Beyond the Bridge: Oct. 23 - Oct. 29

This is Halloween week, part one — and the Lowcountry is not easing into it. Port Royal turns a whole park over to witches, fire-twirlers and aerialists on Saturday, Beaufort spends the weekend inside Pat Conroy's world, and oyster season officially opens with a roast in Beaufort and a reef build on the Broad River. Ten picks, ranked. Get off the couch.

1. Port Royal's Haunted Hallows Festival 2026

Sat Oct 24, 3:00–9:00 PM, Naval Heritage Park, Port Royal. The big one this week, and it's free. The 3rd annual from The Gas Lantern Apothecary & Mystical and the Old Village Association: a community Witches Dance, a free witch broom-making tent, fire-twirling and aerial performances, an expanded Passport Adventure, a Teen Arena with Lockheed Martin STEM activities, stage contests (werewolf howls, witch cackles), a vendor village and food trucks under the moss-draped oaks. Costumes enthusiastically encouraged. Six hours, zero admission — this is Saturday's main event. Details

2. 11th Annual Pat Conroy Literary Festival — the weekend

Image: Pat Conroy Literary Center

Fri–Sun Oct 23–25, Beaufort. The festival (Oct 22–25) hits its stride: Friday brings the "Truth or Dare" panel (10 AM–12 PM, USCB Auditorium, 805 Carteret St), a Silver Linings Playbook screening (1:15–3:30 PM) and The Great Santini reception, Michael O'Keefe interview and screening (4:30–7:30 PM). Saturday: "Fiction Can Fix Things" (10 AM–12 PM, Beaufort Library), Matthew Quick interviewed (1–2:30 PM), the Southern Women Writers panel with Lisa Patton, Mary Kay Andrews and Dana Ridenour, moderated by Cassandra King (3–4:30 PM), and an open house at the Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen St (5:30–7 PM). Sunday closes with brunch with Lynn Seldon at Saltus River Grill (11 AM–1 PM). A mix of free and ticketed events — if you read one Lowcountry weekend a year, this is it. Details

3. Beaufort 2026 Ghost Tours

Fri–Sun Oct 23–25 + Thu Oct 29, downtown Beaufort. The 32nd annual haunted-history tours from the Exchange Club of Beaufort, benefiting CAPA — and this is the final full weekend. Carriage tours leave every 15 minutes from 6:30 PM at 1006 Bay St ($30 adults / $20 children 3–11, ~45 min); walking tours leave every 20 minutes from 7 PM at Cannon Park ($20 all ages, ~1 hr). Spanish moss, gaslight and Beaufort's best ghost stories. One last night follows on Fri Oct 30, then they're gone until next October. Details

4. Gilligan's Harvest Party & Oyster Roast

Sat Oct 24, 3:00–7:30 PM, Gilligan's of Beaufort, 2601 Boundary St, Beaufort. Oyster season opens the right way: an all-you-can-eat oyster roast ($42.99 per person) alongside free family fun — pumpkin painting, face painting, games and cornhole — plus the full Gilligan's menu and trivia from 6 PM. Come for the clusters, stay for the trivia crown. Details

5. Bluffton Safety Spooktacular

Fri Oct 23, 5:00–7:00 PM, Oscar Frazier Park, Bluffton. The 6th annual, from the Town of Bluffton and the Bluffton Police Department: a free family safety night where local agencies hand out safety info and Halloween candy, officers grill hot dogs, and the 6th Annual Dog Costume Contest starts at 6 PM (day-of registration 5–6 PM; dogs leashed, costumes must not restrict movement, breathing or vision). Kids in costume, dogs in costume — Friday evening sorted. Free. Details

6. Grand Finale Marine Corps Air Station Oyster Reef Build

Image: The Nature Conservancy

Sat Oct 24, 12:00–3:30 PM, Birch Drive, Beaufort. The most Lowcountry way imaginable to spend a Saturday: help The Nature Conservancy and the Sustainability Institute stack the final oyster castles on a 2,000-foot living shoreline — the longest oyster castle reef in South Carolina — along the Broad River at MCAS Beaufort. The reef becomes a nursery for 100+ species of fish, crabs and shrimp, and there's a celebration on site when the last castle lands. Free to volunteer; register on Eventbrite in advance (shuttle runs 11:30 AM–12 PM). Boots that can get muddy, strongly advised. Register

