At 1 a.m. on Friday, October 23, every parking space on Rehoboth Avenue goes off-limits for five hours. That's the first rule of the 36th Sea Witch Festival, and it applies before a single costume reaches the street. The last rule applies on Monday, October 26, at 4 p.m. That's the deadline to collect any chair, cooler or blanket the City Streets Department picked up from the avenue after the parade.
The parade lasts two hours on Saturday morning. If you live here, the festival runs from Thursday night to Monday afternoon, and every change this year falls somewhere in that longer window. Friday has a new event of its own. A local restaurant that just came back now anchors the parade's staging corner. And the grand marshal is a brewery from neighboring Dewey Beach. The 2026 festival program from the Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce went up on September 22, and the parade route matches 2025.
Thursday Night Is When the Festival Reaches Your Car
The overnight ban covers all Rehoboth Avenue spaces from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. on Friday. If your car usually sits on the avenue, it needs to move on Thursday evening. The Chamber's parking page also bans parking on 4th Street and parts of 5th, Sussex and Kent Streets for the whole festival. Police can ticket or tow, and towed cars go to Coastal Towing at 33012 Cedar Grove Road in Lewes. That's a drive out of town, not a walk.
The City's October 7 notice adds more streets. State Road, Sussex Street and 4th Street close for parade lineup, most of Christian Street closes for fence staging, and parking is restricted on Scarborough Avenue. If you live on or near any of those blocks, the festival starts at your curb before Saturday does.
Friday Now Has an Event of Its Own
Until this year, Friday was mostly the day the parking signs went up. In 2026 the Chamber has added the first annual Sea Witch Community Fair, at the Rehoboth Beach Bandstand on Friday, October 23, from noon to 5 p.m. The program says the fair is for local nonprofits, community organizations and service providers. Exhibitors pay $50 if they're Chamber members and $100 if they aren't. For comparison, parade entries cost $50 for members and $75 for nonmembers.
The fair changes the weekend's shape. Saturday's parade is built for crowds arriving from out of town. A Friday afternoon at the Bandstand, set aside for groups that operate in town year-round, gives people who live nearby a quieter reason to show up the day before the fencing goes in.
Saturday, Hour by Hour
Saturday is still the main event, and the program's timetable reads like a closure schedule:
- 1 a.m. Median parking on Rehoboth Avenue ends and stays off until the parade is over.
- 2 a.m. Rehoboth Avenue closes to all traffic, and crowd-control fencing goes up on both sides.
- 6 a.m. DART Route 201 starts running from the Rehoboth Beach Park & Ride at Coastal Highway and Shuttle Road and the Lewes Park & Ride at 17616 Coastal Highway. Parking at both is free, and regular fares apply on the bus.
- 8 a.m. Mobile restrooms open on 4th Street beside JAM Bistro and in the Lockwood Construction lot at 330 State Road.
- 9 a.m. Walker check-in opens in the lot at 305 Rehoboth Avenue.
- 9:30 a.m. 1st and 2nd Streets close as crossing points over the avenue.
- 10 a.m. Walker drop-off in front of JAM Bistro and Loves Liquors ends.
- 11 a.m. The parade steps off from 4th Street. It heads west to State Road, then turns back east toward the Bandstand.
- 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Registration is open for the Sea Witch Hunt. The earliest correct guess wins $200.
- 2 p.m. Children's beach games and the broom toss start on the beach at Baltimore Avenue. The broom toss is for kids up to age 12. Costume parade results go up at the Info Table by the Bandstand.
- About 4 p.m. The avenue reopens once the fencing is down.
- 10:30 p.m. The last DART bus leaves downtown.
On Saturday only, DART picks up and drops off on Lake Avenue by the Henlopen Hotel. The Chamber notes it's about a half-mile walk down the Boardwalk from there to the Bandstand. Accessible drop-off is at Wilmington Avenue or Baltimore Avenue at the Boardwalk. The parade has no rain date. The program cites logistics, contracts, safety and fencing as the reasons. If it rains, the Info Table moves to the Convention Center at 229 Rehoboth Avenue.
