At 4 p.m. on Thursday, October 22, two crowds arrive in Alys Beach at the same time. One is checking in for the Garden & Gun Society and Friends Gathering, a four-day program priced at $2,800 a ticket. The other comes in costume, many with leashed dogs in costume too, for Howl-O-Ween and Merchant Trick-or-Treating in Town Center on Somerset Street. That event runs from 4 to 7 p.m., and Alys Beach lists it as public.
The rest of the season follows the same pattern. From now through Thanksgiving weekend, each of Alys Beach's premium events comes paired with a free, public event in the same few blocks, and usually in the same week. If you live on this end of 30A, the ticketed events set the dates and the free ones are open to you.
Thursday Has Two Guest Lists
Garden & Gun calls the Gathering "open to all," and that's accurate. You don't need a membership. The $2,800 ticket bundles the meals and scheduled activities into one package, and a single optional excursion costs extra. SoWal reported that guests don't need to be staying in Alys Beach to attend.
The published itinerary shows how much of the town the program uses over four days:
- Thursday, October 22: check-in from 4 p.m., then a 6 to 9 p.m. Sundown Social with beach cocktails, Gulf seafood, live music and a bonfire.
- Friday, October 23: a noon Gulf-oyster lunch and conversation with David DiBenedetto, David Bancroft and Beth Walton, croquet from 2:30 to 4 p.m., and the Tide Table seafood dinner led by Bancroft.
- Saturday, October 24: a Mahjong Social led by Rachel Mazer, an "Alys by Design" lunch and tour with Marieanne Khoury-Vogt and Bobby McAlpine hosted by Amanda Heckert, and a Caymus dinner with Chuck Wagner that closes with a performance by Kathleen Edwards. An optional 7 a.m. fishing trip with DiBenedetto costs an extra $325 per person.
- Sunday, October 25: a free morning and 10 a.m. checkout.
On the public side of the same Thursday, Howl-O-Ween opens with a dog-and-owner costume contest on the "Cat Walk" at the Splash Pad from 4 to 5 p.m. That is the one piece that needs a ticket, bought in advance, and space is limited. Merchant trick-or-treating through Town Center follows from 5 to 7 p.m. The two programs start at the same hour in the same town, and they overlap for one more hour once the Sundown Social begins at 6.
Crafted Puts Its Free Days at the End
Three weeks later, Alys Beach Crafted runs the same pattern over five days. The official Alys Beach Crafted site lists November 11 to 15, 2026. Sunday is the day that matters for anyone who isn't buying tickets.
The schedule published by 30A moves through these venues and times:
| Day | Event | Where | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wed., Nov. 11 | 30A Songwriters Session, 5:30 p.m. | Red Loggia at Caliza | Ticketed |
| Thu., Nov. 12 | Three Experiential Dinners, 5 p.m. | Red Loggia, George's, The Summerhouse at The Silva | Ticketed |
| Fri., Nov. 13 | Holiday Makers Market, 2 to 4:30 p.m. | Alys Beach Amphitheatre | Free |
| Fri., Nov. 13 | Cocktails & Clay, 2:30 p.m. | The Summerhouse | Ticketed |
| Fri., Nov. 13 | Firkin Fête, 6:30 to 9 p.m. | Central Park | Ticketed |
| Sat., Nov. 14 | Holiday Makers Market, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. | Alys Beach Amphitheatre | Free |
| Sat., Nov. 14 | Spirited Soirée, 1 to 4 p.m. | North Sea Garden Walk | Ticketed |
| Sun., Nov. 15 | Holiday Makers Market, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. | Alys Beach Amphitheatre | Free |
The first two days are entirely ticketed. Thursday's dinners each pair a chef with a beverage producer. Rob McDaniel of Helen and Bayonet cooks with Foursquare Rum at the Red Loggia. Camille Withall cooks in her own kitchen at George's with Brown-Forman spirits. Drew Dzejak of Alys Beach Culinary hosts Menagerie Wines at The Summerhouse, where the dinner is set among the photography of David Yarrow. Ceramicist Sarah Bumanglag leads Cocktails & Clay, and Scott T. Smith plays Firkin Fête.
