Criminal Defense Attorney inPort Royal, SC

Paris Avenue will once again come alive with lively music and the aroma of smoky barbecue as the 15th annual Bands, Brews & BBQ festival returns on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 13–14.

The festival hub can be found at 1404 Paris Avenue and the two-day event promises a weekend packed with endless barbecue, live entertainment, cold beverages and family-friendly fun — all for a good cause.

What to know about the event

The festival kicks off Friday evening from 6 to 9 p.m. with the popular Wing Throw Down.

Guests can sample various creative and classic wing recipes prepared by participating cook teams while enjoying live performances by the Parris Island Marine Band and Rick Rudd.

On Saturday, the focus shifts to barbecue as tasting runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Cook teams from across the Southeast will serve up their award-winning pork butts as part of this official South Carolina Barbecue Association-sanctioned competition.

In addition to the barbecue sampling, attendees can enjoy live music throughout the day and explore food trucks offering a variety of additional fare.

Tasting tickets for both wings on Friday and barbecue on Saturday are available for purchase at $1 each, allowing guests to sample as much as they like.

Beer, wine and soda will also be available for purchase.

Parking & weather

The event is held rain or shine.

Luckily, the National Weather Service says that Friday is set to be sunny with a high near 58 degrees. Saturday is also set to be warm and sunny, with a high near 64.

Parking will be available in nearby public spaces, so long as it does not block or harm travelers to and from the event. Some areas may be blocked off.

What to know about the event

Beyond the food and festivities, Bands, Brews & BBQ aims to give back to the community.

This year, proceeds from the event benefit the Zonta Club of Beaufort, an organization dedicated to empowering women locally through service, advocacy and education.

For more information about the 2026 Bands, Brews & BBQ festival in Port Royal, click here.

A location has been announced for a new Veteran Affairs clinic slated for Beaufort County that will serve thousands of South Carolina Lowcountry military veterans and their families.

On Jan. 30, Congresswoman Nancy Mace (SC-01) announced the Department of Veterans Affairs had officially selected a location for the new Community-Based Outpatient Clinic in Beaufort County.

The new facility will be located at 1844 Ribaut Road in the Town of Port Royal, strategically positioned near Parris Island and Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, to serve the 16,881 veterans who call Beaufort County home, stated a release from Rep. Mace's office.

Rep. Mace helped secure authorization for $30,646,000 in funding through the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, the statement added.

"We worked to authorize over $30 million for this clinic because our Lowcountry veterans deserve world-class care close to home," said Rep. Mace. "Today's announcement means we're one step closer to delivering on this promise. The facility will be located right where our veterans need it, near Parris Island and MCAS Beaufort, ensuring the men and women who served our country can access the care they've earned without unnecessary travel or delays."

"The Beaufort County Community-Based Outpatient Clinic is expected to open in 2028 and represents a significant step forward in expanding VA services, ensuring veterans across South Carolina's 1st District receive the best care possible," stated the release.

Rep. Mace's office first announced that the U.S. House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs had formally authorized $30,464,000 in funding for the construction of the facility on July 29, 2025.

The funding will support the site procurement, design and construction of the new outpatient facility aimed at improving access to medical services, counseling and VA programs for Beaufort County veterans, as well as veterans in surrounding areas who have to travel farther for health care, such as to Charleston, S.C.

“Our veterans answered the call without hesitation. It’s time Washington did the same,” said Rep. Mace. “This funding will deliver real, tangible support to the nearly 17,000 veterans who live in Beaufort County, men and women who served our country and deserve care close to home, without red tape or delays.”

The $30.4 million authorization supports the development of a modern outpatient facility that will dramatically improve local access to primary care, mental health services, and other critical VA programs, stated the release, which added that the clinic will also create new construction and healthcare jobs, bolstering the Lowcountry’s economy.

The Beaufort County CBOC is part of a broader national push to modernize and decentralize VA services, ensuring veterans across the country, not just those near major urban centers, can access the care they've earned through their service, the statement added.

The new clinic is expected to replace or augment the much-smaller VA clinic inside the Beaufort Naval Hospital.

The new facility will be between 48,000 to 70,000 square feet in size, with two to three stories and as many as 500 parking spaces.

Once construction begins, the facility is expected to be complete within two years and bring 100 new jobs to the area.

It’s time for some food, music and fun on Paris Avenue in Port Royal with this weekend’s 2026 Bands Brews and BBQ festival. The event, in its 15th year now, is bringing two days of food, music and fun with wings, barbecue, beers and live music on Friday and Saturday, February 13th & 14th.

The official South Carolina Barbecue Association sanctioned event benefits The Zonta Club of Beaufort and is always a fun time for foodies of all ages.

Friday night, February 13th is the Wing Throw Down from 6 to 9pm where you can sample wing recipes from participating cookers while enjoying live music from the Parris Island Marine Band, and Rick Rudd.

Saturday is all about the BBQ as BBQ tasting day runs from 11am to 4pm with cook teams from across the Southeast serving their award-winning butts. Flat Silly and another local band will be providing the entertainment for the day and there will also be food trucks on site serving up other fare.

The sampling of wings Friday night and BBQ Saturday will be available by purchasing tickets for $1. Beer, soda and wine will also be available for purchase and the event always takes place rain or shine.

There’s also over $5000 in cash prizes on the table for the cooking teams.

One of the highlights of the cooking event is the Hometown Heroes Award, which recognizes local cooking teams. These teams compete for a $500 prize and local bragging rights.

