What's on around Hilton Head and Bluffton in November 2026

Every date below was confirmed for 2026 with the organizer, the venue, the city, the county or the state, and anything I could only find on a previous year's listing was left out of this post. There were seven of those this month, and I have named them further down so you know what I looked at.

I'm Jeff Moran, NMLS #483943, a mortgage broker licensed in South Carolina through C2 Financial Corporation, and I have been in the mortgage business since 1996. I live in Bluffton, so this is my home market. What follows is public information, cited beside the date it came from, and it was checked on September 27, 2026. If you are looking at homes here this fall, the Hilton Head-Bluffton area buyer's guide covers the two counties, the bridges, the transfer fee and the flood questions that come with them.

The Concours finishes on Sunday the 1st

The Hilton Head Island Concours d'Elegance & Motoring Festival started on October 29, and Sunday the 1st is the showfield day that closes it. Close to two hundred vehicles and seventy-five judges from around North America come onto the 1st and 18th fairways of Port Royal Golf Club's Planter's Row course. The 2026 Honored Marque is Jaguar (Hilton Head Island Concours d'Elegance; Hilton Head Island VCB).

If you have showings on the island that morning, the north end around Port Royal Plantation will be busier than usual, so you will want to allow extra driving time.

Tuesday the 3rd is the general election

Polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and anybody still in line at 7 p.m. gets to vote. You will need one of the accepted photo IDs, and the state lists them along with a tool for finding your own polling place (South Carolina Election Commission). Early voting ran October 19 through October 31, so the 3rd is the last day.

Beaufort County has a county question on that ballot, and it would change a sales tax rather than a property tax. The county is asking voters to approve a 1% transportation sales tax starting in 2027, running up to nine years or until it raises about $780 million, whichever comes first. A second question would authorize up to $450 million in bonds if the first one passes, so the named road projects can start sooner. Those projects include four-laning SC 46, work on Bluffton Parkway, Fording Island Road, William Hilton Parkway, Sea Pines Circle and the Ribaut Road corridor in Beaufort (Beaufort County One Cent Sales Tax Program; Post and Courier).

I am not taking a position on it. If you want to understand how a county tax question can reach your monthly payment, the mechanics are in how escrow accounts work and in what happens to property taxes after you buy. I did not find a verified 2026 county ballot question for Jasper County.

Oyster Festival weekend, the 6th and the 7th

The Hilton Head Oyster Festival runs two days in two different parks, and the proceeds go to the Island Recreation Center's scholarship fund.

Friday the 6th is the all-you-can-eat night at Shelter Cove Community Park, 5 to 8, with steamed local oysters, a Lowcountry boil, pulled pork, shrimp and grits, chili and live music. Saturday the 7th moves to Lowcountry Celebration Park on Pope Avenue, 11 to 5, with local oysters and seafood, artisan vendors, entertainment and a children's area. The two days are ticketed separately, and the organizer's page carries the current prices along with who gets in free (Hilton Head Oyster Festival; Hilton Head Island VCB).

Veterans Day is on a Wednesday this year

Beaufort County's Veterans Affairs department has its 2026 Veterans Day Parade open for entries, and the parade runs on Veterans Day itself, Wednesday the 11th. The route starts in front of Beaufort National Cemetery on Boundary Street, curves onto Bay Street, and ends where Boundary meets Bladen (Beaufort County Veterans Affairs).

The county has not posted a 2026 step-off time on that page. In the last several years the parade has stepped off at 10 a.m., with lineup from 8, and a ceremony at Naval Heritage Park in Port Royal afterward (Beaufort County, September 2025). Please check with the county before you plan your morning around it.

Heritage Days on St. Helena, the 12th through the 14th

Penn Center Heritage Days is in its 42nd year, and it runs Thursday through Saturday on the historic Penn Center campus on St. Helena Island. The three days carry Gullah Geechee history and folk arts, food, music, a symposium, a fish fry and a parade (Penn Center; Penn Center, 2026 save the date).

Penn Center is one of the country's first schools for formerly enslaved people, and the campus is a National Historic Landmark District. If you are moving to Beaufort County from out of state, this is one of the better weekends to understand where you are.

The Lantern Parade is Saturday the 14th

The Hilton Head Island Lantern Parade is on Saturday the 14th, 5 to 8, and it steps off at 5:30 from near the Alder Lane beach access. It runs north along the beach to Coligny Beach Park, continues on North Forest Beach Drive to Avocet, turns onto Lagoon Road and ends at Lowcountry Celebration Park. Lineup begins at 4:45.

