"This area right here was underwater," Father Bob Higginbotham told WLOX in October 2006. He was standing on the grounds of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in D'Iberville, which Katrina's storm surge had flooded the year before. He said it during the parish bazaar, which had been canceled in 2005 and was back with what he called "fantastic crowds."
Twenty years after that comeback, the same bazaar reaches its 100th edition. It runs October 23 through 25 at 10446 Le Moyne Boulevard. October in D'Iberville also brings Cruisin' the Coast's 30th year, a new drifting show in a casino parking lot and three days of oldies bands at the Civic Center. Those are a regional event passing through. The bazaar is the one that belongs to the city, and its biggest night falls on the same Saturday as the city's Trunk or Treat.
A Mission on the Back Bay, Then a Pastor, Then a School
Sacred Heart's own history starts with a mission set up in 1859 for Catholics living around Biloxi's Back Bay. Bishop John Gunn named the parish's first resident pastor on October 6, 1921. The parish school opened in 1927, and the Sisters of Mercy have been on the parish staff since that year.
The bazaar grew out of that community. When WLOX covered the 2006 return, it put the bazaar's history at about 80 years. The Gulf Pine Catholic event listing for 2026 calls this year the 100th annual bazaar. By either count, the event has outlasted both Camille and Katrina.
Two Cancellations, Two Comebacks
According to WLOX, the bazaar has been canceled only twice. The first time came after Camille. The second came in 2005, after Katrina. Both times, the station reported, the bazaar's return "played a big part in the triumphant return of the church and its people."
At the 2006 bazaar, Higginbotham spoke about what putting it on again meant:
"It's been a great boost for our community. I mean our people have come together to put this on and that's been a rebuilding for our community. And for the wider community to gather here and have this time to see people and meet people and re-establish ties within the community."
The money mattered too. That year the parish hoped to raise $50,000 to $60,000 for rebuilding. The congregation had close to a thousand members and was joined by thousands of people from across D'Iberville. The recovery took years after that. The school reopened in January 2007 after renovation, and the storm-damaged bell tower was rededicated on December 24, 2017.
What the 2026 Poster Lists
The poster for the 100th edition is short. Here is what it lists:
- Friday, October 23: 5:30 p.m. until close
- Saturday, October 24, and Sunday, October 25: 11 a.m. until close
- Live music
- Food and drinks
- Game booths
- A $10,000 raffle
- A silent auction
- A cake walk
- A fireworks show
The raffle, live music, food, silent auction and cake walk were also on the poster for the 2024 bazaar, so they look like the core of the event. Some 2024 details don't appear on this year's poster. That flyer advertised free entry, three extra $500 drawings and a cornhole tournament, and the 2024 parish event page mentioned bounce houses. The 2026 materials say nothing either way about admission, rides, specific food booths or closing times. Families who plan around those details should check with the parish before they go.
The calendar has moved, too. The 2024 bazaar ran October 18 through 20. This year it falls on the last full weekend before Halloween, which is how it ended up sharing a Saturday with the city's Trunk or Treat.
First, Cruisin' Comes Through Two D'Iberville Sites
Before the bazaar weekend, Cruisin' the Coast spends most of the week in D'Iberville. Its 30th year runs October 4 through 11. The city hosts two very different parts of it.
The first is in the north parking lot at Scarlet Pearl Casino, where autocross runs Monday, October 5, from 1 to 5 p.m. On Tuesday and Wednesday, October 6 and 7, it runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Only registered vehicles can run. On Wednesday evening, the same lot hosts something new on this year's schedule, a Drifting Exhibition from 6 to 8 p.m.
The second is the D'Iberville venue at the Civic Center Complex. Cruisin's venue sites run Thursday through Saturday, October 8 to 10, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The D'Iberville site has classic cars, live music, and food and drink vendors. Spectators without a registered car can walk in free.
Here is the music lineup at the D'Iberville stage:
| Day | Bands |
|---|---|
| Thursday, Oct. 8 | Daddy O, 11 a.m.–noon; Cool Rayz, 1–2 p.m.; Eklektik, 3–4:30 p.m. |
| Friday, Oct. 9 | Scott Hinson, 11 a.m.–noon; Miles Flatt, 1–2 p.m.; Vince Vance & The Valiants, 3–4:30 p.m. |
| Saturday, Oct. 10 | Black Velvet; The Project; Dr. Zarr's Amazing Funk Monster |
The D'Iberville Mayor's Choice Award is scheduled for Saturday, October 10, at 2 p.m. After that, the cars move on. Cruisin' ends October 11, and the next weekend on D'Iberville's calendar is the bazaar.
Saturday, October 24, Carries the Month
The rest of October builds up to one day. On Saturday, October 24, three regular D'Iberville events overlap or come close:
- Morning: The city's Saturday Farmers Market runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. It is held year-round.
- From 11 a.m.: The Sacred Heart bazaar opens for its second day on Le Moyne Boulevard.
- 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.: The D'Iberville Trunk or Treat takes place at Bobby Eleuterius Sports Complex.
Since the bazaar's poster gives no closing time, a family can do Trunk or Treat and still head to the parish grounds afterward. The Friday opening at 5:30 p.m. and the Sunday session starting at 11 a.m. give two more chances for anyone who wants to skip the busiest day.
Around the region, that same Saturday is crowded. Gulf Coast Weekend's fall guide lists the Nativity BVM 68th Annual Halloween Carnival on Beach Boulevard in Biloxi, the Witches Walk in Old Town Bay St. Louis, and the last weekend of the Jackson County Fair in Pascagoula. Next to those, D'Iberville's two evening events are close to home, and one of them is marking a century.
The Smaller Changes Around the Edges
Most of D'Iberville's other news this fall is still in the planning stage. In a vote WLOX reported on August 5, the City Council approved an incentive agreement with BJ's Wholesale Club for a site at Popp's Ferry Road and D'Iberville Boulevard. The city manager forecast construction for very late 2026 or early 2027 and gave no opening date. Texas Roadhouse has proposed replacing the former Red Lobster at 3897 Promenade Parkway. As of early August, that was a pending request, not an approved project. The $5 million Mallett Road project will widen the road from three lanes to four between Lamey Bridge Road and Daisy Vestry Road. WLOX reported that work was expected to start around the end of 2026 and could take two years.
None of those projects will change this October. The bazaar opens at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, October 23, on the same Le Moyne Boulevard grounds the Katrina surge covered in 2005.
At Rain, we pay attention to the dates a place keeps coming back to, and Sacred Heart's bazaar weekend is one of D'Iberville's. If you're thinking about what owning a home near the Back Bay and Le Moyne Boulevard looks like year-round, through festival weeks, storm seasons and everything in between, Talk With an Advisor.
