What's Poppin in Myrtle Beach
July 20–27, 2026
July 21, 2026
Verified Events in This Edition
- Myrtle Duck Festival — Helicopter Drops Thousands of Ducks — Saturday, July 25
This is the one. First-ever Myrtle Duck Festival and the opening act is a helicopter flying out over the Grand Pond and dumping thousands of rubber ducks into the water. Gates open at 11 AM, duck race around 4 PM, wraps at 7. Free to get in — every adopted duck ($10) raises money for Make-A-Wish SC, Habitat for Humanity of Horry County, SOS Care, the Carolina Forest Kiwanis Club, and the YMCA of Coastal Carolina. Also on the grounds: Joe's Crab Shack Crab Crackin' Championship, Big Duckin' Jeep & Truck Show, live music, food trucks, and a six-foot mural getting painted live all day for Canvas for a Cause.
- Broadway at the Beach Summer Fireworks — Tuesday, July 21
Tuesday. Not Friday. Broadway shoots off its Summer Fireworks Extravaganza every Tuesday at 10 PM over Lake Broadway, running through late August. Half the guides out there have this on the wrong night and people show up to nothing. Get there by 9:30 if you want a lakeside rail spot. If you don't, the parking lot on the Celebrity Circle side works fine and you walk out in five minutes instead of thirty.
- Mean Girls: The Musical — Thursday–Sunday, July 23–26
Community theater in a 100-year-old building on Main Street Conway, and it's genuinely worth the drive. Opens Thursday at 7:30 PM, runs July 23–26, then again July 30–31 and August 1–2. Tickets start around $52. Downtown Conway after the show is one of the nicest walks on the Waccamaw — good restaurants, no tourist circus, and a completely different vibe from the beach strip. If you've got people in town who are done with the Boardwalk, this is the move.
- Hot Summer Nights: Live Concert + Fire Performers — Friday, July 24
Free live concerts at Plyler Park on the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk — this is the one locals actually go to. Friday nights bring live music plus fire performers, 6 to 8 PM, right there with the ocean breeze and the SkyWheel spinning behind the stage. Bring a chair or just stand and vibe. The crowd is a mix of families, couples, and people who just got off the beach and didn't feel like going home yet. Parking's a pain on Ocean Blvd so walk or bike down if you can.
- Barefoot Landing Fireworks — Monday, July 20
Everybody piles onto the Boardwalk for Wednesday fireworks and forgets Barefoot does its own show every Monday at 10 PM all summer, over the lake in the middle of the complex. Free, way less elbow-to-elbow, and you can eat dinner without a 90-minute wait first. Best spots: the amphitheater lawn, the floating bridge by Ron Jon's, or grab a table outside at Crooked Hammock or Landshark.
- Boardwalk Fireworks at 2nd Avenue Pier — Wednesday, July 22
Here's the thing nobody tells you: they launch from 2nd Avenue Pier — the south end. The Boardwalk runs 1.2 miles from 14th Ave Pier down to 2nd Ave Pier, so if you park at 14th and stay there, you're watching from the far end. Walk south. Somewhere around 8th or 9th Ave you get a clean view without standing in the pier crowd.
- National Hammock Day at Hammock Shops Village — Wednesday, July 22
Live music, food trucks, beer garden, kids' stuff, and a full day built around the Pawleys rope hammock. Free, laid back, and about as far from the Ocean Blvd circus as you can get without leaving the county. Worth the drive south if you need a break from the main strip.
- Summer Light at Brookgreen Gardens — Wednesday July 22 & Saturday July 25
Light installations through the sculpture garden, pop-up gallery, live music. Runs Wednesdays and Saturdays through August 22. One of the few outdoor things this week that isn't miserable in the heat — it's an evening event. Tourists almost never make it down here, which is exactly why locals love it.
- Boathouse Fundraiser Night — Friday, July 24
Boots-and-country-themed benefit night on the waterway. Pull up by car or boat on the Intracoastal. Details on the charity and ticket situation — check with the venue before heading out.
- Christmas in July Bar Crawl — Saturday, July 25
Santa hats, tropical drinks, questionable decisions. Kicks off at 6 PM at Sharkey's Oceanfront. Pace yourself — it's still 80-something at 10 PM and the heat doesn't care that the sun went down.
- Foam Party with Mermaids — Sunday, July 26
That's a real sentence and it's free. Foam party with mermaids at Plyler Park, 1 to 4 PM Sunday. Part of the Hot Summer Nights series that runs every single night at the Boardwalk through September 4.