North Myrtle Beach St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Festival

Hello spring! Good bye crusty old winter socks.
Freedom Boat Club has an odd tradition where we burn our socks at the Spring Equinox. This year is no exception but I’m super excited to announce that the man who created the Burning of the Sock, Capt. Bob Turner, will be out our North Myrtle Beach ceremony this year!! He started the tradition in Annapolis, MD back in the 1980’s and has since retired to Pawely’s Island. He is already committed on the first day of Spring so we are going to do our Burning of the Socks on the last day of Winter, March 19th.
Join us at the Freedom Boat Club located at Habourgate Marina Tuesday, Mach 19th from 5 pm to 7 pm for our “Burning of the Socks” celebration.
Here’s what you can expect:
sock burning (B.Y.O.S.)
food and drinks provided by FBC
mix and mingle with members and guests
Master of the Sock Burning Ceremony, Capt. Bob Turner
Please RSVP by calling 843-732-4711 with the number of people attending.
How to beat the winter blahs plus a short history of sock burning
You haven’t been on a boat since last boating season. Tension is mounting and you have little energy within you. You are eating more to relieve stress.
One effective way to lower these blahs, according to psychologists, is to relax. But the very best way to re-energize and increase your optimism is to burn your winter socks.
How’s that?
Yes, you can both eat more and relax by burning your winter socks at the Freedom Boat Club’s “Burning of the Socks” celebration on March 19th scheduled on the last day of winter.
So what’s the “Burning of the Socks” all about?
It’s become a coastal tradition, dating back to the early 1980s, starting in Annapolis. There, Capt. Bob Turner, who managed a boatyard, got tired of the winter blahs. While working on other people’s boats all winter, his socks collected sawdust, bottom paint, caulk, fiberglass resin, and other boat yard leavings.
In other words, his socks would stand up when he took them off at night.
One year, on the first day of Spring, he took off his socks, put them in a paint tray, sprinkled on some lighter fluid, lit them, and had a beer to celebrate.
And so the tradition began.
There are now sock burnings in boating towns across the country.
May 1st from 10am-4pm – Freedom Boating Divas Trip to Georgetown from Wacca Wache
May 5th from 11am-11pm – Relay for Life at Market Commons, we are TEAM FREEDOM
May 9th from 5-7pm – Member Social with a Tacky Tourist Contest at FBC of North Myrtle Beach
May 12th from 10am-6pm – MayFest on Main Festival, North Myrtle Beach
May 16th from 10:30am-3pm – Freedom Boating Divas trip to Inlet View from Southport
May 17th from 5-7pm – “Docktail” Party (cocktails on the docks) at FBC of Southport
May 19th-25th is National Safe Boating Week
May 19th & 20th – Blue Crab Festival in Little River
May 22nd from 10:30am-3:30pm – Member Boat Trip to Ocean Isle Fish Co.
May 24th from 5-7pm – Safe Boating Night at Crazy Sister Marina
May 26th from 1-4pm – Open House at FBC at North Myrtle Beach
May 26th from 1-4pm – Member Social at St. James Founders Club
May 29th at 6pm – VIP Member Referral Party at Filet’s Waterfront Restaurant
May 31st from 6-8pm – Fishing Club Meeting at FBC of Southport
See below for a description of each event
S U B J E C T T O C H A N G E