US National Holidays & other notable dates
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| 17th |
St. Patrick's Day - see Theme Park Events and Parades and Carnivals below for more details. |
Theme Park Events
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| January 12th to April 19th |
Busch Gardens Africa are hosting their Let's Dance Featuring Burn The Floor contemporary ballroom dancing show in the Desert Grill (www.buschgardens.com). |
| February 27th to March 1st |
The ESPN The Weekend at Disney's Hollywood Studios lets you get close up to star athletes in a Hollywood-style motorcade, plus ESPN entertainment, ESPN telecasts and interactive experiences for both sports fans and families.
Amongst the athletes scheduled to take part are Tedy Bruschi, Joba Chamberlain, Steven Jackson, Brandon Jacobs, Misty May-Treanor, Warren Moon, Charles Tillman and Hines Ward.
ESPN personalities include Jay Crawford, Peter Gammons, Mike Greenberg, Mike Golic, Colin Cowherd, Dana Jacobson, Al Jaffe, John Kruk, Karl Ravech, Skip Bayliss and Trey Wingo (espn.go.com).
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| March 18th to May 31st |
The 16th Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival runs for 75 days and features over 30 million blooms, gardens and some 70 topiaries. This year, the topiaries feature Cinderella and Prince Charming, Snow White and the seven dwarfs, Sleeping Beauty and Prince Phillip, and Belle and Beast from "Beauty and the Beast".
You can meet top horticulturists at the new Garden Odyssey Festival Center or enjoy evening Flower Power Concerts in the American Gardens Theatre at 5:15 pm, 6:30 pm and 7:45 pm except on March 20, March 27 and April 3, when the curtain rises 30 minutes earlier at 4:45 pm , 6:00 pm and 7:15 pm.
The schedule of performers includes Davy Jones (March 20 to 22), Paul Revere and the Raiders (March 27 to 29), The Turtles featuring Flo and Eddie (April 3 to 5), Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone (April 10 to 12), The Ventures (April 17 to 19), Harold Melvin's Blue Notes (April 24 to 26), Chubby Checker and the Wildcats (May 1 to 3), Ricky Nelson Remembered - featuring The Nelsons (May 8 to 10), Jose Feliciano (May 15 to 17), The 5th Dimension (May 22 to 24) and finally Tony Orlando (May 29 to May 31).
Included with standard admission ticket (disneyworld.disney.go.com).
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| 22nd |
Disney's Typhoon Lagoon water park re-opens after its annual winter maintenance. Both Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach will be open now until late 2009. |
| 28th |
Cypress Gardens and Splash Island Water Park are scheduled to re-open after a four month renovation. |
Parades and Carnivals
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| selected dates |
This year Mardi Gras is on February 24 and there are special Mardi Gras celebrations throughout the State including Mardi Gras at Universal Orlando® every Saturday night from February 7 and April 18. See the Mardi Gras celebrations page for more details. |
| 14th |
In Coral Gables, they are holding their 31st Annual St. Patrick's Day Irish Festival in the Fred B. Harnett Park from Noon until Sunset (www.emeraldsocietysfl.com). |
| 14th |
In Ocala, the Ocala St. Patrick's Day on the Square celebrations include Irish dancers, children's entertainment, traditional Irish food like corned beef and cabbage plus other food and crafts, starting at 5:00 pm (www.ocalafl.org). |
| 14th |
In Naples, they will be celebrating the 31st Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade starting at 11:00 am (www.stpatricksparadenaples.com). |
| 14th |
The 10th Annual Tallahassee Irish Society's St. Patrick's Parade takes place along a 1/2 mile stroll around Lake Ella starting at 1:00 pm (irishtallahassee.org). |
| 17th |
The St. Patrick's Day celebrations in Punta Gorda feature the Lee County Pipes and Drums, Irish dancers and traditional Irish music by Mickey's Limit Band (www.fishville.com). |
Sporting Events
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| February 14th to April 4th |
The Atlanta Braves are due to start their Spring training at the Champion Stadium at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex from mid February through to early April as the nations baseball teams head south for Spring training in Florida or Arizona. See the Spring Training page for more details of the all the teams training in Florida in 2009. |
| 5th to 8th |
Olympians, professional and amateur competitors will be taking part at the largest windsurfing event in the US at Merritt Island, at the 24th Calema Midwinters Windsurfing Festival and Kona North American Championships (www.calema.com). |
| 6th and 7th |
The Daytona 200 By Honda is on March 6 and the Daytona Supercross by Honda on March 7, both at the Daytona International Speedway (www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com). |
| 13th to 15th |
The 81st AnnualArcadia All-Florida Championship Rodeo features bareback riding, barrel racing, saddle bronc, steer wrestling, tie down roping, bull riding plus entertainment from The Notorious Tater Hill Bluff Shootout Gang (www.arcadiarodeo.com). |
| February 28th to March 1st |
The Orange Blossom Festival and Rodeo is at the Bergeron Rodeo Grounds in Davie (www.davieprorodeo.com). |
Concerts
|
| 1st |
The last of the SeaWorld Orlando and Busch Gardens Africa annual Bud & BBQ is on March 1 at Busch Gardens featuring Gary Allman.
