Twelve months. Thirteen reasons. One basecamp.
Opera in August, a parade that shuts down downtown in March, fireworks on the river every July — Savannah doesn’t take a season off. Here’s the whole year, in order, a short drive from your site at Savannah Lakes.
- AUG VOICE Fest
- SEP Jazz Fest
- OCT Film Fest
- NOV Food, Wine & the Half
- DEC Christmas Market
- JAN Polar Plunge & MLK Parade
- FEB Book & Irish Festivals
- MAR St. Patrick's Day
- APR Music Festival
- MAY Scottish Games
- JUN Juneteenth
- JUL 4th on the River
WHY THE WHOLE YEAR
Savannah doesn't do one big weekend. It does a whole calendar.
Most festival towns build a single marquee weekend and call it a year. Savannah stacks opera, jazz, cinema, a parade three centuries in the making, and a genuine music festival into a calendar that never really goes quiet — with a few free ones, like the Saturday farmers market in Forsyth Park, running underneath it all year-round.
For RV travelers, that’s a year of good reasons to book a longer stay, plan a return trip, or simply pick the month that matches your crowd. Below is the full year, in order, exactly as it unfolds.
THE YEAR, IN ORDER
Thirteen dates, twelve months, one long Lowcountry welcome
Savannah VOICE Festival
Ten days of opera, Broadway favorites, and cabaret in intimate settings — historic churches, museum courtyards, harborside stages. Founded by opera stars Sherrill Milnes and Maria Zouves, it’s the kind of festival where a 200-seat parlor concert feels as grand as an opera house.
Savannah Jazz Festival
Free concerts under the oaks of Forsyth Park, running since 1983 — Savannah’s longest-standing music tradition. Bring a chair and a blanket, or upgrade to a shaded patron tent; either way, food trucks line the park all weekend.
SCAD Savannah Film Festival
Eight days, more than 60,000 guests, and red-carpet premieres inside the Art Deco Trustees Theater and the 1921 Lucas Theatre. One of the largest university-run film festivals anywhere, and a genuine stop on the road to the Oscars.
Savannah Food & Wine Festival
A week built around tastings, chef dinners, and a stroll down River Street celebrating Lowcountry cuisine and Southern hospitality.
The festival’s organizing site has changed hands more than once in recent years — confirm current dates and the organizer through Visit Savannah before promoting specific days.
Savannah Southern Half Marathon
Brand new for 2026 — a flat, fast 13.1 miles (or a 5K, if that’s more your speed) from Forsyth Park through pastel porch-lined streets, a lap through the Savannah Bananas’ Grayson Stadium, and a finish line under the live oaks at Daffin Park.
Savannah Christmas Market & the Lighted Boat Parade
The holiday stretch opens with the Lighted Boat Parade drifting down the river, then settles into weeks of a riverfront Christmas market, a tree lighting, and a Holiday Tour of Homes through the historic district — Savannah at its most photogenic.
Polar Plunge & the MLK Parade
The year opens with a crowd of costumed swimmers charging into the Atlantic at Tybee Island on New Year’s Day, then a quieter, cooler month closes with the city’s MLK Day parade, marching from the historic district out along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
Savannah Book Festival & the Irish Festival
A free weekend of nationally known authors across three of Savannah’s historic squares, timed with the Irish Festival’s storytelling, music, and dance — the unofficial kickoff to the city’s monthlong lead-up to St. Patrick’s Day.
St. Patrick's Day Parade
One of the largest St. Patrick’s Day parades in the country, trailing only New York and Chicago — a tradition since 1824. The fountain in Forsyth Park runs green for days beforehand, and hotels sell out months in advance, so this is the one to book earliest.
Savannah Music Festival
Seventeen days of jazz, blues, bluegrass, and classical music across Savannah’s grandest rooms, timed to peak azalea season. The NOGS Tour of Hidden Gardens and the SCAD Sidewalk Arts Festival both land in the same stretch, so late spring is a full house.
Savannah Scottish Games
Bagpipes, caber tossing, and clan tents on the grounds of one of the oldest continuously operating academies in the country. SCAD’s commencement weekend also falls in late May, which is worth knowing when hotels tighten up citywide.
Exact 2027 date not yet posted — confirm before promoting specific weekends.
Savannah Juneteenth Festival
A free, family-run celebration in Wells Park with live music, cultural performances, and food from Savannah’s Black-owned restaurants — one of the most community-rooted dates on the calendar.
Independence Day on the River
Fireworks over the Savannah River, watched for free from street level or from a rooftop bar with a drink in hand — a fittingly easy close to a year that started with a plunge into the ocean.
ACROSS THE BRIDGE
Hilton Head runs its own calendar too
Hilton Head Island keeps its own year-round lineup of concerts, art walks, and shoreline events alongside Savannah’s. Staying at Savannah Lakes puts both within easy reach — ask our team about pairing a Savannah festival weekend with a day on the island.
Pick a weekend. Or plan six months out.
We take reservations up to six months ahead, and sites fill early around festival dates, especially March, October, and November. Reach out and we’ll help you find the right stay for the right festival.