When it comes to free festivals, this one is the best kept secret in Florida. Located in the heart…read moreof true Florida, Clewiston is every bit of American farm culture as anywhere in the US. The town welcomes you in and you feel true American spirit without any political sabotage. Family friendly, while still delivering that turn it up country party vibe. Not easy to pull of btw. Opening nite show with Don Felder of the Eagles with a big firework finale was enough to call it a successful event. Saturday car show was a trip down memory lane. Tons of agriculture and farming equipment and history on display. The Saturday concert list was full of talent and good vibes. Food booths for miles and plenty of retailers offering all sorts of relevant products. Then Jake Owen closed the festival with his signature crowd focused show. Free??? I almost don't want to post this so we can keep it a secret! If you want real Florida, country, American shenanigans, check it out. Hats off to Big Sugar for making it all happen.

Every year at end of the sugar cane harvest season, Clewiston, known as "America's Sweetest Town,"…read morecelebrates the harvest with its Clewiston Sugar Festival center in the city's Civic Park located on Highway 27 right next to its historic Clewiston Inn. It's at this event that everyone gets a close-up look at what sugar cane farming is all about with large outdoor stage entertainment, bands, singers, vendors, foods, and "Sugarland Express" tours where you are not only offered the opportunity to see, view and learn the latest in sugar farming techniques but to also chop and chew on some of the world's best sugar cane. The Sugar Festival I attended was Clewiston's 30th such event, which locals commonly refer to their "Raising Cane" party. It's based upon their original such event by United States Sugar company back it the 1930's held when the grinding mill "went down" after the last carload of the year's harvested sugar was grinded out. The festival also celebrates Clewiston's surroundings like Lake Okeechobee as well as its neighboring partners such as the Seminole Nation. Though it's a large event gathering and played up rather big by the local Clewiston Chamber of Commerce, being fun, educational and entertaining, not really all that much as far as festivals go. This may be due in part as Clewiston really isn't all that much of a city with so many of the local farm workers being of migrant farm labor from Mexico, Jamaica and Barbados, living in migrant farm housing and the sugar industry itself generally owing its prosperity to various federally set sugar price supports, USDA regulated sugar allotments and tariff rate quotas. Indeed, if you are foodie and looking to try new or authentic foreign tastes in foods, I found those of Mexico to be your best bet though there are many local South Florida vendor offerings such as gator burgers, etc.

This entire festival experience has been AWFUL!!! VIP Packages... THOUSANDS of dollars and NOBODY…read morehere has had a clue wth is going on. Organization is NON-EXISTENT!!! This was my daughter's first festival (19 th birthday), my first Okee festival and I will NEVER, AND I MEAN NEVERRRRRR DO THIS AGAIN!!! Think the WORST experience possible, and multiply that by a million!!! Anything and everything that could be wrong, go sideways or just be a flat out horrible experience... that's what this has been!!! I CAN'T WAIT TO LEAVE AND GO HOME!!!

this is my first year at Okee and I wanted to experience all of the activities they offer at the…read morefest so I arrived at 12 through the directions that was provided by the festival. it is currently 2:16 and my eta isn't until 4 at this moment. we've been sitting in stand still traffic for 2 hours. one entrance to the fest is NOT feasible and honestly ridiculous for hosting 40,000 people. being in the middle of nowhere, you'd think they could manage at LEAST 2 entrances to the festival. very disappointed and haven't even entered the festival grounds yet. hope to make the sets I want to see by 4:45, but not sure I will make them. do better Okee.

