beach n boards fest

Image courtesy of Ron Jons Beach and Board Fest

2023 Space Coast Spring Event Preview

Spring into the Space Coast’s busy event season!

It’s easy to find something fun to do on your spring getaway to Florida’s Space Coast. This season you’ll find exhilarating boat races and surf competitions on the beach; food, craft, and music festivals in our parks and historic districts; races and other sporting events in our world-class complexes, and of course an air show you won’t soon forget. It’s a wonderful time to travel to the Space Coast, find your favorite event and book your spring getaway today! 

Major Events | Food FestivalsSporting Events | Arts and Cultural Events

Major Events 

We look forward to these major events every year. Be a part of our annual traditions and check out some of the Spring events that define the Space Coast experience. 

Palm Bay Fair 

March 17 - 26 
Space Coast Harley Davidson | Palm Bay 

The Palm Bay Fair will bring big fun to the Space Coast as it rolls into Brevard County March 17-26  at the  Space Coast Harley-Davidson fairgrounds in Palm Bay, Florida, featuring fun fair foods,  admission includes unlimited rides and shows.

palm bay fair

Space Coast State Fair 

March 31, 2023 - April 02, 2023
Space Coast Daily Park | Viera 

Come one come all to one of the largest and most popular family events on the Space Coast. Admission includes unlimited rides and shows. This year, enjoy clown comedy, your favorite fair foods and so much more! 

Cocoa Beach Air Show

April 15-16 / Time Start: 9 am 
Lori Wilson Park | Cocoa Beach

You can’t say spring on the Space Coast without an epic air show. This year the action takes place at Lori Wilson Park in beautiful Cocoa Beach. In 2023, the Air Force Thunderbirds, Douglas C-47 Tico Bell, and the aerial acrobatics of Mike Bell will have you on the edge of your beach chair! 

Cocoa Beach Air Show
Image by Destination Brevard

 

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Food and Beverage Festivals on the Space Coast 

Cocoa Village Brewer's Bash 

Feb 4 - 1 pm - 5 pm
Cocoa Riverfront Park | Cocoa Village 

The Cocoa Village Brewer’s Bash®️ overlooks the beautiful Indian River in Cocoa Village and has invited 65+ breweries for you to enjoy this year. As always this is a family and pet-friendly open event with 6 food trucks offering a variety of delicious cuisine. Tickets are $50 and get you unlimited tastings of local beer & cider along with a commemorative sample glass to drink them out of.

cocoa village brewers bash
Image by @villagefoodtours

321 Food Fest 

Feb 11 & 12  12- 8 & 11 - 6 pm 
Wickham Park | Melbourne 

Loosen those belts for the 321 Food Fest! $7 single day entry & $10 for the whole weekend/ Kids 10 & Younger get FREE ENTRY! Enjoy Brevard County's largest Food Festival and the opportunity to sample a vast variety of all the best from the Space Coast in one place! At this Family-Friendly event you'll find local restaurants, bakeries, food trucks, and other eateries serving a Tasting Menu with items priced at only $1-$5. Taste your way through a sampling of all the best eateries up and down the Space Coast! 

Strawberry Festival 

February 18 - 19
Wickham Park | Melbourne 

Enjoy Family Fun & Festivities, Plant City Strawberries, Art & Crafts, Beer & Wine, Delicious Food, Free Bounce Houses, Organic Strawberries, Strawberry Shortcake, Classic Car Show, Live Entertainment, Free Rock Painting, Strawberry Fudge, Pony Rides, Free Strawberry Relay, Face Painting, Free Hula Hoop Contest, Pie Eating Contest, Free Petting Farm, Berry Cute Baby Contest, Free Sack Races, Train Rides, Free Corn Hole, Yummy Treats & Much More at the 5th annual Strawberry Festival. 

Grant Seafood Festival 

March 4 - 5 
Grant-Valkryia Fairgrounds | 4580 1st Street, Grant, FL 32949 

Fresh seafood is what the Grant Seafood Festival is all about!  Enjoy fresh seafood around every corner! Each food booth you'll belly up to is unique and steeped in tradition; many have several generations working side by side using time honored recipes. Free admission, free parking, over 125 crafters exhibiting, live continuous entertainment, along with a vast menu of delicious seafood makes this a weekend no one wants to miss!

Grant BBQ Festival 

April 14 - 16 
Grant-Valkryia Fairgrounds | 4580 1st Street, Grant, FL 32949 

BBQ festival

Experience the best Brevard's barbeque scene as backyard teams compete with top-rated pitmasters! Come for the Barbeque competition stay for the live entertainment, marketplace and classic car show!

