Hammock Day 2026 another big success in Pawleys Island

Hammock Day 2026 another big success in Pawleys Island

Hundreds of visitors and residents of the Pawleys Island area gathered recently to celebrate Hammock Day and the symbol of relaxation and tradition on South Carolina’s Hammock Coast®.

The Hammock Shops Village, the Original Pawleys Island Hammock Shop, the Georgetown County Chamber of Commerce and South Carolina’s Hammock Coast once again teamed up to present a day of live music, kids’ activities, shopping, and free Hammock Coast swag on Saturday, July 25, 2026.

Home to two restaurants and nearly 20 shops, including the Original Hammock Shop, the Village has been a mainstay since 1936. Hammock Day has been celebrated in Pawleys Island for years each summer, closely coinciding with National Hammock Day, which is celebrated annually each July.

Trevor Swenson, manager of the Hammock Shops Village, said this year’s Hammock Day Festival was a great success and that the live music, by The Tams and the 14-Karat Gold Band, was a great conclusion to the 2026 Hammock Day.

“Our stores and restaurants were packed all day, and we’re grateful to the vacationers and locals who came out to enjoy themselves and support local business,” he said. “Hosting The Tams was a highlight for all of us. That’s what this event is about — bringing the community together in a place that’s been a Pawleys Island mainstay since 1936.

“The Tams brought a crowd and kept it. The food pavilion stayed busy, and the beer tent by Local was a great addition. Honestly, it was an all-around great experience from open to close.”

The weather made the event even better, Swenson said.

“People stayed longer, shopped longer, and were comfortable the whole day,” he said. “A little cloud cover in July on the coast is a gift.”

Beth Stedman said this year’s Hammock Day Festival was the best one yet. The Chamber of Commerce staff was on hand all day selling event T-shirts, giving away free Hammock Coast merchandise and taking entries for prize drawings throughout the day.

“With fabulous weather and a great crowd, the day couldn’t have gone any better,” she said. “We met a lot of interesting people, and we look forward to many more Hammock Day events at the Hammock Shops Village on South Carolina’s Hammock Coast. We were happy to share the free merchandise and offer an official Hammock Day T-shirt for the second year in a row,” Stedman said. “People also loved the prize drawings throughout the day.”

Five lucky winners scored an original Pawleys Island hammock and others received gift certificates from stores in the Hammock Shops Village and gift bags from the Hammock Coast. Some of the day’s winners included Carol Geiger from Pickens, South Carolina, Brooke Greening from Collegeville, Pennsylvania, and Nick and Vivian Kosna from Richmond, Virginia.

Other prize winners included Chris Luckey, (Pawleys Island Wear gift certificate), Matthew O’Shields (Details gift certificate), Meghan Haas (Elizabeth Paige Candles gift certificate), Barbara Seblack (Pawleys Island Wear gift certificate), Amanda Saber (Carolina Nature Nook gift certificate), Debbie Danati (Woof Gang gift certificate), and Lindsey Frye (a Hammock Coast bag and Hammock Day T-shirt).

Visitors who attended the event came from as far away as Ohio, Arizona, and Texas. Sarafina Brill from Scottsdale, Arizona, and her cousin, Wiley Sail from Kingwood, Texas, said their family has been coming to Pawleys for a family reunion every other year for 40 years.

“This is a beautiful area,” Brill said. “The beaches are pristine and amazing, and the vegetation is so pretty.”

They said this was their first time attending the Hammock Day event.

“We are having a great time, really enjoying ourselves,” Brill said. “We didn’t even know it was Hammock Day, so we just ended up here on the perfect day.”

Sail agreed, explaining that although this was their first time catching the festival, they always make sure to visit the Hammock Shops Village each time they come.

“It’s not a complete vacation until we come out to the Hammock Shops,” he said.

Greg and Olivia Schlavach, from Columbus, Ohio, were on vacation, staying in Murrells Inlet, when they decided to attend the Hammock Day Festival.

Olivia Schlavach said she has been coming to the Hammock Coast for vacation since 1995, when she was just 5 years old. Now, she and her husband have made it their tradition.

“We love going to the beach and the seafood restaurants and we always come to the Hammock Shops,” Olivia said. “That’s our routine. It’s a nice escape for the family.”

Carol Geiger from Pickens was one of the winners of an Original Pawleys Island Hammock. She was excited to win one of the grand prizes on Hammock Day, which was also her husband’s birthday.

“This is going to be his birthday present,” she said. “We live on a farm, so we have plenty of room and plenty of trees. It will be perfect.”

She said that they love visiting Pawleys Island and the Hammock Coast.

“We love the atmosphere and the beach,” Geiger said. “We look forward to coming this area several times a year.”

Ginny McJunkin of Easley was with her husband, Earnest, their 12-year-old twins, Etta and Weldon, and their 15-year-old son, Wyatt.

She said she has been coming to Pawleys Island with her family for vacation all of her life. Now she brings her family to the island.

“We love it because it is a really special place,” McJunkin said. “It feels more like home than a vacation destination.”

McJunkin said she remembers fondly learning about sea turtles on Pawleys when she was a child and now she enjoys sharing that information with her own children.

“When I was a little younger than my twins are now, the realty companies started putting out sea turtle education materials in the rental houses,” she said. “My parents would go over that information with us every time we came on vacation

She said her family actually found a loggerhead sea turtle nest on this trip and called Mary Schneider with South Carolina United Turtle Enthusiasts to check the nest.

“My mom was so excited to see a loggerhead nest,” she said. “In the nest, they found stragglers, so we had a chance to see them crawl to the ocean.”

This was McJunkin’s first time attending the Hammock Day Festival.

“This is our last (vacation) day here, but we decided to stay a little bit and check out the event,” she said. “We have really enjoyed the music, food and fun.”

Swenson urges people to celebrate Hammock Day at the Hammock Shops Village every July.

“The Village was full, and a lot of the people walking through were first timers who’ll be back,” he said. “That’s the real value of an event like this — it introduces people to shops they didn’t know were here.”

By Clayton Stairs / tourism manager for the Georgetown County Chamber of Commerce and South Carolina’s Hammock Coast®