8 Festivals You Can’t Miss in Daytona Beach, FL
The Greater Daytona Region offers something for everyone with fabulous festivals all year long.
In This Article
1. Daytona Race Weeks / Daytona 500
The engine’s roar and speeds can reach nearly 200 mph in January and February during Daytona Race Weeks, beginning with the Rolex 24 at Daytona endurance race at Daytona International Speedway. Then there are two solid weeks of NASCAR action, including an ARCA race, Truck Series race and an Xfinity Series event. Finally, everything culminates in mid-February with the famed Daytona 500.
2. Daytona Bike Week
Daytona Beach rumbles to life for 10 days each March when the annual Daytona Bike Week rolls into Volusia County, as it has since 1937. There are numerous organized events for motorcycle enthusiasts to enjoy, and the extravaganza welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world. Most activities occur along Main Street and within the city’s One Daytona entertainment complex across from Daytona International Speedway.
3. DeLand Fall Festival of the Arts
Nov. 18-19 are the 2022 dates for the 29th annual DeLand Fall Festival of the Arts, staged along North Woodland Boulevard. The juried fine art show also features two stages for live music, along with food booths and children’s hands-on workshops. The city also hosts the annual DeLand Outdoor Art Festival for two days in late March at Earl Brown Park, with more than 125 artists and crafters showcasing their works.
4. Reel Deal Film Festival
New Smyrna Beach is the place to be for independent filmmakers in September when the Reel Deal Film Festival showcases the great American art form. The five-day fest in 2022 is scheduled for Sept. 14-18, and the cinema experience will showcase short films and features in categories such as drama, comedy, faith-based and documentaries. Most of the activities and showings take place at the Brannon Center.
5. Halifax Art Festival
Named among the Top Southern Festivals by Sunshine Artist magazine, Halifax Art Festival takes place for two days every November along Beach Street and Riverfront Park in Daytona Beach. The event attracts about 250 artists and more than 40,000 visitors. The November 2022 bash will be the 60th anniversary of selling antiques, paintings, sculptures, jewelry, unique clothing and more.
6. Riverfest Seafood Festival
Ormond Beach is the destination every late November when the two-day Riverfest Seafood Festival arrives at Rockefeller Gardens and Fortunato Park. Fresh food choices include crab cakes, chowder, fried shrimp and fish & chips, and there is live music, a draft beer garden and a kids’ activity zone. Also among the highlights is a Kid Fish Clinic with 300 free fishing poles and several prizes.
7. Native American Festival at the Casements
The Casements in Ormond Beach serves as the host site for an annual Native American Festival that takes place each year in January. The event showcases more than 50 Native American cultures, with many of them tied to Florida. The event features dancing, singing, drums and colorful Native American dress. In addition, several arts and crafts booths are set up, and a Wildlife Encounter exhibit shows how Native Americans used falcons for hunting.
8. Daytona 100
26.2 miles? For this event, that’s just the first quarter. In the Daytona 100 ultramarathon, competitors run 100 miles — yes, 100 miles — along flat roads lining the Atlantic Ocean from Jacksonville to Daytona Beach.
Greater Daytona Region Volusia County
This digital edition of the Greater Daytona Region Volusia County is sponsored by Team Volusia Economic Development Corporation.
