"It's been like a giant yard sale, but it's been fun." That's how Alan Nelson of Harmony Hospitality, the company that owns the SeaWitch Tiki Bar's original building, described the bar's public auction to WECT on Oct. 4. "People just want a piece of nostalgia and we're happy to, you know, help with that."
The bar at 227 Carolina Beach Ave. N. had served its last night the day before, Oct. 3, after 31 years. A tourism guide written months ago would miss what the closing means for the island. The SeaWitch was the place that kept music going after the season ended. Without it, Carolina Beach is heading into its first winter since 1995 with no regular year-round live music venue. The music that's left this winter comes down to a short list of standing nights and the town's own holiday calendar.
The Island Loses Its Only Listed Year-Round Room
The Wilmington and Beaches Convention & Visitors Bureau's Carolina Beach music and nightlife page describes the SeaWitch Café & Tiki Bar as one that "features a regular lineup of year-round entertainment Tuesday through Sunday." The same page lists only one other year-round music option, a hot dog spot called Nauti Dog that it says hosted local acts most weekends. That listing now goes to Sand Dollar Sports Bar CB at 5 Cape Fear Blvd. Its description mentions seasonal hours and occasional live music events.
Both of the island's year-round entries on that page have now changed. Everything else it lists runs on a summer schedule. Hurricane Alley's rooftop deck has live music on summer weekends. Lazy Pirate's Sunday Reggae Festivus is a summer series. Ocean Grill & Tiki Bar's tiki shows are a summer event too.
According to StarNews, the SeaWitch was known for live music, its open-air deck, holiday meals, fundraisers and film shoots. Its closing events covered a full week. A Grand Finale with live music ran Sept. 26, followed by a sip-and-paint Sept. 27, a celebration of the mural on Sept. 30, a bartender night with former staff on Oct. 1 and the public auction on Oct. 4. The mural is Sharon Dowell's "Record Weekend," a tribute to beach music painted on the SeaWitch building.
October Is When the Seasonal Series Shut Off
The timing makes the closing hit harder. The SeaWitch closed in the same weeks the island's seasonal music series wrap up.
| Series | Venue and address | Schedule | 2026 end date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tiki Shows | Ocean Grill & Tiki Bar, 1211 S. Lake Park Blvd. | Regular Thursdays in June, July and August | Oct. 16, with CoverLip |
| Boogie in the Park | Kure Beach Ocean Front Park & Pavilion, 105 Atlantic Ave. | First and third Sundays, May through October, 5 to 7 p.m. | Oct. 18 |
| Live Music on the Pier | Carolina Beach Pier, 1800 Carolina Beach Ave. N. | Mondays and Fridays, 7 to 10 p.m. | Oct. 30 |
| SeaWitch Tiki Bar | 227 Carolina Beach Ave. N. | Year-round, Tuesday through Sunday, per the visitors bureau | Closed Oct. 3 |
With Boogie in the Park finished on Oct. 18, the pier is the only series in that table still running. It has three nights left: Friday, Oct. 23, Monday, Oct. 26 and Friday, Oct. 30. The Carolina Beach Pier Pumpkin Patch is open at the same address every day through Oct. 31 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. It advertises live music, wine tastings and pumpkins, so a Friday visit can include both.
Halloween ends the month at The Dive Food & Spirits, 6 N. Lake Park Blvd. Its Alley-Ween runs 4 to 7 p.m. for families, then becomes an adults-only party that lasts until 2 a.m. The Dive is open year-round and books DJs and live music for special events, but it has no regular music nights.
The Weekly Nights That Continue After Oct. 30
Once the pier series ends, the island's only published weekly music schedule belongs to Silver Dollar at 3 Cape Fear Blvd. Its events page lists TJ Aaron every Saturday and karaoke Wednesday through Sunday. The page also shows Halloween, Veterans Day and Thanksgiving Day events, which suggests the bar is planning through November.
A few other venues book music now and then:
- Lazy Pirate Island Sports Grill, 701 N. Lake Park Blvd. The Lazy Pirate site advertises live music and says the grill is open four days a week.
