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 so you can mark your calendars. Check the web to get this year’s dates.
JANUARY
Cheez-It Citrus Bowl
Start the year with a junk-food sports fix as the Citrus Bowl plays host to one of the BCS games.
Central Florida Scottish Highland Games
Annual weekend of caber tossing, axe throwing, sheep-herding, drinking, eating and dancing.
Zora! Festival
Eatonville’s most famous writer gets a festival in her honor every year featuring live music, arts and educational activities.
FEBRUARY
Immerse
Ten city blocks of downtown Orlando are filled with epic live performances, immersive art installations, and unexpected creative moments.
Lunar New Year Dragon Parade
Celebrate the Lunar New Year with a festive Dragon Parade on the streets of Mills 50.
centralfloridadragonparade.org
Sanford Porchfest
Free music festival that takes place on the fourth Saturday of February every year, taking over various residential porches in the historic downtown.
Whippersnap Music and Arts Festival
A three-day music, camping and arts festival.
Winter Park Arts Weekend
A four-day arts extravaganza featuring community events and performances at Central Park’s Main Stage and 20-plus cultural venues throughout the city.
MARCH
Central Florida Fair
Showcasing the best in midway rides, live entertainment, livestock and fried fair fare.
Florida Strawberry Festival
One of the biggest agricultural fairs in the state routinely brings in big names for concerts, along with all the rides and fruity fair food you can handle.
Leu Gardens Plant Sale
Growers sell a massive variety of plants and flowers at this decades-old annual tradition.
MegaCon
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.
Mighty St. Patrick’s Day Festival
Every year Raglan Road Irish Pub imports Irish bands and dancers to rock the fun leading up to the mother of all Irish holidays.
Mount Dora Spring Festival of Arts and Crafts
A fun, two-day, open-air event celebrating the arrival of springtime.
Pints n’ Paws Craft Beer Festival
Historic Downtown Sanford hosts an annual craft beer festival fundraiser that you can bring your dog to.
Thundering Spirit Pow Wow
Traditional Native American culture including drumming, dancing, crafts and food.
Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival
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.
Art in Bloom
Orlando Museum of Art celebrates the art of floral arrangements, tablescapes and the finer things in life.
Earth Day Birthday
Local station WJRR 101-FM hosts Florida’s longest-running rock festival and it’s a loud, lively party with big names playing all day and night at the fairgrounds.
Florida Film Festival
Whether you’re a fan of dramas, comedies, documentaries or shorts, the Florida Film Festival has it all.
floridafilmfestival.com
Hannibal Square Heritage Center Folk and Urban Art Festival
A celebration of Central Florida’s richly diverse culture through art, music, food and more.
hannibalsquareheritagecenter.org
Spring Fiesta in the Park
This biannual block party brings vendors, entertainment, food and more to downtown’s Lake Eola Park.
UCF Celebrates the Arts
An immersive and dynamic cultural extravaganza that fuses creativity, innovation and community engagement.
United We Brunch: Brunch in the Park
Orlando’s top brunch destinations unite for one day in picturesque Lake Eola Park to throw the ultimate brunch extravaganza.
Winter Park Paint Out
Professionally acclaimed plein air artists paint throughout Winter Park and Orlando.
MAY
Beer ‘Merica
More than 100 American craft brews and innovative brands to sample in a beautiful lakeside park, along with live music, games and giveaways.
GayDays
One Magical Weekend
Girls in Wonderland
Three of the biggest LGBTQ+ gatherings in the country convene to enjoy the theme parks and each other’s company on the first weekend in June, with gatherings, pool parties and more.
gaydays.com, girlsinwonderland.com, onemagicalweekend.com
Orlando Fringe
Thespians from all over the world descend on the theater complex at Loch Haven for two weeks of performances.
Orlando International Film Festival
Attracts film enthusiasts, industry professionals and talented filmmakers for panels, screenings and workshops.
orlandointernationalfilmfestival.org
Spooky Empire
Vendors, a film and tattoo festival, music, celebrity speakers, and more to satiate diehard aficionados of the spooky season.
spookyempire.com
JUNE
Bite30
A six-week celebration of the best food Central Florida has to offer, with special prix fixe menus at each participating restaurant.
Juneteenth
An annual commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States, celebrated at the Hannibal Square Heritage Center in historically Black West Winter Park.
hannibalsquareheritagecenter.org
Silver Spurs Rodeo
Bull riding, bronc riding, bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, tie-down roping, and barrel racing — they’ve been doing it since 1941.
