End of Summer Bonfire at the Beach Brings The Hoolios, Food Trucks and Giant Flames to Eastern Point

End-of-summer bonfire at the Beach gives Groton one more night on the shoreline before summer disappears, with live music from The Hoolios, food trucks, games, and a bonfire at Eastern Point Beach on Saturday, September 19.

The free event runs from 5 to 8 p.m., with music and food beginning at 5 and the bonfire scheduled to be lit at 6:30 p.m.

This isn’t a return of an old Groton tradition. The city is billing Saturday night’s gathering as its inaugural End of Summer Bonfire, turning Eastern Point Beach into an evening gathering place after the regular summer beach season has ended.

Eastern Point sits where the Thames River opens into Long Island Sound, giving the evening a backdrop of open water, passing vessels, and the Groton and New London waterfronts.

Add a September sunset, live roots music and a bonfire on the beach, and Groton has found a pretty straightforward way to say goodbye to summer.

The Hoolios Are a Particularly Good Band for This Setting

Groton could have booked a conventional cover band for a beach party.

Instead, The Hoolios bring a sound that’s considerably harder to put into one box.

The southeastern Connecticut band mixes Americana, rock, Latin rhythms, reggae, Texas folk and zydeco, drawing heavily from the musical traditions surrounding the Gulf of Mexico.

That can mean guitars and drums, but also accordion, mandolin and washboard. The band’s arrangements can move from roots-oriented songwriting into New Orleans-influenced dance rhythms, rock and reggae.

It’s music designed to move around.

That’s useful when the venue isn’t a theater with everyone sitting quietly in rows.

Jim Carpenter Built the Band Around Original Music

At the center of The Hoolios is Jim Carpenter, the band’s founder, guitarist, singer and primary songwriter.

Carpenter has been part of southeastern Connecticut’s music community for years, developing a body of original material influenced in part by his Southern upbringing.

Local music writer Rick Koster has compared elements of Carpenter’s songwriting to artists including Townes Van Zandt, Robert Earl Keen, Steve Forbert and Marc Cohn, particularly in the way Carpenter builds narratives into his songs.

The Hoolios grew around that songwriting rather than beginning as a band devoted primarily to reproducing familiar hits.

Over the years, the group has recorded albums including Rosalie, Silver Triangle, The Dream, God Invents Rock n Roll, The Rose of His Tattoo, Poor Girl’s Dream and In the Shadows of Dixie.

The lineup has evolved over time, but the basic Hoolios formula has remained recognizable: Carpenter’s songs surrounded by a band capable of pulling from several different American roots traditions without sounding locked into any one of them.

The Band Can Change Shape Depending on the Room

One reason The Hoolios have been able to play such a variety of venues is that the band isn’t tied to a single configuration.

They’ve performed as an acoustic group and as a larger rock and dance band.

The broader Hoolios sound has featured multiple vocalists along with guitar, bass, drums, accordion, organ, mandolin, slide guitar and washboard.

That flexibility has taken the group from intimate rooms to festivals and larger stages.

The band’s history includes appearances at the Mohegan Sun Wolf Den, Mystic Seaport Museum, the Knickerbocker Music Center, Hygienic Art Park, Sailfest and venues well beyond southeastern Connecticut.

For Saturday’s event, the City of Groton has simply announced The Hoolios as the featured live act rather than publishing a specific musician-by-musician lineup.

So don’t assume every instrument associated with the larger band will necessarily be on the Eastern Point stage.

What should be safe to expect is the musical territory that has made the group a regional fixture: roots music with enough rhythmic variety to work as a beach-party soundtrack.

Music and Food Start at 5

The event begins at 5 p.m., when The Hoolios start playing and the food trucks open.

The city hasn’t published a confirmed list of participating food trucks in its current event information, so this is one of those nights when it’s better to arrive and see what’s parked beside the beach than plan dinner around a particular vendor.

Games are also part of the evening.

The city is keeping the format intentionally simple.

There isn’t a packed schedule of performances every 20 minutes, a vendor village or a dozen simultaneous attractions.