Lake Placid is known as the Caladium Capital of the World. Ninety-eight percent of the world's…read morecaladium bulbs are grown in Lake Placid. Although native to South America, caladiums are popular house plants that are easily propagated from tubers, or bulbs. Ninety-eight percent of the world's tubers are grown in Lake Placid on fourteen caladium farms. To celebrate the importance of caladiums to the Lake Placid economy, an annual festival is held late July. This year was the 34th annual Caladium Festival. I always wanted to attend so I am happy I made it happen this year. It was worth the drive to take part in this charming celebration. The festival is held over three days, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. A car show is held in nearby Devane Park on Saturday. The main events of the Caladium Festival take place in Stuart Park. There is plenty of free parking in a field next to the park. In Stuart Park you will find artisan tents, food, live entertainment, and of course caladiums for sale along with other kinds of plants. Do not miss the Elk tent for their popular strawberry shortcake ice cream dessert. For only $6 it benefits their children's charity. The Masonic Lodge sells fried catfish and the Knights of Columbus make pulled pork. There are other tents and trucks selling every kind of food you can imagine not to mention all of the nearby cafe's, restaurants, and coffee and ice cream shops which will also have food and drinks for sale. A highlight of the festival is shopping for caladiums at the numerous tents in Stuart Park. Before this festival I really never gave much thought to caladiums but I was impressed with how pretty they are and how many different shades of pink and red they came in. They make attractive and hardy house plants and ground cover for the garden. Other items I saw for sale included tropical wine, local honey, clothes, accessories, jewelry, and art. Almost of all of the area businesses were also selling caladium themed merchandise. The festival also has a floral arrangement competition sponsored by The Lake Placid Garden Club, a Caladium Festival art competition, and the Tiny and Little Miss Caladium Festival Pageant. For $18 you can purchase a bus ticket from the Women's Club and take an hour long tour of the caladium farms. Throughout the festival there is live entertainment on the stage in Stuart Park. It was really hot throughout the day and Advent Health was on hand with free cold water, cooling towels and backpacks, and a cooling off misting area. Other stops I made during the festival which I really enjoyed were to the Lake Placid Historical Society and Museum where I took in a little town history and enjoyed a complimentary cold water and to the Caladium Arts and Crafts Cooperative where I shopped local artisans. Of course I couldn't help but admire all of the murals in the downtown that gave Lake Placid its other nickname, Town of Murals. If you are thinking about attending this festival, do it! The folks of Lake Placid are some of the friendliest you will meet in Florida.

Lake Placid, Florida is the caladium capital of the world, and every year they have a festival to…read morecelebrate. This year, 2021, was the festival's 30th year, and my first time attending. The festival ran from 9 am - 4 pm on Friday and Saturday, and 10 am - 3 pm on Sunday. In addition to the Arts and Crafts Show and Plant Show which ran all three days, they also had a Car & Bike show on Saturday. You were encouraged to buy bus tickets at the show to tour the nearby caladium farms, but we did not do this. Parking was easy because we arrived early. The first thing we did was go the closest tent to buy caladiums. I bought a flat of 10 different caladium plants for $24, which is dirt cheap. I was thrilled that there was also cactus vendor, and ended up buying a few succulents, also at outstanding prices. I went home with a new bromeliad too - I can't say no when it comes to cool plants. The festival was much larger than I expected it to be, with a nice assortment of craft vendors selling a variety of products. When the heat became too much, we went inside a nearby building to vote on our favorite piece of caladium art, and caladium plant display. I love that the church was handing out ice water, and there was a water truck you could refill your water bottle at. There were plenty of food vendors, and the fresh fruit mix vendor was perfect for this steamy day. Make sure you wear plenty of sunscreen if you go; while there were a few shade tents set up to eat at, and listen to the live assortment of musical acts, it was broiling outside. A great time was had by all, and we will definitely be back next year.

So much to stuff to do, see, hear, purchase and eat! I loved…read moreit here :) Pricing over average; I feel like if vendors brought it down just $5 they'd sell waaaay more :/ Fun for all: it's been a beautiful day, hanging with beautiful people, enjoyed a great vibe :D Thanks Port Salerno Seafood Festival!!!! You can trust me; I'm happy ;D

This is a little out of the way for us, but my husband won tickets so we decided it was worth the…read moredrive. We went early, and had no problem with parking. They had different lots set up with free trolleys which ended up being very quick and easy. When we got there, I was struck by the size. I really didn't expect it to be as large as it was. They had a kids area, arts and crafts, musical entertainment, and of course seafood. Fried clams, fish and chips, ceviche, seared tuna, grilled mahi mahi, oysters, calmari, you name it. The only thing I didn't like was that you had to buy tickets. Most items ranged from four to seven tickets, including alcohol. The portion sizes on most items were pretty good. If you simply went to sample everything, you would paying a lot, though. I kind of wish they would offer a smallish sample sized portions for less tickets. For non seafood people, they had hamburger and hot dog options, as well as the regular fair food like funnel cakes and ice cream. It started to become pretty crowded as we were leaving, so I would suggest to go early. We had a great time, and it was definitely worth driving out of our way for.