The lanterns come from artist Chantelle Rytter along with hundreds made by residents, visitors, school groups and local organizations. Four bands are on the bill: the Black Sheep Ensemble, the Soda City Band, the United States Marine Corps Dirty Boots Brass Band and the Atlanta Drum Academy. Food trucks and beverages open at 3 at Lowcountry Celebration Park, with music before the parade arrives and after it finishes (Hilton Head Island VCB, Town Office of Cultural Affairs).

Music

The Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra has its second Orchestra Series program on Sunday the 15th at 4 and Monday the 16th at 7:30. John Morris Russell conducts, violinist Bella Hristova plays Wynton Marsalis's Violin Concerto in D, and Dvorak's Seventh Symphony is on the same program. Orchestra Series concerts are at First Presbyterian Church on William Hilton Parkway (Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra).

Holiday Pops closes out the month, and there are three of them. Bluffton gets one on Saturday the 28th at 7 at St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church, then the island has Sunday the 29th at 4 and Monday the 30th at 7:30. John Morris Russell conducts, with the HHSO Chorus under Dr. Dustin Ousley, vocalist Melinda Doolittle, and Mana Takahashi, who won the 2026 Youth Concerto Competition, on violin (Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra).

Crescendo runs through the 23rd

Crescendo opened on October 10 and its ninth year finishes on November 23. The Town of Hilton Head Island's Office of Cultural Affairs and the Arts Council of Hilton Head build it around October's National Arts and Humanities Month, and it keeps going well into November. It gathers theatre, dance, music, visual art, literature, gallery shows, lectures, readings and historical tours at venues all over the island. The Lantern Parade and the Concours are both part of it (Hilton Head Island VCB).

The program list changes as venues add events, so the calendar on that page is the one to check rather than anything I could freeze in print here.

Farmers markets in November

All three of the area's main markets run year-round, so none of them shuts down for the winter. The hours shift with the season instead, and Bluffton's are the ones that move.

The Hilton Head Island Farmers Market is Tuesdays from 9 to 1 at the Coastal Discovery Museum at Honey Horn, rain or shine. November Tuesdays are the 3rd, 10th, 17th and 24th (Coastal Discovery Museum).

The Farmers Market of Bluffton is Thursdays at Martin Family Park on Boundary Street in Old Town, and its cool-season hours of noon to 4 hold from September through May. November Thursdays are the 5th, 12th and 19th. The 26th is Thanksgiving Day, and the organizer has not published whether the market is open that day, so I have not listed it (Farmers Market of Bluffton).

The Port Royal Farmers Market is Saturdays from 9 to noon at Naval Heritage Park on Ribaut Road, rain or shine, all year, with South Carolina produce, seafood, beef, cheese, honey, flowers and live music. November Saturdays are the 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th (Visit Beaufort).

Thanksgiving week, and the Harbour Town tree

Thanksgiving falls on the 26th. The Island Recreation Association runs its Turkey Trot 5K that morning, 8 to 10, starting in the Boathouse parking lot and winding into Hilton Head Plantation before turning around to finish where it started. Costumes are encouraged, and the organizer collects canned and pantry items for the Deep Well Project on race day (Island Recreation Association).

The day after, Friday the 27th, the Harbour Town tree gets lit at 7:30, just before the Gregg Russell concert. Harbour Town Lights then runs from that night through January 1. The illuminated seasonal figures and the tree stay up along the harbour, and there is a canned-good and toy drive for the Deep Well Project (The Sea Pines Resort; Hilton Head Island VCB).

What I could not confirm for this year

Seven things that belong on a November list around here are not above, because no 2026 date came from the organizer or the town. I would rather say that plainly than hand you a date from last year.

• The Old Town Bluffton art walk. Galleries have held it on second Fridays, which would put it on the 13th, and no 2026 schedule has been posted.
• The holiday light displays at Shelter Cove Towne Centre and Shelter Cove Harbour. The listings describe the displays without giving a 2026 start date.
• The Bluffton 5K Turkey Chase. Race aggregators show Thanksgiving morning, and I could not confirm it with the organizer or the town.
• Main Street Beaufort's holiday shopping weekend and Artists Sunday. The dates I found mix two different years, so none of them is usable.
• The Downtown Beaufort Wednesday market. Its season end for 2026 still is not published.
• Bluffton's Christmas tree lighting and Christmas parade. Both are December events, and the town calendar still shows the 2025 dates.
• Hardeeville's Christmas parade and Merry on Main. December again, with the date only inside an image on the city's page.

