Mortgage Broker in Easley, SC

The Book Warehouse Outlet in Easley, SC is enormous and has all kinds of books, puzzles, games, magnets, cards that are all brand new and all 70% off. We have all the details on how to take advantage of their public sales.

I stumbled upon the first Book Warehouse Outlet sale completely by accident as I was in the area one Saturday in December and saw a sign for a book sale. Being an avid book lover, I took my chances, followed the signs, and arrived in heaven.

There were cookbooks, fiction books, nonfiction books, books about math, books about space, journals, puzzles, games, crayons, notebooks with colored pencils, board books, and awesome gifts. All of them were brand new and all of them were 70% off. What had I stumbled into?

About the Book Warehouse Outlet

The world of book publishing is very complicated. I have some experience in part of the process and I feel like I still don’t know much. From what I gathered speaking with the wonderful people who run the Book Warehouse Outlet, the pallets and pallets of books and other goodies are essentially extras or overprinted items. They are all in perfect condition.

The warehouse is about 300,000 square feet total, although the public doesn’t get to roam around all of it. What they do get to see and walk through is plenty. I’ve been a few times and still have not gone through all the stuff they have. They have more than 1,000,000 books in there.

The warehouse isn’t open to the public daily, only during their public sales, which are not on a regular schedule yet. Your best bet is to follow The Book Warehouse on Facebook or stay tuned to our calendar since we’ll have the sales posted.

Navigating the Warehouse

If you love books, games, puzzles, etc., then you probably won’t want to leave this place. The hours pass by quickly as you roam around the boxes and aisles seeing what they’ve got. Every sale is different since the warehouse is constantly getting in new products so you never know what you’ll find.

They have:

Some of the goodies are labeled by genre and as each sale comes and goes, the team at the warehouse has done different things to make everything easier to find. But it still doesn’t look like a regular bookstore and, honestly, I love that. It’s like a big treasure hunt!

The pallets are all pretty much either the same book or game or puzzles or at least similar items. Things are not thrown all over the place – everything is neat and organized and I found it a lot of fun to just browse through everything to see what I could find.

Also, the prices on the books, games, puzzles, etc. aren’t marked up and then 70% off is taken. They are the prices you’d find in any bookstore – except way cheaper!

Tips on Shopping the Book Warehouse Sale

I cannot overstate how huge this place is and how much stuff they have for sale. It’s maybe just a tad smaller than Costco and can be overwhelming. After I went the first time, I told my kids we are taking lunch the next time and spending a lot of time there. It’s that big. Here are a few tips on how to make the most of your time:

Bring a foldable wagon or cart: They don’t have shopping carts there (it would really clog the aisles) so you can bring your own shopping bag or cart. I saw people with those foldable beach wagons and thought it was brilliant. They also had boxes that you could label with your name and leave on the side of an aisle so you could just drop stuff in there and go back to shopping.

If you can’t find the price, ask: The staff here are awesome and incredibly helpful. If you can’t find the listed price, just ask.

Bathrooms are limited: There are only a couple bathrooms so make a bathroom run beforehand if you need to. There are some gas stations nearby.

Bring a lunch: You’re going to be there awhile. Bring some food, eat when you’re hungry, then get back at shopping.

New stuff is added: The warehouse gets new shipments in daily so what you saw at the last sale may not be available at the next one. And they will put out new stuff for the upcoming sales – it’s like finding treasure!

The Next Book Warehouse Sale

The next Book Warehouse Outlet public sale will be August 5th and August 6th.

Book Warehouse Outlet1859 Dacusville Highway, EasleyThe Book Warehouse Outlet Facebook page

Looking for holiday things to do in Easley and Pickens County? There are holiday events, places to see Santa, tree lightings, lots of Christmas parades, shopping events and much more all happening right in Pickens County. Celebrate the season with some of these Christmas things to do in Easley and Pickens County for the whole family.

This article includes:Things to Do to Celebrate the Holidays in Pickens CountyParades and Lightings in Easley and PickensHoliday Events in Pickens CountySee Santa in Pickens and Easley

Still looking for Christmas Things to Do? Gifts to give? Ways to give back? You can find all our best Christmas content in our Holiday Guide to Greenville.