JULY
Fireworks at the Fountain
Nothing says patriotism like the “oohs” and “ahhs” elicited by the spectacular firework and light show at Lake Eola each year.
AUGUST
Tacos & Tequila
Try dozens of takes on everyone’s favorite Tex-Mex one-handed treat, washed down with the sublime nectar of the agave plant. (This event was rescheduled to Aug. 2 after the initial publication of this article.)
SEPTEMBER
Global Peace Film Festival
Using the power of the moving image to further the cause of peace on earth.
Halloween Horror Nights
The big daddy fright fest of them all. No matter what they’re cooking up, it will scare the crap out of you.
Howl-O-Scream
SeaWorld’s answer to the spooky season is an event full of scary sirens and terrors of the deep.
Whiskey Business
Discover the best in scotches, bourbons, and whiskeys at Orlando’s largest whiskey and cocktail event.
OCTOBER
13 Films of Halloween
Every October, Enzian Theater showcases a series of scary movies ranging from kids’ stuff to serious horror.
Autumn Art Festival
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
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.
Día de los Muertos and Monster Party
Annual exhibition of Day of the Dead and Halloween-inspired art at CityArts plus an outdoors block party with live performances, vendors, and more.
Happy Frights and Haunting Nights
Leu Gardens offers two Halloween experiences: one a fun trick-or-treating experience for the entire family; the other more of an adult affair.
Howl-O-Ween Dog Walk-A-Thon and Canine Costume Contest
A dog parade and canine costume contest, plus pet-friendly vendors and raffles at Cranes Roost Park.
Mount Dora Bicycle Festival
Several hundred cyclists of varying skills celebrate at Florida’s oldest and largest bike festival.
The Night Market at Zombietoberfest
Audubon Park Garden District throws the largest local outdoor night market with DJs, live music, multiple craft beer gardens, free costume contests for hoomans and pups, and outdoor movie screenings.
Orlando Film Festival
The Orlando Film Festival brings hundreds of independent films and filmmakers downtown for several days of screenings, panels and parties.
orlandofilmfest.com
TPD Halloween Block Party
Go ham at the Thornton Park District’s annual blowout: full liquor, outside bars, costume contests with prizes, and photo ops galore.
facebook.com/thorntonparkdistrict
Zoo Boo Bash
The perfect way for children and families to safely show off those Halloween costumes and trick-or-treat while enjoying the fun of the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens.
NOVEMBER
Downtown Orlando Field Day
A nostalgic afternoon of throwback competitions, food and fun.
Electric Daisy Carnival
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 lightshows.
orlando.electricdaisycarnival.com
Fall Festival of the Arts
Almost 200 nationally known artists converge on downtown DeLand to showcase and sell their stunning masterpieces, just in time for the holiday season.
facebook.com/delandfallfestival
Fall Fiesta in the Park
The autumn iteration of the biannual block party brings vendors, entertainment, food and more to downtown’s Lake Eola Park.
Florida Blue Florida Classic
Annual football game between Bethune-Cookman University and Florida A&M, plus associated Classic Weekend parties and concerts.
Food and Wine Classic
A weekend of electable delights prepared by award-winning chefs, plus culinary demos and workshops, all within the environs of the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort.
swandolphinfoodandwineclassic.com
FusionFest
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.
Maker Faire
Experience a world-renowned celebration of invention, creativity and curiosity at the Central Florida Fairgrounds.
facebook.com/makerfaireorlando
Orlando Beer Festival
Orlando’s only large-scale legitimate craft beer festival attracts brewers and enthusiasts from all around Florida.
DECEMBER
Christmas in the Park
The Morse Museum decorates Central Park with a stunning display of Tiffany stained glass windows and the Bach Festival Choir performs a Christmas concert.
Festival of Lights
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
Handmade crafts from local artisans and live music from local bands make this our favorite quirky stop for holiday shopping.
Hometown Christmas Parade
The event has been held each December for more than 70 years, making it the oldest continuous holiday parade in Central Florida.
Orlando Renaissance Festival
Annual labor of love goes medieval at Southport Community Park every December, when chainmail and velvet have less of a chance of suffocating you.
orlandorenaissancefestival.com
Pop-Tarts Bowl
Close out the year the way you started it, with junk food and football, as the Citrus Bowl hosts an NCAA matchup.
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This article appears in City Guide 2025 and City Guide (2025).