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Hilton Head Island Lantern Parade 2026: route, parking and lantern workshops

The Town of Hilton Head Island’s Lantern Parade is on Saturday, November 14, 2026: line-up at 5pm at the Alder Lane beach entrance, step-off at 5:45pm, and a finale at Lowcountry Celebration Park. Lantern workshops run across the island until November 12.

Two small boys sit on adults' shoulders at night and watch a glowing orange seahorse lantern pass, with blue-lit bird and turtle lanterns moving behind it through the crowd.

Photo: Town of Hilton Head Island

The Hilton Head Island Lantern Parade is the Town of Hilton Head Island's annual night procession of lit lanterns along the beach, held this year on Saturday, November 14, 2026. The lanterns at its head are by Chantelle Rytter, the artist who founded the Atlanta BeltLine Lantern Parade in 2010, and hundreds more are made by residents, visitors, school groups and local organizations. Four bands march with them: the Black Sheep Ensemble, the Soda City Band, the United States Marine Corps Dirty Boots Brass Band and the Atlanta Drum Academy. The parade forms at the Alder Lane beach entrance, just south of the Marriott Grande Ocean Resort, and ends at Lowcountry Celebration Park.

Every marcher carries a lantern, and there are three ways to get one:

  • A workshop seat, $20 to $40 at the Coastal Discovery Museum, with the lantern kit, the lights and the supplies included. Carolina Coffee & Crumbs runs two free sessions.
  • A finished lantern from the Marriott Grande Ocean, near the start, which sells them on parade evening.
  • Lights for a homemade lantern. Flaming and flying lanterns are not allowed, so the glow comes from lights set inside.
Date
Saturday, Nov 14
Step-off
5:45pmLine-up from 5pm at Alder Lane
Finale
Lowcountry Celebration Park
Workshops
Until Nov 12

Route and Times

Line-up begins at 5pm near the Alder Lane beach entrance, and every participant is in place by 5:45pm, when the parade steps off. It travels north along the beach, leaves the sand through the parking lot of the Tiki Hut at the Beach House Resort, crosses South Forest Beach Drive and finishes at Lowcountry Celebration Park. The Town lists the event from 5 to 8pm.

Line-up: Alder Lane beach entrance, Hilton Head Island · 5pm, step-off 5:45pm · Route, parking and accessible viewing map · Parade page

Parking and Shuttle

Six lots are set aside for the parade:

  • Coligny Beach Parking Lot, at Coligny Beach Park
  • The former Wild Wings lot, 72 Pope Avenue
  • The former Aunt Chilada's lot, 69 Pope Avenue
  • First Baptist Church, 100 S. Forest Beach Drive
  • St. Luke's Anglican Church, 50 Pope Avenue
  • USCB Hilton Head Island campus, 1 Sand Shark Drive

A shuttle runs from the USCB campus from 4:15pm to 9:15pm. Drivers can drop their group at the start or at the viewing area first, so that one person per group rides the shuttle. Return shuttles leave Lowcountry Celebration Park until about 9:15pm.

Accessible parking and viewing are in the southernmost section of the Coligny Beach Parking Lot, along the tree line near the South Forest Beach Drive beach access. Volunteers check hangtags there.

A family sits in folding chairs on the beach at dusk holding pink and purple paper jellyfish lanterns trailing streamers, with a blue and white striped lantern held up above them.
Jellyfish lanterns on the beach at the 2024 parade.Photo: Town of Hilton Head Island

Viewing Spots

Spectators line the beach anywhere between Alder Lane and the Beach House, or gather at Lowcountry Celebration Park for the finale. The Beaufort County Channel streams the parade live, and the stream is also shown at the park.

Spectator rules:

  • Children stay with an adult.
  • Everyone stays off the dunes.
  • Dogs may come to watch, and may not walk in the parade.
  • Bikes may be ridden to the parade, and not in it.

Lantern Workshops

Lantern workshops run across the island in the run-up to the parade, as part of Crescendo: A Celebration of Art & Culture. The Coastal Discovery Museum runs the most sessions, and each includes the lantern, the lights and the supplies. Its sessions require registration.

