Often called the Gateway to Florida, Jacksonville, or ‘Jax’, is an incredible city that reflects the cultural and artsy side of Florida. While Orlando and Miami may be known for their incredible attractions and nightlife, Jacksonville is popular for its sprightly festival season that helps bring travelers from all over the globe. A lively amalgamation of food, music, culture, and art, Jacksonville festivals never disappoint the thrill seeker in you. From youth-driven carnivals to family-friendly events, this iconic city has something for every kind of explorer. Let us tell you why you shouldn’t miss out on any of these mega fiestas during your trip there.
7 Must-Attend Jacksonville Festivals
Be a part of these lively celebrations that are the life and soul of Jacksonville. Plan your getaway around the ones that you like so that you do not miss out on the fun!
1. Great Atlantic Seafood And Music Festival
The festival season in Jacksonville kicks off in the month of March with the Great Atlantic Seafood and Music Festival. As the name obviously suggests, it’s among the best Jacksonville music festivals that combine two of everyone’s favorite things – food and music! While the name is enough to draw foodies and music lovers from around the world to Jacksonville, it turns out to be a bigger hit every year in terms of the crowd and what it offers. Indulge yourself in unlimited platters of the freshest seafood ranging from shrimp, calamari, octopus, grouper, mahi-mahi, and crawfish cooked in several ways to tantalize your taste buds. The next best thing will be all-day dance parties, DJ gigs, and some awesome live music by the best performers in and around Jax to entertain you non-stop. Still got doubts about attending this one?
When: March 2021
Where: Seawalk Pavilion, Jacksonville Beach
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2. Springing The Blues Music Festival
The next month too brings in some great music and festivities in Jax! Taking place every year since April 1991, Springing The Blues Music Festival has been around for 27 years now. The best part about this three-day mega celebration of music and art is that it is absolutely free for everyone. What’s more, it helps bring the national, international, and local blues artists from all over the country on one platform where they can showcase their talent.
The festival is held every year at the massive Seawalk Pavilion. Various food trucks and art exhibits also line up the venue during these three days, and together this whole carnival of music, food, and art draws an influx of more than 125,000 people every single time, completely engulfing Jacksonville Beach in a sea of locals and travelers. Though the prime attraction here is the live music performances, it also happens to be one of the greatest art festivals in Jacksonville, Florida.
When: First week of April 2021
Where: Seawalk Pavilion, Jacksonville Beach
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3. CSI Companies Country Music Fest
This is one of the biggest family-friendly Jacksonville festivals that your parents will definitely love to be a part of. It’s an unforgettable celebration of Jacksonville’s long-standing traditions of local music as well as fresh seafood. Though it’s not as popular and big as the Great Atlantic, it’s still a very colorful and cheerful commemoration of all that makes this city wonderful! Also, the fact that this festival is free for everyone makes it an unmissable feat in the month of June.
Allowing visitors to enjoy six hours of live music, fresh meals from food vendors, as well as some good old family-fun, this carnival brings together some of the most talented folks in the city like Ryan Hurd and Tucker Beathard. Don’t miss out on this awesome fiesta with some fine music, food, and marvelous views of the sea!
When: June 2021
Where: Seawalk Pavilion, Jacksonville Beach
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4. Jacksonville Jazz Fest
JJF is one of the largest jazz festivals in Jacksonville, Florida and it runs for three consecutive days every year in May on the Memorial Day weekend. This city has been celebrating this popular rave-up of music and art since 1981, and it keeps on growing bigger and better with each passing year. It brings together many well-known jazz musicians and artists that set the stage on fire with their talent. This year’s lineup even included popular names like Gladys Knight, Brian Culbertson, Monty Alexander. The festival is now so huge that it literally takes up more than 15 streets of the city in the downtown area, making it one of the greatest street music festivals in all of America.
When: May 2021
Where: Downtown Jax
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5. World Of Nations Celebration
Brought together in 1993 to celebrate the cultural diversity of Florida, the World of Nations Celebration receives over 75,000 people on an average, which is starting to increase now. It allows people to learn about the many cultural and ethnic communities of Jacksonville as well as the whole of North Coast. The festival typically commences with a naturalization ceremony that involves awarding American citizenship to all community members.
The fun part of the festival begins with serving of traditional food, mini-exhibitions of traditional attires and dance, followed by performances of native music. This is an integral part of Jax’s festival calendar as it welcomes diverse communities in a unique way, giving them a chance to share their heritage and culture with their new neighbors!
When: February
Where: Metropolitan Park, Jacksonville
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6. Gate River Run
This is the largest 15k run in the US that is held every year in the month of March in the city of Jacksonville. Over 20,000 runners from all over America flock to Jax every March for participating in the Gate River Run, with an ever larger number of people turning up just to witness the most fun and entertaining race ever seen!
The race takes runners through the historic and beautiful streets of Downtown Jacksonville, San Marco, St. Nicolas, and over Jax’s popular bridges. While pre-race celebrations involve giving away hats and other accessories to racers, the post-race ceremony is where they are awarded prize money and medals. Spectators can cheer for the runners and enjoy live music along with fresh food like burgers and hot dogs, drinks, and popsicles.
When: March
Where: Sports Complex (start and end point)
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7. Southeast Food Fest
Among the best food truck festivals in Jacksonville is the Southeast Food Fest that is essentially a massive-scale celebration of culinary delights and traditional fare from Florida and Southeast US. You’ll get to enjoy everything from gourmet specialties to street food at this mega food fiesta. Bringing experienced chefs and artisans together from different parts of Florida and maybe even the US, this festival lets people enjoy a variety of cuisines on one platter. From chef demos, cooking workshops, tasting sessions, chef talks, to a rendezvous with the best food trucks, you’ll find everything in this fun food carnival!
When: 17th November 2021
Where: Green Cove Springs, FL 32043
Entry ticket: INR 515/-
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Did you know Jacksonville was this fun? We bet you had no idea! But now that you do, when are you going to take a trip to the US to be a part of all these exciting and colorful Jacksonville festivals? We say you get right down to booking your escapade as you wouldn’t want to miss any of these grand festivities and events for sure!
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Kanika has 4 years of experience in writing blogs and marketing content for travel. And when she’s not writing, she’s either exploring new terrains in a different corner of the world, or out in the city freezing urban scenarios in her camera.