Well done festival. Felt very safe. Wife and I both enjoyed a top notch lobster roll along with a…read moreNathan's hot dog. Listened to a nice BOSTON cover band. Recommend going in the evening to avoid the sun. Next time I probably bring some chairs to sit and enjoy the music. This is for the 2026 Festival

Terrible, bad food, bad times. Would not recommend. They kept email spamming me for a ticket so I…read morebought one to make them go away. Ended up going and it's the worst festival. What a joke.

We went for our girls night in Miami & everything was so touching. From the art, interactive…read morevisuals, burlesque, and drinks. We were even talking about viewing the ones in Tampa and St. Lauderdale in the future. Sloan was so sweet and so worth supporting. We didn't want to leave and we wished this was assessable full time.

Fun live art experience! If you love art and creativity then you should definitely enjoy this…read moreevent! I went to the location at the Festival Bay Mall/Artegon. The line was a bit long but it moved fast once my friend and I realized the cash line was separated. Upon entering you have a food station with freshly made small portion food. I had tuna sashimi, mushroom veggie burger and truffle popcorn. All of it tasted great but my favorite was the tuna drizzled with soy sauce, sesame seeds, and some hard crusted tempura like crackers. So yummy! The rest of the space is filled with wall and live art with people painted in body art posing and being a part of the art themselves. Very unique and not your normal art event. There is a lot of nudity in the art and per the name of this event, you should leave your kids at home! Everything is tasteful which was great. It took my friend and I about 2 hours to look and enjoy. I'm so glad I finally experienced Nude Nite, you should too!!

Festival season is in full swing in Florida and this past weekend was the 23rd year of the annual…read morecraft festival in Stuart which is held over two days from 10 AM until 5 PM in historic downtown Stuart. The street is shut down so crafters and artists can sell their wares. Admission to the festival is free. There were many tents selling clothes, jewelry, art, ceramics, food, plants, accessories, and so much more. You can also shop and dine at all of the businesses lining the street and there was live music by the water. Parking was free and a breeze and Kiwanis Park. There are also many other free lots in the downtown area. Stuart is one of my favorite cities because it is so quaint and picturesque. They were the perfect hosts for a such a family friendly festival.

This is the largest sand sculpting competition in the United States. Paying a visit has become a…read moreThanksgiving weekend tradition for us. This year the event took place over ten days with a different competition each day. We like to come over on Sunday when everything has been built and the festival is closing up. Parking is limited at the actual event so you park in a field a few miles from the festival and they transport you by a bus limousine. Transportation is extremely quick and reliable. At the field you can also purchase the $7 entry wristband. In addition to an amazing array of sand sculptures on the beach there is also a kids activity area and food and merchandise vendors. During our visit we got to see a head to head speed sand sculpting competition. When the rest of the country is covered in snow there is nothing like heading to a sunny beach to view sand sculptures at an event that can only be held in Florida. Some of my favorite sculptures this year included the one by Seminole Hard Rock which was a ship wreck broken in half. On one side was a woman in distress as sharks circled and on the other side was a happy sailor who had secured the case of rum. Other sculptures included dragons, castles, the Wizard of Oz, and tributes to the animals lost in the red tide and the firefighters who fought the wild fire in California. Pictures can't do these works of art justice. They need to be seen in person to be fully appreciated. There is an area for professionals and one for amateurs. A visit to this festival is not complete without watching the sun set over the water and then heading over to dinner at Coconut Jack's. I love the west coast and this festival provides the perfect excuse to visit. It's become one of our favorite events to start the winter holiday season.

Fun to visit! Lots of professional and amateur sculptures. Food trucks and drink tents as well as…read moreother vendors. There is also an area where professional sculptures do demonstrations! Wear a hat, it can get hot! Add in the cost of parking and it can be an expensive day, but worth the trip at least once in a lifetime to see! We generally take an hour to see all sculptures depending g on how busy it is.