Things to Do Throughout the Holiday Season in Pickens

Upstate Holiday Light Show 2022

Drive your car through the Greenville Pickens Speedway and the whole family will enjoy thousands of lights and Christmas decorations. Tune your car radio to 104.3FM to listen to the accompanying music. Younger children will enjoy this station option: 92.1FM for Kids Show lights music.

Check out our review of the Upstate Holiday Lights Show. The magic begins on November 24th and runs seven days a week through New Year’s Eve.

Where: Greenville Pickens Speedway, Calhoun Memorial Highway, Easley, SC 29640When: Daily November 24th – December 31st (Sun-Thurs 6 pm-10 pm / Fri & Sat 6pm-11pm)$35 per carUpstate Holiday Light Show 2022

Carriage Rides

NOTE: 2022 horsedrawn carriage rides have not been announced yet.

Ride in a horse-drawn carriage through historic downtown Easley starting at the Old Market Square.

Parades and Lightings in Easley and Pickens

City of Easley Tree Lighting

Easley’s Christmas Tree Lighting will be Friday, November 25th, 2022 at 5:30 pm at City Hall in Downtown Easley.

Liberty Tree Lighting

The Liberty, SC Tree Lighting event is on December 2nd, 2022 at 6 pm. Enjoy holiday carolers, Santa at the gazebo plus hot cocoa, cider, and cookies. Bring your own camera if you’d like a photo with Santa!

Liberty Christmas Parade

Main Street, Liberty, SC 29657Saturday, December 3rd, 2022 at 6 pm

Beginning on Main Street in downtown Liberty, the Liberty Christmas Parade is will kick off your holiday season.

Pickens Christmas Tree Lighting

The Pickens Christmas Tree Lighting takes place on November 25, 2022 at 7 pm at the Pickens Doodle Pavilion.

Pickens Christmas Parade

Downtown Pickens Christmas parade ushers in the holiday season on Main Street in Pickens on December 2, 2022 at 7 pm.

Six Mile, SC Christmas Parade

December 10th, 2022 at 10 amMain Street, Six Mile, SC

Line up along Main Street in Six Mile between GBS Lumber and the Post Office for the Annual Six Mile Christmas Parade.

Easley’s Christmas Parade of Lights

Saturday, December 10th, 2022 at 6 pmDowntown Easley, SC

Head to Downtown Easley for the popular Christmas Parade of Lights.

See Santa in Pickens, SC

More Holiday Events in Pickens County

Mark up your calendar, friends! You could have a full schedule of festive and fruitful entertainment right at your doorstep this year.

EASLEY — Construction of the new Easley YMCA is progressing on time and on budget, though costs to renovate the nonprofit’s existing facility during the project’s second phase may change.

Crews with Hogan Construction broke ground on the 57,000-square-foot building along Frank Parrott Road in May and recently poured its concrete foundation, said Sid Collins, president and CEO of the Easley, Pickens and Powdersville YMCA.

When it opens in fall 2023, the new building will house cardio and strength centers, dedicated group exercise and spin rooms, and a training room with indoor and outdoor workout spaces. A full-court basketball gym will include an elevated walking track with an enclosed indoor slide down to the lobby. There also are spaces for a nursery and child-watch room, as well as a teen room.

“This building’s going to be bigger, state-of-the-art, and the square footage we need to meet the needs of the community today,” Collins said, noting the YMCA’s mission to provide not only exercise classes, but also targeted programs for cancer and Parkinson’s patients, youth sports and swim lessons, and more.

The improved campus also will include a new aquatic complex with a splash pad and lap and play pools, along with two athletic fields, multiple playgrounds, and a half-mile track. The project’s second phase will see the conversion of the existing 22,000-square-foot, 60-year-old building into adjacent child development and senior centers.

The second phase’s costs are being re-evaluated.