DatePlaceTimeDetails
Wed, Nov 4Full Spectrum Studio4 to 6pmProceeds benefit the studio
Thu, Nov 5Coastal Discovery Museum5:30 to 7:30pmJellyfish, 20-inch round lantern; $40
Fri, Nov 6Hilton Head Library2 to 4:30pmAges 5 and up, teens and adults
Sat, Nov 7Coastal Discovery Museum10 to 11:30am and 2 to 3:30pmFamily workshop, 12-inch round lantern; $20 a lantern plus $5 a person ages 4 and up; a registered adult with every child
Mon, Nov 9Coastal Discovery Museum10am to noonButterflies and More, 16-inch round lantern; $40 for one kit and one adult; ages 13 and up
Tue, Nov 10Carolina Coffee & Crumbs5 to 7pmFree, open to the public, no registration
Wed, Nov 11Full Spectrum Studio4 to 6pmProceeds benefit the studio
Wed, Nov 11Carolina Coffee & Crumbs5 to 7pmFree, open to the public, no registration
Thu, Nov 12Coastal Discovery Museum5:30 to 7:30pmButterflies and More, 16-inch round lantern; $40

Coastal Discovery Museum, Honey Horn, Hilton Head Island · Fall program schedule and registration

Full Spectrum Studio, 33 Bow Circle, Hilton Head Island · Nov 4 and 11, 4 to 6pm

Carolina Coffee & Crumbs · Nov 10 and 11, 5 to 7pm · instruction by Emily Holyoak · 843-342-4800

Two women, a girl and a boy stand on the beach at dusk holding homemade white paper globe lanterns, one strung with fairy lights and painted with swirls, and a stack of three small globes on a stick.
Homemade paper lanterns at the 2024 parade.Photo: Town of Hilton Head Island

Making a Lantern

The workshop lanterns are round paper lanterns in three sizes: 12 inches at the museum's family sessions, 16 inches for its Butterflies and More sessions, and 20 inches for Jellyfish. The lights go inside, and the kit, the lights and the supplies come with the seat. At Carolina Coffee & Crumbs, makers bring their own materials or use what is provided.

Marching in the Parade

Participant rules:

  • Every participant carries a lantern.
  • No passing the bands.
  • Children march with an adult.
  • Marchers yield to the large lanterns.
  • No bicycles.
  • Amateur drones are prohibited.
  • Pets stay at home.
  • No flaming lanterns and no flying lanterns.

Groups email [email protected] with the group's name, the number of participants, and a contact email and phone number. Each group receives a line-up assignment, and groups are asked to carpool.

Marchers dressed in black carry four large striped fish lanterns with pink lips on poles across the sand at sunset, with a seahorse lantern behind them.
Fish lanterns crossing the sand at the 2024 parade.Photo: Town of Hilton Head Island

Before and After

Food trucks and drinks open at Lowcountry Celebration Park at 3pm, and Groove Town Assault plays a concert there before the parade arrives. Near the start, the Marriott Grande Ocean is open to the public on parade evening with lanterns for sale, food and live music.

Drummers and cymbal players in red tracksuits with Atlanta Drum Academy printed on their jackets march across the sand, with lit lanterns behind them.
The Atlanta Drum Academy at the 2024 parade.Photo: Town of Hilton Head Island

Nearby Restaurants

The Sandbar

The Sandbar on Pope Avenue serves Southern and Caribbean comfort food, with a patio.

101 Pope Avenue, Hilton Head Island · Saturday 11:30am to 10pm

Sage Room

Sage Room serves American food and wine from an open kitchen, and takes reservations.

75 Pope Avenue, Hilton Head Island · Saturday 6 to 10pm

Frosty Frog Cafe

Frosty Frog Cafe in Coligny Plaza is a daiquiri bar that also serves salads, sandwiches and pizza.

Coligny Plaza, Hilton Head Island · Saturday 11am to 11pm

The Sea Shack

The Sea Shack serves seafood from a counter.

6 Executive Park Road, Hilton Head Island · closes at 9pm