Between now and New Year's, how long does downtown go with nothing on the calendar? Counting by the dates the City of Myrtle Beach, the Myrtle Beach Downtown Alliance and the event organizers have posted for 2026, the longest gap is about ten days, from Nov. 15 through Nov. 24. The other breaks last a few days at most. The rest of the season has a band, a market, an art walk, a songwriter round or a lit Boardwalk.
The schedule also changes location partway through. Through October, the events take place outside, at Plyler Park on Ocean Boulevard and Nance Plaza on North Kings Highway. In mid-November they move indoors to the coffee shops, kitchens and breweries of the Arts and Innovation District. On the night before Thanksgiving they return to the oceanfront for six weeks.
The Handoff, Date by Date
| Dates | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Through Oct. 29 | Fall Nights at Nance Plaza | 825 N. Kings Hwy. |
| Through Oct. 31 | Myrtle's Market, Wednesdays and Saturdays | 605 Mr. Joe White Ave. |
| Through Nov. 1 | Fright Nights | Plyler Park, 1000 N. Ocean Blvd. |
| Nov. 6 and Dec. 4 | F1rst Friday ArtWalk, 5 to 8 p.m. | Downtown venues incl. Nance Plaza |
| Nov. 13–14 | Myrtle Beach Songwriters Festival | Downtown venues within walking distance |
| Nov. 25 to Jan. 3 | Winter Wonderland at the Beach, lights 5 to 9 p.m. | The Boardwalk |
The table's first three rows all end within four days of each other. Fall Nights at Nance Plaza is down to its last four dates: DJ Music Bingo on Oct. 14 and Oct. 28, Neon Moon on Oct. 15, and Tru Sol Band with the Boo Bash on Oct. 29. Myrtle's Market runs Wednesdays and Saturdays through Oct. 31, and its 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday hours are the ones to plan around for pumpkins, fall produce and flowers. The Fright Nights schedule lists the Corey Luetjen Band on Oct. 16, a balloon show on Oct. 17 and a foam party on Oct. 18. Halloween and Day of the Dead programming follows before the series closes on Nov. 1.
Weather has already taken two of those Plyler Park nights this fall. The city's Oct. 9 Friday Fax canceled Fright Nights for Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 10 and 11. That Friday's lineup went ahead with NTranz playing live from 6 to 8 p.m., plus roaming Halloween characters and fire performers. The city said the series would pick up again on Friday, Oct. 16. Every outdoor date in this post can be canceled the same way, and the Friday Fax is where those changes were posted.
November Moves Indoors
Once Fright Nights ends on Nov. 1, nothing is scheduled at Plyler Park until Thanksgiving week. After a few quiet days, the calendar picks up a few blocks inland.
The Downtown Alliance's F1rst Friday ArtWalk comes first, on Nov. 6 from 5 to 8 p.m. Downtown businesses, Nance Plaza among them, host artists, performers and musicians for the evening. It returns Dec. 4 at the same hours, so it is the one event that falls on both sides of the November lull.
The Myrtle Beach Songwriters Festival on Nov. 13–14 is the larger event. It is free, presented by the nonprofit Songs That Save Foundation, and held in downtown rooms, not on a stage. The listed venues are Grand Strand Brewing, Winna's Kitchen, The Dolly Llama, The Tasting Room on 9th, Fresh Brewed Coffee House and Swig & Swine. The kickoff is Friday, Nov. 13, from 6 to 9 p.m. at Swig & Swine. On Saturday the music runs from 2 to 9 p.m. and finishes at Grand Strand Brewing.
The festival's schedule page describes the format:
"Artists play in rounds of one to three writers, about 75 minutes each, trading songs and the stories behind them."
According to the same page, 52-plus songwriters are booked across eight venues, every song is original, and attendance needs no ticket or wristband. Its organizers designed the festival so every room is within walking distance of the others. Venue assignments and round pairings were still being finalized when the page was captured. The festival will post which writer plays which room once that is settled.
The City of Myrtle Beach also lists its Veterans Day Ceremony for 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 11. The city's Military Appreciation Committee is planning it, and the city still shows the location as to be determined.