- Stoked Restaurant, 313 Canal Drive. Jared Michael Cline is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 27, at 6 p.m., according to Bandsintown.
- Hurricane Alley's, 5 Boardwalk Way. Its rooftop music is a summer-weekend tradition. The current listing mentions live music only as a special event.
- Sand Dollar Sports Bar CB, 5 Cape Fear Blvd. The listing mentions seasonal hours and occasional live music.
The SeaWitch was open six nights a week. This winter, the only published weekly music nights on the island are Silver Dollar's Saturday show and its karaoke. Other live music depends on whatever individual venues book.
The Island of Lights Calendar Fills the Gap
The town's holiday events now carry the island's December calendar. The Stoked show on Nov. 27 lands on the same night the season opens.
- Friday, Nov. 27: Island of Lights, Lighting at the Lake. Carolina Beach Lake Park, at N. Lake Park Blvd. and Atlanta Avenue. The 2026 times are still listed as TBD. Festivities usually start at 6 p.m., and the lighting usually happens around 7 p.m.
- Friday, Nov. 27: Jared Michael Cline at Stoked. 6 p.m. at 313 Canal Drive.
- Friday, Dec. 4: Carolina Beach Christmas Parade. Lake Park Boulevard, usually 7 to 9 p.m. The listing promises floats, bands and Santa.
- Saturday, Dec. 5: Carolina Beach Holiday Market. Carolina Beach Lake Park, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with more than 90 vendors.
- Saturday, Dec. 5: Island of Lights Christmas Flotilla. 6 p.m., traveling between Snow's Cut and the Carolina Beach Boat Basin.
- Thursday, Dec. 31: Island of Lights New Year's Eve. Starts at 9 p.m. with a DJ and dancing.
On Dec. 5, the market and the flotilla can fill the whole day, and Silver Dollar's regular Saturday show the same night makes it the island's busiest music evening of the month.
What Is Planned for 227 Carolina Beach Ave. N.
The SeaWitch's owners plan to bring back its name, its menu and its music. Harmony Hospitality took over the property in January 2024, according to Port City Daily. The Carolina Beach Planning and Zoning Commission approved conditional zoning for the site on Oct. 9, 2025, and Town Council approved it unanimously on Nov. 12, 2025, WECT reported.
The approved plan is a 140-room, four-story SpringHill Suites with parking on the ground level. A pedestrian bridge would connect it to an oceanfront pavilion with a restaurant and a ballroom. According to Port City Daily, the project covers 0.64 acres and includes a 4,000-square-foot ballroom, and the new SeaWitch is planned for the oceanfront pavilion. StarNews reported that the new restaurant will keep familiar elements, including an indoor/outdoor bar, the tuna nachos and a stage for live music.
The opening dates don't line up. In November 2025, WilmingtonBiz reported a target groundbreaking at the end of summer 2026 and a build time of about 18 months. On that schedule, the project would finish around early 2028. In October 2026, WECT reported that leaders "hope to open the new SeaWitch by the middle of next summer," which would be summer 2027. Either way, the island has at least one full off-season ahead without the SeaWitch. Even the earlier date leaves the music gap open through this winter and spring.
A Second Stage Is in the Planning Stage
The town is also planning a music venue a few blocks away. On Sept. 29, 2026, the Town of Carolina Beach announced a provisional $3.5 million grant from the New Hanover Community Endowment. The grant will fund planning for the Carolina Beach Coastal Park and Event Stage in the downtown Boardwalk area. Early concepts include a stage, an open lawn and a possible splash pad. The town says public input is the next step.
The Coastal Park is still in planning, and no construction is underway. Once both projects are built, the island would have two places to hear music. One would be the new SeaWitch stage at a private oceanfront pavilion. The other would be a public stage in the Boardwalk area run by the town. This winter, music nights on the island come down to TJ Aaron's Saturdays at Silver Dollar and the Island of Lights dates on the calendar.
If you'd like a local read on what the SeaWitch redevelopment and the Coastal Park planning could mean for the blocks around them, the team at FreshNEST Homes is happy to talk it through. Book an Appointment and bring your questions about life on Pleasure Island.