The Corner at 305 Rehoboth Avenue
The address where the parade begins has changed hands since last October. The 2025 program sent walkers to Coho's Market & Grill for check-in. The 2026 program sends them to the same lot, now shared by JAM Bistro and Loves Liquors.
The Cape Gazette has followed the move. In April, it reported that the city approved JAM Bistro's move into the Coho's Market space. The owners had bought the market in 2022 and ran it until October 2025. In July, the paper reported that JAM reopened at 305 Rehoboth Avenue, with July 2 as its opening day. So the restaurant's first Sea Witch at its new address puts it at the busiest spot of the morning. Walkers check in in its lot, line up along its side street, and leave the route at its corner.
The parade's lead follows the same local pattern. This year's grand marshal is Dewey Beer Co., the Chamber's 2025 Business of the Year, followed by the Sea Witch Clipper Ship crewed by the Stewart Family. Its original brewery and restaurant sits at Saulsbury Street and Coastal Highway in Dewey Beach. In 2025 the honor went to Woody's Dewey Beach Bar & Grill. Two years in a row, the front of the parade has gone to a business from just down Coastal Highway.
The Restaurant Map Around the Route Has Shifted Since Summer
JAM isn't the only change near the parade. Several openings since late September sit within a few blocks of the fencing or along the routes people take to reach it.
| Spot | Location | Status as of early October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| JAM Bistro | 305 Rehoboth Ave., at the walker start | Reopened July 2 in the former Coho's space |
| Ledo Pizza | 47A Rehoboth Ave. | Opened late September, open seven days a week |
| SeaGlass Bistro | 23 Baltimore Ave. | Open by September 24 |
| Level X Kitchen & Sushi | Forgotten Mile, former Just in Thyme space | Opened September 29 |
| Dos Locos | 208 Rehoboth Ave. | Listed for sale, still operating |
According to the Cape Gazette, Ledo Pizza opened to the public the week before it announced the opening on October 5. Its address is on the stretch of Rehoboth Avenue the parade passes as it heads back toward the Bandstand. The News Journal reported SeaGlass Bistro open on Baltimore Avenue in September, in the building the Cape Gazette had identified as Eden's. That's the same street where the kids' beach games start at 2 p.m. Level X sits farther out on the Forgotten Mile, according to the News Journal, which may make it easier to reach while the avenue is closed. Dos Locos was listed for sale in early October, and the News Journal reported it was still operating as a Mexican restaurant.
Sunday Belongs to the Dogs, and Monday Closes Out the Weekend
The costumed dog contest is Sunday, October 25. Registration and judging start at noon, the dog parade steps off at 1 p.m., and entry is $5 per dog. At 2:30 p.m. the Bandstand hosts two announcements at once, the dog contest winners and the Sea Witch Hunt winner from Saturday's guesses.
Monday wraps everything up. Remaining contest results will be posted at SeaWitchFestival.com by 5 p.m. Monday, October 26. Right after Saturday's parade, the Streets Department collects anything left unattended on the avenue's sidewalks and median. Those items stay out in front of the Streets Department office at 20476 Lincoln Street until 4 p.m. that Monday. If you put chairs out on Saturday morning to hold a spot, the errand to get them back may not come until two days later.
One correction for anyone working from the parade application. Its rules page lists "Saturday, October 4, 2026," but the cover, the program and the City calendar all say October 24. The Chamber also notes that schedule details can change, so its recorded line at 302-227-2233 is the most reliable source on the day.
Sea Witch closes Rehoboth Avenue for most of Saturday, and parking limits on the avenue start Thursday night. If you're weighing a place near Rehoboth Avenue, or a second home you'd use through October, Lindsay Good can walk you through how weekends like this one feel from each block. Let's Connect.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
