Outdoor

Come out to the beautiful Islamorada Founders Park for one of the best outdoor music festivals in the Florida Keys.  Bay Jam was started years ago as an event to promote the Arts in local schools.  Artists perform and proceeds go to benefit local students in the form of scholarships and tickets to arts perfromances ($180,000 in proceeds from events were given for art, music and dance scholarships).  Guests also bring in canned foods to get in which benefits local food banks.

Hemingway 5K Sunset Run & Paddle Board Race in Key West is one of the most picturesque athletic challenges in the South.   The Lazy Dog (local paddleboard vendor) Paddleboard Race begins at 6:00 pm at 1405 Duval Street at Key West's southernmost beach on the Atlantic Ocean.  Compete to run the 3 mile course out and back to the beach.

Jupiter Seafood Festival at CARLIN PARK (new location) in Jupiter is a 2 day event featuring 9 different live entertainers and oodles of delicious seafood.  This is the 4th Annual Seafood Festival with last year's event bringing in over 14,000 people.  Bring your chairs or blankets and some sunblock then enjoy the live music and delectable seafood. There will be a Children's Area with activities for the little ones who are admitted free.

Celebrate Mexican culture and heritage this year on May 2nd in Delray Beach at the "Cinco De Mayo" festival at the Old School Square Pavilion. The event is hosted by the Hispano-Latino Cultural Alliance.  This Saturday Fiesta (the 5th of May is on a Tuesday this year) will include folk dances, Flamenco, Square dancers, Latino bands, Mariachi performances and games.  

Take an evening stroll down Artists' Alley and visit all the open studios and galleries in the area.  Artists' Alley is located in Delray Beach's newest hot spot neighborhood of Pineapple Grove Arts District. Artists have taken up residence in garages located east of 3rd street and west of the train tracks.  The strip runs north and south.  It is all an easy leisurely walk with lots to see.  Some of the galleries will offer free light refreshments or wine.

The Big Pine & Lower Keys Rotary Club would like you to celebrate America's independence with them this 4th of July at their 9th Annual celebration at Big Pine Community Park.  The park can be found at mile marker 30 on the bayside at the end of Sands Road. Gates will open at 5pm to a family-friendly affair filled with food, drinks, games and activities.  Enjoy a live music performance followed by a show stopping fireworks display at nightfall.

“I have had a most rare vision. I have had a dream, past the wit of man to say what dream it was.” 

― William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream

Come and celebrate Spring as well as our wonderful Florida plants and animals at the Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden.  This garden is located just east of the main island of Key West on Stock Island. Migration Mania is a wonderful family-friendly event that is both fun and educational.  Help the next generation appreciate and learn about our local habitat as well as create an awareness of the birds hiding in plain view around them.

Morikami Museum and Gardens every summer offers special evenings to come out and enjoy their beautiful gardens.  When the days are hot, bright and humid, Morikami welcomes guests to take an evening stroll through the grounds and enjoy the culinary treats of the Cornell Cafe (separate cost). Relax and enjoy the sun's slow descent into the horizon. Very little is more spectacular than the sun's last rays hitting the Morikami lake with the Japanese bridge in the background.

Morikami's Lantern Festival is one of the most beautiful and popular events at the Gardens.  Obon is the Japanese festival to honor ancestors who are believed to briefly visit the living. It is held in the summer time. But, wait, isn't this a FALL event at Morikami for 2018?  Yes.  This is why it is only in the "Spirit of Obon" since summers are not the most comfortable times to enjoy an outdoor festival in South Florida.