The City of Tybee Island describes November through February as "our peaceful, cooler-weather months." It wrote that line to explain a parking discount. This year the calendar for those months says something different. Tybee's first Seafood Fest is set for November 8 through 15. Its main day is on the Tybee Island Pier & Pavilion, 13 days after the half-price meters start.
That new event matters most in this year's calendar. It isn't the only one, though. From Pirate Fest weekend through New Year's Eve, nearly every event on Tybee's fall calendar sits at a fixed address away from the sand. Those addresses are the pier, the lawn at 10 Van Horne Avenue, Tybrisa Street, the 16th Street lot and the Lighthouse grounds. The island's cooler months now have a schedule of their own.
Pirate Fest already leans toward the pier
Tybee Pirate Fest runs Thursday, October 8 through Sunday, October 11. The official 2026 schedule lists free admission to the main festival grounds on Friday and Saturday. Friday hours are 5 to 11 p.m., and Saturday runs 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. A City event listing from 2019 showed paid Friday and Saturday admission, so at some point since then the grounds stopped charging.
The weekend's other events are spread across the island:
- Friday, 12 to 4 p.m.: The Cape Fear Rum Pirate Pub Crawl checks in at Tybrisa Street and Butler Avenue. Tickets are $20, and the crawl stops at six or more bars.
- Saturday, 3 to 5 p.m.: The parade.
- Buccaneer Ball: At The Crab Shack.
- Carnival: At Hotel Tybee, 1401 Strand Avenue.
- Sunday wrestling: Marked "Moved to the Pier" on this year's schedule.
The Tybee Post Theater is also busy that Saturday. JOHNNYSWIM plays 10 Van Horne Avenue at 8 p.m. on October 10, while the Pirate Fest grounds are still open. If you're hosting guests that weekend, you can do the parade and still make the concert.
November 1 changes the math for anyone you host
The City made half-price off-season parking official in its February 2026 council update. The rate applies from November 1 through February 28. In City-managed spaces, hourly parking drops from $4 to $2. Enforcement still runs 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., 365 days a year.
The City's newer day pass is $25 for 24 hours, and you can buy up to seven days at $25 a day. The City described the pass as "about half off the cost of feeding the meter for the day." That held at the regular rate. Once the meters drop to half price, the gap mostly closes.
| Cost | Regular rate | Nov. 1 to Feb. 28 rate |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly, City-managed spaces | $4.00 | $2.00 |
| Full 12-hour enforced day, paid by the hour | $48.00 | $24.00 |
| 24-hour day pass | $25.00 | $25.00 |
The 12-hour figures are simple math from the posted rates and enforcement hours. For a guest who comes over for one Seafood Fest Saturday, paying by the hour now costs about what the pass costs, or less. A guest staying several days still gets the overnight hours the pass covers.
The holidays may change things again. In 2025, Tybee offered free parking from Thanksgiving through New Year's Day, WJCL reported. The City's February update lists free holiday-season parking among incentives it introduced the year before. It doesn't give 2026 dates. Until the City announces a window, plan on the $2 rate.
The new event is the one built for November
The Seafood Fest is new this year. Hello Sav describes it as Tybee's first and says the island is "adding a new food festival to its fall calendar." It has three parts, each in a different place:
- Restaurant week, November 8 to 15. Participating restaurants around the island offer seafood specials and special menus all week. So far the festival's restaurant page lists Sea Wolf and Sundae Cafe, and the list may not be final.
- Oyster roast, Friday, November 13. Hotel Tybee hosts an Oyster Roast & Lowcountry Boil with live entertainment. The evening benefits HUGS, Heads-Up Guidance Services, a local nonprofit.
- Pier day, Saturday, November 14, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. The main celebration at the Tybee Island Pier & Pavilion will have seafood, live bands, food and craft vendors, a Kids' Zone, and shrimp-peeling and oyster-shucking contests.
The festival site and Hotel Tybee's festival page have the current schedule. Because this is the first year, no past festival shows how big the pier crowd will be. The restaurant week, though, runs on weeknights, when the off-season rate is already in effect.
Van Horne Avenue carries the music
One week before the Seafood Fest, the Tybee Post Theater holds its own fall fundraiser. The 2026 Tybee Post Music Festival runs two days. Each day opens with a lawn party in front of the theater, with "a food truck, games, music, and more," before the acts go on inside.
- Friday, November 6: Funk You
- Saturday, November 7: The Tams
Before that, Jake Shimabukuro plays the theater on Thursday, October 29. With JOHNNYSWIM on October 10, that makes four shows at the same address in about a month, all on the lawn and stage of the old Fort Screven post theater, not on the beach. If you caught this building's summer programming in our late-summer Tybee calendar, the fall lineup picks up from there.
December moves to the Main Street blocks
After Thanksgiving, events move to the commercial blocks. The Tybee Island Main Street calendar lists:
- Saturday, November 21, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.: The Historic Preservation Commission Tour of Homes.
- Saturday, November 28, 6 p.m.: The Christmas tree lighting on Tybrisa Street.
- Friday, December 11: The Tybee Christmas Parade of Lights, starting at 4th Street. The event graphic gives a 6:30 p.m. start.
- Saturday, December 12, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.: The 5th Annual Main Street Tybee Holiday Market at the 16th Street parking lot.
Check which parade you're putting on the calendar. Visit Tybee's holiday page also lists a "34th Annual Lighted Christmas Street Parade" on December 12. That one is a Savannah's Waterfront event. Its route starts at Plant Riverside District and runs through downtown Savannah streets, and its listed address is 400 West River Street. Tybee's own parade is the night before, on the island. Also, the City's parade page that turns up in search is dated for last year, not 2026.
The year ends back at the pier. A Tybee events calendar lists free New Year's Eve fireworks at the Tybee Island Pier & Pavilion at midnight on December 31. That's the third big fall event on the pier, after Pirate Fest wrestling and the Seafood Fest.
The standing dates that end or repeat
Two recurring programs set the pace of a normal week, and one of them is about to stop.
The Tybee Island Farmers Market at the Tybee Island Lighthouse lists Monday, October 26, 2026 as the last day of its season. That leaves less than three weeks of Monday markets after Pirate Fest.
The Tybee Marine Science Center, at 37 Meddin Drive, runs Toddler Thursdays on October 29, November 19 and December 17. Registration is required. The $25 fee covers materials and admission for one adult. The center's events page was first published in 2025, so confirm each date on its events page before you go.
The City also notes that calendar events can change. Several of these listings come from tourism pages and not City notices, so check the source a few days ahead, especially for the parade and the holiday parking window. Our guide to year-round living on Tybee covers the parts of island life that don't follow the calendar.
If PCS orders bring your family to Tybee this winter, the cooler months and the half-price parking window are a good time to learn the island's addresses. Trophy Point Realty Group can help you sort out the logistics around a coastal move, from the drive to Hunter Army Airfield to the timeline for your report date. Get a Free PCS & Relocation Consultation and we'll build the plan around your dates.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
