Loris's Biggest Day of the Year Runs Through the Same Downtown Blocks as Thursday Lunch

"We're now in the iron cross," Samantha Norris told MyHorryNews this year. She is executive director of the Loris Chamber of Commerce, and she was describing the Chamber's new headquarters at 3940 Railroad Ave.

The Iron Cross is Main Street where Railroad Avenue crosses it along the tracks. Every third Saturday in October it becomes the footprint of the Loris Bog-Off. The 47th festival lands on Saturday, October 17. The pot of chicken, rice and sausage at its center isn't a festival novelty. Within a block of that intersection you can order it on an ordinary weekday, and you have been able to since the year the Bog-Off began.

The Chamber Moved Into the Festival

The Chamber moved into 3940 Railroad Ave. the day before Thanksgiving. The building has 8,000 square feet, three times the size of its old office at 4242 Main St., which sold in March 2024. The Chamber bought the building from Ideal Graphics, its longtime occupant, for $180,000.

The lot has more history than the building. "This is the site of the first business in Loris," Norris said. That original building is gone, but a marker sits inches from the Railroad Avenue sidewalk. Norris has issues of The Loris Scene going back to 1950. She plans to cut articles from them and cover a wall in the main room with a collage. Plans also include an open-air porch for the Chamber's After Hours gatherings and a separate building for the Leadership Loris youth program.

Norris and Executive Assistant Stacy Ginther are the only two staff members on site. That explains the other half of her message. Last year the festival didn't have enough volunteers, so the Chamber is building a committee that would meet monthly to plan the Bog-Off and its other events. A two-person office now sits inside the footprint of an event that the North Myrtle Beach Times says draws an estimated 35,000 people from both Carolinas.

1980, Twice

The North Myrtle Beach Times traces the Bog-Off to 1980, when it started as a chicken bog cooking contest. That same year, a block north of the Carolina Lines tracks, Betty and David "Shorty" Conner bought the Loris Lunch and Pool Room at 4115 Meeting St. and renamed it Shorty's Grill.

Shorty started working there before he turned 15, racking pool balls for 10 cents a rack. He biked in from the Mt. Vernon community and later cooked standing on a Pepsi crate to reach the grill. He died in June 2025 at age 69. His son Nick runs the grill now with his own son, Gage. Nick's wife, Jennifer, works there too, and cook Calvin Brown has been in the kitchen for more than 30 years. Nick's first day at Shorty's came about two days after he was born, when Betty brought him to work in a bassinet.

Every Thursday, the special is Nick's own version of chicken bog. The rest of the menu runs from eggs, grits, bacon and sausage in the morning to hot dogs, burgers, barbecue, subs, salads and hand-cut fries. A pool table still stands in the back. The grill is closed Sundays.

On Main Street, Ritchie's General Store & Eatery at 4117 Main St. describes its food as homemade Southern cooking. Its menu has a Country Vittles section. Customer reviews on its site mention chicken bog with sides, though the site doesn't say how often bog is served. WMBF's preview of last year's festival named both Shorty's and Ritchie's as businesses cooking for the Bog-Off. The restaurants that serve bog all year are the same ones that come out for the festival.

Saturday, October 17, Block by Block

Every confirmed piece of this year's festival either sits at one of these addresses or is a few steps away.

Zabi's is the newest name on Main Street. It took over the former Maverick's Downtown space with a Guyanese and Jamaican menu. WMBF reported in January that the opening depended on clearance from the health inspector, so call ahead before you plan a festival-day meal there.

Here is the day in order, as currently published:

1. Friday, October 16, 9 to 11 a.m. Early 5K packet pickup is in the atrium of the Government and Justice Center in Conway.
2. Saturday, 7 a.m. Race-day registration and packet pickup open at the Horry County Parks and Recreation tent near the start line.
3. 8:30 a.m. The Loris "Chicken Run" Bog Off 5K starts at Casey and Meeting streets. The Chamber and Horry County Parks and Recreation present it, and Michaela LeMay is race director. Awards go to the top three male and female finishers, with age groups from 0 to 9 through 70 and older.
4. 9 a.m. The festival opens downtown, according to the Chamber's event calendar.
5. All day. More than 200 vendors set up, and two stages host local dance schools, school choruses and bands. There is a large children's area, and The Catalinas are this year's featured band.
6. Evening. The day closes with fireworks and a free concert by a national act.

The 2026 theme is "Beachin' and Boggin'," with beach music bands, which is why The Catalinas are on the bill. If you want bog without waiting on a contest pot, the Jamestown Chefs will sell it. Other vendors will have funnel cakes and homemade ice cream.

The cooking contest still anchors the day. The Chamber's entry form calls it the Top Bog Cooking Competition, and entries closed August 19 at 5 p.m. The Chamber describes chicken bog as chicken, rice, sausage and the cook's choice of spices. According to the Times, contestants compete for bragging rights and recognition.

What the Chamber Hasn't Published Yet

With 12 days to go, a few practical details are still missing from the current Chamber pages and local coverage. Neither the Chamber nor the October 1 Times preview has named the national act for the evening concert. Nobody has published stage times or a fireworks start time. There is also no 2026 festival-wide notice yet on street closures or shuttles. For runners, the 5K listing does cover parking, with street and field parking on Meeting and Casey streets and parking passes included at packet pickup. Visit Myrtle Beach's September 15 overview sends readers back to the Chamber's festival page for stage details.

The festival page is labeled 2026, but its sponsor lists still say 2025. Check it again closer to the 17th for the final schedule. If you live along Railroad Avenue, Main Street or near Casey and Meeting, expect the race and the festival to be on your doorstep from early morning. The exact closure map will come from the Chamber and the City of Loris.

Sunday Off, Then Thursday

The day after the Bog-Off is a Sunday, and Shorty's Grill is closed on Sundays. Its next bog special is Thursday, October 22, five days after the contest pots are packed up. MyHorryNews notes that the parking spaces along the 4100 block fill near lunchtime six days a week.

"Shorty's Grill is a true Loris favorite and a place where generations of families have gathered," Norris told the paper. Nick Conner put it more simply: "We love the Loris Community and we're a staple of the community. It's all we know."

On the 17th, the Bog-Off brings an estimated 35,000 people to the Iron Cross for one Saturday. The Thursday bog at 4115 Meeting St. is still there the week after.

If you're out at the Bog-Off and want to talk about downtown Loris, the new Chamber headquarters, or how the Longs and Loris area is changing around these blocks, Natalie Rakoci is happy to compare notes over a bowl of bog. Let's Connect.