Mark your calendar: Annual events in the Orlando area – Orlando Weekly

By Kristin Howard on Fri, Apr 14, 2023 at 4:00 am
There are fun events happening in the Orlando area all year round — so many, in fact, that it’s easy to let one slip past you. To make sure that doesn’t happen, here’s a quick guide to some that happen around the same time every year.
JANUARY
Citrus Bowl
citrusbowlorlando.com
The Citrus Bowl plays host to one of the BCS games to kick off the year right.
Central Florida Scottish Highland Games
flascot.com
Annual weekend of caber tossing, axe throwing, sheep-herding, kilt-wearing, drinking, eating and dancing.
Zora! Festival
zorafestival.org
Zora Neale Hurston, Eatonville’s most famous writer, gets a festival in her honor every year featuring live music, arts and educational activities.
FEBRUARY
Lunar New Year Dragon Parade
centralfloridadragonparade.org
Celebrate the Lunar New Year with a festive Dragon Parade on the streets of Mills 50.
Sanford Porchfest
sanfordporchfest.org
Free music festival that takes place on the fourth Saturday of February every year, taking over various residential porches in the historic downtown.
MARCH
Central Florida Fair
centralfloridafair.com
Showcasing the best in midway rides, live entertainment, livestock and fried fair fare.
Florida Strawberry Festival
flstrawberryfestival.com
One of the biggest agricultural fairs in the state routinely brings in big names for concerts, along with all the rides and fair food you can handle.
MegaCon
fanexpohq.com/megaconorlando
Central Florida’s largest comic and media convention brings in big names from the worlds of television, film, comics and more for a huge celebration of pop culture.
Okeechobee Arts and Music Festival
okeechobeefest.com
Massive art and music campout gathering is the Coachella of Florida.
Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival
wpsaf.org
Browse through booths from tons of artists and vendors at one of the country’s oldest, largest and most prestigious juried art festivals.
APRIL
407 Day
Every year on April 7, residents of the City Beautiful take time to support their favorite bars and restaurants. As you might have noticed, we have a lot and we love ’em to death.
Florida Film Festival
floridafilmfestival.com
Whether you’re a fan of dramas, comedies, documentaries or shorts, the Florida Film Festival has it all.
Orlando Burger Week
orlandoburgerweek.com
From gourmet blends to off-menu specialties, Burger Week pays tribute to America’s sweetheart sandwich with dozens of chefs and restaurants striving to outdo each other.
Spring Fiesta in the Park
fiestainthepark.com
This biannual block party brings vendors, entertainment, food and more to downtown’s Lake Eola Park.
MAY
Orlando Fringe
May 16-29, 2023
orlandofringe.org
Thespians from all over the world descend on the theater complex at Loch Haven for two weeks of performances.
Beer ‘Merica
May 20, 2023
beermericaorlando.com
An outdoors, daylong beer festival spotlighting more than 100 varieties of American craft brews, along with live music, games and giveaways.
JUNE
Bite30
June-July 2023
bite30.com
A six-week celebration of the best food Central Florida has to offer, with prix fixe menus at each participating restaurant.
DirtyBird CampInn
June 8-11, 2023
homebass.com
This all-inclusive festival for lovers of EDM, house, bass and dance music of all sorts takes over the whole resort. Expect shenanigans and hijinks.
GayDays, One Magical Weekend, Girls in Wonderland
June 1-5, 2023
gaydays.com
girlsinwonderland.com
onemagicalweekend.com
Three of the biggest LGBTQ+ gatherings in the country convene to enjoy the theme parks and each other’s company with gatherings, pool parties and more.
Silver Spurs Rodeo
June 2-3, 2023
Bull riding, bronc riding, bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, tie-down roping, and barrel racing — and they’ve been doing it since 1941.
JULY
Fireworks at the Fountain
July 4, 2023
orlando.gov
Nothing says patriotism like the “oohs” and “ahhs” elicited by the spectacular, choreographed firework and light show at Lake Eola each year.
Tacos & Tequila
July 29, 2023
tacosandtequilaorlando.com
Try dozens of takes on everyone’s favorite Tex-Mex one-handed treat, washed down with gigglewater.
SEPTEMBER
Halloween Horror Nights
Sept. 1-Oct. 31, 2023
halloweenhorrornights.com
The big daddy fright fest of them all. No matter what they’re cooking up, it will scare the crap out of you.
Orlando Taco Week
Sept. 13-27, 2023
orlandotacoweek.com
Restaurants across the area offer special takes on their favorite taco recipes at reduced prices, and you need to try them all!
OCTOBER
Autumn Art Festival
Oct. 7-8, 2023
autumnartfestival.org
Taking over Winter Park’s Central Park, this massive juried art festival presents the best and brightest in local artists and artisans.
Come Out With Pride
Oct. 21, 2023
comeoutwithpride.com
We know, most of the world does Pride in June. Our favorite downtown parade and party celebrates the LGBTQ community in a month when it’s not too blazingly hot to be outside.
Orlando Film Festival
Oct. 26-Nov. 2, 2023
orlandofilmfest.com
The Orlando Film Festival brings hundreds of independent films and filmmakers downtown for several days of screenings, panels and parties.
NOVEMBER
Fall Fiesta in the Park
Nov. 4-5, 2023
fiestainthepark.com
This biannual block party brings vendors, entertainment, food and more to downtown’s Lake Eola Park.
Electric Daisy Carnival
Nov. 10-12, 2023
orlando.electricdaisycarnival.com
The premier EDM festival makes a stop at historic Tinker Field every year to showcase the best in contemporary dance music, otherworldly scenery and psychedelic light shows.
Orlando Beer Festival
Nov. 4, 2023
orlandobeerfestival.com
Orlando’s only large-scale legitimate craft beer festival attracts brewers and guests from all over Florida.
Florida Blue Florida Classic
Nov. 18, 2023
floridaclassic.org
Annual football game between Bethune-Cookman University and Florida A&M, plus associated Classic Weekend parties and concerts.
FusionFest
Nov. 24-26, 2023
fusionfest.org
Multicultural celebration in downtown Orlando that features an array of aromas, sights, sounds, tastes, textures and films that represent the diverse origins and ethnicities of our community.
DECEMBER
Christmas in the Park
morsemuseum.org
The Morse Museum decorates Central Park with stained glass windows and the Bach Festival Choir performs a Christmas concert.
Festival of Lights
chabadorlando.org
Central Park hosts a 16-foot menorah for eight nights, which is lighted at a family-friendly party on the first night of Hanukkah.
Grandma Party Bazaar
facebook.com/stardustie
Handmade crafts from local artisans and live music from local bands make this our favorite quirky stop for holiday shopping.
Ye Olde Hometown Christmas Parade
winterpark.org
The event has been held each December for more than 70 years, making it the oldest continuous holiday parade in Central Florida.
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