"Created in response to member feedback, the Bryan Ball fills the void left by the VIP experience at the Great Ogeechee Seafood Festival." That was how the Bryan County Chamber of Commerce described its 2025 fall event. The sentence explains the past two years better than any announcement since.
The Seafood Festival really served two groups at once: a big public crowd at J.F. Gregory Park and a premium experience for sponsors and businesses. When it ended, the Chamber looked after the second group first. This fall it is bringing both groups back to the same field for the first time since October 2024. The new event is called Boots & Roots, it takes place on Saturday, November 7, 2026, and it works very differently from the festival it follows.
How the big fall weekend came apart
The 25th Great Ogeechee Music + Seafood Festival ran Friday and Saturday, October 25 and 26, 2024, at J.F. Gregory Park. The Chamber's own listing said the festival drew more than 25,000 people and described it as one of the largest festivals in the Southeast. It ran from 5 to 11 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, with live music, amusement rides, arts and crafts, and seafood. Adult general admission was $25 in advance or $30 at the gate. Tickets for ages 9 to 15 were $10 in advance or $15 at the gate, and children 8 and under got in free.
In January 2025, Bryan County News reported that the Chamber board had decided the festival would not return that fall. Chamber President and CEO Summer Beal said the organization was focusing on "the needs of our membership, with retention, growth, and business programs in the forefront," and promised a new fall event.
That event was the Bryan Ball, held on Thursday, October 23, 2025, at District Live in Savannah. It was a 21-and-over "Denim & Diamonds" private concert with Easton Corbin, opened by Will Moseley. Attendance was capped at 300 guests, and the only way in was through a sponsorship. As the Chamber described it, the Bryan Ball was meant to replace the festival's VIP side. It was never meant to replace the festival in the park.
Here is how the three fall events compare:
| Great Ogeechee Seafood Festival, 2024 | Bryan Ball, 2025 | Boots & Roots, 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Fri.–Sat., Oct. 25–26 | Thu., Oct. 23 | Sat., Nov. 7 |
| Venue | J.F. Gregory Park | District Live, Savannah | Belhaven, 1000 Belfast River Road |
| Who could attend | Open to the public | 300 guests, sponsorship only, 21+ | Public general admission plus sponsor VIP |
| Adult ticket | $25 advance, $30 gate | Sponsorship only | $77 presale only |
| Hours | Two days, into 11 p.m. | 7 to 10:30 p.m. | Gates 3:30 p.m., music from 4 p.m. |
No 2026 source says whether the Seafood Festival is permanently finished. As of early October 2026, it simply hasn't come back, and Boots & Roots is the fall event the Chamber is promoting.
What Boots & Roots puts back together
The Chamber bills Boots & Roots as its Music & Food Truck Festival, and the ticket page calls this year's edition the inaugural one. General admission covers the live performances, the beer garden, the food trucks and the festival grounds. The Chamber says proceeds go to its advocacy for local businesses, its leadership and workforce programs, and networking events across Bryan County. Those are the same goals the Bryan Ball raised money for.
The sponsor experience is still part of the event, now on the same grounds as general admission. Every sponsorship includes the Front Row VIP Experience, which offers premium concert viewing, a private hospitality section, a fish fry by The Shell House, a premium bar, private restrooms and onsite parking. Last year's VIP crowd was in Savannah. This year it sits in front of the stage, with general admission on the field behind it.
The headliner shows the link between the two years. Will Moseley opened the Bryan Ball in 2025, and the Chamber's page introduced him then as a Georgia native and a recent Top 5 finalist on American Idol. In 2026 he closes the night. The Chamber's posted lineup:
- Derrick Flowers, 4:00 p.m.
- Chuck Courtenay, 5:30 p.m.
- Hannah Dasher, 7:00 p.m.
- Will Moseley, 8:30 p.m.
The community events listing names Tim & Dave's Nursery as presenting sponsor. That same listing has different set times for the first three acts and calls the date a Friday. The schedule above comes from the Chamber, which is organizing the event, and November 7, 2026, is a Saturday.
No food truck vendors had been named as of early October. If you're deciding whether to go based on a specific truck, check the Chamber's page closer to the date.
Why the venue changes how you plan the day
Belhaven is a private event venue on a rural 14-acre property. It mostly hosts weddings, parties and corporate gatherings. Its best-known public event is CURE Childhood Cancer's Shell Out for a CURE oyster roast, which returns there on Friday, February 5, 2027. Google Maps puts Belhaven about 6.6 miles from J.F. Gregory Park, a nine-minute drive by GA-144 and Ford Avenue.
When the festival was in a city park, you could decide that afternoon and buy a ticket at the gate. Boots & Roots doesn't work that way. The ticket page spells out the details:
- Presale only. No tickets will be sold on event day. General admission is $77, which is $75 plus a $2 fee.
- Shuttle parking. Free parking is off-site at McAllister Elementary School, with a complimentary shuttle to the venue.
- Bring a chair. Lawn chairs are welcome.
- No coolers. Outside coolers and beverages are not allowed. Beer, wine and seltzers are sold on site with a valid government ID.
- Rain or shine, and all sales are final and non-refundable.
The ticket page lists one general admission price and nothing like the old festival's youth and free-for-kids tiers. If you're bringing children, ask the Chamber before you buy.
Today is October 4, so there are about five weeks until gates open. Since there are no day-of sales, the ticket deadline is effectively November 6. That date matters more than any of the set times.
The rest of fall fills in around it
With no two-day festival, the rest of the Richmond Hill CVB's fall calendar is made up of single-evening and single-afternoon events. Many of them are in the places the old festival weekend used to draw people.
October 17 is a full day. The Richmond Hill 5K starts at Richmond Hill High School, the 4th Annual Soccer Scream 4v4 Costume Tournament is at DeVaul Henderson Park on Veterans Memorial Parkway, and Fort McAllister State Park hosts a Haunted Trail. Fall Trolley Tours run from the Henry Ford Kindergarten building at 11460 Ford Avenue on October 18. Fish Tales on Fort McAllister Road holds a Howl-O-Ween Yappy Hour on October 22. Fall Neighbor Fest returns to the Richmond Hill History Museum, at that same Ford Avenue address, on October 24, and The Haunting of Savage Island is at Fort McAllister that evening.
J.F. Gregory Park, where the festival used to set up, has its next big public night on November 19, with the Tree Lighting & Winter Market at 521 Cedar Street. The Bikes for Tikes Trout Tournament follows at Fort McAllister Marina on November 21. The CVB's calendar is a live page, so double-check times before you head out.
There's also something new to try near Exit 82. The Row, a retail center in Heartwood's Town District, had its grand opening at the end of September. Keller Wood Fire Pizza, which has run as a food truck for four years, signed a lease there, and owners Theresa and James Reeves hope to open their first restaurant in November, according to Savannah Now. Their new oven fits 15 pizzas at once. November is the owners' goal, not a confirmed opening date.
For more about daily life around town, see our guide to everyday coastal living in Richmond Hill and the Richmond Hill neighborhood page.
Events like Boots & Roots, the Tree Lighting and Fall Neighbor Fest are a big part of what makes a home in Richmond Hill feel like home, and they come up often when people compare one part of Bryan County with another. If you're thinking about how close you want to be to Ford Avenue, Fort McAllister or the new shops in Heartwood, Devin Pickett is glad to talk it through with you, with straight answers and no pressure. Book a Consultation.
