The Citadel Sets Hampton Park Terrace's Fall Clock, Down To The Hour Hagood Avenue Closes
The Citadel's fall in Hampton Park Terrace comes in three paired weekends. On each one, a free public parade falls within a day of a 2 p.m. home kickoff at Johnson Hagood Stadium. On two of them, Parents' Weekend and Homecoming, the parade and the game fall on the same Saturday. That puts a free morning on Summerall Field and an afternoon of Hagood Avenue closures only a few hours apart. Once you know the order of events, you can plan the day around it.
Every date below comes from The Citadel's published fall 2026 parade schedule, the 2026 football schedule, and the athletics department's fan guide. The city's live closure dashboard adds one more piece. The parade page notes that times are subject to change, so check the morning of.
Parents' Weekend runs Friday through Sunday. On Saturday, Oct. 10, the Parents' Day Jeep Review takes the field at 11 a.m. The Bulldogs host ETSU at 2 p.m. that afternoon.
So cars start arriving four hours before the Jeep Review begins, and Hagood closes about an hour and a half after the review is scheduled to start.
This weekend splits across two days. A Retreat parade is set for 3:45 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 23. Tennessee Tech plays at Johnson Hagood the next afternoon at 2 p.m. Lots open at 10 a.m. under the standard four-hour rule. Friday afternoon belongs to the parade field and Saturday to the stadium.
Homecoming is the busiest stretch of the season. It opens Friday, Nov. 6, with the Twilight Parade at 5:10 p.m. That's the only fall parade that starts this late in the day. On Saturday, the Homecoming Jeep Review steps off at 10:30 a.m. Furman kicks off at 2 p.m. Lots open at 7 a.m., the same as Parents' Weekend.
The athletics fan guide gives a general Homecoming dress parade time of 11 a.m. The fall 2026 schedule lists 10:30 a.m. for this year's Jeep Review. Go by the date-specific schedule.
The other Friday dates are Oct. 16 and Nov. 13, both at 3:45 p.m. The Oct. 16 parade is a Retreat and the Nov. 13 parade is a Review. Neither falls on a home game weekend.
The fan guide lays out the Hagood Avenue rules in two parts:
Hagood Avenue closes to traffic at least one hour before kickoff between Congress and Fishburne streets.
Hagood Avenue closes between The Citadel's campus and Congress Street half an hour before kickoff for the Cadets' march to the stadium.
With all three home kickoffs at 2 p.m., the timing is the same each Saturday:
The city's dashboard shows the Oct. 10 closure as 1 to 6 p.m. For Oct. 24 and Nov. 7, check the dashboard closer to game day. The fan guide's rule of at least one hour before kickoff applies either way.
Parking follows its own rules. The fan guide lists the MUSC Lot on Fishburne Street as public paid parking. For select games, it says paid parking may also be available at Riley Park or the Police Department and Brittlebank Park lots. Tailgating is allowed in the lots as long as it doesn't block nearby spaces or roads. Alcohol has to stay in the parking area, and drinking ends two hours after the game. That puts the end of tailgating around early evening on a 2 p.m. game day. The Citadel also runs roaming golf-cart shuttles for guests who need help getting from the tailgate lots to the stadium.
Parades follow a lighter set of rules. They're free and open to the public, and most Friday parades are held on Summerall Field. Campus parking is limited during parades, so The Citadel suggests arriving 15 to 30 minutes early. Cadets greet visitors and direct them to designated visitor parking. From most streets in Hampton Park Terrace, walking is simpler than finding a spot.
The game-day closures are on Hagood. Rutledge Avenue is on the other side of the neighborhood, near Hampton Park. The space between a morning parade and a 2 p.m. kickoff is a good time for this stretch of Rutledge.
The newest place on it is Odd Duck Market at 637 Rutledge Ave. It opened in July in a former bank branch. The Post and Courier described it as a daytime cafe and market serving coffee, pastries and sandwiches. The old drive-thru is now a walk-up ordering window, and there's a spacious patio. A mural by Cara Fischer covers the gabled ceiling. This is the third location from owners Jared Hellman and Andrew Hare, after North Charleston and Summerville.
Other spots along the same stretch of Rutledge:
Hours can change on parade and game weekends. Check a venue's ordering or booking page before you go, especially on Oct. 10 and Nov. 7.
One more Rutledge note: through Oct. 28, the city's dashboard lists partial lane closures on Rutledge Avenue between Vanderhorst and Calhoun for MUSC work. That's well south of the neighborhood, but you'll pass it on the way downtown.
Most of Hampton Park's October happens midweek. The Charleston Parks Conservancy's Hampton Park Farmers Market runs Wednesdays from 3:30 to 7 p.m. at 30 Mary Murray Drive. Four dates remain: Oct. 7, 14, 21 and 28. The vendor list includes Brandon's Bread, Counter Cheesemongers and Lowcountry Fungi. Basic Kitchen is listed for beer and wine at sunset at Rose Pavilion. None of those Wednesdays falls on a parade or game day.
In November, the park picks up on Saturdays just as the campus season ends. The last fall parade is the Nov. 13 Review. The spring 2027 parade schedule is still listed as to be determined. The next morning, Saturday, Nov. 14, the Veterans Day 5K Fun Run/Walk is set for Hampton Park at 9 a.m. The following Saturday, Nov. 21, brings the 2026 MADD 5K and Fun Run. The fun run starts at 7:30 a.m., the 5K at 8 a.m., and a walk ceremony at 9:30 a.m.
Taken together, the season runs from Parents' Weekend in mid-October through the Hampton Park races on the two Saturdays after the Nov. 13 Review. Every Hagood Avenue closure falls between 1 p.m. and the end of a game, and every parade starts before or after that window.
Living next to Johnson Hagood Stadium and Summerall Field brings a fall schedule you can plan around. If you're thinking about how game-day timing and parade weekends affect a Hampton Park Terrace home, whether you're listing, renovating or just planning around them, Anna Gruenloh is glad to talk it through. Let's connect.
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