For most of three decades, late October in Richmond Hill meant the Great Ogeechee Seafood Festival at J.F. Gregory Park. The Bryan County Chamber of Commerce described it as drawing more than 25,000 people, locals and travelers, to 521 Cedar Street for music, rides, crafts and seafood. In January 2025 the Chamber's board said the festival would not return that year. As of today, none of the public sources we checked say whether it's coming back in any form.
Fall 2026 still looks busy. Seen from a Ford Avenue porch, though, the calendar has a different shape. It no longer has one big weekend. It has more than a dozen smaller ones, each run by a different local group raising money for its own cause. That happens to be the reason the festival existed in the first place.
A fundraiser before it was a festival
The Chamber's own history traces the event to 1985. That year the first Richmond Hill Seafood Festival took place on the grounds of the Bryan Fisherman's Cooperative, about 5.5 miles from Keller. The idea came from Frances Meeks, a retired teacher, principal and school board member. She saw school groups, Boy Scouts, churches and other nonprofits asking local businesses for donations again and again. She wanted one community food event where those groups could raise their own money and also highlight the county's marine fisheries.
The Co-op site couldn't keep up. By the second year, buses were looking for parking along Fisherman's Co-op Road. Some people walked more than a mile from their cars. The Chamber's history says the lack of a proper facility and parking put the event on hold after 1989. It came back in 1997, when Mayor Richard Davis asked the Chamber to revive it. The new J.F. Gregory Park and pavilion gave it a home, and it was renamed the Great Ogeechee Seafood Festival.
Then the money grew. In 2002, Bryan County resident Gregg Allman donated a concert, and nearly 30,000 people paid for tickets. Linda Barker, the festival chair, said that was when the Chamber realized the festival "could become the major sustainable funding source for the Chamber." The same history calls the festival "by far the largest funding source for the Chamber." Past chair Bonnie Proctor said the Chamber was always able to give money back to community nonprofits after each festival.
So by the end, one park and one weekend were doing two jobs. The festival paid for the Chamber, and it also handed money to the groups Frances Meeks had in mind.
What the Chamber said when it stepped back
The Chamber explained its decision in growth terms. Its statement, reported by WTOC on January 15, 2025, read:
"As Bryan County has experienced significant growth, now recognized as the fastest-growing county in Georgia, our business community has also expanded. To ensure that the Chamber effectively supports our business members and aligns with its mission, we have decided to prioritize new initiatives over the festival in our 2025 Program of Work."
Its stated priorities were "advocacy, connection, and fostering growth within our business community." Mayor Russ Carpenter said the city was disappointed but supported the Chamber's new program of work. At the time, Chamber President and CEO Summer Beal said a new event would be announced for fall 2025.
Boots & Roots moves the Chamber's big night off Cedar Street
This fall's Chamber event is billed as the first Boots & Roots Music & Food Truck Festival. It runs Saturday, November 7, 2026, at Belhaven, 1000 Belfast River Road. Gates open at 3:30 p.m., and the festival starts at 4. Tim & Dave's Nursery is the presenting sponsor.
| Set time | Performer |
|---|---|
| 4:15 to 5:00 p.m. | Derrick Flowers |
| 5:15 to 6:00 p.m. | Chuck Courtenay |
| 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. | Hannah Dasher |
| 8:30 to 10:00 p.m. | Will Moseley |
The venue is a change. Belhaven is a rustic event space on 14 acres, with pine, oak and magnolia trees and three small ponds. It mostly hosts weddings, parties and corporate events, and its site says it is 20 minutes from Pooler, Savannah and Hinesville. A local directory says it has hosted events since 2020. The Chamber has not said why it picked this format or venue.
The Chamber does say where the money goes. Proceeds support its work "to advocate for local businesses, strengthen leadership and workforce initiatives, and create meaningful opportunities for connection across Bryan County." That lines up with the priorities it set in 2025. The festival's other old job, handing money to nonprofits, now sits with the nonprofits themselves.
The groups Frances Meeks had in mind are running their own weekends
This year's fall calendar is close to the Chamber's 1985 fundraising idea, minus the shared stage. Here is what's on the books, and who is behind each event:
| Date | Event | Host or beneficiary | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 3 | Cars & Coffee, 9 to 11 a.m. | Richmond Hill Historical Society | History Museum, 11460 Ford Ave. |
| Sat., Oct. 3 | 27th Annual Pumpkin Patch, 9 a.m. to noon | Richmond Hill Garden Club | J.F. Gregory Park pavilion |
| Sat., Oct. 3 | 47th Annual Candle Lantern Tour, evening | Fort McAllister State Park | Fort McAllister |
| Oct. 17 and 18 | Haunted Forest: The Last Sighting, 8 p.m. | Fort McAllister State Park | Fort McAllister |
| Sun., Oct. 18 | Fall Trolley Tours, 2 and 3 p.m. | Historical Society and Museum | Henry Ford Kindergarten, 11460 Ford Ave. |
| Thu., Oct. 22 | Halloween on the Hill, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. | Listed community event | 503 Warren Hill Road |
| Sat., Oct. 24 | Fall Neighbor Fest, 1 to 5 p.m. | Historical Society | History Museum, 11460 Ford Ave. |
| Sat., Nov. 7 | Fall Festival, 4 to 8 p.m. | First Baptist Church of Richmond Hill | 9184 Ford Ave. |
| Sat., Nov. 7 | Boots & Roots, 4 to 10 p.m. | Bryan County Chamber | Belhaven |
| Thu., Nov. 19 | Tree Lighting & Winter Market, 5 to 8 p.m. | City of Richmond Hill | J.F. Gregory Park |
| Sat., Nov. 21 | Bikes for Tikes Trout Tournament | Fort McAllister Fishing Club contact | Fort McAllister Marina, 3203 Fort McAllister Road |
Several of these are fundraisers in the same sense as the 1985 festival. Ticket sales from the Historical Society's trolley tours go to the Society and its Museum. The Garden Club's Pumpkin Patch sells pumpkins, mums and plants and runs a bake sale and kids' games under the pavilion. This year's listing runs it from 9 a.m. to noon. The Bikes for Tikes listing is still looking for sponsors and anglers.
The 11460 Ford Avenue block shows up most often. Cars & Coffee, the trolley tours and Fall Neighbor Fest all run from the History Museum and the old Henry Ford Kindergarten. Cars & Coffee runs on first Saturdays from March through October, so October 3 is the last one of 2026. The Historical Society's events page lists a vendor fee for Neighbor Fest.
Fort McAllister runs its own track. Advance tickets for the 47th Candle Lantern Tour are $25. Bryan County News lists a 6:30 p.m. start, and the state parks calendar says 6:45. The Haunted Forest costs $12. "The Haunting of Savage Island" on October 24 is for registered campers only, with contests for decorated campsites and costumes. The Georgia State Parks events calendar has the reservation details.
November 7 is the one real overlap. First Baptist's Fall Festival on Ford Avenue, with food, music, hayrides and free family activities, runs from 4 to 8 p.m. Boots & Roots starts at the same hour at Belhaven.
J.F. Gregory Park still opens and closes the season
The park didn't go quiet when the festival ended. It just stopped hosting the main event. The Garden Club's Pumpkin Patch opens the season under the pavilion on October 3. The City's Tree Lighting & Winter Market closes it out on November 19, with vendors, live entertainment, food trucks, Santa photos and a trackless train. The visitors bureau's annual calendar also places the Chili Cook-off and the Christmas Parade at J.F. Gregory Park in December.
Our summer calendar post treated the park as the center of the season. In fall it's more like the opening and closing dates, with Ford Avenue, Fort McAllister and Belhaven filling in October and early November.
The Row adds a new local address
The newest stop on the fall map is The Row, a retail center at Heartwood near Exit 82 off I-95, held its grand opening on September 24. Savannah Morning News listed Pin High Indoor Golf, Hawg's Golf Cart, Keller Wood Fire Pizza and LuFinity Nails among the businesses moving in.
Keller's has run as a food truck for four years. Theresa and James Reeves signed their lease about a year ago, before construction was finished. They hope to open the restaurant in November. "We have a new oven and we can put 15 pizzas in there at once," Theresa Reeves told the paper.
Next door, Hawg's Golf Cart is expected later this year. Its manager, Ray Duran, served 21 years in the military. He said the store will carry 20 to 25 models and help owners maintain and customize their carts. "People use golf carts as a way to socialize," he told the Savannah Morning News.
Hop Atomica's brewery, distillery and restaurant at 110 Heartwood Ave. is still listed for 2027, and Heartwood says spring 2027. So it won't be part of this fall.
If you're new to town on PCS orders, the main thing to know is the date: Richmond Hill no longer has one big late-October festival weekend to plan around. The table above covers the fall, and our Richmond Hill neighborhood page and everyday guide for Savannah commuters cover the rest of the year.
Trophy Point Realty Group helps military families get settled in Bryan County as quickly as a PCS timeline requires, from Ford Avenue to Heartwood. If your orders land you here this fall, ask us for a Free PCS & Relocation Consultation. We'll walk you through the area before the Tree Lighting on November 19.