“Our hope is to begin renovating that building immediately, but that’s where, in today’s construction environment, we are in the middle of getting it repriced to ensure that we are within budget,” Collins said.

While construction is underway, the branch already is operating under its new name: the Easley YMCA at the McKissick Campus. The name honors the family of E. Smyth McKissick III, a Clemson University Board of Trustees member and chairman of the board of Alice Company.

McKissick’s father “was on our board when our YMCA was founded,” Collins said. “He and some other great leaders in the community essentially got the existing building that we’re going be renovating built.

“That’s part of the really cool story, and of course, we believe how God is working as well,” he added.

The family’s foundation — the Ellison S. and Noel P. McKissick Foundation — gave the lead donation in a year-long capital campaign that started in May 2021. It raised more than $3.1 million toward the project’s total $17.5 million budget. Additional money is coming from financing and existing funds.

“Because we are expecting prices to be a little bit higher for phase two, we may have to go back and raise a little bit more. But until we know what that number is, we don’t want to begin looking at” additional fundraising, Collins said.

The Easley branch will become the newest and largest building of the area’s three YMCAs. The Pickens branch opened in 1998, followed by the Powdersville branch in 2016.

“The Easley building has been struggling to keep up for a good five to 10 years, so we’re not only building to meet tomorrow’s need, but in some ways, yesterday’s need,” Collins said. “It couldn’t be a better time with the growth that we’re seeing and the demand we’re trying to meet.”

Currently, more than 1,000 families belong to the Easley YMCA. Collins expects that number to grow to more than 2,200 families once the total project is complete.

“What we’re all really excited about is the opportunity to do more for more people,” he said.

Looking for parks in Easley? My favorite time of year has arrived, and I am so excited! Spring is working hard to break its way into the Southern summer. Recently my kids and I decided to leave the “big city” to check out the suburbs. We set out on a mission to explore some of the Easley parks and were pleasantly surprised with what we discovered!

We’ve also added some information for you about all parks in Easley and Pickens Counties, even if we haven’t had the opportunity to visit them yet.

Our Favorite Parks In Easley, SC

Once Upon a Time, in my former life, I was a baseball wife. My family spent countless hours at baseball parks. I’d been to JB Owens Complex on many occasions. I had no idea there was a playground – obviously, my visits took place before I was a mom. The playground has a climbing structure, one slide, and a swing set. A nice covered picnic shelter has seven tables and a Powerade machine. This might come in handy if you are like me and always manage to forget drinks! While the playground itself is pretty ordinary, it’s the surrounding area that caught my attention. In a very large wooded area, you’ll find a disc golf course. There are plenty of places to tie up your hammock, too. I saw several of these the day we were there. You have no idea how badly I wanted to join them! Can you say relaxing?!

Are you familiar with free libraries? Well, good news! Pickens County has placed one at this playground. If you have books your family has memorized, bring them and make an exchange. There’s one other feature I have to tell you about before moving on. Red Owens Complex has a “Born Learning Trail.” If you’re like me, you have no idea what that is. It’s just what the name says… a trail where you learn. Stations for younger children are set up across the field. Your job is to follow the directions on each sign. It is one of the coolest things I’ve seen outdoors! It provides such a wonderful teaching opportunity.

Pope Field is a small playground for ages 5-12. What stood out to me most were the four slides. Three are side by side. I didn’t have the kids with me on this particular trip, but I can easily imagine the races that would take place. In addition to the playground, there are two ball fields and a picnic shelter.

This park will appeal to you for several reasons. There are two separate playgrounds. The one for ages 2-5 is simple and somewhat secluded. There are two covered shelters and a bathroom. Please note, I am using the term “bathroom” loosely. I’d suggest you make everyone go before heading to this park.

The upper playground, for ages 5-12, is pretty large. It sits beside a basketball court and two volleyball stations. Remember to bring balls to take advantage of these courts. There are no shelters, but several picnic tables and plenty of green grass with perfect spots to throw down a blanket.

Hagood Park is also the perfect place to bring your furry friends. There are two separate fenced-in parks for your dogs. You heard that right! One park is designated for pups, the other for larger dogs.

