Gulf County's free Fall Concert Series has three Thursdays left this month at Veterans Memorial Park, 8750 W. Hwy 98. The shows run 6 to 8 p.m. Eastern. Bring a chair and a cooler, and a food truck will be serving on site. This is the first fall for the series since the county changed where golf carts can park along U.S. 98. Under the new rule, the shoulder of the highway is off-limits. A county park, while you're visiting it, is allowed. So this October the park is a concert venue, and it's also one of the clearest legal places to leave a cart anywhere on that corridor.
The rest of this post covers both: the music, and the parking rules that come with it.
The Rule That Changed in April
On April 28, 2026, the Gulf County Board of County Commissioners adopted Emergency Ordinance 2026-02. The board had voted at its March 31 meeting to advertise and hear it. According to a meeting-based report published the next day, commissioners passed it unanimously to deal with golf-cart traffic hazards along U.S. 98 and the beach-access roads nearby.
The ordinance text sets out four parking restrictions inside its coastal zones:
- No golf-cart parking in the right of way on either side of U.S. 98, landward or seaward, through the St. Joe Beach corridor. The zone runs from the county line at CR 386 near Bay County to the city-county line at Pine Street.
- No golf-cart parking within 50 feet of a stop sign if the cart blocks drivers' line of sight. Deputies can move a cart that does.
- No golf carts or other vehicles parked within 200 feet of a Gulf County no-parking sign.
- No staging or parking of commercial rental carts in county parks.
The fines climb quickly. A first violation costs $100, a second $250 and a third $500. The Gulf County Sheriff's Office can also clamp a wheel, and the cart stays put until the fine is paid and removal of the boot is scheduled. After a third offense the ordinance treats the cart as a public nuisance and allows impoundment. Each violation counts as a separate offense, so the escalation can happen within a single season.
The Clause That Points to the Park
Most of the ordinance tells you where a cart can't go. One sentence about county parks tells you where it can. Residents and visitors may drive golf carts to a county park and keep them there "for duration of their use and enjoyment." What they can't do is leave a cart unattended overnight or for an extended stay beyond their own visit. The county's beach safety page says the same thing in plainer words: carts may be used while visiting a park, but may not be illegally parked or left overnight.
That matches a two-hour concert neatly. You arrive at 6, park the cart, sit through the set, and drive home after the last song. The shoulder of U.S. 98 doesn't allow that anymore.
The rules have already been revised once, so check the current text. Municode lists Ordinance 2026-04, adopted May 26, 2026. It amends the golf-cart section and adds UTVs and low-speed vehicles to the ordinance title. The amended wording wasn't available for this post. The county's beach safety page still lists the U.S. 98 right-of-way ban, the stop-sign and no-parking-sign distances, and the $100, $250 and $500 fines. If you have a specific situation, read the code before you rely on the summary here. The county also hasn't published a list of designated golf-cart lots beyond the regular parking at its parks.
What's on Stage for the Rest of October
The series started Oct. 1 with Koncrete Soul playing old-school soul. Three dates are left, and there's no show on Oct. 15.
| Thursday | Performer | Sound |
|---|---|---|
| Oct. 8 | Kelly & The Healers | Blues and rock |
| Oct. 22 | King For A Day | '90s and 2000s alt rock |
| Oct. 29 | Corey Hall Trio | American roots music |
Admission is free. The county describes each evening as a different local or regional act with a different sound. The listing doesn't name the food truck, so plan on finding out what's being served when you get there.
The Park Around the Music
A concert is a good excuse to spend time at Veterans Memorial Park at Beacon Hill, and there's more there than a stage. The county lists an armed-forces amphitheater, playgrounds, pavilions, a dog park, pickleball courts, walk-on beach access, covered picnic space, restrooms, parking and ADA access.
The Honor Walk sits on the bluff. It's built around a 70-foot illuminated U.S. flag and a five-point star, with a monument for each branch of the armed forces. Two brick walkways are lined with engraved bricks purchased to honor veterans, and a semicircular stone wall holds the flags of the five service branches. The whole Honor Walk is lit for evening visitors, and the music runs until 8 p.m., so the walk is worth a pass at the end of the night. On a cooler October evening, there's time to read the engraved bricks after the last song.
The Beach on the Other Side of the Park
Walk-on beach access is part of what makes the park different from a fairground. It also means a concert night puts people near the sand after sunset during the last weeks of nesting season.
Gulf County's sea turtle nesting season runs May 1 through October 31, and the county asks everyone to keep beaches clean, flat and dark. The Star reported on Sept. 8 that hatchlings were still emerging. The final concert, on Oct. 29, falls two days before the season closes. If you head down to the water after a show, leave the flashlight off, fill in any holes and carry out whatever came with you.
Before and After, Up and Down U.S. 98
The food truck covers dinner at the park. For an early meal or a later stop, two places on the same stretch of highway have their own hours and events.
Shipwreck Raw Bar, 7008 W. Hwy 98 in St. Joe Beach, says it's open seven days a week and lists breakfast, lunch and dinner hours.
Lookout Lounge & Package, 8066 W. Hwy 98, is a full bar and package store with billiards, darts, karaoke and live music. The county's tourism listing describes it as reopened at that address. Its homepage posts an October event schedule, so check what's on before you plan a second stop after a concert.
Both are on the U.S. 98 corridor covered by the ordinance. If you're getting around by cart, the shoulder rule applies outside their doors too. Use the business's own lot or come in a car.
A Fuller October Calendar
The Thursday concerts are the closest October events to home, but other weekends are filling up around them.
- Forgotten Music Festival, Oct. 10–11 at 162 Miss Zola's Drive, Port St. Joe. The county event listing and the festival's own site both give these dates. The Chamber's annual calendar says Oct. 3–4, so confirm with the organizers before you go.
- Ghosts on the Coast, Saturday, Oct. 31, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Reid Avenue in Port St. Joe, the same night nesting season ends.
Both festival weekends follow Thursday concerts. The Forgotten Music Festival opens two days after Kelly & The Healers play on Oct. 8, and Ghosts on the Coast falls two days after the Corey Hall Trio closes the series on Oct. 29.
If the new golf-cart rules have you rethinking how you get around St. Joe Beach, or you have questions about a cart, a driveway or a property on the U.S. 98 corridor, the Duarte Team at Eli Duarte is glad to talk it through in English or Spanish. We're here year-round, and we'd also be happy to put together a free home valuation or a local market guide for your street.
