"After being plagued by September rains off and on for a few years now, this longtime festival celebrating the local whitefish is moving to November this year." That line ran in the StarNews fall festival preview in September 2018. It sounded like a one-year adjustment. Eight festivals later, it reads more like a new rule.
The NC Spot Festival returns Saturday, Nov. 7, and Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. It's at 14221 U.S. Hwy 17 in the field south of the Hampstead Women's Club. If your sense of the festival still runs on the old late-September timing, the date may surprise you. Look at the dates in order, though, and the weekend becomes easy to predict.
The Move Was About Rain, and the New Date Held
In 2017, StarNews put the festival weekend at Sept. 23 and 24. A year later it was Nov. 3 and 4, and the reason given was weather, not fish supply or a vendor conflict. Every dated edition since then has landed in the same slot.
| Year | Festival weekend | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Sept. 23 and 24 | StarNews |
| 2018 | Nov. 3 and 4 | StarNews |
| 2019 | Nov. 2 and 3 | Festival website |
| 2023 | Nov. 4 and 5 | StarNews |
| 2024 | Nov. 2 and 3 | StarNews |
| 2025 | Nov. 1 and 2 | StarNews |
| 2026 | Nov. 7 and 8 | Festival website |
Each November weekend in that table starts on the first Saturday of the month. This year Nov. 1 falls on a Sunday, which is why the festival sits a little later than in 2025. Halloween takes the Saturday before it, Oct. 31, and the festival comes the following weekend.
The pattern is useful for planning ahead. The first Saturday in November 2027 is Nov. 6. If the rule holds, you can mark that weekend before any flyer goes up. Treat it as a pattern until organizers confirm, but it's a pattern with eight years behind it.
What Moved, and What Stayed
When StarNews reported the switch in 2018, the date was the only change it described. "Other than that, things should be pretty much the same," the preview said. It listed spot dinners, the Spot Festival queen and visiting queens, area school bands, fireworks, kids' activities, vendors, and live music. The festival kept its program and only changed its date. Five years later, StarNews' 2023 festival guide described much the same lineup: a pageant crowning, school performances, bands, and children's rides.
The location has stayed put too. Visit Pender says the festival is held in the field south of the Hampstead Women's Club, where it has been held for years. StarNews called the same address its longtime location in 2025.
Go back further and the festival has moved before. Its history page says the first Spot Festival took place in 1963, after the idea came up at a community oyster roast. By 1983 it was being held in front of the Hampstead Community Center.
The fish itself has a longer local story than the date change. According to that same history page, JH Lea and Sons sponsored the festival from the start and donated all the spot until 2008. That year the company closed after supplying Hampstead with fish for more than 90 years. Atlantic Seafood became the spot provider in 2009. Hampstead Fire Department firefighters do the frying. StarNews describes spot as an abundant fish in North Carolina and a popular saltwater catch across the mid-Atlantic.
The fire department connection explains why the date matters to people beyond festival-goers. The history page describes the festival as a nonprofit event that has benefited the fire department since it began. It says proceeds are split between the fire department and the five Topsail schools in the Pender County system. A rained-out September weekend meant fewer people and less money for both. A drier November weekend protects the fundraiser along with the fun.
Festival Weekend in Dollars
The festival's current website lists 2026 prices:
- Admission: $5
- Children 6 and under: free
- Spot dinner: $12, with two spot, hushpuppies, French fries, and coleslaw
- Inflatable rides: $20 for all day
- No pets and no coolers; bring lawn chairs
Compared with the festival's older website, those prices have gone up. The legacy homepage listed $3 admission and $8 spot dinners. That page carries no date, so it doesn't show when prices changed. It does show how the cost of a family visit has moved, and the $12 plate still comes with two fish and the classic sides.
Visit Pender lists a 9 a.m. Saturday opening and has the festival running through Sunday evening. Check the official site for Sunday's closing time before you plan a late dinner run. The StarNews 2023 guide said parking was on site at 14221 U.S. 17. The festival's 2026 schedule page hasn't been updated yet and still shows 2025 performers. Watch the festival's Facebook page for this year's music and pageant lineup.
The Weeks Around It Fill In
With the festival fixed on the first weekend of November, the rest of the local fall calendar falls in around it. Here is how late October through early December lines up this year.
Saturday, Oct. 31. Halloween comes one week before the festival. Pender County options include Halloween on the Square, a free trunk-or-treat from 4 to 8 p.m. at Pender County Courthouse Square, 100 S. Wright Street in Burgaw. Closer to the sound, Lori's Ace hosts a trick-or-treat event from noon to 2 p.m. at 14021 NC-50 in Surf City.
Thursday, Nov. 5. Two days before the festival, Salt and Stem, a full-service florist at 16090 US Highway 17, holds its ribbon cutting from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., according to the Greater Topsail Area Chamber of Commerce.
Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 7 and 8. NC Spot Festival, 14221 U.S. Hwy 17.
If you want a sit-down meal that weekend after a plate of fried spot, Hampstead has a newer option. Seoul Sushi and Korean BBQ, a Wilmington restaurant, opened its Hampstead location in Oyster Creek Landing on Sept. 8, according to a StarNews restaurant roundup published in October. Port City Daily previewed the opening in early September.
Saturday, Nov. 21. Two weeks after the festival, the Hampstead Kiwanis 2026 Turkey Trot runs from 8 to 10 a.m. at Hampstead Kiwanis Park, 586 Sloop Point Loop Road.
Saturday, Dec. 5. The holiday season starts on the sound. The Greater Topsail Area Christmas Market runs from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Soundside Park, 517 Roland Ave. in Surf City. The Annual Topsail Area Christmas Flotilla follows at the same park, with boats expected around 6 p.m., weather permitting.
When the festival was held in September, it sat at the end of summer, weeks before any of these events. In November it falls between Halloween and the Turkey Trot, with Salt and Stem's opening in the same week and the Surf City holiday events about a month later. If the pattern holds, the 2027 festival will open Saturday, Nov. 6, in the field south of the Women's Club.
Local events like the Spot Festival are part of what we track to understand how Hampstead works through the year, and that local knowledge carries into every pricing conversation. If you're thinking about what your Hampstead home could be worth heading into spring, Joel's Homes can start that conversation. Get Your Instant Home Valuation, and we'll put it in local context.