After the festival ends on Nov. 14, the posted downtown calendars have nothing scheduled until Nov. 25. That ten-day gap is the longest stretch of the season without a posted downtown event.
The Boardwalk Lights Back Up a Day Before Thanksgiving
Winter Wonderland at the Beach ends the lull. Its two listings give different dates, so check before you plan around opening night. The event's own site, winterwonderlandatthebeach.com, was updated in late September. It says the lights come on Wednesday, Nov. 25, the night before Thanksgiving, and stay on every night from 5 to 9 p.m. through Jan. 3. The Downtown Alliance's earlier listing gives Nov. 27 through Jan. 2, also free and also 5 to 9 p.m. Both agree that walking the Boardwalk display costs nothing.
The event site lists these dates for the season:
- Saturday, Nov. 28: Tree lighting at Plyler Park, with snow flurries, hot cocoa and Santa
- Nov. 28 and Dec. 5: Santa at Plyler Park
- Tuesday, Dec. 8, 6 p.m.: Twinkling Two-Miler, walk it or run it
- Thursday, Dec. 10, 6 p.m.: Light Up the Night Bike Ride, decorated bikes encouraged
- Friday and Saturday, Dec. 11–12: Merry Myrtle Festival, with snow on the Boulevard, a hot cocoa crawl Friday night and sled races Saturday
The Merry Myrtle Festival's Friday cocoa crawl uses the same walk-between-rooms format the songwriters festival uses in November, now with the Boardwalk lights on. Add the Dec. 4 ArtWalk, and the first two weeks of December have something downtown on almost every Friday, plus several weeknights.
Some holiday-season details were not confirmed when this was written. We found no 2026 date for a downtown holiday parade. Myrtle's Market has no posted off-season or holiday-market schedule after Oct. 31. The Downtown Alliance said Winter Wonderland's live-entertainment lineup would be posted later in the fall.
The Streets Underneath the Calendar
Several of the events above sit on streets that are under construction this fall, and the city's Sept. 14 road projects update shows how that affects getting downtown through the end of the year.
Oak Street near Mr. Joe White Avenue. In mid-September the city said this work was on track to finish and reopen to traffic in mid-October. Curb and gutter work was done and sidewalks were going in. This block is next to Myrtle's Market, so the reopening would land in the market's last two weeks. As of Oct. 12, the city has published a target date only, not a confirmed reopening.
Highway 501 realignment, the RIDE III project. The city said the section from Oak Street to U.S. 501 had been paved and that the South Carolina Department of Transportation's contractor was installing signal poles. The road is expected to open to traffic in late October, once the Broadway Street intersection and signals are finished. Final paving and the remaining work are expected in spring 2027. If it opens on that timeline, it will be in place before the songwriters festival and Winter Wonderland. That is still a forecast until the city or SCDOT announces the opening.
Ninth Avenue North. Work here was supposed to start this September. The city postponed it to fall 2027 to limit the impact on nearby businesses. Ninth Avenue North runs past The Tasting Room on 9th, a songwriters festival venue, and the HTC Aspire Hub. eMYRge expanded that building by 5,000 square feet with an Aug. 25 ribbon-cutting, and the new offices and event space were full within a week. With the work pushed back, that block should not have road construction during this year's festival or holiday season.
The other approved project to watch is the set of decorative, color-changing light arches over Ocean Boulevard between Ninth and 10th avenues North. The city approved them in January with $500,000 allocated, but it did not give an installation date. They are not on any published schedule for this winter.
Laid out in order, the 2026 off-season is mostly full. The outdoor fall series ends on Nov. 1. ArtWalk and the songwriter rounds fill the first half of November in small downtown rooms. After the ten quiet days, the Boardwalk lights come back on Nov. 25.
If you'd like to see how a modern coastal home fits into a Myrtle Beach routine this season, from evenings at Plyler Park to Saturday mornings at Myrtle's Market, Jack Chazen and the Modern Fortress team will build a private tour around your schedule and the downtown calendar. Schedule Your Private Tour.