If any of them post a 2026 date, they will be in December's list.

What changed around the area

Bluffton's hospital cleared a milestone. Novant Health's planned $320 million hospital near Lake Point Drive and Buckwalter Parkway passed a key development step in late August. It is designed for 50 beds and can expand to 100, and the company expects to break ground in early 2027 and open in 2029 (WTOC, August 26, 2026). The freestanding emergency department at 8 Parkside Drive has been open since July.

The town is writing a new plan for Old Town Bluffton. The 2027 Old Town Master Plan will guide zoning, preservation and development priorities for the next ten years. The 2006 plan that it replaces produced Wright Family Park, better public access along the May River, pedestrian safety work and landmark restoration. The town says about $6 million of public money there drew more than $70 million of private investment. An open house was set for October 6 at the Rotary Community Center (WTOC, September 25, 2026).

Old Town street and drainage work is still going. The Pritchard Street streetscape and drainage project brings intermittent lane closures, and the Bridge Street project after it will close sections of the Old Town route. The town started a free shuttle for Old Town during the work, Thursday through Saturday from 10 to 6, looping between Wright Family Park on Calhoun Street, Mellichamp Drive at Bluffton Road, the M.C. Riley complex on Goethe Road and Oyster Factory Park on Wharf Street (Post and Courier). I could not confirm with the town whether the shuttle is still running this fall, so please check before you count on it.

Hilton Head is replacing its skate park. Town Council approved a skate park and pump track at Crossings Park, at Arrow Road and Helmsman Way, to take over from the one at Bristol Arena. Bidding was set for October 2026 and construction for February through December 2027. A 13-year-old skater, Gabriel Hicks, is the reason it got in front of Council (WTOC, July 30, 2026).

Buckwalter Recreation Center is getting bigger. Beaufort County broke ground in late June on a $14.2 million expansion that adds four lighted turf multi-use fields, along with restrooms and parking (WTOC, June 30, 2026).

Of those five, the hospital is the one that will bring people here for work, and a move for a new job changes how your income gets documented on a loan file. What a lender reads depends on whether you are taking a salaried position or working for yourself once you get here, so it helps to tell me which one it is early. Getting pre-approved in South Carolina covers what gets looked at before anybody writes a letter, and self-employed mortgages in South Carolina covers the other side of it.

Common questions

When is the Hilton Head Oyster Festival in 2026?

Friday, November 6 and Saturday, November 7. Friday is the all-you-can-eat night at Shelter Cove Community Park from 5 to 8, and Saturday is at Lowcountry Celebration Park on Pope Avenue from 11 to 5 (Hilton Head Oyster Festival).

When is the Hilton Head Island Lantern Parade in 2026?

Saturday, November 14. It steps off at 5:30 from near the Alder Lane beach access and ends at Lowcountry Celebration Park, with the whole event running 5 to 8 (Hilton Head Island VCB).

Do the farmers markets around Hilton Head and Bluffton stay open in November?

Yes, and they stay open all winter. Hilton Head is Tuesdays from 9 to 1 at Honey Horn, Port Royal is Saturdays from 9 to noon at Naval Heritage Park, and Bluffton is Thursdays at Martin Family Park from noon to 4 between September and May. Whether Bluffton opens on Thanksgiving Day has not been published (Coastal Discovery Museum; Visit Beaufort; Farmers Market of Bluffton).

What time do polls open in South Carolina on November 3, 2026?

7 a.m., and they close at 7 p.m. Anybody in line at 7 p.m. still gets to vote, and you will need one of the state's accepted photo IDs (South Carolina Election Commission).

Which of these events are in Jasper County rather than Beaufort County?

None of them this month. Hilton Head Island, Bluffton, Beaufort, Port Royal and St. Helena Island are all Beaufort County, so everything listed above is in one county. Which county a home is in decides its tax rates and, in some towns, whether a transfer fee is due at closing, and the Hilton Head-Bluffton area buyer's guide walks through that.

I am moving here from out of state. Where should I start?

With which county and which town the home is in, because an address here does not always match either one. After that, the South Carolina page covers the statewide rules, and the Bluffton page explains the property tax reset that catches people on the coast. If you are using your benefit, VA loans in South Carolina covers how Parris Island and MCAS Beaufort fit into this market.