Miami River Day is a festival held once a year to celebrate the Miami River. This year was the 23rd year of the festival. The celebration takes place every year in early April in and around Lummus Park which is land that used to be owned by Henry Flagler. This year the festival was held from 1 to 6 PM. Parking in this area is an absolute nightmare. You can try to find a space on the one way streets or hope to find a spot in a lot. When we arrived both lots were full so after driving around quite a bit I finally secured a spot on the street. After the stress of parking the festival itself was a delight. The main reason I wanted to attend the festival was because it is one of the rare times the two historical buildings in Lummus Park, Fort Dallas and the William Wagner House are open to the public. The building in the park that was part of Fort Dallas were the slave quarters of a plantation in 1836. During the Seminole Wars the army took it over and used it as barracks. When Julia Tuttle moved to Miami the building served as her first home. The William Wagner house was built in 1855 and is oldest house in Miami not in its original location. It was originally located on a tributary of the Miami River and moved to the park in 1979. During the festival both buildings are open and there are historic re-enactors who dress up in period clothing and tell the history of the places. In addition to being able to tour the historic buildings there is also music, food and drinks for sale, free river boat tours, kayak and paddle board races, environmental education, community outreach booths, and activities for kids including bounce houses. The Miami River had a direct effect on the growth of Miami. It is nice that there is s day you can come learn and and celebrate with the community. Just plan to leave enough time to figure out parking or ideally use Uber or Lyft. read more