Thanks to cooler temperatures and the drop in humidity, there’s no better time than fall to attend a festival in the Southeast. Here are five upcoming festivals to help usher in the season’s arrival. Prepare to chow down on shrimp, ribs or apples, listen to some outdoor music, peruse an artists market, sip a cold brew or some cider, and say hey to autumn.
Bid summer farewell with a three-day celebration of shrimp and grits on Jekyll Island Sept. 20-22. Find a seat on the riverfront lawn and sample various interpretations of the classic Southern dish prepared by local restaurants, including Jekyll Island Club Resort, Beach House Jekyll, Halyards Restaurant Group, Wee Pub Beach, Zachry’s Riverhouse and Eagle Creek Brewing Co.
While you dine, enjoy live music on three stages featuring performances by Pine Box Dwellers, Justin Spivey, Traveling Riverside Band, Rhonda and the Relics, the EZ Credit Band, and the Free Spirit Orchestra, among others. Once you’ve gotten your fill of shrimp, check out the food trucks and stands on the main lawn, where vendors will be serving everything from ice cream and funnel cakes to cheesesteaks and mofongo. An artists market featuring more than 100 vendors will be set up along the pathways throughout the historic district.
Admission to the festival is free, but VIP tickets are available for purchase. Ticket holders get to hang out at the Indian Mound Cottage on the main lawn where an elevated tent provides an unobstructed view of the stage, accompanied by an open bar and catered food throughout the weekend.
Nothing complements shrimp and grits like a frosty mug of beer. Luckily, the festival coincides with the Craft Brew Fest, a separately ticketed event. Ticket holders can sample 10 beers, get a free souvenir glass and watch the games on widescreen TVs. As if that weren’t enough, there’s also a Go for the Grits 5K run Sunday morning, and dolphin tours featuring a 90-minute narrated expedition from the Jekyll Wharf all weekend long.
Sept 20-22. 4-9 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday. Free. VIP tickets: $90 Friday, $180 Saturday, $90 Sunday. Craft Beer Fest: $30 advance, $35 at gate. Dolphin tour: $25 adults, $15 children 15 and younger. 912-635-3636, jekyllisland.com.
Everybody’s favorite little pink crustacean is also at the center of festivities in Beaufort, South Carolina, on Oct. 4-5. Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park is the center of festivities. Local restaurants will serve a variety of dishes featuring fresh wild-caught shrimp, and judges will award prizes for Best Shrimp Dish and Best Booth Decoration. The competition doesn’t end there. Adults compete for prizes in the shrimp-heading competition, and children compete for the fastest shrimp peeler. On Friday night, there’s a concert featuring Deas-Guyz, playing a combination of Motown hits, jazz standards, rock and R&B. And on Saturday morning, there’s a Run Forrest Run 5K race. There’s also an arts and crafts market featuring more than 50 vendors.
Oct. 4-5. Festival: 6-10 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. Arts and crafts market: noon-dark Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. Concert: 6 p.m. Friday. 5K run: 8 a.m. Saturday. Free. Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park, Beaufort, South Carolina. 843-525-8525, beaufortchamber.org.
For two weekends in October, Ellijay celebrates its favorite crop in a big way. For starters, it hosts one of the biggest arts and crafts shows around. More than 300 vendors sell handmade baskets, toys, soaps, jewelry, pottery, yard art and more. But the real reason to go is for the food. Fried pies, apple dumplings, apple cider donuts, homemade root beer, barbecue, boiled peanuts — it’s a Southern smorgasbord prepared by more than 35 food vendors. Other festivities include a parade starting at 10 a.m. Oct. 19 in downtown Ellijay and an antique car show on Oct. 12 at the Civic Center. Also on Oct. 12, there’s a 5K road race at 8 a.m. followed by an apple recipe contest at 10 a.m.
Oct. 12-13, Oct. 19-20. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. $5, free for children 9 and younger. Ellijay Lions Club Fairgrounds, 1729 S. Main St., Ellijay. 706-636-4500, georgiaapplefestival.org.
Music, cars and barbecue are the main attractions at downtown Milledgeville’s annual fall festival. On Oct. 26, Hancock, Wayne, Greene and Jefferson streets will be closed to automobile traffic to make way for a day and night of family-friendly festivities. There will be musical performances featuring Ripe, Larkin Poe, Castlecomer, A.J. Ghent, and Blair Crimmins & the Hookers, and the Georgia Barbecue Association will host a sanctioned ‘cue competition. More than 100 arts and craft vendors and shops will be selling wares, and a variety of rides and inflatable for children 10 and younger can be found at the Kid Zone. In addition, the Old Capital Car Club will host an open car show. Registration is 9 a.m.-noon, judging starts at noon, and prizes in categories such as Best of Show, Best Interior, and Best Paint will be awarded at 3 p.m.
10 a.m.-midnight Oct. 26. $6 advance, $8 at gate, $15 after 5 p.m. day of event. Kid Zone passes free to children 10 and younger with an adult. Downtown Milledgeville. 478-414-4014, deeprootsfestival.com.
American Sandsculpting Championship
Elaborate castles with turrets, towers and moats. A sexy mermaid. A stack of tiki heads. A fire-breathing dragon. Those are just some of the subjects incredibly crafted in sand at past competitions. Look for celebrated sand sculptors to best those efforts at the 33rd annual event at Fort Myers Beach, Florida, Nov. 22-Dec. 1. Sixteen master sculptors and 10 advanced amateurs will compete for prizes and create nearly 50 sculptures. Other festivities include arts and crafts vendors, live music, children’s activities, sculpting demonstrations and amateur competitions. New this year is the ticketed Sand Under the Stars event when the sculptures are illuminated from 6-9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 30.
Nov. 22-Dec. 1. $8, $25 family pass for four, free for children 4 and younger. Sand Under the Stars: $10. Wyndham Garden Hotel, 6890 Estero Blvd., Fort Myers, Florida. fmbsandsculpting.com.
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