Picnic tables, a shelter, a concrete walking trail and trains are just a few of the features this park offers. If you have a kid who loves trains, this should be on your list of places to visit. And three cheers for a nice clean bathroom at Doodle Trail Park. Learn More About Having Fun on The Doodle Trail in Easley, SC

Alice Mill Park102 Nalley Street, Easley

Kings ParkOak Circle, Easley

Nalley Brown Nature Park380 Adger Road, Easley

Woodside Park200 South 8th Street, Easley

Check Out Our Guide To Spending A Day in Easley, SC For More Fun Things To Do

Our Favorite Parks In Pickens County, SC

I saved the best for last. Jaycee Park is located off Main St in Pickens. I was so excited about this park, I picked the boys up from school and drove all the way to Pickens a SECOND time so they could see it. With the price of gas, that speaks volumes.

I followed the GPS the first time to get photos and check it out. I immediately fell in love. The largest structure is wooden with a slide, ladders, and a bridge. It reminded me of Kids Planet. Everything else is made of tires. There’s a zip line, swings, balance beams, and even ladders made of tires. The boys were fascinated. The climbing wall was ocean-themed and the walking trail was paved. There was even a Born Learning Trail on the other side of the fence.

A gate from the playground leads to a shallow creek with a sand bar. If your children are into skipping rocks and wading in ankle-deep water, you could easily spend the majority of your time here. It wouldn’t hurt to throw water shoes and a towel in your bag. You might be sorry if you don’t – I may or may not be speaking from experience.

This is just a rough overview of some of the family parks in the Easley/Pickens area. A short drive from Greenville, you’ll enjoy checking out these new discoveries as much as I did.

Town Creek Bike Park545 State Road S-39-190, Pickens

The Town Creek Bike Park (TCBP), is an off-road bicycling facility with a number of features, including:

Check Out Our Guide To Spending a Fabulous Day in Pickens, SC For More Fun Things To Do

Looking for other parks and playgrounds in the Upstate? Be sure to check out our ultimate guide to parks near Greenville!

This article was originally written by Andrea Beam and has been updated by the Kidding Around Team.

About Easley

EASLEY, S.C. (WSPA) – Easley has a well-preserved history that can be seen in parks, museums and even downtown.

Easley’s history starts with railroads which were originally named the Atlanta-Charlotte Airline and weren’t even supposed to run through Easley.

“Some people that lived in what is now the city of Easley volunteered to build a depot if they would run it through Easley and they did,” John Cutchin with the Easley Area Museum, said. “The railroad was instrumental to the cotton mills coming to this area.”

Historians said the names of the individuals who brought in the mills were influential to the area.

“In 1900, John Geer from Greenville opened Easley Mill,” according to Cutchin and one of the investors, William Milliken Hagood built Glennwood Mill and his son-in-law built Alice Mill.

Alice Mills was sold and became Alice Manufacturing where the logo has a unique history that involves Walt Disney.

Cutchin said, “Later when the McKissick family had it, Mr. McKissick wrote a letter to Walt Disney asking for permission to borrow the logo for Alice in Wonderland for their product and Walt Disney wrote back and said that’s fine by him. No money transpired just a verbal handshake.”

The Easley Area Museum holds a lot of the history of the mills, including a loom that was donated to Alice Manufacturing.

In the late 1990s, a lot of the mills started to close their doors but most of the workers stayed.

According to Cutchin, “Most of the mills sold the property to the workers that rented them prior to that. Most of the mill villages exist to one extent or another.”

If you ask anyone, they’ll say Easley is familiar with growth and a lot of things that helped it build it to what it is today are being transformed to help all the new people coming in.

“Ealsey Mill is now being converted into lofts,” said Mayor Butch Womack who said even the silos that closed in the 1970s are getting a facelift.

“It’s been reopened now as a restaurant and activities. I think there are five businesses in there now.”

The mayor said growth is good for the city and the downtown is thriving with the new people coming in and hopes there is something for everyone.

Learn more about our special guest:

Videos: