On Saturday, November 14, the people marching in Hilton Head Island's Lantern Parade will gather at the Alder Lane beach entrance, just south of the Marriott Grande Ocean Resort. Lineup starts at 5 p.m. and the parade steps off at 5:45 p.m. From there it moves up the beach, comes off the sand through the Tiki Hut and Beach House Resort parking lot, crosses South Forest Beach Drive and ends at Lowcountry Celebration Park.
The whole route, start to finish, runs through Forest Beach. The Town has published a full plan for getting people there: six parking areas and a shuttle that runs for five hours from the USCB campus. If you live between Alder Lane and Coligny, none of that applies to you. You can walk. The one thing you do need to arrange is a lantern, and you have about four weeks to get one.
The Route, Street by Street
The Town's Culture HHI parade page lays out the route in four stages:
- Lineup at Alder Lane, near the beach entrance just south of the Marriott Grande Ocean, starting at 5 p.m.
- Step-off at 5:45 p.m., heading along the beach toward the Beach House.
- Off the sand through the Tiki Hut and Beach House Resort parking lot, then across South Forest Beach Drive.
- The finale at Lowcountry Celebration Park.
The route has shifted over the years. Culture HHI's 2021 listing sent the parade from Alder Lane north along South Forest Beach to Coligny Beach Park. By 2023 it was ending at Lowcountry Celebration Park, which is still the finish this year. The start has stayed on the same stretch of Forest Beach sand the whole time.
Chantelle Rytter, the lantern artist, will bring her large illuminated pieces. Hundreds of lanterns made by residents, visitors, school groups and local organizations will march alongside them. Four bands are scheduled: the Black Sheep Ensemble, Soda City Band, the United States Marine Corps Dirty Boots Brass Band and the Atlanta Drum Academy.
To March, You Need a Lantern
The participant rules start with one requirement: everyone who marches has to carry a lantern. Flaming lanterns are banned under state law and flying lanterns are not allowed. Marchers also can't bring bicycles or pets, and amateur drones are prohibited. For a household a few blocks from Alder Lane, this rule decides whether you watch from the beach or walk in the parade.
The Town says public lantern workshops will run this fall at organizations and businesses around the island. Three options are on the calendar now:
| Workshop | Where | When | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Global Lantern Making Workshop, Arts Center of Coastal Carolina | 14 Shelter Cove Lane | Wednesday, Oct. 28, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. | $55, ages 13 and up |
| Illuminated Parasols, Lantern Parade Workshop, Arts Center of Coastal Carolina | 14 Shelter Cove Lane | Thursday, Oct. 29, 5:30 to 7 p.m. | $45 |
| Lantern decorating workshop, Full Spectrum Studio | 33 Bow Circle | Wednesdays Oct. 28, Nov. 4 and Nov. 11, 4 to 6 p.m. | $25, materials provided |
The two Arts Center sessions fall in the same week, so anyone who wants that version needs to decide before the end of October. Details are on the Global Lantern Making Workshop and Illuminated Parasols listings. Full Spectrum Studio's Wednesday sessions keep going until the Wednesday before the parade, which gives the most room for late deciders. If no workshop fits your schedule, the Marriott Grande Ocean, next to the lineup point, plans to sell lanterns on parade night.
Neighbors who want to march together can register as a group. The Town asks groups to email the Office of Cultural Affairs at [email protected] with the group's name, how many people are marching, and a contact email and phone number. Each group then gets a lineup assignment on the beach.
A Preview at the Same Park, Friday Night
The parade is part of a larger fall program. In a September 29 release, the Town said its Office of Cultural Affairs and the Arts Council had announced the Crescendo season, and the Lantern Parade is one of its events. Another Crescendo event takes place this Friday at the same park where the parade will end.
The free Crescendo Songwriter Show starts at 6 p.m. on Friday, October 23, at Lowcountry Celebration Park. The bill features Eric Reid & The Hebron Road Ramblers, with Matt Eckstine and Nick Poulin as guests. It's a low-key way to see the park at night before the November crowd arrives, and you can walk there from most of Forest Beach.
Where to Stand on November 14
The Town names two places to watch: anywhere on the beach between Alder Lane and the Beach House, or the finale at Lowcountry Celebration Park.
On the beach, you'll see the lanterns leave the lineup and pass close by on the sand, with the ocean behind them. Spectators are asked to keep the route clear and stay off the dunes. The Marriott Grande Ocean, near the starting point, is open to the public that evening with food and live music. The Town lists live music at the Beach House's Tiki Hut too, though the performer hasn't been announced yet.
At the park, food trucks and beverages open at 3 p.m. Groove Town Assault plays a concert before the parade arrives, and the Beaufort County Channel streams the parade live on site. If you want both views, watch the step-off from the sand, then walk inland along the parade's own path to catch the finale.
You're welcome to bring the dog as a spectator, but dogs can't walk in the parade. This also lines up with the season. Under the Town's animal beach visiting hours, dogs are allowed on the beach at any hour from October through March, on leash or under voice control. From the Friday before Memorial Day through Labor Day, they're barred from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Town also asks owners to pick up after their pets and not let them chase wildlife, which matters on a crowded night. If your dog's evening walk already heads down Alder Lane, on November 14 it can end in the parade crowd.
The Parking Plan Is for Visitors
Everyone driving in from elsewhere on the island will follow the Town's parking list:
- Coligny Beach Parking Lot
- The former Wild Wings lot, 72 Pope Avenue
- The former Aunt Chilada's lot, 69 Pope Avenue
- First Baptist Church, 100 S. Forest Beach Dr.
- St. Luke's Anglican Church, 50 Pope Avenue
- USCB's Hilton Head Island campus, 1 Sand Shark Dr.
The USCB shuttle runs from 4:15 to 9:15 p.m., and return trips from the park continue until about 9:15. The Town suggests that groups drop people off at the start or a viewing area and send just one person to ride the shuttle. Hangtag holders can use reserved accessible parking and viewing in the southern end of the Coligny Beach lot, along the tree line near the South Forest Beach Drive access. Volunteers will check hangtags.
This list is the clearest picture of where traffic will build that afternoon: Pope Avenue, the Coligny lot and the church lots along South Forest Beach Drive. The Town hasn't published street-closure times, but the parade does cross South Forest Beach Drive on foot. Forest Beach residents who need to drive that evening should plan around that crossing and the lots filling up. You can ride a bike to watch, but bikes aren't allowed in the parade. The lineup and step-off times above are from the Town's official page. It's worth checking the Culture HHI parade page again the week of the event in case anything changes.
If you can't make it in person, the Beaufort County Channel will livestream the parade.
Becky, Monica and our team at Herman and Davis know Forest Beach as a place to live, including the evenings when the neighborhood's own beach becomes the island's gathering spot. If you have questions about life near Alder Lane, Coligny or anywhere on the south end, Contact Us. We're always glad to talk about the neighborhood.
