Florida, United States — Events
Dade Heritage Days
The Dade Heritage Trust is committed to ‘preserving the best of the past for the future,’ and one way this organization has found to do this is the six-week annual line-up of events designed to stimulate awareness of and celebrate the architecture, culture, environment and people of Dade country. The program of more than 100 events draws visitors and locals alike to take part in walking and bicycling tours, browse local crafts and gift boutiques, admire historic and architectural exhibits, watch historical re-enactments and attend lectures or film shows.
Coconut Grove Arts Festival
The charming village of Coconut Grove south of downtown Miami on Biscayne Bay becomes the setting for a premier outdoor fine arts festival during February each year, attracting more than 150,000 people to view the works of more than 330 contemporary artists, ranging from photography and sculpture to jewelry, painting and woodwork. Visitors can meet and chat with the artists, sample delicious cuisine, and enjoy live entertainment and music.
Calle Ocho
Claiming to be the biggest street party in the world, and undoubtedly the biggest Hispanic bash in the United States, Carnaval Miami offers two weeks of concerts, parades, family entertainment, sport, art exhibits and ethnic food and culminating in the massive ‘Calle Ocho’ street party and parade. Organized by Little Havana’s Kiwanis Club in aid of needy children, Carnaval attracts a million fun-lovers who swarm through 23 city blocks. More than 40 stages are placed on intersecting avenues, from which emanates merengue, salsa, pop and Caribbean music.
Ultra Music Festival
The Ultra Music Festival is an outdoor electronic music festival, held annually during the Winter Music Conference in Miami, Florida. The festival has grown so much in recent years, that it has become one of the highest-grossing music festivals anywhere in the world - and a veritable Mecca for electro heads everywhere. Consisting of 16 stages, involving 300 DJs, and with an expected attendance in excess of 150,000, tickets are bound to be scarce on the ground. Book now to avoid disappointment, and stock up on plenty of sleep.
Rajuncajun Crawfish Festival
Louisiana’s favorite Cajun dishes are served up at a fun and food fest billed as an ‘all-you-can-eat-n-drink-foot-stomping-Bayou-blast-good-time’! The festival combines the tastes, smells and sounds peculiar to Louisiana Cajun country, with true Florida-style activities like alligator exhibits and airboat rides. Along with the crawfish, shrimp, corn, chicken jambalaya and other favorites, there is live entertainment and contests.
Orlando Fringe Festival
The ten-day Orlando International Fringe Festival has been held in the streets, theaters and converted office spaces of central Orlando since 1992. This popular springtime event involves more than 500 shows, nightly outdoor concerts, a parade and a ‘kid’s fringe’ for the youngsters.
Florida Folk Festival
Held along the banks of the historic Suwannee River, the Florida Folk Festival has - since its inception in 1953 - been the state’s most prestigious cultural event. The purpose of the festival is to celebrate the music, dancing, stories, crafts and food that make Florida unique, and in this spirit, more than 300 nationally-renowned performers grace the festival’s stages each year. Festival-goers will be invited to try their hand at playing mandolin, telling ‘tall tales’, and making pine-needle baskets.
Epcot International Food and Wine Festival
Delicious international dishes and fascinating entertainment are served up in style at the annual Food and Wine Festival at Disney’s Epcot Center. Food and fine wines are available to sample from more than 25 countries, while music is provided by the ‘Eat to the Beat’ concert series. Phone +1 407 939 3463 for more information or contact Epcot at Walt Disney World on +1 407 824 4321.
Miami Carnival
Having become a well-entrenched tradition over the past 20-odd years, the Miami Carnival is a cultural festival with a Caribbean-Latin flavor, providing a day of family fun and frolics that attracts about 50,000 people. Focus of the carnival is a colorful parade featuring steel bands, performers and dancers in flamboyant costumes, live bands and huge decorated floats. Spectators can enjoy food stalls and all sorts of allied outdoor festivities.
Fantasy Fest
The ten-day long Fantasy Fest is about expressing oneself away from the confines of the real world and tens of thousands of uninhibited visitors and locals take part in the colorful extravaganza every year. Events include anything from costume parties, celebrity look-alike competitions and street parades to balls, fairs and live music, all with a magical twist.
