🌱Annual Surfside Beach BBQ Festival + Habitat For Humanity Program

Good morning, friends. It's Friday in Myrtle Beach and I'm back in your inbox with everything you need to know about what's happening in the community, including news about:

• It's time for the 13th annual Surfside Beach BBQ Festival.
• “Rock ‘N Paws” live music this weekend.
• Applications are being accepted for Habitat For Humanity's Homebuyer program.

But first, today's weather:

Some rain and a thunderstorm. High: 74 Low: 64.

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Here are the top five stories today in Myrtle Beach:

1. Get ready to get dirty this weekend as you dive into everything BBQ at the 13th annual Surfside Beach BBQ Festival. The event kicks off Friday night from 4 to 7 p.m. in the Yaupon parking lot with the “Anything but BBQ” event where competing teams will sell hot dogs, burgers, wings and more. Saturday things begin at 10 a.m. with the BBQ competition taking place at 1 p.m. In addition there will be 70-plus vendors on site, two stages for live music and a plethora of activities for kids to enjoy. The festival is free to enter and will be held on Surfside and Yaupon drives. Parking will be available in the public lots on those streets or on side streets. Hope to see you there! (WMBF)
2. Combining a love for animals with a love for music, Barefoot Landing will host the first ever “Rock ‘N Paws” live music event, March 3-5 at Dockside Village. The music will be playing while representatives from local animal shelters will be doing fundraising, accepting donations and offering other information. In addition, some very special shelter dogs may be available for a meet-and-greet. We will have to wait and see! Participating restaurants will be offering food and drinks and Miracle Max and the Pet Monsters will perform from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on March 3 the music will continue from noon until 8 p.m. on March 4 with tunes from Sassafrass, the Craig Sorrells Project and the Grocery Store Gentlemen. The final day of the event, from 1 to 6 p.m. on March 5, will feature performances by the King Tide Band and the Sweet Sweet Band. Hope to see you there! (WBTW)
3. Riley Eckard, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in a 2021 deadly Myrtle Beach shooting. On Tuesday, the Honorable Circuit Court Judge Thomas Cooper sentenced Eckard to 10 years in prison. The incident took place on March 25, 2021, at the Waterpark Hotel along south Ocean Boulevard. Reportedly, at the scene, large amounts of drugs were found along with 43-year-old Jermaine Steward who had sustained a gunshot wound. Stewart later died. Eckard, who was 16 at the time was one of the suspects taken into custody.(WMBF)
4. Applications for Habitat For Humanity's Homebuyer program in Horry County are being accepted through March 31. Applicants must have lived in Horry County for at least one year, show a need for safe and affordable housing, fall within the noted income limits and be willing to partner with Habitat of Horry County. The 18-24 month homebuyer program includes families attending monthly financial classes, performing sweat equity hours, paying closing costs, paying down their current debt and agreeing to not take on any additional debt.
   Upon completion of the program, qualifying families will have the chance to buy a habitat home with an interest-free mortgage. For more information and an application click here. (wpde.com)
5. Opened in part to help out area veterans the VQS Access Health clinic opened its doors recently in Oak Street Plaza downtown. Dr. Valencia Henry, who opened the practice, told wpde.com that right now they're able to see most patients the same day." (wpde.com)

Today in Myrtle Beach:

• Time Warp (7:00 PM)

Myrtle Beach Photo Of The Day:

Would you like to see your photo in the Myrtle Beach Daily? Send one in. Be sure to give Patch permission to republish the photo, and tell us that you own the rights to the photograph. Send your pic to karena.garrity@patch.com.

From my notebook:

• Public Information Officer Tony Casey, Horry County Public Information Department: "Smoke Notice: Please be aware, there is a controlled land management burn — approximately 225 acres in size—taking place near Highway 90 and International Drive in Conway. You may notice smoke in the air for an extended amount of time." (Nextdoor)
• North Myrtle Beach, SC: "March-ing our way right into Spring. " (North Myrtle Beach, SC via Instagram)
• The Humane Society of North Myrtle Beach: "Today’s featured #PetOfTheDay is Miller! His adoption fee is being sponsored today by Elliott Beach Rentals. Miller, our very own GQ model, says the hottest accessory for 2023 is him!" (The Humane Society of North Myrtle Beach via Facebook)
• South Carolina National Guard: "March is Women's History Month." (South Carolina National Guard via Instagram)
• Horry County Schools: "It was an exciting day across Horry County Schools as our five finalists for Teacher of the Year were announced! Go behind the scenes as we surprised each of the five in their own schools and classrooms!" (Horry County Schools via Facebook)
• Assistant Director of Public Information Meredith Denari, City of Myrtle Beach: "Attention, drivers. The Myrtle Beach Marathon and Half Marathon both begin at 7:00 a. m., Saturday, March 4. Drivers should allow extra time to get to their destinations, as traffic will be congested during race hours." (Nextdoor)

You're all caught up for today. See you all tomorrow morning for another update!

— Karena Garrity

About me: Journalism is in my veins. I have been a community reporter for the better part of the past 20 years. I love my community and I am honored to be a part of Patch.com. You can reach me at; karena.garrity@patch.com.

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Myrtle Beach Patch newsletter? Contact me at karena.garrity@patch.com