The Coconut Grove Arts Festival, the largest outdoor art exhibition of its kind in South Florida, held its 62nd annual edition over Presidents' Day weekend, February 14–16, 2026, along the Coconut Grove waterfront. Per the festival's official information page, gates ran 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday, with more than 280 artists showing work along South Bayshore Drive, McFarlane Road, and Pan American Drive in Miami's Coconut Grove neighborhood. This guide covers how the festival works and what to expect at future editions, since details are subject to change each year.
What is the Coconut Grove Arts Festival?
The festival is a juried outdoor fine-art exhibition that closes several streets in the Grove's business district each Presidents' Day weekend and fills them with artist booths, food stalls, and live music stages. It is produced by the Coconut Grove Arts & Historical Association, a nonprofit that presents the event each year and, per the festival's own materials, draws visitors from across South Florida and beyond. The exhibition spans painting, sculpture, photography, glass, ceramics, jewelry, and mixed media, and exhibiting artists are selected by jury — the festival bills its roster at more than 280 exhibitors for recent editions.
The event predates most of Miami's cultural calendar: the first edition was held in 1964, which makes the festival a year shy of its seventh decade as of the 62nd presentation. Over that span it has grown from a small community fair into a ranked fine-art show that artists plan their national circuits around.
When and where does the festival take place?
The festival runs every Presidents' Day weekend — three days, Saturday through Monday, in mid-February. The 2026 edition occupied the same footprint the event has used in recent years: the streets of the Grove's waterfront business district, anchored on South Bayshore Drive and McFarlane Road and extending along Pan American Drive near the bayfront parks. The setting is walkable end to end in roughly 20 minutes without stops, though few visitors manage that with 280 booths in the way. Per the festival's information page, hours in 2026 were 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, closing an hour earlier on Monday.
How much does it cost?
The festival charges admission; recent editions have used a tiered ticket structure with discounted advance purchase online and full price at the gate, and children under 12 admitted free with an adult. Because pricing changes year to year, the festival's own ticket page is the reliable source at purchase time. Food and drink are sold separately by vendors inside the grounds, and the Grove's restaurants outside the fence — along Grand Avenue, Commodore Plaza, and Main Highway — trade heavily all weekend without requiring a festival ticket.
What is there besides the art booths?
The festival's programming extends beyond the jury exhibition:
- Live music stages placed at intervals along the route, with local bands playing through the afternoon.
- A culinary section with food vendors arranged along the bayfront blocks.
- Hands-on and family areas in recent editions, including craft demonstrations and children's activities.
- Artist demonstrations, where exhibiting painters, glass workers, and potters show technique at their booths.
The festival overlaps with the Grove's other February attraction, the waterfront itself: Peacock Park and the bayfront walkways sit at the edge of the grounds, and festival-goers routinely split the day between the booths and the water.
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How do you get there, and where do you park?
Street closures make driving into the Grove's center impractical during festival hours. The practical options are the ones regular attendees use:
- Free shuttle service operated in connection with the festival from remote parking locations; the pickup points are posted on the festival's site each year.
- Metrobus and Metrorail, with the Coconut Grove Metrorail station at US 1 and SW 27th Avenue connected to the business district by county bus routes.
- Rideshare drop-off at the edge of the closure zone, since drivers cannot enter the festival streets.
Limited paid garages operate in the district, and they fill early each morning of the festival. Confirming shuttle and closure details on the festival's own postings before departure is the dependable habit.
What should attendees bring?
February in Miami is mild, but the route is sun-exposed along the bayfront, so hats, sunscreen, and water are standard. Comfortable shoes matter more than anything else — the grounds are paved but crowded by early afternoon. Collectors who intend to buy should note that artists handle their own sales at the booths, and larger works can be shipped or held for pickup, a service the festival coordinates through its exhibitor desks.
What changes from year to year
The festival's constants are the weekend, the waterfront footprint, and the jury process; nearly everything else gets revised annually. The exhibiting-artist list is published before the gates open so collectors can find specific booths, the music lineup shifts with each edition, and the layout of the culinary and family sections moves as the footprint adjusts. In recent years the association has also emphasized coastal-weather planning — afternoon wind along the bay is a standing variable, and booth displays are engineered for it. Readers who attended a prior year should still check the current year's map rather than navigate from memory.
Looking ahead to future editions
Per the festival's announcements, the 63rd edition is set for February 13–15, 2027, continuing the Presidents' Day weekend pattern. Ticket sales, the exhibiting-artist list, and the music schedule are published in the weeks before each edition, and readers planning a visit should rely on those postings rather than on prior-year details, because hours, pricing, and the festival footprint are subject to change.
Frequently asked questions
When is the Coconut Grove Arts Festival?
Every Presidents' Day weekend. The 62nd edition ran February 14–16, 2026, and the 63rd is set for February 13–15, 2027, per the festival's announcements, with gates opening at 10 a.m. each day.
Where does the festival take place?
Along the Coconut Grove waterfront in Miami — the streets around South Bayshore Drive, McFarlane Road, and Pan American Drive, within the Grove's business district.
How many artists exhibit?
Recent editions have presented more than 280 juried artists working in painting, sculpture, photography, glass, ceramics, jewelry, and mixed media, per the festival's own materials.