Oktoberfest was scheduled at Hutchinson Square for noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday, October 3. Admission was listed as free. The town's tourist information center lists dozens of food trucks, more than 100 local vendors, kids' crafts and games, live music, and German beer. The Summerville Rotary Club makes the event possible, and the festival site says it does so to support the local community.
Two weeks later, on Saturday, October 17, a different kind of event opens at The Pickle Bar on Cherry Street in Nexton. It is the inaugural Summerville Wine & Food Festival, running 1 to 6 p.m. General admission is $65.
Summerville's fall now has two centers. Downtown's traditions gather at Hutchinson Square and are run by the Summerville Rotary Club, the Junior Service League and Summerville DREAM. Nexton's newest is ticketed and hosted by a venue. October 17 puts them on the same afternoon, and a downtown kitchen is set to cook at the Nexton one.
The month in order
- Saturday, October 3, noon to 6 p.m. Oktoberfest at Hutchinson Square.
- Saturday, October 10, 6 to 9 p.m. The Junior Service League of Summerville lists its Ghost Walk for this evening. JSL has posted the date, and its events page is the place to confirm route and ticket details before you go.
- Thursday, October 15. Third Thursday, the monthly vendor fair at Hutchinson Square, W. Richardson and Short Central, run by Summerville DREAM. Shops, boutiques and restaurants extend their hours.
- Saturday, October 17, 1 to 6 p.m. Summerville Wine & Food Festival at The Pickle Bar, 162 Cherry St.
- October 17 through October 31. Scarecrows on the Square, on display around Hutchinson Square any time.
Third Thursday is the one to check twice. The July edition ran 5 to 8:30 p.m., with Little Main, W. Richardson and Doty streets closed from 3 to 9 p.m. October's hours and closures may differ.
Who runs the downtown calendar
Downtown's fall events are tied to named community organizations, and one of them is tied to a specific cause.
Scarecrows on the Square is a Junior Service League fundraiser for the League's School Supply Fund, which serves Dorchester School Districts 2 and 4. The scarecrows themselves come from businesses, civic groups, individuals and schools, so the display is built by many of the same groups that benefit from it. JSL has published October 17 through 31 for this year. The town's calendar entry still carries a "pending" tag, so treat the dates as JSL's announcement rather than a finished town listing. In recent years, votes were collected at downtown shops such as Guerin's Pharmacy, Simple Treasures and Cuppa Manna Café and Wine & Tapas Bar. This year's voting locations and prices have not been announced in anything I could find.
Third Thursday is a marketplace for craft vendors and artisans, timed to the extended hours of the shops, boutiques and restaurants around the square. Summerville DREAM says it selects vendors based on uniqueness, past participation and facility footprint.
Oktoberfest, with Rotary behind it, was listed as free at the gate, and the festival site ties it to supporting the local community.
What $65 buys in Nexton
The Pickle Bar is a 40,000-square-foot restaurant and pickleball venue at 162 Cherry St. Its founder, Pat Duncan, launched the festival to fill what organizers describe as a growing need for a signature wine and culinary event in the area. Count on 2 reported Duncan saying:
"Our vision is to create something that becomes part of the community."
The ticket is a fixed allotment. General admission at $65 includes a commemorative glass, 10 wine tasting tickets, six chef tasting tickets and live music. That is 16 tastings, or roughly $4 apiece. Early-bird tickets at $55 have sold out. Eight wineries are pouring, including Duckhorn Vineyards, Orin Swift Cellars, Jackson Family Wines, Banfi, Famille Perrin, Familia Torres, Robert Hall Winery and Wine Water. Their bottles will be for sale, covering Napa Valley, Sonoma County, Paso Robles, Tuscany, Spain's Penedès region and France's Rhône Valley. Duncan told the Post and Courier he hopes to draw about 1,000 attendees.
Compared with the free events downtown, this one has a set ticket price, a set allotment of tastings and a named lineup of chefs. Stephen Thompson, former executive chef of Dashi, is cooking. So is Devin Spinelli, whom the Post and Courier lists as sous chef at Hege's Restaurant, and Clayton Bowling, The Pickle Bar's kitchen manager. Executive Chef Roger Thomas leads the culinary program.
The kitchen that connects both
On September 28, the festival announced its newest participant, La Chev 208, a downtown restaurant just off Main Street at 208 E. 1st North St. The French- and Lowcountry-inspired bistro operates out of a house more than 100 years old, with an indoor dining room and a backyard patio that hosts live music. It moved there from a strip-center space in Knightsville, and its original location closed in 2024. Chef Jonathan DuPriest will represent the restaurant, and each participating chef offers a tasting bite.
That makes La Chev 208 the clearest link between the two calendars. A downtown restaurant will spend the afternoon of October 17 offering tasting bites in Nexton, the same day the scarecrows go up around Hutchinson Square. Duncan said of the festival's aim that it was meant to show how much Summerville's culinary scene continues to grow, and named La Chev as an example of the independent restaurants shaping it.
The restaurants still on the way
Nexton has more openings on the way.
Samaya Indian Table is targeting a late-fall opening at 426 Cross Park Lane in the Marketplace at Nexton. Its owner, Sujith Varghese, also runs Spice Palette in Mount Pleasant and Rivayat in downtown Charleston. The menu centers on shared dishes, with breads and curries alongside grilled and smoked preparations such as skewers and charred vegetables. No firm date has been announced, so late fall is the only timing on record.
Nexton's own August 24 announcement of six new businesses included Chipotle Mexican Grill at 1275 Nexton Parkway and CAVA at 124 North Creek Drive. Other names on local trackers include 7 Brew Coffee at 1320 N. Main St., in the former Ruby Tuesday, and Dulce Churros, Ice Cream and Cocktails at One Nexton. Neither has a confirmed opening date.
Downtown added its own names this year. StillWild Coffee Co. scheduled its grand opening on Main Street for March 11, and Maggie's on Main at 130 S. Main St. scheduled its for April 15.
A way to spend October 17
October 17 offers a choice for the afternoon. The festival runs 1 to 6 p.m. The scarecrows are on display all day and stay up through the end of the month, which makes them the flexible half of the plan. A morning or evening walk around Hutchinson Square fits on either side of a 1 p.m. start in Nexton.
The next date on the square is JSL's PJs With Santa on Saturday, December 5, and the town's annual Christmas Tree Lighting there draws around 10,000 people, by the town's count.
If you would like a second opinion on how to split October 17, Anjela Perry has spent more than 20 years working around the Lowcountry and is glad to compare notes. Let's Connect.