I've loved coming here since I was a kid, and my visit this year did not disappoint with my own…read morekids. This was the first year they really wanted to ride the rides. The first time we showed up just when the fair opened on the weekend, and parking was ample, so we didn't upgrade. When we returned on a later day after school, we upgraded the parking so we could get in right away. Either way. I finally know my way around: we entered through YesterYear village. I prefer leaving this way as well, as there is some space for kids running around and some benches in the village to chill and sit, plus a bathroom to use, before leaving. And... they had these giant hot glazed donuts that might have made its way into my hands for the ride home! On our tamer first visit, we looked at all the animals, and pet all the animals - my favorite part! Parade: short, certainly not worth 'waiting' for. The ice show: interesting. it was free. I appreciate the attempt to make a pirate themed ice show but some of the costumes fell short. People were snickering around us, which didn't help. Thank you to the awesome ice skaters! A cool spot to 'rest' in an air-conditioned indoor space on a hot day. The magic show: well my kids loved this. Silly, but they loved it so much they wanted to see the exact same show on their return visit. Pirate acrobat show: my younger kid liked it a lot, my older son could barely tolerate, but for me it was a miss (the pirate theme, especially). Acrigulture mini-fun row: this was so fun for my kids. Saddling fake horses, scooping fake poop, milking a fake cow: they thought this was golden. Fair food: we ate these giant donuts that were super reasonably priced for the amount of donut and filling we received. Note to self: no one ever finishes anything: bring ziplock bags because they complained they wanted to 'eat it later.' I let my kids get cotton candy, and some other ice cream concoction another time. They mostly ate the same kid theme of chicken tenders, fries, burgers, pizza. I mostly ate their leftovers- because they were finished by the time I could think about finding my own food. And then I added on some arepas later- so overpriced but delicious in the moment. My kids loved the kids rides. We bought the fastpasses, which were unnecessary on the kids rides, but a lifesaver when they moved to the adult rides. It's so fun for them to be able to repeat their favorite rides over and over. I did just buy tickets the first time, but the unlimited wristbands ahead of time. Note to self: splurge on purchasing the wristbands ahead of time! My kids begged to return every day. Why is the fair so long?! J/K... please extend LOL

The South Florida Fair was an absolute blast. First stop... the jumbo swings that are 177 feet in…read morethe air. Let me just say, I'm still shocked I actually did it. I kept telling myself, "You loved swings as a kid, you've got this," but this was a whole different level of terrifying. Totally worth it... but also mildly questioning my life choices while dangling in the sky. The food alone is reason enough to go. We shared bourbon pineapple chicken, steak tips, Redskin mashed potatoes, and way too much corn, and every bite was a win. Classic fair comfort food with some seriously good flavors. We hit the roller coaster, played games, caught a couple of shows, and just soaked in the whole vibe. The weather was perfect, the energy was fun, and it was one of those days where you're just genuinely happy you went. All in all, such a great experience. Already counting down to going back next year.

First year coming to the Cabbage Festival. My boyfriend and I set up a tent promoting him(Realtor)…read moreand his brokerage. We are having so much fun meeting some really nice people! Definitely will come back next year.

Came out here last weekend in February with Paul and Arlene H for swamp cabbage palm festival for…read morecar show, parade, festival food. We got there early watched some of the parade at 10:00 caught the end of an armadillo races. We saw a few friends and had a great time. It's fun for all ages and a great way to re-live some of my small hometown memories of life in a small town. Pro tip visit the food venders early before or during the parade. Wait times are zero. Wear comfortable shoes and go under the bridge to cross bridge at because the police are trying to keep traffic moving on bridge st. Food 4 indian fry bread/indian burgers/pumpkin fry bread was delicious swamp cabbage in a cup was good too. Not a big fan of this delicacy. The fritter version was a little better with hot sauce. Ambiance 4 lots to do and see. Service 4 small town hospitality Location 3 Value 3 buy a collector mug then sweet tea refills for a buck hit the spot. (See Paul H. Picture) Swamp cabbage pics are also on IG, twitter #swapcabbagefest #swampage 12/2015