Wedding & Event Venue near Saluda, SC

Times, locations for Monks’ visit to Columbia

South Carolina nonprofit Be the Ones is partnering with Walk for Peace to host two events Saturday afternoon, one in West Columbia and the other at the S.C. Statehouse in Columbia.

The first event is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 10 on the West Columbia side of the Gervais Street Bridge.

Between 3 and 4 p.m., the monks and Aloka will gather at the S.C. Statehouse (110 Gervais St.). The monks will be recognized with proclamations from Columbia Mayor Daniel Rickenmann and state Sen. Deon Tedder, D-Charleston.

“We believe peace starts locally, with how we show up for one another, listen, and act with care and compassion,” Cate Mayer, Be the Ones founder and executive director, said in a press release. “We’re grateful to work in coordination with the Walk for Peace team to help create meaningful spaces for reflection, connection, and shared commitment here in Columbia and across South Carolina.”

When greeting the monks, there are a few things to keep in mind:

According to the Abhayagiri Monastery, the most common way to greet a Buddhist monk is with the añjali. This is when you press your palms together in font of your chest.

“It is a gesture of respect that can be used as a greeting, a goodbye, a thank-you or when speaking with one of the monastics,” the monastery advised.

The monks stopped in Edgefield County Jan. 7 where they were greeted by a few hundred supporters and one protestor, whom they gifted a flower and bottle of water, according to reporting from The Aiken Standard.

Crowds of people from near and far lined the streets of downtown Saluda on Thursday to welcome the Walk for Peace, some out of curiosity, others in search of a deeply personal experience in the presence of two dozen Buddhist monks.

The monks are making their way across South Carolina as part of a months-long walk across the country from their home temple in Texas all the way to Washington, D.C. Traveling on foot, the monks are expected to arrive in Columbia by Saturday.

Like in other stops along the way, the caravan attracted hundreds of onlookers at the monks’ previously announced stopping point on the lawn of the Saluda County Courthouse. The monks collected flowers from well-wishers as they walked down Church Street escorted by local law enforcement at 11:30 a.m., hours after they left a country church in Edgefield County 13 miles away.

They settled down in a taped-off area under a shady tree with the walk’s mascot Aloka the Peace Dog and ate a vegetarian meal which had been prepared by an advance team, which was also shared with any hungry members of the public. Then the crowd listened to a talk from the Venerable Pannakara, the leader of the walk who addressed the assembled crowd through a crackling sound system.

The Walk for Peace has attracted national attention, partly through an active social media presence by the monks themselves documenting the trip. But the monk said he was inspired to make the trek because of his work doing international disaster relief, and seeing suffering and depression up close. His Buddhist practice is dedicated to alleviating that kind of suffering.

“Am I going to stay in this temple and serve the community here, or should I take this walk and share the message with the entire world,” Pannakara said.

Marge Uhen drove up from Florida to connect with the walk as it made its way across South Carolina, saying the phenomenon had left her with a sense of peace in uncertain times.

“You see what’s going on, it’s scary,” Uhen said, referencing the shooting the day before of a Minneapolis woman by an ICE agent. “The world is falling apart. This gives me hope. I see them and a peaceful feeling fills me up.”

Julie Cline was inspired to come down from Clemson because of her memories of the Buddhists she met on a trip to Sri Lanka.

“I have never met kinder people than Buddhist people,” Cline said. “I want to learn more about the philosophy and show my support for the Buddhist community.... People are looking for true love and kindness.”

Not everyone was welcoming to the contingent. A man who declined to give his full name was protesting the monks’ visit with a personal speaker system and a sign warning of the dangers of hell, over the occasional shouts and heckles of the rest of the crowd.

“If you are a friend of these men, then unfortunately you are an enemy of God,” he said.

The monks had no interaction with the protester during their visit to Saluda, but Cline said she had seen the monks encounter similar protesters at other stops.

“They hear them out, then they smile and bow,” she said.

Paige Watson was driven to greet the monks from Columbia by memories of her grandmother, who was born in Thailand.

“This is a part of my culture,” she said. “My main expectation is to show my baby cousin what this experience is like and ask them questions. I’d love to greet them in their native tongue and pray with them.”

Saluda County officials made contact with the monks’ advance person the day before their arrival and coordinated locations for them to stop, said Emergency Management Director Josh Morton. Sheriff’s deputies met the monk as they crossed into the county and would stay with them overnight during their stay at Nazareth Methodist Church further down U.S. 378.

Speaking to the crowd, Pannakara encouraged a practice of mindfulness on the present moment as an antidote to worries and pain, and even led the crowd through some breathing techniques.

“When you’re mindful, it’s not as easy to be triggered,” he said, his bare feet on the courthouse steps wrapped in tape. “On the Walk for Peace, I take every step in mindfulness. I’ve had illness like anybody else. My health is not as good. But the mind is different. You can train it to be strong or weak.”

After the talk, Pannakara accepted a sheriff’s badge from the county and added it to similar badges from other stops on the walk to his robe. The monks then distributed peace bracelets to the crowd and posed for pictures.

Kelly Arrington of Batesburg greeted Pannakara with tears in her eyes. She lost her son to suicide and has been dealing with her grief through mindfulness and yoga.

“I had to decide if I was going to be bitter and angry, or if I was going to be grateful for the 25 years I had with him,” Arrington said. “I agree young people are not equipped to deal with this world, and I just hope that hearing this will save someone else’s son.”