7. Trunk-or-Treat Port Royal

Sun Oct 25, 3:00–5:00 PM, Paris Avenue between 9th & 12th Streets (900 Paris Ave), Port Royal. Historic downtown Port Royal closes Paris Avenue for a safe, easy afternoon of trunk-or-treating for kids of all ages — decorate a vehicle, set up a game, or just bring the crew (no pets, please). Presented with the Town of Port Royal, the Port Royal Police Department, the Beaufort-Jasper YMCA and The Gas Lantern. Free. Details

8. Historic Port Royal Foundation Grand Opening

Sat Oct 24, 5:00–8:00 PM, 1800 Paris Ave, Port Royal. Port Royal's history keepers open their new home: an evening grand-opening celebration for the Foundation's new location and visitor heritage space. Pair it with Haunted Hallows up the road and make a whole Port Royal Saturday of it. Free. (End time was not published in the original listing — confirm before you go.) Details

9. Sweetgrass Basket Making Workshop

Sat Oct 24, 10:30 AM–12:30 PM, Marshview Mercantile, 2631 Boundary St, Beaufort. Learn to sew your own sweetgrass basket with Andrea Cayetano-Jefferson, a sixth-generation Gullah sweetgrass artist recently featured in Southern Living, with work in the Smithsonian. The Lowcountry's most beautiful craft tradition, taught by a master — you'll leave with a basket and a story. Cost not listed in the event listing. Details

10. Sunday Beach Service

Sun Oct 25, 9 AM, on the beach at 300 Tarpon Blvd, Fripp Island. St. Helena's Anglican contemporary communion with the Fripp Worship Team, toes in the sand. Tell the gate you're headed to church and they'll wave you through. Free. Details

Image: Friends of Port Royal Cypress Wetlands

Also this week: Free Master Naturalist Tour at the Port Royal Cypress Wetlands, Fri Oct 23, 10–10:30 AM (free, donations welcome); Spooky Still Life Painting, Tue Oct 27, 5:30–6:30 PM at the Beaufort County Library in Port Royal (ages 9+, registration required); a docent-led Cemetery Walking Tour at Beaufort National Cemetery, Wed Oct 28, 11 AM–2 PM (starts at the main flagpole); a Crushed Glass Sun Catcher Workshop at Marshview Mercantile, Wed Oct 28, 6–8 PM; an evening with author Renea Winchester at the Pat Conroy Literary Center, Thu Oct 29, 5–6:30 PM (free, seating limited); and on-island, the Fripp Audubon Club's Season Kickoff at the Fripp Island Community Centre, Thu Oct 29 — meet & greet 6:30 PM, program at 7 PM with Lowcountry Master Naturalist Jenn Clementoni — off-island visitors welcome, just stop at the gate.

Eating on-island? The resort's one themed dinner this week is Roadhouse BBQ, Wed Oct 28 from 5 PM on the Beach Club Greene (until supplies last). Resort dining and activities may require resort membership or a guest card — call the resort Activity Center to confirm before you go.

Save the date

• Oct 30–Nov 1: Fripp Fest 2026 — Oyster Roast Fri Oct 30, 4–6 PM, Beach Club Green; "One Night in Key West" Fri 7:30–10:30 PM, Beach Club; concert Sat Oct 31, 5–10 PM, Beach Club Green; Bloody Mary & Mimosa Cruise Sun Nov 1 from the marina. Resort lists festival tickets at $35 — confirm what that covers. Details
• Fri Oct 30: Beaufort Ghost Tours — final night — last carriage and walking tours of the season, downtown Beaufort.
• Fri Oct 30: Halloween Costume Party at Beaufort History Museum — 7–9:30 PM, 713 Craven St, Beaufort.
• Sat Oct 31: Family Costume Party — 10:30–11:30 AM, Beaufort County Library, Port Royal.
• Sun Nov 1: Port Royal's Buzz & Brews 2026 — 2–5 PM, Port Royal.
• Sun Nov 1: Windhorse After Dark — Halloween-theme outdoor movie, 8–10 PM, Windhorse Gallery, Port Royal.
• Sat Nov 7: 2026 Family Oyster Roast — 3–7 PM (plus the Swing Bridge Run that morning).