEACH, S.C. (WCIV) — One of the Lowcountry’s largest New Year’s Eve celebrations is set to return, continuing a tradition that blends fun with safety on Folly Beach.

“We live in an island community, and we’re all about our flip-flops,” said Kelly Travers with the Folly Association of Business.

Thousands of people are expected to gather along Center Street, where fireworks and a 10-foot-tall flip-flop will once again take center stage.

“I think New Year’s Eve on Folly really welcomes in the eclectic scene that we love,” Travers said.

The event typically draws large crowds eager to celebrate, and both the Folly Association of Business and the city’s Department of Public Safety say keeping attendees safe remains a top priority.

One safety-related change this year is the decision not to bring back a drone show following issues during last year’s event.

“We decided to go back to something we know: technology that’s safe and proven,” Travers said.

Fireworks will return in place of the drones.

City officials say law enforcement will be fully staffed, with additional resources brought in for the night. A key concern for officers is excessive drinking and impaired driving.

“New Year’s is one of those events where folks are having a good time, and in the past we’ve had a few people start the year on probation,” said Public Safety Director Chief Andrew Gilreath. “Don’t come out here and decide to ignore the rules that we have.”

Gilreath said he also expects Folly Beach businesses that serve alcohol to do so responsibly and urged attendees to have a plan to get home safely.

The fireworks show is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. Closures along Center Street will start around 9:30 p.m. ahead of the annual Flip Flop Drop.

FOLLY BEACH, S.C. (WCSC) — As Christmas Day closes many doors, one remains open for those who may have nowhere to go.

Planet Follywood, a bar and grill in Folly Beach, is carrying on a family tradition of a Christmas potluck, inviting new and familiar faces with a backstory that began in the 1960s.

The tradition started when Florence O’Donnell was a U.S. Navy wife alone for Christmas, unable to see her family in Philadelphia. She went to the one place open in Folly.

“She was at my mom and dad’s favorite little local bar, which at that point in time was on Front Beach. And she was crying,” her daughter, Flossie O’Donnell, said.

She said the owner of the local bar found her mom heavy-hearted and decided to bring holiday spirit to her.

“The owner’s wife told her to basically buck up, which I think in today’s terms is to put on your big girl panties, and we will have Christmas dinner here,” Flossie O’Donnell said.

The tradition is still alive and well, carried on for generations at her grandson’s bar and grill. Planet Follywood has hosted the potluck for 20 years, bringing home to those away and near.

Pete Burbage now makes it a yearly custom, bringing the ham.

“Since my children are grown and I don’t do the at-home thing with presents and all anymore. This is a very special part of my Christmas,” Burbage said.

At the potluck, Florence O’Donnell takes donations for her charity organization, Folly Angels, helping those in need on Folly Beach.

The family hopes the tradition keeps going decades down the line.

“It’s a small business. It can be hard to keep the doors open,” Flossie O’Donnell said.

Rain or shine, first timer or a local, all can find a small but tight-knit community on Christmas Day.

Planet Follywood says as long as the establishment endures, so too will the tradition.