January:
Polo Season opens early in the month at the Palm Beach Polo and Country Club in West Palm Beach 793-1440.
Japanese New Year
Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens
4000 Morikami Park Road Delray Beach
Admission charged. Tea ceremony extra.
In early January. Traditional holiday decorations set the theme for Hatsaugama, the first tea ceremony of the New Year. Visitors learn to make mochitsuki or traditional rice cakes. Games include Hanetsuki, similar to badminton. There is also the game of Fuki Warai, similar to pin the tail on the donkey. There are demoinstrations in calligraphy and the making of greeting cards.
Winter Equestrian Festival
793-5867 begins at the Palm Beach Polo and Country Club in late January and continues through mid- March. The festival, which includes 3,500 horses and seven major grand-prix equestrian events, then moves to the Bob Thomas Equestrian Center (813/626-5222) in Tampa through April.
Stadium Jumping, Inc.
14440 Pierson Road, Wellington
793-5867
Discover the largest Equestrian Sporting Event in the world: the Winter Equestrian Festival, proving ground for the Olympic Equestrian sports of show jumping & dressage. Come see 4,000 horses from around the world.
South Florida Fair & PBC Expositions
9697 Southern Boulevard, West Palm Beach
793-0333
The annual South Florida Fair is Palm Beach County's largest event. The nationally-recognized event features top entertainment, exhibits, games, livestock, an historic village (Yesteryear Village:), food & America's top midway. 17 days beginning in mid-January. A nightly parade: No stars, no gigantic floats, but it's still better than Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade as far as we're concerned.
February:
The Delray Affair, held the weekend following Easter, is a big event that features arts, crafts, and food 279-1380.
Artigras
Abacoa Community Center in Jupiter
Annual event put on by the North Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce. Hundreds of booths are set up and art works are displayed. Arts, crafts, food and new Orleans style music are the highlights of this three day affair during President's weekend. Originally a small affair with a few hundred participants. Now, over 60,000. Proceeds benefit the Chamber's pledge to Palm Beach County Schools.
Bookfest
South Florida Fair Grounds
Southern Blvd., 7 miles west of I-95.
West Palm Beach
BookFest is an annual literary event that draws more than 20,000 qttendees over three days. Visitors move between exhibits and lectures and receptions for authors. Storytellers entertain. Showcased are mystery writers, children;s book authors, romance writers, first novelists, rare books, best sellers, and non-sellers. Coincides with Natiional Library Week. Nominal admission charge.
Greek Festival
St. Mark Greek Orthodox Church
2100 Yamato Road, Boca Raton
561-994-4822
A celebration open to all of Greek religion and culture. Held in late February, the festival includes music and dance, boutiques, arts, crafts, and food. Tasty Greek food, cooked to perfection. Telephone for date and times.
Palm Beach Renaissance Festival
Picnic Island at John Prince Park
Lake Worth
1-800-676-7333
The days of knights, wizards, and fair ladies come alive during this dr4amatic musical and visual extravaganza. A five day event encompassing two weekends in mid-February.
Hatsume Fair
Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens
Delray Beach
561-495-0233
Admission charged.
This fair takes place in late February to celebrate the first bud of the year. The park's largest folk festival attracts about 15,000 visitors for a weekend of taiko drums, exotic music, dance, bonsai demonstrations, arts, crafts, plants. children's activities, food and drinks.
March:
Meet Me Downtown
Downtown Boca Raton
395-4433
This event is Boca Raton's largest arts and entertainment festival. More than 400 arts and crafts booths are set up in Mizner Park, in Royal Palm Plaza, and along Palmetto Park Road. The Amphitheater stage is filled with strolling acts such as jugglers, mimes, stilt walkers, etc. Meet Me Downtown benefits the Golden Bell Foundation, an education fund set up by the Greater Boca Chamber of Commerce. More than 150,000 people attend the fair. The three day event takes place in early March.
Boynton Beach GALA
Ocean Avenue and Boynton Beach Blvd.
375-6235
An art, live music, open air family event with a marketplace, games and rides for the children, picnic areas, exhibitions with the works of more than 250 artists on display. They compete for awards in the categories of watercolors, ceramics, oil, acrylics, drawing and graphics, photography, jewelry, sculpture, and crafts. This is Boynton's largest outdoor family festival.
Palm Beach Boat Show
Flagler Drive at the Intracoastal Waterway
Between Fern and Datura Streets
West Palm Beach
1-800-940-7642
This annual show is held in late March and showcases more than 500 boats, new and pre-owned. Hundreds of boats are featured. Fishing tips are given, swimwear is modeled. Admission charged.
Latin Fest
Dreher Park, near the zoo
1301 Summit Blvd.
West Palm Beach
835-4913
An annual event celebrating Latin culture with music, food, and fun.
This late March event features bands from Puerto ico, the Dominican Republic and New York. Admission is free. Proceeds from refreshment stands are donated to Hispanic Human Resources. Latin Fest is also celebrated in July and October.
April:
Palm Beach Invitational International Piano Competition
Palm Beach, Florida
833-8817
This three day competition of the world's finest young pianists is held in the spring. From January through March prior to the competition, the Piano Guild presents weekly Sunday Salon and Living Room Concerts at the Four Seasons Grand Hotel, S. Ocean Blvd., Palm Beach. These serve as fund raisers for the spring competition. Sunday programs begin at 4pm.
