The new stage at Block Q faces the Intracoastal Waterway. It sits on a 40-by-40-foot concrete dance floor, the stage is raised two feet, and a cupola tops the roof. On Sunday evenings in July and August, the dance floor hosted beach music. This fall, the busiest regular use of the stage is a beginner yoga class on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings at 10.
The town spent two years debating a concert venue and ended up with a public room by the bridge, and its first off-season is when residents find out how that room fits into the rest of the year.
Ten Sundays on a New Stage
The 2026 Summer Concert Series ran free on Sundays from 6:30 to 8 p.m. It opened May 24 at Bridgeview Park with Special Occasion Band, because the stage wasn't finished yet. The Brunswick Beacon reported that the contractor was expected to finish by June 30 at the latest, with town staff meeting the builder every other week to stay on schedule.
The first concert at Block Q was Sunday, July 5, according to Lou's Views' recap of the August town meeting. From there, the posted schedule ran the second half of the season on the new stage:
- July 5: The Tams
- July 12: Band of Oz
- July 19: Too Much Sylvia
- July 26: Blackwater Band
- August 2: The Sand Band
- August 9: North Tower
- August 16: Continental Divide
- August 23: I-42
- August 30: The Main Event
- September 6: Chairman of the Board
The formal dedication and ribbon cutting came on September 4, two days before the last show. So the stage got about ten Sundays of the job it was built for before the season ended, which leaves the other forty-odd weeks of the year to fill.
How Holden Beach Got Here
The stage looks simple, but it settled a long argument about what the lot by the bridge should be. Block Q is the town-owned block bounded by South Shore Drive, Quinton Street and Brunswick Avenue, across from the old pavilion site on Jordan Boulevard. Here is the sequence:
- 2024: The previous board voted to tear down the old pavilion over safety concerns, which left Holden Beach without a concert stage.
- January 5: Commissioners voted 3-1 to halt the Phase 1 parking-area stormwater and paving contract on Block Q. The Brunswick Beacon reported concerns about whether parking was the best use of the lot, how much asphalt the design required, and whether the public had weighed in enough.
- January 23: A 3-2 vote sent the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and Pinnacle Architecture back to work on a revised plan with concert space, a dance floor, ADA bathrooms, greenspace and parking. Mayor Pro Tem Tom Myers argued for using Block Q for concerts, according to the Beacon.
- April 10: Ahead of this summer's season, the board unanimously approved a $349,154 contract with A.W. Babson Construction, a local builder, to build the stage.
- July 2026: The Town lists the concert venue and bathrooms as open.
The restroom building was a separate project with a different builder, and it ran late. Its original contract had a July 2025 completion date. A subcontractor did part of the work incorrectly, and the contractor, Caleb Chavis, had to redo it. Restrooms, parking, site preparation and landscaping are the pieces that make a lot usable on an ordinary Tuesday, and that work was largely grant-funded. In 2024, WECT reported a $420,000 award for the Block Q project from the NC Division of Coastal Management. Lou's Views later described a $560,000 state grant plus a $140,000 town commitment for that work. The two published figures differ, likely because they cover different scopes or dates.
Either way, the town chose a gathering space over a paved lot, and it paid for a stage, bathrooms and greenspace. Those are the pieces a space needs to be used outside concert nights.
What the Stage Does in Late October
Right now, Block Q's regular calendar runs on weekday mornings. Alice Ledford teaches beginner-friendly yoga at the new concert venue on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 10 a.m. The fee is $6 for residents and $8 for non-residents. Participants must be at least 16, and anyone under 18 attends with an adult. The town also runs Yoga Sculpt on the same three mornings at 9 a.m., a mix of power yoga and strength training. Participants bring their own mat and hand weights, and bodyweight-only modifications are available.
Most of the town's other fall programming still happens a few blocks away at Bridgeview Park. Open pickleball takes over the park's multi-purpose court on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and it's free. Tomorrow, Friday, October 30, Bridgeview Park hosts the town's Halloween double bill:
- 4:30 p.m., Barktoberfest: a short dog parade around the block, a doggie costume contest and fall pictures.
- 5:30 to 7 p.m., Monster Mash Trunk-or-Treat: decorated trunks handing out candy, with a costume contest at 6 p.m. Categories are 3 and under, 4-7, 8-11, 12-15 and adult.
Pre-registration for trunks and the dog parade closed October 17. The town still asks trick-or-treaters to email Christy Ferguson at [email protected] so it has a headcount for candy. The following Friday, November 6, the Veterans Appreciation Luncheon is at 11:30 a.m. in the Town Hall Public Assembly. The town asked for RSVPs before Thursday, October 29, so anyone who missed that deadline should check with Town Hall directly.
So for now, the new stage handles the quiet weekday use, and the established park still hosts the crowd events.
December 3 Is the Next Clue
The next big date on the town calendar is the annual tree lighting on Thursday, December 3, at 6 p.m., with entertainment beforehand. This year the town is adding something new, a low-speed vehicle parade. Golf carts must be street legal and will be inspected by the Holden Beach Police Department before the parade, and any cart that fails inspection is pulled from the lineup.
The town hasn't said where it will be. Its announcement says details on the entertainment, timing and parade route are still to come. Whether the town builds its first big evening event since concert season around the new stage or holds it elsewhere will be the clearest sign yet of how it plans to use Block Q outside summer. Anyone decorating a cart now has about five weeks to get ready. The Parks & Recreation page is where the route is expected to be posted.
The Master Plan Decides the Rest
The stage is only one piece of what Block Q will become. McGill Associates was selected to draw up a comprehensive design plan for Block Q and the surrounding Jordan Boulevard area. According to Lou's Views' town updates, stakeholder meetings were finished by August 2026, a commissioners' work session and Parks and Recreation Board input meetings followed, and the town is now refining options based on that feedback.
That plan will set what goes around the stage, including how the parking and greenspace planned in earlier rounds get laid out. In its first fall, Block Q is a covered morning space facing the Intracoastal. The 2027 concert schedule hasn't been announced. When it is, it will show whether the town plans a full season at Block Q or splits it again.
If the stage at Block Q has you thinking about what a walk to the bridge adds to life on the island, Steve Adams & Associates is happy to talk Holden Beach with you anytime, from the Sunday concert blocks to the quieter streets around Bridgeview Park. And if you own here and want to know where your home stands this fall, start with our free home valuation.
