Broadway at the Beach Blog

Is getting your kid to actually eat a meal one of your greatest challenges? There's a solution — and a meal that your children will be clamoring to go to.

It's Breakfast with Santa — one of the highlights of the entire year of KIDdom.

This year, the man in the red suit plans to chow down with the little ones at two locations at BATB.

Mark your calendar.

Santa arrives at Ripley's Aquarium on Saturday, December 6 for breakfast seatings at 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. In the outside plaza, he'll pass by a 20 foot tree decorated entirely in red, white and blue. Inside the aquarium, kids will be able to help themselves to a sumptuous buffet among the sharks, stingrays, mermaids and other marine life. There's something for everyone: scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage links, Belgian waffles, buttermilk biscuits, fruit salad, orange and apple juices, and coffee. Annual aquarium pass holders and kids 2 to 5 get admission to the aquarium and breakfast for just $4.99 plus tax, while those 6 to 11 pay $9.99 plus tax, and adults are $14.99 plus tax. Reservations are required, so call 916-0888.

After breakfast, check out Ripley's annual Festival of Trees, a display of more than 50 decorated trees placed throughout the aquarium. Each tree represents a different state and is decorated with unique ornaments. The dazzling line-up of state trees includes our own South Carolina tree, which is 18 feet tall and features magnolias, golf balls, sea shell wreaths and stars, as well as ornaments representing the SC Gamecocks and Clemson Tigers.

At 11 a.m. that day, there's a Ripley's-sponsored holiday parade, so plan on being there for that as well!

Rock Around the Christmas Tree with Santa when Hard Rock Cafe hosts its annual Breakfast with Santa on Saturday, December 6, Saturday, December 13 and Saturday December 20. This event is a hot ticket every year. There is one seating at 9 a.m. on December 6, and two seatings on the 13th and 20th. If you're an early riser, make reservations for the 8 a.m. event, or sleep in and come at 10 a.m.

For $9.95, kids of all ages can graze their way through a full breakfast buffet that includes scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, french toast sticks, grits, biscuits with gravy, hash brown potatoes, danish, juice and coffee. Once tummies are full, each child can get one photo with Santa, and then enjoy a free activities room on December 13 and 20 with cup cake decorating (compliments of Coccadotts) or race cars (compliments of RIDEMAKERZ, Sparkles and Wonderworks). To make reservations, call 946-0007.

On December 6, 13 and 20, Santa Claus is coming to town!

Thanksgiving weekend is one of the best times of the year to enjoy Myrtle Beach. With our warm sun and uncrowded beaches, you can stroll along the sand undisturbed or stake out your own special fishing spot.

It's especially easy to get in the holiday spirit at Broadway at the Beach. Take in a Christmas show at Legends In Concert or The Palace Theatre, or stop and see our 52- foot-tall Christmas tree decorated with 141,000 lights.

On Turkey Day, why slave over a hot stove? There are plenty of great places in Myrtle Beach to find a delicious meal on Thanksgiving Day. For example, several Broadway at the Beach restaurants will be serving up everything from traditional Thanksgiving fare to great steaks, awesome burgers and scrumptious seafood. After you feast at restaurants like Hard Rock Cafe, Landry's Seafood or Good Time Charley's, there's no clean up. So, you'll have plenty of time to stroll among the shops, play at attractions, and even enjoy some nightlife.

When the sun comes up on Black Friday, you can just roll over and catch a few more hours sleep. Skip the craziness at the mall and enjoy holiday bargain shopping that's a breeze. After a leisurely mid-morning breakfast, head over to Broadway at the Beach and enjoy a stroll around the lake. There's sunshine, fresh air and unique gifts at bargain prices. Shops including Tervis, A Silver Shack and Fresh Produce are offering 25% off. Bijuju, MA Fashion and Sports Fanatics are among those offering 40 to 50% off. And a few shops — like Sunglass Hut and Rack Room Shoes — are taking off as much as 60%.

This Thanksgiving weekend you don't have to resign yourself to joining frenzied shoppers on an exhausting pilgrimage for holiday bargains. Come enjoy the beach, a show, and the Christmas lights.

If you know where to look you can find gifts that are unique, beautiful and unexpected at prices worth celebrating.

A Christmas tree that's 52 feet tall, decorated with 141,000 lights. Singing, dancing, fireworks and holiday spirit that fills the air!