Cash prizes for the BBQ and Wing Competitions will be awarded on Saturday at 330pm, and they include $1500 for 1st place BBQ butts, and $500 for 1st place wings.

For more information about Bands Brews & BBQ in Port Royal, and its many volunteer opportunities, go to ZontaClubofBeaufort.org.

There’s plenty of parking and the weather will be perfect. Make sure you come hungry, because there is a lot of eating going on at this amazing festival of food!

Find more local Beaufort, SC events

Snow fell in Beaufort, Port Royal and Hilton Head Island Saturday evening in an extremely rare weather event for coastal South Carolina, with the accumulation a treat for the uninitiated but potentially treacherous for drivers.

As temperatures fell, the unusual winter storm initially produced a mix of rain and specks of snow and ice in the early afternoon. By 4:30 p.m., as darkness approached, that flurry had turned to fluffy white snowflakes that floated from the gray skies like aliens in a region better known for its palmetto and live oak trees, beaches and balmy wintertime temperatures in the 60s, not its snowscapes.

By 5:30 p.m., popular landmarks like The Henry Robinson Boardwalk in Port Royal had a layer of white frosting. Snow accumulated on palmetto fronds. Residents tossed salt on sidewalks to keep ice from forming.

“I grew up in Charleston just up the road and I can count on one hand how much I’ve seen snow in my lifetime,” Beaufort Mayor Phil Cromer said Saturday morning, as the city prepared for uncommonly cold weather and snow.

To be sure, snowfall as of early evening was still just a dusting. But any snow in these parts is exceptional — there’s a 9% chance of seeing snow each year, according to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

In the last 127 years, Beaufort has seen measurable snowfall only 11 times, according to the Beaufort History Museum: 1899, 1914, 1943, 1948, 1958, 1973, 1989, 2006, 2010, 2018 and 2025.

While a curiosity for locals, the danger heading into Saturday night and Sunday evening was that the extreme cold would turn area roads, especially bridges, into ice rinks. Usually when it snows, Cromer said, it just melts. Not this time.

Saturday evening, the National Weather Service was forecasting potentially record-breaking temperatures and dangerous windchills Sunday morning. Lows could be in the upper teens to lower 20s with “feels like” temps in the single digits.

Also in the forecast was an additional 1 to 2 inches of snow.

The South Carolina Department of Transportation had snowplows on standby just in case more snow accumulated.

One was parked near William Hilton Parkway and Squire Pope Road on Hilton Head Island Saturday afternoon.

Heavy Machine Operator Trey Woods said he was on standby in case any plowing was needed Saturday night.

Even rarer than snow falling in Beaufort County is a snow two years in a row. Last January, in 2025, 3 inches was recorded in Beaufort and 2.5 inches in Port Royal.

“We’re talking an extremely rare event if this were to happen — especially considering we just had snow last year,” Brian Haines, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Charleston, said prior to the snowfall.

The last time the area saw snow prior to 2025 was in 2018, when 3.5 inches was recorded in Beaufort and 3 inches in Port Royal.

The last time it snowed two years in a row?

In Charleston, it was 1988 and 1989, the Weather Service’s Haines said, and Savannah saw consecutive years of snow in 1917 and 1918.

The last big, memorable snowfall in the Lowcountry was the record-breaker that happened in December 1989, when more than 6 inches was recorded and the Lowcountry experienced a rare white Christmas.

Authorities urged residents to stay off the roads unless they absolutely had to venture out and to bundle up in layers.

Saturday afternoon, Gabriela Almeyda, wearing mittens and a stocking cap, scraped snow together that had accumulated on a bench in downtown Beaufort, attempting to form a snowball. The visiting girl from Florida had never seen snow before.

It was nice, she said. Her first impression: “It’s soft.”

Island Packet reporter Li Khan contributed to this story.

Laissez les bon temps rouler! The 3rd Annual Krewe of Port Royal Mardi Gras is marching back into the beautiful Town of Port Royal, SC.

Come celebrate and let loose on Saturday, February 7th as The Town of Port Royal is turned into a lively festival of life, culture, and community; bringing the beads, music, floats, and all the excitement of Mardi Gras—Port Royal style.

Save the date and gather your krewe because the big parade starts at 4pm, with line up at 3pm, following the same route as last year. Be sure to line up along Paris Avenue between 16th Street (Anchor/Mariners Park) and 11th Street to catch all the action.

The parade will conclude at Shellring Ale Works, where the after-party kicks off with an exciting Battle of the Bands featuring Whale Branch High School and Battery Creek High School. Attendees can also enjoy an after-party with food trucks, music, and a face painter for kids, making it a fun-filled time for the entire family.

The Krewe of Port Royal Mardi Gras Parade is a community-focused event celebrating a far from ordinary spin on the spirit of Mardi Gras. Residents and visitors are encouraged to bring their friends, families, and festive spirits for an unforgettable afternoon and evening.

Registration to participate is required and may be done by contacting Port Royal OVA through their Facebook page with details about your unit (vehicles, walkers, float size) or by visiting Port Royal Town Hall in person to obtain an application.

Don’t miss this family-friendly celebration of Mardi Gras traditions, music, food, and fun! Mark your calendars, invite your friends and family, and come dressed in your best Mardi Gras attire to join in the revelry.

This year’s Mardi Gras event will be unforgettable and you will not want to miss it!