Fat Harold's Beach Club

Myrtle Beach earns popularity for beach adventures and seafood delights but there’s another must do experience for the South Carolina hot spot. You can not leave Myrtle Beach without a good shag. Shag dancing, or the Carolina shag to be specific, is the state dance and there’s no better place to try it than Fat Harold’s.

This smooth-toed derivative of the jitterbug dance is said to have originated in Myrtle Beach during the late 30s and it continues to thrive in nightclubs throughout the area. This stylish swing dance is a point of pride for seasoned shaggers and Fat Harold’s Beach Club is their official headquarters.  The dimly lit club is packed every night with dancers gliding across the floor in the required leather-soled shoes.  Djs pump beach music or live bands perform mid tempo rhythms perfect for the dance. For the rhythm-impaired, there’s even free weekly shag lessons so there’s no excuse not to join the fun.  Imagine sliding across the floor with nimble spins and twirls and you’re half way there. Fat Harold’s is a Myrtle Beach institution with friendly servers and  proper rights to the moniker, “home of the shag.”  If you’re not in the mood for a burger or hot dog at Fat Harold’s shuffle on over to the Landmark Bar & Grill on the boardwalk and sample the  bountiful helpings of fish tacos and chips and salsa.

Photo courtesy of Rosalind Cummings-Yeates