Black Gold Jubilee
Belle Glade Marina
Belle Glade, FL
561-996-2745
Held during the third week in April, at the end of the Florida Farmworkers' harvest season, this festival combines a blessing of the soil and a way of recognizing the agricultural workers.
Jubilee events include sports contests such as volleyball, tennis, golf, and a road race. There is also a street festival with booths, crafts, entertainment and evening fireworks. Admission is free.
May:
Sea Turtles
After sunset from May until August, female sea turtles crawl onto moonlit beaches well above the high-tide line, dig a hole with their flippers and bury as many as 120 eggs. The mother turtle then drags herself back into her ocean home, leaving the hatchlings to fend for themselves. .After her eggs have incubated in the warm sand for about two months, the baby turtles hatch, dig their way of the nest before dawn and begin their journey to the safety of the ocean. If you are visiting the county during this time, be sure to sign up for a turtle walk to experience this amazing event.
SunFest
West Palm Beach
837-8065
Florida's largest music, art and waterfront festival featuring more than 40 concerts by national recording artists. Juried art show Friday through Sunday, fireworks, children's activities and plenty of food and refreshments.
Seafare
Carlin Park, Jupiter
Indiantown Road and Highway A1A
This annual event in mid May brings together at least 14,000 seafood lovers at the baser of the famous Jupiter Lighthouse. Small admission charge.
June:
Kidsfest
Carlin Park Amphitheater
Jupiter
575-7336
Palm Beach Shakespeare Festival produces this event for children featuring two evenings of special shows and entertainment in the beginning of June. Events take place over two days from 6-10pm. Small admission charge.
July:
SoulFest
Phil Foster Park
900 Blue heron Blvd.
Riviera Beach
842-7146
Held under the Blue Heron Bridge, this three day late July/early August festival combines arts and crafts, entertainment, and plenty of good food. The focus is on the educational awareness of black history and black cultural heritage. Headline entertainment is featured nightly. The Sunbcoast Chamber of Commerce sponsors SoulFest which draws a crowd of over 20,000.
Lake Worth Tropic Fest and Fireworks
Bryant Park Bandshell
Golfview and Lake Avenues
533-7359
All day festivities include arts and crafts, children's activities, food booths, music and an Intracoastal Waterway swim. Fireworks are at 9pm. Admission is free.
West Palm Beach Fourth on Flagler
Flagler between fern and Clematis Streets
West Palm Beach
659-8007
To celebrate the Fourth, the First Baptist Church choir performs during Celebrate America; Bob Lappin and the Palm Beach Pops, a 65 member professional orchestra plays patriotic favorites, and fireworks begin at 9pm.
August:
Boca Festival Days and Boca Expo
The whole month of August is devoted to Festival Days. Dog washes, art exhibits, underwater photography; kite flying, treasure hunts; sand sculpture; fashion shows, antique car shows, softball and gymnastics are a few of the events. An annual trade fair is part of the fun. More than 20,000 attend the show over three days.
September:
Clematis By Night
The Downtown Development Authority sponsors this series of concerts on Thursday nights from 5-8pm. Downtown streets are closed to traffic and regional bands entertain crowds of people with rock, reggae, country, jazz, etc.
Sunset Celebration
Singer Island
Sailfish Marina
98 Lake Drive
1-800-446-4577
Every Thursday from 6-9pm. this art and craft show features local and national artists exhibiting sculpture, paintings, photographs and jewelry.
October:
Oktoberfest
5111 Lantana Road
American German Club picnic grounds
Lake Worth
967-6464
The festival runs two weekends in mid-October. The festival is so popular that there is shuttle service from John Prince Park in Lake Worth. Admission fee.
November:
Frontier Family Days
Royal Palm Polo Grounds
Boca Raton, 561-994-1021
This professional three day rodeo is an annual fund raiser to benefit the George Snow Scholarship Fund. Major corporate sponsors, professional cowboys and a well rounded program draw thousands to the rodeo on the first weekend each November.
Armenian Festival
St. David Armenian Church
2300 Yamato Road
Boca Raton
561-994-2335
Food preparation for this festival which is held the weekend before Thanksgiving, usually starts in the summer. members of the congregation stock their freezers with Armenian delicacies. Food and Armenian culture are the highlights.
Jewish Community Festival of Arts, Books and Culture
9801 Donna Klein Blvd.
Boca Raton
561-852-3241
This annual two week long event hosts leading Jewish literary personalities and a book fair showcases classical Jewish authors. It runs from mid through late November.
December:
Palm Beach Round Table
230 Royal Palm Way
Ste. 202
Palm Beach
655-5266
Modeled after the ideal of King Arthur, a cadre of intellectuals dined and socialized to work through the problems and issues of the day starting in 1932. The tradition continues, but the venue has moved to larger quarters. The Kravis Center is now the location; the events are sold out, and the speakers hold forth in the 11,000 square foot hospitality hall with banquet facilities. Schedule is released in October for December-May events.
Boca Raton Boat Parade
A highlight of the holiday season
