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.
Praise Be to Music
Florida’s largest Christian music festival fills the air with rocking choruses of “hallelujahs” during the two-day Rock the Universe event at Universal Studio Orlando. The event will include a candle lighting ceremony plus a Sunday morning worship service.
Cheers with a Glass of Vino
Where else to celebrate Spanish wines but in the nation’s oldest city, St. Augustine? A Spanish admiral founded the Florida city in 1565 and ever since its inhabitants have embraced their Iberian roots. The St. Augustine Spanish Wine Festival, mostly at the St. Augustine Shipyard, includes seminars on wine and food pairings plus a grand tasting featuring more than 120 made-in-Spain wine. And prepare to get doused in the fruit of the vine if you so choose. The Batalla de Vinos, a tradition that comes from Haro, Spain, is a lively event in which participants spray each other with wine. Keep your mouth open to get the full effect.
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.
The annual REEF Fest at various venues in Key Largo is an event with a mission.
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.
OCTOBER
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.
Halloween Hotspots for the Kids
Halloween in Florida is much more than just one night of trick-or-treating. Celebrations begin in September and don’t end until in November. We’re talking serious family fun, events made for kids, and a smorgasbord of things to do on Halloween.
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.
It’s More than Football
Fall in Gainesville is synonymous with Gator football. But the University of Florida isn’t the only game in town every fall weekend. The Downtown Festival & Art Show provides some diversion with about 240 artists showing their works along the streets of the historic city center. This year, the Gators will be on the road playing the Gamecocks of South Carolina the weekend of the festival, giving art lovers plenty of places to park, plus hotels to stay in. The artwork spans all mediums from painting to jewelry to ceramics. There will be music and food, too.
Another Kind of Championship
The Petanque Amelia Open draws players of this unusual game from around the country to Amelia Island to complete for $10,000 in prizes. Petanque (pronounced pay-TONK) has its roots in France and is a bit of a cross between horseshoes and bocce ball. The Amelia Open is the largest tournament in the United States. Amateur and experienced teams (about 30 are expected) are invited to register and compete, but it’s fun for spectators too. There are plenty of other fun things to do on Amelia Island, northeast of Jacksonville. Conde Nast readers voted it one of the nation’s top islands.
To see more Florida happenings, check out our Events page.
