Orange Beach Freedom Fest Returns Sept. 19-20 With Full Music Lineup

ORANGE BEACH — Continuing the 250th anniversary celebration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the City of Orange Beach will present the 6th Annual Orange Beach Freedom Fest on Saturday, Sept. 19, and Sunday, Sept. 20, at The Wharf — and organizers have now finalized the weekend’s details, including the full lineup for the Flora-Bama/CoastAL Music Stage.

The nonprofit two-day celebration draws visitors from across the Gulf Coast with live music, a classic car show, a collectible firearms show and family-friendly activities. Activity hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. Admission to the festival and car show is free; admission is required only for the firearms show.

The Music Lineup

The Flora-Bama/CoastAL Music Stage will feature live performances throughout both days on the vendor side of the grounds.

Saturday, Sept. 19 — 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.: Tim Roberts; 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Trent Brownlee; 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.: Mike Diamond Duo; 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.: Dalton Bush Band.

Sunday, Sept. 20 — 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.: Brent Varner Duo; 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.: Ryan Dyer Band.

Bama Coast Cruisin’ Car Show

Each day of the festival will include the Bama Coast Cruisin’ Fall Car Show along Main Street and Wharf Parkway. Bama Coast Cruisin’ bills itself as an inclusive show open to anyone who loves cars and enjoys cruising the open road, with no restrictions on the vehicles that can be entered. The organizers’ motto is “Bring your dream ride & cruise with us!” Registration information is available on the Bama Coast Cruisin’ website.

Participants will hold their own parade down to the beach at 3 p.m. Sunday, rolling from the show grounds to the shoreline as a closing flourish for the weekend.

Collectible Firearms Show

The nonprofit Gulf Coast Gun Collectors Association will hold its third annual Collectible Firearms Show both days at the Orange Beach Event Center, a separate venue from the main festival grounds, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.

Admission is $10 cash or $11 by credit card, and children 10 and under get in free. Vendors interested in a booth can find more information at www.gulfcoastgunca.com.

Freedom Rally & Ride

On Saturday, the Marshals Mardi Gras group will host a “Freedom Rally & Ride,” a motorcycle and Jeep rally staged on Wharf Parkway West between the bridge and the SpringHill Suites hotel. A police-escorted ride to the beach departs at noon. Tickets and additional details are available through the group’s EventBrite listing.

The Marshals are known along the Gulf Coast for their annual Mardi Gras parade appearances, and the rally brings a measure of that same energy to the Freedom Fest weekend. Riders and drivers taking part gather at The Wharf alongside the car show and the broader festival footprint.

Kids’ Zone and Wildlife Encounters

The Orange Beach Police Department will run the Kids’ Zone next to the Wharf Ferris wheel on Main Street in The Grove as a K9 fundraiser, with drinks, snacks, bouncy houses and other activities for children.

The Orange Beach Wildlife Center, operated by the city, will also be on hand with an animal encounter experience and animal ambassadors, giving visitors a chance to learn more about the native species that live along the Alabama Gulf Coast. The center cares for injured and orphaned native wildlife and uses public events such as Freedom Fest to educate residents and visitors about conservation.

Vendors, Food and Merchandise

Both days will feature arts, crafts and food vendors on the west side of The Wharf, selling a wide range of goods including specialty items, boutique clothing, jewelry, woodwork, metalwork and candles. Patriotic military booths will also anchor the festival grounds.

The Coastal Alabama Business Chamber will sell beer on Main Street near the food vendors and music stage, and official Freedom Fest T-shirts will be available at a merchandise tent on the west side of the festival grounds. The 2026 food truck, nonprofit and arts/crafts vendor application period has closed.

Parking and Shuttles

There is no admission charge for the festival or car show, and organizers say ample parking will be available. On Saturday, volunteers from Orange Beach City Schools will help direct parking, with donations accepted to benefit school programs.

Free shuttles will run both days from Orange Beach Middle/High School, with pickup at the school’s bell tower and drop-off at the front circle on Main Street at The Wharf. Handicap parking is available on-site at The Wharf, and a handicap-accessible shuttle will also run from the school.

A Signature Fall Weekend

The Wharf — the marina, amphitheater, shopping and residential complex along the Intracoastal Waterway in Orange Beach — was built as an entertainment district, and its layout suits a spread-out festival. Main Street and Wharf Parkway give the car show a paved showground long enough for dozens of vehicles, and visitors who come for the festival can walk the district’s shops and restaurants in the same visit.

Freedom Fest has grown steadily since its first edition, evolving from a modest patriotic observance into a multi-day event that fills The Wharf’s Main Street and surrounding venues. Pairing the festival with the car show and the firearms show has let organizers offer something for nearly every interest while keeping the celebration to a single weekend in mid-September.

Freedom Fest arrives at a time of year when summer crowds have thinned but the weather remains warm enough for outdoor events, and it leans on patriotic themes that pair with the broader semiquincentennial celebrations taking place across the country in 2026. With vendors booked, the lineup announced and the logistics laid out, the sixth edition is set to bring two free days of programming to The Wharf.

Update: A Police-Run Kids’ Zone and Parking That Helps the Schools

Two additional details have been announced for this year’s Freedom Fest.

The Orange Beach Police Department will host a “Kids’ Zone” at the festival. Putting officers in charge of the children’s area is a deliberate choice on the part of a department in a tourism town — it puts officers in an unhurried setting with families, which is the opposite of the circumstances in which most people meet one.

Parking will be available at The Wharf, with volunteers on site to assist drivers and collect donations. Those donations go to Orange Beach schools.

That makes the parking arrangement worth understanding before arriving: there is no admission charge for the festival or the car show, so the parking donation is the main point at which attendance converts into money for local students.