Bog, Coffins and Jazz: Why Horry County Football Fans Will Step Away From the TV This Weekend

Posted Friday, October 16, 2026 11:49 am

David Hucks (via MyrtleBeachSC)

Oct 16, 2026 · @ https://x.com/myrtlebeachnews

For most of the fall, Saturday in Horry County belongs to football. Plans get made around kickoff times, grocery runs get squeezed into halftime, and a cookout without a game on the TV feels incomplete. This weekend, the calendar does something unusual: it hands the day back. Horry County Football Fans will find plenty to do outside of watching the games.

The Gamecocks are idle. Clemson plays a lunchtime game against a lower-division opponent. Coastal Carolina has already played. The Panthers don’t kick off until Sunday afternoon. At the same time, Loris is hosting its 47th Bog-Off, downtown Conway is turning Laurel Street into a coffin racetrack in the middle of its month-long Halloween takeover, and the Myrtle Beach Jazz Festival is celebrating ten years.

That combination doesn’t come around often. Here’s why this might be the one fall weekend where the remote can stay in the drawer, and how to get the most out of it.

Horry County Football Fans: Enjoying a Unique Weekend

A Football Schedule With an Opening

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Start with the team that usually dominates local conversation. South Carolina’s 2026 schedule includes only one open date, and it lands on Saturday, Oct. 17 [Gamecocks Online, 2025]. After this weekend, the Gamecocks begin a six-week stretch with no breaks: Tennessee at home, then Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Arkansas, Georgia and Clemson in consecutive weeks [Legion Report, 2026; Post and Courier, 2025]. Fans who want a Saturday off in October won’t get another one.

Clemson is playing, but the stakes are modest. The Tigers host Charleston Southern, an FCS program, at noon on ACC Network, coming off their own bye week with a 3-2 overall record [FOX Carolina, 2026]. Their last outing was a lopsided home loss to Miami [Legion Report, 2026]. A noon kickoff means even devoted Tiger fans are likely done by mid-afternoon.

Coastal Carolina fans got their football fix early. The Chanticleers’ schedule set a nationally televised Friday night home game against Appalachian State for Oct. 16 [WMBF, 2026], part of the first season under new head coach Ryan Beard [WBTW, 2026]. And the Panthers, who came out of their Week 5 bye at 2-2, don’t play until Sunday at 1 p.m. in Philadelphia [Bolavip, 2026].

Put those pieces together and Saturday afternoon and evening are about as open as they get in October. The point isn’t that football fans should skip the games. It’s that this weekend, for once, the games fit around everything else instead of the other way around.

Loris: 47 Years of Chicken Bog

If there is one event that defines this Saturday, it is the Loris Bog-Off. The festival began in 1980 as a chicken bog cooking contest and is held on the third Saturday of every October, sponsored by the Loris Chamber of Commerce [Loris Chamber of Commerce, 2026]. The cooking contest is still the centerpiece, but the day now includes more than 200 vendors, two entertainment stages featuring local dance schools, school choruses and bands, a large children’s area, and a closing free concert by a national act followed by fireworks [Loris Chamber of Commerce, 2026].

The scale is worth pausing on. The Chamber puts attendance at around 35,000 people [Loris Chamber of Commerce, 2026]. The City of Loris itself covers about 3.1 square miles and has roughly 2,600 residents [City of Loris, 2026]. In other words, on one Saturday a year, a town swells to something like thirteen times its normal population. That is a massive economic and logistical event for a small community, and it says something about how deeply chicken bog runs in this part of the state.

For planning purposes, admission is free [Destination BBQ, 2026]. The Chicken Run 5K starts early in the morning; most listings put it at 8 a.m., though at least one says 8:30, so runners should confirm with the organizers [Destination BBQ, 2026; Your Key to Realty, 2026]. Official Top Bog judging begins at noon, and People’s Choice samples go out once the judges’ portions are collected [Destination BBQ, 2026]. The Chamber has confirmed the concert and fireworks for this year but had not posted a detailed entertainment schedule as of last month [Destination BBQ, 2026], so check the Chamber’s page before heading out.

Note the timing: Top Bog judging starts at the exact moment Clemson kicks off. In Loris, the noon contest that matters most this Saturday involves rice and sausage, not a football.

