Please be advised that the Town's disaster debris operation will temporarily shut down for the holiday season from Friday December 23rd through Monday January 2nd. The Town's contractor, Crowder Gulf, will not be picking up any debris during this time.

Highlights for the Town of Hilton Head Island by Town Manager, Steve Riley

• The deadline to apply for assistance through FEMA; for homeowners, renters, and business owners is December 13, 2016. This can be done in person, at the Disaster Assistance Center at Town Hall, or by going online to Disasterassistance.gov.

What:
Christmas Parade Road Closures

Where:
Old Town Bluffton

When:
Saturday, December 3, 2016 at 8:30 a.m.

The Town of Bluffton’s annual Christmas Parade will be held this Saturday, December 3, 2016 in Old Town. As a result of the parade route, several roads will be closed to the public beginning at 8:30 a.m.

Just two weeks remain for Hurricane Matthew survivors in South Carolina to register with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and submit disaster loan applications to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The last day for survivors to register for federal disaster assistance is Tuesday, December 13.

Readers’ Choice Party showcases Lowcountry’s favorite people and places

You voted for your favorite people, places, restaurants and businesses. Now come celebrate with the winners. Don’t miss Hilton Head Monthly’s 2016 Readers’ Choice Awards Party, starting at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 1, at Sonesta Resort Hilton Head Island.

The People have spoken. 

The votes are in. Monthly celebrates local businesses and communities with the 2016 Readers’ Choice Awards, the “best of the best” places to shop, dine and live, as voted by you, our readers. We received 10,226 electronic ballots in our eight-week Readers’ Choice promotional campaign, intended to identify the top businesses in a wide range of categories. Want to find the best of the Lowcountry? You will find it here.

Festive events to help get you into the holiday spirit

If you’re dreaming of a white Christmas, the Lowcountry is not the place to be. But if you’re hoping for a season filled with fun holiday activities, you’re in the right spot.

Hilton Head Island, Bluffton, Beaufort and the surrounding areas have an excellent lineup of festivities planned for 2016. And in addition to all the light displays and holiday performances, dozens of churches and synagogues will be offering Christmas and Hanukkah services.        

In October, the onlything people wanted to talk about was Hurricane Matthew. In any formal or informal social setting, someone was likely to ask you about Matthew, and the questions were always the same: Did you evacuate? Where did you go? When did you come back? Did you have any damage? What kind? These questions always led to conversations about trees, roofs, predatory cleanup crews, insurance companies, and deductibles, deductibles, deductibles. The funny thing is that most of us willingly repeated these same stories, and usually to perfect strangers

Businessman Donald Trump became president-elect of the United States on Nov. 8, collecting 306 electoral votes to defeat Hillary Clinton, who earned 232. When Trump takes office Jan. 20, he will become the first United States president without any government or military experience, and the first without prior political experience since Dwight D. Eisenhower.