FRIDAY, April 14 from 3:00 PM to 8:00 PM
SATURDAY, April 15, from : 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM
SUNDAY, April 16, from : 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM

• Live Entertainment — All 3 Days! 
• Market Place with Arts. Crafts and Local Vendors
• People’s Choice Contest
• Classic Car and Motorcycle Show
• Free Admission — Free Parking

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Sporting Events on the Space Coast 

Florida Marathon 

February 11 - 12
Front Street Park | Melbourne 

The Florida Marathon  includes up to 20 musical acts along the course of the half and full marathon and half a dozen on the routes of the 5k. It is a walker and headphones-friendly event with a seven hour time limit on the Marathon course. Half Marathoners have 5 hours to complete the event. A very scenic route awaits and includes four bridge crossings for the full and two for the half-marathon. The course twice takes marathoners to the beach side barrier island and back to the mainland before concluding at the riverfront Front Street Park in downtown Melbourne. Register Here.

Beach 'N Boards Fest 

March 8 - 12
Alan Shepard Park | Cocoa Beach 

Ron Jon Beach ‘N Boards Fest is the nation’s premiere active lifestyle Spring Break destination since 2013. With almost every type of boarding sport under the sun, Cocoa Beach and the Ron Jon Beach ‘N Boards Fest will be the place to be March 8-12, 2023! Surfing, wakeboarding, skateboarding, paddle boarding, a Kayak and SUP fishing tournament, Foil racing, incredible music and vendors and OH so much more, this event is the ONLY way to start Spring Break on the Space Coast! 

beach & boards fest surfer

East Coast Dog Surfing Festival | Cocoa Beach 

April 17, 9 am - 1 pm 
Lori Wilson Park | Cocoa Beach 

The Brevard Humane Society presents the 11th Annual East Coast Dog Surfing Festival! Hosted annually during Easter weekend, this event brings in surf fans and pet lovers for a day of tail-wagging entertainment. This year, look for bigger and better surprises, aside from dogs on the beach, dog surfing lessons, and the Dog Surfing Championships.

dog surfing festival

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Arts and Cultural Events on the Space Coast 

Black Box Blackout

February 1 - 26 
Various Venues | Eau Gallie Arts District 

Check this year's schedule of events for this year's lineup of concerts, comedy shows, live art, opera, film and so much more. 

Black Box Blackout was born in 2022 to fulfill jazz singer Kristen Warren’s vision to impact her community. Warren, a native of Melbourne, Florida, desired to put forth a production that sheds light on the dynamic contribution of black creatives while giving back to the most vulnerable in her community. This year, Black Box Blackout will serve an audience of 900+, feature 85 black creatives, and raise a minimum of $1000 for The Children’s Hunger Project. At its inception, Black Box Blackout impacted over 300 visitors from within the Space Coast. It provided an opportunity to a total of 60 black artists to display their creative work. The events successfully increased diversity exposure in Melbourne, FL, while raising money to support Ways of Brevard.

St. Katherine + Greek Festival 

February 24 - 26 Hours Vary
St Katherine Greek Orthodox Church | Melbourne

The GreekFEST grounds open at 4pm Friday and run with Food, Drink, Shopping and Entertainment until 5pm Sunday afternoon. Enjoy traditional food, dancing music and fun. Take the opportunity this year to enjoy the 51st year of devouring handmade greek pastries, finding premium olive oils and gifts, and knocking back a few shots of Ouzo with incredible company. OPA! 

Downtown Melbourne Botanical Fest

March  4 - 8 am - 4 pm
Downtown Melbourne | Melbourne 

The Downtown Melbourne Botanical Fest is a FREE family-friendly event that attracts visitors from the region and features lavish landscape designs, garden sculptures, flowers and plants, trees and shrubs, unique gifts, garden-themed art, great food, and much more!

Spring Fine Art and Craft Fair

March 4 - 5 
Cocoa Village | Cocoa 

Head to Cocoa Village for the Spring Fine Art & Craft fair. See what more than 200 local artists create to make the world a more beautiful place as you walk the historic streets of Cocoa Village. This seasonal arts fair is not to be missed! 

IndiaFest

March 11 -12 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Wickham Park | Melbourne 

IndiaFest is a celebration of the diversity of India's cultures through food, music, dance, and more. Join the fun at Wickham Park where you can learn about the different regions, customs and cuisines of the beautiful country of India, while listening to traditional music and watching traditional dances!

Melbourne Art Festival 

April 22-23, 9:00am - 5:00pm 
Wickham Park | Melbourne 

Melbourne Art Festival offers FREE admission, FREE parking, FREE children’s art projects and FREE live entertainment throughout the weekend. The 38th Annual Melbourne Art Festival will be held among the trees and lakes at beautiful Wickham Park in Melbourne, FL April 22 & 23, 2023. The annual festival, which draws tens of thousands of art and music lovers, is a vibrant family-friendly event that promotes and encourages artistic endeavors, education, and appreciation of the arts in Brevard County.

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Vacation Planner for Florida’s Space Coast

Dive into the Space Coast Vacation Planner then launch into an unforgettable getaway. 

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