All washed down with ice-cold Anheuser-Busch beers and southern style smokin' barbecue ribs and chicken (www.budandbbq.com).
|
| various dates |
Busch Gardens Africa continue their Real Music Concert Series in the Stanleyville Theater including The Monkees Lead Singer Micky Dolenz (March 4 to 7), Little River Band (March 11 to 14), and The 5th Dimension (March 18 to 21) (www.buschgardens.com). |
| various dates |
SeaWorld Orlando and Busch Gardens Africa are also celebrating with Viva La Musica each weekend in March with Grammy and Latin Grammy-award winning acts plus Hispanic food.
At SeaWorld on Saturdays you can see El Gran Combo (March 7), Tito El Bambino (March 14), India (March 21) and Fonseca (March 28) and on Sundays at Busch Gardens El Gran Combo (March 8), RKM & Ken-Y (March 15), Grupomanía (March 22) and Guayacán (March 29) are performing (www.seaworld.com).
|
| various dates |
The Historic Bok Tower Sanctuary are hosting a number of special concerts in March.
There are two Pinewood Concert; on March 1 with Pianist Krisztina Wajsza & Benjamin Bunch on Classical Guitar and then on March 15 with Pianist Joseph Schwartz.
On March 17, the daytime carillon concerts celebrate St. Patrick's Day and then in the evening there is a special St. Patty's Day: Everything Is Comin’ Up Green! dinner with entertainment from "Music LIVE!" maestro Bill Doherty and pre-concert authentic Irish dinner is also available including Guinness chocolate pudding (http://www.boksanctuary.org).
|
| various dates |
Silver Springs are also continuing their series of music concerts including Kansas (March 7), John Michael Montgomery (March 14) and Glen Campbell (March 28) (www.silversprings.com). |
Art and Film Festivals
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| selected dates |
The 17th Annual Renaissance Festival and Crafts Village at Quiet Waters Park, Fort Lauderdale each weekend between Saturday February 7 and Sunday March 8 allows you to travel back in time to the Middle Ages and cheer on jousting knights, play games and learn the proper etiquette of the day (www.ren-fest.com). |
| 5th to 16th |
Miami is hosting their 25th Annual Miami International Film Festival with over 100 films from around the world (www.miamifilmfestival.com). |
| March 27th to April 5th |
The 18th Annual Florida Film Festival takes place in Maitland, just north of Orlando and features over 160 films. Over 25,000 guests are expected to attend (www.floridafilmfestival.com). |
Car, Motorcycle and Boat Shows
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| February 27th to March 8th |
The 68th Annual Bike Week takes place in and around Daytona with a number of events taking place including the SuperCross by Honda and Daytona 200 by Honda motorcycle races at Daytona International Speedway (www.officialbikeweek.com). |
| 26th to 29th |
The 22nd Annual Sunnyland Antique Boat Festival on Lake Dora, Wooton Park, Tavares will be hosting over 325 antique, classic and historic boats (www.acbs-sunnyland.com). |
Airshows and Rocket Launches
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| 5th |
A United Launch Alliance Delta 2 is due to launch the Kepler mission which is designed to survey our part of the Milky Way galaxy, looking at hundreds of Earth-size and smaller planets for possible habitable zones. |
| 14th |
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 Rocket will launch the second of five Wideband Global SATCOM spacecraft (WGS) for the US military. |
| 13th to 15th |
The 32nd Annual Tico Warbird Air Show takes place at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum, Space Coast Regional Airport, Titusville featuring a number of historic military aircraft. Note the museum itself is closed during the show but many of its aircraft will be on display outside.
This year sees the return to flight of the museum's own Douglas C-47 Dakota "Tico Belle" which suffered a landing accident a few years ago. (www.nbbd.com).
|
| 15th |
The Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-119) ISS 15A is due to lift off on the 28th mission to the International Space Station to deliver the Starboard 6 truss segment which is the fourth and final set of power-generating solar wings. Launch date is subject to change. Read more on all launches.... |
| 21st to 22nd |
The 29th Florida International AirShow 2009 takes place at Punta Gorda and the attractions include the United States Navy Blue Angels, United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) Parachute Team, F-15 and F-16 demo teams, American Double Trouble Barnstormers and Panchito B-25J Mitchell Bomber (www.floridaairshow.com). |
| 24th |
A United Launch Alliance Delta 2 Rocket is due to launch the seventh NAVSTAR GPS Block 2R military navigation satellite. |
| 28th |
The American Heroes Air Show "Courage... At The Speed Of Flight" is at the Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville. It is the premier, helicopter-only air show (www.heroes-airshow.com). |
| 28th and 29th |
The MacDill AirFest 2009 features the USAF Thunderbirds, SOCOM Command Parachute Team, B-25 Mitchell, P-51 Mustang, KC-135 Stratotanker, A-10 Thunderbolt II, F-18 Super Hornet, F-15 Strike Eagle, T-33 and C-54. Free admission (www.macdill-airfest.com). |
| 28th and 29th |
The 325th Fighter Wing hosts Tyndall AFB's Gulf Coast Salute Airshow featuring the US Navy Blue Angels, US Army Golden Knights Parachute Team, the USAF F-22 & F-15 Demos, the Sky Soldiers Cobra Demonstration Team, Tim Weber, Randy Ball, the Vintage T-33 Thunderbird, the Horsemen 3-ship P-51 Demonstration Team, the Air Force Reserve JetCar and many other aircraft. Free admission (tyndall.schultzairshows.com). |
County Fairs & Festivals
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| February 22nd to March 1st |
The Southeastern Youth Fair, Ocala features students from Marion County and includes lamb shearing and tractor driving. (www.seyfair.com). |
| February 27th to March 8th |
The 434th Annual Saint Lucie County Fair, Ft. Pierce features the 5th Annual IPRA "Wide Open" rodeo, a demolition derby, the Budweiser Clydesdales, Show Me Safari Petting Zoo, the Puppetone Rockers, Rockit the Robot, a midway, live musical entertainment plus concerts by John Anderson and the Bellamy Brothers (www.stluciecountyfair.com). |
| 6th to 7th |
The Chalo Nitka Festival, Glades County Youth and Livestock Show and Frontier Days Rodeo is in Moore Haven. |
| February 26th to March 8th |
At the 73rd Annual Florida Strawberry Festival you can enjoy fresh strawberries plus agricultural shows, midway courtesy of Belle City Amusements with over 60 rides, parades and contests at the appropriately named Plant City.
Every day, there are concerts from well known country artists including George Jones, Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Kellie Pickler, Jake Owen, Third Day, Rodney Atkins, Taylor Swift, Jim Ed Brown and Helen Cornelius, Randy Travis, Marty Stuart and Connie Smith, Travis Tritt, Brenda Lee, Ray Stevens, Mel Tillis, Lorrie Morgan, Ronnie McDowell, Jeff Foxworthy, Mark Lowry, Kool & the Gang, Julianne Hough and Jessica Simpson (www.flstrawberryfestival.com).
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| February 27th to March 8th |
The 85th Annual Southwest Florida and Lee County Fair, Ft. Myers includes livestock exhibits, a petting zoo and a midway (www.leeciviccenter.com). |
| 7th to 8th |
The 21st Annual Strawberry Festival takes place at Floral Park in Floral City where you can enjoy the Miss Strawberry Princess Pageant, arts, crafts, games and delicious food (www.citruscountychamber.com). |
| February 27th to March 7th |
The Sumter County Fair at the Fair Grounds near Bushnell includes pageants, livestock, demolition derby, wrestling and concerts featuring the Bellamy Brothers (www.sumterfair.net). |
| 13th to 22nd |
The 3rd Annual Okeechobee County Fair is at the Okeechobee County Agri-Civic Center in Okeechobee and features a beauty pageant, livestock show, pig races, Okeechobee Cattlemen Association Spring Rodeo, demolition derby, Blue Grass Festival, live entertainment and music from acts including the Thunder Road Band (www.okeechobeecountyfair.com). |
| 13th to 22nd |
The Firefighters' Indian River County Fair is at the County Fairgrounds in Vero Beach and features a firework display, fairground rides, an exciting and educational animal show, acrobats and pageants (www.firefightersfair.org). |
| 13th to 22nd |
The 73rd Annual Sarasota County Fair is located on Ringling Boulevard and features a midway, racing pigs, an elephant show, live entertainment and music (www.sarasotafair.com). |
| 15th to 21st |
The Citrus County Fair is at Inverness (www.citruscountyfair.com). |
| 26th to April 12th |
The 58th Annual Miami-Dade County Fair and Exposition is one of the largest fairs with nearly 700,000 visitors each year and is located off 112 Avenue. There are around 100 rides, 170 food vendors, games, gifts, shops and thousands of exhibits plus a daily Mardi Gras parade and live entertainment (www.fairexpo.com). |
| 27th to April 4th |
The 93rd Annual Suwannee County Fair and Youth Livestock Show at Live Oak features Midway rides, arts and crafts, contests, tractor pull and farm equipment (www.suwanneecountyfair.org). |
| 31st to April 5th |
The Santa Rosa County Fair takes place on Highway 90 at East Milton Park and features Easter Bonnet Contest and Easter Egg Hunt, Tri-State 7 Event Rodeo, NABA Bullriding, barrel racing, NBHA horse show, all kinds of handicrafts and a midway. Live entertainment includes Jason Michael Carroll, Anna Garrott, Rusty Whitfield, Jourdan Pace and Vince Vance & The Valiants Last year there were 25,000 visitors (www.santarosacountyfair.org). |
