Things to do in Beaufort in September
As we begin to leave the summer behind, the events in Beaufort tend to heat up and September is always a month full of fun. With lots of local stuff going on, it’s also a reminder that fall is on the way.
Although the month can start off warm and wet, it gets just a tad cooler as it goes on. Average high temperatures in September are in the mid 80s which takes off the edge off of summer just a bit.
September kicked off in the Beaufort area with a jam packed event schedule last weekend with the DragonBoat Races. Here’s a look at some more things to do this month…
Embrace everything about the boiled peanut at the Bluffton Boiled Peanut Festival September 8th through the 10th. Visit our neighbors on the other side of the Broad and enjoy peanut eating contests, a boiled peanut cooking contest, fun kids stuff and just tons of boiled peanut fun.
See how challenging it was for the first settlers in the New World to eat back in the 1500s at the Santa Elena History Center. They’re all about the earliest local cuisine on September 14th as they discuss what the Santa Elena colonists ate, and how their food consumption affected their successes and, ultimately, their departure as well.
Go big at The Shed in Port Royal and see how local and regional artists and craftsmen have repurposed, recycled, reclaimed or reimagined materials to create works of art to be auctioned to benefit LowCountry Habitat for Humanity ReStore House at the annual Habitat for Humanity UpCycled Art Auction . A fabulous event, enjoy great food, desserts, drinks and entertainment and the chance to bid on one of a kind beautiful pieces of art.
Put a little bit of theatre into your schedule with an all-local production of the classic Dolly Parton movie “9 to 5” onstage at USCB’s Center for the Arts for 5 performances from September 9th through the 18th. These local performers are very talented and the Beaufort Theatre Company always puts together a top notch production.
Kids and adults can both get active and bring their competitive side along with them to the Back to School Battle Ball day at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park. A fun day put on by the folks at the Boys & Girls Club of Beaufort, you can bring a team or come together and battle it out in the park all day long.
Don’t forget our Farmer’s Markets. The Farmer’s Markets in downtown and over in Port Royal are packed with summer goodies while the early fall crop is on the way. Don’t miss them in downtown on Wednesdays from 2 to 6pm through the month, and also at the Naval Heritage Park in Port Royal every Saturday morning starting at 9am.
Pumpkins usually arrive at the Carteret Street United Methodist Church before the end of the month and the Pumpkin Patch generally opens before September ends. You can always tell that fall is in the air in Beaufort when the pumpkins of all sizes line up by the hundreds along Carteret Street in downtown.
You can also get some good books on the cheap at the annual Fall Book Sale sponsored by the Friends of the Beaufort Library. Every September, the pavilion at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park turns into a huge book fair. (remember those?) The library collection is deep and they bring out lots of quality titles that spans the spectrum of good variety in reading. Prices at the sale are typically $2.00 for hardbacks, $1.50 for larger paperbacks, and 50 cents for “pocket” paperbacks. Children’s books and audio-visual materials are also individually priced at ten cents and up. The Sale runs September 23rd through the 25th.
We’ll end the month on a very tasty high note with the annual Beaufort Shrimp Festival. Always celebrated on the first weekend in October, the festival kicks off Friday evening, September 30th for the first of two days of Lowcountry fun.
There’s lots more going on in September all over the Beaufort area. As always, there’s something for everyone. For more local events, visit our Event Calendar and stay in touch with what’s happening in Beaufort.