It's an event anticipated all year long — Broadway at the Beach's annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony and Christmas Special. Now in its 20^th year, it's known throughout the Grand Strand as Myrtle Beach's biggest and best Christmas extravaganza.

Mark your calendar for Saturday, November 22. The festivities will take place in Broadway Commons, near Guest Services, in front of Pavilion Park Central, beginning at 6 p.m.

Popular WPDE meteorologist Ed Piotrowski will serve as host for an evening of free entertainment sponsored by the Palace Theatre. Professional performers from the Palace Theatre and Legends In Concert will headline, while students from the Carolina Forest Performing Arts Academy and Socastee High School bring their own special kind of magic to the stage. You won't want to miss the amazing Carolina Freestyle Cloggers, and there will even be an appearance by a special visitor from the North Pole.

After the entertainment, the amazing Broadway Christmas tree will be lit, then the skies will sparkle with fireworks over Lake Broadway at 8 p.m.

Join us at our 20^th annual Christmas Special and get your holiday season off to an exciting and fun-filled start!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Our thoughts are turning to mistletoe, holly, baking cookies and buying gifts. Why not get in the holiday spirit this year with a live Christmas show. Myrtle Beach theaters are known for putting on wonderful Christmas variety shows and this year is no exception.

Two theaters at Broadway at the Beach have developed tribute shows that will transport you to simpler times when holidays weren't filled with online shopping and party invitations weren't conveyed through texts.

Wouldn't it be fun to step back in time to the early 1960s when Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. led a band of rowdy, charming and talented rogues known as "The Rat Pack?" They seemed to be everywhere — on stage, TV and in movies. And most Americans couldn't get enough of them.

Legends In Concert has assembled a stellar group of tribute artists to present the first musical Christmas tribute to The Rat Pack ever to appear on stage. Christmas With the Rat Pack (with special guest Marilyn Monroe) takes the audience back to those "ring-a-ding-ding" times when the actors and singers in the pack were the coolest, man. Get in the spirit of the season with holiday classics such as The Christmas Song and Boogie Woogie Santa Claus. Rat Pack standards are also on the playlist, and audiences can get in on the act with sing-a-longs, ad libs, cut ups, and quips. And, you won't want to miss a special appearance by a Rat Pack mascot, Marilyn Monroe.

The show runs through December 20, takes a break from December 22 through December 25, then runs from December 26 through December 31 with a special New Year's Eve version of the show on the 31.

While audiences are swooning to smooth and classy classics at Legends In Concert, The Palace Theatre will be rocking out with the Jersey Nights Christmas Special. Jersey Nights features the hit songs of the Four Seasons, taking everyone on a nostalgic tour of rock'n'roll during a decade of big changes in popular music.

This Christmas spectacular melds rock classics like "Sherry" and "Walk Like A Man" together with holiday classics like "Jingle Bells" and "White Christmas." Sensational dance numbers, first class musical arrangements, perfect harmonies, and authentic costumes combine with decorations and falling snow to put you in a holiday mood.

The Jersey Nights Christmas Special runs through December 20.

There's no better way to launch your holiday season that by taking in a musical show

Do you love nachos? This versatile food is one of the most popular in Myrtle Beach — and throughout the entire U.S.

For nacho purists, there's no better way to experience this comfort food than to snack on tasty corn tortilla sections topped with jalapeño peppers that are cradled in a blanket of melted cheese. After all, that's the way nachos first emerged some 70 years ago from a Mexican restaurant kitchen just over the Texas border.

Over the years, it's become popular to pile nachos high with favorite foods, transforming the snack food into a full meal. Toppings like ground beef, lettuce and guacamole are popular just about everywhere, while chefs in some sections of the country have put regional foods atop the chips. From crispy bacon to tater tots, pulled pork to pineapple, alligator chili to duck confit, and lime-infused crème fraiche to brie sauce, regional versions of nachos have become a staple at restaurants ranging from brew pubs to those serving upscale Continental cuisine.

At Broadway at the Beach, nacho dishes are served at almost every eatery. While many of our visitors enjoy traditional nachos featuring basics like queso and jalapeños, others seek out bolder versions like Volcano Nachos (at Margaritaville) and the Mayan Pyramid (at Carlos'n Charlie's).

National Nachos Day is Thursday, November 6 this year. What kind of nachos will you be diving into?