Conway: Racing Coffins in the City of Halloween

Twenty minutes or so down U.S. 701, Conway is in the middle of its annual transformation. By mayoral proclamation, the city becomes the “City of Halloween” every October, with jack-o’-lantern trees, floating witch hats, oversized creatures and immersive lighting throughout downtown [Visit Myrtle Beach, 2026]. The city has scheduled close to 200 Halloween events this month, including a new Midnight Market with themed vendors running Thursday through Sunday, and 30-minute “Shiver Cruise” boat rides along the Riverwalk from Crazy Sister Marina, Wednesday through Sunday [Post and Courier, 2026].

Saturday’s headliner is the second annual Graveyard Grand Prix Coffin Races on Laurel Street near the Town Green [RunSignup, 2026]. Teams push homemade, human-powered coffins down the course, competing in either a competitive division or a spirit division, with team registration at $75 and closing at 9 a.m. on race day [RunSignup, 2026]. At last year’s debut, each team had one rider and four pushers, helmets were mandatory, and cash prizes went to the fastest coffin and the best design, with food trucks, Halloween vendors and kids’ activities alongside the races [Visit Myrtle Beach, 2025]. The inaugural event ran from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. [WMBF, 2025]; this year’s spectator hours weren’t listed on the registration page, so confirm with the Conway Chamber of Commerce.

The idea itself was borrowed. Chamber officials modeled the race on the Emma Crawford Coffin Races in Manitou Springs, Colorado, and wanted something that fit the city’s October identity [Post and Courier, 2025]. That is the smart part of Conway’s approach. Rather than one festival on one weekend, the city has turned an entire month into a branded attraction that gives local groups and businesses a reason to add their own events. Conway Downtown Alive frames its mission around economic development and the vitality of downtown [Conway Downtown Alive, 2026], and the Halloween campaign is that mission in action: every coffin race, market night and riverboat cruise is another reason to park, walk and spend money on Main Street.

Myrtle Beach: Ten Years of Jazz

For anyone who prefers an evening out to a day in a festival crowd, the Myrtle Beach Jazz Festival runs Oct. 16-18 and is marking its 10th anniversary [Visit Myrtle Beach, 2026]. According to Visit Myrtle Beach, the festival is now held at 2501 N. Kings Highway, the former mall site across from the convention center, with three days of music, food and drink, and a marketplace; it is open to all ages and goes on rain or shine [Visit Myrtle Beach, 2026]. Some older third-party listings still point to Charlie’s Place on Carver Street, so use the official event page for the current location and any ticket details.

There’s a strong local thread in the lineup: the Conway High School Jazz Ensemble is scheduled to perform [Visit Myrtle Beach, 2026]. Founder Mickey James has said he wants the festival to emphasize unity and honor the area’s African American history [WMBF, 2024], which gives it a different character from the food-and-crafts model of most fall festivals.

How to Make the Weekend Work

The honest challenge is that you can’t do everything, and the biggest crowds will be in Loris. A realistic plan might look like this:

Morning in Loris. Run the 5K or arrive early for parking, walk the vendor rows, and be in position for bog judging at noon.
Afternoon choice. Stay in Loris for the stages and the evening concert, or head to Conway for the coffin races and downtown Halloween displays.
Evening choice. Loris fireworks or Myrtle Beach jazz. Pick one.
Football on your terms. Record the Clemson game or catch highlights later. The Panthers kick off at 1 p.m. Sunday [Bolavip, 2026], which leaves Sunday morning for a jazz session or a second trip downtown in Conway.

A few practical notes. With tens of thousands of visitors expected in Loris, expect slow traffic on the main approaches and plan to walk from wherever you park. Bring cash for smaller vendors. Check the forecast Saturday morning, especially if you’re heading to outdoor stages. And if you’re bringing kids, both Loris and Conway build children’s activities into their events [Loris Chamber of Commerce, 2026; Visit Myrtle Beach, 2025].

Conclusion: The Window Closes Fast

Next Saturday, the normal rhythm returns. South Carolina hosts Tennessee on Oct. 24 [Legion Report, 2026], Clemson hosts Virginia Tech the same day [WSPA, 2026], and the schedule only gets heavier from there. This weekend is the exception: a Saturday when the biggest in-state program is off, the other plays an early, low-stakes game, and three distinct local traditions are all happening at once.

There’s a bigger point, too. Fall festivals in places like Loris and Conway aren’t just entertainment. They are a meaningful share of the year’s foot traffic for small-town merchants, a fundraising stage for school groups and civic clubs, and one of the few times the whole county shows up in the same place. A Saturday spent eating chicken bog in Loris or cheering a coffin down Laurel Street puts money directly into Horry County businesses in a way that watching a game from the couch can’t. The game will be on again next week. The Bog-Off won’t be back until next October.