The monks are about halfway through their 2,300-mile journey, which started Oct. 26 and is expected to take 120 days to reach its final destination. The monks are expected to pass through Lexington County on Friday and reach Columbia on Saturday. Their movements can be tracked on a live online map updated daily.

Columbia has many opportunities for people to get in the holiday spirit. The three largest shows include the Holiday Lights on the River at Saluda Shoals, Wild Lights at Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens and Fireflies Lights at Segra Park.

Every year, Saluda Shoals Park transforms into a brightly lit, festive holiday adventure wonderland with three miles of animated, lighted displays. A walking trail, illuminated by displays, features a winding path with a laser light show to enjoy.

5605 Bush River Road, Columbia, SC 29210

More than a million lights, 400 themed, animated light displays on a two-mile loop of the Park, dancing, lighted trees synchronized to classical and whimsical holiday music. There’s also a three-dimensional Victorian Village, Old Man Winter, the holiday classic Twelve Days of Christmas.

Today to Dec. 31

6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Admission: $25, $30, $35 for cars based on the night, $50 for 12+ passenger vans, truck with trailer, limo and $75 for buses

Driving Tour, Santa’s shop, hay ride, walking trail and more

500 Wildlife Parkway, Columbia, SC 29210

Nearly one million lights, animated images, Music in Motion Lights Spectacular, nightly visits with Santa (on-site beginning at 6 p.m. each night through Dec. 23), Jingle Bell Bonfire; hot cocoa, marshmallows and other festive foods available for purchase

Today to Dec. 30 (closed Dec. 24-25)

5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Admission: $8 Children, $10 Adults, younger than 2 free

Walking Tour

Segra Park, Columbia, Nov. 21-Jan.3

Presented by Lexington Medical Center, over one million LED lights, featuring 10 themed areas plus kids crafts and activities, holiday-themed food and drinks

December/January: Advanced tickets $12 per person plus ticket fees

?All tickets increase by $2 per ticket on the day of the event.

?Children 2 and under get in free and do not require a ticket. Military members will receive $2 off their tickets with a valid Military ID.

LEXINGTON — Any customers trying to visit the Saluda Pointe Starbucks on Nov. 20 encountered a sign stating the store was “temporarily closed” and nearly a dozen employees holding signs and yelling chants like “No contract, No coffee.”

By 7 a.m., Starbucks baristas at the Lexington cafe had joined a nationwide strike against the national coffee chain.

The workers were striking as part of the “Red Cup Rebellion,” which kicked off Nov. 13 and has no end date, according to Starbucks Workers United. The national union accused the Seattle-based company of “historic union busting” and an unwillingness to finalize a labor contract with unionized stores, which includes locations in Lexington and Columbia.

“The open-ended strike comes after six months of Starbucks refusing to offer new proposals to address workers’ demands for better staffing, higher pay, and resolution for hundreds of unfair labor practice charges,” a statement on the union’s site states.

The Saluda Pointe Court location also participated in a 2023 “Red Cup Day” strike.

Jas Rhodes has been a barista and barista trainer at the cafe for about three years. She said she sees the strike as an opportunity to join together and tell Starbucks that employees deserve better.

“We hope to address the unfair labor practice charges that they have racked up against them as a company, and just the mistreatment of baristas and partners over the past couple of years, and we're just asking for a fair living wage,” Rhodes said. “It's kind of hard when you got to choose between buying groceries or having health insurance.”

Rhodes said she has run into a couple of people throughout the day who were not happy about the store being closed. While a Post & Courier Columbia reporter was on site, one customer walked up and asked a few questions about the strike before ultimately saying she would likely just go to another Starbucks that was open.

But Rhodes said there have also been a lot of positive responses. Nearby service workers and students stopped by, people driving past honked in support. And after realizing the store was closed, one man held up a celebratory fist followed by cheers from the picketers.

“We’ve had a couple of not happy people, but it is what it is,” Rhodes said. “We know that what we’re fighting for is, we believe it to be right and fair. So that’s what matters.”

ShaRee Swanson, another Starbucks barista who joined the picket line in Lexington, said multiple employees are working at multiple stores to get full hours for benefits and are struggling with the cost of living.

“Utilities alone here, ridiculous. And it's not fair,” Swanson said.

Swanson said she has worked at multiple Starbucks in multiple states over 10 years, but the Lexington store was the first with a union, something she sees as a “game changer.”

“Because your voice is heard and a lot of our demands are gonna get met with this,” Swanson said.

The Saluda Pointe Starbucks is one of five unionized under Starbucks Workers United across South Carolina. Locations in Anderson, Clemson, Columbia, Greenville and Newberry are also organized, according to the union.

The Greenville location was the first in South Carolina. to unionize. In 2024, Gov. Henry McMaster vowed to fight unions “to the gates of hell” in his annual "State of the State” speech.

In the three years since, Starbucks workers across S.C. — including the Lexington location — have joined national strikes, including a 2023 “Red Cup Day” strike similar to this year’s.

This year’s strike began with 1,000 striking workers across 65 U.S. stores, according to the Associated Press. At the time, Starbucks said they expected stores to operate normally during Red Cup Day — an annual promotional event to mark the start of the holiday season. The Nov. 20 strike expansion doubled the number of workers protesting the lack of a finalized labor contract, according to a press release from the union.

Starbucks Workers United said its 11,000 members are “prepared to continue escalating to make this the largest, longest strike in company history if the coffee giant fails to deliver a fair union contract and resolve unfair labor practice charges.”