It’s music, food, games, the beach and, eventually, a very large fire.

That simplicity may be part of the appeal.

The Bonfire Is Lit at 6:30

The centerpiece arrives at 6:30 p.m., when the bonfire is scheduled to be lit.

By then, sunset will be approaching and the atmosphere at Eastern Point should begin changing fairly quickly.

September evenings on the Connecticut shoreline don’t behave like July evenings.

The sun goes down earlier. Temperatures can fall noticeably once daylight disappears, particularly beside the water.

That makes the bonfire more than a decorative centerpiece.

It becomes the natural gathering point for the second half of the evening.

The event continues until 8 p.m.

Eastern Point Is One of Groton’s Best Places to Watch the Water

Eastern Point Beach is the City of Groton’s municipal beach at 1 Beach Pond Road, positioned at the mouth of the Thames River.

It’s a relatively compact beach, but its geography makes it distinctive.

Look out across the water and you’re watching the point where a working river becomes Long Island Sound.

Commercial vessels, recreational boats and military traffic all use the surrounding waterways. Depending on what’s moving that evening, the view can include everything from sailboats to vessels associated with the Naval Submarine Base and Electric Boat.

The beach itself includes a sandy swimming area, lawns and recreational facilities, along with the stone Zbierski House overlooking the water.

During the regular beach season, Eastern Point operates with lifeguards, admission and parking fees and seasonal facilities.

But the 2026 beach season ended after Labor Day, making Saturday’s bonfire a very different kind of Eastern Point visit.

Instead of heading there for a day in the water, people will be arriving as the day begins to fade.

It’s Free, Including Entry

One important distinction from a normal summer visit is the price.

Admission to the End of Summer Bonfire is free.

The city’s event announcement explicitly advertises free entry, so families don’t need to calculate the usual seasonal beach admission into the cost of the evening.

No tickets or advance registration are currently listed by the City of Groton.

Just show up.

That also makes this an easy event to sample rather than a night requiring a major commitment.

Come at 5 for The Hoolios and dinner from a food truck. Arrive closer to 6:30 for the fire. Stay through 8 if the evening is comfortable.

This One Depends on the Weather

There is one major caveat.

The City of Groton specifically notes that the event is weather dependent.

That’s especially important when the central attraction is an outdoor bonfire beside Long Island Sound.

Rain is an obvious problem, but wind can matter too.

Anyone planning to attend should check the city’s event page or current announcements before leaving home if Saturday’s forecast is questionable.

And even if the weather is perfectly dry, bring another layer.

A comfortable September afternoon at Eastern Point can become a cool shoreline evening surprisingly fast after sunset.

One More Night at the Beach

There are plenty of elaborate ways to mark the end of a season.

Groton isn’t trying one of them.

Instead, the city is taking a familiar local place and changing what people do there for one night.

The swimming season is finished.

The summer beach crowds are gone.

But Eastern Point doesn’t stop being one of Groton’s great waterfront gathering places just because Labor Day has passed.

So The Hoolios plug in at 5.

The food trucks start serving.

At 6:30, someone lights the fire.

And for another hour and a half, summer gets an encore.

Details

Event: End of Summer Bonfire at the Beach
Date: Saturday, September 19, 2026
Time: 5–8 p.m.
Location: Eastern Point Beach
Address: 1 Beach Pond Road, Groton, CT 06340
Admission: Free
Music: The Hoolios
Music Begins: 5 p.m.
Food Trucks Open: 5 p.m.
Bonfire Lighting: 6:30 p.m.
Activities: Live music, food trucks, games and bonfire
Organizer: City of Groton
Event Contact: City of Groton, 860-446-4103
Weather: Weather dependent; check the city’s current event information before attending if conditions are questionable
What to Bring: A layer for the cooler evening temperatures is a good idea. Bring money or a payment method for food purchases.
Registration: None listed by the City of Groton
Parking: Eastern Point Beach has on-site parking; follow event signage and any instructions from city staff upon arrival.

More information is available at the Event Website link below.

 

 

Featured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people, location, or activities shown.