The Summerhouse is new to this event. It belongs to The Silva, the amenity complex beside the Nature Preserve that VIE Magazine described in June as recently completed, with a resort-style pool, restaurant and bar, event lawn and the Summerhouse pavilion. VIE wrote that its completion finishes the town's collection of amenities. This November, one of the Crafted dinners will be held there.
From Friday afternoon on, the free part of Crafted takes over the weekend. The Holiday Makers Market opens at the Amphitheatre on Friday for two and a half hours, then runs four hours on both Saturday and Sunday. Santa photos run from noon to 2 p.m. both weekend days. 30A describes the market as regional artisans, handcrafted goods and live music, and lists it as free and open to the public. Proceeds from the week go to the Cultural Arts Alliance of Walton County, the county's arts education and funding nonprofit.
If you want the free version of Crafted, here is the order that works:
- Go to the market on Saturday or Sunday morning, when it is open longest.
- Plan around noon if you want Santa photos.
- Leave once the market closes at 2 p.m., while the Spirited Soirée is underway on North Sea Garden Walk.
The New Storefronts Are Opening in the Off-Season
Town Center is adding tenants on the same schedule as these events, after the summer rental season ends. SoWal's October 7 merchant report named one new restaurant and two retailers.
Indaco opened July 2 at 40 Mark Twain Lane, Suite 101, according to the NWF Daily News. It is the second Alys Beach restaurant from Indigo Road Hospitality Group, which opened O-Ku here in 2024. A SoWal post announcing the opening names Dakota Watson as executive chef. This is Indaco's first fall in Alys Beach. Its posted hours list weekday lunch and weekend brunch from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., aperitivo daily from 2:30 to 4 p.m., and dinner daily from 4 to 10 p.m. Aperitivo starts half an hour after the Saturday and Sunday Holiday Makers Market closes.
Rowan, a California menswear brand, chose Alys Beach for its first store outside California. The official merchant listing gives the address as 11 North Castle Harbour Drive, Units 6-7. The opening date has moved back. VIE expected it this summer, and SoWal now reports an expected opening in October 2026. The store may open in time for the market weekend, but treat that as possible, not confirmed.
KREWE, the New Orleans eyewear brand, has sold in Alys Beach for years through the Alys Shoppe and its Tiny House. This fall it is moving into its first Florida brick-and-mortar store, adding optical frames and in-store lens cutting. For locals, that turns it into a store you can return to for repeat errands, not only a stop for buying sunglasses.
Indaco is heading into its first off-season, and Rowan and KREWE are due to open in the same fall that the free events bring people to Somerset Street and the lanes around it.
The Day After Thanksgiving Needs No Admission
The season ends with an event that has no ticketed version at all. Alys in Winter Wonderland takes over the Alys Beach Amphitheatre on Somerset Street on Friday, November 27, from 4 to 6:30 p.m. A holiday concert starts at 4, and the tree lighting with Santa follows at 6:30. The official event page lists admission as free and open to the public, with the Merchants of Alys Beach presenting. Two extras cost $3 each, a set of cookies to decorate and a photo with Santa, and their lines close at 5:45 p.m. The page also says details may change, so check it that week before you go.
That makes five weeks of public dates for the calendar:
- Thursday, October 22, 5 to 7 p.m.: Merchant Trick-or-Treating, Town Center, after the ticketed costume contest from 4 to 5
- Friday, November 13, 2 to 4:30 p.m.: Holiday Makers Market opens, Amphitheatre
- Saturday and Sunday, November 14 and 15, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Holiday Makers Market, with Santa photos from noon to 2
- Friday, November 27, 4 to 6:30 p.m.: Alys in Winter Wonderland and the tree lighting, Amphitheatre
Every date on this list falls on the Amphitheatre and the stretch of Somerset Street around it.
If you're thinking about how a home here fits into this calendar, whether that means a home near the Amphitheatre for these weekends or a rental that books well during Crafted week, Live Love 30A would be glad to walk you through Alys Beach with that calendar in mind. Work With Us.
