Fall Events in Florida

By Janet K. Keeler

Fall is a special time in Florida. Professional and major collegiate football are big draws in stadiums, sports bars and living rooms. But travelers cannot live by touchdowns alone and the calendar is crowded with many other things to do in the Sunshine State.

The big daddy of them all might just be the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, which starts in August. For 75 days in all, Disney World’s Epcot transforms into a showcase of food and wine with tastings, seminars, celebrity sightings and a wide-ranging schedule of musical acts.

There are plenty of other events to tickle the fancy of a curious traveler.

Film is featured in Miami in September with the Brazilian Film Festival, while Talk like a Pirate Day is celebrated in Fernandina Beach. The Sarasota Chalk Festival in November has artists turning the city’s sidewalks into colorful canvases.

There’s much, much more. Here are some favorites to put on the calendar.
 

SEPTEMBER
 

All Things Women

Colorful Key West hosts the largest gathering of lesbians and friends on the planet. The five-day Womenfest Key West is an extravaganza of music and comedy shows, plus dance-your-booty-off parties, sailing and snorkeling adventures and a pageant. The party is happening at venues all over the island and you can bet that Duval Street will be bumping late into the night. Unless you’re lucky enough to have a friend with a Key West conch house, book accommodations soon.

Music, Music and More Music

The Island Hopper Songwriting Fest is an 11-day musical feast stretching over three cities in Lee County, Captiva Island, Fort Myers Beach and Fort Myers. Get your music-loving head around this: 100 live performances, 70 songwriters and 20 venues. Forget the hills being alive with music and get yourself to one of the loveliest coastal regions of Florida where even the palm trees will be swaying to the beat for this event.

Seafood, Songs and Salty Breezes

September brings one of the Panhandle’s most beloved traditions to downtown Pensacola with the Pensacola Seafood Festival. Held along the waterfront at Community Maritime Park, this three-day celebration serves up Gulf-fresh shrimp, fish and oysters alongside live music from regional and national acts. Artisans line the streets with handcrafted goods, cooking demonstrations spotlight local chefs, and the laid-back coastal vibe makes it easy to spend the entire day sampling, strolling and soaking up the scenery. Equal parts food festival and street fair, the Pensacola Seafood Festival promises a flavorful way to welcome fall on Florida’s Emerald Coast.

OCTOBER
 

An Underwater Celebration

The annual REEF Fest at various venues in Key Largo is an event with a mission and that’s to draw attention to the conservation efforts needed to maintain ones of the nation’s most beautiful underwater treasures. The four-day festival includes seminars led by prominent ocean experts, a kick-off event picnic and other social get-togethers plus silent and live auctions to raise money for conservation. Among the highlights of REEF fest are the guided dives that show off the coral reefs of the Upper Keys. All seminars are free, but registration is recommended.

Get Your Cowboy On

The 3,000 population of the Northwest Florida town of Bonifay swells mightily each year for the Annual Northwest Florida Championship Rodeo. Some 25,000 people crowd into the stands at Memorial Field to watch competitors rack up the points, hoping for a spot in the national finals. Competitors will be bull-riding, cattle-roping and barrel-racing event. There is a parade and someone gets named Miss Rodeo.

City Walls as Canvas

St. Petersburg continues to grow its reputation as an arts city with the annual Shine Mural Festival. Walls through the city’s vibrant downtown and adjacent areas become blank canvasses for local, national and international mural artists. About a dozen artists create wall art during the week while visitors watch the works take shape. Walking and tram tours are offered to the various work sites with stops at murals from years one and two. The city’s lively night scene becomes even livelier with other events celebrating the Shine Mural Festival.

It’s Time to Veg Out

The Central Florida Veg Fest touts itself as one of the biggest and best in the country, drawing hundreds of food and product vendors and presenters from around the world. Bring your dog, attend a seminar, take a yoga class and sample creative and delicious vegetarian and vegan dishes. There is an animal haven where your four-legged companions can get a drink, plus there will be representatives with many animal rescue organizations. Be warned: You might be going home with a puppy and instructions on how to feed her a veg diet.

NOVEMBER
 

Books Lovers Live Here

If you have favorite authors with new books out, it’s a good guess that they’ll be attending Miami Book Fair. Some of the nation’s biggest authors and names are often the schedule for talks and book signings. The Wolfson campus of Miami Dade College is crawling with authors and readers for the weeklong author fest that also include a giant street fair. Watch the website as the organizers release the names of authors, and book early for “Evening With” sessions.

Hot Rod Heaven at the Beach

Get ready for a blast from the past as polished chrome and engine roars of yesteryear take over Panama City Beach for Emerald Coast Cruizin. The four-day car-lover extravaganza features 125 auto vendors (need a new pair of fuzzy dice to dangle from your rear-view mirror?), a swap meet (you know you want a 12-pack of chamois) and the car corral (yes, that is my mint 1957 Thunderbird). The big attraction though is the thousands of hot rods, custom cars and vintage trucks to ogle over. Music, carnival food plus activities for the kids.

A City Wrapped in Light

When November arrives, historic St. Augustine flips the switch on one of Florida’s most enchanting traditions: Nights of Lights. From mid-November through January, the nation’s oldest city glows beneath millions of white lights draped across Spanish Colonial buildings, palm trees, and centuries-old streets. The season officially kicks off with a festive Light-Up! Night celebration, drawing visitors for live music, food, and the dramatic moment the city illuminates at once. Whether you admire the spectacle from a horse-drawn carriage, a boat on Matanzas Bay, or simply while strolling the brick-lined streets, Nights of Lights is pure magic.

To see more Florida happenings, check out our Events page.